Zzzzz…
Enel's lightning spear was aimed straight at the Going Merry.
Wyper snapped out of his daze and shouted at Merry in terror:
"What are you saying?!"
"Untie me now!!! Otherwise, we'll all die here!!!"
Facing the devastating strike from the sky, he still tried to struggle.
Yet neither the gravely injured Merry nor the advancing Wutan paid him the slightest attention.
Wutan staggered forward with Merry on his back, heading toward the cabin door.
High above, Enel saw Wutan's slow movement. The massive Thunder God split into a terrifying grin.
Teeth formed of crackling lightning made his face even more grotesque.
The deafening roar of thunder echoed across the heavens.
"Have you given up struggling?!"
"Yahahahaha…"
"Before I head to the Endless Land, let me show my divine might one more time!"
Blazing blue-white lightning filled the entire sky.
The air itself shimmered with fleeting electric currents.
The lightning spear was tightly gripped in the Thunder God's raised arm, as if it would be hurled in the next instant!
"Insignificant insects!!!"
"Die with this honor!!!"
"Die!!!"
In a flash, the violent lightning shot outward, hurtling toward the Going Merry.
The thunder spear, twice the size of the ship itself, roared through the sky with an ear-splitting hum.
RUMBLE—!!!
Unexpectedly, in the face of this potentially fatal attack, Merry slowly turned her head.
Her head weakly rested against Wutan's shell, and her charred little face broke into a faint smile as she softly said:
"No need, Wutan."
"It's already over…"
As her words fell, Merry's bright eyes gently closed.
Losing consciousness, her body went completely limp against Wutan's thick shell.
Wutan immediately looked back at her in alarm and instinctively stopped walking.
At that moment—
WHOOSH!!!
Just as Enel's terrifying attack was about to strike the Going Merry, a fierce gust of pressure suddenly surged forth!
A cyan blade arc sliced the lightning in the sky completely to pieces.
Then came another furious roar—
"Diable Jambe: Long Arc!!!"
The sky abruptly transformed.
A blazing dragon of fire burst into existence, surging upward with indescribable killing intent.
Sanji transformed into a crimson dragon, burning the Thunder God in the void to nothingness.
The lightning-filled heavens were torn apart by a blazing arc across the sky!
BOOM!!!
A massive shockwave erupted, unleashing a violent gale that swept across the entire sky island.
The thunderous reverberation echoed throughout the heavens.
In an instant!
The lightning Enel had unleashed vanished, as if it had never existed. Even the clouds in the air were instantly burned away by the extreme heat.
HISS!
Enel's body suddenly turned into a blazing streak of fire, tearing through the rushing air and smashing the magnificent Gate of Heaven into pieces.
Flames spread across his path, burning everything in their wake!
A massive rock fell, crushing the small guardhouse at the gate into ruins—no one knew if the staff inside had survived.
And Enel, who had been blasted away, showed no sign of slowing!
Sanji's overwhelming power sent him hurtling endlessly through the sky.
Down on Jaya in the Blue Sea.
Residents came pouring out of their homes, gazing at the sky where a faint, sun-piercing streak glimmered through the clouds.
For a moment, everyone buzzed with discussion.
Enel's body tore across a cloud island in the Land of God. The unimaginable impact split the island clean in two!!!
After all, this was Sanji's full-power strike!!!
A reborn Sanji now possessed strength no less than—perhaps even greater than—Zoro's.
BOOM!!!
A deep, thunderous crash rang out.
Enel's body finally slammed into his sacred land, the holy ground of the Shandia—Upper Yard.
A massive chasm instantly formed in the most precious land of this sky island.
At the bottom of the bottomless ravine, Enel's eyes rolled white, dark blood continuously leaking from the corner of his mouth.
His head lay limply to one side, his chest charred black and pierced straight through.
Flickers of flame, like wriggling insects, still lingered across the wound.
Life or death—unknown.
Step…
Several figures suddenly appeared on the Going Merry, surrounding Wutan and Merry.
"Merry!"
"Merry!"
Nami and Chopper rushed forward, gently lifting Merry off Wutan and laying her flat on the deck.
Luffy glanced coldly at Wyper, said nothing, and turned his worried gaze back to Merry.
Yet that silent look alone made Wyper feel as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss, with no way back.
"Severe burns over the entire body. Internal organs are badly damaged!"
Chopper carefully adjusted Merry's posture while examining her injuries.
Nami directly pulled out a bottle of Life Potion from her waist, supporting Merry's body and gently feeding it to her.
With the life potion, even such severe injuries could be rapidly healed.
A green glow—the color of life—began to flow across Merry's body.
Her scorched skin slowly formed hardened scabs, then bulged upward as if pushed from beneath.
The black scabs gradually fell away, revealing fair, tender flesh once more.
In the blink of an eye, Merry's body returned to normal.
Her cute lips twitched slightly, and her eyelids slowly fluttered open—but the sudden bright light seemed too much, and she closed them again.
Seeing this, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
As long as Merry was safe, everything else could be discussed.
Just earlier, not long after arriving at Angel Island, Luffy had told everyone to split up and do whatever they wanted.
Zoro took Koby to look for the island's legendary specialty liquor.
Sanji and Chopper went shopping for Sky Island delicacies and medicinal herbs.
Usopp and Brook were studying the island's various mysterious dials.
It was only today that Brook learned that the Tone Dial he had bought from a merchant decades ago actually came from this island.
Meanwhile, Luffy, with Nami and Robin, began his merciless shopping spree.
Then, after everyone split up and wandered around—while also scouting potential base locations—a bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in the sky.
Sensing something wrong with the lightning's location, everyone rushed straight toward the outskirts of Angel Island, where the Going Merry was docked, without even gathering or communicating.
Fortunately, they were fast enough—otherwise, no one knew what kind of suffering Merry and Wutan would have endured!
…
"Ghh!…"
Luffy seized Wyper by the throat and slowly lifted him off the deck.
His cold eyes looked at him as if he were already dead.
After a long moment—when Wyper's eyes had filled with blood and he was on the verge of losing consciousness—
Luffy suddenly tossed him back onto the deck. His empty, hollow gaze calmly fixed on Wyper as he softly said:
"Do you… think this is fun?"
"Cough!… cough…"
Wyper immediately began coughing violently after hitting the deck.
With his hands and feet bound, he could only lie on his side, his head tilted awkwardly.
His eyes stared at Luffy's face in terror, not daring to blink even once!
In that moment, he felt as though he were staring at a true god!!!
Hearing Luffy's question, Wyper forcibly suppressed his wildly pounding heart. For some reason, he now felt a trace of regret!
Everything had gone according to his expectations.
Aside from Luffy and the others being far stronger than he had imagined.
But that didn't change the final outcome.
Yet when he saw Luffy's eyes—calm as an ancient pool—his heart was thrown into complete chaos.
"This… this is my fate…"
Wyper suddenly choked up. Despite the fear filling his heart, he still spoke the lines he had prepared.
"My ancestors, generation after generation, sacrificed everything to reclaim our holy land."
"So as long as there's even a sliver of hope, I'm willing to sacrifice everything!!!"
As if reignited by a burning fire in his heart, his voice grew firmer with every word.
"Anyway, my goal has already been achieved."
"Even if I die, I have no regrets!!!"
"Kill me, torture me—do whatever you want!"