One Piece: The Unreal Adventure

by 0x FallenCrown x0

One lucky/unlucky guy wanted to play One Piece as Luffy. And he's doing just that. Literally! . Not a gamer Fic. Slightly AU. For more information (extended summary), check the first chapter. Also, this is an Extended Crew fic. Current Arc: Skypiea

35. Chapter 35

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While Sanji did have electricity, because of his fruit abilities, it wasn't as nearly strong as Enel's. His own self-generated flames were more destructive than his electricity, but weaker than Enel's lightning. That's why, he was more or less focusing on improving his firepower rather then anything else.

Mainly as Luffy, Zoro and Ace had shown how to use fire effectively. But now seeing Enel using lightning, it gave him a few more ideas. Sanji might have been a cook and a fighter, but he also had some knowledge about elements. His dear old father, did force him to study.

Fire and lightning were different, and yet similar. As blue fire, one that Ace had shown, can be even categorized as plasma. So rather than focusing on only his fire, he should also look into the lighting aspect of his powers. Though that was for later, now he was fully focused on the fight.

The fight continued for a while. Sanji constantly being on the back foot, and yet the cook refused to go full out. He was taking the time to improve his Observation haki instead.

'It was stupid. But stupid worked.' Sanji chuckled quoting his captain on that one.

Enel sidestepped one of Sanji's kicks before he tried to stab him with his golden trident. Sanji of course avoided it easily, though Enel used that chance to grab one of his legs.

"You are dead…" Enel couldn't even finish his sentence as with the other leg Sanji kicked him in the jaw making him go back. Though, not before sending an outrageous amount of lightning through Sanji's body. While the attack didn't do too damage, it did complete Enel's goal.

"Agh, shit… those were some nice shoes bastard," Sanji growled, looking at his leg. On his right legs, his pants from his knee down were destroyed along with his shoes.

Enel who had recovered, smirked. But he was still trying to recover from Sanji's kick. This was the third time he was hit. And unlike him, Enel wasn't used to taking that much damage.

Essentially Enel was the key definition of a glass canon.

Though it didn't matter. Now his opponent was one sea-stone shoe down. Or that's what he thought.

"You kind of pissed me off," Sanji said, getting off his other shoe, which was also heavily damaged before tossing it to the side. As both fighters were in the air, the shoe was lost in the destroyed island below "I really hate fighting bare feet but oh well." He shrugged.

Seeing this Enel frowned.

"You would give away your only advantage because of that?" Enel asked with a scoff. Acting as if he already won the fight. He crossed his arms, and shook his head, "That will be your undoing…"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence as Sanji's form blurred right in-front of him, kicking him right side of his chest. Enel wasn't able to react in time, his body getting bent, ribs cracking as he was thrown away.

Sanji wanted to follow through, but Enel quickly reacted, not wanting to get more damage.

"HAA!" Lightning exploded out of his body as Sanji jumped back with another use of Soru. Enel growled, while holding his side. "You! I'm done holding back! You will die! And I will make it painful!"

Sanji smirked. "Would you look at that, you do bleed. Some god you are…" He smirked, "Don't worry, I will be sending you to the real one, pretty soon."

Enel snarled, "Before I kill you, tell me, how are you able to touch me?." He demanded, "To touch a God as myself…"

"Oh, for the love of…" Sanji cut off, "Did you only think I had one trick up my sleeve." He said, "And I thought Ace was bad with his Logia ego… this one has a God complex as well. News flash you moron, you aren't even a threat to me, let alone my crewmates. Heck, you don't even know about armament haki."

Sanji even showed by coating his index finger in haki. A look of recognition and almost fear dawned on his face. That fear quickly morphed into anger and pure hatred.

"No! That's not possible!" Enel growled, "I refuse to lose again!"

With that Enel moved his arms forward, shooting a wave of lighting at the highest speed. Far faster then the speed of lightning. "100,000,000 V Lightning Chain!"

The unleashed lightning had a deep glow of blue, unlike before it wasn't light blue. And even without Haki Sanji knew that this was far more dangerous then before, making him unleash his full power.

.

When Enel first ate the fruit, back in Birka. He planned to rule it. And he did, for years he called himself the God of that island. The island of Birka was far more bigger then skypiea, with more resources. And of course, he had more people that followed his rule there.

But one day, a man came took everything away. Was he a blue sea dweller? He didn't know. The man had several islands behind him, because of his unworldly power and unlike others that man had swords for legs. And had power and speed that made Enel look like a rat.

He was beaten and almost killed. But he fled with his life.

The island of Skypiea was far more hidden than Birka, so he came here. Some of his loyal followers also came with him. But he still remembered that day. It was the same time his wings were cut off by the brutal man. His back still burned remembering that pain.

After coming to Skypiea, he took over this island instead. As there weren't any strong fighters, it wasn't very hard to do.

But this time, he wasn't as passive as before. He had trained his powers to be much faster, much deadlier. So that the same thing never happens. But seeing the blue sea dweller use that thing called 'armament' gave him the remainder of that sour memory.

'I will not lose again! I refuse to lose again!'

He didn't want to chase revenge. Deming it to be petty, but underneath he knew it was his weakness talking.

The sky island reminded him of that. And that's why he wanted to destroy it for good, to show of his power. Before heading to the moon, where it was his rightful place.

Enel moved his arms forward, shooting a wave of lighting at the highest speed. Far faster then the speed of lightning. "100,000,000 V Lightning Chain!"

The unleashed lightning had a deep glow of blue, unlike before it wasn't light blue. And even without Haki Sanji knew that this was far more dangerous than before, making him unleash his full power.

Enel was done holding back. But to his surprise at the last moment, Sanji moved away from the spot just in a nick of time, appearing a few feet to the left.

"…that was a close call."

"You! How did you get that fast?" Enel asked, anger in his voice. That attack was was far faster than his normal lightning, it wasn't his fastest attack, but even still he hadn't seen anyone other than that man dodge that attack. So he was shocked at how the blue sea dweller avoided it.

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"You! How did you get that fast?" Enel asked, anger in his voice. That attack was was far faster than his normal lightning, it wasn't his fastest attack, but even still he hadn't seen anyone other than that man dodge that attack.

"I didn't want to ruin my shoes," Sanji said, smiling, as he combed back his hair with his fingers, "That's the reason I was holding back. But now… now that you ruined a good pair, I have no reason to hold back."

It was true. Due to fighting Blackbeard's crew before, the newly made sea-stone sole shoes were heavily damaged. So if he used his full speed from the start, they would get ruined. What? Some people have priories.

Sparks of blue lightning crackled around Sanji, a simple technique that was purely powered by his devil fruit. A technique that he developed after training intensely with Sabo. A technique that the more he used it, boosted it speed.

"It will change nothing!" Enel growled as he came forward. His trident sparking with electricity.

Sanji smirked going forward as well.

While his captain was a good trainer, due to his rubber body, some of the tips he gave wasn't applicable for him. Sabo was used to fighting without power, so from time to time he would seek the fellow blond out to train.

Sabo also being a bit used to training others due to him being a revolutionary helped quite a bit. And with this, just before leaving Alabasta Sanji was able to make his new technique.

He had to thank Sabo for that. Other than hair color, both of them were also similar with their past. So they bonded well in that regard.

Both Enel and Sanji met at the middle. And like before Enel wanted to shock Sanji with his lightning. But to his surprise, the lightning bounced of his body. Well, most of it.

"Huh, didn't know my new technique could do that." Sanji smirked, "Anyway, we have wasted enough time already. As you are not holding back, I won't either. This is my new technique, Speed Overdrive! Hope, you won't die too fast."

Enel growled attacking with everything. His speed and power are stronger than before.

Sanji was able to keep up. But not in the way people might expect. His observation haki had improved and with armament haki, his flames and speed powers, he was fast. But Enel was faster.

But with Sanji's Speed Overdrive, he was getting there, and in time he would overtake Enel in speed. Though controlling that much speed was far more complex then it was.

In his training with Sabo he also improved his Black leg style. After learning Geppo and Soru. Sanji had made a note to incorporate the feet-based movements into his techniques. And with this his base speed had gone up significantly. And when added 'Speed Overdrive' on the top of it.

He was a menace in speed. Though, that was excluding Luffy and Sabo. They were in a different league… for now, that was.

His Speed Overdrive was the same technique, that almost made me catch up to the teleporter. Van Auger. So of course he would able to fight against Enel with it.

Both Enel and Sanji fought for quite a while. Enel might have lacked proper fighting experience, but he made up for it with power alone.

Sanji's form blurred from his spot, almost teleporting right in front of Enel with a roundhouse kick. His feet laced with nothing but flames and armament haki.

Enel quickly held up his golden staff, but that was a mistake. Sanji's kick broke though the golden staff, like it wasn't there before hitting Enel in the arm, "Agh!"

Sanji's leg connected with his opponent's arm, bones cracking due to his hit, as the arm bent in an odd angle. With another swing, this time he tried to kick man in his mid-section.

But this time Enel was quick to react, discharging a massive amount of lighting making Sanji step back with soru. As Sanji stopped one could see that from his knee down, his pants were ripped due to the force of his own kicks. "Tch… I have to get better pants."

Not even bothering with Enel. Sanji had finally figured out Enel's weakness. His lack of durability that is. He had only managed to land hits five times, and Enel was already looking half-dead.

Though the problem was hitting him in the first place. The bastard was fast. And if he wasn't wrong. He was getting faster.

He knew about some people becoming strong as the fight went on. Happened many times with his captain and even Zoro. Heck, even he had experienced it when fighting against Slender Swift, but when the same thing happens to the opponent. It's a bother.

"Why you insolent brat!" Enel growled holding his arm, he quickly wrapped his broken arm with the gold from his staff. The gold wrapped around the wound like a crutch that he could control. "I will kill you!"

Sanji mused, "Here I thought, I took off one of your arms…"

Enel growled as his form started to glow blue with power. "You will suffer!"

Sanji just smirked. Both of them moved as Sanji's feets caught flames laced with Haki. Lightning took shape in Enel's hands, creating a massive hammer that he swang forth.

Sanji at the same time, kicked forward without any fear, as both of their attacks collided.

BOOM

The landscape shook, as the air rumbled with power. Thunder cracking while sparks of fire could be seen everywhere. The ground broke off into chunks as trees, rocks anything that were around the area got destroyed and thrown back due to the clash of their attacks.

Both of them, blinking in and out of the battlefield. Not giving each other a chance to catch a breath. Each trying to end the fight quickly.

As both of them weren't holding back anything. They knew dragging the fight longer would be a mistake. So they wanted to end it fast.

But it was easier said than done. Both of them were strong. Almost equally matched. And both of them were improving mid-battle. Sanji with his Speed Overdrive, Enel because of his extraordinary talent and willpower.

Enel attacked. Rather then using gold to make weapons. Enel used his own lighting to create semi-solid weapons. And surprisingly enough it was much more durable. Enough to stand against a few haki-enhanced kicks from Sanji before breaking.

Showing how far Enel had improved his powers.

Both of their speed matched each other. Sanji only gaining the upper advantage when he used Soru, but with Enel's lighting construct it bridged the gap. But that wasn't the only problem.

Enel had set up orbs of lightning around them, that shot attacks randomly. And while his 'Speed Overdrive' was able to negate most of the damage. It was adding up.

'Every time I attack, I also get damaged from it. Shit, this guy really was holding back a lot.' Sanji thought as Enel came in for another attack. 'I have to be careful… I might have some lightning resistance, but I can't take much. Even armament haki can't protect me from all the damage. It would have been different, if my armament haki was stronger. Then I could pull that full-body trick and finish the fight… but its too hard for me. I have to outsmart him.'

Just having full-body armament haki didn't mean your haki was stronger. It meant your control over the armament aspect of it was strong. But having more control also means better utilization, so in a way it did make you strong.

Both Sanji and Enel attacked each other. Going through the island, not caring for the surroundings. The fight moved from sky to ground, to ground to sky.

Enel attacked like a furious beast, without any elegance as he unleashed his wrath. Around him was his lightning constructs of different weapons, which he tried to kill Sanji with.

Sanji avoided some, while tanking others. Still, the lightning damage was getting to him. And that wasn't all, his devil fruit was sucking his stamina dry.

Unlike others, he just got his powers recently. So, he wasn't used to the stamina drain that other Devil Fruit users on his crew had. So he was on a timer.

The ground shook. The large trees of the upper yard got destroyed either by the lightning attacks or by the sheer force of their clash. The whole island started to shake as the fighting intensified.

"Die!"

Sanji was thrown back, by a blow that connected with his jaw, sending his spinning towards a lightning orb. But before he could get hit. He dodged it in the nick of time with soru. Tough Enel was already on him.

'Shit! I can't keep going on this for long!'

At this high speed, using soru and geepo too much was breaking his exoskeleton. If he didn't use it sparingly, he might even end up breaking his own feet.

Also even though when using Speed Overdrive his speed increased the more he moved, he couldn't do that infinitely. Well, in theory he could. But his body wasn't able to handle that high speed. And if he went out of Speed Overdrive then he would need to go from square one to build up speed again. And with his stamina issues with his relatively new devil fruit, Sanji was on the lines here.

There was also another problem. Sanji wasn't the only one who improved his observation haki and devil fruit usage mid battle. Enel did as well. And unlike Sanji who had a timer on his technique, he didn't.

Enel had his fruit far longer then Sanji, so he was experienced on how to use it efficiently. While Sanji was still learning.

Sanji jumped to the side, sparingly using soru to dodge the dangerous attacks. And even though he had his Speed Overdrive active, he wasn't using it to boost his speed as it was getting hard as it to hold that much speed in.

Enel laughed seeing Sanji run, "It won't do you any good blue sea dweller. I have merged my mantra with my lightning powers. Now you can't beat me."

Enel of course had long discovered how to use his devil fruit powers to increase the range of his mantra, he was able to do it back in Birka. But only while fighting Sanji did he learn how to use of it mid battle.

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"You will regret even setting foot up here, blue sea dweller." Enel said, his form glowing blue as his full body turned to electricity, "For I will show you the power of…"

Sanji attacked, not letting him finish the sentence. It seems the longer he fought, the more of a threat he became, that's why he intended to finish it fast. Even if it means going faster than his body could handle.

Enel had to stop mid-way to dodge a kick, "Less talking, more fighting!"

"You insolent…"

"Collier Strike!"

"Gah! You almost hit my face. Let me finish first…" Enel said, before jumping back and throwing his arms forward. "100,000,000 Volt Discharge!"

A stream of deadly lightning came out of Enel's hands toward Sanji.

"Diable Jambe: Tempest Barrage!" Sanji countered with his own strikes, his legs blurring with red flames as he went through the stream of electricity, kicking Enel right in the face.

Or at least he tried to, but at the last moment, Enel dodged the attack, "I was right, you can't keep up that kind of speed for long. You are too slow!" he laughed, throwing beams of lightning at Sanji making him retreat up to the sky.

What Enel failed to recognize was the growth of his own speed. Not knowing that it wasn't Sanji who had gotten slower, it was Enel himself who had gotten faster.

Sanji had to tank the attack, but he was incapacitated mid-air. Giving Enel a chance to follow through with a stab from his lightning-made trident.

"…" Sanji gritted his teeth as the trident stabbed into his side. Breaking right through his exoskeleton as Enel used that chance to pump Sanji with multiple volts of lightning.

Bzzzt

"Agh!" Sanji's body spasmed due to the heavy lightning fully entering his system.

"Yahahaha! You are de…" But before he could finish his sentence Sanji gave Enel a headbutt that broke Enel's nose, and gave Sanji the opportunity to kick him back.

'Shit! I think most of my insides are fried.' Sanji thought, gritting his teeth. The pain was unbearable, so much so that his 'Speed Overdrive' wore off. Sanji held his side while eyeing Enel.

With his 'Speed Overdrive' gone, he was back to his base speed. Which had improved a bit during the battle. But he needed to be much faster if he wanted to avoid the shit Enel was going to throw at him.

But it seemed that the damage that Enel had sustained had made him slow down a bit.

Enel was pissed, and seeing him pissed gave Sanji an odd sense of satisfaction. Enel might have been arrogant, but he was gifted. Even without his fruit, the rate at which his powers were growing was making even Sanji get put on the back foot.

Though, Sanji relished the challenge. If this fight put him above Zoro, then he would do it.

Unknowingly Sanji was getting more focused on his crew rather than his revenge. It seems all the time with the Straw Hats made him heal his broken heart. It was far from being completely healed, but it was getting better.

Sanji stood up, taking off his shirt, ripping it, and tying it around his waist to stop the newly formed wound. Even with his Germa enhancements, his wound might need some time to heal.

He smirked at Enel, "Thanks for giving me the time to recover, dick-head."

"You! I will show you what fear is!" Enel roared as he took to the air. Releasing multiple black lightning orbs. Each one oozed danger in Sanji's Observation Haki.

"Please, you can't show me anything that I haven't already seen," Sanji said darkly. "And your god-complex really is getting on my nerves. In fact, you sound like dear old dad… oh, I'm gonna enjoy breaking you!"

"You will suffer!" From up above the multiple orbs of lightning that shot many bolts of electricity at him. And unlike before, now that Sanji was out of his Speed Overdrive the attacks were much more deadly for him.

'Come on! One last time!' Sanji said to himself, activating his powers. Though seeing the attack, and drive for power, made something inside of him snap. 'I have to overpower him! …or do I?'

Time seemed to slow down from him, as he realized something. He was thinking all of this the wrong way. If he couldn't overpower him then he just needed to be creative with his powers.

Luffy and Sparky had shown him how to get creative with their powers. Just attacking mindlessly wouldn't do him any good. If he could speed up his physical speed, then what about his perception? Enel did something similar with using Observation Haki with his Devil Fruit ability.

So why couldn't he…?

One last time Sanji entered 'Speed Overdrive', but this time, he didn't solely focus on speeding up his physical attributes. He closed and opened his eyes, as everything around him slowed down to a crawl. Unknowingly he had used his powers to boost the effect of Observation Haki. The battlefield is a cruel but effective teacher.

But while Sanji was able to see things in slow motion, moving his body was another straining task. As only his perception improved, not his speed. Still, it made him use his 'Speed Overdrive' more effectively, taking away the need for any wasted movements.

The speed that was leaking out from Sanji's body finally managed to stabilize, not only making him fast, but at the same time showing him the world in slow motion so that he could easily move.

'I have to work fast…' Sanji's body still wasn't used to that kind of speed, especially with the wound in his side. While his Speed-Speed Fruit gave him the power of a speedster. His mastery over his fruit powers were still low. And stamina was running dangerously low.

The bolts of lightning landed, but Sanji dodged with precision footwork. He danced around them, and even when lightning did strike him, it went around him rather than damaging him. While others might have not noticed Enel did.

"You… you managed to use Mantra in combination with your powers," Enel said in a state of shock. Not believing how a lower-class being could do something similar.

And due to this, he got distracted. Sanji used this opportunity to move in for a fast attack, he had little power left, but with all of it, he appeared in front of Enel, ignoring the lightning orbs that touched his body, and delivered a spinning axe kick right into Enel's face.

The attack connected, breaking a few of Enel's teeth with blood spilling out as he was sent down into the ground of Upper Yard. The logia user flew to the ground, digging a trench before stopping.

Sanji wanted to follow through to finish the fight but his body gave up as he fell to the ground. Along with the lightning orbs, and his overusing his powers, he was at his limit.

Drops of blood fell to the floor, it seemed he was bleeding from his eyes and ears again. An effect that he was familiar with when his body wasn't able to take the strain of his own technique. "Shit, it seems I overdid it! I thought I fixed that issue…" he growled as he panted. The wound on his stomach also flared up, making him hiss in pain. "This is bad…"

Even his vision was getting blurry. Usually, this would result in knocking himself out, but with sheer willpower, Sanji pushed through. 'At least this buys me some time…'

But he spoke too soon as suddenly he heard the crackle of lightning. "You gotta be kidding me…"

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"You gotta be kidding me…"

From the crater, Enel rose up. 'Why am I even surprised? This might have been the seventh time I landed a hit on the bastard. Still, it should have given me more time…' Sanji internally thought, finally being able to see Enel.

Enel came out, levitating in anger and fury. Lightning crackled around him as he glared at Sanji. Others might have gotten scared.

But to Sanji…

"Pfthahhaha! What happened to your face?!" Sanji laughed, not being able to hold himself after seeing Enel. After a second, he realized it was himself as he pointed at himself., "Oh, I did that… Pfthahahah! Oh God! My stomach hurts… that shit is a piece of art."

Enel's face twisted in anger, his face was caved in, with multiple teeth missing and a broken bloody nose.

"This time I will show you what horror is!" he said as he grew in size, his form turning demonic. "I will show you what kind of demon you have unleashed. You will regret ever messing with me!"

"Will I? I'm afraid I don't have the ability to under-perform to such a degree, but I can try if it makes you happy," Sanji said, pushing himself off the floor with the support of his knee. While his body ached in pain and exhaustion he wouldn't give up. "I don't plan on losing to your ugly mug."

Sanji was very close to finishing it. But he had missed the opportunity. If he only recovered fast enough. Sanji blinked, realizing something. 'Wow, I'm definitely stupid!'

Enel attacked and Sanji moved, not wanting to get hit. He went down, using the large trees to avoid the lightning strikes as he took a gamble.

While he was running low on stamina, he still gambled on trying to speed up his recovery. Using Life Return along with his speed-based powers.

'I have used Life Return before to heal from wounds. I just have to speed it up.' He thought. But it was easier said than done. Sanji needed precise control of his speed-based powers if he wanted to achieve his goal.

"I will kill you for ruining my face!" Enel screamed in a fit of anger as he attacked.

But Sanji wasn't listening, he was more focused on keeping his powers in check. Trying to recover his legs and the wound in his side first. As using too much Soru with Speed Overdrive, his feet were in pretty rough shape, especially his exoskeleton which had several cracks in it. Even the bone in his legs were getting cracks from using the leg based movements too much.

As Sanji dodged Enel's attack throughout the forest, his gamble started to pay off.

The cracks patched up, even the wound in his side was healing and he was able to gain back his power a bit. And with that he moved up to the sky using 'Speed Overdrive' to the fullest, along with Soru, once again.

"So you finally came out, coward!" Enel snarled, attacking. Above him was a giant electrical orb, deep navy in color. It seems he was also preparing something for Sanji.

Seeing Sanji fearlessly come at him, Enel discharged multiple bolts of wild and powerful lightning at the speedster from the giant orb. And like expected, it was far faster than his previous lightning attacks. And yet Sanji stepped out of the way of the attack.

'I thought he was heavily injured, how did he recover so quickly? No matter, it won't change the outcome. I will win!' Enel thought, as he transformed into lightning, zipping around the battlefield, and at the same time, the giant orb of lightning attacked Sanji.

"Diable Jambe: Blazing Tempest Kick!"

A slash of powerful flames cut through the lightning infront before destroying the giant orb of lightning. Sparking up the sky, as Sanji started giving chase to Enel.

"You! Why don't you stay down!?" Enel said, almost in desperation as he attacked. Lightning spread out from his arm, like tree branches on all sides. "300,000,000 V Lightning Chain!"

Seeing this Sanji quickly turned on his enhanced perception, as things slowed down. With that, Sanji moved between the attacks, using the combination of his Armament Haki and flames to negate as much damage as possible. Taking the fight to close range.

Sanji came with a fury of kicks that were all deadly enough to finish the fight. But Enel was far from giving up. He boosted his own mantra with his lightning-based powers. Avoiding the hits, and attacking Sanji with his powers.

But even then, just from the wind pressure alone, Enel was getting minor cuts on his body. Showing how deadly Sanji's kicks were.

Their fight went on the sky, a dance of fire and lightning, that illuminated the surrounding area. A sense of danger and power radiating from them.

'Shit! I'm at my limit! But I have to push through!' His Speed Overdrive was getting to him again as was his new increased perception. With everything in mind, he used his fastest Soru, in combination with Geppo in his right leg. Shattering the exoskeleton even when he had enhanced it with Armament Haki.

With this he seemingly appeared in front of Enel, "Take my shitty axe-kick, you bastard!" Sanji called out with an axe kick that almost knocked out Enel, but rather than getting hit, Enel grinned.

His body exploded into lightning, blocking Sanji's vision as he quickly stepped back.

"Thirty Million Volts Thunder Bird!"

A massive lightning attack rang out from Enel. It bit into Sanji, pushing him to the ground, but retaliated with his own attack. Kicking with his left leg, "Diable Jambe: Party Table Kick Course!"

Several shots of fire shot out from his leg, crushing against the lightning attack. While Enel's attack had more power, Sanji's attack was imbued with Haki, so both attacks met in the middle and detonated. Canceling each other. Though it created a massive explosion of light that blinded Sanji for a second, disturbing his concentration in Haki.

"You left yourself wide open!" Enel said, appearing right behind the cook, "800,000,000 V Jamboule!"

Sanji had little time to get shocked, as he was caught off guard, a massive lightning dragon bit into him, and biting into his body, dragging him through a good portion of Upper Yard. Destroying trees, rocks, or animals that came in its way.

When the attack stopped, Sanji could be seen laying at the end of the trench. Smoke coming out of his body, while his suit was ruined.

Enel landed on the ground with a satisfied smile on his face. Though he hissed when the injury from his broken ribs flared up. His right arm was also not doing well. Even moving his neck was tough for him. "You were tough, but like everyone else, you were nothing."

He said, as he started to levitate into the air. This had been dragged for long enough, and he wasn't in any shape to fight anyone else. So he intended to sink Upper Yard and take his ship to go to the moon.

However, before he could do that, something happened. A small grunt, Enel quickly looked down, and sure enough it was Sanji.

The cook sat up from the ground with much struggle. His body still had sparks of electricity that ran through him.

Sanji coughed before pushing himself off the floor with the support of his knee. "Agh, that was nasty…" he said, "Tch… you also ruined my suit. You do know these things cost a lot?" He joked trying to hide the pain that was screaming out from his body.

"You… how are you even alive?" Enel asked, flabbergasted, "That should have killed you!"

Sanji just gave him a grin, at the last moment before the attack hit. He was able to cover his whole body with Armament Haki. It didn't protect him from all the damage, but it did save his life.

"I'm just built different."

335

Still, Sanji was in a bad condition. He knew his own body enough to know that every part of his exoskeleton was broken. But he wouldn't show weakness in front of an enemy.

If he couldn't fight against a foe like him now, then he couldn't proudly call himself the chef of the Straw Hat Pirates. Also, the last thing he wanted was to lose against this arrogant bastard.

Enel snarled, "You are barely standing, fool. Just die!" he said as he raised his arms, before dropping it, "Sango!"

From the lightning orbs, multiple bolts of lightning came down, falling toward Sanji. But the cook already moved by then, using his speed-based powers to only dodge. He knew fighting like this was foolish. So he had to recover.

A few of his crewmates were watching. So losing was not an option. Especially if Robin-swan was here.

So he was going to use a trick that he saw Luffy use many times. He didn't want to use this, as food should be enjoyed slowly, but this was an emergency.

As the lightning bolts dropped, Sanji jumped from side to side, using Geppo and Soru to bounce off the air to only dodge. As Enel was using his powers for so long, and fighting so cautiously, he was also worn out.

So his attacks weren't as fast as previously. And with Enel being so infuriated, he didn't notice when Sanji took out a few bars of food, and chowed them down.

"*burp…* I need to work on their taste." He said, while he used Life Return to digest the food. These were highly condensed nutrition bars, filled with calories and protein. Made so that Luffy could eat them mid-battle if he needed a quick recovery, in a long drawn-out fight.

It wasn't a perfect plan as most opponents wouldn't be foolish enough to let you eat during a death battle. But Enel had his own flaws. As time went on, it became easier for Sanji to dodge the Enel's attacks.

While Sanji wasn't as good at using Life Return like his captain. He speeded up the process with his powers. 'Wait… if I can speed up the digestion process of my body for more stamina. Can't I use that stamina to recover as well…?'

A massive grin split on his face. "You are gonna be in a world of pain." He said, grinning, "And I'm going to enjoy it."

Enel, who was in the air, continued to attack, not seeing how Sanji's wounds were seemingly closing. And how he was growing in power and stamina.

The toll of battle was even catching up to Enel, and he seemed to be panting. So he decided to finish this. But it was too late.

Enel attacked with all his powers, throwing powerful orbs of lightning, towards the cook, that were larger than your average man. "Raigo!"

While Sanji was able to avoid them at first, Sanji was soon surrounded by them. Sanji was still trying to recover, with his speed powers working at the maximum. But it seems that he was trapped. Seeing this, he activated all of his power.

Enel grinned, "It's too late. You are done now! I will destroy you, along with the island!" with that he brought his hands forward, and all of them hurled towards Sanji's body, as he was in the middle of it. Even the giant orb of lightning that was supposed to be used for destroying the island came down. And exploded at the same time. "10,000,000,000 V Lightning Devastation!"

A huge explosion occurred in the sky. The sky illuminated like there was a second sun. And in the middle of it was Sanji. Getting electrocuted endlessly. Even his Speed Overdrive couldn't bounce off all the lightning. Sanji did everything, trying to speed up his recovery and even cover his whole body with Armament Haki.

But even then the power of the attack was ripping him apart. Was this the end for him…? no… I refused to die here.

"I won't give up!" he roared. And suddenly the time seemed to stop as something inside of him snapped. He couldn't lose, he had to avenge his mother. Find the All-Blue. He had to help his crewmates achieve their dreams. He had to find love. He couldn't give up now! No, he refused to give up!

He saw the faces of the bastard, his father, followed by his siblings. Hate riled within him. Then the faces of his crewmates came up one by one. Luffy, Sparky, Zoro, Gin, Coby, Kuina… one by one all of them showed up. And lastly came the image of Robin. An amused smile on her lips.

His once endless Hate turned into something different. Something that he hadn't felt since the day his mother passed away. And with that a burst of his will came forth! It was as if the roar of a dragon!

The lightning attack that was buzzing blue, quickly got overpowered by the royal blue lighting with black outlines, lightning that of a King. Seemingly Enel's lightning wasn't a challenge any more.

.

"Yahahahaha! Finally… I have managed to…" Enel who was celebrating stopped, as a shiver ran down his spin. It was almost as if the air became still, as his breath caught up in his throat. He didn't know what Conqueror's Haki was. But he had felt it before and again, he felt so powerless that even in the air his knees started to bulk.

A memory flared up of a man with a golden mane of hair. The powerlessness he felt against him. But how could a blue sea dweller…? He couldn't even finish his thought.

As suddenly, in front of him, the lightning disappeared, getting overpowered by sheer willpower as Sanji came out with a speed that even he couldn't match. "I-Impossible! What is this…!?"

Sanji came out from seemingly nowhere, his feets laced with flames that flashed between orange and blue, "Ondo Rare Strike!" giving a dropkick right to Enel's gut.

Boom!

Enel spit out blood and spit, as suddenly he found himself in a world of pain.

The speed of Sanji's attack was so much that not only did it destroy Enel's organs, it even broke his spine, going through him. The speed was so much that even Sanji tumbled through the forest, before he was able to catch himself.

The already destroyed forest was even more damaged as Sanji came toward the ground, ripping through the remnants of the forest, uprooting ancient trees and hurling them like matchsticks before he could stop himself.

The air was thick with swirling debris, a chaotic dance of charred leaves, and splintered branches. Even the ground trembled beneath the weight of the devastation, with deep fissures snaking through the earth like the aftermath of some colossal earthquake. All because of Sanji's landing.

"I'm not finished with you yet bastard…" Before Sanji could finish his sentence, the upper half of Enel's body fell. Making Sanji flinch back in disgust. "Oh… ugh… sorry about that."

Enel, who couldn't believe what happened, looked at Sanji with fear. His once arrogant god complex was gone, replaced with pure fear as he was dying. Sanji's blonde hair reminding him of his previous powerless defeat, and the horror of it all, "Y-you… you are the devil!" with those words Enel dropped his struggle, falling dead.

Sanji frowned, clicking his tongue, "I ain't no devil. I'm a cook!" he said, but Enel didn't say anything as he was dead.

Sanji's brow twitched seeing such a lackluster ending, as he dropped to the floor on his ass. There was seemingly no injury on his body, but he had zero energy in him. Now that his opponent was gone, the exhaustion and mental drain hit him like a train.

Feeling your whole body getting ripped apart and being repaired at the same time wasn't something comfortable.

"Still, I did gain one thing from it…" Sanji gave a weak smirk, as he opened his palms. In his hands electricity danced at his command, before getting reabsorbed by his body. Not only did his lightning ability improve, he could also feel that his exoskeleton got stronger. What the cook missed of course was his own awakening of his Conqueror's Haki.

"Huh, I wonder what I should cook for breakfast." But then he blinked, looking at the sun. "Shit! It's already noon!"

"Really, that's what you are worried about?" Zoro scoffed, he had appeared a few seconds ago.

"Shishishi… at least he has his priorities straight."

Sabo just shook his head, "I was worried there for a moment."

"Nah… did you get what you came for?" Luffy asked.

Sanji looked over his shoulder, and in Sabo's hand was a fruit, that was most definitely a logia. The lightning logia.

Sanji smirked, "What are you waiting for… eat it." He said.

Sabo blinked, "I… I can't, this is your fruit…"

Sanji scoffed, before turning to Luffy, "Do you have someone else in mind for the fruit Captain?"

Luffy grinned, "No… Though, I'm a bit surprised… don't you want anything in return?"

"Nah… I would have gifted the fruit to Robin…" Sanji said, quickly saying another name, "Or Nami-swan… but as they already have a fruit its best that Sabo eats it."

Luffy frowned, feeling bothered for some reason, as if he missed something before he shrugged. "That is true… the others are too weak and would rely too much on the fruit. So I agree with that."

Sanji smiled, seemingly dodging the bullet. "Anyway, I did get stronger from the fight." He said, before smirking towards Sabo, "And besides you can take this as a payment for helping me train back in Alabasta."

Sabo hesitated, "I… still can't…" but he couldn't finish his sentence as Zoro grabbed him by the shoulder and Luffy shoved the fruit into his mouth. Making him eat the whole thing. "Aagh…! This tastes absolutely horrible!"

Both Luffy and Zoro laughed, giving each other fist bumps, seeing Sabo's suffering. Though it quickly ended as lightning started to crackle around him.

Luffy grinned, "Oh, Ace would be jealous about this! Shishishi!"

'At least one of the tasks is done… now let's get the gold.' Luffy thought as he laughed. All of them laughed, seemingly ignoring the bloody half-body of Enel that lay lifeless on the floor. Where the other part of his body was, no one knew.

.

"I wonder if monkeys have wings here?"

Gin looked at Sparky weirdly.

"What? That's a legitimate question."

—

NOTE:

I made Enel a menace like he should be. Without changing things too much. I did give him a bit of a back story, but other than that everything remained the same.

Also in my defense. I don't usually make the enemy strong like other fics. No, as you have seen a bunch of times. I have made allies such as Cricket and Law to be stronger than they should be at this time. Or even made-up strong characters like Anchor and Sinbad. So of course there will be some changes here and there.

This is my story. With AU involved. So I took some creative liberties.

Also, don't worry. I will mostly keep other antagonist characters like the Admiral or Yonko crew the same level. Because let's face it, they are overpowered as they are. It's just the pre-timeskip characters that should have been strong, in my opinion, that I'm changing.

Also, Sanji's Speed Overdrive increases his speed the longer the time he uses it. Almost like new Broly's Ikari mode, the longer the stays in Speed Overdrive the faster he gets. Until he can't control the speed anymore.

He can also control it so that he stops the speed from growing more.

But once he's out of Speed Overdrive, he has to restart the process and build up speed again.

Hope this makes sense. Anyway, have a nice day.

Edit by the anonymous editor: I've decided to stop editing after the Skypeia arc, so if someone would be willing to replace me as an editor to help out dear Crown, that would be great. Could probably ask about it in the comments if you'd like to take over. As for the errors in the past 3 or so chapters, I kinda forgot about this. Those should be fixed now if Crown reposted/updated those chapters. That's all.

336

A bit earlier,

"So, earth is valuable here?" Robin asked, still wearing her oni-mask, completely ignoring the tremors she felt or the thunder she heard. After a few hours, it had become quite a common thing, and the level of destruction here was rather tame compared to what happened in Jaya. So she decided to mingle along with the Shandorans and note down what she found interesting about their culture. "Why is that? Is it because of crop farming?"

"That is one reason…" The chief said, wincing when he heard a loud thunder, "But you see the vearth here is rather old. And has lost its growth property over time. It can still produce good crops. But vearth that's from the blue sea is still better than the vearth here or the Upper Yard."

"Interesting! Very interesting!" Cricket who was by the side, noted down along with Robin. The pirate even had his glasses on. While others didn't know, but as a descendant of Noland, Cricket was also very interested in history, so he did some archeological research on the side. Cricket might be a pirate, but he still had his own passion.

"Is there a reason why the trees and life forms have bigger sizes than normal?" Robin asked.

"That… aren't they supposed to be that size?" The old chief asked, before remembering something, "Oh, I remember some stories about the animals being smaller in the blue sea… but unfortunately, I have no idea why that is…"

"Maybe it's because of the air pressure around here?" Cricket said, "The air is quite thin, and other than taking some time to adjust you should have realized that it's easier to move around now."

Hearing that Robin hummed, "That can be true… but if that was the case then all of the Shandorans would have been much taller, like the giants or at least be triple our height. Maybe it's something different."

Cricket nodded, realizing that only the animals and trees here have gotten bigger. Not the humans. He was about to ask when another booming thunder cut him off. This one made the whole Cloud Island shake violently.

Everyone had to hold onto something so they wouldn't fall. "Is it me or are they getting louder and louder?" Cricket asked, looking at Robin, "Are you sure the cook can handle him? A lightning logia is no joke…"

Robin closed her books and looked towards the Upper Yard. From where they sat, they couldn't get a full view of it, but she didn't need to. She had complete trust in her crewmates. "Don't worry, Sanji can handle it. Logias aren't as powerful as people might think. And besides, Luffy has gone there as well. Now, back to the question…"

While Robin and Cricket discussed the Shandoran culture and history. Nami was taking her time, exchanging the dirt they had for Gold. The people of Shandora didn't see Gold as valuable. But they did use it to make old weapons, like spears, or arrow-heads.

Because of gold's rust-resisting properties, weapons made by it can last longer than usual. They, of course, covered the arrowheads with coal or other colors to take away the shininess of the weapon, due to stealth. But Nami was able to figure it out… somehow.

When Nami realized it, she started her trading immediately, not wanting to waste the gold. "Heheh… I'm rich!"

Seeing her trade a fairly equal amount of dirt for gold was an odd sight. Several of the straw hats sweat-dropped at the scene.

Usopp on the other hand was in the square of the village, telling the tales of the Straw Hat pirates and their adventures. With how crazy their journey was, Usopp really didn't have to lie about things. Well, he did exaggerate his part of the stories, but it was kind of given, given his bad habits.

Johnny, Yosaku, and Bartolmeo were helping Usopp by being animated and giving Usopp's stories a bit more life. Their stories of course did bring a lot of attention from the kids and even adults in the village.

With the fight going on for a couple of hours now, many of the Straw Hats even decided to head out from the hidden village to Angel Island to explore.

Gan Fall, who had recovered due to Chopper's and Law's help, took it upon himself to guide the young ones to the island. As one could get lost in the white sea.

The Going Merry was still docked in the Shandoran village, so Momoo volunteered with transportation.

"Is that the last one?" Sparky asked.

"Yup," Gin said, throwing the last body on the ground. It was Ohm, and he looked rather beaten up, with his face all mangled up, and his arm broken at an odd angle. "Had to get a bit rough on him…"

Coby, who was by the side, rolled his eyes, before throwing another body, "When do you not get rough?"

"Shut it pipsqueak!" Gin said with a grin, not denying the claim.

However, that comment didn't add up, as Coby was the same height as Gin. And even though Coby was wearing a loose shirt, one could see that his frame was solidly built underneath.

"Sparky-ya, I'm done with checking up on the locals," Law said, while Bepo came along with him, carrying his medical bag.

Behind them, one could see Penguin and Shachi —even with their injuries from earlier— helping the people. Though, they were more so looking after the giggling females rather than truly doing their duty.

Hatchan yawned, "I didn't see things going this way." He said, "But oh well… we are pirates after all."

Sparky sighed, when they came here. They initially planned on taking a look around, and Gan Fall had come to guide them here. But who knew things would go this way?

The people of Angel Island were distressed due to the fighting going on, due to close proximity to the Upper Yard it was constantly shaking. But that wasn't the main problem. Most of Enel's lackeys came here to cause trouble after not being able to be helpful in Upper Yard.

So when they came here, the people of Angel Island needed help. And Gan Fall was a bit injured, so they had volunteered to help out. It was good in a way.

Gan Fall was now explaining the situation of what was happening and all of the people were looking towards Upper Yard with hope.

Well, everyone but one. A female came towards them, even though others had ignored them due to their quirky appearance. Especially with Sparky and Hatchan being there.

The female had blonde hair styled into two braids that ended in balls and two antenna-like tops that also ended in spheres. She was wearing a pink dress without sleeves and sandals on her feet. Two small wings, not even big enough to fly with, sprouted from her back, like the rest of the sky people.

All in all, she reminded the earliest members of Usopp's girlfriend Kaya, just with wings and a different hairstyle.

"Heso, I'm Conis," she greeted a bit tense in her voice, "I-I… Is it true… are you really going to stop Enel?" she said directly looking at Sparky. Mainly as the others answered to the monkey first.

Sparky gave her a small smile. "Yup, he's toast… the bastard tried to harm a kid in front of Sanji… he would be lucky if he's able to keep his whole body after he's done."

Conis, who was about to say something, stopped when suddenly all of them stopped as they felt static in the air. The hairs on their body rose as a deep sense of dread was felt. But it was over with an explosion. An explosion that, even at this distance, shook the whole island.

"What was that…?" She asked, a bit pale. Coby had come to give her support as she, like most of the islanders, fell due to the violent tremors of the island.

Gin smirked, he didn't need Haki to know what just happened. "It's done." He said, before looking at Conis, "Wanna see a trick?"

Before she could answer, Gin took out one of his tonfa and threw it into the air. The weapon spinning at a rapid rate before hitting something in the air. The weapon returned after hitting it's target, and something fell on the floor.

It was the lower half of Enel.

"Kaayyy!" With that Conis passed out on Coby's arm.

The pirate with the hero complex looked irritated with his crewmate, "Did you really have to do that?"

"What? I showed her a trick." He said, grinning, "A bloody one. Now no one would question our validity…" with that, he cackled manically.

It was true in a way. Almost all of the people present there recognized Enel's body… or what was left of him. So, they really did become a hero. Most of them didn't even care about the bloody scene. After suffering for so long, they were more than happy to see Enel dead.

— — — —

A/N: Gin is a menace. lol

337

The previous night was a party, a celebration of all of the people in Skypiea. It didn't matter if you were a Shandoran or a resident of Angel Island, sky people, or blue sea dwellers. All of them celebrated the fall of Enel and a new beginning.

The six years under the rule of Enel was quite cruel. Many had lost their families and friends, but those times were gone now. So everyone was looking for a bright future.

A bright future with their new ruler.

Sanji's brow twitched, "I didn't sign up for this shit." He grumbled, fixing his suit, a bit annoyed. It was a white suit that made him look quite charming.

Robin, who was by the doorway, chuckled, "Well, it's quite the promotion. From Mr. Prince to Mr. King, no?" she said, "But it's not the worst thing to happen… I'm just a bit surprised that they were willing to take an outsider as their leader. But then again, Enel was also an outsider."

Both of them were on the Going Merry. But the ship wasn't docked on the sea but rather on Angel island itself, as most of the Straw Hats had their necessities on it. And didn't want their ship to drift off or get pushed away by other sea creatures.

Though that would be difficult as Momoo was on the white sea, and spreading his dominance over it.

Sanji gave her an annoyed look, "You know, your brother is the main reason why this happened." He said, "He set me up. And now I have to become a leader of a nation for no reason."

Robin chuckled again, before walking in and taking a seat on a nearby chair.

What happened was last night. When everyone was celebrating, Sanji took it upon himself to cook for the masses.

That was when some of the Shandorans and Angel Island residents hit on the topic of a new ruler. Of course, if it was the original Luffy he would have given it to Gan Fall or let them handle among it themselves.

But our Luffy here had the bright idea of vouching for Sanji for the role of the new ruler.

No one said he wasn't allowed. And he was the one that beat Enel, so it was his right to rule. Of course that brought many challenges from both the people of Shandora and Angel island.

All of this was of course happening behind Sanji's back, as he was solely focused on cooking. With Hatchan, Raki and Conis from helping with the cooking. There were at least five hundred people to feed, so it took a lot of effort.

When the food was ready. Just before eating part. Luffy had gathered all of the challengers and even made a show for all of them present to watch the match.

When Sanji came out with all of the food ready. Luffy pitted all of them against the cook. Of course, Luffy mentioned on how this would determine the new ruler of Skypiea. Just saying that they doubted his strength, and Sanji needed to prove it.

At that time Sanji didn't think much, and ended the match in a quick fashion. He had food to serve and he didn't like serving cold food.

So he ended it quickly with a quick burst of Conqueror's haki. It wasn't controlled, or that potent. But it did the job. After seeing Luffy and Zoro using it so much, it wasn't so tough for him to figure out. Especially with him awakening it against Enel.

He wouldn't have known about it if Sabo hadn't pointed it out.

So against almost a hundred men, Sanji won, without moving a muscle. All of the Skypieans that had any doubts about him were gone. Replaced by respect and admiration, a by-product of using the King's Will.

Sanji didn't think much of their jaw-dropped expressions and went around distributing food. Only this morning, did Luffy tell him that he was the new ruler and he was going to get crowned.

"I don't get why I have to be the new leader?" Sanji asked, "Can't he take the responsibility or something… I'm supposed to be a chef."

"A chef that has the Will of a King. And my brother wants to be the King of the Pirates. Not king of Skypiea…" She said, seeing Sanji pissed gave Robin a sense of amusement, "I'm sure Crocodile would have loved being in your position. But anyway, it's not all bad. It could have gone worse…"

Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"They wanted to make your official title 'God' due to their tradition."

Hearing that Sanji's face morphed with disgust, "That would make me one of them… yuck." He said, of course, referring to the World Nobles, "Some stupid tradition they have… do all of the sky islands have it?"

Robin chuckled, "Well, not all of them." She said, "The leaders of Skypiea are usually called 'Kings' but around four hundred years ago, the new ruler changed it to be 'God' and the tradition started from there. He was also the same one that started the war between the Shandorans and Skypieans."

"No wonder he did. Any bastard with a god complex is a ticking time bomb." He said, remembering his own father. "Anyway, I'm gonna stick to being 'King'."

Robin's lips curled up, "King Sanji does have a nice ring to it."

"King Sanji it is then." Completely doing a one-eighty.

Right then the door to the room was opened, Aisa walked in mimicking a robot, giving Sanji a cute salute. A quirk she picked up from one of Usopp's stories, "King Sanji, I hope this lowly soldier was not interrupting something. But I bring an important message." she said, dramatically, also picking up the language from Usopp's stories, "Captain Luffy told you to hurry up, because he is hungry." she said with determination.

Hearing that both Sanji and Robin chuckled, the smaller shandoran was a bundle of energy. After getting saved by Sanji, the small girl looked up to Sanji like an idol. And when he was declared the new ruler, she started calling him King as well.

And as Sanji called Luffy captain, most of the Shandorans and Skypieans started also referring to Luffy as captain. A part that weirded Luffy out. But Sanji found some amusement in it.

Sanji came up and kneeled, ruffling her hair, "You don't have to call me king, Aisa-chan." He said, knowing she wouldn't listen, "And tell my captain that I will be there in a minute."

Aisa nodded with determination, "As you say, my King Sanji. This humble soldier will give you some alone time with Queen Robin." She said with another salute, before walking out like a robot.

Again both Sanji and Robin chuckled as they saw Aisa leave. Robin stood up from her seat, as she started to leave, passing Sanji.

"*ahem…* You know, Queen Robin does have a nice ring to it," Sanji said, making Robin stop.

She looked over her shoulder with some amusement. Her smile almost made Sanji skip a beat.

"Are you flirting with me, Mr. King?" she asked, "If so… I will have you know. You are not as smooth as you might think."

Before Sanji could even say anything Robin unlocked the door and had already left. A small smile tugged on her lips.

As she left Sanji stood there, not being able to come up with a response. The poor cook was left wondering if he succeeded or failed, but he had the Will of a King, so giving up was not an option!

338

After the crowning ceremony was done, and Sanji became the new king of Skypiea. Things started to go slow from there.

As the new leader, there were of course some responsibilities. But there was an easy fix for that, Sanji recruited Gan Fall to be his knight. And dropped most duties to him.

This way even while being away, Sanji would still be the official ruler of the land until someone else takes the title.

Luffy could have made Gan Fall or Wyper the new leader. But he didn't for several reasons. Mainly it was because of Sanji's loyalty to him. And because he had plans of Skypiea.

After the crowning ceremony was done, all of the Straw Hats move to visit Shandora, the city of Gold.

"I can't believe we are really going to visit that place." Masira said, brimming with anticipation. Shoujou just nodded as they walked through Upper Yard with the rest of the Straw Hats.

Even Penguin and Shachi were with them. Both of them had now adjusted with the crew. Mainly bonding with Johnny, Yosaku and Bartolomeo. They might have lost their old crew, but they were happy to be part of a new one. Still, there were some parts of them that still longed for their old crewmates.

Even Law and Bepo felt the same but that's what pirate life was. Being weak here was a crime. Both promised themselves that they would work hard and gain power, so nothing like that ever happens again.

Still, even though all of them were on friendly terms. It would take a while for the remainders of the Heart Pirates to fully accept being part of the Straw Hat crew. Camaraderie doesn't happen in a day.

So in a way, things like this was a good way for the crewmates to bond over.

There were around thirty of them, most of them being members of the Straw Hat pirates. And all of them were very eager to see the ancient city. A city that's rumored to be made of gold.

As the group walked, they were surprised by the sheer destruction the fight between Enel and Sanji caused. It was almost similar to what they saw in Jaya. But on a much larger scale.

Enel wasn't a fighter, and used most of his techniques inefficiently, that's why a good chunk of Upper Yard was devastated by the battle. The once tranquil and lush expanse of woodland now bore the scars of a cataclysmic clash.

Enormous trees, some of which had stood for decades, now lay splintered and uprooted, their massive trunks snapped like twigs in the wake of the battle.

In way, it made the people a bit sad, mainly as they saw many animal corpses due to the battle. Giant birds, wolves, and other creatures that were unfortunate enough to lose their lives. Of course, by now, most of the bodies were either taken in by the people of Shandora as a free source of food or other necessities. Or by animals that didn't mind feasting on corpses.

But even then they could see mangled up corpses along with the broken nature.

The crew could have sped up going into Shandora, but most of them decided against it. With everything happening with Jaya, they had little time to relax, and so they took their time, enjoying nature. Or at least what's left of it.

The very ground trembled underfoot as the pirates picked their way through the wreckage, navigating a treacherous terrain of fallen branches, shattered boulders, and deep gouges in the earth.

The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, mingling with the acrid tang of scorched vegetation and the lingering aura of raw power. Most of them could feel the hairs on their body rise due to static.

Luffy whistled, "I can still feel the lingering electricity here…" he said, "You guys really did go all out."

Sanji nodded. "Yeah… but if I knew the fight would cause this much destruction then I would have done things a bit differently." He said, with a sigh, "Unlike Jaya, this place had a lot of animals…"

"Well, look at the bright side of things." Luffy said, "Enel was eventually planning on destroying the island. So if you hadn't stopped it then many more would have died."

"Well, it's not all bad." Robin said, "There are new ones growing already… and if we clear out the old destroyed parts. I'm sure the forest would regrow itself in a few years."

"That's true…" Sabo said, "But at the same time, call it a hunch. But the static might be a problem, if it's not removed. It might stop new trees from growing completely." He said, before holding up his hand, and the static from around the area started to draw near him. And in a few seconds, it was fully gone. "But I think I can fix that issue…"

"Heh, show off…" Luffy said, with a grin.

While Sabo just chuckled, the rest of the crew was flabbergasted.

"Since when can he do that?" Kuina asked.

"Yeah, is that some kind of Haki trick?" Usopp asked.

Sabo blinked before looking at Luffy. Forgetting that most of them didn't know about Sabo eating the Goro Goro no mi.

"Hm, so you ate the lightning logia fruit?" Robin asked, the first one to figure out. "Wouldn't Ace be jealous?"

Sabo just chuckled, while the rest of the crew asked random questions at Sabo as they made their way to Shandora. Of course, as he walked, he had his power activated, taking away the static the land had. Sanji was intrigued by the ability, and even asked Sabo if he could teach it to him.

Of course, Sabo had no idea, as he himself was learning about his own powers. And Sanji's powers weren't fully lightning-based. But still, after Shandora, Sabo agreed to do that. Both blonds were already used to training with each other so why not.

As they reached near the location of Shandora, they found something interesting.

This place, like the others, still got affected due to the fight. But for some reason, most of the destruction stopped around a hundred meters away from the city. It was as if there was an invisible barrier that protected it from the lighting.

It was an odd thing that was noted by Robin. But others didn't pay much attention to it.

Another thing of note was that, the trees around the city were much larger and one could see, resilient saplings reaching skyward, attempting to reclaim the sun's nourishing embrace.

339

"Look guys, some of the new trees are already growing." Usopp said, seeing the saplings, "Trees sure grow fast around here…"

Robin, who was noting down things in her note book, stopped, and looked at Sanji wondering something. "Hey, Sanji your powers are basically to speed things up right?"

Sanji was a bit confused but nodded. "Yeah, I can speed up anything."

Robin then pointed at the saplings, "Can you then speed up the growing process of the trees?"

Sanji blinked, his surprise shared by most of their crewmates. Even Luffy was intrigued by it.

Sanji walked forward and kneeled near a small sapling, he touched it. And started to use his powers on it. At first, nothing happened, before the small sapling started to grow. It reached one foott in height, before it started to brown up and withered. Even when Sanji took away his hands the tree didn't survive, falling over its own weight.

"Well, that didn't work," Zoro said. "Huh, so the cook is bad at growing trees, who could have guessed. Good thing you didn't become a farmer."

Sanji's brow twitched as he gave a small glare to Zoro. Rather than giving up, he moved towards another sapling while rolling up his sleeves. He would show him.

He kneeled down, and touched the small tree, and started focusing on it.

He might have some idea of what went wrong the first time. He tried to focus, using his Observation Haki to feel for the tree and its growth factor. Rather than using his powers on the whole tree, and even speeding up the bacteria and viruses on it, he tried to focus solely on the tree itself.

And after some time, he activated his powers. For a while nothing happened, before the tree started to grow. What began as a seemingly ordinary sight quickly evolved into an extraordinary spectacle.

As time seemed to warp, the sapling's growth accelerated at an almost impossible pace. The air was filled with a hushed sense of awe and anticipation, as the ground rumbled, and quaked.

With each passing second, the sapling's thin stem thickened and gained strength, its roots delving deeper into the earth. The sapling's growth defied all expectations. Its slender form shot upward with an urgency that transcended the laws of nature.

In the blink of an eye, the sapling transformed into a towering giant, a colossal tree that seemed to touch the very fabric of the sky. Matching the old trees of Upper Yard that was decades older than it.

Most of the Straw Hats had their jaws on the floor, including Zoro. While Sanji wore a smug expression on his face. Though the cook was a bit dizzy, that took a lot more power than he had expected.

Luffy placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder, with a grin that made Sanji sweat a bit. "Sanji… I have got a business idea and a way to train your powers! Shishishi… let's work on it after this."

.

After that was done, the crew moved on, finally entering the supposed City of Gold. The city was located underneath a trench of sorts, and with years passing, white clouds had solidified here, but even then, the city was a marveling sight for archaeologists like Robin. For others though, it might be a bit lack luster.

The structures, once proud and towering, now bow under the weight of age, their stones weathered and moss-covered, bearing the weight of memories etched into their very foundations.

Vines and creepers, like nature's determined sentinels, wind their way through the crevices and corridors, weaving a tapestry of green that softens the edges of the stone ruins. One could see a few glimpses of gold from their cracks, but most of it was removed.

As the group walked in, they looked around, finding little remnants of gold.

"So, it was true, the bastard did remove most of the gold from here…" Cricket said.

Most of the group had anticipated it. After capturing the rest of Enel's men, they had told them about a lot of stuff. And this was one of them. Apparently, Enel wanted to hog all the gold for himself. But as to why, the lackeys didn't know.

"Well, not all of it." Nami said touching a cracked building, where some of the gold still remained. It was only a few, but there were some traces of gold coating still remaining. Even then, if all of the gold was gathered, it would surely be a couple of kilograms.

Though, the crew didn't want to mine the remaining gold. Well, Nami and a few others wanted it. But when Luffy spoke of Arc Maximum, they shut up. Everyone present would get at least a few kilos of gold. And the rest of it would be stored for later use.

So other than stopping to explore the ancient city, most of the Straw Hats left for Arc Maximum. The ancient city was good, but other than some run-down buildings, most of them cared about the gold. They were pirates after all.

With that in mind, most of the crew went upwards. Basically, they had to climb giant Jack. The giant beanstalk tree, where the previous home of Enel was. As most of the crew knew how to use Geppo, they made it with little effort, carrying those that couldn't.

Though, a few of them stayed behind. Robin, Anchor, Cricket, and Usopp mainly were intrigued by the old city. The same was for Chopper, Bepo, and Law.

Shachi and Penguin also wanted to stay, but knew they would get bored. So they stuck with Johnny and Yosaku.

Sanji also stayed with the group. But unlike them, he was exploring the sky. Mainly trying to find the Golden Bell. With there being many solid clouds, who knows where the bell could be.

Luffy hadn't outright said where the Golden Bell was, because even he didn't know it. But he pointed it out with half-truths. So Sanji was up in the air with Geppo, trying to find the Golden Bell.

The city of Shandora was big. The abanded city had a lot of buildings, so the group took the time to explore it, trying to find anything interesting. Most of the things inside were hundreds of years old, and already ravaged over time. So they didn't find anything useful. Still, the group had their hopes up.

After a lot of time Cricket, Anchor and Usopp were able to find something. Due to the solid white clouds, it was hard to find. But right at the center of Shandora, before the pyramid-like structure, was a large gap. It was almost as if a whole portion of it was missing.

Of course, it was covered by solid white clouds so that's why they didn't find it sooner. Cricket had to cut it up, and Usopp even had to shrink the white clouds in there to find it.

"What do you think it could be?" Usopp asked, as he leaned towards the hole.

"It's quite deep!" Anchor said, he was inside the hole along with Cricket. Both of them were observing it before Anchor kneeled down and knocked the ground. "And it seems something might be down below?"

Usopp blinked, "Do you think you could dig through it?"

"Well, let's find out?" Cricket said, before flipping his sword and stabbing the ground below.

Clank!

"That's a nope it seems." Anchor said, "We should have brought Zoro…"

Cricket twitched, "It ain't a skill issue, mate. I can already cut steel…" he grumbled.

"Heh, keep saying that pirate," Anchor said, before he jumped out from the hole, with Cricket following him from behind with a pissed expression.

"Stupid Haki…" Cricket mumbled. Regretting the fact that he never figured out how to use it.

"So…" Usopp asked.

"I don't know what this stuff is made out of. But it's definitely stronger than sea-stone steel. But…"

"But what?"

"Call it a hunch, but for some reason, with how the inner structure was aligned, it looks like a key?"

"A key?" Robin, who had just came down from the hollow pyramid structure, asked. "What are you guys, talking about?"

"Well, you see…" So Usopp explained.

"Interesting." She hummed, "I wonder what it could be?"

340

Just then all of them heard a voice from up. They looked up, and it was Sanji, who landed from the sky. "Guess what I found?"

All of those present there, grinned already knowing what Sanji found. Cricket, of course, was the most eager.

Even Bepo, Chopper and Law who were exploring near, saw Sanji and came up. After that, all of them went upwards to where the Golden Bell was.

Sanji went up with Robin. Leaving Usopp behind to carry them all. Of course, it wasn't tough, as he shrank all of them down, but still the sniper complained along the way.

Sanji and Robin reached the white cloud first, and they were awed at the sight. Even with ancient vines crawling up the structure, it held its ancient beauty. The bell was large, and grand, and so were the pillars that supported it. The floor, the pillars, everything there was made out of pure gold. Not coated with gold, but made with gold.

"A-Amazing…" She said.

But that wasn't all. No, it was even more amazing when she discovered a gray Poneglyph that was planted at the bell's base. Most of them wouldn't have recognized it, but Sanji did. He looked at Robin, and even though she was wearing her mask, he could guess what she was feeling.

Robin went on and read the poneglyphs. She even made a note to write the whole thing down, even jolting down what was written by Gol D. Roger.

As she was doing it, the others reached the solid cloud where the Golden Bell was. And they were in awe, having similar reactions. The Golden Bell was awe-inspiring sight. And of course, some of them wanted to ring it.

"It won't budge…" Cricket said, even with Anchor pushing it, with so many vines covering it. They would need to put more effort if they wanted to ring it.

"I can give it a try-ya." Law said as he started unsheathing his sword.

But before he could do anything, Usopp called out as he discovered something very interesting. "Guys, I think we might have found our key."

Robin, who was also finished up on her part looked up, a bit of surprise on her face, "You did as well, huh." She said, with a small smile, "I think we should hold up on ringing the bell… there might just be something more interesting… looks like all the gold did have a function."

.

On the side with Luffy's group,

"Woo-ho! Gold!" Nami cheered, as her and most of the crew were dumbstruck by the pile of gold.

It seems not all of the gold was used to make Arc Maximum. So there was still ton of it left. Even Luffy hadn't seen this much gold on the Internet, that's how much gold there was.

"I haven't seen that much gold even in our treasury," Sabo admitted.

"Believe me, me neither." Luffy dumbly nodded.

Sabo then frowned and was about to ask what Luffy meant before shutting up. It wouldn't be too wild for his brother to have broken into his former noble home. They did it a few times, but never went to the treasury.

Though, it made Sabo a bit sad that his biological family was dead. He had asked Luffy before, and it seemed that a pirate had attacked Goa Kingdom wanting to take it over. So most of the nobles were killed then.

It made him feel homesick in a way. But then again, his true family was here. Some bonds just weren't made with blood.

While Sabo was having his internal struggle, Luffy was calculating how much gold there was. With having so much gold, they had to use it sparingly. Or else, it might bring a lot of unwanted attention to him.

With Saint Camael on his ass, he would need to be careful on how he did things. As the influx of gold might link the Straw Hats to the City of Gold.

And Luffy didn't want that. This island, it was his. Or Sanji's. But it was the same thing. It was the property of the Straw Hat Pirates. He planned to make the whole island the official base for the Straw Hat Pirates.

There was a lot of gold here. Enough that even with Usopp helping it would be tough to carry. Unless and until they built a new ship. There was a lot of gold here, and there was a lot of free land.

Land that could be used for training or other things. Such as growing some big ass trees.

Luffy didn't know about much about the Adam Tree, as there were some theories that there is only one Adam Tree. But the Adam tree wasn't the only tree that's considered strong. Sure it was the strongest and most resilient, but there were other trees that were also tough.

There's also varieties of strong wood in the One Piece world that were sold at a high price. When upgrading the Going Merry, Luffy had came to realize that with how rare Adam Wood was, most people had no way to get such wood for their own ship. So they used other types of wood to make their ships.

And with Upper Yard being a whole place, filled with giant trees, Luffy saw it as an opportunity to make something out of it. There were already a lot of destroyed trees, but with Anchor and Usopp's help, those could be sold on Water Seven.

But with so much empty land, if they were able to get some good tree seeds. This place would be a good income for Water Seven. Water Seven was mainly run by Shipwrights.

So, if he could get in a big economic leverage there, then that island could also fall under the rule of the Straw Hats. Not all islands could be won with conquering. Water Seven was one of the islands that many pirate crews wanted to take, as it was relatively in the middle of Paradise. But none had managed it.

Not yet at least…

If he sold the wood here on Water Seven, even if the quality was bad… The quantity should make up for something. If his plan failed, he should still fill up his pockets with beris.

And this way, he could also save the use of gold for later. Of course, he would need to send a generous portion to dear old dad for his own Revolutionary Army. The war was drawing near. So he had to gather the rest of the canon Straw Hats along with a few others.

And after the war, this place could be a good place to stay and train up other members of the crew. That's the main reason why when the Skypeians approached Sanji with being the king, he encouraged his cook to take the position.

Well, encouraged would be a strong word. More like 'tricked' into being a king. But it didn't matter in the long run.

Luffy was, in a way, planning for the future. He couldn't rely on dumb luck taking down the World Government. If it was that easy, someone would have already done it.

When he came here in this world. The One Piece manga was still going, so who knows what kind of monsters the World Government had on them. Luffy also made a note to ask Dragon later when they called.

He should have more information on them, as Dragon should be more knowledgeable as a former marine.

Even the Revolutionary Army was unaware of this island, so hopefully it was the same for the World Government.

The Alabasta and Sakura kingdoms were under the watch of the World Government, but up here? There were no bubble-headed rulers. So this was the perfect place.

With most of the residents on the island accepting them, this was the best course of action.

Of course, Luffy was clueless of Shiki already taking over Birka. As no such thing happened in canon, Luffy didn't pay much attention to Enel's increased strength. A mistake that he might regret later. But it was a given, not everything could be planned for.

Just then all of them heard the bell ringing. It was a sweet sound, that almost made the surroundings silent. A ring that fulfilled the vow between Noland and Shandora.

Of course, Luffy was unaware of the situation of his following crewmates that rang the bell. And he wouldn't know about them any time soon.

— — — —

A/N: I always thought the City of Gold, had something deep down. So why not!

Anyway, sorry for the late updates. But I'm still sick, so it's getting a bit hard for me to write. Anyway, I have some original plans for Skypiea and beyond. Hope you guys like it.

I could of course go with Canon, and end Skypiea here. But I planned it to be different from the start. That's why I ended the most important fight right at the start of the arc.

Like seriously, if I was in Luffy's place, the first thing I would do is kill Enel. And that's what he did. Or at least Sanji did.

About Sanji becoming a King. Well, I did that cause it will bring in some funny situations in the future. And seriously, Sanji is my favorite character, so why not.

But hey, don't flame me for it. I did give the other crew members their own epic moments. And be sure that I will. Even if the crew gets big, I will make each main officers have their moments.

Also, just a thing to chew on. Kaku from CP9 is kind of amazing if you think about it. In two years he awakened his zoan devil fruit. (I don't know about Rob Lucci, but he should have it for longer.)

And I kind of like his design from the start. Its just sad that Luffy might have to kill him, cause he might be a threat. But yeah, he's a cool character.

Anyway, enjoy the story. And good night on my part!

—

A/N: Don't forget to leave a review. It helps with everything.

Shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, go by the username (Fallen Crown) on there, easy to find and everything.

Support me if you want, but don't feel pressured, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.

Read my other fics if you have the time. Just look up (Fallen Crown WebNovel) on Goggle for my other stories.