Battle

"Sorry, but could I ask where my friends went?" Li Ziming pushed open the door. Inside were a winged girl, a middle-aged man, an old man in armor, and a strange bird.

"Do you mean Mr. Luffy and the others?" Conis looked uneasy. "They..."

"They're in trouble. I was just about to help them. Would you like to come?" Gan Fall put on his helmet, and the strange bird transformed into a pegasus.

"Of course," Li Ziming said without hesitation.

"You can't! Your wounds haven't healed yet," Conis protested.

"My wounds are nothing." Li Ziming climbed onto the pegasus. "I can't stand by when my friends are in trouble."

Elsewhere, Shura kept attacking the ship. His flame-spewing lance had left the Going Merry battered, and Chopper was covered in wounds.

"Offer your life to God!" Shura coldly prepared to strike Chopper down, but at the last moment he dodged something, giving Chopper a chance to escape.

"You've done enough, Chopper." Li Ziming looked at Chopper's wounds, then at the battered Going Merry. Fury surged through him.

"You're with them too?" Shura frowned. "Looks like there are eight wanted criminals, not seven."

Li Ziming suddenly appeared behind Shura and threw a punch.

"Sorry, I'm an atheist!" Shura dodged his fist, but Li Ziming immediately used his power. A blast wave struck Shura, only for him to block it easily with one hand.

"Impact Dial!" Shura aimed his palm at Li Ziming.

"Damn it!" Li Ziming tried to escape with Geppo, but a wave of discomfort swept through him. Agony shot from the wound in his chest, stopping him in midair.

"Kid, move!" Fortunately, Gan Fall arrived just in time to save him.

"Don't push yourself when your wounds haven't healed." Gan Fall handed Li Ziming over to Chopper. "Take care of him. I'll deal with that priest."

"Right!" Chopper hurried to treat Li Ziming's wounds.

"You're nothing but a criminal now," Shura said coldly. "Sky Island doesn't need two gods!" The two clashed.

Gan Fall was old, but he was still formidable. For a while, he fought Shura to a standstill.

"Ming, don't move!" When Chopper saw Li Ziming wake and try to sit up, he hurried to stop him.

"Idiot." Li Ziming rested a hand on Chopper's head. "Some things we can't leave to someone else. He damaged the Going Merry and hurt you. I don't want anyone else settling that score."

Li Ziming got to his feet. "Chopper, could you get me some liquor? The flat metal flask in the storeroom will do."

"Okay." Chopper quickly fetched the flask from inside the ship.

"Thanks." Li Ziming took it and charged toward Shura. By then, Gan Fall was unexpectedly on the back foot.

What's this? As Li Ziming used Geppo, he sensed something tiny in the air that felt strangely out of place.

"Detonate!" Li Ziming set off an explosion in the air around him without hesitation.

"You came back to die, kid?" Shura had already driven his lance into Gan Fall. "I'll offer you to God as a sacrifice!"

"You talk too much." Li Ziming took a swig of liquor. The smell of alcohol had spread the moment he opened the flask; by now, even his breath was thick with it. "Explode!"

And sure enough, the alcohol he breathed out clung to something, revealing thin lines stretching through the air.

"Not bad. You saw through my Rope Trial. What a shame—if this were my trial ground, there'd be far more rope clouds than this." Shura sounded almost regretful, as though praising Li Ziming's luck.

"Kid, your wounds..." Gan Fall looked worried about him.

"Don't worry. I'll take this guy down." Li Ziming took another swig, then used Geppo to dodge the bird's flames and close in on Shura.

"Useless! My Mantra has already seen through everything!" Shura thrust his lance, ready to dodge Li Ziming's counterattack.

"Maybe, but my attacks aren't so easy to dodge!" Li Ziming reached Shura's side. "Ignite and explode!" The heat of the blast ignited the alcohol in the air, turning them both into a ball of fire.

"Useless." Yet Shura appeared unharmed. "My lance has a Heat Dial that absorbs heat, and my pet has a Flame Dial that absorbs flames. Your explosions can't hurt me!"

"Is that so?" As though he hadn't heard, Li Ziming took another swig and rushed back at Shura. "Ignite and explode!"

"I told you it was useless. You Blue Sea people really are fools." Shura shook his head in contempt and drove his lance into Li Ziming. "It's over!" Flames erupted from the lance, charring Li Ziming black.

"Explosion!" Li Ziming still refused to give up. He hurled the flask at Shura. It exploded, but Shura was ready and escaped injury. The liquor inside, however, splashed all over him.

"Fool." Shura flung Li Ziming down. "Every last one of you is a fool."

"A fool?" Li Ziming lay on the deck. "You fight with your head, not brute force. Winning with brute force is for people with plot armor."

"Ming!" Chopper cried anxiously. "Don't talk. I'll treat you right away."

"Rest assured. If that man tries to hurt you, he'll have to step over my dead body first." Gan Fall stood before them.

"I'll fight too!" Chopper's voice trembled. "I won't let Ming die!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I haven't lost." Li Ziming smiled at Shura. "Explode!"

Blood suddenly burst from all over Shura's body as his skin split open. He looked as if he were wearing a coat of blood. Disbelief filled his eyes as he collapsed.

"What did you do?" Gan Fall stared at Li Ziming in shock.

"Alcohol!" Li Ziming collapsed weakly onto the deck. "I turned the alcohol into a bomb. As it evaporated, it spread across his body. Then I just... detonated it... from inside..." He passed out again before he could finish.

"That was quite a fight." Gan Fall collapsed too.

Seeing them both fall unconscious terrified Chopper. He hurried to treat them.

Meanwhile, Luffy and the others had cleared the Ball Trial. The disappearance of two priests drew everyone's attention.

"How interesting." Enel sat in his seat and looked down at the priests below. "The Shandia are getting restless again. And those Blue Sea people..."

"This is our chance, Aisa. The Mantra of two priests has vanished, along with that of the former god, Gan Fall. Tomorrow we'll drive those people out of our home!" Wyper's voice rang with fighting spirit. "Tomorrow we take Enel's head!"

The defeat of two priests plunged all of Sky Island into a tense atmosphere.