Whoosh!
Under Ryūjin's control, the pirate ship rose rapidly into the sky.
The vessel continued climbing for thousands of feet before piercing through a thick sea of clouds.
Soon, an entirely different world appeared before them.
Boundless white clouds stretched endlessly in every direction, glowing beneath the sunlight like a heavenly kingdom.
"Wow! So this is Sky Island?! It's beautiful!"
Nami leaned against the railing excitedly while looking around.
"We're literally floating in the sky right now!"
Even Nico Robin's usually composed expression softened with visible interest as she observed the scenery around them.
Aokiji also narrowed his eyes slightly.
This was his first time witnessing a world built upon clouds.
"This isn't Sky Island yet," Ryūjin said with a faint laugh. "These are just the outer cloud layers."
He glanced at their reactions with amusement.
"Relax. You'll see more interesting things soon enough."
With another wave of his power, the ship continued ascending until it crossed the entrance into Sky Island itself.
Their destination was the Land of God.
The territory ruled by Enel.
At Heaven's Gate.
An elderly woman with wrinkled skin and small wings on her back stared blankly at the flying pirate ship overhead.
Her jaw practically dropped.
"A ship... actually flew up here?"
The old woman hurriedly grabbed a camera and snapped several photos in panic, though she only managed to capture the underside of the vessel.
Then her expression immediately became solemn and devout.
Pressing her hands together in prayer, she spoke loudly.
"Heaven's Gate Inspector Amazon reporting to God Enel and the Priests. An illegal vessel has entered the Land of God. Please deliver divine judgment upon them!"
Anyone entering the Land of God was required to pay an enormous entrance fee.
Those who refused would be punished by divine judgment.
Inside the Land of God.
Within a massive palace built among the clouds stood the Shrine of God.
Enel lounged lazily upon his throne while casually biting into an apple.
Then suddenly, his movement stopped.
Through his Mantra, he heard Amazon's report clearly.
"A Blue Sea visitor?"
A trace of interest appeared in Enel's eyes.
That was all.
Sky Islanders referred to people from the surface world as Blue Sea people.
At first, Enel did not care much.
Using his Mantra he casually checked the intruders.
It was merely a subconscious action.
In Enel's eyes, everyone besides himself was insignificant.
Whether they were Sky Islanders or Blue Sea people made no difference to him.
His true goal had always been Vearth.
However, the moment his Observation Haki reached Ryūjin's group, Enel's relaxed posture disappeared instantly.
He slowly sat upright.
"A flying ship?"
His eyes narrowed with interest.
Only now did he understand why Amazon sounded so shocked.
To ordinary people, the vessel itself was unbelievable enough.
But Enel noticed something else.
The man standing aboard the ship.
"That guy... he seem strong."
Enel muttered quietly while observing Ryūjin.
Normally, Enel would not bother personally dealing with intruders.
His priests could handle that.
But Ryūjin gave him a strange feeling.
Even Enel found him difficult to read.
Because of that, he decided to pay attention personally.
Under Enel's observation, Ryūjin guided the ship into the Land of God and landed smoothly upon the cloud ground.
"What exactly is he planning?"
Enel rested his chin on one hand thoughtfully.
At that exact moment, Ryūjin suddenly lifted his head slightly and looked into the distance.
"Enel, spying on people like this is a pretty bad habit."
Enel's pupils contracted slightly.
This man sensed his Observation Haki?
Not only that, he even located him directly?
Interesting.
A grin slowly spread across Enel's face.
In the next second, his body transformed into lightning and vanished instantly.
Inside the Land of God.
"Ryūjin-san, who were you talking to?"
Nami looked around curiously.
"And who's Enel?"
"How dare you casually speak the name of God?"
A cold voice suddenly echoed beside them.
Nami and Robin both stiffened instantly.
Even Crocodile's expression changed.
They immediately turned toward the source of the voice.
A tall man with a bare upper body stood nearby.
He wore a white headscarf, and behind him floated a ring of drums.
None of them had noticed when he appeared.
Even Aokiji's face became serious.
As someone proficient in Observation Haki, he barely sensed Enel's arrival at the last second.
That alone was enough to prove Enel was dangerous.
"Enel."
Ryūjin looked at him casually and chuckled.
"You think too highly of yourself. There may be gods in this world, but you definitely aren't one of them."
Honestly speaking, Ryūjin was far more qualified to be called a god.
After all, he possessed the power of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Enel returned to his lazy expression and spoke indifferently.
"Have you ever seen a god before?"
"Nope."
Ryūjin shrugged casually.
"Then how do you know I'm not one?"
"Simple."
Ryūjin smirked.
"Because you can't beat me. If a god gets punched in the face by someone else, then he's a fraud."
"Oh?"
Enel raised an eyebrow slowly.
Crackle!
Lightning exploded across his body instantly.
"Ten Million Volts!"
A terrifying bolt of lightning burst toward Ryūjin with overwhelming speed.
Nami and Robin's expressions changed immediately.
"He controls lightning?!"
"The power of thunder?!"
Even Aokiji's eyes sharpened.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
Among Logia Devil Fruits, the Goro Goro no Mi was considered one of the strongest.
This Enel possessed strength comparable to a Marine Admiral.
Aokiji never expected such a monster to be hiding in Sky Island.
Crackle!
The lightning flashed forward instantly.
Nami and Robin felt their bodies tense involuntarily as the terrifying voltage approached.
For ordinary people, lightning represented absolute destruction.
Ryūjin could have simply phased through the attack using Kamui.
But Nami and Robin stood behind him.
So instead, a Truth Seeking Orb appeared instantly before him.
The black orb expanded and transformed into a curved shield.
Boom!
Enel's lightning crashed directly against it.
Yet it failed to pass through.
Not even a spark reached the others.
Nami and Robin both exhaled heavily in relief.
"What is that black sphere?"
Aokiji's eyes narrowed further.
"That thing blocked lightning?"
He had seen it clearly.
Ryūjin did not pull out a weapon or tool.
The black orb had formed out of thin air.
Another unknown ability.
"Nani?!"
Even Enel looked stunned.
"My lightning was blocked?"
Ryūjin ignored his shock.
With a clap of his hands, wooden branches erupted from the cloud ground below.
The branches wrapped gently around Nami and Robin before carrying them farther away from the battlefield.
Only then did Ryūjin finally turn toward Enel fully.
"You call yourself a god?"
He smiled faintly.
"I'm standing right here and you still can't touch me."
"You're just relying on some strange defensive ability!"
Enel snorted coldly.
"Yeah? Then try harder."
Swish!
The instant those words left Ryūjin's mouth, his figure vanished.
At nearly the same moment, he appeared directly beside Enel.
Boom!
Ryūjin's fist slammed into Enel's face violently.
Enel's body shot backward and crashed across the cloud ground before finally stopping several meters away.
"This is impossible!"
Enel stared at Ryūjin in disbelief.
His Mantra detected nothing.
No movement.
No warning.
Ryūjin simply appeared beside him instantly.
Even Aokiji was shocked.
"What just happened?"
His Observation Haki completely failed to track Ryūjin's movement.
That should have been impossible.
What Ryūjin used was naturally the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Unlike high-speed movement, Flying Thunder God functioned entirely through space-time manipulation.
No matter how powerful Observation Haki became, it could not surpass spatial limitations.
As for how Ryūjin placed the Flying Thunder God seal near Enel without detection, the answer was simple.
The cloud terrain of Sky Island contained countless hidden gaps beneath the surface.
Using the Shadow Possession Technique, Ryūjin extended his shadow silently through the cloud layers.
Then he formed the Flying Thunder God seal directly beneath Enel.
Shadows were intangible.
Neither Enel nor Aokiji noticed anything.
"I don't believe this!"
Enel's expression twisted with fury.
Crackle!
He slammed the drums behind him.
"Sixty Million Volts, Thunder Dragon!"
A massive dragon formed from pure lightning roared toward Ryūjin.
Even Aokiji's expression grew serious after sensing the terrifying power behind the attack.
Enel truly possessed strength on the level of an Admiral.
Crocodile's scalp tingled as he watched from the side.
Against monsters like these, his Sand-Sand Fruit felt meaningless.
Yet Ryūjin simply walked forward casually.
As if the Thunder Dragon did not exist at all.
Only his eyes had changed.
The scarlet Sharingan spun slowly within his pupils.
"His eyes changed."
Aokiji's face tightened immediately.
Whenever Ryūjin used those eyes, things became dangerous.
Boom!
The Thunder Dragon crashed directly into Ryūjin.
Enel immediately sneered.
But the smile froze on his face in the next instant.
The lightning passed straight through Ryūjin's body harmlessly.
It was as if Ryūjin himself did not physically exist.
The Thunder Dragon exploded against the cloud ground behind him instead.
Enel's eyes widened.
Aokiji felt cold sweat forming down his back.
"So this is his ability to freely switch between tangibility and intangibility…"
How was anyone supposed to fight someone like this?