Chapter 54

"Wh-What is this?"

Enel watched in horror with his Mantra. In an instant, his whole army was dealt with.

Soon, however, he calmed down.

"What a mysterious power… but, it doesn't matter. YAHAHAHA!" Enel relaxed in his seat. "I am God. Invincible and powerful. None can hurt me."

…

"What did you do?" Gan Fall asked Ace.

"Does it matter?" Ace went back to the group. "Come on. Enel is waiting."

The group instantly collected themselves. Ace was right. They had a job to do.

"Not yet," Wyper said before aiming his bazooka at the Four Priests.

Wyper fired his Burn Bazooka. The Priests weren't in any condition to fight back due to the strength of Ace's Haki. They received the full brunt of Wyper's most powerful attack yet.

The Burn Bazooka left a trail of burning blue flames and decimated trees. The bodies of the Four Priests were nowhere to be found.

None of the group was bothered by Wyper's brutality. The Priests were loyal to Enel.

Ace stretched out his hand and called to the blue flames. The remaining flames gathered in Ace's hand. He compressed the ball of fire as much as he could before eating it.

"Your attack is really delicious," Ace said to Wyper as his body steamed, absorbing the flames. "Say, why don't you attack me again?"

"I'm not here to play around," Wyper said. His tone was annoyed, but the grin on his face betrayed him. "We dealt a serious blow to Enel! We can definitely kill him!"

"Yeah!" Wyper's friends cheered.

"Actually, you won't," Ace said. "I want Enel alive."

"What?" Wyper's grin disappeared, replaced by a full scowl. "So, you finally show your true colors?"

"What're you gonna do about it?" Ace sneered at Wyper.

"Ace," Gan Fall said, trying to diffuse the sudden tension between Ace and Wyper.

Ace held back Gan Fall with an outstretched arm. Tanya supported him by pulling Gan Fall back.

"Don't worry, old man," Ace said. "These guys can't hurt me. They're weak."

"That's it!" Wyper attacked again, but he didn't use his Burn Bazooka.

Much to Ace's displeasure, Wyper used his bazooka like a normal one. He fired a cannonball at Ace.

Out of irritation, Ace swatted Wyper's cannonball with his hand. It exploded a dozen meters away, not at all harming anyone except the trees.

"Oi, use your Burn Bazooka! It's your only redeeming technique!"

"Wyper, calm down!" Raki shouted. "Enel is our target, remember?"

Somehow, Wyper listened to Raki. He froze with his bazooka aimed at Ace. He put it down moments later.

"Fine." Wyper scoffed. "What the hell do you mean you want Enel alive?"

"I'm a pirate," Ace said. "I want him in my crew."

"You think Enel will follow you? You Blue Sea people are stupid." Wyper walked ahead to lead the group.

Ace stretched out his hand and called to the flames that resulted in the explosion of the cannonball Wyper fired earlier.

The flames obeyed, and Ace ate them soon after.

Wyper was the one leading the group from here on out. He had the most knowledge of Upper Yard, after all. Their people have been fighting for this piece of land for centuries.

"So, Enel lives here in Upper Yard?" Ace asked.

"In a way, he does," Tanya answered. "To be more precise, his home is up on a cloud along the Giant Jack of Upper Yard."

"Giant Jack? Like the one at Jackstalk Island?"

"Yes. Giant Jack is a kind of ancient tree."

"Man, the ancient world must've been a sight to see!"

…

"Interesting."

Enel was pondering on what he saw just now. His Mantra showed him what Ace did with fire.

"Another power similar to mine." Enel looked worried for a second before instantly relaxing. "No matter. My power is God's almighty gift! Lightning!"

Lightning crackled all around Enel as he affirmed his own belief that he was the most powerful.

"Decent challengers have come to try and take me on! YAHAHAHA! I'll show them what true power is!"

"Enel-sama? What happened?" Yama, the commander of the Divine Soldiers, looked worried.

"They're all dead."

Enel's answer made Yama and the remaining Divine Soldiers as well as God's Staff sigh in relief.

"That's great news, Enel-sama!" Yama said. "We must prepare a feast for their victory! Small victories are still great?"

"Huh? You misunderstand me, Yama."

Enel motioned for Ohm's dog named Holy to come over. Holy obediently went over and sat next to Enel to have his fur stroked.

For some reason, Ohm chose to make Holy stay behind. It was a good thing he decided to do so. If he didn't, Holy would be dead as well.

"I'm your owner now, dog," Enel said. "Your previous owner will never return."

"Uhmmm, Enel-sama?"

"You're not dumb, Yama. Yes, they're all dead." Enel grinned. "The four Priests and God's Army are dead!"

"N-No, that's impossible!"

"Are you doubting the word of God, Yama?" Enel asked as the tip of his staff crackled with lightning.

"No, Enel-sama! I was simply expressing my disbelief at the Four Priests! Such weakness! They're not worthy of serving you!"

"YAHAHAHA! What a tongue you have!" Enel said, relaxing his power. "Gather all the remaining Divine Soldiers that act as my personal guard and wait for our rude guests here."

"It will be done, Enel-sama!" Yama scampered away with two Divine Soldiers in tow.

"All of you. You'll join them. Fight for me as well."

The maids and clergymen around Enel were shocked. They grew up in peace. None of them has ever seen battle. Thus, they aren't very useful in a fight.

"B-But we're not fighters, Enel-sama!" Gode, one of Enel's three clergymen, said.

Those were his last words. Immediately after and faster than anyone else could see, Gode was bathed in Enel's lightning.

It was swift and merciful, considering how Gode died instantly. His charred body collapsed. His corpse was unrecognizable.

"Anyone else want to disagree?" Enel asked. The people around him quickly shook their heads.

"N-No, Enel-sama!"

"We will f-fight for you!"

"It'll be our h-honor!"

"YAHAHAHA! Such good people! You all are worthy of being God's servants!" Enel picked up an apple from the bowl a maid was holding up beside him and bit into it.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Give me a show!"

…

Ace and the others were scaling up the Giant Jack of Upper Yard. Ace, Tanya, and Gan Fall flew while Wyper and his friends were using their dial-powered tools to glide along the giant beanstalk.

"Strange," Gan Fall said. "I'm sure Enel has his sights on us. Why isn't he attacking?"

"To save his energy, perhaps," Tanya said.

"Or maybe, he's scared?" Ace said, attempting to rile up the egotistical false god.

His attempt was successful. The clouds around them rumbled with lightning.

"Cheap trick," Ace scoffed. He wished he could do something like that with his power.

'Maybe I can spontaneously combust things with my mind someday? That would be cool.'

"Let's not provoke his ire unnecessarily," Gan Fall said.

"Lighten up, old man!" Ace laughed. "I'm sure I can take on anything that idiot god sends our way."

At that moment, an attack from Enel came swiftly. A bolt of lightning headed toward Ace, but he wasn't caught off guard.

Ace turned in the direction the attack would come from. With a Haki covered fist, Ace repelled the lightning by swatting it aside. The lightning bolt harmlessly flew through the clouds.

Everyone around him witnessed what he did. None of them could use Haki, so they didn't see Ace's fists be covered in a black sheen.

To them, it seemed like Ace just swatted aside the lightning bolt with just his bare hands.

"See? Totally easy!" Ace grinned.

"You'll make a good lightning rod!" Wyper shouted. They couldn't really talk with the distance between them.

"Oi! No way! I'll be the one fighting!"

At that moment, something came into the range of Ace's Observation Haki. It felt like a small army flying down from the clouds to meet them.

"Heads up!" Ace shouted for everyone to hear. "More of Enel's goons!"

The rest of the group looked up. Soon, silhouettes came into view. They were Divine Soldiers similar to the one Ace and the others met earlier. Bald headed goat-like men.

"I'll go on ahead! You guys catch up!"

The jet of flames on Ace's legs intensified. He flew at an even greater speed. He left behind the rest of the group to deal with the remaining Divine Soldiers.

"Oi! I'm coming with you!"

The winds around Tanya surged and blew stronger. She was lifted up to the clouds at a similar speed as Ace. She left behind the group as well.

"Damn you!" Wyper shouted at Ace and Tanya's departing forms before turning to his friends. "Let's deal with them quickly and catch up!"

Gan Fall felt ignored. Still, he and his bird Pierre stayed behind to help Wyper and his friends deal with the Divine Soldiers. It'll be a vertical battle, a fight to get to the top of the Giant Jack.

…

"Halt! You shall not pass, intruders!" Yama shouted at Ace and Tanya outside the gate leading to God's Abode.

"Outta the way, fatso," Ace said, not even giving Yama the honor of being looked at. His gaze was locked on the gate as if Yama didn't even exist.

"You…!" Yama was frustrated and insulted with how Ace and Tanya were treating him. So, he attacked. "Stomach Mountain!"

Yama charged forward at an incredible speed for someone of his size and build. He jumped up and tried to body slam Ace with his weight and the belt of Axe Dials strapped to his chest.

Ace still didn't look at Yama. With a casual punch, Ace sent out a fist of fire around the size of Yama's torso. The flames of Ace had a more noticeable blue tint to it now. But, it was still mostly orange.

The fire punch was very effective. With one attack, Ace tore a perfectly circular hole on Yama's torso. The fat man's heart, lungs, intestines, and bones were burned away, leaving a gaping and perfectly cauterized hole.

Yama collapsed. His soon to be dead body was not listening to him. He looked up at Ace as the light of life in his eyes slowly faded away. His face was locked in an eternal expression of disbelief and desperation.

Through it all, Ace and Tanya didn't look at Yama. They stopped in front of the gate.

"Want to do the honor?" Ace asked Tanya.

"I would have beaten you up if you didn't ask." Tanya grinned.

"HAHAHAHA! Yeah, good luck with that."

Tanya raised a hand at the gate in front of them. But, she didn't reach out to push it open.

Instead, wind gathered at her palm. The winds compressed, all that turbulent energy trapped in a small form.

"Tempest Blow!"

Tanya released all the wind gathered in her outstretched palm in one focused burst. The winds surged forward and tore the gates open.

The winds didn't stop there. Tanya's attacks continued all the way inside and blasted Enel's tent away, destroying his home.

Ace and Tanya stepped inside. The moment they stepped inside, they were attacked.

But, it wasn't Enel. It was his non-fighting staff. Clergymen and maids clutching cooking knives.

They tried stabbing Ace and Tanya. Of course, it was ineffective. The attacks from the clergymen and maids passed through them harmlessly.

"Oi, oi! Did Enel put you up to this?" Ace asked. He wasn't annoyed. He was more in disbelief.

Did Enel really care little about life that much? It was like he threw a flock of chickens to deal with a lion.

"H-He did…"

"Idiot! Don't answer him!"

"But, I don't want to die!"

"Okay, okay! Everybody calm down!" Ace said. "You did enough. Go to sleep."

A small burst of Conqueror's Haki was all that it took to deal with the strange horde of attackers that tried killing Ace and Tanya.

"Now that that's dealt with," Tanya said as she stepped forward. "Show yourself, Enel!"