In just a dozen seconds, Zino reached the edge of the Upper Yard. His boots landed lightly on the cloud grass as he came to a stop, the wind swirling around him from his high-speed dash. He turned his head slightly, glancing behind him.
"Will he be able to catch up?" he muttered to himself.
Before he could even finish the thought, a voice echoed from above.
"You're quick—quick enough to reach the Upper Yard in seconds," came the calm, mocking voice. "But…"
Zino looked up sharply.
Floating above him was God Enel, his expression cold with disdain.
"…you're still far too slow."
Zino's eyes sharpened. A challenge flickered in his chest, igniting a rush of adrenaline and pride.
"Is that so?" he said quietly, before vanishing again.
Boom—!
With another surge of power, Zino used Hien Soku, his new high-speed technique. His figure blurred and shot forward like a supersonic bullet across the white sea sky—away from the Upper Yard and in the opposite direction of Angel Beach.
The air screamed as he broke through it, a sonic ripple left in his wake.
Above, Enel watched the rapidly escaping figure, his smirk fading into irritation.
"Running again? Hmph." He narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping to a dangerous murmur. "Are you… looking down on me?"
Crack!
In a flash, Enel's form dissolved into pure lightning and exploded forward, chasing after Zino with divine speed.
Zino, speeding across the cloud ocean, had already made the Upper Yard look like a small speck behind him. The wind howled in his ears as his speed peaked.
But then—
Grab!
A hand clamped tightly onto his shoulder, halting him mid-air like he had slammed into a wall.
Zino's eyes widened. He instinctively twisted, looking over his shoulder.
It was Enel.
Floating above and behind him, Enel's face was calm—but his eyes were filled with cold fury.
"No more running," he said simply. "You're starting to annoy me."
"One Million Volt: VARI!"
BZZZZZT!!!
A devastating surge of lightning tore through Zino's body.
"Gaaah—!"
The shock was immediate—excruciating.
Arcs of white-blue lightning ripped through Zino's body. His limbs convulsed uncontrollably as electric current surged through every nerve, lighting up his insides with unbearable pain. His mouth opened in a scream, only for the lightning to crawl down his throat like living fire, scorching and crackling as it went deeper.
Just then, a system notification appeared before his eyes, hovering like a translucent screen only he could see.
[You have absorbed the following elemental signatures:
1. Lightning
2. Static Electricity
3. Heat
4. Sound
Please choose one element to acquire.]
Even in the midst of agony, Zino's eyes widened in surprise. A shaky grin formed on his face. With no hesitation, he mentally selected Lightning.
[Lightning Element Acquired]
Enel, still gripping him, noticed the grin and scowled. "What are you smiling at?"
Despite the pain still coursing through him, Zino let out a weak chuckle. "Your lightning… barely tickles. You might want to try harder."
The words weren't bravado. They were bait.
Enel's brows furrowed. He could sense something—something unnatural. But his pride overruled his caution.
"So be it."
He stepped back, only to vanish in a crackle of electricity, reappearing instantly to Zino's left side.
"Ten Million Volt: VARI!!*"
The sky howled as Enel unleashed a far more devastating surge of lightning, intending to fry Zino down to his bones. But the moment the lightning touched him, they flowed out around him.
The current flowed around him like water, circling back only to enter his mouth. There was no resistance, no harm. Instead, the raw power that was supposed to destroy him was simply devoured.
"What…?" Enel's eyes widened in confusion.
Zino smiled wider, his hand shooting up to grab Enel's wrist tightly. "Thanks for the meal."
Right in front of Zino's eyes, another system display appeared:
[Progress: Level 1… Level 2… Level 3…]
[Assimilation speed: Increased due to immediate supplies of lightning energy.]
The numbers climbed rapidly, the progress bar filling at an accelerating pace. The more Enel pumped in, the faster Zino absorbed and leveled the element.
Enel's face twisted in alarm. "Let go of me!" he barked, trying to wrench his hand away.
Zino's grip only tightened. "No can do. I'm not full yet. Let me snack on your lightning a bit more."
Enel's eyes flared with fury. "You think I'm a meal?!" He glared daggers at Zino. "Fine. If you want lightning so badly, then choke on this!"
With his free hand, Enel thrust his palm forward—aimed directly at Zino's face.
"Sango!!"
CRACKLE!!!
A massive bolt of lightning shot point-blank into Zino's face. The air shrieked, the sky flashed, and the cloud beneath their feet trembled from the sudden surge.
Zino's vision went white.
But it wasn't the lightning that blinded him—it was the blazing progress bar on his system interface.
Level 7… Level 10… Level 13…
Zino nearly laughed. His whole body buzzed with volatile energy, but it was only *feeding* him.
Still, he played along.
"Ahhh! No! Stop! It hurts!" he cried dramatically, flinching and squirming.
Enel's smirk returned, cruel and triumphant. "So now you scream? Then let's test your limits."
"100 Million Volt: VARI!!"
An enormous pulse of energy erupted from Enel's hand. Lightning roared across the sky like a divine judgment.
Zino's interface flashed again—
Level 15… Level 17… Level 19…
His heart thudded with glee. His body felt like a supercharged engine, humming with raw electricity. Still, he acted.
"GYAAAHHHH!! S-STOP!! You're frying my brain!!" Zino shouted, flailing comically.
Enel let out a dark chuckle, eyes burning with arrogance. "It's rare anyone survives this long. So… let me show you my divine form—a parting gift before your ashes scatter in the wind."
His voice dropped low—
"Amaru."
BOOM!!
In a flash of pure energy, Enel transformed.
His body expanded, morphing into a monstrous, glowing god of lightning—a swirling storm of divine voltage. Sparks danced around him like celestial flames. His expression was calm, cold, merciless.
Then, without a word, he unleashed his strongest attack—
200 Million Volts.
BZZZZZZTTT!!!
The world turned white-blue. The clouds vaporized beneath their feet. Zino's entire body locked up as the unimaginable current poured through him.
He felt every pore of his skin screaming, every cell conducting electricity at max capacity. His hair flared, his blood surged like plasma.
And yet…
He didn't explode.
He absorbed.
The system screamed with notifications as lightning flooded his core.
Amid the raging storm of power, Zino's grin only widened.
He wasn't being destroyed—
He was ascending.
DING!
[Lightning Element has reached Level 20]
Level 21… 22…
The progress bar slowed slightly beyond level 20, but it still climbed—each jolt of electricity fueling the ascent like high-octane fuel to a fire.
On the outside, Enel's expression turned from smugness to unease.
Smoke curled from Zino's shoulders. His clothes singed. Sparks danced over his skin.
And then—his eyes rolled white, his body began to tilt backward—
He looked like he was passing out.
But Enel's victory was cut short—
Because he wasn't falling alone.
Zino's hand was still latched onto his wrist, like an iron vice.
A black sheen crept over Zino's grip—obsidian and unnatural, locking Enel's form in place.
"What the—?!" Enel's voice cracked in disbelief.
He tried to shift into lightning form—to blitz away as pure energy.
But he couldn't.
His body refused.
"What did you do to me?!" he shouted, panicking for the first time. "Let go, you wretched blue sea dweller!"
Zino didn't answer. He appeared unconscious—but his grip only tightened, fingers clamped like steel shackles.
"I SAID LET GO!"
Enel fired another burst of lightning point-blank into Zino's chest—
BZZT!
Then another. And another.
"Thor's Hammer!"
"Thunder Beast!"
"El Thor!!"
But every attack just vanished into Zino's body—absorbed, consumed.
No matter how Enel changed his lightning techniques, it was useless.
Meanwhile, the sky beneath them was split.
A gaping hole now yawned open in the clouds—ripped apart by the previously overwhelming discharge.
With nothing below to stop them, both Zino and Enel plummeted through the hole, falling faster and faster toward the unknown.
Zino's unconscious body dragged a struggling "god" down with him.
And for the first time…
Enel was afraid. No—he was panicking.
"You son of a—! Let go of me! I'll kill you!!"
He unleashed a frenzied storm of lightning, surging with volts enough to level a city block—
but it was useless.
Zino's body absorbed it all, lightning vanishing into him like water into dry sand.
Enel switched tactics—throwing wild punches, kicks, elbows, knees—anything to break free.
But physically, Enel wasn't a warrior. He lacked real combat training. His body was average at best.
Every strike he landed barely made a sound—each hit felt like punching a wall.
Worse—when he struck Zino, his limbs ached from the impact. A black gloss shimmered faintly over Zino's skin—like armor.
"Damn it! What the hell is his body made of?!"
He grimaced, shaking his bruised fist.
"Why does it feel like I'm hitting *stone*?!"
Below them, the clouds had long since thinned. Now, a large island grew ever closer.
The ground—solid and unforgiving—was rushing up to meet them.
Enel's eyes widened in terror. He stopped struggling. Survival instinct kicked in.
Think!
He had only seconds before impact. Then—he made his move..A moment before crashing into the earth, Enel blasted a lightning bolt downward, generating a shockwave.
The repulsive force slowed their fall just enough.
With a burst of control, he twisted midair, tapped the ground with his foot and landed safely.
"*Fuuuh...!* That was way too close." Enel exhaled, wiping the sweat beading on his forehead.
But before he could recover—
"It sure was a close call."
A calm voice beside him. Enel froze. Slowly… he turned his head.
Zino was standing there. Unscathed. Calm. Smiling.
"GYYAAAAAAAHHH!!"
Enel screamed like a man possessed, stumbling back in complete horror. Though he could not move away as Zino's hand still clamping his hand, not releasing.
"You… y-you're not injured?!"
Enel's voice trembled with disbelief as he stared wide-eyed at Zino.
Zino stretched his shoulders casually, cracking his neck.
"Injured? Nah." A sly grin curled on his lips. "I was just pretending… figured I'd let you feel good about yourself for a bit."
Enel took a step back, fear creeping into his expression. "Monster! Let me go—!"
"Thanks for all that lightning," Zino cut in, eyes narrowing. "Now, let me return the favor."
He lowered his stance, arm cocked back.
"Hyouken: Shinkuro!" (Ice Fist: True Black!)
His fist flashed with glimmering black and frosted white light—coated in both Armament Haki and ice element.
BOOM!!
The impact cracked like thunder. Enel's body bent around the punch before blasting off like a cannonball, soaring helplessly through the air.
He tumbled through the sky for several long seconds before finally plummeting into the ocean with a distant splash.
Zino exhaled, rubbing his knuckles. "Ah. That must've hurt."
He glanced toward the horizon where Enel had vanished. "Man, talk about unlucky. Falling into the sea after all that? If you're lucky, you'll float. If not…" He shrugged. "Well, sorry in advance."
Rather than chase after Enel immediately, Zino brought up his system interface. A holographic display flickered in front of him, visible only to his eyes.
[Lightning Element: Level 43]
His brows lifted in surprise. "Level forty-three already? Dang. That was faster than I thought."
He chuckled to himself. "No wonder my body feels all tingly. That guy practically overloaded me with experience points."
There was a pause. He looked off toward the sea again, struggling for some decisions.
"…Should I go save him?"
He floated upward slightly, still undecided. Then he clicked his tongue and sighed. "Ugh, fine. I guess I owe him for the free power-up."
Zino rocketed across the sky, riding air currents with Hien Soku—his signature speed technique—until he reached the spot where Enel had fallen.
There, bobbing helplessly on the waves, Enel lay unconscious, face pale, limbs limp.
Zino hovered above for a second. "Still alive, huh? Tough guy."
With a small gesture, he descended and fished the fallen lightning god out of the sea, dragging him to the nearby shoreline.
He laid him down gently on the sand, droplets falling from Enel's soaked hair and robes.
"Alright, that's enough heroism for one day," Zino muttered. "You better thank me if you wake up."
He stood, gave one last look at the motionless Enel, and dusted off his hands.
"Goodbye lightning freak," Zino said quietly.
With that, he bent his knees and launched upward in a gust of wind and air, leaving behind only swirling sand and silence.