vncnus Chapter 817 817: The Amaru vs. The Giant’s Arm
Chapter 817 817: The Amaru vs. The Giant’s Arm
Building R Entrance.
RUMBLE—!
A massive block of masonry plummeted from above, smashing a crater into the floor.
"What was that just now? Law's ability?"
Zoro, having ducked to the side, looked up with a scowl at the collapsing ceiling and the various machinery falling from the upper floors. Suddenly, three more massive slabs of stone detached from directly above his head.
FLASH—!
CRUNCH!
Zoro unsheathed his blade. A streak of cold steel-light flashed through the air, cleaving the massive stones down the center as if they were soft clay. The halves crashed to the ground on either side of him, kicking up a thick, choking cloud of dust.
"Something big must have happened, otherwise that guy wouldn't go this far," Zoro muttered to himself, ears twitching as he scanned the debris-strewn corridor. "I heard thunder and screaming from this direction earlier. The exit should be this way!"
And with that, Zoro set off down the left corridor. He walked down the left corridor... the left corridor...
That's right, he was going the wrong way.
…
"I'm going to kill you all!"
Enel's distorted, booming voice echoed through the skeleton of Building R.
His colossal body, woven entirely from crackling electricity, was wreathed in writhing arcs of lightning like celestial serpents. He stood like the Raijin of myth, radiating an overwhelming, suffocating pressure.
"Bring it on if you think you can, Enel!" Luffy roared back, completely undaunted.
THUD—!
The massive God of Thunder lunged forward, swinging a fist the size of a boulder down toward Luffy.
"Gear 3!!!"
Luffy bit his thumb and blew a massive volume of air into his right arm. Fueled by the surge of air, his limb expanded instantly into the colossal proportions of a giant's arm.
"Gomu Gomu no... Elephant Gun!!!"
In a flash, Armament Haki coated the giant limb in a glossy, obsidian sheen. Luffy threw the punch, colliding head-on with Enel's fist.
BOOM—!
A sound like muffled thunder erupted. The air shuddered, releasing a visible ring-shaped shockwave. The ground beneath their feet shattered instantly under the immense pressure, webbing out into a massive crater dozens of meters wide.
"Die! Plasma... Raijin Cannon!!!"
With his first punch stalled in a deadlock, Enel's fury reached a new peak. He leveled his left hand directly at Luffy.
Zzzt—Zzzt—!
Rings of electricity began to pulse around his left arm, coalescing into a blinding orb of compressed lightning in his palm, roughly a meter in diameter.
"Watch out! Get clear!"
Law sensed the staggering density of energy within that sphere. If it detonated, the destructive force would be catastrophic. Luffy felt the danger too and quickly retracted his fist, leaping to the side.
WHIRR—!
The orb of highly compressed lightning shot forth, leaving a visible distortion in the air. It punched through over a dozen thick walls in an instant, leaving behind perfectly circular, one-meter-wide holes with molten, charred edges.
KABOOM—!
Then, the blinding light erupted. A hemispherical dome of pure energy expanded at a terrifying rate, ruthlessly vaporizing everything in its path as a deafening roar followed in its wake.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The earth groaned. The entire research institute rocked violently as a localized hurricane of debris and pressure swept through half the facility, choking the air with dust and grit.
"Dammit! What kind of power is this?!" Sanji struggled to keep his footing in the gale, his face etched with disbelief.
"Crap... is this his true strength at full health?" Smoker bit down on his cigars. Shards of stone whistled through his smoke-form torso as the ceiling continued to give way.
The fate of those fleeing was unknown, but for those trapped inside, things were looking grim. This level of combat was only accelerating the institute's collapse.
SHIIING—!
A flash of sword-light cut through the gloom. Cavendish sliced a falling slab of masonry into pieces, then turned to bark at Enel: "You bastard! Your attacks are too wide! I haven't even made it out yet!"
Enel ignored him completely, his voice booming across the ruins: "Little insects... turn to ash beneath the might of a God!"
As the blinding glare faded, it left behind a scorched, gaping crater over a hundred meters wide and a dozen meters deep, having erased countless labs and chambers in a single stroke.
"White Launcher!!!"
Smoker barked, his lower half erupting into a massive plume of smoke that propelled him toward Enel like a rocket.
"Still trying to resist, Smoker?" Enel sneered as he saw the Marine closing in.
"White Vine!!!"
Smoker ignored the taunt. His entire being dissolved into smoke, manifesting as over a dozen thick, vine-like tendrils that lashed out to entangle Enel's massive frame.
"Useless!"
Enel bellowed, throwing a punch. A pillar of lightning over three meters wide erupted from his fist, accompanied by a deafening peal of thunder.
KABOOM—!
Before Smoker's vines could even travel ten meters, they were swallowed by the surging column of electricity. The bolt tore through the air and slammed into the floor, boring a seemingly bottomless well into the earth and causing the entire facility to shudder.
"ROOM!!!"
A hemispherical, transparent 'membrane' rapidly expanded, trapping Enel within its bounds. Law leapt high into the air, gripping his sword with both hands, and brought it down toward Enel's massive right arm.
SLASH—!
As if an invisible blade had passed through, Enel's giant arm of lightning was severed at the elbow, the lower half beginning to fall.
"Law, get lost!"
Beside himself with rage, Enel swung his left hand in a massive backhand swat, aiming to crush Law like a fly.
WHAM—!
CRASH—!
Law was sent flying, smashing through several walls before being buried under a pile of masonry and machinery.
Before the severed right arm could even hit the ground, it dissolved into dozens of lightning bolts with a sharp zzzt and reattached itself to the stump.
"Damn it, he didn't hit the physical body!" Luffy realized immediately that Enel had transformed into his element prematurely to avoid Law's strike.
"Found you at last... Three-Sword Style: 1080 Pound Phoenix!!!"
Suddenly, three massive, spiraling air-compressed strikes flew through the air, merging into a single, colossal slash.
Enel twisted his torso and threw a counter-punch. A gargantuan bolt of lightning met the incoming slash head-on.
KABOOM—!
The collision of the two forces triggered a violent explosion. The resulting shockwave sent a fierce wind howling in every direction.
"It's no use. No one can ambush a God!" Enel declared, spreading his arms wide with arrogant laughter.
"Seriously... that monster from Water 7 again? You really are a troublesome guy," Zoro muttered. He stepped out from a ruined corridor, his three blades drawn, eyes locked grimly on the towering lightning giant.
"Zoro!" Luffy cheered.
"Roronoa... I knew you wouldn't go down that easily," Cavendish said softly, stepping in front of Zoro with his sword raised. "I've been waiting. Our fight isn't over yet!"
"You're right," Zoro grinned, a feral glint in his eye. "And this time... I'm definitely cutting you down!"