The eastern coastline lay quiet as the Ark Maxim floated serenely upon the sea of clouds.
Enel lounged lazily upon his divine throne at the ship's prow, electric currents dancing between his fingertips. The ram-headed guards busied themselves repairing damage to the hull, the intermittent sound of wooden mallets echoing across the deck.
At the central table on deck, Mr. 1 sat with arms crossed in the shadows, his scarred face maintaining its usual cold indifference. Mr. 5 picked his nose absentmindedly, casually crushing nuts in his palm and scattering shell fragments across the table.
Nico Robin sat alone, flipping through yellowed pages of a book, her lavender dress spread across the wooden chair that accentuated her serene profile. Paula, wearing a pink headscarf, sipped juice from a glass while gazing at the distant horizon of clouds.
Miss. Valentine stood at the table's edge beneath her signature green lemon umbrella, the pink hem of her dress fluttering in the sea breeze. She yawned dramatically, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she stared into the distance.
Nearby, the four God Enforcers attended to their duties, the entire ship basking in rare post-battle tranquility.
Suddenly, a figure materialized on deck. Miss. Valentine's eyes lit up at the sight, and she click-clacked over in her high heels to cling affectionately to the newcomer's arm. "Boss~ You're finally back."
Bahr looked at the "lemon sprite" clinging to him and smirked, unceremoniously placing his hand just below the small of her back, fingers tracing idle circles.
At that moment, a bolt of blue lightning streaked down. Enel, who had been lounging on his throne, transformed into electricity and flashed before Bahr, his golden staff whistling through the air with deadly intent!
A dull thud echoed as the staff struck an invisible spatial barrier before Bahr, sending ripples through the air.
Bahr glanced sideways at Enel, raising an eyebrow with a mocking laugh. "Told you it wouldn't work. Still not giving up, huh?"
"Is that so?" Enel's lips curled into an eerie smile as dark red patterns suddenly crawled across his golden staff. With a shout, the supposedly unbreakable spatial barrier cracked with a sharp snap!
"Armament Haki!" Bahr's eyelids twitched in surprise as he stared at the patterns on the staff.
"Yahahaha! Indeed, Armament Haki!" Enel laughed arrogantly, twirling his staff flamboyantly. "This god has mastered Armament Haki! Such child's play means nothing to divinity!"
Bahr's mouth twisted as he punctured the boast. "What's there to be proud of? You already had Observation Haki as foundation. Grasping Armament was just connecting dots. If you couldn't manage that, you'd truly be an idiot."
During idle moments these past days, Bahr had casually explained Armament Haki's principles. With Enel's already perfected Observation as foundation, understanding Armament was merely conceptual translation—hardly worth bragging about.
A muscle twitched in Enel's cheek as he stiffened his neck. "What do you know? This god's Haki manifests Divine Punishment! How can it compare to the crude musings of mere mortals?"
"Tch." Bahr scoffed dismissively, wrapping an arm around Miss. Valentine's waist as he headed for the table.
Left standing alone, Enel burned with humiliation. Veins bulged in his neck as he slammed his staff down. "Daring to question a god's comprehension? Just wait—when I shatter your barrier to pieces, you'll understand the chasm between god and insect!"
Bahr didn't even glance back, plopping down beside Nico Robin and deliberately crowding her space until her lavender dress wrinkled from being pressed aside.
Robin shot him a disdainful look which he ignored completely.
"I told you," Bahr said without looking up, "your abilities are strong, but Haki is fundamental. Don't mistake the branch for the root."
Enel shouldered his staff, lightning writhing around him like living things. "This god's thunder can incinerate stars! How dare mortal filth judge it with crude Haki!"
Bahr eyed the stubborn fool and drawled, "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is indeed top-tier among Logia types. But abilities are ultimately external—Haki transcends all. Believe it or not, supreme Haki could suppress you until you couldn't even summon lightning."
Enel's eyelids twitched violently, the electricity on his staff flickering, though his voice remained defiant. "Hmph. Stop fearmongering. No Haki has such power."
"Ordinary Haki doesn't," Bahr cut in bluntly. "But Conqueror's Haki does."
"Conqueror's Haki? What nonsense is that?" Confusion stirred in Enel's heart, though his face remained impassive, a faint glimmer of curiosity flashing through his eyes.
Bahr explained, "Conqueror's is exceptionally rare—maybe one in a million. Called the 'Kingly Quality,' most top powers on the seas possess it."
"Kingly Quality!" Enel suddenly laughed, lightning dancing excitedly at his fingertips. "How interesting."
Seeing the gleam in Enel's eyes, Bahr doused cold water. "Don't get delusional. Unlike Armament or Observation, Conqueror's is innate—can't be trained."
Enel's smile froze momentarily before he lifted his chin, twirling his staff. "Hmph. This god needs no mortal quality. Thunder is my scepter!"
Yet his grip on the staff tightened imperceptibly—"Kingly Quality" had struck a chord with his innate arrogance.
As Sky Island's god, wasn't he born to rule? The title seemed tailor-made for him!
Bahr saw through Enel's thoughts and mercilessly added, "Stop fantasizing. Supreme Conqueror's Haki imposes spiritual suppression—like rabbits facing tigers. You'd be lucky not to collapse, let alone use abilities."
This wasn't exaggeration—even Navy Admiral Green Bull had been suppressed by Shanks' Conqueror's Haki until he couldn't activate his powers.
Enel's face stiffened as he forced a sneer. "How absurd..."
"Exaggeration's the only language you understand." Bahr grew serious. "The Four Emperors in the New World all have Conqueror's Haki—especially Red-Haired Shanks. His mastery is peerless. Against him, you'd be helpless. Even I'd need to weigh my options."
Watching Enel's darkening expression, Bahr moderated his tone. "I'm telling you this so you don't charge in blindly. New World's strong aren't foes lightning alone can solve."
Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit was formidable, but at core, he remained a brat spoiled by his "god" complex—arrogant and reliant solely on his powers. Strip those away, and he'd be helpless.
Bahr had two motives: first, this brat needed humbling; second, he needed to learn the world's vastness beyond his delusions.
Most crucially—Bahr didn't want this fool causing trouble that he'd have to clean up later.
After a long silence, Enel suddenly demanded, "Do you have Conqueror's Haki? Show me."
"Nope." Bahr coughed lightly behind his hand, took a sip of juice, then delivered the blunt answer.
"Yahahaha!" Enel threw his head back in mocking laughter. "So you lack the Kingly Quality!"
Bahr's eye twitched at the grating sound. "What's so funny? Even without Conqueror's, I could handle you in minutes."
No Conqueror's Haki? So what? None of the Navy Admirals had displayed it either, yet they remained top-tier combatants!
Enel's face flushed then paled, veins throbbing at his neck. Remembering past humiliations at Bahr's hands, he found no retort.
Finally, he shot Bahr a sidelong glance. "Say what you will. We descend to Blue Sea tomorrow—this god will show those insects divine majesty!"
With that, he turned toward his throne, sneering inwardly.
This man who defeated him lacked so-called "Conqueror's Haki." As heaven's chosen ruler, how could he lack the "Kingly Quality"?
When the day came to prove his divinity, he'd make this man kneel beneath his thunder, witnessing true supremacy.
Enel could already picture Bahr's stunned expression when lightning shattered his barrier.
The thought sent thrills through him.
He would prove himself stronger.
Bahr watched Enel's retreating figure, suppressing the urge to beat some sense into the delusional god. Casually, he snatched a pastry from Nico Robin's fingers and popped it into his mouth.
Hopeless case.
Robin arched an elegant brow. "Boss, must you take things without asking? People without boundaries are quite tiresome."
"Boundaries?" Bahr tilted his head, noting how she'd shifted half a seat away. Suddenly leaning close, he murmured, "Come to my room tonight. I'll personally teach you about 'boundaries.'"
All affectionate when needing favors, cold-shouldering when not—such selective attitude needed correcting. Otherwise, what kind of boss would he be?
Robin's fingers paused, creasing the page slightly. She merely gave Bahr a sidelong glance without reply.
This man—petty beyond measure!