Chapter 121: The Dream of Returning Home, Romance Never Dies.

"I have come, not to bring peace to the world; I have come to bring a sword."

Roman chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"Enel, your vision is still too narrow. Add a few more lines—"

"Today I spread the light of thunder, and in the future, it will cleanse the universe. All that is decayed, reactionary, and backward; all those who wield power and enjoy privileges without working for them, who feed off the people, will be turned to ashes in the brilliant lightning, and from the ashes, a thriving nation will be born."

See, doesn't this sound much grander?

Isn't it better than your destructive, edgy setting?

Luffy's dad was overjoyed~~~

"Roman, what are you mumbling about?"

"Nothing."

Roman put away the two sheets of paper filled with thunder and lightning and turned to face everyone. Thanks to Chopper's miraculous healing, the Straw Hat crew, though still looking charred like 'Africans,' seemed to be out of danger.

Unfortunately, they were exhausted.

Even though they had obtained the paper representing the 'Rumble-Rumble Fruit,' it could only be handed over to Nami for development. Roman himself was too busy creating super artifacts with paper to have time to develop the extended abilities of the fruit... no, the recording function?

If a Devil Fruit's ability isn't developed and used over a long period, it can only display its basic functions.

Just like how Nami can only create a small whirlwind with Crocodile's Sand-Sand Fruit, and Wapol's Munch-Munch Fruit is mostly used by Nami and Roman as a convenient 'dimensional bag' + 'refrigerator.'

Otherwise, Roman could have used rubber paper to single-handedly conquer Skypiea... but he would probably still be electrocuted by Enel! After all, it's not an authentic Devil Fruit, so it doesn't have such an overwhelming countering ability. Moreover:

"The Thief's Ultimate Art" is not true theft but simply recording and preserving, which has significant limitations.

In other words, even if Roman put Luffy's blood on the book, it would only turn the pages into rubber. Because the Rubber Fruit is a Paramecia type, it only affects the book itself. Unlike the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, which can throw parts of itself to explode.

Unless Roman went crazy and smeared Luffy's blood all over his body... that would be really out of place~~~

"Roman, what's the scouting result?"

Luffy asked, holding a piece of bread he couldn't bear to eat.

"What's the situation with that long-eared guy?"

Even Luffy, after a series of battles, was exhausted. Continuing to fight would mean literally 'fighting for his life'—using his future lifespan to battle!

"That guy's situation, well, see for yourselves."

Pointing in the direction of the falling Ark Maxim, the golden ship began to rise again, startling everyone!

"How could it be?"

"That guy isn't dead!!"

"So soon?"

"It's over, it's over..."

"Let me go fight him again—"

"Don't panic."

Facing the shocked Straw Hat crew and the rising Luffy, Roman waved his hand.

"That guy has lost all will to fight, and strictly speaking, his target isn't us. So—"

Let him go.

It's not about letting the tiger return to the mountain, but about showing mercy when possible. Otherwise:

If we really fight to the death, it's hard to say who will live and who will die.

---

"'God' must return to where gods belong."

Sitting on the golden throne of the Ark Maxim, Enel wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, panting.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's invincibility isn't just talk! With the highest attack power among the Logia types, a non-human physique forged by lightning day and night, and a wide range of enhanced Observation Haki...

"Things that block my view shouldn't exist in this sky..."

"I was really foolish, why did I lower myself to deal with those ants on the ground?"

"Yahahaha, no one is allowed to take it from me! That is my... dreamland of the Fairy Vearth..."

Leaning on the golden throne, Enel looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. In a daze, he recalled his hometown: Birka.

When did it all start?

Was it when his father carried him as a baby to the abandoned temple outside the city, reading the blood-written words of his ancestors over and over again as daily homework...

Or was it the daily recitation of the ancestral teachings ten times before eating, bathing, and sleeping, and even constantly thinking about them because his father would ask unexpectedly, and if he couldn't answer within three seconds, he would be beaten...

Or was it when his grandfather, who called himself the 'High Priest' all his life, died while holding his father's hand tightly, despite the ridicule and mockery of the entire city. His devil-like face is still vivid in Enel's memory.

"Find a way to return to our true homeland, the Fairy Vearth!"

"Go back, go back! Go back! Otherwise, I won't let you go even as a ghost, I will curse you in hell for eternity!" After saying this, he died in pain.

And Enel's father, who inherited the title of 'High Priest' mocked by Birka, passed his grandfather's words to Enel without missing a single word before his death. His words seemed to devour the young Enel alive! That scene is still clear in the man's memory...

"What 'High Priest'?"

Nonsense,

"I am a god!!"

Yes.

As the Ark Maxim continued to ascend, the bright celestial body in Enel's pupils grew larger.

"So beautiful~~"

"Go, Maxim. Head towards the shining infinite continent in the night sky, our true homeland!"

Grand Line,

Jaya Island.

Clang~~~~ Clang~~~~ Clang~~~~~~!

"Boss, this sound is..." 

Since the Straw Hat crew went up to the sky with the Knock Up Stream, neither the deep-sea salvage team nor the deep-sea exploration team has gone out to work. They have been guarding this small island, not knowing what they were waiting for. Until today—

"Yes, that's right."

The diamond-shaped uncle Mont Blanc Cricket with a chestnut on his head looked up at the sky.

"...It's really romantic."

"The bell sound came from the sky..." The orangutan looked shocked.

"It's really thrilling..." The gorilla had the same expression.

"Regarding the huge human figure that appears with the cumulonimbus clouds, there is a hypothesis that it is because someone lives in the sky. When the sunlight projects their shadow down, it forms a giant 'monster'."

"So,"

The square-faced uncle looked up at the huge 'boy' shadow in the sky and the papers flying around him.

"Kid, the Gold Island—it's right there, isn't it!"

Tick-tock, tick-tock,

"Hey, hey, hey! Boss, are you feeling unwell?"

Facing the concern of the orangutan and the gorilla, the uncle wiped his tears and shook his head.

"They are safe... that's really great!!"

His lifelong wish had to be entrusted to others. If it led to... no one was more worried about the Straw Hat crew's sky journey than Wenbran-Kurikay.

"Mashira, Shoujou."

The square-faced uncle turned to the two people who had come to work under him on their own accord and had been salvaging in this sea area for ten years, and bowed his head.

"For the past ten years, I've relied on you! Thank you..."

"Boss! We volunteered~~"

"Yeah, don't drive me away..."

"What are you talking about," the square-faced uncle straightened up and laughed!

"My 'duel' with my ancestors is over, so the next step—"

"I'm going to find the legendary 'Emerald Land'!"

"Are you willing..." Before the square-faced uncle could finish, the orangutan and the gorilla had already excitedly pounced on him.

"We are willing!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go—"

A man's romance will never cease!

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PS: The background setting of Enel is something I added. In case Oda slaps me in the face someday... I

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