Chapter 277: When Lightning Strikes the Speed of Light
"Huh?!"
Just as Enel wanted to laugh and say something after defeating the lieutenant general, a dazzling golden light suddenly bloomed in front of him.
Thanks to his Kenbunshoku Haki he was able to perceive a thick ray of light heading directly towards his face.
Acting on pure instinct, Enel transformed into electricity, attempting to teleport backwards to dodge.
However, he was not fast enough.
[Bang!]
The beam of light, which was wrapped in Haki, struck Enel's face and sent him flying backwards, through the air until he crashed into a tall watchtower, reducing it to rubble.
Borsalino materialized from the flashes of light and sighed when he saw this scene. "Don't blame me, this is all Teacher Zephyr's order."
Zephyr had just asked him to test Enel's abilities.
It was a bothersome task, and facing someone like Enel was not particularly pleasant. But Zephyr was not only his master, but also the current Air Force Marshal, so Borsalino had no choice but to accept.
[Boom!]
The next moment, the rubble of the tower suddenly exploded. An electric shock shot out from the wreckage, heading towards him with incredible speed.
"Wow..." Borsalino muttered, his eyes reflecting a figure wrapped in blue rays.
Not caring that Borsalino was a general, Enel counterattacked without hesitation.
He had been waiting for a long time to face a general, especially one who also possessed the powers of a Logia-type Devil Fruit. Plus, he had to return that initial attack!
Enel launched a Lightning Kick coated with Haki, aiming directly at Borsalino's face.
[Swish!]
However, at the last second before being hit, Borsalino transformed into a flash of light and disappeared from the spot, reappearing a hundred meters away.
"So fast, it's worthy of the Goro Goro no Mi, so scary~"
Borsalino put his hands in his pockets and made a frightened face with a long tone.
"Damn it!" Enel growled, stopping his movement.
"Lightning Spear!" Enel shouted, his eyes filled with cold determination. With a swift movement, he extended his right hand, forming a thick spear of pure electricity.
The crackling sound and the continuous overflow of electricity made the air force officers watching the battle in the distance show a deep fear in their eyes.
"Ama no Murakumo!" Borsalino said, extending both hands in front of him.
Immediately, a golden sword made entirely of light began to form. Holding it firmly in his right hand, he couldn't resist the urge to throw out another taunt.
"Be careful, Colonel Enel~"
[Swoosh!]
[Zizzi! Crackle!]
The next second, a meteor-like golden spark and an electric blue flash traveled more than a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, colliding head-on.
At the same time, huge amounts of light and electricity spread out in all directions, causing the ground around them to explode uncontrollably.
The shock wave generated lifted fragments of concrete and earth, spreading violently in all directions.
Both combatants, enveloped in golden flashes and lightning, became swift shadows that crossed in the middle of the battlefield, fighting a fierce and frenetic fight.
However, just when everyone thought this battle would drag on for a long time...
[Bang!]
The lightning spear that Enel was holding was easily shattered by Borsalino's sword.
Enel's face showed shock as a thin line of blood marked his cheek.
"Thunder Fist!"
With a furious shout, Enel charged towards Borsalino with his fist filled with electricity and covered in Haki.
The air filled with sparks as his fist impacted directly against the edge of the luminous sword.
A split second later, Borsalino vanished in a flash of light, causing Enel to lose control, and taking advantage of the gap, Borsalino appeared behind Enel.
"It seems that lightning is not as fast as light~~"
Before Enel could react, he received a devastating blow from behind, sending him flying.
Borsalino slowly lowered his leg and looked in the direction of Zephyr, who was watching the fight and asked with a mixture of laziness and resignation. "Master Zephyr, is that enough?"
Zephyr walked over and with a smile on his lips, he replied, "Yes, good job. I now have a clear idea of this boy's abilities. Now I can design a specific training for him."
Zephyr then added seriously, "Though I must admit that the boy places more importance on physical abilities than you do."
"But I'm a swordsman~" Borsalino protested with a tone of resignation.
"Ha! As if you actually dedicate yourself to sword training. Ever since you reached the level of a great swordsman, how long has it been since you trained seriously?"
"If you keep going like this, eventually Sakazuki, Kuzan, and the others will leave you behind. And when you face a formidable enemy in the Other World, don't regret not trying harder sooner."
With a snort, Zephyr stopped paying attention to him and headed towards Enel, who was lying on the ground.
"Damn it! I... I am... the emissary of god!"
Enel furiously rose from the ground, wiping the blood from the edge of his lips.
Driven by rage, he suppressed the pain he felt as he concentrated more electrical currents into his body, radiating a bright blue light, illuminating the surroundings.
[Zzzzzzzt, zzzzzzzt...]
In an instant, the electricity surrounding his body took the form of a majestic electric dragon.
"60 million volts… Lightning Dragon!"
The electric dragon roared with a deafening sound and quickly charged towards Borsalino.
"That's enough, electric boy."
Zephyr, seeing Enel launch another attack, quickly covered his fist with his Haki.
In a split second, he threw a punch, pulverizing the electric dragon just as it was about to reach him. The impact created a thunderous explosion, filling the field with blue sparks.
"You!!"
Enel glared at Zephyr coldly, though he restrained himself from insulting him. He had recognized the other party.
Although his position and his powerful Devil Fruit made him extremely arrogant, he was not a reckless fool who could underestimate even the Marshal.
Zephyr approached Enel and, with a smile, said:
"It was I who asked Borsalino to test your abilities. The result is that, for now, you are far from reaching him."
"Hmph!"
With no words to contradict him, Enel looked away in disgust. However, Zephyr continued, "But you have great potential. At least, when Borsalino was your age, he wasn't as strong as you."
"..."
Those words significantly improved Enel's mood, relaxing his expression. Zephyr, noticing this, smiled to himself. After all, he was still a child.
Zephyr asked, "I can help you reach it faster. What do you say? Would you accept my special training?"
Zephyr had always loved teaching. And this trait of his had intensified ever since the World Government began to change. Every time he saw a promising talent, he felt the urge to polish him.
Also, Zephyr does not want Enel to become the second Borsalino.
For Zephyr, the powers of the Devil Fruits were supposed to complement physical abilities and Haki, as Sengoku, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido did.
Although all of them frequently used their devil fruit powers, their physical strength and mastery of Haki were unmatched.
After a moment of silence, Enel could not resist the temptation to become stronger and with a mixture of curiosity and arrogance asked: "Hmph, how can you help me?"
Zephyr was not bothered by the boy's haughty attitude. With a slight smile, he began to offer his suggestions.
At that moment, Borsalino, seeing that the conversation no longer involved him and that his curiosity about Enel was satisfied, turned into a flash of light and left without saying a word.
Neither Zephyr nor Enel bothered to stop him.
On the way to the base, Kuzan had called Zephyr to tell him about his previous encounter with Enel. Thanks to that, Zephyr already knew that Enel had been trained by the Celestial Dragons and even suspected that he was under Imu's direct orders. The reason for his transfer to the Air Force was not difficult to guess clearly, he had been sent to maintain some degree of control over them.
But Zephyr didn't care too much.
In his opinion, as long as the Celestial Dragons were willing to strengthen the military with their resources, that was already good news.
After chatting a little more with Enel, the latter left to continue training. Zephyr on the other hand looked at the imposing Air Force Fortress, crossed his arms and reflected: "With that bastard Shiki coming soon, the three generals of the Air Force are basically complete. However, this Enel is obviously coming for the Air Force general. Who will replace me as the marshal then?"
"If we talk about ability, Shiki fits the bill perfectly, but his pirate background rules that out completely. Kaido could also be an option, but his pirate background is another obstacle..."
"Borsalino? Bah, that's just absurd."
Zephyr shook his head, unable to even imagine Borsalino as a marshal.
"So, is it possible that the Celestial Dragons sent Enel specifically to place him as Air Force Marshal?"
Although the idea seemed far-fetched, Zephyr could not rule out that possibility.
After all, although Enel lacked the necessary experience, strength, and background, his youth was an advantage. In the future, when he reached the level of a general, such factors as age or experience would not be an obstacle in the face of the influence of the Celestial Dragons.
Unless Borsalino decided to compete for the position, but everyone knew that was practically impossible.
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