Deities and Sage Mode

Chapter 168: Deities and Sage Mode

"Yahahaha—" Enel suddenly burst into laughter and asked, "Are all Blue Sea dwellers as interesting as you?"

The White Sea referred to the sea of clouds, while the Blue Sea was the sea below.

"Who knows?" Rodney replied.

"You're right. Let the gods show you pain! But gods can also show mercy again. I'll let you attack once, and I won't dodge. Whether you can escape or not is up to you," Enel said with a smile. His natural power allowed him to transform into lightning, making him immune to attacks, and those who attacked him were left charred.

Looking at the defiant Enel, Rodney's eyes gleamed. He said, "Ah, the kindness of a god. Is this what divine mercy feels like? I'm starting to feel it very clearly."

His fist was enveloped in Armament Haki, turning pitch black. Through the training with his Shadow Clones, he had mastered Armament Haki, and it was second nature to him. Shadow Clones were truly a cheating tool, terrifyingly powerful.

With a step that shattered the ground beneath, he gathered strength into the fist at his waist, took a deep breath, and then unleashed it with all his might!

"Heh-ahhhhh! Sage Art: Fishman Karate: Rising Dragon's Claw, 7,000 Watts Straight Punch!"

The furious fist, amplified by both Haki and Sage Art chakra, held the power to pierce through a mountain. The air was easily torn apart by the force, emitting a piercing scream.

Enel's Observation Haki covered the entire island, which allowed him to easily detect Rodney and Robin's arrival at Shandora's ruins. He could sense the power of the fist, but what good would that do him? Could he harm the body of a deity? No, he couldn't.

"Ant's struggle!"

One second, Enel had a cold smile on his face, but the next, it turned into agony.

The immensely heavy fist struck him in the stomach, not as he had imagined, piercing his body and then electrocuting him to a crisp. Instead, Rodney's punch sent him flying.

Boom, boom, boom! 

Like a cannonball fired from a cannon, he flew at an astonishing speed. His body left a long trail on the ground, smashing through the ruins of Shandora and continuing into the forest before finally coming to a stop.

Rodney shook his head and said, "What a fool, trapped in your own little world. Did you not know about Armament Haki? But that punch was so satisfying."

The mercy of the gods? It was just his confidence in his own strength, wanting to see him struggle, but he ended up getting injured.

In the forest, Enel, impaled on a tree, had blood trickling from his mouth. He was badly hurt, and if not for his formidable constitution, that punch might have killed him.

Closing his eyes, a current of electricity passed through his body.

"Thud, thud—"

The dull sound of a heartbeat echoed, and he opened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief. "How is this possible? How could a Blue Sea dweller like him oppose a god like me?"

Am I not the god here? Why can humans hurt me, a deity?

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Enel's eyes lacked focus, and he had no idea what had just happened. Rodney approached and said, "What a weak god."

This thoroughly infuriated Enel. "Blue Sea dweller! Do you know the price of angering a deity?"

Rodney, nonchalantly cleaning his ear, asked, "What is it?"

In truth, Enel was quite powerful. His Goro Goro no Mi abilities were undoubtedly one of the strongest Logia Devil Fruits, ranking high in both destructive power and speed on the Grand Line. However, his time on Skypiea had limited his perspective, and he had no idea how vast the world beyond the White Sea was or how many terrifying creatures lurked in the Blue Sea.

Despite having Observation Haki that could cover an entire island, he did not possess Armament Haki, which made him susceptible to it. Additionally, his combat awareness was lacking, entirely reliant on his Devil Fruit abilities for offense. Rodney... had nothing to fear!

In Rodney's Sage Mode-enhanced chakra perception, Enel was nothing more than a humanoid lightning bolt. Was this what Slug Sister "saw" in the world?

Interesting.

"Blue Sea dweller, how did you touch me?" 

Enel wanted to know how a Blue Sea dweller could touch his lightning-transformed body.

"Oh, that? It's called Haki!" 

Rodney drew Shusui, imbuing it with Haki to turn it into a black blade. "This thing specializes in countering users of Logia Devil Fruits like yours."

If Armament Haki had a primary target, it would be Logia Devil Fruit users, as it was created initially to balance their abilities.

"Haki?" 

Enel repeated, and with his Observation Haki sensing the incoming Rodney, he disappeared instantly, turning into lightning faster than Rodney could react.

Rodney effortlessly sliced through trees, leaving a clean cut with rings of tree age exposed.

"What's going on? Trying to run? Not so easy! Sage Art: Lightning Release: Heavenly Armor!"

By infusing Sage Art chakra into his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, its power doubled.

Instant Thunder Slash!

He appeared in front of Enel, who had just transformed back into a humanoid form, and cleaved his golden staff in half. Enel quickly moved to avoid losing an arm.

"Blaspheming a god's majesty, Blue Sea dweller, you will pay for this!" Enraged, Enel's eyes turned bloodshot, and his veins throbbed as he glared at Rodney. He swung his right arm, and it turned into a bolt of lightning, rushing into the sky. Then, a massive lightning bolt, several times the size of a person, crashed down upon Rodney.

"Divine Judgment!"

"Too slow!"

The lightning bolt exploded behind him as Rodney's speed doubled. With a single step, he dashed forward, then opened his mouth and spat out a massive fireball. "Sage Art: Fire Release: Super Fireball Jutsu!"

It was much larger and hotter than an ordinary Fireball Jutsu. Faced with the oncoming blaze, Enel laughed heartily and conjured a lightning ball to collide with the fireball, causing an explosion.

"Blue Sea dweller, I must admit, your power has surprised me. But you can't possibly be a match for a god. You're just a stumbling block on the path to my divine rule," Enel said, still lost in his delusional dream of godhood. Although Rodney could harm him, as long as he kept his distance, what could Rodney do?

"Summoning Technique!"

Boom!

A slug-like figure appeared.

"Lord Rodney." Sister Slug greeted him. "Have you used Sage Mode for battle? It looks like quite the intense fight."

"Sister Slug, I'll leave it to you to absorb natural energy."

"No problem." 

Slug Sister crawled onto Rodney's back and began absorbing natural energy, mixing it with Rodney's chakra to create Sage Art chakra.

To maintain Sage Mode continuously, you needed either a Sage or a tailed beast to absorb natural energy. Otherwise, Sage Mode had a time limit, and it didn't apply to those who possessed innate Sage transformations, such as Hagoromo's sons.