"Damn it, you old bastard!!!"
Not being able to awaken Conqueror's Haki like Yemu had always been Enel's greatest insecurity.
Because, just as Chinjao had said, Conqueror's Haki was something only one person in millions could awaken, a power reserved for the chosen. Having it meant you possessed what people called the makings of a king.
Proud as he was, Enel could accept that he wasn't Yemu's match. After all, more than ten years of looking out for each other had made them closer than blood, brothers in everything but name.
But he refused to admit he was beneath Yemu.
If Yemu could awaken Conqueror's Haki, how could he be the only one who couldn't? That kingly presence, that air of command, he wanted it too.
Yet in the five years since Yemu's awakening, Enel had tried countless times… and failed every single time.
It left him burning with frustration.
What weighed on him even more was what that man Rayleigh had said: Conqueror's Haki was something you were born with. It couldn't be improved through training.
In other words, if Enel couldn't awaken it no matter how long he tried, it meant he might simply lack that talent from the start, that he was never meant to have the qualifications to become a king.
How could someone as proud as him ever accept that?
Chinjao's words detonated that buried resentment completely. Enel surged forward, furious, swinging his fist straight at him.
But unlike their earlier clashes, where neither side gave an inch, this time the moment their iron fists met, Enel felt it immediately.
Chinjao didn't budge.
Enel's arm, on the other hand, went numb from the shock.
"How is that possible?!"
That tiny hesitation, that gap in his focus, was all Chinjao needed. A vicious grin twisted across his face.
"Getting distracted in the middle of a fight… just what I'd expect from a greenhorn."
"A chance like this? I'm not letting it go!"
"Hasshoken: Buto Kaiten!"
In an instant, Chinjao's body, suspended in midair, kicked off the air itself. Ripples visibly spread as he began spinning at high speed, his head as the axis.
Enel felt a terrifying impact blow straight through his Armament Haki defense and slam into his abdomen.
For a moment, it felt like his insides were about to burst out.
But Chinjao still wasn't done.
"This isn't over…"
"Hasshoken: Buto Kaiten: Ranbu!"
This time, Chinjao's hardened head spun even faster. At the same time, his arms were coated in Armament Haki as well, and his fists became a relentless whirl of strikes.
They were so fast Enel couldn't even see them clearly. All he could feel was his body being hammered again and again, like a sandbag caught in a violent storm of blows.
"It's over!!!" Chinjao roared.
He had every right to say it, and the confidence to match.
In his prime, he had faced monsters like Whitebeard, Shiki, even Roger, and never once flinched.
Until that bastard Garp took away the power he was proudest of with a single punch.
Even so, now in the prime of his life, aside from losing that drill-like head, every other aspect of his strength was still at its peak. He was more than worthy of the title of a legendary great pirate of the New World.
With power like that, crushing some upstart kid should've been effortless.
And in that moment, for Enel, everything really did go blank.
Pain and shock erupted from every part of his body, leaving him unable to fight back at all. It felt like every bone and every muscle in his body had already been smashed to pieces.
"Failure…?"
Enel had long known this day would come, but he never imagined it would arrive so soon.
"So Yemu has been fighting opponents like this all along…"
For the first time, he clearly felt the gap between himself and Yemu.
"It really pisses me off…"
His thoughts drifted back to their time on Skypiea.
Back then, the two of them were almost evenly matched. He had even been stronger than Yemu.
So why was it that as they grew up, he kept falling behind, while Yemu advanced at an unbelievable pace?
Before Yemu awakened Haki, Enel could still rely on his Devil Fruit ability and his exceptionally sharp Observation Haki to trade blows with him. But once Yemu awakened Haki, the distance between them only grew wider.
Especially that power known as Conqueror's Haki.
Enel knew it was wrong to think this way, but every time he saw Yemu release that force called Conqueror's Haki…
That terrifying pressure, that overwhelming presence, made him burn with jealousy.
"Why can't I awaken this power? What exactly is this so-called quality of a king?!"
He had asked Yemu that question before, but Yemu couldn't answer it either.
Because even Yemu didn't truly know. All he could do was tell Enel what he had been thinking at the moment he awakened Conqueror's Haki.
That answer only left Enel more confused.
Conquering the world. A thirst for strength.
He had those desires too. So why hadn't he awakened Conqueror's Haki?
Did he really lack that qualification?
Just as Enel's mind descended into complete chaos, unable to find any answers, a voice rang out inside his head.
"Enel-sama!!!"
It was a familiar voice. Baby-5's.
"That annoying brat again…"
The thought came to him instinctively.
Ever since he had saved her in Loguetown, she had clung to him nonstop. She was the last person he saw before falling asleep, and the first person he saw when he woke up.
There was no helping it. Thanks to Yemu's unilateral decision, she had become his personal maid.
Even though he made his impatience obvious, the girl always looked at him with that same smiling face, leaving him unable to even get properly angry.
Why was that?
As Enel thought about it, memories of his childhood surfaced.
Back then, with no parents, no one who cared about him, alone and abused, he had once desperately wished for someone to appear, someone who would help him, save him.
In the end, that person had appeared.
It was Yemu.
Yemu had given him warmth he had never known before, the warmth of a friend, a companion, a family member.
And now, he had let Yemu down.
Worse still, deep down, he was even jealous of him.
"What am I even doing…? What am I getting stronger for…?"
Just then, Baby-5's voice rang out again.
"You bastard! How dare you hurt Enel-sama! That's unforgivable!!!"
The sound of cannon fire followed.
"You filthy little brat, you really don't know when to quit. You dare attack me? Fine then. I'll send you and this worthless kid to hell together."
"Don't even think about it! I won't let you hurt Enel-sama!"
At that moment, Enel opened his eyes impatiently.
What he saw was a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
The small, frail Baby-5 stood in front of him, arms spread wide, her body trembling as she shielded him.
The girl who always wore a smile was now crying, tears streaming down her face, her eyes filled with worry and concern.
That look, that pure, unfiltered concern, was something Enel had never felt before.
Not even from Yemu.
When Baby-5 saw Enel open his eyes, that familiar, gentle smile appeared on her face once more.
"Enel-sama, don't worry. I'll protect you!"
At the same time, another voice rang out.
"Hey, Enel! How long are you going to lie there? Get up and keep fighting! Are you really going to let Baby-5 protect you?!"
In that instant, the chaos in Enel's mind vanished.
A powerful force surged up from the depths of his heart.
"Yeah!!!"
"This is seriously pathetic…"
"To think I'd need a little girl to protect me."
"But this is the last time."
"And the only time!"
In an instant, an overwhelming aura exploded from Enel's body. Amid crackling thunder and lightning, it surged outward like a collapsing mountain, sweeping across everything in its path…