Chapter 57: Chapter 57
"How did you even do that?"
Tanya was shocked beyond belief. Enel was the same. After a few seconds of thinking about it, Ace found it strange how they didn't see his Armament Haki.
They know Mantra after all. It's the same as Observation Haki, and yet they didn't see it.
'Huh. Maybe they weren't using it just now.'
"I know, I'm amazing!" Ace sneered.
"Wh-What tricks are you pulling?" Enel asked.
"No tricks. Just me," Ace said. "So? You still want to fight?"
Enel gritted his teeth. His giant avatar slightly grew in size.
"Die!"
Enel tried again. It was the same attack, but this time it was a combo. His two giant hands kept punching, sending a barrage of giant lightning bolts at Ace.
Ace wasn't too bothered. He blocked the lightning bolts coming his way by punching or kicking them upwards.
Eventually, the whole ceiling of the cavern was gone. The inside of the cavern was bathed in the moonlight of the full moon glowing above them.
Ace kept going forward as he blocked, shrinking the distance between him and Enel.
When Enel got tired after his continuous attack, Ace pounced on him like a predator catching its prey.
Ace Flickered in front of Enel, then he punched the gigantic face made of lightning. His fists were covered in Armament Haki.
Enel crashed to the ground from the force of Ace's punch. His transformation was canceled. He returned to his normal size.
Ace walked up to Enel who was lying down on a crater he created from receiving the full force of Ace's punch. Ace stopped and watched Enel, who was already tired from his battle with Tanya, try to get up.
"Th-This can't be happening…"
Enel was whispering under his breath. Ace tried to listen and understand what Enel was saying, but the man was gibbering at that point.
"Impossible… ridiculous… I am God!"
Enel tried attacking Ace again with a lightning powered punch. Ace easily leaned his head back to completely avoid the punch.
Ace didn't need to punch back. Enel fell back down from his own momentum.
"What are you standing there for?" Enel chuckled. "I'm beaten. Killing God is a high honor, you know?"
"Still think you're God? Man, you're stubborn." Ace shook his head. "Look, I'm not here to kill you."
"What are you here for, then? Huh? What made you act on your insolent thoughts?"
"I want you in my crew."
"..."
"..."
Silence ensued. None were speaking a word. The environment was strangely silent as well as if everything stopped to listen to what Enel will answer.
"YAHAHAHAHA!"
Instead of an answer, Enel started laughing.
"Don't make me laugh, mortal!" Enel spoke between his laughs. "You think God would stoop so low?"
"Alright, that's it. This talk about being God stuff is pretty annoying now," Ace said.
Then, with hands covered in Armament Haki, Ace grabbed Enel's face.
Enel immediately stopped laughing. He put his hands on Ace's wrist to try and pry Ace's hand off him.
But, he was too weak to do so.
"If a real God exists in this world, it sure as hell ain't you."
Through his hand that was grabbing Enel's face, Ace released the full burst of his Conqueror's Haki.
Unlike the usual use, Ace's Conqueror's Haki right now was all focused on a single target.
Feeling the pressure of Ace's Haki, Enel's eyes widened. His breathing hitched. His body froze.
Enel stared at Ace without moving a single muscle. Ace returned the gaze, cold and sharp as a blade.
"You think you're God? You're just a frog in the well."
Ace let his Haki run free, not holding it back at all. It surged against Enel like waves rushing on a stone.
"Don't think too highly of yourself. Your Devil Fruit is the only thing that makes you valuable," Ace said. "I only want you in my crew for your power. Nothing more. I'd rather not hunt down your fruit when it reappears when I have you right here."
Moments later, Ace felt Enel relax. He let go of Enel's face.
Ace furrowed his eyebrows at the face Enel was making. He looked like he was spacing out, but his eyes were still locked on Ace's.
It was the first time Ace ever saw such a reaction to his Conqueror's Haki.
'Oh no… don't tell me I broke him?'
Ace was starting to think that he made Enel a vegetable. Thankfully, Enel showed a reaction a few seconds later.
The corner of Enel's mouth started twitching. Then, he broke into a smile. A genuine one, almost looking like he wanted to cry.
But, the more surprising thing for Ace happened afterwards.
Enel bowed down to Ace with his head on the ground.
"God! You're God! You have to be!"
"...huh?"
Ace watched Enel raise his head before banging it back down on the ground. He did the same thing a few times.
"Such power! Such might! Such presence! Such majesty! You're God!"
Enel spoke with much reverence and praise. He kept banging his head lightly on the ground.
'...shit, I really did break him.'
"Oi, I'm still me. Open your eyes," Ace said.
"My eyes are more open than ever!" Enel said.
"...okay? You know what, just get up."
"Yes, God!"
Enel stood up. Then, his face immediately twisted in embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked.
"I can't be taller than God!"
Then, Enel bowed deeply.
"Yes, this is more comfortable," Enel said after looking up at Ace while he bowed.
"...anyway," Ace said, forcefully ignoring Enel's weird behavior. "Would you mind if Tanya becomes God of Skypiea?"
"Ahh, that? Yeah, I don't mind," Enel said. "Serving you is a much higher position, after all!"
Ace felt Tanya approach them. She was still rather tired, so her movements were sluggish.
"What the hell did you do to him?" Tanya asked.
"I honestly have no idea," Ace said, but he had a suspicion.
Enel's sudden subservient attitude must be because of the Conqueror's Haki Ace used on him.
Conqueror's Haki had a Domination aspect. It worked on animals, but Ace found out it could also work on weak humans to some extent back at Dawn Island.
Ace never encountered such a strong effect like what he just saw with Enel who turned completely subservient. Still, Ace didn't ignore the possibility that Enel could just be pretending.
Curious to see if Enel was honest with his recent strange words and actions, Ace decided to test him out.
"Enel, cut off your left arm."
"Yes, God!" Enel said with a wide grin. "If that is what it will cost me to serve you, I'll gladly do so!"
Enel raised his arms. His right hand was covered in lightning. It felt incredibly sharp.
Then, Enel brought his right hand down on his left arm. He aimed for the spot just below the elbow. He was really about to cut off his left arm, but Ace stopped him.
"Stop!"
Enel instantly stopped after hearing Ace's words. His right hand was just above his left arm that had a small cut on where it was about to be chopped off.
Ace sighed after seeing Enel relax. But, he was still worried.
'Loyal people are great… but, I don't want mindless followers.'
"Enel. Tell me about that ship," Ace said, jutting out his chin at the still being constructed Ark Maxim.
"Ahh, yes! My Ark Maxim!" Enel beamed with pride. "It's a special ship that could only fly with me on board. It's designed to need my power, after all."
"An electric powered ship?" Tanya asked. Even she seemed curious.
"It can fly?"
"That's right! As long as I'm on it, it will fly," Enel said. "At least, that's the design. As you can see, it's far from being complete."
"You used gold," Tanya said after observing the ship further. "Your power is perfect for it. Gold is a great conductor."
"Indeed. All the mechanisms are made of gold!"
"Is that why those papers were so important, Enel?" Ace asked. He remembered the bundle of papers Enel saved from Tanya's initial attack back at the cloud island.
"Yes." Enel took out the papers from his pockets. "These are blueprints for the Ark Maxim."
Enel gave the blueprints to Ace, who took it so he could examine it.
Ace didn't know why he would do that. It's not like he was someone who could read blueprints.
Still, he pretended to be impressed.
"These are great!"
"YAHAHAHA! Not at all, Captain!" Enel said, thankful for Ace's compliment.
Then, Enel realized what he said. He coughed and retreated a bit.
"Does your offer still stand?"
Ace was happy that Enel wasn't completely mindless. Enel still had most of his personality intact. He just stopped having the desire to be God after witnessing how he was just an ant for Ace.
"Would you like to join my crew, Enel?"
"I would like that, Captain!" Enel grinned.
Ace shook hands with Enel to welcome him to the crew. Then, Ace turned to Tanya. He alternated between looking at Enel and Tanya.
"Now, Enel, I hope you don't mind if you play along for a bit."
"What is it, Captain?"
"I made a promise to Tanya here that she'll be the new God of Skypiea by the time the sun rises."
"You need my help with that?" Enel asked.
"We do," Ace said. He was about to explain more, but Tanya spoke first.
"I need to parade you around like a trophy to the Skypieans and Shandians."
"Oi! Don't give such a questionable explanation, Tanya!"
"But, it's the truth!"
Ace looked at Enel to see how he'd respond. He looked like he was thinking. A short while later, he spoke.
"May I ask? How will helping my devious niece here benefit you, Captain?"
"Don't act like you're my family, Enel!"
Ace and Enel ignored Tanya's short outburst. Ace answered Enel.
"You see, Tanya is strong. I want her in my crew as well."
"Temporarily," Tanya said, adding the fact that she won't stick around forever. Three years was the deal.
"I see!" Enel turned to Tanya. "I look forward to spending time with you, my little niece!"
Tanya said nothing in response. Instead, she coated her fist with violent spinning winds. She then punched Enel in the face.
Enel was sent flying from Tanya's punch. He crashed on the cavern wall, embedding himself in the stone.
When the dust of the impact fell, Enel started coughing.
"YAHAHAHA! How strong! Oww, that hurt!"
Tanya ignored Enel. She turned to Ace to speak with him.
"Honestly, I don't know if I could've beaten him without your help."
"Yeah, you probably won't," Ace said.
"My point is… thank you. It would have taken me a lot longer to achieve my dream if you didn't help me."
Tanya bowed at Ace, which surprised him a bit.
"So that's it then?" Ace asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Being God of Skypiea is your end goal?"
"Yes. What's wrong with it?"
Ace sighed. Sometimes, he forgets that Tanya was still a ten year old child. She had a good dream, but he was afraid that being God of Skypiea is where her dream ends.
"Nothing. It's a good dream. It's just… what will you do after?"
"...live a good life? Free of worries, on top of the food chain, enjoying the love of my people, helping them out sometimes to keep the peace… who doesn't want a carefree life?"
Tanya's answer surprised Ace. As it turns out, the genius and hardworking girl had a bit of a lazy streak. It amused him.
"HAHAHAHA! That's true! That's a good life indeed," Ace said. "Is it worth being in my crew for three years?"
"Honestly? Yes," Tanya said.
"Really? A lot could happen in three years, you know? What would you do if you returned to a Skypiea that has already forgotten about you?"
"They won't." Tanya seemed confident. "After all, I'll be giving them a promise."
"And what is that, exactly?"
"I'll return with an island." Tanya sneered. "All the Vearth they could ever want. Fighting for something so common in the Blue Sea is idiotic, after all."
"Returning with an island, huh?" Ace smirked. "You sure you can do that?"
"I know I can. I feel like my powers can still grow stronger."
Tanya summoned winds with her hand and looked at it. The winds spun until a small tornado formed in her hands.
Ace didn't think that it was impossible. After all, he knew a certain dragon that could lift up an entire island by himself. Tanya just needs to get to that level…
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ehnvy
Ehnvy Sorry for the late update. College is starting to get busier... such a drag.
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