The soil in Aisa's hands scattered across the ground. The little girl glared at Wyper and shouted, "I'm not scared! I'm a Shandian warrior too!"
Wyper reached out and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her into midair. His eyes were cold as he stared at her and roared, "Have the Shandians run out of people? Do we need a useless brat like you?"
Aisa kicked her legs wildly, tears welling up in her eyes, "I am useful…" she said pitifully.
Wyper threw the girl to the ground and kicked away the backpack full of soil, his tone ice-cold, "What use? To steal this vearth? And then get killed by the priests?"
Aisa stared at him, then quickly stood up, wiped her tears, and ran away.
Raki looked at her, then at Wyper, sighed helplessly, and chased after the girl.
Wyper waved his hand irritably and commanded the team, "Everyone go rest. I'll give orders later."
After the team dispersed, Robin's sultry voice rang out, "How strict…"
Noyer nodded in agreement, "She's just a child. Even if she did something wrong, there's no need to be so fierce."
Wyper, with his back to them, said, "Mind your own business."
He used his body to block the team's line of sight and picked up Aisa's bag. Handful by handful, he put the soil back in.
Noyer raised an eyebrow as Wyper said firmly, "The Shandians' homeland must be reclaimed with our blood and lives. If sacrifices are needed, we're enough. That brat Aisa should just stay alive and out of trouble!"
Noyer touched his nose and chuckled.
Robin said helplessly, "What a contradictory person."
Wyper looked up at the sky where the giant beanstalk spiraled, his fierce face filled with determination.
"Once we defeat Enel, will Aisa still treasure such a small bag of vearth?" He looked at Noyer and said seriously, "I'm very grateful that you protected Aisa and my team members…"
"No, it's noth — "
Before Noyer could be modest, Wyper's tone suddenly shifted, "But this island is our home. You're our benefactor, and the Shandians won't offend you in any way, but please leave as soon as possible. We're going to fight Enel to the death here. We don't want to drag you into it."
Noyer looked at him speechlessly, "Why are you so blunt? Besides, you can't beat Enel on your own."
Robin held her forehead and sighed, "You're not much better at speaking than he is."
When Noyer's words reached Wyper's ears, he surprisingly didn't get angry, "All four priests are dead. This is the best opportunity. We have no way back."
After a moment of thought, Noyer said, "Actually, we could cooperate."
Wyper flatly refused, "No need. You've already helped me a lot."
Noyer waved his hand, "Don't rush to refuse. I'm not helping you for free — there will be compensation. Since you're willing to sacrifice yourself to reclaim your homeland, what if that sacrifice could also get you a helper as powerful as me? Would you be willing?"
This kind of savage, direct talk was right up Wyper's alley.
He looked at Noyer, "What do you mean? You want my life?"
Noyer patted his shoulder, "I'll help you defeat Enel. If you can't beat him but I succeed, you'll give me your life. You, by yourself, will follow me to the Blue Sea and work for me."
Wyper stared directly into his eyes, seemingly weighing the conditions.
"I think you also want this operation to be foolproof, right?"
Noyer's last sentence broke through Wyper's defenses.
For Shandia's future, his own fate didn't matter. Though he was unwilling to trust outsiders, witnessing Enel's god-like punishment attack had shaken him.
It wasn't death he feared — it was watching his comrades die before him.
Wyper extended his hand and said coldly, "Deal."
Noyer was already used to his sullen face. He reached out and bumped fists with him.
That settled it. Conis and Wyper were basically secured. Only Enel remained. Recruiting him would be simple — just beat him down and drag him away. Noyer couldn't be bothered to reason with him.
After they reached their agreement, he naturally joined their guerrilla squad.
Robin quickly bonded with Raki and the other female warriors, and managed to cheer up Aisa. However, because of Wyper's harsh words, the little girl would probably hold a grudge for several days.
Noyer and Wyper walked at the front of the group. Setting everything else aside, they had fought once before, and Wyper acknowledged his combat abilities.
He asked Noyer many questions — about Devil Fruits, about Haki.
Wyper wasn't very interested in Mantra, which is Observation Haki, but seemed particularly drawn to Armament Haki. When he heard it could capture Devil Fruit users, his eyes lit up.
With this ability, would they still be helpless against Enel?
Faced with Wyper's questions, Noyer didn't hold back. After all, this was his future crew member — not an outsider anymore.
Wyper wouldn't break his word. He'd proudly stated that he inherited the genes of his ancestor, the "Great Warrior of Shandora" Kalgara, and would honor every promise.
Noyer didn't remember who Kalgara was, but judging by Wyper's character, he seemed trustworthy.
Meanwhile, the so-called god maintained his composure, staying in his sky palace and waiting for everyone to come find him. Along the way, the guerrilla squad encountered divine soldiers, but they all became cannon fodder.
After a long walk, Noyer and the others finally arrived at the ancient ruins of Shandora beneath the Giant Jack.
"Is this Shandora?" Noyer gazed in admiration at the magnificent ruined site.
Wyper nodded, a smile appearing on his resolute face, "This is our ancestors' home…"
Noyer surveyed the city. When he saw the materials and ancient text, he suddenly thought of Robin — she'd be interested in this.
He remembered there were two Poneglyphs here. One was just a pointer to the second, which was on the Shandorian Golden Belfry.
As expected, Robin stopped in the city and cast a hopeful gaze toward him.
Noyer nodded, "You stay here for a while. I'll come find you when I'm done."
Wyper quickly said, "I'll have Raki stay with you, and we'll leave Aisa here too."
Noyer knew he was worried about the little girl's safety and agreed.
With preparations complete, everyone climbed the vine along the sea clouds, heading toward Enel's palace.
◇◆◈◆◇
Inside the palace, Enel's fury was boiling over, yet he forced himself to maintain a calm smile.
Through his vast Mantra perception, he sensed a group of ants rushing toward him.
He had planned to go down and kill them directly. But in his arrogance, he stubbornly held back, waiting like a proper boss for them to come to him.
Among them, the one who made Enel gnash his teeth the most was that outsider from the Blue Sea — Noyer. That guy also possessed Mantra abilities and could even control flames.
One who could control fire, another who controlled lightning. He even felt his divine throne shaking.
Enel forced himself to calm down. Even if he couldn't deal with Noyer, could that guy really do anything to him?
Just a little more…
He looked at the large room hidden deep within the palace, where a massive ship was being constructed.
Ark Maxim would be completed soon. Then he could ride it to the Fairy Vearth and rule over it.
That was where a god should reside!
Enel picked up his golden staff, gazing at the palace gates near the vine.
As he expected, a loud crash echoed as the sturdy doors were torn apart like paper. Many Shandian warriors rushed in with weapons, surrounding him in a scene like a rebellion.
At the sight of their enemy, their eyes burned red with hatred. Wyper took the lead, raising his Burn Bazooka and charging forward on the clouds.
Enel looked with disdain at the mortals who dared to offend god. His golden staff heated red from his lightning, then reforged into the shape of a trident.
Wyper leaped into the air, blue-white flames shooting from the cannon's muzzle.
Enel closed his eyes with a mocking smile and stepped leisurely to the side. The golden trident rose like a venomous snake, striking toward his opponent's neck.
Wyper barely dodged. Seeing this, the Shandians behind him rushed forward as one.
Lightning fell from above the massive palace. Enel and the Shandian warriors fought fiercely while Noyer leaned against the doorway, watching the show.
His agreement with Wyper was clear: step in only if Wyper couldn't beat Enel. The guy had to take some lumps first.
Wyper's will and combat talent were exceptional, but against someone with the Goro Goro no Mi ability, almost all attacks were useless.
At first, he had Kairōseki — that rare resource from the Blue Sea — which caught Enel off guard. But that only lasted one move. Enel was the incarnation of lightning itself. With his movement speed alone, Wyper couldn't catch him.
Enel held his golden trident, sneering at the guerrilla squad members sprawled across the ground, "How dare ant-like people oppose god. You went through all that trouble to come here, but… you should just die!"
The sharp trident tip stabbed down. Arcs of electricity danced along it, frantically stimulating Wyper's senses. The deadly weapon grew larger and larger in his pupils.
At this critical moment, Noyer finally moved. A dark crimson blade extended from the side, easily blocking the trident.
He gripped Rasetsuō and twisted the blade with a backhand motion. The powerful force sent the trident flying from Enel's hands.
Enel looked at him in disbelief while Noyer regarded him with mocking eyes.
'System, check Enel's Talents.' Noyer commanded in his mind.
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
" Enel "
" Talents:〔 Devil's Dwelling · Goro-Goro [Red/2nd Rank] 〕|〔 Sea's Curse [Purple/3rd Rank] 〕|〔 Electromagnetic Mantra [Red/2nd Rank] 〕|〔 Arrogant False God [Red/2nd Rank] 〕 "
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Devil's Dwelling · Goro-Goro 〕
〔 Rank: Red 〕
〔 Description: Having consumed a Logia-type Devil Fruit, his body transforms into electricity, possessing the power to control lightning. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Sea's Curse 〕
〔 Rank: Purple 〕
〔 Description: Along with the devil's power comes the devil's curse — the sea's hatred. Contact with seawater renders him powerless and unable to use his abilities. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Electromagnetic Mantra 〕
〔 Rank: Red 〕
〔 Description: Using his own Observation Haki and training with his unique electromagnetic constitution, Observation Haki can evolve into ultra-long-range surveillance. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Arrogant False God 〕
〔 Rank: Red 〕
〔 Description: An arrogant personality that looks down on everything; the less he's seen, the more arrogant and conceited he becomes. Intelligence automatically decreases by 20% during first battle with an enemy; if victorious, decreases by 10% in next battle; if victorious again, decreases by 5%, and so on.
However, after defeat, this talent is temporarily lost. After facing a major setback, this talent is permanently lost. 〕
﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄
Enel's Goro Goro no Mi was Red Rank too?
Noyer thought carefully. Among all the Devil Fruit Talents he'd copied, not one exceeded this rank.
Gold Rank Devil Fruit Talents probably only existed among the Marines' top brass and the Four Emperors.
As for that 〔Arrogant False God〕 talent, Noyer found it perfectly reasonable.
No wonder Enel got dumber and dumber fighting Luffy. If this state kept stacking, his intelligence would probably drop below even that monkey's.
What surprised Noyer most was that Enel's Observation Haki — his Mantra talent — was also only Red Rank. Its greatest strength was range: perception covering an entire island, nearly unmatched.
With his personality, even if he could awaken Observation Haki thanks to his fruit advantage, he wouldn't train diligently.
What a waste of Noyer's anticipation.
Enel looked at his utterly disappointed face, veins bulging on his head as he roared, "You bastard, how dare you offend god's dignity!"
Noyer picked at his ear, swinging Rasetsuō in a slashing strike as he shouted, "You're so noisy!"
Influenced by a certain talent, Enel arrogantly released electricity all over his body, yelling, "You don't even have Kairōseki! What are you going to fight me with…"
Splurt —
A bloody gash tore open across his chest.
Enel froze for a moment, then belatedly screamed in pain, "Damn it! Why? It hurts so much!!"
A strange warm current flowed from the Cursed Blade into Noyer's body, instantly restoring his stamina. His condition hadn't been depleted much to begin with, so the feedback energy from this single strike nearly burst him.
Realizing he couldn't ignore attacks, Enel clutched his wound and shouted in confusion, "What kind of blade is that? Why can it cut me?!"
Wyper moved his guerrilla comrades to safety, his eyes fixed on the layer of Haki coating the Cursed Blade.
He punched the ground in frustration, muttering, "If only I had that kind of power…"
Honestly, if Enel hadn't eaten a Logia-type fruit — any other fruit — Wyper might have actually taken him down.
His character far exceeded that of ordinary people. And more importantly, Enel's personality was just too terrible…
Enel used electric shocks to stimulate his body, swinging his arms to violently strike the four thunder drums behind him as he roared.
"I'll show you what the power of god truly is!"
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)