84. Tom: Break The Darkness With Thunder!

As the thunder rumbled overhead, Al acted swiftly, employing Soru to whisk everyone away from the battle.

Al's mastery of Armament Haki isn't flawless yet, preventing him from splitting it with just one sword.

Therefore, he could only lead a small group of crew members to safety.

Yet, as Al moved, the ring of thunder above them shifted as well, suggesting that wherever he went, the thunder followed.

As Al vanished from the sight of the Sky Island residents, the White beret captain reacted, fixing his gaze in Al's direction.

"The path they've taken..." he murmured.

"The Island of the Gods, Upper Yard!"

Indeed, Al's plan was straightforward: since he couldn't confront the lightning strikes directly, he needed to locate Enel as swiftly as possible.

Then, with Enel's arrogance and his mastery of Armament Haki, he would confront Enel directly!

In this scenario, no matter how advanced Enel's Fruit abilities become, he would meet his end!

To Enel, the concept of Armament Haki is inconceivable!

As one who deems himself a god, he wouldn't entertain such a thought even in his wildest dreams.

But in this world, there exist abilities capable of dealing significant damage to Logia users!

The reason why Al, despite not fully mastering Armament Haki, dared to pursue Rumble-Rumble Fruit directly, is largely due to this very notion!

Simply combining Enel's arrogance with Armament Haki at the sword's edge could result in an easy victory!

However, in this scenario, Al can only rely on a single sword!

If this sword proves insufficient to defeat Enel, Al might face significant challenges in the battles to come!

Just as Al approached the Island of the Gods, Upper Yard, with less than ten meters to spare, the thunder ring in the sky vanished abruptly, as though it had never existed.

Upon reaching Upper Yard, the island of the gods, Al promptly set down the crew members he had been carrying.

Gazing into the boundless sky, Al's eyes grew cold, the image of Enel laughing arrogantly at him vividly etched in his mind.

It's not surprising that Al would think that way.

After all, Enel himself is lazy and arrogant.

Moreover, he has ruled over Skypiea for many years, being worshipped as a god by its inhabitants!

His ego must be inflated to the extreme!

During his second reading of One Piece, Al had fantasized about this when he came across the Skypiea chapter.

Would this guy get thrashed into humility by those Armament Haki powerhouses if he went to Blue Sea?

Glancing at Carina and Robin, still unconscious, he said:

"Nami, Muscles, and Merlin, stay here on guard. Spike and I will go find Enel."

"Also, Merlin, see if you can use your magic to trace Tom's whereabouts."

After delegating these tasks, Al set off with Spike into the depths of the jungle.

Nami had something else on her mind, but with Al already out of sight, she could only voice her worries to Vivi and the others.

"Didn't that person from Skypiea say this is punishment from the gods? Will Captain Al be okay?"

Vivi shared Nami's concerns.

After all, facing a god is daunting!

The weight behind that word is overwhelming!

Observing Nami and Vivi's concern, Muscles shrugged and spoke with a casual smile.

"What about the gods?"

"Even if it's a god!"

"I'll take them down!"

It seemed as if he deliberately timed his words to align with Muscles's statement.

Merlin, with a pensive expression, conjured a lamp above its head and played the BGM of "Invincible".

As the music filled the air and the lights danced around, Muscles's stature seemed to grow even taller.

Yet, Nami and Vivi remained unfazed by Muscles's display, engrossed in their discussion about whether Al could triumph over the gods.

Feeling ignored, Muscles stormed off to the side, venting its frustration through exercise.

With each punch, its body turned black again and again!

In the depths of the dense forest, four ominous figures appeared to have spotted Al and Spike, their faces contorted into sinister smiles.

With concern for Tom weighing heavily on his heart, Al's pace quickened.

Suddenly, within Al's line of sight, the four figures materialized before him.

Upon seeing them, Al swiftly retrieved his western sword from the system backpack and charged at the four assailants with intent to kill.

Meanwhile...

In the depths of the dense forest, Enel scowled at the urea bag before him, his displeasure evident.

Initially, Enel had intended to unleash El Thor (God's Judgment) to mercilessly bombard and eliminate the group who dared provoke him.

However, Al's next move was already foreseen, awaiting only his command.

Suddenly, a peculiar object plummeted from the sky, disrupting Enel's intended attack.

Just as Enel prepared to obliterate the unsightly object before him...

Suddenly, a cat's head popped out of the urea bag, startling Enel.

Tom, with a grim expression, glared angrily at the man adorned with four jade drums and three hooks on his back.

Realizing the figure before him wasn't Spike, Tom furrowed his brow and questioned, "Who are you? Have you seen a dim-witted mutt?"

As he spoke, Tom extended his hands, gesturing before Enel.

Gazing at the cat before him, capable of speaking human words but clueless about its gestures, Enel's eyes widened in disbelief.

Observing Enel frozen in astonishment, Tom extended his cat's paw and waved it dismissively before his eyes, a look of disdain on his face.

Then, with a sigh of relief, he muttered to himself, "Why do I always encounter fools? It's truly tedious..."

But when Tom noticed the taiko drum embedded behind Enel, his eyes sparkled with excitement.

Before Enel could fully recover from his shock, Tom swiftly closed the distance and positioned himself behind Enel.

Without hesitation, Tom spat on his two cat paws, rubbed them together eagerly, then gripped the taiko drum and exerted force, attempting to remove it from Enel's back.

A twinge of pain shot through Enel's back as Tom tugged on the drum.

Enel's face darkened as he turned his head a full 360 degrees to glare at Tom, who was attempting to pull his taiko drum.

With growing anxiety, Enel prepared to utilize his fruit ability, readying to elementalize himself and teleport to safety.

Casting a sidelong glance at the now crooked taiko drum due to Tom's efforts, Enel cursed, "You foolish cat, what do you think you're doing!"

Tom tilted his head in confusion, several question marks hovering above him, while internally labeling the figure before him as a complete fool.

How could this imbecile be so blind to the obvious?

Tom doubled over, clutching his belly as he laughed in a very human-like manner, seemingly mocking Enel's foolishness.

"Is this guy even dumber than Spike?" Tom chuckled, glancing at Enel with a look of amusement.

Enel's face darkened further as he observed the cat's mocking laughter, his frustration evident for all to see.

As Enel's demeanor shifted, bolts of lightning crackled and coalesced around him, emitting piercing sizzles.

A faint electric current permeated the surrounding air, accompanied by an ear-splitting hiss.

Tom's smile faded, replaced by a visage of fear as he witnessed the ominous display.

Observing Tom nervously giving a thumbs-up and gesturing towards Enel and then himself, a shiver ran down Tom's spine.

Without hesitation, Tom withdrew a bone from his back, attempting to appease Enel like he does to Spike.

After witnessing the spectacle, Enel could no longer contain the anger boiling within him, and he roared furiously:

"Who do you think I am? I am a god!"

Ever since acquiring the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and laying waste to his hometown of Birka, Enel had come to this place to ascend to godhood.

He had never been provoked like this before!

Those who dared to challenge him had only one fate awaiting them!

That fate is death!

Noticing Enel's lack of agreement, Tom awkwardly concealed the bones behind his back, offering a strained smile.

Simultaneously, he began edging backward, retreating slowly.

Just as Enel prepared to strike, Tom took the initiative and bolted away.

Enel's fury intensified upon realizing his attack had been evaded by the cat before him.

"30,000,000 V Hino!" (Thirty Million Volts Thunder Bird)

As Enel's voice echoed, he gripped the golden blessing in his hand and struck the taiko drum on his right shoulder.

In the next moment, a thunderbird, shaped like a phoenix and composed of lightning, hurtled towards Tom at incredible speed!

Spotting the Thunderbird closing in behind him, Tom leaped in terror, his eyes bulging from their sockets, and sprinted away as fast as he could!

"Devil Fruit user?"

These three words flashed in Enel's mind, prompting him to shake his head vigorously.

"No matter who you are, if you dare to provoke a god, you shall perish today!"

With that declaration, Enel transformed into a bolt of lightning and pursued Tom in the direction of his escape.

As Tom swiftly reinserted his eyeballs into their sockets, he glanced back at the Thunderbird he had narrowly evaded and came to a sudden halt.

"Ahaa~"

Tom scratched his eye sockets, stuck out his tongue, and mocked with a grimace.

But in the blink of an eye, Enel materialized in front of Tom, tapping him on the head with the golden stick in his hand.

"Idiot, keep running!" he quipped.

Tom's expression soured at the admonishment. When would he stop getting knocked on the head by strangers?

The nerve of this guy, daring to scold him?

Without a moment's hesitation, Tom rolled up his sleeves, snatched the gold stick from Enel's hand, and swung it at Enel's head.

However, to Tom's surprise, the golden blessing passed right through Enel's body.

Realizing the ineffectiveness of the golden stick, Tom was suddenly reminded of his battle with Crocodile.

Tom shook his head vigorously, then retrieved a piece of cream cake from behind and aimed it at Enel's face.

But to Tom's dismay, the cake, like the golden stick before it, passed through Enel's body and struck a tree nearby.

Witnessing Tom's continued attempts to provoke him, Enel grew increasingly furious.

"200,000,000 V Amaru!" (Two Hundred Million Volts Thunder God)

Enel unleashed the full force of his 200 million volts of lightning, enveloping himself in a swirling storm of thunder and lightning, transforming into a towering thunder god.

As Tom watched Enel's sudden growth in stature, he broke out in a cold sweat and swallowed nervously.

Realizing he couldn't escape, Tom silently retrieved a white silk scarf from behind and deftly tied it around his eyes, effectively blindfolding himself.

Without hesitation, Tom extracted another cigarette, inserted it into Enel's body, lit it, and calmly took a deep drag.

"Go to hell, you bloody bastard!" 

Enraged by Tom's audacity, Enel condensed a massive amount of lightning, shaping it into a colossal beam with a diameter of about ten meters, which tore through Tom's body.

Boom—

The deafening roar was accompanied by a brilliant blue flash, illuminating the entire forest.

As the lightning beam's aftermath subsided, a massive, straight horizontal groove scarred the landscape, reducing everything within its path to dust.

But amidst the destruction, Enel erupted into laughter.

Black smoke billowed from Tom's body, and faint flashes of thunder crackled around him.

Before Enel could respond, Tom's eyes snapped open. With a sudden movement, he extended his cat's paw, unleashing a dazzling beam of lightning from his palm!

As the lightning beam pierced through the clouds, the Skypieans on the island dropped to their knees, fervently praying to the gods.

Witnessing the terrifying display, Nami and the others felt their anxieties heighten.

"Nami-chan, isn't Captain Al already facing off against that Enel guy?"

"I'm not sure, but seeing this dreadful light beam, I'm starting to worry about Captain Al's safety."

[Received 9999 EP from Enel]

As the system prompt sounded in his mind, Al unleashed a powerful slash of sword energy, cutting down the ball tester, one of the four god-tier officers of Sky Island. 

The large, overweight man with the yellow hat flew backward, his chest marked by a bloody wound from Al's strike. 

Gazing up at the lightning beam tearing through the sky and the reminder of negative EP in his mind, Al's brow furrowed slightly as he murmured, "Tom?"

Summoning the system page, he checked the EP that had generated phantoms to gather hints.

Al's previously tense heart quietly settled, reassured by the knowledge that defeating opponents could provide him with EP.

However, only the crew members he summoned and himself could accomplish this task.

Muscles and Merlin were currently guarding Carina and the others, while Spike was engaged in battle alongside Al.

That left Tom. Al couldn't help but wonder how Tom ended up in a confrontation with Enel.

Observing the refresh rate, he could discern the depth of Enel's resentment, a realization that further fueled his concern.

"Spike, it seems we need to move quickly. Tom isn't skilled enough with Armament Haki yet."

"We have to get there fast."

Before he finished speaking, more than half of Al's western sword was enveloped in Armament Haki.

Through the battles with the four god-tier officers of Sky Island, Al's mastery of Armament Haki had steadily improved.

Now, as he looked at Tom, who also wielded the power of lightning, Enel's heart brimmed with a sense of apprehension.

As Thor's form faded away, revealing his true appearance, Enel's jaw dropped in astonishment.

Tom let out a cold snort, feeling the surge of thunder and lightning coursing through him. With a downward motion of his palms, a cascade of thunder and lightning crackled around him. Under their divine influence, Tom began to ascend into the air.

With each passing moment, Tom ascended higher, his ascent accompanied by the sudden appearance of dark clouds in the sky. Thunder roared and lightning streaked across the heavens, painting the sky with flashes of brilliance.

It felt like a celebration for the birth of their gods, set against the backdrop of lightning bolts.

Amidst the crackling of lightning, Tom's body expanded visibly, emitting hundreds of sparks as it grew.

Resembling Enel's Thunder God form, Tom's body took on a more humanoid shape.

As Tom's eyes slowly opened, a thunderous whisper resonated through the air.

"With thunder!"

"Crush the darkness!"

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