Super Card System - Chapter 512

Chapter 512: Love and Betrayal

Ian was naturally feeling strange. Earlier, that guy, Urouge, had ambushed and left him bleeding. How, in the blink of an eye, did Urouge transform into someone under Enel’s command?

What did the two of them say to each other before?

“…” Enel fell silent for a while, then suddenly spoke, “Captain… Captain…”

This address made Ian feel a bit horrified. Damn, this guy was calling him captain!?

Did the sun rise from the north!?

Ian’s expression seemed to make Enel a bit embarrassed, but he gritted his teeth, ultimately acting as if he hadn’t noticed and said to Ian, “Can Urouge follow me?”

Ian furrowed his brow in confusion and asked, “What’s going on? You two have confused me. Are you enemies or something?”

Under Ian’s probing, Enel finally revealed the truth.

As it turns out, Ian’s guess was correct. Urouge, like Enel, was from the Sky Island, Birka. However, unlike the Four Divine Priests, who were Enel’s subordinates after he ascended to the throne of “God,” Urouge was Enel’s only childhood friend!

Enel had been quite rebellious from childhood to adulthood. He was different in a way, lacking the distinctive wings that marked other Sky Islanders. Unlike the Sky Island of Angel Island, on Birka, Enel, without wings, faced discrimination from other winged Sky Islanders!

Moreover, Enel’s parents had long passed away, resulting in others frequently treating him with disdain and insults.

Enel’s mindset was shaped by these early experiences. It can be said that it was entirely due to postnatal influences. Because of these unfavorable experiences, Enel developed no nostalgia or affection for his hometown of Birka, ultimately ruthlessly destroying his homeland without a shred of mercy.

However, stories like this often come with a somewhat clichéd plot twist, and Enel was no exception. He had one unique friend—Urouge!

Urouge was different from the rest and didn’t discriminate against Enel for lacking wings; instead, he often played with him.

Perhaps influenced by their lineage, the people from Sky Island Birka held a special affection for the land, treasuring stones and soil occasionally washed up from the blue sea below.

Enel and Urouge were no different; they held an unimaginable love for such items.

But being alone, Enel couldn’t compete with the other Sky Islanders. Only Urouge would share these precious stones and soil with him.

If everything had gone according to plan, the two might have grown up on the Sky Island and gradually aged, eventually dying. However, as they grew older, especially when Enel discovered the hidden chamber containing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the plans for the Ark Maxim, thus becoming a Devil Fruit user, things gradually began to change.

Upon learning about the true origins of his hometown and the existence of the Infinite Earth within it, Enel immediately shared this revelation with Urouge.

Being slightly older than Enel, the news Enel shared filled Urouge with a kind of naive yearning for the Infinite Earth. But due to their lack of resources and means to create the ark, Urouge, having matured in his thinking, told Enel about his plan to venture down to the blue sea below to help find materials to build the ark.

Urouge departed, leaving Enel on the Sky Island. Initially, Enel didn’t consider becoming a ruler; he simply wanted to persuade the other Sky Islanders to collaborate in building the ark.

However, what he received was endless ridicule. Those people told Enel that his aspirations were purely delusional.

Moreover, in the end, the ruler of Sky Island Birka, upon learning that Enel possessed ancient blueprints, sought to seize them from him.

Enraged, Enel, utilizing his Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers, directly took down the ruler of the Sky Island at that time. It was then he realized that if no one acknowledged his ideals, he’d take control himself, enslaving these people to achieve his dreams!

Through force, Enel became the ruler of Birka.

However, the outcome wasn’t as Enel had hoped. The Ark Maxim required a good conductor like gold, which was scarce on Birka. Urouge, having ventured to the blue sea, remained out of contact, and Enel feared he might have met an unfortunate fate.

So, eventually, Enel contemplated going to another Sky Island. Upon learning that on the Sky Island of Angel Island in a different direction, a group called the Skypieans, possibly possessing a significant amount of gold, resided, he decided to embark on a journey there with the Four Divine Priests under his command.

With Urouge no longer in his thoughts, Enel, who was leaving, used his powers to destroy the entire Birka Sky Island.

However, to his surprise, about five years after he arrived at Angel Island, defeated the reigning ruler Gan Fall, and became the god of Angel Island, Urouge suddenly reappeared in the location of his homeland, Birka.

Unfortunately, Urouge only saw an endless sea of clouds; his former homeland had vanished.

The incident of Enel destroying his own homeland spread throughout many other Sky Islands. By inquiring from other Sky Islands, Urouge learned the whole story. At that time, he didn’t know where Enel had gone because after becoming the ruler of Angel Island, Enel, utilizing the powers of the Ark Maxim, had made it impossible for anyone to escape from Angel Island, preventing any news from leaking out.

Frenziedly searching for Enel’s whereabouts, unlike Enel, Urouge still harbored nostalgia for his homeland. He couldn’t tolerate Enel’s actions.

In the end, Urouge reluctantly returned to the Blue Sea, searching for any traces of Enel. He thought Enel might have gone to the Blue Sea in search of gold because by the time he left, Enel had already acquired the powers of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Therefore, upon arriving in the Blue Sea, whenever he heard anything related to lightning or thunder, Urouge would investigate. (This explains why, in the original story, when Urouge arrived at Raijin Island, he forcefully landed on the island even though he knew it was very dangerous; he believed the island’s lightning was caused by Enel’s powers.)

Unexpectedly, after Urouge returned to the Blue Sea, not only did he become a pirate, but he also inadvertently became one of the eleven supernovas of that era.

If it weren’t for meeting Ian on Sabaody Archipelago, he might never have found Enel again. He might have continued on towards the New World. However, since he unexpectedly reunited with Enel here, Urouge naturally sought revenge for his homeland.

However, he also knew the extent of Enel’s power, so he ultimately chose to ambush Enel, using the Seastone pillar to damage Enel.

Upon hearing this, Ian also nearly grasped what had happened. Setting aside the tangled past, the relationship between Enel and Urouge could be summarized in one sentence: a story of two good friends loving and fighting each other!

However, now that he had recognized Urouge once again, the only feeling remaining in Enel’s heart was guilt. Initially, he thought Urouge had died, which led him to destroy his hometown of Birka. But now that Urouge was alive, Enel suddenly felt remorseful towards his childhood friend.

This might have been the first time Enel regretted destroying his hometown of Birka…

Likewise, Urouge didn’t know how to deal with Enel. Before finding Enel, he was determined to seek justice for his homeland. But upon seeing Enel again, Urouge felt lost. Did he really have to kill Enel, his good friend, to avenge the people who died on their Sky Island?

Although the story may sound melodramatic, when faced with a real choice, not everyone can make a decision.

Therefore, the situation between Enel and Urouge was in a delicate state at the moment. Both of them were uncertain about what to do. Hence, after a final lengthy conversation, Enel decided to take Urouge along. Regardless of whether they would come to an understanding or become enemies, he chose to leave it to time.

However, currently, Enel, in name, was Ian’s henchman. To take Urouge along, he needed Ian’s approval. And in order to gain Ian’s agreement, even Enel had to address Ian as “Captain.”

Upon understanding Enel’s intentions, Ian glanced at Urouge and had no intention to object. Urouge, as a member of the Eleven Supernovas, despite being a bit older, had untapped potential. In Ian’s impression, Urouge might even become powerful enough to challenge one of the Four Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates in the future!

Enel taking Urouge along was essentially Urouge indirectly joining the Dragons-Hunters Pirate group. How could Ian possibly disagree?

Thus, with a nod, Ian agreed to his request, greatly surprising Enel.

However, strange things happen every year, and this year seemed particularly full of surprises… Upon finding Zoro and his group, when Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates who had been following the Straw Hat Pirates, met Ian, he took his long sword, bowed, and said, “Please allow my Heart Pirates to join your crew, Ian.”

As Law made this gesture, the members of the Heart Pirates behind him, including the bear mink, Bepo, also bowed to Ian in unison.

Not only was Ian bewildered, but even Luffy and the others, as well as Hawkins, Drake, and Scratchmen Apoo, were incredibly surprised by Law’s sudden decision.

Undoubtedly, they had witnessed Ian’s terrifying strength in the previous battle against Admiral Kizaru, but as fellow Supernovas, they carried their own pride, finding it somewhat difficult to admit to being under someone else’s command.

Before Ian could ask why, Law raised his head and said, “Ian, I have one request: if the opportunity arises, allow me to take down Donquixote Doflamingo!”