Enel was frustrated. No—beyond frustrated. The days were dragging on, the ocean mocked him with its vast nothingness, and worst of all, not a single damn geyser had made an appearance.
They had been drifting for nearly a week. The little dinghy they'd "borrowed" from Jaya creaked with every small wave, and Enel was certain it was held together more by Tatsumaki's telekinesis than by nails and wood. The Grand Line was merciless, unpredictable, and utterly indifferent to the impatience of gods—or those who once believed themselves to be.
He leaned against the edge of the boat, arms crossed tightly under his cloak, golden eyes fixed on the sky. "We're wasting time," he muttered under his breath, not really talking to her—but not not talking to her either.
"You're the one who wanted to take the scenic route," Tatsumaki said lazily from her seat at the front of the boat. She was floating inches above the wood, as always, legs crossed and looking as unbothered as a cat napping in the sun. "I told you I could fly."
"You also said nothing about waiting for the knock-up stream!" Enel snapped.
Tatsumaki snorted. "You're the one who said it was important to 'honor tradition' or whatever nonsense you were spewing. I told you this was dumb the minute we started searching."
Enel growled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I didn't think it would take days! The damn Knock Up Stream should've fired by now. What is this, a dry season?"
"Maybe it's shy," Tatsumaki said with a smirk, spinning a pebble lazily in the air with her powers. "Or maybe it just doesn't like you."
Enel didn't dignify that with a response. Instead, he turned his gaze to the horizon again, silently cursing himself for not thinking ahead.
Not only had he not brought provisions from Jaya, he'd also forgotten to get something crucial—a Log Pose.
A Log Pose was essential for navigating the Grand Line. It tracked the magnetic fields of the islands and adjusted to point toward the next closest destination. Without one, it was like trying to navigate a pitch-black maze with no map, no torch, and no clue where the walls were.
He was a fool.
"Should've gotten a Log Pose," he muttered bitterly.
Tatsumaki burst out laughing.
"You mean you didn't get one?!" she cackled. "Oh my God, I thought you were just being quiet about it. You actually forgot?"
Enel shot her a withering glare. "It slipped my mind, plus you're the navigator."
"Slipped your mind? You've been going on and on about being this divine being from the sky, and you forgot the most basic tool for survival in the Grand Line?" She laughed harder, clutching her sides.
Enel groaned. "Stop laughing."
"I can't!" she gasped. "You didn't even think about getting one!"
"I thought we'd find someone else heading in the same direction!" he grumbled.
She wiped a tear from her eye. "You're lucky you found me, then. I picked one up back in LogueTown, before I entered the Grand Line. Not sure if it's still working, but that's what smart people do."
Enel raised an eyebrow. "You knew to get one, yet still ended up using a dinghy?"
Tatsumaki huffed. "I wanted to test something! And don't change the subject, you know that good ships are hard to find."
She floated a little higher, a smug grin still plastered across her face. "Honestly, the fact that you haven't died yet is proof enough you must've fallen from the sky."
Enel narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean—" she gestured broadly at him, "—you clearly didn't grow up on the sea. At times, you walk around like the world owes you something. And those wings?" She waved a hand. "They're probably just decorative."
Enel's eyes twitched and he flared his wings. "They're not decorative."
Tatsumaki shrugged. "Could've fooled me."
"Stop talking."
She grinned. "Make me." Thunder rumbled in the sky threateningly, before calming.
Enel turned away, fuming. "This conversation is over."
"Mm-hm," she hummed, grin still broad.
They sat in silence for a few moments, Enel stewing in his embarrassment while Tatsumaki resumed floating in serene amusement. Finally, after several long minutes of awkward silence, Enel broke it.
"I need to head back," he said.
Tatsumaki tilted her head. "Back?"
"To my home. In the Sky Islands."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So there really is one up there?"
Enel nodded. "Yes. I need to collect gold. A lot of it."
She blinked. "Are you serious?"
He nodded again, eyes fixed on the clouds above. "It's the only place I know that has enough to fund what I need."
She tapped her chin. "You know... my Log Pose has been pointing upward for a while now."
He turned toward her. "It has?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I thought it was broken and would reset eventually, but if what you're saying is true, then there is an island up there. Makes sense, if you're from it."
He frowned, watching the clouds.
He had waited long enough.
"I'm done with this geyser nonsense," he said finally. "We're going to fly there."
Tatsumaki glanced at him. "Excuse me?"
"You said you can fly, didn't you?"
She nodded. "I can."
"Then we're flying," he said simply. "Just follow me."
Tatsumaki blinked at him. "And how exactly are you planning on carrying all that gold back down by yourself? That's gonna take a lot of trips."
Enel smirked. "That's your job. Carry as much as you can with your devil fruit."
Tatsumaki snorted. "I'm not a glorified delivery bird."
Enel's grin widened. "You'll change your mind when you see it."
"See what exactly?"
"The City of Gold."
She paused. "...Come again?"
"Shandora," Enel said. "The City of Gold. The one from Jaya's legends."
Tatsumaki crossed her arms. "Those are just myths. That place doesn't exist."
Enel gave her a look. "We live in a world with dragons, sea kings, islands that snow one hour but burn the next, Devil Fruits that turn people into elements and animals of nature—and this is where you draw the line?"
She hesitated. "Point taken."
"Shandora was real," Enel said, his voice quiet now, serious. "And it was launched into the sky centuries ago by a Knock Up Stream. It fused with the existing Sky Island, and no one on the Blue Sea ever knew what happened. But I know. I've seen it."
Tatsumaki's eyes widened. She had seen the strength of those geysers. She'd seen ships, whole ones, launched like toys into the sky. The idea of an island being shot into the air and never falling… It sounded ridiculous.
And yet...
It was the Grand Line.
It could happen.
And if Enel wasn't lying, then...
"You're serious," she whispered.
"I'm always serious," Enel replied.
She fell silent for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "Alright. Let's do it."
Enel felt a small sense of satisfaction settle in his chest. She believed him. Or at least believed enough to act.
He looked up again, eyes gleaming like lightning. Sky Island.Home. He would return not as a fallen god, not as a potential tyrant—but as a man with a plan.
A new kind of god.
He thought of the gold piled in the ancient city. Thought of the tools, the wealth, the materials. He wouldn't recreate that stupid Ark Maxim.
No, he was going to build a ship.
A proper one.
A warship made from Adam Wood, with sails that tore through the wind like thunder, and a hull that could weather the strongest storms. A ship that pirates and Marines alike would learn to fear. One glimpse of it on the horizon, and hearts would sink.
His ship.
The ship of a new kind of pirate king.
And Tatsumaki?
She was just the beginning.