The skies above Sabaody darkened in an instant, roiling black clouds sweeping overhead like the wrath of gods. A low rumble rolled across the heavens, subtle yet ominous—until the silence shattered. Lightning arced downward with primal fury, ripping through the auction house roof in a brilliant explosion of light and sound. Shards of splintered timber and charred metal rained across the hall, shocking the crowd into stunned immobility.
Enel stood amidst it all, his wings half-unfurled beneath his cloak, his expression unreadable. The latent energy of his Devil Fruit pulsed stronger than ever—he was approaching awakening. Not fully there yet, but close enough to temporarily affect his environment. The storm above answered him now.
With a flash of electricity, Enel vanished and reappeared on the auction stage. His arrival was silent, but the chaos he unleashed was anything but. The auctioneer turned with a confused gasp—only to be silenced by a thunderous Projected Burst. The man's body convulsed under the pure energy coursing through him, until he collapsed as a smoking corpse.
Panic exploded in the crowd.
Among the slaves was a girl who hadn't flinched even as the ceiling caved in. Her pale lavender eyes glimmered in the dim light. Hyuga Hinata—descendant of the Hyuga Clan. Her Byakugan wasn't just an ocular bloodline; it made her one of the few living beings capable of deciphering all written languages, including Poneglyphs. A priceless commodity in this world. Enel had been surprised when he learnt about it from those amateur CP agents on Water 7.
Any bloodlines that either enhanced or evolved the eyes to a higher level naturally had the ability to read and understand Poneglyphs.
The three-eyed Clan.
The Hyuga clan.
The [REDACTED] clan.
All of them can read and understand the Poneglyphic writing because, to their eyes it wasn't a different language.
Enel's fist punched through the iron cage like it was wet paper. He bent the bars outward and crushed the chains at her wrists, hips, and ankles with his bare hands. A protective wall of his lightning-infused wings spread behind him, shielding her from the chaos.
"You're free," he said calmly. "What happens next is your choice—but I'd like you to come with me."
Hinata trembled, her lips parted as she glanced around the panic-stricken hall. She had no illusions:
Staying on Sabaody meant inevitable recapture.
The Marines would descend quickly once word of her presence spread.
Pirates surrounded her, and her injuries rendered her incapable of resisting anyway.
She met Enel's gaze and said, voice quiet but firm, "Take me with you... Please."
Enel smiled. "I may be kind," he warned, "but I'm still a pirate. Joining me means becoming one as well."
Hinata managed a soft, broken laugh. "All Hyuga members born with these eyes get a starting bounty of fifty million Belly—regardless of age or strength. I've been branded since birth. Being a pirate won't change much."
Enel nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Then you'll fit right in."
All around them, nobles and pirates began either stampeding for the exits or preparing to attack. Enel turned, lightning crackling at his fingertips, and began to wipe them out.
With a flick of his wrist, El Thor strikes rained down, frying any who dared approach or flee. Some screamed, others didn't even have time to register their deaths. The air was electric, humming with fury and death.
Tatsumaki floated behind him—no longer composed, but filled with seething wrath. Her powers surged outward like a violent tide. Bones snapped. Organs burst. Blood filled the air in a grotesque rain. She showed no mercy, ripping out entrails and using them like whips and nooses, silencing screams before they could finish forming.
Enel clenched his jaw as he saw Hinata limp forward, wincing. Her wounds were fresh—too fresh. Not held long, but deep enough to suffer. That told him all he needed to know. Buyer or seller, pirate or noble—it didn't matter. Every single one of them deserved death. The few marines he saw present were given an extra gruesome, the hypocritical bastards they are.
When the last body hit the ground, silence returned to the auction hall. What remained were the 3 figures of Enel, Tatsumaki, Hinata... and three cloaked strangers who hadn't moved the entire time. Watching the chaos, with unnerving calm.
One of them, a woman, stepped forward. Her red hair spilled out as she cast off her hood, and she revealed two pristine swords she acquired in this auction—Muramasa and Murasame, two of the 21 Great Grade swords. She held them loosely, casually, yet her presence was razor sharp. The amount of money she spent was atleast ten times the worth of the two swords but she didn't seem bothered by the price at all.
Enel pointed at her, fingers crackling with static. "Introduce yourselves… or die."
The woman didn't flinch. "My name is Figerland Erza," she said coldly. "Knight apprentice of the Celestial Dragon Holy Knights."
Tatsumaki scowled and Enel blinked. Shit. That name—Figerland. Red hair. Great swords acquired at 10 times the value just easy as breathing. It made sense. Too much sense.
And no sense at all. Erza Scarlet of all people. A Celestial Dragon God's Knight?— and she was somehow related to Shanks unbeknownst to her. The implications were staggering.
Whose child was she? Garling's? Shamrock's? She didn't look like either, but there aren't many who possess red hair like that, with financial power just as striking.
He needed her to join the crew, status be damned. If she was anything like them, she must be strong in her own right. His crew needed a swordsm-swordswoman any way.
He stepped forward. "How about you abandon all that posturing in Mariejois and join us for some real freedom?"
She didn't take him seriously at first.
"I'm a Celestial Dragon, under the Figerland family, who have direct control of the God's Knights. The Law enforcement of fucking Mariejois." Erza said flatly. "I can go where I want, take what I want, as no one dares to strike against a celestial dragon. What qualifications do you have to recruit me, I have freedom in spades."
"You know that's not what I meant." Enel said. Quick and abrupt.
She did know. The Celestial Dragons themselves weren't truly free. They answered to the God's Knights, who answered to the Five Elders. Their so-called freedom was an illusion. A prison filled with all the best technology and comfort the world could offer, but a prison all the same.
"Fine," she said. "But I have conditions."
Enel raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear them."
Erza lifted Muramasa and Murasame. "You saved that girl even though you're a pirate. So maybe you stand for something. I want to become the strongest swordswoman in the world. If you want me on your crew, prove to me this crew's more than just slaughter and chaos."
Enel's wings flared wide, and the air vibrated with electricity. "You have strength. You probably have good Haki. That's more than I can say for myself right now. But we're building something—a crew. And as the captain, I don't plan to lose to anyone."
Erza gave him a long, piercing look. "Then I'll test you."
The Duel
They stepped into the shattered hall—wood cracked, blood pooled, lightning flickered overhead.
Erza's blades gleamed, Armament Haki coating them in dull black steel. Enel charged first, wings unfurled, electricity dancing around him. He launched a Projected Burst, which she parried and split with Muramasa, the crackling energy sending ripples through the air.
She struck back with a whirlwind of blade arcs, forcing Enel to dodge and shift, his Logia body flickering into currents of lightning. Sparks trailed behind him as he evaded slash after slash.
Enel launched an El Thor from directly above. Erza crossed her swords to guard in time, taking the hit with grit teeth. The blast cracked the floor behind her, but she stood her ground, Haki firm.
Then she struck—a spinning barrage of wind-augmented strikes that pushed Enel back, forcing him to erect a wall of static. Even then, he staggered under the impact as nothing could fight him right now better than Haki.
"You're good," he admitted.
"You're better than I expected," she replied.
Enel grinned. "I own the Goro Goro no Mi. Haki or not, I'm no weakling."
Erza's eyes narrowed. "Devil Fruits are nothing!" she roared. "Only Haki trumps all!"
And with that, her Conqueror's Haki burst forth—a violent wave of dominance that sent the air reeling. The building cracked further, Hinata recoiled in terror, and Tatsumaki stiffened.
Enel hadn't expected that—but he should have. Figerland blood, and God's Knight training. Power radiated from her like a tidal wave.
But he didn't flinch.
"I'm going to change the world," he growled. "Stand beside Freedom itself. Become the storm. I won't lose—never!"
And in that moment, his own Conqueror's Haki surged. Repressed for so long, awakened in the heat of battle. A second wave crashed against hers—raw, chaotic, immense. The air split between them. Her precision clashed with his power. And he overpowered her.
Erza stepped back, blinking.
"Newly awakened... yet so strong."
Then she sheathed her blades.
"I'll join," she said. "But if you ever stand between me and my dream, my three blades will drink your blood."
Three? Enel had only seen two. Where's the third? Nonetheless, Enel nodded. "Deal."
The air began to settle. The last of the lightning faded overhead. Tatsumaki allowed herself the faintest smile. Hinata rushed forward, relief in her eyes, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of Conqueror's Haki unleashed so close to her.
Dawn crept over Sabaody, golden light cutting through the ruins.
The world wouldn't be ready. It never truly was for anything. Especially not for this forming pirate crew.