One Piece: Reborn as Enel

Chapter 291: Third Eye, Void and Confidence

__________ POV Narration __________ 

Enel panted as he looked at his unshaken opponent, IMU's body retracted back to a smaller size, shifting in shape and gender constantly.

The Sky King's missing hand wasn't that big of a bother, but the more the fight went on, the more tired he became.

Unlike the 3 Gods previously, he and Luffy didn't really have the same luxury of trying to take down IMU slowly, they needed to hit fast and hit hard whilst hoping for the best.

If one of them was distracted for even half a second, then either one of them could suffer greatly for it. 

In that sense, the original Three Gods had it easy when facing IMU... 

But Enel's stamina was still good, he was able to keep going. And Luffy's seemed to be even more monstrous, although panting, he was still very much able to dance around IMU's many attacks.

"The two of you have been a lot more resilient than I expected." The Sea God's voice rang out through the sky, as both Luffy and Enel stopped to take a breath. 

"Hah! Funny coming from the bastard that should have been dead for a while now..." Enel's voice held quite a bit of Venom within it, as his Conqueror's haki revolved around him and the wheel behind him constantly.

"Funny or not, the two of you proved to be much more capable than I initially expected. I guess it is time to show you... The true power of Uranus." 

 Enel scowled for a moment, grasping his staff within his hand whilst taking a deep breath.

'If push comes to shove... We can still do 'that'...' Enel's arm tightened even more around his staff as he tried to plan out his next move.

"Oi, Enel!" Luffy's voice took him out of his thoughts, as the Sun God extended his hand towards Enel with a grave expression.

The Sky King immediately recognized that gesture, and the wheel on his back immediately turned into a gigantic spinning windmill shuriken which directly reached for Luffy's palm.

The Sun God then immediately bulked up, imbuing his haki into the Lightning Weapon before throwing it with a large arch towards IMU, who was still standing there. 

But before the weapon ever got close to IMU, the Sea God's forehead shifted, revealing a large slit which opened to showcase a red eye which contained two pupils. 

'Wait... Isn't that-' 

Enel's thoughts immediately halted, their speed becoming significantly lower as he felt that gaze wash over him.

In an instant, the lighting wheel vanished, and so did Enel's and Luffy's devil fruit abilities, both of them returning to their regular human forms.

They didn't fall however, both of them could perform Moonwalk without any issue.

Enel tried his utmost to use even a slither of power, but the most he could do was make one of his hands spark with lightning. 

And Luffy wasn't much better, losing his stretchiness was detrimental to him, it was the very basis of his entire fighting style. 

 But the two wouldn't even have the time to consider those issues too deeply, as countless regular red eyes appeared behind IMU in that instant.

Each eye seemed to shine a bright red light, before firing off a laser, in an instant, the sky was filled with red lights, each reminiscent of Baltigo's downfall, but on a smaller scale. 

Luffy and Enel both dashed to a different side, trying their best to dodge the attacks with their observation and base speeds, whilst also trying to escape the gaze of that third eye. 

But IMU's attacks were fast even for their awakened states... 

It didn't take long for the two of them to get hit. Luffy managed to tank one or two lasers with the help of his powerful Haki, but eventually, two did manage to pierce his legs, which went right through. 

To stop a single laser, Luffy had to concentrate all of his willpower on that one spot, it was impossible for him to stop two at once. 

His torso eventually also got hit, some lasers going through his internal organs, some missing. At the very least Luffy made sure to protect his head.

But Enel certainly had it worst.

Not only was his mind going through a stage of withdrawal, having all of his enhanced senses stolen from him in an instant, but he was also not as durable as Luffy. 

He tried his best, but his armament haki, even when imbued with conqueror's haki, still fell behind Luffy's.

Enel was not able to block a single laser. He was able to dodge more than Luffy however. His Moonwalk, Shave and Paper Arts became his only survival avenues. 

He had slipped past dozens upon dozens of red lasers, his body moving meticulously despite his tiredness and 'awakening withdrawal symptoms'. 

But even then, at one point, his tired mind lost concentration for a moment, his Observation Haki faltering for just a moment.

A laser went right for his heart. Enel's hand moved instinctively, trying to block it with his staff, but the laser couldn't be blocked.

And in an instant, Enel's heart was not just pierced but pulverized as the laser became larger as soon as it hit its mark.

"Cough- ENEL!" Luffy's panicked voice echoed through the skies, as the light from Enel's eyes slowly faded away whilst his body seemed to become unmoving. 

"One down... One more to go." IMU's voice was the last thing the Lightning God heard as he closed his eyes. 

The next moment he opened his eyes, he was already back into the void. 

'Is this... it? Is this all that my efforts amount to?' 

The Sky King's soul in itself felt wronged, his journey, everything he had gone through and all he had endured, and the friends he had made along the way.

Was that all really meaningless?

"Huh? What the hell is with those depressing thoughts?" An arrogant voice sounded out from the void, as a figure made its presence known right before Enel.

It was a skeleton that seemed to be almost made out of energy and Lightning. A figure that Enel immediately recognized as Raijin.

"What other thoughts am I supposed to have? Since I am here, that means I lost, right?" Enel just heaved a sigh, regret was really all that he felt in that moment.

"Lost? Well, I guess you lost in a way.

The moment you hesitated, the moment you went back to doubting yourself for even a second, you allowed your willpower to falter, your commitment to weaken." Raijin's voice cut deep into Enel's psyche, but the Sky King didn't refute anything.

"Maybe you are right... This damned self-doubt... Would the outcome be any different if I had managed to cast it aside?" Enel looked at the void for a moment, his eyes shifting and blinking a few times.

'Is that... a wheel?' 

But when rubbing his eyes and focusing his gaze, there was nothing there. 

"Hey, maybe you should check if the outcome can be different yourself? Why are you asking me?

Cast it aside...

All of the doubt, all of the fear, any complex feelings, anything aside from the desire to win is unnecessary." Raijin smiled as he spoke, likely remembering the old days when he had done very much the same. 

"Hah, thanks for the advice, but it's too lat-"

"God dammit kid! Just look around your neck!" Raijin didn't even let Enel finish his sentence, slapping him across the head and pointing at his neck... Or more specifically, the strange necklace that he wore.

'Isn't that...' It was, of course, the Necklace that the old Shirne Madien, Kasa, had gifted to him upon his awakening. 

"She took that hit for you... Don't worry, it is her honour to be able to give her life to help this generation's Raijin.

But it will all be in vain if you don't get off your ass and start doing yer job." Raijin sighed, as he watched that necklace slowly break off from Enel's neck and fade into the void.

Kasa, the old Shrine Maiden, had followed all of the traditions accordingly, whilst Enel was going to war, she had started the ritual, using her very life to give Enel a second wind in case something bad happened. 

"Haah..." Enel heaved a deep sigh, his figure also starting to disappear from the void.

"Any tips? That eye with two pupils is really annoying..." Enel's eyes narrowed, as he asked one last question.

"Oh, he used that! That means you have that bastard on the ropes! He's always putting up a strong front...

Don't worry, the moment he stops using it he won't be able to use it anymore, not for this century anyway."

Raijin shook his skeletal head as Enel's disappearing figure nodded with resolution. 

The moment he came back, he felt his back hit the ground hard. Or he would have felt it, were it not for his devil fruit power's acting up in time, silently shielding him from any damage. 

His body had recovered completely, and even his missing arm had returned. 

"O-oi, isn't that Enel?" A gruff voice spoke from the side, Enel recognized it as Garp's immediately. 

Hmm? It seemed as if he had landed in between the Marines and... Aramaki?

'So he was the other god in the end, huh? He's still in his infancy though.' 

"Hah! So the madman lost in the end, nothing noteworthy..." Aramaki smiled as he extended his roots to cover the fallen God. 

But before his roots could even touch Enel, the Wooden God felt his entire body get hit with a strong shock.

"Know your place, brat." Enel's angered voice was all that Aramaki heard, whilst the gigantic tree behind him was turned to charcoal in half a second.

The Marines didn't even get to react before Enel soared to the clouds once more.

He had only moved once he had felt it... 'That eye has closed already...' 

It seemed to have taken a significant amount of stamina from IMU, as he hadn't even managed to finish off Luffy, though he was in a sorry state. 

IMU's body expanded, a water tentacle capturing Luffy and attempting to drown him just as quickly, as the tip of the tentacle tried to rush into the Sun God's mouth and crush what remained of his hole-ridden lungs directly. 

But that attempt was immediately stopped, as a gigantic pillar of Black Lightning engulfed IMU's entire being, evaporating him once more as the water tentacle went limp.

"Enel..." Luffy's tired voice sounded out, as he struggled to enter back into his awakened state. His injuries still prevailed, unfortunately.

 "Luffy, why don't you go and ask Bonney for some assistance putting your organs back together? I'll deal with this pretender for the moment." Enel smiled, giving a thumbs up with his recovered hand to the now white-haired Luffy. 

The Sun God was too tired to respond, he merely nodded and rushed away, his figure turning into a blur as he bounced around all of their surroundings, before dashing into the distance. 

IMU's body had recovered as well, but he didn't make any rash moves, instead only staring at Enel with hate.

"I killed you once... What makes you think I can't do it again?" The Sea God's voice sounded spiteful, filled with hatred, but also a hint of exhaustion.

"Stop trying to hide it... You're on your last legs at this point..." Enel smiled, the drums on his back appearing in an instant and turning black at a much faster pace than before. 

"Hmph! You were barely standing up against me together, and now you wish to face me alone? Arrogant and stupid, but at least you give me the opportunity to kill you for good." IMU's confidence didn't seem to dwindle, despite now being visibly less lively than before. 

Enel just looked at the struggling Sea God with a wide smile, as the drums behind him sparkled dangerously. 

"Let's see... For how much longer your tongue can dance like that!" 

_____________________________________________

Hope you liked the chapter!

Some ppl called out the whole pendant thingy in the past, but hey, that don't mean I didn't plan to use it anymore :)) 

Discord: https://discord.gg/xQTK8caFEQ

If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get access to all remaining chapters in advance (or just 10/5 in advance depending on tier)