“A god?” Gern chuckled upon hearing this, then casually tossed the weapon back to Eneru.
Eneru took the weapon, flipped his wrist, and the staff spun, transforming back into its long stick form.
However, at this moment, his heart rate uncontrollably accelerated.
Because, only now did he truly realize that it wasn't just the man in front of him—even the three Blue Sea people behind him radiated an incredibly powerful aura.
Especially the tall woman with long, orange-red hair; although her gaze remained fixed on Gern, his Observation Haki instinctively warned him.
If that woman wished, at this distance, she could kill him instantly.
“Who exactly are you?” Eneru’s voice was low, his golden staff held tight, lightning flickering around him, but he no longer attacked rashly.
Gern did not answer directly, but slowly raised his hand, palm upwards.
“Buzz! Crack!” The air vibrated, and pale white cracks spread from his palm, the surrounding space shattering like a mirror.
Eneru’s pupils abruptly constricted; he felt an unprecedented sense of oppression—it wasn’t the wildness of lightning, but a more primitive, purer force, as if it could tear even heaven and earth apart.
“What… what kind of ability is this?!”
“Vibration.” Gern’s five fingers closed, and the cracks instantly vanished. “However, compared to this…”
He suddenly stepped forward, and Eneru instinctively retreated half a step.
But Gern did not attack; instead, he brushed past him, walking towards the central temple of Birka.
“Eneru, your Observation Haki talent is strong, but your title of ‘god’ is nothing but a frog in a well.”
Eneru’s face instantly darkened, and he slammed his golden staff heavily onto the cloud surface, a violent burst of lightning exploding, surrounded by a sea of thunder.
“Stop talking to yourself like that!!” His voice was mixed with the roar of thunder, shaking the entire Birka.
“Man to man, earth to earth, god to god!! You have the qualifications of a ‘god’ just like me, but I don’t recognize your right to judge me!!”
Gern did not turn back, only responded faintly, his voice piercing through the thunder’s clamor like ice:
“If your ‘god’ is merely ruling a Sky Island, bullying a group of weaklings who don’t even understand Haki…”
He slightly turned his head, his gaze as sharp as a blade, “Then that’s simply too ridiculous.”
“A true ‘god’ should stand at the apex of the world.”
Eneru’s pupils suddenly contracted.
The apex of the world?
The Blue Sea? The boundless continent? Or… an even more distant place?
Eneru’s fingers trembled slightly; facing Gern, he unconsciously couldn’t muster the courage.
Or rather, this was the first time since he became “god” that he felt something… fear.
It was also one of the catchphrases he now used with those mortals: “Humans do not fear gods; fear itself is a god.”
But now, he felt as if he had become a “mortal” in front of Gern.
Thinking of this, in the next second, fury consumed his reason.
Eneru’s expression twisted again, lightning wildly leaping around him, like a furious deity.
“Hmph! Easier said than done!!” Eneru sneered, pointing his golden staff directly at Gern.
“You, who also possess the power of a ‘god,’ have you already conquered the Blue Sea?!”
Gern finally stopped, slowly turned his face, and a nearly arrogant curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“I have never called myself a ‘god.’”
Before his words finished—
“Boom!!!” Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tsunami, the entire sky suddenly twisted, dark clouds churned, and purple Haki lightning tore through the firmament like a raging dragon!
The ground cracked, the air vibrated, and even Eneru’s lightning was forcefully suppressed by this aura!
Eneru’s body froze.
His heart felt as if it were tightly clutched by an invisible hand, his blood congealed, his muscles spasmed, and he couldn't even move a single finger.
“Im…possible…” Eneru squeezed out a hoarse sound from his throat, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
What is this?! Why… is my body… not obeying me?! I am a “god”! The supreme being who controls lightning! How could I be suppressed by a Blue Sea person’s “aura” to the point of being unable to resist?!
At the same time, Gern’s voice, amidst the destructive pressure, struck like a hammer of judgment:
“Because…”
“I am above god!!!”
As this sentence fell, “Bang!” Eneru’s knees slammed heavily onto the ground, and the golden staff clattered away.
He, knelt! Eneru knelt!!!
Looking at his bent knees, Eneru’s ears buzzed incessantly, and the world before his eyes spun.
“Defeated?”
“No, this can’t even be called a battle… He was completely crushed without even having the chance to make a move!”
Gern smiled at the dazed Eneru and continued, “If you truly want to become a ‘god,’ stop hiding in a corner of the sky… and go see the real world.”
“Become a true ‘god’…” Eneru repeated in a low voice.
Seeing this, Gern pressed on, “Come with me, Eneru. I will show you the true world, let you understand…”
“What kind of power a ‘god’ should possess.”
“What kind of power a ‘god’ should possess…” Eneru was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter: “Hahaha!”
“Sorry, did you misunderstand something? Why would I want to become a god…”
Eneru, having shed his previous daze, suddenly looked up and stared at Gern, slowly standing up against the immense pressure.
“I am already a god!!!”
With this roar, a pale blue aura erupted from Eneru, and although its range was small, it still contended with Gern’s Haoshoku.
“Haoshoku?!” Tesoro’s pupils suddenly constricted at this sight. “Under these circumstances, this guy actually awakened it?!”
“Gern deliberately provoked him.” Snake Princess leaned against her giant snake, gazing at the man she deeply loved in the center of the battlefield, a meaningful curve on her lips as she whispered, “It’s just a pity…”
“Kings also differ in size.”
“I knew it!!” Gern’s laughter boomed like muffled thunder, the corners of his mouth curving wildly upwards, his eyes burning with almost fanatical battle intent.
“Boom!!!” Eneru’s Haoshoku erupted like a raging tide, black lightning shot out from around him, and the clouds in the sky were forcefully torn open!
“A proud guy like you…” Gern’s voice was low and excited, “How could you not have this potential?! Eneru!!”
The two Haoshoku collided fiercely in mid-air!
Purple-black lightning and blue thunder light intertwined wildly, the air groaning under the extreme pressure.
The ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, shattered rocks floated in the air, only to be pulverized into dust in the next instant!
Cold sweat seeped from Eneru’s forehead; after all, he had just awakened Haoshoku, and although this unexpected surge of power was incredibly strong, in the face of Gern’s overwhelming presence, it was like a candle flame in a strong wind, flickering precariously.
At the same time, Gern also proved the saying: If you don't cultivate Haki, you see me as a frog in a well looking up at the moon. If you cultivate Haki, you see me as a tiny mayfly seeing the vast sky!
“You… you guy…” Eneru’s voice began to tremble, the lightning around him flickering erratically, as if it could extinguish at any moment.
Gern’s gaze sharpened, and the pressure of his Haoshoku surged again!
“You must join me…”
“Because, you belong to my ‘Calamity’… ‘Thunder’!!!”
“Pop!” A crisp cracking sound rang out, as if some balance had been broken.
Both sides’ Haki dissipated at the same moment, but Eneru’s body swayed back and forth as if all his strength had been drained, his pupils unfocused, his legs gave way, and finally…
“Thud!” He fell straight down, completely losing consciousness.