The night passed quickly.
The next day, Rin and the others went down to Angel Island on the Sky Island of Skypiea to look around and inquire about Enel.
Then they learned that the current "God" of Skypiea was still Gan Fall meaning that Enel had yet to arrive and seize power.
Back on the ship, Rin sat cross-legged on the deck, scratching his head in frustration as he muttered. "Damn, I totally forgot where Enel originally came from. Looks like we'll have to hang around here for a bit longer."
Other than waiting, Rin couldn't think of a better plan.
"What's wrong? Didn't find the guy you wanted to recruit?" Artoria noticed the look on Rin's face and walked over to ask.
"Yeah, no luck," Rin nodded.
But after a pause, he added, "Still, we might as well use this time to train while we wait. Better than sitting around."
"Alright, I'll follow your lead," Artoria replied with a calm nod.
Casa shrugged his shoulders casually. He didn't mind staying longer he also wanted more time to get used to the full scope of his Devil Fruit's powers and explore Skypiea's curious geography.
Seeing that both of them had no objections, Rin made the call to remain on Sky Island for now.
The next few days passed quickly.
During that time, Rin focused intensely on mastering his newly acquired Glint-Glint Fruit the Pika Pika no Mi, which, in the manga, is wielded by Admiral Kizaru (Borsalino). It allows the user to become and control light itself, enabling attacks at the speed of light and unmatched mobility. Rin had already confirmed in earlier chapters that his version of the fruit, modified by the system, lacked the usual Devil Fruit weaknesses.
Before long, a full week had passed.
Somewhere in the uninhabited area of Upper Yard
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Golden beams of light flickered through the air, each blink leaving a lingering afterimage. With every appearance, the light instantly vanished, reappearing elsewhere.
After a few moments, one such flash froze mid-air.
Suspended in the sky, it took the form of a man Rin.
He was testing the limits of the Glint-Glint Fruit's abilities. Suddenly, Casa came running across the field toward him, waving an arm.
"Captain! Captain!" Casa called out.
In a golden flicker, Rin flashed in front of Casa, the light collapsing into his solid form. "What's wrong?"
Casa wasn't surprised anymore. Rin had already explained the truth his body was a special case that allowed him to eat two Devil Fruits, one being the Cosmic Fruit, and now the Glint-Glint Fruit. Casa had come to accept the absurdity, considering he himself had taken the Devil Fruit Weakness Elimination Potion.
Catching his breath, Casa reported, "That guy you were looking for he's finally shown up. Just overthrew Gan Fall and declared himself the new god."
"Oh?" Rin's eyes brightened, and a grin spread across his face. He'd been starting to consider giving up and moving on but here it was, the opportunity he'd waited for.
"Where is he now?" Rin asked sharply.
"He's holed up on Upper Yard, on the old Apayado ruins," Casa answered after a moment's thought.
"Apayado, huh?" Rin muttered. He knew that Apayado was the skyborne half of Jaya Island that had been blasted into the sky centuries ago by the Knock-Up Stream. In canon, that very location becomes Enel's base of operations during his reign as God.
"Let's go. Now." Rin said without hesitation, grabbing Casa by the wrist and tugging.
But Casa hesitated. "Captain… Are you sure you want to recruit that guy? I mean, he's got a god complex. Not exactly team player material."
"I know," Rin replied, lips curling into a cold smile. "But people like him once you beat them into the ground and show them who's boss they'll follow. Besides, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is one of the most destructive Logia fruits out there. Having him on our side would be a major asset."
Casa nodded, conceding the point. He was well aware that Enel possessed the Goro Goro no Mi the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. In the manga, this fruit is capable of generating up to 200 million volts of electricity and grants nearly omnipresent observational power via Mantra, a form of Observation Haki. Truly a force to be reckoned with.
The two made their way back to the ship, where Artoria was calmly reading a leather-bound book on deck.
Seeing them return early, she glanced up and asked, "Back already? That was fast."
"Yeah, our target finally showed up. We're heading out now," Rin explained as he moved past.
"Understood." Artoria closed the book, stood up, and began prepping to leave without question.
Soon after, the three were sailing directly toward Apayado formerly the sacred Upper Yard.
———
At that moment
In the golden palace once ruled by Gan Fall, Enel reclined lazily on an ornate throne. He took a casual bite of an apple and muttered to himself. "This will do. There's a lot of gold here I can use it to build the Ark Maxim… Then I'll leave this pitiful island and journey to the Endless Vearth."
Enel's ultimate dream, according to canon, was to reach the Fairy Vearth a mythic land of endless soil. What he didn't know then was that this "Endless Vearth" was actually the moon, as revealed in later chapters during the Enel Cover Story, Enel's Great Space Operations.
Several hours later, Rin and his crew arrived at Apayado.
The moment they set foot on the sacred ground, Enel sensed their arrival.
"Who are these three?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.
With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Enel had already begun using Mantra to an effective degree, similar to Observation Haki. His electrical waves could detect movements across vast areas. Even if he hadn't yet reached the mastery shown during the Skypiea arc, scanning the island was well within his range.
Upon identifying the intruders, Enel chuckled. "Could it be they've come to pledge allegiance after I defeated Gan Fall?"
He smirked to himself, savoring the idea. "Not bad… I am lacking loyal subordinates."
Meanwhile, Rin had no knowledge of what Enel was imagining.
He led the group quickly toward the island's center.
Along the way, they encountered massive Sky Island beasts, enlarged by the effects of dials and thin atmosphere. But Rin, with his speed and power, dispatched them in an instant using his light-speed kicks much like how Kizaru annihilated pirates at Sabaody Archipelago in canon.
Because Enel had just seized power and had yet to appoint his four priests (Satori, Shura, Gedatsu, and Ohm), there were no major defenses in place. Rin, Artoria, and Casa reached the steps of the Divine Palace without facing a single major obstacle.
"This is it," Rin said as he looked at the towering structure of the palace.
"Let's go in then," Casa nodded, gripping the hilt of his weapon instinctively.
With confident strides, the trio stepped inside the Divine Palace…
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