I Can Copy Any Talent in One Piece

"So that's a priest?" Robin glanced at Aisa beside her without betraying any emotion.

She knew Noil was highly skilled in Haki.

But could an eight-year-old girl use Haki too?

What Robin didn't know was that Aisa was a rare prodigy in Observation Haki. She had awakened it at birth.

It was only at a basic level, but she was already ahead of many people in the Blue Sea. She had been born with a head start.

Robin, on the other hand, had yet to master any kind of Haki, even with Noil teaching her.

In fact, counting their enemies, Robin seemed to be the only person there who couldn't use Observation Haki...

The round priest Satori bounced from one cloud ball to another. "Hoho! Interesting. You knew we were coming? Can you use Mantra too?"

Aisa hid behind Robin and trembled. "The priests are incredibly strong. Even the strongest Shandia warrior has a hard time fighting them!"

"Run! We can't beat them!"

Noil picked his nose and scoffed. "Scared? Aren't you a Shandia warrior? Is that how warriors act?"

Aisa was still a child, and the jab set her off at once. Her face flushed as she shouted, "Shandia warriors are the bravest warriors! I'm not scared!"

Satori, who presided over the Ordeal of Balls, looked at Aisa with disdain. "You're nothing but a bunch of savage natives. How dare you covet God's Island? What makes you think you deserve it?"

"That's not true! It's our home!" Aisa said, tears glimmering in her eyes.

Satori couldn't be bothered to listen. With a casual wave, he sent dozens of cloud balls hurtling toward them.

Aisa jolted. "That's Satori's Ordeal of Balls! They explode! Get out of the way!"

Seeing Satori's confident look, Noil gave a cold laugh.

Noil closed his eyes and struck a pose. In a low voice, he said, "Let me show you the power of a god..."

Everyone froze. Before the priests could mock him, Noil roared again:

"Fire Fist!"

A surging orange glow lit up a vast stretch of forest. Scorching heat swept forward like a tiger charging down a mountain, and a massive fist-shaped blast of flame swallowed every cloud ball in an instant.

The cloud balls did not slow the Fire Fist in the slightest. The flames kept surging until they engulfed Satori.

"No!!"

With a scream, Satori was charred black by the blazing flames.

A closer look showed he was barely breathing...

Was... was he dead?

Aisa stared openmouthed at Satori, who lay motionless on the ground. Then she looked at Noil with awe.

A priest whom Shandia warriors struggled so hard to fight had been struck down by this man as if it were nothing.

Remembering the flames he had conjured from nowhere, Aisa asked timidly, "Are you... a god too?"

Before Noil could answer, Robin stroked Aisa's head. "He's human. He's just stronger than most people."

Noil nodded. "Enel is the same. His power is beyond anything you can imagine, but he isn't a god."

Aisa nodded uncertainly, then pointed across the clearing. "But... what about that priest?"

The fellow had been posing since the moment he appeared. His companion had been taken down, yet he still hadn't moved.

Noil called to him, "Hey, you can't talk while you're biting your lip!"

Gedatsu looked startled. "So that's why!"

Robin muttered, "His whole body is unbelievably slow to respond."

Seeing his companion down, Gedatsu finally sorted out his tangled arms and hurried to speak. "I am the priest of the Ordeal of Swamp. Blue Sea People, you—"

Before he could finish, Noil appeared right in front of him. A black Armament Haki-coated fist came crashing down on his head!

Gedatsu's Mantra had no time to react before his consciousness plunged into darkness.

Noil blew on his fist. "A fight doesn't wait for you..."

Aisa stared blankly at the two fallen priests.

She never would have imagined that both priests could be defeated in a single blow, just minutes apart.

"Their... Mantra..." Aisa stammered. "Why didn't it work?"

Noil gave her a surprised look. "You don't know?"

"It's simple. Punch them while their brains aren't paying attention."

Aisa stared at him. Could Mantra really be beaten just by catching someone off guard?

Noil hadn't been lying, though.

It was like playing a game: Noil had both skill and awareness, while the other two had decent awareness but terrible control. They could barely even move.

How was that a contest?

Aisa gazed at Noil in awe. A moment later, though, she sensed a fight breaking out elsewhere.

Noil smiled. "Looks like the priests have all come out. Are those your people fighting them?"

Aisa nodded, her face clouded with worry. "It's our guerrilla squad. They were planning to attack the priests."

"But the two priests left, Shura and Ohm, are the strongest of them all."

Noil curled his lip. "The tallest of a short bunch. They can't be that strong."

An idea struck Aisa as she looked at him. "Big brother, could you help them? Fighting priests is too dangerous for them."

Noil smiled. "Of course. There's someone among the Shandia I want as a crewmate, too."

With that, Noil picked up little Aisa. Robin followed close behind as they leaped from branch to branch, racing toward the fight.

At their speed, it did not take long to find the priests and the guerrilla squad.

The battle was almost entirely one-sided.

The priests had only two fighters, yet they held the advantage.

The Shandia guerrillas had greater numbers, but many had already fallen.

The most striking figure on the battlefield was the Shandia's strongest warrior, known among his people as the "War Demon": Wyper.

He still carried the Burn Bazooka he had borne when he met Noil, and his Cloud-Spraying Shoes creaked beneath him.

His expression was as grim as ever. With that fierce look, he certainly lived up to his title.

Noil's eyes lit up when he saw him.

There's my first crewmate candidate. I knew he'd be here!

The priests Shura and Ohm watched Wyper warily. The other guerrillas were nothing to worry about, but this War Demon was different.

He seemed to have undergone some special training. He fought like a wild beast, acting purely on instinct, and even their Mantra could not reliably read his intentions.

More frightening still was the sheer force of his will to fight. He alone had all but stopped both priests in their tracks.

Wyper did not make a sound when the priests struck him. To land blows of his own, he traded injury for injury again and again.

So although all three had suffered similar wounds, it was Wyper who had the stronger presence.

Noil said approvingly, "Just what I'd expect from someone I picked as a crewmate. Strong will, and plenty of talent."

Robin watched Wyper fight and nodded. "It's as if he was born for battle."

Shura's eyes narrowed. He turned toward Noil and the others and shouted, "Who's there? Come out!"

His answer was a sharp, pitch-black slash.

Before everyone's eyes, the flying slash seemed to melt into the air. Only when it struck the priest and blood sprayed did anyone realize what had happened.

A vicious gash opened across Shura's chest. His ugly features twisted, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Why... Mantra didn't show me you attacking..."

Eyes red, Shura leaned on his Flame Dial-equipped spear and spoke through gritted teeth.

Noil approached with Demon Moro in hand. His footsteps were light, yet to everyone listening, they sounded like a death knell.

Fed by blood, the crimson markings on Demon Moro glowed faintly. Noil looked down at Shura. "Mantra? Did you think I couldn't use it?"

"Liar! That power was granted by God! How could you have it?" Shura screamed, losing all reason as he charged.

He vaulted onto a great red bird and thrust his flaming spear at Noil with everything he had.

But when the Fire Pistol pierced Noil's body, everyone froze.

Ohm stared in disbelief and murmured, "How is that possible..."

Wyper studied Noil with a grave expression. "He's trouble."

The Fire Pistol scattered the flames that made up Noil's body. In Shura's terrified eyes, Noil's smile appeared.

"Attacks can't touch my body. I suppose that's what you'd call the power of a god?"

As he spoke, Noil's body dissolved into fire. The flames surrounded Shura and roasted him, his agonized screams echoing through the vast forest.

Noil raised a hand and hurled Shura's shapeless remains away. Then he looked at the last priest. "And you? Want to come play with me?"

Ohm's expression shifted again and again. He bent down as if to draw his sword.

Just as Noil thought Ohm meant to attack, the man turned and ran without looking back.

Noil had nothing but contempt for their courage.

They were all eager to play god, but the moment they met someone stronger, they ran for their lives.

Noil was about to deal with the loose end when a dense mass of lightning began gathering in the clouds overhead.

A moment later, the blue lightning that had been building there crashed down like divine punishment.

Its target was Ohm, who was trying to flee!

Ohm stared at the descending lightning, his face deathly pale. "No!! God—"

Dust and torn flesh burst outward. Ohm lay there, charred black and clearly dead.

Then another thick bolt of lightning struck toward Noil and Wyper.

The Shandia stood rooted to the spot in fear. Even Wyper could not help feeling a surge of panic.

Only Noil looked at the thunderbolt bearing down on them and gave a contemptuous snort.

"Enel, you really think you're something..."

Noil put himself between Robin and the lightning, then told the guerrillas, "Stay right there. Don't move."

He raised both hands to the sky. A dense black-purple aura surged from his body as his Armament Haki burst outward.

Thanks to his talent, Noil could now project his Armament Haki beyond his body. It was still a little difficult, but more than enough to block an elemental attack.

The lightning struck above them with a crash that rang across all of Upper Yard.

But when the dust cleared, everyone emerged unharmed, disbelief written across their faces.

Wyper stared at Noil's black-glowing arms. Something stirred in his eyes. The blood in his veins told him he wanted that power.

Noil lowered his arms, which tingled with numbness. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power really was impressive.

Neither fire nor sand would have made a good defense against lightning. He had been left with no choice but to protect everyone with Haki.

A female warrior beside Wyper spotted Aisa standing near Robin and cried, "Aisa! Why did you sneak after us again?"

Seeing the older girl she trusted, Aisa ran over. "Langi! Look, I brought a bag of vearth!"

Wyper's eyes turned cold. He knocked the bag from Aisa's hands and snapped, "You idiot! Who told you to come here? Aren't you afraid of dying?!"

The soil in Aisa's bag scattered across the ground. She glared at Wyper and shouted, "I'm not afraid! I'm a Shandia warrior too!"

Wyper grabbed Aisa by the collar and lifted her into the air. Glaring at her, he roared, "Are there no Shandia left? Do we need a useless brat like you?!"