Chapter 269: Enel—Who Dares to Take What’s Mine?

Teach had been fixated on the Dark-Dark Fruit for a long time, but Enel was simply too fast. A bolt of lightning flashed, and in an instant, he appeared next to the falling fruit. Before it could even hit the ground, Enel snatched it.

A second later, Teach lunged forward, his hand coated in Armament Haki, reaching for Enel.

"You're dead!" Enel's expression darkened, a flicker of rage flashing across his brow.

BOOM!

A surge of electricity exploded from his body. The sheer force of the current blasted Teach backward, sending him flying through the air.

The sudden burst of chaos brought the battle between Shanks' crew and Marco to an abrupt halt.

Another Warlord of the Sea had entered the fray?

Shanks and Marco instinctively ceased their attacks, momentarily assessing the new arrival.

"Raki, you good?" Yasopp was the first to speak.

"Don't call me Raki!" Lucky's voice came from the rubble in the distance. He staggered to his feet, brushing off the dust. The lightning strike had hit him hard, but his physical endurance was formidable. Enel was strong, but it would take a lot more than that to take him down.

Seeing that Lucky was still standing, Yasopp and the others relaxed.

Teach, meanwhile, had also recovered, though his eyes burned with frustration. He didn't charge in immediately, but he was clearly reevaluating his approach.

"Enel," Shanks said coldly, his gaze sharp. "Are you trying to get involved in this too?"

Most people feared the Warlords of the Sea, but Shanks wasn't most people. He had faced off against Whitebeard himself. A fight with Enel didn't intimidate him in the slightest.

Enel hovered in the air, electricity crackling around him as he held the Dark-Dark Fruit in one hand and his golden staff in the other. His tone was uncompromising.

"You're the ones interfering with me." His voice carried a dangerous edge. "This Dark-Dark Fruit was legitimately priced at 1.2 billion berries, and I already put down a deposit. Now, you think you can just waltz in and steal it?"

Shanks frowned. He hadn't known that.

He had assumed that the fruit had been Teach's purchase, and that the deal had simply gone sour. That kind of thing wasn't unusual, pirates weren't exactly known for honoring transactions.

But now, it seemed like Teach had stolen it from Enel, and in the ensuing chaos, the fruit had accidentally ended up in his crew's hands before Enel reclaimed it.

The situation had just become a lot more complicated.

None of the three sides were willing to back down, yet no one made a move either. The battlefield had reached a tense stalemate.

Enel broke the silence.

"The Dark-Dark Fruit is mine," he declared. "If any of you want to fight for it, I'll take you on anytime!"

Electricity surged around him, his Haki radiating power and confidence.

Shanks, for his part, had never been particularly interested in the Devil Fruit. The only reason he had even gotten involved was because Teach had been after it.

But now that the real owner had shown up, things were different.

Sure, Lucky had taken a hit, but at the end of the day, they had technically been trying to steal Enel's property. If anyone was in the wrong here, it was them.

And fighting a full-scale war with a Warlord of the Sea over a misunderstanding? That was more trouble than it was worth.

After casting a glance at Teach, Shanks turned back to Enel and smirked.

"We're not interested in that Devil Fruit," he said, shrugging off the situation. "Looks like this was all just a misunderstanding. But I'll remember this moment, Enel. Someday, I'll have to see for myself just how 'invincible' the God of Thunder really is."

If the circumstances were different, Shanks might have fought Enel just to test his strength. But with Marco and Teach standing by, the risk of a full-blown three-way war was too high.

And Teach?

Teach clearly wasn't about to let this go.

If a fight broke out between Enel and Shanks, he could swoop in and claim the Dark-Dark Fruit in the chaos. That was his best-case scenario.

But Shanks had weighed the risks and decided it wasn't worth it.

Enel, on the other hand, wasn't looking for unnecessary trouble. As long as Shanks wasn't going to fight for the fruit, there was no reason for conflict between them.

Besides, he had actually profited from this situation, the Dark-Dark Fruit was now his, and since he had taken it back by force, there was no need to pay the remaining balance.

And as for the deposit?

Keeping it was just common courtesy.

Enel turned his gaze toward Marco and Teach, his eyes sharp and filled with warning.

He wasn't going to tolerate anyone trying to take what was his.

Marco sighed internally. If he had just taken the fruit before Enel arrived, there wouldn't have been a problem.

But now?

Now, there was no justifiable reason for the Whitebeard Pirates to fight Enel over it.

Starting a war over a single Devil Fruit wasn't worth it, especially not when Whitebeard was involved.

Though he wanted the fruit, Marco ultimately had too many restrictions. Unlike Teach, he had Whitebeard's name to consider.

So he looked at Teach, waiting to see what his next move would be.

If Teach insisted on fighting, then Marco would support him. After all, a Warlord wasn't someone he couldn't handle.

Teach met Marco's gaze and understood.

His mind raced. His greed for the Dark-Dark Fruit was undeniable, but he wasn't stupid.

Even if he and Marco worked together, even if Shanks stayed out of it, there was no guarantee they could beat Enel.

And if Enel couldn't be beaten?

He'd just run.

On top of that, Shanks was unpredictable. There was no way to count on him staying neutral.

Teach exhaled slowly.

The situation was unfavorable. He had no choice but to let this go.

For now.

Besides, Enel was already a Devil Fruit user. He couldn't eat the Dark-Dark Fruit himself.

And he wasn't known for having powerful subordinates. If he had spent years collecting Devil Fruits, yet none of his crew members had eaten them, it was possible that this fruit was just a trophy to him.

Maybe there was another way.

Instead of stealing the fruit, what if he could trade for it?

Teach's expression shifted, and he suddenly laughed.

"Zehahahaha! Looks like this fruit and I just weren't meant to be," he said smoothly. "If it ended up in your hands, Lord Enel, then that's just the way it is. A pirate takes what he can, that's how it works."

Teach's words were carefree, but his eyes burned with calculation.

This wasn't over.

But instead of taking the Dark-Dark Fruit by force, he'd try another route.

Marco, sensing Teach's decision, relaxed slightly. It seemed Teach wasn't about to do anything reckless.

Nodding at Enel, Marco said, "Looks like we misunderstood the situation. No hard feelings."

Enel smirked. "As long as the Whitebeard Pirates don't cause me trouble, we won't have a problem."

Shanks, seeing that nothing exciting was going to happen, stretched lazily and sighed.

"Man, what a letdown," he muttered. "Alright, let's head to another island. Maybe we'll find some actual fun there."

And just like that, the battle for the Dark-Dark Fruit came to an anticlimactic end.

The fruit was now firmly in Enel's possession.

But as Teach left, he made sure to personally ask Enel for a way to contact him, making no effort to hide it from Marco.

Marco didn't think much of it. He assumed Teach was simply trying to strike a deal for the fruit later.

What he didn't know was that this single exchange had just planted the seed for an event that would change the entire world.

***

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