The civilians of Water 7 closest to Scrap Island had no time to prepare at all. Swept up by that terrifying pressure, their eyes rolled back and they collapsed unconscious on the spot.
In the surrounding seas, countless massive sea beasts panicked and fled in all directions.
As for the pirate hunters, the people from the Seven Great Shipyards, and everyone aboard the four enormous warships, they had already been knocked out long ago, all lying unconscious with white eyes.
In an instant, Scrap Island fell completely silent. All the noise vanished, leaving only the sound of crashing waves.
Chinjao stood frozen, the veins on his forehead bulging.
"That's Conqueror's Haki!!!"
Enel, who had just regained consciousness, didn't spare Chinjao a glance. Instead, he stood up, walked over to Baby-5, and flicked her on the head.
"Ah… that hurts, Enel-sama!"
Even though she was right in the middle of the Conqueror's Haki pressure, Baby-5 seemed completely unaffected.
"You idiot. Don't ever do something that dangerous again, understand?!"
Hearing that, Baby-5 broke into a bright, happy smile.
"Enel-sama, are you… worried about me?!"
This was the first time in an entire month that Enel had spoken to her in such a gentle tone.
Enel's bloodstained face stiffened for a moment, and a visible blush flashed across it before disappearing just as quickly. He grabbed Baby-5 by the back of her collar and lifted her up.
Baby-5 felt her feet leave the ground, her short legs swinging happily in the air.
At that moment, an air door opened beside them, revealing Kuromu's tense figure.
"I'll deal with you later."
With that, Enel tossed Baby-5 inside.
As the air door closed, the only thing echoing in Enel's ears was Baby-5's cheering voice.
"Good luck, Enel-sama! You have to beat this guy!!!"
"Yeah, don't worry. I won't lose again!"
He clenched his fist tightly and turned his gaze back to Chinjao.
"I really should thank you. You're the one who pushed me to awaken Conqueror's Haki. But from here on out, I won't hold back just because of that."
Chinjao was surprised that this brat had awakened Conqueror's Haki under his pressure, but there wasn't the slightest hint of retreat in his eyes.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. Just because you awakened Conqueror's Haki doesn't mean you can beat me. You're still nowhere near the monsters of the New World!"
"Is that so? Then I'll prove it to you. Starting today, I won't fail ever again. I'll take down every single one of those so-called New World monsters, one by one."
In that moment, both of them unleashed power beyond imagination.
Chinjao pressed his palms together. His beard billowed upward as a demon-like aura poured out of him, all his strength gathering at the top of his head.
Enel clenched his fists, his right hand transforming into a dragon claw coated in pitch-black Armament Haki. His blood surged, muscles pulsed, steam rose around him, and violent lightning gathered in his claw, condensing into a purple sphere of thunder.
Then…
"Boom…"
Both figures vanished from where they stood.
"Hasshoken Ogi: Mukiryu Mukirikugi"
"Eight Thunder Gods: Thunder God's Roar"
In an instant, their bodies slammed into each other.
Blinding light erupted from the point of impact.
The first clash was between their Conqueror's Haki.
Lightning tore through the sky, golden light flashed, and a violent hurricane blasted everything around them away.
What left everyone stunned was that although Enel had only just awakened Conqueror's Haki, he showed no sign of being inferior to Chinjao, a veteran who had long mastered it.
At that moment, only Chinjao himself, standing at the very center of the battle, understood the truth.
He might really lose.
And the reason wouldn't be strength, but will.
Enel's raw power was still weaker than his, but the will he was unleashing now completely surpassed him.
"Crack…"
A sharp sound rang out as fractures appeared in Chinjao's Conqueror's Haki.
It was being suppressed.
Seeing this, Enel's excitement only grew stronger.
"Now it's my turn!"
With those words, his right claw swung down violently. The thunderball in his palm tore straight through Chinjao's Conqueror's Haki defense and slammed into his pitch-black head, still coated in Armament Haki.
"My Haki…"
Before their eyes, the Armament Haki covering Chinjao's head began to slowly dissipate under the force of the thunderball.
"No… impossible…"
At that moment, the only sound reaching his ears was Enel's low voice.
"There's nothing impossible."
"I finally understand my reason for existing. If Yemu, as captain, exists to be everyone's support and guide, then my role as vice-captain is to protect everyone."
"So I absolutely cannot allow myself to fail!"
"Now, I'll send you back to where you came from."
"Eight Thunder Gods · Thunder God Charge!"
As his words fell, Enel's dragon claw clenched into a fist and smashed down hard onto the top of Chinjao's head, where the Armament Haki had nearly faded away. The sheer force instantly deformed Chinjao's skull, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out.
Then, drawing on Fish-Man Karate techniques, Enel converted his full-body power into a devastating shockwave. Mixed with electromagnetic force, it blasted Chinjao's body away like a cannonball, sending him flying like a shooting star.
...
"That was a beautiful move by Vice-Captain Enel."
On Mad Treasure's ship, Tiger watched the scene with admiration.
Turning back, Yemu was gripping Mad Treasure, who had already passed out.
"Hah, he finally awakened Conqueror's Haki. At least my effort wasn't wasted."
Hearing that, Tiger looked a little awkward.
"But Captain, aren't you worried Vice-Captain Enel might get angry? Sending Baby-5 into such a dangerous situation…"
"Haha, it's fine. At worst, he'll just beat me up once."
Tiger couldn't help but laugh as well.
As for Baby-5's safety, neither of them was worried in the slightest. Whether it was her Devil Fruit ability or the crew's strength, there was no chance anything would happen to her.
"Alright, call Kuromu and the others over. Take the treasure from the ship and bring those two along as well. Their Devil Fruits are quite interesting, especially the camouflage ability of the Iro Iro no Mi. If we can get our hands on it, it'll be a big help to us."
"Understood. Captain, are you going to handle the Vinsmoke family personally?"
"Yeah. The Vinsmoke family has some interesting things. Even though I already have someone in mind for the scientist position on our ship, their technology is still worth taking a look at."
"I understand."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
As Yemu spoke, his body lifted into the air. Instead of landing directly on the warship where Vinsmoke Judge was stationed, he rose higher, hovering in the sky as he looked down at the four massive warships below and raised his arm.
"Then, to make the upcoming negotiations go a bit more smoothly, I'll start by sending a small gift."