One Piece: Reborn as Enel

Chapter 274: The Other Side, Descent and Stand Off

_________ POV Narration _________

"Hahaha!" Tree roots spread throughout the surroundings like lightning, both through the earth and on the surface. 

Thorny vines and spiked bark spread everywhere around a tall brown-skinned and green-haired man as he did his best to vigorously train his devil fruit. 

The man in question was none other than current Fleet Admiral, Aramaki. 

Of course, the state of the Marines was so pathetic that there were no other Admirals currently under him, but some Vice Admirals still stuck around, and they too were now gearing up for war.

Aramaki had done his best to get into the mindset of a leader, but he was nothing like his mentor, nothing like Akainu.

Unlike him, Akainu had managed to win the respect of all of his peers, even that of Aokiji who was once in direct opposition to him. 

But Aramaki didn't have any guidance in his role... Well, almost no guidance.

"You know, constantly training your devil fruit won't help you much at this point..." Kong is still stuck around the Holy Land.

He was now the guiding figure of the Marines, as well as the Commander of all forces underneath the World Government... Well, all forces except for the Seraphims, God Guards, and the 5 Elders. 

"I know... But I can't seem to progress much when it comes to haki..." Aramaki sighed, his face twisting into a frown as he looked at the ground and retracted his roots.

"Bah, you just don't have the right mindset..." Kong snorted and looked to the side, where the war preparations were still ongoing.

Gigantic walls surrounding the Holy Land stretched as far as the eye could see. The architect behind them was of course none other than Vegapunk's rogue satellite, York. 

The lazy part of Vegapunk had been given a lot of tasks in the past months. York had to both prove her loyalty and usefulness to the Elders.

Of course, although she only possessed a small part of Vegapunk's mind, she was still leagues above all other scientists that the World Government employed.

It was thanks to her that they were able to reprogram the Seraphims too, for the most part anyway.

And it was also thanks to her that they were able to build such a perimeter around the Holy Land.

Pluton cannons adorned every corner, Dyna Stones were at the ready, stored in new containers laced with seastone, much more difficult to destroy, in order to prevent their ammunition from being used against them.

Gigantic armoured speakers were pointed outwards at the sea in front of the Holy Land.

The lands were remodelled and the Holy Land itself was pushed out slightly. allowing it to be a tad closer to the sea. 

Precautions were taken, for just about anything that they thought Enel and his army could throw at them.

IMU himself was prepared to counter any preemptive attacks that Enel had in store for them. It was only really a matter of time before the war started.

Hell, they had already seen Enel's fleet of islands flying in the distance as they passed by Sabaody. 

They all heard the drums, they were essentially relying on limited intel to find out whenever Enel was going to attack them.

But the past few weeks it had all been deathly quiet.

It was no surprise, they knew it was impossible for their agents to hide from Enel at that point. He had passed by all islands, raining down lightning as far as his eyes could see. 

No corner of the Grand Line was left untouched at that point. 

Thankfully, losing their contact with their agents at least gave them an idea of where Enel was and how much time they had left to prepare.

At least that was the case at first, all the way up until a few islands were hit at the same time. 

They had suddenly lost all ability of locating the opposing army, the war could begin at any point.

Thankfully, the 5 Elders and the Seraphims didn't need sleep. They stood vigil at the wall for days on end while awaiting for their preparations to be completed and overseeing everything.

The Seraphims were another issue entirely. Them taking on the image of one of their greatest enemy was annoying enough, but the most annoying part was that one of them was like a statue.

It wouldn't listen at all to any of their commands. Not even York could tweak him out and get him to fulfill the commands of the elders. 

Still, they had quite a few Seraphims left, all Lunarians, all relatively powerful despite not being fully grown. 

'There are too many variables at play here... Enel is sure to come with an army that is far too expansive for us. Even worse if they manage to get the help of the Giants.'

Kong looked over the remainder of the marines who were also gearing up for war. 

They only had a few giants left. Sure they could make a difference against regular pirates, but against the top of the world, they were still mostly cannon fodder.

If Enel managed to get the help of the Elbaf Tribes, then he'd have some of the strongest giants alive on his side. 

But Kong, as was about to find out, the giants were going to be the least of his concerns. 

The drums rang out through the holy land once more, before merely a passing melody, now a tune that signalled what they had strived to avoid their entire lives... All-out war.

It was something that the World Government had worked tirelessly to avoid. But it seemed that fate had deemed it, unavoidable.

Drums beat to the sound of war as gears churned and turned inside the mechanical walls of the Holy Land. 

In the distance, their eyes scanned the horizon to see the shadows of dozens upon dozens of islands. The drums of war were getting closer. 

"They're here... Training time's over!" Kong shouted and immediately gestured for the marines and the agents he had left to get ready.

Off to the side, Saint Figarland Garling, the red-haired leader of the God Guards also stepped onto the walls.

"Vermin approaching our Holy Land..." His words were demeaning, filled with confidence. He was the leader of the God Guards at the end of the day. He was a powerful and determined old man. But the tremble in his old and weary voice betrayed his true feelings. 

He was the strongest among the God Guards, but even he knew that he was an ant in front of the Sky King. 

At first, many tried to dismiss the threat he posed, and the power he possessed. They were all too confident in their reign, their power that had dominated the world for centuries...

But that all changed when IMU's frustrated screams broke through the Holy Land. When the Lord's eye was destroyed while he was trying to erase Big Mom's territory. 

The elders were all forced to be on edge that day. 

Enel had not only awakened, but he now had enough power to pose a threat even to their Lord IMU.

'Like always, we shall place our faith into Lord IMU... I will at least take care of that bastard son of mine, I bet he won't ever miss something like this...' 

Garling squinted through his visor as he gripped the handle of his sword with a dangerous expression. 

The God Guards around him were also prepared for battle, each carrying a different weapon, having reached a level of mastery that went far above that of regular men.

They were Celestial Dragons, superior to normal humans, after all... They all carried the blood of IMU within them. 

Most squandered that gift. They chose to lavish into the many vices that were within their reach due to their birthright. 

But the God Guards were different. They were all Celestial Nobles who had achieved a balance between pain and pleasure, training and indulging in debauchery at an equal rate.

They were not quite on par with the Elders, hell, most of the God Guards were far from that.

But Garling at least had reached their level. Especially since the threat of the Sky King arose, he had focused solely on improving himself, setting debauchery aside for a while. 

He, as well as many by his side, had grown stronger as a result.

The World government itself was spurred to grow because of the rising threat... 

But were all of their preparations enough to face what was ahead of them? 

A flash of thunder was heard throughout the entire Red Line as countless islands and landscapes descended from the clouds. 

From mountain to forest, waterfall to desert, there seemed to be no end to it in the eyes of the marines.

It was as if multiple enclosed ecosystems had been plucked from all around the world, and were now headed straight for them. 

They were still quite some distance away. but they captured the attention of everyone.

"... It's somehow even bigger than reported..." Saint Noda, nicknamed Saturn, huffed a bit as he looked at the islands with a weary gaze.

"It makes no difference to us. We just need to hold back the dregs while Lord IMU deals with those fake gods..." Saint Masato Hirano, Nicknamed Mercury, seemed quite hopeful as he spoke. 

All of the elders were dressed in their usual attires. It felt as if they were more prepared for a meeting than a war...

"We do have the advantage of knowing that the Nika Devil Fruit User is still in his infancy... Even one of us can stall him at this point, against Lord IMU he'll likely only be baggage for the Sky King."

Saint Masato Hirano, nicknamed Warcury, spoke with a rather high level of confidence.

And Saint Noda, the one that had fought Nika, couldn't help but nod. Although the fight had admittedly ended in his loss, it was still a close match. 

The 5 Elders were far below their Lord, so the only real concern they had was the Sky King. 

"Estimated time of arrival... 10 minutes. Prepare the Pluton Cannons, they will be in range im two minutes!" Kong immediately shouted orders to his subordinates as he assessed the situation.

Lined across the wall, each cannon started shining with a strong red light as the soldiers manning them started loading up the stabilized Dyna Stones within them. 

But before the islands even got into the range of their cannons, the Elders all felt their senses tingle. 

"IN THE SKIES!" 

The stormy skies above them broke instantly, revealing dozens of nail-shaped islands descending upon the Holy Land at breakneck speeds. 

"Shit! The cannons won't turn in time!" Kong shouted as white fur started growing from his body. 

He was about to assume his full Mythical Zoan transformation, but before he could, a red light shot out of the depths of the Holy Land.

It acted as a barrier, spreading out at speeds that most could barely comprehend. 

Even Kong only managed to feel it when it passed through him, it sent shivers down his spine as he felt his Lord's aura. 

The barrier quickly grew to cover the entirety of the Holy Land. And the island-sized nails of packed dirt seemed to bounce off it and slide into the sea in front of their grand walls. 

The shockwave of the nails hitting the wall still managed to blow away all of the nearby clouds, even if only temporarily.

Still, the people below could not even feel a tremor, and the red barrier barely even budged from the attack. 

The red energy that formed the barrier flowed like water, it formed a constant rotation which was also what had pushed the island nails into the sea.

"We have our Lord's Protection! Everyone stay calm and continue aiming for the approaching enemy!"

Aramaki shouted at the men on the walls, he was also preparing for the fight in his way, deeply planting his roots into the Holy Land and spreading them all over. 

He could feel their Lord's Barrier even underground. 

Despite the island nails failing, the Sky King's army seemed intent on continuing their assault. Kong sweated a bit, realising that Enel had not planned a slow war. 

'They're planning to crush us quickly... But they're in for a surprise.' Kong's lips trembled as he looked at the clouds that had already gathered once more.

Lightning quickly started raining down on the thin red veil that IMU had set up, but it seemed ineffective, which visibly raised the morale of the surrounding troops. 

And just before Kong gave everyone the order to fire their cannons... 

"Shishishi~" A faint laughter could be heard from the skies, as a distinctive and joyful beat thundered throughout. 

The former marine had already been briefed on it. The drums of liberation. He was told what to look out for, what to expect from their enemies. 

But this time, Kong barely had the time to blink when he looked up, a gigantic hand larger than the Holy Land itself was rushing towards the earth, threatening to crush any and all resistance. 

"That... Wasn't part of the reports..."

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Hope you liked the chapter! It was a bit harder to write, lately, Grammarly has been acting up tbh. Anyway, I'll finish uploading and go to sleep. Me tired 

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