Observation Flaw: Pillars of Gold

Just as Roman, carrying Nami, spread his wings and flew away to collect the spoils of war.

The battle has begun in the forest below.

Boom!

A cannonball blasted at his face, but the 'Heavenly Knight' Shura, riding the giant bird, snorted coldly, and the three-zhang bird he sat on 'Pang Lei' and gracefully and easily dodged the cannonball with a flap of its wings.

Shura's spear instantly pierced towards a Shandia warrior. Although the warrior managed to defend himself with a shield, a pillar of fire erupted from Shura's lance, instantly engulfing the warrior in flames.

"Everyone be careful, this is 'Heavenly Knight' Shura!"

"The area he's in contains rope-like clouds that are difficult to see with the naked eye, yet extremely resilient. Do not approach him—"

Call!

However, the Shandia warrior was met with a burst of flame over ten meters long. Shura, one of the Four Priests, rode a giant bird, his Pang Lei crossed, and unleashed a long, sweeping stream of fire across the battlefield, forcing the warriors to retreat. But then:

"There's a flaw!"

With a swoop, the giant bird beneath Shura swung down, and the lance in his hand flashed like a cold light, instantly piercing through the stomach of a Shandia warrior who was dodging the flames! Just as the opponent struggled to attack, Shura swung the lance and sent the warrior flying.

"Damn it, we're surrounded by 'rope clouds,' our speed is drastically reduced here—"

Bang! Bang!

Brahm, the leader of the Shandia warriors wielding dual pistols, raised his hand and fired two 'flashbangs,' the intense white light blinding everyone! He tried to block Shura's view, but the white light was followed by the roar of another leader—a mantis with a mohawk and sunglasses.

"Don't use Flash Dial..."

Puff!

"Hahaha, fools! You weaklings without a 'Mantra' actually dare to try to restrict me in a way that no one can see?"

As the white light emanated Shura's mocking laughter and the sound of flesh being pierced, it signified that yet another Shandia warrior had fallen!

"I'm not stupid," Brahm, remaining as calm as ever after firing the shot. "You're the one who fell for the trap."

In the blinding white light, a figure swooped down towards Shura at high speed, shield in one hand and rocket launcher in the other! It was their leader, Wipper.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

However, Shura merely snorted coldly; his 'Mantra' had already noticed the Shandia warrior charging at high speed.

His confidence led him to charge straight at his opponent with his lance without flinching! However, due to the dazzling light, he didn't immediately 'see' his opponent abandon his shield and weapon. Therefore:

Puff!

The sound of the flaming lance piercing through flesh and blood startled even Shura himself.

With his shoulder pierced by a lance, Wipper reached out and firmly grabbed Shura's shoulder! At the same time, his other hand pressed down on Shura's chest.

"Impact Shell?"

Even so, the priest Shura still didn't think he would lose. He had already used his other arm, the one not holding the gun, to block the opponent's hand. The mere Impact Shell was nothing to him—

"Wrong, it should be 'Repel Dial)."

In a deep, hoarse voice, an irresistible, immense force surged forth! Like a roaring river, like a collapsing mountain, before Shura could even react, there was a dull, thunderous sound of flesh colliding.

Click!

With a cracking sound, the arm that Shura had been using to block his way broke instantly. The shattered arm was pressed against his chest by Wipper's palm, causing his ribs to snap in a series of rapid cracking sounds. He coughed up blood and crashed to the ground like a cannonball.

Boom!

As the priest named Shura slammed heavily onto the ground, a crater the size of a house was created! The unconscious figure in the crater was the first loser of this 'festival'.

This is the first flaw of Observation Haki: So what if you can predict an attack? You can't block it!

"Wipper, your arm..."

"Fine!"

"Just a shoulder," Weber casually wiped the wound on his shoulder, ignoring the bowl-sized penetrating wound. Picking up his weapon from the ground, Wipper charged into the forest first.

"Don't be careless, there are three other priests!"

Where is this place?

Luffy, having slipped and fallen, stood up. Seeing no one around, he simply picked up a stick and tossed it aside.

"Very good, this way."

·······

The paper bird circling in the air almost crashed down, causing Nami, who was being held by Roman and flying in the air on the other side, to unfold the white paper in her hand.

What's going on?

'Found Luffy, but... never mind, let him play for a while.'

Roman shook his head, taking advantage of Enel's attention being focused on the battlefield, and decided to check on the Golden Bell first. —Of course, Roman couldn't move the Golden Bell itself, nor did he intend to. His target was the two pillars beside it, the ones Bellamy later presented to Doflamingo.

Thinking about it carefully, given Bellamy's temperament—following Luffy's footsteps to the Sky Island —it's hard to believe he would obtain that golden pillar through 'peaceful' means...

'The top of that vine.'

On this island, there grows a gigantic vine, as large as a skyscraper. It pierces through the ruins of Shandora and the shrine of Enel. Everyone, including the locals, would assume it's the highest point here, but:

'Actually, there are even higher ones—'

As Roman used the vine's tip as a coordinate, he finally saw a flash of light in a nearby cloud.

'There!'

When Roman and Nami flew up to the cloud, a huge clock covered in vines appeared before them!

"Really..."

"It's spectacular!"

For humans, big is beautiful, big is good!

The giant clock in front of us is not only enormous, but its golden hue beneath the vines clearly indicates that it is made of gold! Even after four hundred years, its luster remains undiminished; even high in the sky where even the Skypieans cannot reach, its posture remains so aloof—quietly awaiting the day it will be rung.

"Yellow--"

Snap,

Roman quickly covered Nami's mouth, and a line of text appeared rapidly on the white paper in his hand.

'Be careful, that god might hear you.'

"Calm down, don't get too excited. If he notices something's wrong and comes to check, we're finished. —Nod if you understand."

Nodding frantically!

'So, our target is the two pillars next to us.'

Roman released Nami. Even the two decorative golden pillars beside them were colossal, requiring several people to encircle them. Given the Golden Merry's tragically low displacement, even one of them would likely collapse.

While this isn't as valuable as the golden artifacts Luffy found inside Orochi's belly, the golden pillar alone is easily worth billions! If it were the Golden Bell next to it, it would probably be worth tens of billions... Oh well, don't be too greedy.

Roman nodded to Nami on the other side, and Nami opened the "The Art of the Thief" at her waist, pointing her huge, Iron Barrel- like mouth at the golden pillar in front of her.

'Tuntun-Taotie!'

"Why are there spherical clouds everywhere?"

A helpless Luffy through a forest filled with floating cloud spheres of all sizes. "This was supposed to be a rare adventure, but I didn't expect this place to be so unfriendly about making friends."

"And I also accidentally got separated from everyone, and I always feel that Roman's resentment is still haunting me."

The little birds flying in the air didn't want to talk.

?

Brush,

Luffy dodged a light, Luffy cloud and scratched his Straw Hat.

"I have a feeling that something bad will happen if I get hit by these balls..."

"Hehehe, very keen intuition."

The sound from the side made Luffy Guotou, and he was shocked!

"The ball can talk?!"

·····

"I am one of the Four Priests under the throne of the god, 'Great Enlightenment of the Forest' Satori."

"In the name of God, Judge You sinners! Welcome to my ' Trial of Balls'— "

"A ball can be a priest?!"

·····

"I've already said I'm a person, not a ball!"

He suddenly slapped the cloud in front of him, and the cloud immediately hurtled towards Luffy! Of course, Luffy, looking completely disgusted, easily dodged this straight-line attack. But:

"Scary Billiards".

As the falling cloud collided with the cloud behind Luffy, it immediately turned into two moving clouds. After a series of collisions, the sky was filled with clouds flying everywhere.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The forest was in chaos as spheres of clouds collided haphazardly everywhere. And at the very center of these spheres was Luffy.

"Hehehe, take this 'Surprise Killing Formation' move."

"These 'Amazing Cloud' contain explosions, swords, flames, wild beasts... and all kinds of attacks; anything that touches them—"

Faced with the swirling clouds, Luffy simply adjusted his straw Straw Hat.

"As long as you don't get touched, it'll be fine, right?"

?

"Hehehe, are all people from Blue Ocean this fond of bragging?"

The sky is filled with spherical clouds moving erratically, rushing around, varying in height and size, constantly undulating, and colliding with each other, producing unexpected changes. If you are not careful, you will be hit immediately!

The dense cloud of projectiles whirled and swirled, equivalent to a dozen people attacking one person. But Luffy simply stood calmly in place, his eyes scanning his surroundings, his ears listening intently. Coupled with his already Awakening Observation Haki, he was as smooth as rubber...

No, Luffy's body is made of rubber.

Therefore, he could perform various joint bends, limb stretches, and contractions that no normal human being could possibly do, easily dodging the dense cloud of spheres like a soft blade of grass dancing in the wind, letting them rush around, bounce, and collide. They just couldn't touch the hem of his clothes!

"This... this is 'Mantra'?"

In an instant, even the spherical priest Satori was stunned. He had thought the Blue Sea people were easy prey, but who knew they had also mastered the 'Mantra' skill, a skill only priests could learn.

"I'm so tired of this dodging game," Luffy's voice came from the swirling Amazing Cloud.

"You don't have—"

"Any other methods?"

!?

"Watch this!" With a tug, a string of 'Explosion Cloud' the size of an adult fell into the hands of Priest Satori. Then, with a flick of his wrist, a fishing line dragged the string of Explosion Cloud like a winding, flying fish dragon towards Luffy.

"Amazing - Ball Dragon".

Faced with the surging ball dragon, Luffy first leaped upwards, then stretched out his arm and grabbed the fishing line controlling the ball dragon. He then dragged the 'ball dragon' towards the priest named Satori! He looked ready to go down with him.

??

"Hey! What are you doing? Don't come any closer!"

Luffy then responded with a grin.

Rumble!!!

Amidst the continuous explosions, the priest Satori, who resembled a white sphere, suddenly leaped backward out of the blast zone. His hands, still shaken, were raised in front of him to shield himself.

"Crazy! Luckily, I have my ' Mantra'— "

Hehehe~~

When? The laughter coming from behind Satori the priest, but before he Guotou, two rapidly extending arms bound him tightly from behind.

"I've heard Roman talk about Observation Haki every day, I'm so tired of it."

"Let me go—"

Squat down, gather your strength! Then—

Bang!

Luffy, with his hands tied behind the priest, suddenly leaped into the air! After the elasticity was exhausted, under the influence of Newton, he began to freefall headfirst.

"Rubber-Lotus!"

"Aaaaaah~~ No!"

Thump!

With a muffled thud, the round, chubby priest Satori's entire head plunged into the soil, leaving only his short, twitching limbs. —He really did look like a ball now.

Luffy patted his Straw Hat, picked up the stick from the ground, and continued his 'adventure'.

This is the second flaw of Observation Haki: So what if you can predict an attack? You're already vulnerable to that attack!

P. S.: The Straw Hat crew's strengthening is starting to show results. Three seconds of silence for CP9. ~~~And by the way, please vote!~~~