Skypiea!
Rumble—!
Pitch-black storm clouds blotted out the sun, gathering above the Island of God, Upper Yard, and spreading outward at a visible pace.
Bolts of lightning flashed within the thunderclouds, releasing deafening roars.
One by one, the people of Skypiea looked up at the sky in confusion, not knowing what had happened.
But the unceasing thunder overhead seemed to tell everyone one thing—
their god was enraged.
"Painting Magic — Spring of Restraint!"
Marianne flicked the brush in her hand with force.
A rainbow-colored magical glow burst from the tip of the brush, transforming into a fountain of seven-colored light that surged toward Enel.
In the blink of an eye—
the rainbow fountain appeared above Enel's head and poured down like a torrential storm, drenching him completely.
"What?!"
Enel's expression changed.
His body instantly transformed into brilliant blue lightning as he entered his elemental state.
Yet the colorful ink splashed across his body did not disappear.
Not only that—
the ground beneath his feet transformed into a vast seven-colored hot spring pool.
Boom!
The radiant spring water merged with the colorful ink staining Enel's body, rapidly wrapping around him and sealing him in place.
"It worked!"
A sheen of sweat covered Marianne's forehead as she breathed heavily.
A Logia user really was troublesome.
Especially someone with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—
not only was his speed terrifying, but he also possessed the ability to foresee her attack movements.
That made him even harder to deal with.
That ability should be what the captain had mentioned before—
Observation Haki.
Had she not been informed of his abilities in advance and made preparations beforehand, the difficulty of capturing a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user would likely have increased severalfold.
Looking at the struggling Enel ahead, Marianne let out a breath and said calmly,
"The power of magic isn't something brute force can break free from, you so-called 'god.'"
"Blue Sea woman."
A cold sneer sounded.
Wrapped within the seven-colored spring water, with only his head exposed, Enel glared at Marianne icily.
"Do you really think a trick like this can restrain me?"
Hm?
Marianne's gaze sharpened.
Suddenly—
a terrifying force erupted outward from Enel.
BOOM!
Blue currents formed an invisible barrier, forcefully blasting apart the magical seal made from the seven-colored spring.
Enel stood once more upon the ground, arcs of electricity crackling around his body.
A smirk tugged at his lips as he pointed the golden trident in his hand at Marianne.
"It seems you still don't understand what it means to be a god."
Marianne's expression darkened.
A trace of shock flickered in her eyes.
Magic was different from Devil Fruits.
At least in Marianne's understanding, the only thing capable of resisting magic was Haki.
"Using the shockwave created by lightning rubbing against the air…"
"…causing the air to expand past the speed of sound and break through the magical restraint."
"And how is that any different from brute force?"
The corner of Marianne's eye twitched as she tightened her grip on the brush.
So, this was the might of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
At the outskirts of the battlefield, the Straw Hat crew were crouched behind rocks and other cover, peeking out with only half their heads exposed as they stared at the astonishing battle ahead.
"So awesome! Who are those two fighting?!"
Luffy held down his straw hat with one hand to keep it from being blown away by the shockwaves, his eyes sparkling.
"There are actually monsters this strong in Skypiea…"
Usopp's teeth chattered as he hugged Chopper, both of them trembling together.
"Shouldn't we leave first? What if they notice us?"
Chopper quickly added.
Nami nodded vigorously.
She completely agreed.
They had clearly witnessed the battle between Marianne and Enel just now.
With the level of strength those two had displayed, this was absolutely not something their crew could handle.
Clearly—
the Straw Hats had been drawn here by the fierce battle taking place on Upper Yard.
Zoro and Sanji, meanwhile, stared intently at the battlefield, observing every movement, unwilling to miss even the slightest detail.
"The one using lightning should be the ruler of Skypiea—the one they call God."
"As for the other…"
Sanji spoke gravely, but shook his head at the end.
"She's from the Magic Eye Pirates."
A soft voice suddenly spoke.
"The 'Painter' Marianne."
"Bounty: 110 million Beli."
It was Robin.
Her tone was quiet, but her eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
As a former member of Baroque Works, there was no way Robin wouldn't recognize Marianne.
And precisely because of that—
seeing her here now stirred something deeply complicated within Robin.
"The Magic Eye Pirates?"
Sanji's eyes widened as if he had suddenly remembered something, and he unconsciously clenched his fists.
The rest of the Straw Hats also wore shocked expressions.
This was the pirate crew currently dominating the headlines.
And they had appeared on Skypiea?
110 million Beli!
The fear on Usopp and Chopper's faces intensified.
"This enemy is way too strong…"
"Luffy, maybe we should leave first?"
Nami turned toward him, her face pale as she whispered.
Robin narrowed her eyes, scanning the surroundings.
The Magic Eye Pirates should be in the New World right now.
So why had one of them suddenly appeared in Skypiea?
What exactly was going on?
Or perhaps…
had she come for me?
A flicker of emotion passed across Robin's wheat-colored face.
"How can we do that?!"
Hearing Nami's words, Luffy suddenly became serious.
The hand holding down his straw hat dropped as he shouted loudly.
The sudden yell made everyone in the crew jolt violently.
Their faces instantly turned green.
Especially Nami.
With lightning-fast reflexes, she pounced and pinned Luffy to the ground, clamping both hands over his mouth.
"What are you doing?! If you talk that loudly, they'll notice us!"
she hissed in a pale-faced whisper.
The others immediately ducked their heads back behind cover, terrified that Marianne and Enel might have heard Luffy.
However—
Luffy clearly didn't care.
Twisting his head, he easily broke free from Nami's grip and shouted again:
"Cricket bet everything to prove the City of Gold exists!"
"If Skypiea exists, then the Golden Bell has to exist too!"
Luffy shouted excitedly as he broke free and strode toward Marianne and Enel.
Seeing this, Nami's mouth fell wide open.
She was too stunned to even speak.
Sanji lifted a hand to his forehead in deep exasperation.
"I knew this would happen."
"This reckless captain…"
He exchanged a glance with Zoro.
Both of them stood up and followed after Luffy.
Meanwhile, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper could only peek out nervously from behind cover.
Robin hesitated briefly but did not follow.
Like the others, she simply kept watching.
She was very curious about Marianne's purpose in coming to Skypiea.
And more importantly—
Robin didn't know whether Marianne was aware that she herself was also a member of the Magic Eye Pirates.
If Marianne didn't know, and Robin had not received any instructions from that man…
then approaching her rashly might disrupt his plans.
"Divine Punishment!"
Enel swung his arm toward Marianne.
BOOM!
From the storm clouds crackling overhead, a blue bolt of lightning descended with a thunderous crash.
Wax Armor!
A layer of wax-coated skin flowed over Marianne's body.
BOOM—
The lightning struck the wax layer, electricity exploding in every direction—
and then Marianne retreated swiftly, completely unharmed, widening the distance between herself and Enel.
Troublesome.
Marianne's expression turned grave as she stared at the lightning-cloaked Enel.
Lightning attacks were simply too fast.
Combined with the Observation Haki the captain had mentioned—
Enel's attacks were practically impossible to miss.
Throughout the battle, Marianne had never even considered dodging his lightning.
Not only was it difficult—
there was no need.
Because the power of the Wax-Wax Fruit had extremely strong resistance to electricity.
Otherwise, with only the small degree of Armament Haki she had mastered, there was no way she could withstand repeated assaults of this magnitude.
At that moment, Marianne finally began to understand why the captain had sent her to capture Enel.
It wasn't because she had learned Armament Haki.
It was because of the Wax-Wax Fruit's natural advantage.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story? You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon!
Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
The story has been completed on Patreon! patreon.com/AminaSim
Next Bonus Chapter at 5800 powerstones.