"Since you've realized the gap in rank between yourself and a 'God,' mortal…"
Enel let out a cold laugh.
"Then you should understand even more clearly… just how precious this God's patience and mercy are at this moment."
"Is that so?"
The expression on Monkey D. Luffy's face didn't waver in the slightest.
If anything, it grew even more focused.
More severe.
He knew exactly how terrifying the man before him was. He absolutely could not face him the same helpless way he had two years ago.
"Second Gear!"
No unnecessary words.
In an instant, Luffy's body flushed crimson.
Steam erupted violently from his pores like boiling vapor.
His heart pounded like a roaring engine, forcing his blood to surge through his body at extreme speed—driving his strength and velocity to their absolute limits.
"Now step aside," Luffy said solemnly.
"I'm going to get Sabo."
"You ignorant fool…"
Enel watched the transformation into Gear Second without the slightest hint of tension.
If anything, the smile on his face grew even more intrigued.
"Still… you're far more entertaining than that flamingo up in the sky who only knew how to fling strings around—and has already slipped away."
(Indeed, Donquixote Doflamingo had already taken the chance to retreat toward the royal palace. In his mind, the underground factory was the only thing that truly mattered.)
"Heh."
Luffy's eyes sharpened.
"Whoosh!"
His figure vanished from where he stood.
The explosive acceleration granted by Gear Second turned him into nothing more than a red afterimage.
"Gomu Gomu no—!"
In the next instant—
Countless fists coated in jet-black Armament Haki erupted from every direction, surrounding Enel like a torrential storm.
"HAWK GATLING!!!"
The speed of the punches was so overwhelming that they carved countless streaks through the air.
The sound of breaking wind fused into a piercing, continuous shriek.
Luffy pushed both speed and hardened Haki to their limits, attempting to crush his opponent beneath a relentless barrage.
Yet when faced with such a ferocious assault—
Enel didn't move.
Not even a single step.
Instead, he calmly closed his eyes.
He switched modes.
Rather than relying on Mantra—his ability to hear the thoughts of others—to predict Luffy's intentions (which had suddenly become unreadable)—
He pushed his Observation Haki to its extreme.
He relied purely on the perception of attack trajectories, subtle shifts in airflow, and fluctuations of energy.
The moment those countless fists were about to reach his body—
"Zzt!"
Enel's body instantly dissolved.
His form transformed into pure lightning.
Luffy's Haki-coated punches tore straight through the crackling electricity as though striking empty air.
They passed through without resistance.
Without causing any real damage.
Lightning flickered through the gaps between the incoming fists, flowing and reassembling again and again.
At one moment Enel appeared here—
The next instant he flashed somewhere else.
Remaining constantly in an elementalized state, he evaded every single attack before it could ever land.
"Observation Haki prediction?!"
Watching from the ground, Roronoa Zoro immediately grasped what was happening.
As a swordsman, his perception of aura and attack trajectories was equally sharp.
"Luffy's Armament punches should be able to hit a solid body… but he's turning into lightning right before the attacks connect."
"That level of Observation Haki is insane."
Zoro's gaze hardened.
His thumb had already nudged open the guard of Shusui, ready to draw his blade and join the fight.
If Luffy's attacks couldn't connect, this battle would only drain his stamina.
"Zoro-ya! You can't interfere!"
At that moment, a weak yet urgent voice interrupted.
It was Trafalgar D. Water Law, lying in a pool of blood, barely clinging to consciousness.
"Huh? What are you—"
Zoro frowned.
Law coughed up blood before forcing himself to explain.
"Tenquake… Gern… had an agreement with Doflamingo…"
"He allowed Straw Hat-ya to fight Doflamingo alone."
"So he won't allow Enel to kill Straw Hat-ya…"
Law took a labored breath.
His gaze shifted warily toward the man sitting not far away—watching the battle unfold.
His voice dropped lower, heavy with dread.
"But… if you interfere now… and break the balance of that 'agreement'…"
"That man… Tenquake…"
"At this distance… his black blade…"
"…could cut all of us down in an instant."
Zoro followed Law's gaze.
Sure enough—
Gern Reginald Sigmar sat nearby, casually biting into an apple.
Zoro's thumb slowly slipped away from the sword guard.
He clenched his teeth—but ultimately didn't draw his blade.
Law was right.
Interfering recklessly now might provoke something far worse.
Especially considering what Zoro had seen during his training under Dracule Mihawk.
From time to time, Mihawk would return injured—covered in wounds.
According to that ghostly girl who lived on the island, the reason was simple:
"He lost again."
And in the entire world—
There was only one man capable of making the world's greatest swordsman come back saying "not a win again."
That same man sat calmly nearby.
For now…
All they could do was trust Luffy.
Or wait for a new variable to emerge.
…
In the sky, Luffy's Hawk Gatling gradually slowed to a halt.
He breathed heavily.
Before him, Enel reformed his body once more—completely unharmed.
Luffy's expression grew even more solemn.
He understood now.
Speed and Armament Haki alone would never defeat an opponent capable of foreseeing everything.
Enel floated above him, looking down like a god observing an insect.
"So… the struggle of a mortal ends here?"
"In that case…"
"I suppose it's time for this God to deliver a true divine punishment."
As he spoke, Enel casually raised his left hand.
"CRACK—!!!"
Without warning—
A bolt of deep-blue lightning as thick as a barrel crashed down from the storm clouds above.
Its target—
Luffy, who had just finished his assault and was still catching his breath.
Luffy's Observation Haki screamed a warning.
At the last possible instant, he twisted his body sideways.
The lightning struck the ground beside him instead.
BOOM!
The street exploded into a charred crater.
Even the residual electricity running across the ground left his entire body momentarily numb.
But—
That was only the beginning.
"Zzt!"
Enel's body dissolved into lightning again.
In an instant he vanished—
And instantly reappeared at Luffy's left side.
His fist, wrapped in Armament Haki and blazing with high-voltage electricity, slammed forward.
Luffy crossed his Haki-coated arms to block.
"BANG!"
Lightning exploded.
The tremendous force blasted Luffy backward, his feet carving two deep trenches through the ground.
Before he could recover—
Lightning flashed behind him again.
Enel attacked once more from an impossible angle, moving at speeds bordering on light itself.
Knowing rubber nullified electricity, he abandoned lightning attacks and relied directly on close-quarters combat.
Kicks.
Elbow strikes.
Even stabbing thrusts with his golden staff.
Each attack carried violent bursts of lightning and impossible speed.
Luffy pushed Gear Second and his Observation Haki to their absolute limits.
He dodged and blocked with everything he had.
Rubber elasticity allowed him to bend his body in ways that defied common sense.
Armament Haki hardened his defenses against attacks he couldn't fully evade.
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!!!"
The sounds of collisions and thunderous electricity erupted endlessly.
Luffy held on stubbornly, refusing to collapse instantly—
But he had completely fallen into a defensive position.
Every attempt to counterattack missed.
All he could do was desperately defend against Enel's unpredictable, lightning-fast assaults.
The gap in strength between them—
Became unmistakably clear the moment Enel grew serious.
Finally—
Enel seized an opening.
After a series of high-speed movements and defensive maneuvers, Luffy's rhythm faltered for a split second.
"Zzt!"
A flash of lightning.
Enel appeared directly behind him.
So close their bodies were nearly touching.
Luffy's Observation Haki screamed a warning—
But his body couldn't react in time.
Enel's golden staff was already coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.
Blinding arcs of lightning crawled across its surface.
Gripping the staff with both hands—
He swung it in a full arc and smashed it down onto Luffy's back.
"BOOOOM!!!"
The strike landed cleanly.
The blunt force of Armament Haki and the destructive energy of high-voltage lightning exploded at the same time.
Luffy's vision went black.
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
His body was hurled forward at terrifying speed.
"CRASH!!!"
He blasted through the wall of a three-story stone building across the street—
And became embedded deep within the structure.
Dust and rubble erupted everywhere.
For a moment—
His fate was unknown.
…
Enel slowly descended from the sky.
One foot touched the ground lightly.
He casually rested the golden staff back across his shoulder.
Then scratched the side of his head while staring at the ruined building.
A clear expression of disappointment appeared on his face.
"…Strange."
He tilted his head, muttering to himself.
His voice echoed clearly in the now-silent street.
"That kick you landed on this God earlier…"
"The power. The timing. It was impressive enough to actually surprise me."
"But…"
His brows knitted together in confusion.
"Why is it that now…"
"…you feel as weak as an insect?"
The question puzzled not only Enel—
But also Zoro and Kin'emon, who were watching the battle unfold.
Because the difference between Luffy's earlier explosive strike—
And the way he was now being completely suppressed—
Was far too stark.
Even more puzzling—
That very first kick.
Not a single person present—
Not even Gern Reginald Sigmar—
Had managed to predict it with their Observation Haki.