After Enel launched his opening assault, he and Jerry began an incredibly fast-paced duel across the upper ruins. Both fighters moved at speeds that would blur beyond ordinary human perception, their forms flickering between ancient stone pillars and cloud formations.
As the battle progressed, Jerry quickly realized that Enel's physical combat skills were severely lacking compared to his raw power.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's abilities were undeniably formidable. Over the years, Enel had established his invincible position in the sky solely through lightning strikes, his Mantra network, and the incredible speed his electrical transformation provided.
Perhaps because the Rumble Fruit's power was so overwhelming, most of Enel's techniques relied entirely on his Devil Fruit abilities. In terms of actual close-quarters combat, he was surprisingly mediocre.
Because of this weakness, when Enel encountered an opponent like Jerry for the first time—someone who could not only resist his lightning but also force him into hand-to-hand combat—he quickly found himself overwhelmed by superior technique and increasingly clumsy movements.
Jerry couldn't claim his raw movement speed exceeded Enel's electrical form, but with his advanced Observation Haki providing glimpses of the immediate future, he consistently stayed one step ahead of his opponent's intentions.
On the surface, the two seemed evenly matched in their lightning-fast exchanges. In reality, Jerry had quietly gained the decisive advantage of foresight.
As the battle continued, Jerry's pressure gradually mounted. Enel began showing signs of exhaustion and desperation.
Jerry coated his fist with Armament Haki and seized an opening to knock the golden staff from Enel's grip with a devastating punch. Then he whipped his fishing rod toward the self-proclaimed god's face with his right hand.
He'd developed something of an obsession lately with turning his enemies' faces into swollen messes. Given Enel's height, reaching his face with just fists would be difficult, but the fishing rod's reach solved that problem perfectly.
Enel hastily retreated, successfully avoiding the rod's main strike—only to be smacked in the cheek by the lure that followed behind it. The fishing hook caught his headscarf and yanked it clean off his head.
Suddenly, the thick, curly hair that Enel had kept hidden beneath his bandana sprang free, spreading out in all its fluffy glory for Jerry to see.
Jerry's eyes went wide with delight, and he burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Enel! So you really are hiding some serious hair under there! Ahaha!"
As Jerry's mocking laughter echoed across the ruins, Enel's slightly swollen face turned bright red with humiliation. His voluminous, curly hair had always been a sensitive subject—the reason he constantly wore that headscarf.
Listening to Jerry's shrill cackles, Enel felt his blood rushing to his head. He was moments away from unleashing everything he had to destroy this insufferable enemy.
"Hahaha! Is this the great god of Sky Island?" Another voice joined the mockery—even louder than Jerry's. "Or should we call you Auntie Enel?"
Ace had arrived, and the sight of Enel's magnificent hair explosion sent him into such intense laughter that he nearly fell over backward.
"You dare mock a god!" Enel snarled, spinning to glare at the newcomer.
His entire body began crackling with countless electrical discharges, as if infinite thunder was about to explode in the next instant.
"Hah! Stop calling yourself a god already," Ace grinned, wiping tears from his eyes. "If you're a god, then what does that make us?"
As he spoke, Ace's entire form erupted in brilliant red flames. Simultaneously, Jerry summoned a massive torrent of water that began rotating around him like a liquid typhoon.
Seeing this display of elemental mastery, Enel's rage faltered momentarily. After a pause, he suppressed his fury and spoke with forced calm:
"Actually... wouldn't it be wiser to join me in building the Kingdom of God? Together we could be worshipped by the entire world!"
He raised his hands with renewed excitement, as if he could already see the infinite land before him, or perhaps envisioning that distant, glorious future.
"With our extraordinary abilities combined, the divine kingdom we create would surely have unlimited potential!"
Ace blinked thoughtfully, casually picked his nose, and asked with complete seriousness: "This Kingdom of God and infinite land—will there be unlimited delicious food there?"
"Delicious food? How shallow—" Enel began dismissively, but Ace cut him off.
"Without good food, your kingdom sounds pretty boring."
"What?!" Enel's eyes bulged as he heard nearly identical criticism to Jerry's earlier comments.
He glanced between Jerry, now surrounded by a water dragon that coiled protectively around him, and Ace, whose flames danced with eager intensity. An insurmountable gulf of understanding seemed to separate him from these two individuals.
He simply could not comprehend their perspective or priorities.
The incomprehension quickly transformed into uncontrollable rage. Not only had they mocked his appearance, but now they dared to belittle his sacred vision of the Kingdom of God!
"30 Million Volt Thunderbird! Thunder Beast!"
Two creatures of completely different shapes—both formed from pure electricity—materialized from the drums on his back and lunged toward Ace and Jerry at lightning speed.
"Hah, that's it?"
Both Ace and Jerry stood perfectly still as the thunder beasts attacking them were instantly consumed—swallowed by the swirling water and dancing flames surrounding each fighter.
"Jerry," Ace called out with obvious eagerness, "it's pretty rare to meet another Logia user. Mind if I take this one?"
Despite having just finished his own battle, Ace was clearly itching for more action. He figured he should ask his friend's permission first, though knowing Jerry's generally laid-back attitude, the answer was predictable.
"Go ahead," Jerry waved dismissively, stepping back to give his friend space.
In truth, Jerry recognized that Ace was seeking a breakthrough. His Observation Haki was in a critical developmental stage—sometimes sharp and effective, sometimes frustratingly inconsistent. Fighting different types of opponents would be good for his growth.
However, in this story of generous sharing, Enel—who found himself being treated like an unwanted gift—felt utterly insulted by their casual dismissal.
"You will pay dearly for defying divine authority!"
"60 Million Volt Thunder Dragon!"
The infuriated Enel struck his back drums twice in rapid succession, summoning a massive thunder dragon that immediately lunged toward his enemies.
"Here we go! Time to try my new technique!"
Ace launched himself forward just as Enel began his drum sequence. Seeing the Thunder Dragon racing toward him, his entire body blazed with orange flames. In his raised right hand, a small but incredibly dense flame condensed—thick and dazzling in his palm.
When the Thunder Dragon closed in, Ace swung his right hand with explosive force. The burning flames covering his body followed his gesture, drawn by the concentrated fire in his palm and forming an overwhelmingly fierce offensive.
"Flame Commandment: Fire Serpent!"
After long contemplation of Jerry's combat suggestions, Ace had finally developed this technique as his own interpretation of flowing, serpentine attacks.
The surging, scorching flames devoured the incoming thunder instantly and continued rushing toward Enel with devastating power.
Ace's technique was incredibly domineering. The surrounding landscape was instantly charred black by the extreme heat, and a vast area of island clouds within the attack's range simply evaporated and disappeared.
However, such a powerful technique had absolutely no effect on Enel's natural lightning form.
"Oh right, I forgot," Ace scratched his head with slight embarrassment. "Can't use Haki with that technique yet, so it's useless against you."
Rather than being discouraged by the mutual ineffectiveness, Ace grinned broadly and activated his flame jets to accelerate directly toward his opponent.
Similarly, Enel realized his lightning attacks were completely ineffective against another Logia user. For a moment, he felt genuine confusion—he'd never fought an enemy who was also a logia.
Enel possessed no techniques like Armament Haki that could directly harm other Logia users. While he was naturally aware of Seastone's existence and properties, carrying such material would be extremely inconvenient for a Devil Fruit user like himself.
Therefore, he decided to look for opportunities—hoping to catch his opponent during moments of carelessness or brief materialization to deliver a decisive strike.
The battle dynamic shifted completely as Ace took center stage. Where Jerry had dominated through superior technique and foresight, the fight now became a spectacular chase between two elemental forces—fire and lightning dancing across the ancient ruins in a display of raw natural power.
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