"That womb… whatever's in there is powerful. Should I destroy it now?" Enel asked as he arrived beside Kong, who stood calmly among the knocked-out ants that hadn't even come close to reaching him.
"Don't be boring—let whatever it is hatch. It should be ready in four hours. Let's motivate her, make sure that Ant King is as powerful as it can be," Kong said with a grin, leaving Zed confused about what womb they were talking about.
Enel shot lightning directly into Zed's mind, temporarily enhancing his Observation Haki and expanding its range. It only took a moment—once Zed locked onto the Queen Ant, a chill ran down his spine. Her womb… it pulsed with a presence on par with that of an Emperor. And yes, Observation Haki could sense more than movement—it could read intent, emotion… even the faintest echoes of life.
"Kong, whatever's in that womb… a battle with it could lead to unimaginable destruction," Zed warned, his voice sharp with urgency. Kong just laughed.
"I'm going to have it join my crew," Kong said with a grin.
Zed grabbed his shirt, trying to shake some sense into him. "Are you insane?!"
Yes, Kong had defeated Big Mom—but whatever was inside that womb was only growing stronger, feeding off everything the Queen Ant consumed. Yes, it might not be as strong as Big Mom, but what about its ability?
"You heard the captain. Let's get to work," Enel said calmly.
Zed froze for a moment, shoulders tense. Then, with a resigned sigh, they dropped. He stepped forward, reluctantly joining Enel as they began the brutal task of slaughtering the ants.
They ignored the grim reality that every ant they killed was dragged back to the Queen Ant, whose ravenous hunger drove her to devour the fallen. Still, they pressed on, cutting down everything in their path as they pushed deeper into the tunnels that led to her lair.
The endless swarm of ants slowed their advance, but with Kong's Conqueror's Haki radiating like a storm, they barely broke a sweat.
Soon, they arrived in the Queen Ant's throne room.
She recoiled the moment she saw them, stepping back in instinctive fear. Her eyes locked onto Kong, her eyes wide and trembling with fear.
He met her gaze with a calm, relaxed smile.
"Don't worry, I'll wait for you to give birth," Kong said with a relaxed smile. "So, why don't you tell me—what made you attack us?"
The Queen Ant took a few more steps back until she stumbled to the ground. But as she realized Kong wasn't attacking, she understood—he wasn't showing mercy. He was just that arrogant.
"The trees are our food," she said, voice trembling but clear. "They give us fruits and leaves to survive…"
She continued explaining, revealing everything. In short, to prevent starvation and the ants from turning on each other, the Queen had implemented a system where they harvested the fruits and leaves from the trees carefully, consuming without killing the trees themselves.
The trees were sacred to them. Damaging a tree was no different than defiling a temple. Never would a root be eaten. Never would all the leaves be stripped.
There were no animals on the island—only the giant ants. Their sole source of nourishment came from what the trees willingly offered.
To maintain balance, the Queen kept the population at around ten million. It was just enough to cover the underground island and keep everything running smoothly, from protecting the trees to alerting her if anything or anyone ever stepped foot on the island.
In just three hours, the ant population had dropped by more than 30%, with the rest lying unconscious. The Queen was certain—if he wanted to, Kong could have knocked out every single ant on the island. But he chose not to. And for that, she was grateful.
His arrogance gave her the chance to feast on as many fallen ants as she could. But soon, once the next day arrived,, she could eat no more—her child had absorbed more than enough energy.
She was moments away from laying the egg… when she froze. A sudden jolt of pain struck her, and before she could react, hands burst violently from her womb.
The Queen let out a roar of pain, a sound so raw and piercing it stunned both Zed and Enel. Neither of them had seen this coming.
They watched in horror as something pushed its way out from her stomach. A massive ant slowly emerged, its presence immediately warping the air around it. Darkness clung to its aura, sending chills racing down Zed and Enel's spines.
Atop its head stood a few sharp, jagged spikes formed from its exoskeleton. Its body appeared to be made of flesh, but it wasn't—it was an exoskeleton. One far stronger than any they'd ever seen, yet somehow as flexible and fluid as living flesh.
The aura surrounding the creature was terrifying. It twisted the air into darkness, as if reality itself recoiled from its presence. It was as though a lifeform that transcended all others had been born—an ultimate being, one without equals.
With its four limbs, it lifted the Queen and began eating her alive, paying no mind to her cries or desperate commands to stop.
Within moments, she was gone, devoured by the very child she had given life to. Then, the Ant King turned his gaze toward Kong.
"I'd say he's about as strong as Big Mom… back when she was still holding back," Kong said with a grin. "Enel, he's all yours. Show him what I taught you."
Without a word, Enel stepped forward, lightning crackling faintly around him as he faced the towering monster.
Boom.
The underground cavern erupted as the two forces collided. The Ant King was sent flying, punished by the sheer speed and force behind Enel's opening strike.
But he adapted quickly. After that one blow, he understood the rhythm. Enel had terrifying speed and overwhelming attack power, but his durability was lacking.
The Ant King's flesh began to adapt, growing increasingly resistant to Enel's lightning. They clashed across the battlefield, their forms flashing in and out of sight as they traded countless blows. With every strike, the Ant King evolved, forcing Enel to dig deeper, to strike harder, as each attack became less effective than the last.
"Railgun," Enel whispered. He held a golden coin toward the Ant King's face.
Before the creature could react, the coin fired, blazing forward at impossible speed. The Ant King's eyes widened, but he managed to cross all four of his arms just in time.
The impact was devastating. The Ant King was sent rocketing across the island, tearing through rock and earth as the sheer force of the blow carved a path of destruction in its wake.
Enel chased after the Ant King, only to find its limbs missing, blown clean off. But even as he approached, the creature was already healing, its body rapidly adapting to Enel's Devil Fruit abilities.
Without hesitation, Enel moved in, each strike precise and lethal. Every move was meant to kill. And yet… the Ant survived.
It wasn't getting stronger in the traditional sense, its body was simply adapting, becoming more resistant to everything Enel threw at it.
This was becoming one of the most frustrating battles Enel had ever faced.
To make things worse, the Ant began resisting his Observation Haki, disrupting Enel's ability to see into the future. Then, it took it a step further—it started absorbing lightning as a power source, converting it into energy.
Now, Enel had to adjust with every strike, pushing his power to the limit. Because if a single attack wasn't overwhelming enough, the Ant would only grow stronger from it.
The Ant King had become a punching bag, unable to do anything but endure Enel's relentless onslaught. It continued to adapt, yes—but there was a limit. It couldn't grow stronger through adaptation alone.
Enel, on the other hand, was evolving. Bit by bit, the prolonged battle was pushing him to the next tier.
His attacks rained down for hours, a storm of precision and power. But he wasn't even fighting to win. If he'd gone all out from the start, the battle would've already been over. Instead, he was focused—refining each strike, working to infuse Conqueror's Haki into his attack.
The Ant King might've been comparable to a holding-back Big Mom in raw power… but Enel's speed was something else entirely.
Even a serious Big Mom would've found it infuriating to face someone with such overwhelming speed.
Enel never touched the ground. Instead, he remained connected to it through thin arcs of lightning, gliding as if skating on a current of pure energy. He couldn't rise too far above the surface, but it didn't matter. It was more than enough to let him move at near-light speed with absolute ease.
The Ant King's resistance continued to grow, adapting more with every blow, but Enel didn't slow down.
The Ant King was furious. No matter how much it adapted, no matter how its body changed, Enel was simply too fast. It had grown immune to future sight, dulled the edge of Observation Haki, and even reduced the effectiveness of Armament Haki. Its mind had evolved to try and track Enel's movements.
But it still wasn't enough. Enel was too strong—and worse, the Ant King knew he was holding back. Each strike hit harder than the last. Enel wasn't just fighting—he was growing.
It felt wrong. He was the Ant King, the pinnacle of his kind, the strongest ant to ever live. So why… why was it being bullied like this? And then there was the man giving orders to Enel. Could someone like that truly be weak?
"NO!" the Ant King roared, refusing to accept it. It was a King—worthy of that title. With a surge of will, it unleashed its Conqueror's Haki, letting its presence explode outward in defiance.
But a moment later, Enel's Haki crashed down on it like a tidal wave, overwhelming his conqueror Haki, and smothering it.
Its eyes widened in disbelief—there was no chance to resist, no time to question. Enel's fist came crashing down like a storm, blow after blow raining upon the Ant King without mercy.
Hours passed. Night came and went. In the blink of an eye, two days had slipped by since they first arrived on the island.
Now, the island lay in ruins. Not a single tree remained standing—a sight that would've broken the hearts of the former ants… if any of them were still alive.
The Ant King took a final blow to the face and collapsed onto its back, too exhausted, too broken to continue fighting. It lay there, staring up at Enel, who stood over it, smiling.
"How are you so strong?" the Ant King asked weakly, its voice barely a whisper. Its body had taken too much damage—shattered, broken, and unable to rise. All it could do now was lie there, waiting for the end.
Enel gave a faint smile and sat down beside it.
"I was a lot like you once," he said quietly. "While you lived on the earth, my home was in the clouds. I thought I was a god… until I was humbled. Until I realized—I didn't know a damn thing."
The Ant King slowly turned its head, eyes drifting up to the sky, staring at the clouds it could never reach.
"My captain defeated me with ease," Enel said softly, his gaze distant. "Then he offered me something I never expected—a chance to travel the world. A chance to chase my dream. Maybe… one day, I will become a god."
The Ant King lay in silence, listening. Then Enel turned his eyes toward it. "What about you? What's your dream? Why do you fight?"
The Ant King blinked slowly, caught off guard by the question. For a moment, it said nothing. It had never been asked that before… it was just born 2 days ago, it never had time to dream.
"My dream?" the Ant King echoed, its voice faint. Enel nodded, then gestured toward Kong, who was approaching with Zed trailing a step behind.
"My dream is to become a god," Enel said with a smile. "I joined his crew because he was the first person willing to help me chase that dream. And even if he can't make it happen… I've decided to give this man everything I've got."
The Ant King's gaze shifted to Kong, watching him silently. "…Why do you ask about my dream?" it asked softly.
"Because he wants you to join the crew," Enel said with a smile.
The words stunned the Ant King. He stared at Enel, then turned his gaze toward Kong, watching him for a long moment before finally letting out a defeated breath.
"You've beaten me. My life is yours…" he said slowly. "But don't get comfortable. I will grow stronger, strong enough to defeat you and reclaim my freedom."
But before he could finish savoring his declaration, the sky darkened. Storm clouds gathered above, swirling with unnatural force.
The Ant King turned toward Kong, and his breath caught in his throat. What he saw wasn't a man anymore. It was a monster.
"You made one mistake about what it means to join my crew," Kong said, stopping just in front of the Ant King. His voice was calm, yet carried weight. "I don't want your life—I want your loyalty. If you ever want to leave… just say the word. I'm not here to force anyone. Hell, you can refuse to join right now, and I'll walk away."
As he spoke, Kong slowly withdrew his Conqueror's Haki, letting the pressure around them ease. The Ant King trembled, staring up at him in disbelief.
"Y-you're… my King," he whispered. Then, with what strength he had left, he forced himself to kneel, leaving Kong standing frozen, completely caught off guard..
But it made sense. Conqueror's Haki could be used to tame animals, and Kong's was overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that it forced the Ant King's current mental state to revert to something primal and instinctive.
In that moment, the Ant King didn't see Kong as a man. He saw a being above him. A force of nature. And so, without thinking, he lowered his head.
{A/N: As Zed wouldn't be staying on a crew, once his dream is over, he would leave alongside the others. So, Kong still has to search for crewmates would could leave with him when it's time to leave the One Piece World. I don't want to drag this stuff out for too long since I'm sure most of you guys are waiting for the whole Ace stuff, and that's when MC shall tap into the hybrid form of his Devil Fruit.}