Movements on All Sides, Eve of the Final Battle

"Haha, a trial? I'm really looking forward to it~~"

Luffy stood on the bow of the ship, which was being propelled by the 'Express Shrimp' and was speeding along. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was going to a banquet.

Whether it's gold or not isn't important; what I'm mainly worried about Roman.

Nami's eyes lit up; indeed, women and dragons are alike when it comes to shiny metal. However:

"What does this have to do with me?"

Roman rolled his eyes, watching the island rapidly approaching ahead. Unlike Angel Island, whose coastline was entirely made of white clouds and 'cloud bricks' compressed from those clouds, this was real, solid earth!

"God's Island - Sanctuary".

Roman looked at the island with its vast forest before him. "It also has another name we know: Golden City Shandora. It was also once half of Jaya Island!"

"Listen carefully, the four priests presiding over the trials here all possess a skill called 'Mantra,' which is what we call 'Observation Haki.' They can not only predict their opponents' attacks, but also transmit information through 'Mantra,' and even hear conversations from very far away..."

"Wait a moment!"

Nami raised her hand and asked, "Roman, do you mean that the other side already knows we're here, and can even hear our conversation?"

"That's exactly what I mean," he nodded, explaining why Roman called Sky Island a 'reckless scheme'.

So-called strategies are nothing more than the three factors of timing, location, and people.

However, on this Sky Island, Enel possessed all the advantages! Coupled with his unparalleled strength and Observation Haki him to monitor the entire island, any scheme was futile. —Unless he never went to the Sky Island in the first place, but that would mean facing Blackbeard's pursuit...

"Okay, so you're basically saying, 'We're coming to our door, so get ready,' right?"

Nami rubbed her forehead, knowing with a grain of salt that the other side would be on high alert.

"Don't panic,"

Roman waved his hand, then looked at the Straw Hat crew.

"Everyone, the time has come to test your cultivation results! After playing the puppet-dodging game for so long, don't falter when you encounter real people!"

"Everyone, I'm testing you... but please don't..."

In a village hidden in a sea of clouds, a little girl named Aisha sat dejectedly on the ground. Today, she had secretly run away to the Sanctuary to steal soil again, and when she returned, she bumped into the village's great warrior, "War Oni" Wyper.

Not only was the soil confiscated, but they were also severely scolded! Fortunately, the footage Aisha recorded near Sanctuary Island seemed to attract the attention of the warriors in the tent.

"These blue ocean people..."

The jungle warriors in the tent were speechless as they watched the Straw Hat crew, full of confidence and ready to take on the trial.

Calling these guys ignorant is one thing, but they're clearly very familiar with the priest's most powerful ability, 'Mantra'. They just call it 'Observation Haki'.

These guys are supposed to be powerful, but they don't look like any particularly strong and capable warriors. One or two are skinny and short (a normal build would be considered level three disabled in the Grand Line), and their slogan of "beating up the priest" seems utterly presumptuous...

"Aisha, can you 'hear' their voices? How strong are they—"

A black-haired female warrior patiently inquired; among this group of jungle warriors whose faces were etched with wildness and killing intent, she was simply an oddball, standing out from the crowd.

The little girl surrounded by these jungle warriors is named Aisha. She is a genius born with the ability of 'Mantra'. Not only can she hear the 'sounds' of creatures from a great distance, but she can even distinguish the strength and mood of the creatures.

"Very strong," the little girl turned to look at a man in sunglasses wearing a mohawk, "Stronger than a praying mantis."

!

"You brat, what do you mean by that? Using me as a unit of measurement for combat strength..."

"How do you compare to me?"

A wild voice rang out, and seated in the main seat was a muscular man with ferocious tattoos on his face and shoulders, holding a rocket launcher and smoking a cigarette. —The Great Warrior 'War Oni' Wyper!

The strongest warrior in the entire Hidden Cloud Village of Shandia.

"Among those blue ocean entrepreneurs, are there any who can compare to me?"

Faced with the question posed by the great warrior Ji Ao, the little girl Aisha, surrounded by others, hesitated to speak.

Does that mean I have to say there are three voices...?

"Oh?"

Even though the little girl didn't answer, the expression on her face clearly betrayed her inner thoughts, causing the surrounding jungle warriors to angrily rebuke her!

"Aisha, what do you mean?"

"You don't even know Wipper's strength—"

"Shut up!"

The half-tattooed warrior stood up. "That's even better!"

"Since these people from Blue Ocean are so confident and have some ability, let them take the lead."

"If we can take down one or two priests, that will truly be a blessing from our ancestors! Everyone get ready, we're setting off tomorrow morning—"

If they could really take down one or two of the enemy priests, then the opportunity that Shandia had been waiting for might finally arrive.

Take Enel's head.

Reclaim our homeland from 400 years ago!

On the island called Sanctuary,

Higher up there is a shrine.

Why has God summoned us?

Four priests arrived at the shrine. They were: Ohm, the sunglasses-wearing, tattooed samurai carrying a cloud sword; Shura, the "Heavenly Knight"Sky Beast Keeper wielding a knight's lance and wearing a flight hat; Satori, the "Great Enlightenment of the Forest" who was round like a ball; and Gedatsu, the "Sky Guard Captain" who had a serious face but was actually a goofball.

"Open the door!"

As the shrine gates opened, the four of them suddenly assumed defensive stances! This caused the obese 'Divine Soldier Captain' Aum, who emerged from inside, to sigh.

"Four gentlemen, please remain humble before God."

"In front of me?" Shura, the 'Heavenly Knight' who stepped into the shrine, pointed to the large, empty shrine.

"Then tell me, where is God?"

Crackling sound—

Before the words were finished, a figure flashed by, like a thunderclap or a bolt of Electric Light!

In an instant, four priests with 'Mantra' —that is, Observation Haki —were simultaneously struck! Inazuma bolted through them, knocking all four to the ground before meandering into the shrine.

"I am--"

A man wearing a white headscarf, with long earlobes adorned with earrings; bare-chested, with four Magatama Thunder Drum on his back, gold bracelets on his hands, and wearing lantern pants, barefoot with rings on his toes, leaned lazily against the bed of the shrine.

"God!"

"Aren't I right here?"

Perhaps it would seem childish and awkward for someone else to say such a thing, but it sounds so natural for this man to call himself a god in a calm voice.

"God····"

"What is this...?"

"Why are you toying with us?"

"You urgently summoned us because..."

Facing four priests kneeling on one knee, Enel, the man who called himself a god and the ruler of this Sky Island, took an apple from the maid's plate and took a bite.

"Hahaha, I'm so bored! Let me sit down first."

"You don't seem to take those Blue Ocean people who came up today seriously," Enel casually glanced at the four subordinates sitting Pang Lei in front of him.

"But do you know that those Blue Ocean people are already deciding who will kill you?"

??!

"Arrogant—"

"A monkey who doesn't know there are clouds beyond clouds!"

"My Iron Trial a 'survival rate' of zero, will ensure they never return."

The four priests were furious. They were priests who judged 'sinners'! How dare some Blue Sea people come and treat them as prey, trying to challenge their authority?

This is intolerable!

"They will depart from the central altar tomorrow—"

"At the same time, the warriors of Shandia will also seize the opportunity to attack."

Enel, lounging lazily on the large bed in the shrine, took another bite of his apple.

In fact,

"The Ark 'Ark Maxim' has been completed. It's time to settle things on this island."

Upon hearing this, everyone else at the shrine, except for the four trusted priests and the 'Divine Soldier Captain', looked completely bewildered.

"It doesn't matter where the 'trial' takes place tomorrow. It doesn't matter who judges us—because I'm setting off,"

"Go to the World of Dreams!"

Chopper: "I picked up garlic, walnuts, bananas..."

Zoro: "I picked up a frog and Rat."

Sanji: "Very good, throw them all into the pot."

???

"Hey, wait a minute!" Nami turned around angrily. "I think I just heard something about food that I can't accept!"

"Hey, don't women eat garlic?"

"It's Rat! You bastard!!!"

·······

In the heart of the forest, the Straw Hat crew, fully staffed, were camping atop an altar-like structure. With their strength, unless there were inexplicable splits, ordinary beast attacks were no longer a concern.

"Come here, Zoro, give me a hand."

········

"Hey, hey, hey, my knife isn't for that!"

Zoro, holding the iron pot against his twin swords, looked speechless, but at this moment, he said, "Shut up, or you can go eat a Rat!"

???

Hold back, hold back! Arguing with the cook at a time like this is the worst thing you can do...

'Roman, what about the location of the gold?'

On the other side, Robin flipped through the book in his hand while casually glancing at the other two people who were 'talking' while holding paper books.

Most of it was looted by that 'god' to make flying machines. The largest remaining Golden Bell was probably thrown to a high place, anyway, the Sky Island isn't that big..."

'Is that clock really as huge as you say? Ten stories high?'

Taking the paper Nami had written on, Roman silently shook the white paper in his hand, and the words on it immediately disappeared, then turned into a new string of words.

"I'm referring to the number of floors, don't arbitrarily increase the size..."

'Never mind, the Golden Bell and all that...'

'Let's talk about it after we win.'

Enel, the Devil Fruit user the Rumble-Rumble Fruit... This time, we really can only rely on Luffy.

P. S.: Still asking for votes~~~