Zzzt, zzzt, zzzt...
Thin arcs of electricity danced across his skin, revealing sinewy muscles that glowed like tempered steel, exuding an aura of indestructibility.
Drops of sweat fell from his forehead. Yasa couldn't spare them a glance, his mind wholly focused on channeling lightning through his body.
The imperceptible tremors in his steel-like frame gradually intensified into violent vibrations. Blue veins bulged across his skin, as if swarming with restless mice.
He'd initially tried using the same electrical enhancement method he'd developed for Sky Island's Death Row Inmates. But the feeble current proved ineffective against his enhanced physique. With a grim resolve, he doubled the voltage.
Zzzt, zzzt, zzzt!
The crackling arcs coalesced into serpentine lightning. Yasa's muscles began to swell in rhythm.
Half an hour later, the storm subsided. Black filth oozed from his pores as his organs completed their metamorphosis.
"Phew!" Yasa exhaled deeply, plunging into a water barrel to scrub himself clean.
"Good thing I spent ten months experimenting on others' organs," he muttered. "Otherwise, I might've been the one on the dissection table."
Though still wary of the process, Yasa's elation outweighed his fear. His foresight in using others as test subjects had averted certain doom.
"The visceral enhancement worked beyond my wildest dreams!" Yasa clenched his fists, feeling the explosive power coursing through his veins. "I could probably destroy Sky Island with a single punch now!"
"Maybe someday my internal organs will become so powerful that I can breathe out swords and kill with a single exhale?" He grinned, his eyes sparkling with anticipation for the future.
To celebrate his success, Yasa opened a barrel of wine. He drank heartily while bathing, the alcohol warming his skin.
Before his rebirth, he'd been a drinker, but after his rebirth, he'd abstained completely. Now, however, there was no choice. As his body grew stronger, he'd likely need to drink constantly, becoming a full-fledged alcoholic.
After all, wine was the essence of grain, packed with energy. Yasa couldn't exactly wander the sea carrying food supplies, could he?
Standing up from the water barrel, Yasa shook off the droplets. His smile remained fixed. From now on, every part of his body would strengthen in unison. He'd grow stronger each day, the title of "Strongest Being on Land, Sea, and Sky" within his grasp.
Good fortune brings good spirits!
Dressed in fresh clothes, Yasa cheerfully left the temple to explore Upper-Yard—a place he'd lived in for nearly a year yet hadn't fully seen.
"Lord, you've emerged?" Constance had been waiting in the temple. He hurried over as soon as he saw Yasa.
"How's the modification progress on the ark 'Thunder God'?" Yasa strode out of the temple, hands clasped behind his back. He wanted to check on the Golden Bell and the Ancient Historical Text.
"Lord of Thunder, we've found descendants of the architect who designed the Waver hundreds of years ago. His shipbuilding skills are among the best on Sky Island, and I believe he's nearly completed the project!" Constance bowed her head in respectful greeting.
"Hmm, there's no need to rush," Yasa nodded. He had seen the Ark 'Maxim's' original design and been horrified by its ugly appearance. He had drawn a new blueprint resembling an aircraft carrier from his previous life.
However, changing the ark's established design would inevitably require altering the positions of internal components, which was why construction of the Thunder God had been delayed until now.
Walking along the Cloud Road, Yasa gazed into the mist-shrouded distance ahead, but failed to spot the expected Golden Bell and Poneglyph.
"Where are we? Where's the Golden Bell?" Constance asked, puzzled. "My lord, I've never been here before and don't know this area well. As for the Golden Bell... I've never heard of such a thing existing on Sky Island!"
"You don't know?" Yasa frowned. "Could it be that the Sky Islanders haven't discovered the Golden Bell's location?"
He vaguely recalled there was a place called Hidden Cloud Village on Sky Island, where exiled Shandia people lived. Could it be hidden within these mists?
But weren't they exiled by the God 400 years ago?
With this thought, Yasa activated his Observation Haki and began scanning the mist.
Amidst the swirling mists, just as Yasa had anticipated, there lay a substantial village.
At this moment, several dozen armed Shandia warriors were sharpening their weapons, preparing to launch another assault on the temple.
They bore little difference from the Sky Islanders—both possessed pairs of white wings, wore peculiarly shaped shoes, and glided across the clouds.
"In the name of the great warrior Kalgara," declared a young man with dark skin, a Mohawk hairstyle, and a long braided ponytail, "I, Wiper, will lead our people to reclaim Upper-Yard and wash away the shame of our ancestors' expulsion!"
He held a cannon barrel and shield, his face adorned with terrifying tattoos, his gaze piercingly sharp.
"Wash away the shame! Reclaim Upper-Yard!"
"Wash away the shame! Reclaim Upper-Yard!"
The Shandia warriors behind him roared in unison, their eyes burning with irreconcilable hatred.
"Wiper, I've heard there was a major upheaval in Upper-Yard recently," said another bare-chested young man. "This might be our chance."
He wore round red glasses, had the same Mohawk hairstyle, carried a blue skateboard on his back, and hung a longsword at his waist.
"Kamachili, we can't be careless!" Wiper cautioned. "This could be one of Gan Fall's schemes to lure us into a trap!"
"Regardless, we must reclaim Upper-Yard this time," Kamachili insisted. "Let the Golden Bell truly toll and fulfill our ancestors' 400-year-old pact!"
"Kill all the Sky Islanders! Toll the Golden Bell!"
Their speed was astonishing—their skateboards glided across the Cloud Road faster than a man could run. One by one, they wove through the forest, striving to emerge from the mists.
"Reclaim Upper-Yard? How laughable..." Yasa sneered coldly. Upper-Yard was now his territory—how could he permit others to lay claim to it?
"Perfect timing. The modified Thunder God might face a gold shortage. Melting down the Golden Bell and those gold bars should cover it!"
Yasa cared not for innocence. When someone usurps another's nest, the answer is simple: a matter of strength.
The Shandia ancestors had proven useless, losing Upper-Yard. Now that it was in his grasp, what reason was there to return it?
To prevent endless future troubles, he resolved to bury all Shandia on the very island they'd longed for.
"God's Judgment—Thunderclap!"
Yasa opened his palm, releasing the thunderball into the cloud layer. The once-clear sky darkened instantly, now roiling with electric serpents coiling through the storm.
Thunderclap was Enel's enhanced version of his Thousand Thunder technique, capable of unleashing a full-scale bombardment within the range of Yasa's Observation Haki. It was the perfect move for large-scale battles.
"What's happening?" The advancing Shandia people were stunned by the sudden change. Just moments ago, the sun had been shining brightly, but now the sky had darkened completely.
Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
After a moment of brewing, dense pillars of lightning suddenly descended from the dark clouds!
"Get out of the way!"
"Watch out!"
Dozens of Shandia people, faces twisted with terror, couldn't understand why lightning would strike them...
Outside the cloud cover!
"Constance, go back and tell the God's Guard to enter the cloud cover and move the gold to the Temple area!"
Yasa waved his hand to eliminate the Shandia people, then turned and left.
"Yes!" Constance didn't know why the Lord of Thunder knew there was gold in the cloud cover, but if God said it existed, it must be true.