A week later, in the first half of the Grand Line, the sky was clear and bright.
The White Gull lay quietly on the sea, the sea breeze gently stirring up small waves that lapped against the hull, making a pleasant sound.
On the deck, Libo was leaning over the ship's rail, her fluffy rabbit ears swaying gently in the sea breeze.
She held a carrot in her hand, taking a bite now and then, her gaze curiously directed towards the distance.
"Gern, isn't this guy having enough fun yet?" Libo turned her head to look at Gern, who was leaning back in a lounge chair, then glanced at a certain person sitting atop the warship's mast.
"Is fighting some small pirates worth a few million berries that much fun! Hmph!" Libo took a fierce bite of her carrot.
"Oh, he just arrived at sea, his sense of novelty is still strong, that's how it is!" Gern lazily turned over, his black blade eight desolations leaning against the chair.
"And I asked Tesoro, this sea area has frequent pirate activity, it should be..."
Before he could finish, Tesoro's shout came from the lookout: "Pirate ship spotted, ten o'clock direction!"
Almost at the same instant, a blue lightning bolt shot out from the mast!
"Hahahahaha! Finally!" Eneru's figure appeared on the mast top in just a flash.
His Golden Staff was slung over his shoulder, his long earlobes swayed in the wind, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
In the distance, a medium-sized pirate ship was slowly approaching.
A skull symbol was painted on its sail, and over a dozen pirates on the deck were shouting and waving their weapons.
Judging by the ship's size and flag, this was nothing more than a small pirate crew with a bounty of a few million berries.
"Hey! Look over there!" On the pirate ship, a lookout suddenly pointed at the White Gull and shouted, "There's a Marine warship!"
"What are you afraid of!" The Pirate Captain drew his scimitar and sneered, "A small Marine warship like this is perfect to plunder.
That way, my bounty will increase! Lads, prepare the cannonballs!!"
However, suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck directly on the pirate ship's mast!
"Mortals..." Eneru's mouth curved into an exaggerated grin, and his Golden Staff pointed sharply at the pirate ship's deck.
"Face the God!"
"What is this guy saying?" For a moment, the pirates looked at each other.
The next second, their questions were forever etched on their faces.
"Pretending not to hear? How interesting!"
"God's Judgment!!!" Eneru raised his arm, and the sky instantly filled with dark clouds.
A lightning pillar several meters in diameter descended from the sky, striking precisely in the center of the pirate ship!
"Boom!!!" Amidst the deafening explosion, the wooden hull was torn apart like paper.
Wherever the blazing white lightning passed, everything was carbonized and vaporized.
The pirates didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to ashes in the lightning.
The shockwave created a giant wave, and a huge depression was blasted into the sea surface, with the surrounding seawater frantically rushing in, forming a temporary whirlpool.
When the lightning dissipated, the pirate ship had vanished without a trace, leaving only a few charred wooden planks floating on the sea.
"Hahahahaha!" Eneru stood on a floating piece of wreckage, laughing up at the sky.
"Did you see that? This is the consequence of blaspheming God!"
For a moment, his laughter echoed over the sea, filled with madness and excitement, and the lightning even electrolyzed the surrounding seawater, causing wisps of white steam to rise.
"How was it?" Eneru returned to the warship's deck with a satisfied smile, "Are you in awe of God's power?"
"So... so amazing!" Libo, the ultimate hype-man, also widened her eyes, and the carrot slipped from her hand.
"So your moves actually do damage!
Then why couldn't you hit Gern before? Tell me, Eneru."
"..."
"Forget it." Eneru looked at Libo, who was hyping him up, and snorted coldly.
"You are also an existence that can harm God, I won't bother with you."
"Tell me! That was really cool just now!" Seeing Eneru about to leave, Libo directly reached out and grabbed him.
As a result, she grabbed Eneru's earlobe, and the two of them were dragged for a distance like that.
"..."
After a moment of silence, both their expressions changed from bewildered to surprised almost simultaneously.
"Wah wah wah! Your ear fell off!"
"Ah ah! Damn rabbit! This is God's ear!"
"Tsk tsk tsk!" Snake Princess plopped down next to Gern, "This guy really doesn't know what moderation is."
Tesoro also frowned: "Vice Admiral Gern, is it really okay to let him act so freely?
When we return to Marineford, the Marine's discipline..."
"Discipline?" Gern's mouth held a faint smile, imitating Eneru's tone, "That's for mortals."
As he spoke, when he saw Eneru in the distance, whose neck was entangled by his own earlobe because he had scared Libo, he silently turned his head away.
"Perhaps... God, naturally has God's way of doing things!"
"Vice Admiral Gern, you don't sound very confident when you say that!"
On the other side, Eneru, who had tidied himself up, seemed to sense Gern's gaze.
He suddenly turned his head, his Golden Staff pointing directly: "Gern! Did you see that just now?
This is God's power! These ants don't even have the right to make me serious!"
Gern chuckled softly, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached Eneru's ears: "Well done.
However, there are far more powerful pirates than these in the second half of the Grand Line."
"More powerful?" Eneru's eyes lit up, and lightning sparked in his pupils.
"Where are they? I'm going to judge them right now!"
"Don't rush." Gern waved his hand, "Next, we still have to wait for someone!
After all, this small ship's supplies are not enough, we are going to take a Marine warship from another branch back to Marineford."
Eneru pouted, crossing his arms, looking impatient, "Wait for who?"
"Wait for..." Gern was about to speak, when suddenly...
"Woo!!!" A deafening whistle suddenly tore through the calm of the sea.
On the distant horizon, a giant Dog Head Warship broke through the waves.
"Hey!!! Gern—!!!" A heroic roar exploded like thunder.
The next second, Garp's figure leaped from the Marine warship's deck, his cloak billowing in the strong wind.
Like a soaring raptor, he slammed straight towards the White Gull!
"Hahaha! This old man is here to pick you up!!!"
"Vice Admiral Garp???" Gern was suddenly stunned, but then he seemed to think of something, his peripheral vision catching a blue light, so he sharply turned his head.
"Wait! Ene..."
"Heh... heh heh heh..." Eneru lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, a low chuckle squeezing out of his throat.
"Very good..." He slowly raised his head, his entire body becoming elemental, his mouth stretching almost to his ears, "To dare to face God directly right from the start..."
Violent lightning burst from his body, the deck beneath his feet instantly carbonized, and a pungent smell filled the air.
"During my time in the Blue Sea, among all the mortals I destroyed..."
"I shall call you... the strongest!!!"
Before he finished speaking, Eneru suddenly transformed into a dazzling bolt of lightning, shooting towards Garp in mid-air at near-teleportation speed!
Then.
"Bang!!!" A muffled thud.
Eneru flew back even faster than he had shot out, crashing heavily onto the deck.
He was embedded in the wooden planks in a 'big' shape, his eyes rolled back, and a wisp of smoke came out of his mouth.
Meanwhile, Garp landed steadily on the White Gull, scratched his shoulder, and looked puzzled: "Gern, did this old man hit something just now?"
He looked down at the deck, "Also, it's the middle of the day, why is someone lying here sleeping?"
Gern glanced down at the unconscious Eneru, his mouth twitching.
"It's nothing."
"That's nothing?"
"Young people have good bodies, they fall asleep as soon as they lie down, it's very normal!"