One Piece: Reborn as Enel

Chapter 252: Status of Wano, Worries and Promise

_________ POV Narration _________ 

The Dragon's body falling from the skies finally revealed the moonlight for the rest of Wano as well.

Wooden lanterns rose to the skies as many silently celebrated their liberation.

That silence soon broke in cheers, as the people of Wano finally basked in the light of freedom.

Thankfully Kaido's body did shrink at some point, returning him to his usual size, although his skull was still smashed open.

It was a rather grim sight, but none of the people present truly cared for Kadio. Hell, no one in Wano really cared about him.

A tyrant that had done nothing other than take advantage of them. There was truly no reason to mourn him. 

Momonosuke immediately became the Shogun, however, he became older and gave up some of his life in the process.

After all, Wano needed a strong ruler now. He still had a lot to learn but his artificial devil fruit was going to make him a force to be reckoned with eventually. 

 Yamato, Kaido's son(daughter?) was thankfully by his side. She had only gotten to confront her father briefly alongside the Red Scabbards.

She wasn't able to do much against him at the time, but at the end of the day, it wasn't really her fate to liberate Wano.

Hell, it wasn't even Ace's fate. And he/she had been waiting for Ace for years already. Although he didn't make it in time, at the very least he'd come back to a happier Wano. 

A festival ensued, in which most of the people who were responsible for the liberation participated. 

Luffy, Kid, Law, and their crews. A rowdy bunch really, but that was fitting for the festivities. 

Enel's crew of old timers were also there to help drink Wano out of their prized rice alcohol. 

And the still-healing Red Scabbards were more than happy to celebrate.

Although they hadn't managed to save Wano on their own, and they felt shame as the Kozuki family's retainers, they still felt fulfilled.

They had faced an opponent far stronger than them, they had fought the man who had killed Kozuki Oden. They had finally rebelled and fought to free their homeland. 

The Land of Wano, which had been stuck in the mud for 20 years, could finally bask in the light of hope again. 

As for Enel? He was resting.

His mind was not in a festive mood, his entire being wrought with worry as he realized that with Luffy's Awakening, the war was on the horizon.

He knew that the day would come, he'd have to face his fate. What he didn't know was if he had done enough to change his fate.

Sure hearing he was 'fated to die' wasn't pleasant at first. He had chosen not to dwell on it, to focus on what was truly important at the time. 

But now that the stage was mostly set, the Sky King couldn't help but feel a bit of uncertainty creep into his mind. It was unbecoming of a Conqueror.

But he hadn't always been a 'Conqueror'. He was an archaeologist, by his very nature an overthinker. A man who was predisposed to constantly asking questions. 

Even when his personality blended with Enel's God complex, he was still the same in many aspects. 

But it was his carefulness that had brought him so far. So in the end, even though he had resigned himself to accepting nothing but a decisive victory, he still had doubts. 

So, as the people below partied and celebrated, he sat down on a cloud and overlooked them. 

Sometimes, some clouds would shift behind him, unveiling the moonlight once more and casting his shadow upon some provinces in the land of Wano. 

Many had noticed his presence, many looked up to the skies to see the figure of one of their saviours, but none could reach him.

And most of those who could, like his crewmembers, were too busy getting drunk and celebrating themselves. It was a hard-fought battle at the end of the day. 

Minutes turned to hours, and eventually, the Sky King slowly closed his eyes, preparing to drift off to sleep. To get some much-needed rest before his journey back to the Sky Islands started.

"Why are you being all gloomy and sitting up here?" Just as his mind started resting, a teasing voice broke through the calm and peace. 

The Emperor slowly opened his eyes and turned around in the direction of that voice.

"I'm not being gloomy, I'm just a bit tired..." Enel smiled as he eyed the figure that had tried to sneak up on him.

It was none other than Robin, still wearing her geisha outfit. On her back sprouted a pair of wings that beat periodically, keeping her afloat. 

 "Tired? You've not even danced with us, it's a bit disappointing, I was waiting for you, you know?" The Straw Hat Archeologist slowly swayed her hips from side to side as she spoke, seemingly dancing in mid-air.

"I do know that you were waiting for me, but I really did not feel up to it today..." Enel yawned slightly, his thoughts had finally calmed, and now all that was left on his mind was fatigue. 

Defeating Kaido was not even that taxing of a situation. The stress that had been caused by his own overthinking took a greater mental toll on him.

Well, there was also the fact that he was still getting used to keeping his Awakened State on for longer periods of time. 

 "Hmm... That's a shame." Robin seemed to realize that something was on the Emperor's mind, she shrugged and slowly flew to his side, her wings disappearing into a mass of petals as she sat down on the same cloud as him. 

 The two of them sat in silence for a bit, looking down at the lights of the celebration below. The flower capital was like a bustling snow globe from the sky.

A beautiful cacophony of joy and lights. It was a mesmerizing sight. 

Even from below, the look on the streets was beautiful, but now that she sat there, relaxed, she could finally notice and appreciate the sights from above. 

'I guess I can't blame him for just sitting here and admiring this...' 

In the end, she could only smile and change the subject.

"Soo... I think that's the first time I've heard you play those drums on your back. Did you discover some new powers or something?" 

Robin's gaze shifted slightly to the Emperor as she spoke.

Enel had already told her about most of his abilities in his awakened form. But he had never mentioned anything about playing the drums on that floating disk.

If anything, he had specified in the past that the floating disk wasn't a regular object, but rather a fragment of consciousness of the old Lightning God. 

"It's not exactly singing, obviously... I've discovered that beating on those drums stirs up the clouds. But what it's truly good at is raising atmospheric pressure in targeted areas." 

Enel couldn't help but smile as he remembered controlling all aspects of the storm he had been creating and maintaining.

"Usually, the atmospheric pressure within a storm wouldn't be that much higher than the regular, but when awakened, I seem to have control over all aspects of a storm...So I am able to intensify any aspect of a storm." 

In essence, Enel had managed to create an effect that was quite similar to Fujitora's Gravity fruit, but instead of actually making the gravitational pull stronger, Enel made the air that was being pulled down heavier. 

Well, it wasn't really something of Enel's creation. Raijin had likely done it in the past, which was why it felt more like instinct when the Sky King attempted it. 

Robin blinked a few times when hearing that explanation, not quite sure where Enel came with all the ideas behind the use of his devil fruit.

She was very well-read herself, but most of her favourite books were either stories from folklore or history books. Storms and their intricacies were more in line with Nami's line of study. 

"Sounds mighty impressive..." She didn't let the silence stretch for much longer, eventually responding with some praise to soothe her friend and partner's ego. 

The Lighting Emperor just sighed and shook his head. 

"So... I guess now that Captain has awakened his devil fruit... The war is going to start soon, right?" Robin eventually decided to address the elephant in the room.

She was well aware of Enel's plans after all. At least of the ones everyone on the Sky Island was also aware of. 

"Indeed." Enel nodded, slowly turning his gaze towards the lights of the Flower Capital.

"Is that what's got you acting so weird? Are you getting cold feet?" Robin's tone was half-joking half serious. She realised that the entire situation was stressful for Enel.

The Sky King was currently carrying the hopes of many on his back. He couldn't even afford to back down at that point. 

"No, it's far too late for that. But that doesn't mean I cannot grow worried of what we may face..." The Emperor's lament finally became clearer to Robin, who raised an eyebrow at it.

"Huh? The great and mighty Sky King is worried? That's new. I guess you're great at hiding it..." The young woman shook her head slightly as she spoke.

Although slightly mocking in tone, she was genuinely shocked. 

She herself had seen the type of power that Enel commanded personally, she knew of the power and size of his army as well... And yet, he was worried? 

It was concerning, to say the least. 

"Hiding it or not. Worried or not worried. The War still has to happen. I will give it my all, and I believe we will emerge victorious. Luffy will certainly prove helpful."

The Sky King seemed to notice the growing concern within Robin, so he decided to try and reassure her a bit. 

The Strawhat Archeologist didn't really seem to be buying into his calming words. She just eyed him suspiciously before eventually sighing deeply.

"... OK, I'll believe you. But I also want to clarify something tonight." Robin surprisingly decided not to press on thankfully. 

Enel turned to look at her with a smile.

"And what might that be?" His question was immediately answered.

But with another question.

"What are we exactly?" Robin's voice sounded calm as she asked that question, her eyes resolute. 

The Emperor was a bit stuck on that question. But at that point, after everything they had been through and everything they had done. The answer was quite obvious.

"Well, that's an easy question. We're lovers, aren't we?" The Emperor tilted his head, giving Robin an affectionate smile. 

Robin seemed to be taken aback by that straightforward response. She blinked a few times, before gulping and slowly looking down.

"I guess we are..." 

 Her legs swayed slightly in the wind as the world below felt all the more captivating to her.

Well, to put it bluntly, she was averting her gaze and trying to hide her blushing cheeks from the Emperor's eyes. 

It wasn't working.

"You know, when you blush, your ears also turn red." The Sky King chuckled a bit as he flicked one of her ears gently. 

That action seemed to startle Robin even more.

She was more used to being the one doing the teasing, like always. It was only in brief moments like these that Enel managed to mount a counterattack. The problem was that his counterattack was always a lot more potent than her regular attacks... 

But her blush died down as she remembered the conversation they were having earlier.

"Hey, I once read a book... A special tradition of an old tribe. It said that lovers were to make a promise to each other during times of war...

And since we're lovers... Would you make a promise to me?" 

"And what would that promise be?"

The Emperor smiled as he asked. 

The two scholars looked into each other's eyes as they spoke, exploring each other's souls.

"It's quite obvious really... That you'll come back to me after the war is over. That you'll do everything in your power to survive." 

 "That I can certainly promise." 

Enel swore under the moonlight, his answer bringing a smile to Robin's lips.

After that, the two of them took to enjoying the sight of the Flower Capital once more. This time, in each other's embrace. 

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Hey there! Hope everyone's doing well. I've had a rather busy week and finally managed to sit down and write a bit. It's already 3am for me those, so I'mma go sleep now

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