One Piece: Reborn as Enel

Chapter 218: Deep Seas, Death and Departure

_________ POV Narration_________

As Enel's thunderous heartbeat reverberate throughout the New World, the Straw Hats were already prancing around on Fishman Island.

They had yet to deal with the local troublemaker, Hordy Jones. But there was no rush, they had just arrived there anyway.

But they were stopped in their tracks for a moment, all of them looking at the sea that surrounded the island.

The underwater currents became wild, and sporadic, it managed to make some of the Straw Hats panic.

Luffy looked up at the sea above him with a confused gaze.

'Is Long Ea-Enel up to something?'

The future Son God's mind immediately went to the Sky King. If there was anyone strong enough to make the world react in such a way, then that was Enel, at least in Luffy's eyes.

He was also the only person with lightning/thunder powers that Luffy knew of.

Robin also looked up at around the same time as her captain. Her eyes contained a bit more concern.

She also immediately thought about Enel, with worry at the forefront of her mind. She didn't let her emotions show outwardly, however.

At the end of the day, there wasn't much she could do besides worry. She may have gotten stronger, but not to the point where she could stand by Enel's side.

The upcoming war was going to be a lot more dangerous as well from what Enel had been telling her. Robin knew that there was no point worrying about him, but she still couldn't help it.

Alas, she knew that Enel was strong enough to handle himself. So she ended up just sighing and continuing with her sightseeing, taking her mind off of things after the thunder ended.

Despite its far-reaching effects, the Awakened Enel's heartbeat became contained within his body after a minute or two.

That short amount of time was all he needed to announce his presence to the world regardless.

His mind felt like it was more liberated than ever, it felt like his mind itself had evolved...

Instead of the mantle that usually appeared during the awakening of a Zoan, like Nika's, Enel seemed to gain something else...

A large spinning circle with lightning drums. The lightning forming it was so concentrated that it felt like a solid object. It spun endlessly, hovering over the Emperor's upper back.

The Sky King could feel it as if it was part of his body. A powerful limb that he could manipulate to some extent.

He turned the drums into blades for a moment, turning the spinning circle into a deadly buzz saw.

The Emperor heaved a sigh as his heartbeat calmed down for good. And in that moment, he felt his newfound strength slipping.

At that moment, he felt weak and sluggish. It was as if he had most of his senses cut, at least in comparison to before.

His Observation Haki range receded back to its usual, sensing only the island and the seas around it.

Enel grasped at his head, as he felt one of the biggest headaches in his life splitting his head apart. Regardless, he grit his teeth and didn't make a sound to signal that he was in pain.

'So this is the blowback of using my awakened from, huh?'

Enel closed his eyes as the veins bulged on his forehead.

The 'blowback' of using his awakened form was rather simple... A head-splitting fever. It sounded quite forgiving, but in the middle of a fight, it would be far too much to handle.

But the most important part of the blowback was the sudden shift in perspective. The Emperor only got a taste of what it felt like to be near-omniscient, to be able to sense everything at once in a part of the world.

It was a godly power that provided one with a certain 'rush'. And being suddenly stripped of that while receiving a fever was certainly not a great feeling.

'At least I am not using up my lifespan or something like that...' Enel grasped at his head, it seemed the fever would be there with him for a while.

Raijin still looked at him.

"Yes... You have a long way to go still. You aren't me, you won't be in that form forever.

But, make no mistake. That rush you received when using your newly found powers. That feeling of reaching godhood... That has still rewarded you."

Enel blinked a few times as he tried to concentrate on the old god's words.

Then, he concentrated on his body for a moment.

'... It does feel stronger...'

"Your body has been forever changed by this awakening.

If you were any weaker, you would have been reduced to ashes for good. But through endurance and will, you reforged your body."

Enel clenched his fists, feeling the power coursing through them and judging it silently.

He felt quite a lot stronger than he had been before awakening. But it was still comparatively weak when compared to his actual awakened form... Which was where the feeling of 'weakness' came from.

Enel also observed a more permanent addition to his body...

On his upper back appeared the tattoo of a spinning circle with drums, the drums that signified his awakening were still with him, etched on his back for the rest of his life.

"Awakening... I guess that name fits. It really does feel like I've been sleeping until just now." Enel finally felt the headache reside as his shoulders slumped.

"Sleeping, huh? You did make your way here with your own strength and intellect. If that was you sleeping, then I must say you are a rather good sleep walker." The God said in an amused tone.

Enel raised an eyebrow at the joke the god made.

He noticed the old Thunder God's voice becoming fainter and fainter, the lights in his eyes becoming less pronounced.

"That's it, huh?" The Emperor muttered as he watched the God's shining lights be snuffed out by time.

Kasa also noticed her Lord's speech getting weaker. Her old eyes filled with tears as she slowly walked over to the Old God, who simply raised his skeletal palm, stopping her in her tracks.

"You did well priestess... But I am no longer your lord..." The God said as he then pointed to Enel.

Kasa could only weep as she kneeled once more in that tomb. Knowing that she was experiencing her late Lord's last minutes.

33 Generations of Shrine Maidens had lived, all under the protection and grace of the Thunder God in front of her.

Now, after living for so long on that island, she was to be the one witnessing his true death.

Enel also thought about those things, and he felt pity for the old woman.

The Skeleton seemed to be able to read their thoughts at that very moment. And he gave them a few parting words as his skeleton slowly started turning to dust.

"Make no mistake... I have been dead for a long time... My failure was what led to today's pain and suffering... It's up to you to fix the future... I hope it's your fa-" 

With each sentence, more and more parts of his remains turned to dust. His skeletal body disintegrated completely as the wisp of soul that kept it moving disappeared.

His eyes died out before he mouthed the last part, but Enel still understood it...

'I hope it's your fate... Huh? So it comes down to that?'

It felt strange, having to rely on fate to secure his success.

In a sense, following fate also meant following what he felt was right. But it still felt strange for him, that the result ultimately relied on fate itself...

'Hell, fate is such a powerful tool, that IMU was able to revive a few times, rejuvenated, after fighting the gods for days...'

It was a strange concept, it made the Emperor feel a bit small.

But at the same time... He had no reason to feel that way. He had already changed his fate once. He had changed the fate of the world with his presence as well.

Maybe, if it truly wasn't in the cards for him to win, he could do it again. It was a nice thought. Some assurance when faced with grave circumstances.

'I'll just keep pushing through. No matter what happens.' The Emperor looked at the old God's clothes, all that remained of him, with appreciation.

'Just like that, I've managed to awaken huh?'

Near him, he could still hear the stifled cries of the old woman that had worshipped the old god her whole life.

But those cries also ended after a few seconds.

The old woman finished grieving rather quickly. Instead, she walked over to the dusty remains of the Old God with an Urn, and slowly started sweeping the dust inside the urn.

Enel didn't say anything in that moment, he simply sighed and allowed her to do her job.

The urn was quickly filled, and placed upon the throne, the God's final resting place.

The old lady bowed one last time to her old Lord in silence, before she finally turned around and looked at Enel.

"I knew this would happen when I first laid my eyes on you... But that still didn't prepare me. I apologise for showing you such an unsightly scene." The woman bowed once more, this time to the Emperor, her new Lord.

"It's fine. You were loyal to Raijin, it's only natural to grieve under the circumstances." Enel waved at the woman to raise her head as he slowly crouched down and spoke to her evenly.

"So, what will you do now?" He asked the old lady as he looked around the tomb of the Lightning God.

"I... I will remain here. I will take care of Lord Raijin's tomb, the last wisp of his consciousness may have passed, but my duties haven't stopped yet."

The old woman also looked around the temple for a bit as she spoke.

Enel had already expected that answer, he merely nodded before slowly standing back up and preparing to leave.

"I understand... I must take my leave. I would stick around for more time, but the world waits for no one."

But just as he was about to turn into lightning, the old woman stopped him.

"Before you go..." She grabbed onto his coat with one arm, her hand searching into her coat for something.

"Here, take this." She took out a small golden pendant with a red heart. The Emperor raised an eyebrow, the pendant felt ancient.

"This is to be given to the New Lord, it signifies your connections to the Shrine Maidens." The Old Woman immediately explained the pendant's purpose to the Emperor.

It sounded like a symbolic gift, so the emperor accepted it without thinking much. he took it, grabbing it tightly, before smiling and putting it in his pocket.

The old woman bowed once more, a pleasant smile spreading on her lips.

"With this, we are one of heart... I wish you the best of luck, Lord Enel."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow when hearing that, but he didn't put much more thought into it, figuring it was just her tradition speaking.

Instead, he turned to light and reappeared outside, in the clouds.

With Raijin truly gone, the storm had already died down. The magnetic field of the island was back to normal from what Enel could feel.

'With this, the Mad Monk and his crew should be able to get on with their journey...'

His gaze turned towards the ships of the Mad Monk Pirates, which were slowly heading back to shore.

'Well, onto my next destination... Well... There are a few places I want to visit... Poseidon/Shirahosi for one, there's also the Moon and Wano.

Hmm... I'll just go to Poseidon first, and check on the situation there. It would be a shame if something went wrong and she actually died. Though it's doubtful with how strong the Straw Hats are this time around...'

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Hope you liked the chapter and the awakening, managed to write a bit more at work today, yesterday not so much tho.

We're off to the deep seas tho ;)) That's gonna be fun  

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