Meanwhile, the others had finished their battles as well. The priests had defeated every last pirate, and the divine soldiers moved about the battlefield, cleaning up the aftermath.
"So it's over! You really took your time fighting him. I thought you were about to lose. I almost had to step in personally and finish your opponent off for you, didn't I?"
The priest Shura walked over from nearby, spear in hand, and spoke to Luo Chen in a mocking tone.
"Hmph!"
Luo Chen turned his head away. Rather than bicker with him, he looked at the divine soldiers nearby and gave them an order.
"I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going now."
"Hey, Luo Chen, what's with that attitude?"
Seeing the look on his face, Shura was furious that Luo Chen didn't want to pay him any attention.
"All right, all right, please say no more. Leave the rest to us. Lord Luo Chen, if you have business to attend to, please go ahead."
The captain of the divine soldiers hurriedly restrained the angry Shura, then turned to Luo Chen.
"Mm, I'll be going, then!"
With that, he used his ability to form a pair of giant wings and flew into the sky. Following what he sensed with Observation Haki, he arrived at the place where Enel and the others were fighting. He watched their entire battle and also rescued the little girl and Hogg during it.
"I never thought a great pirate who once made such a name for himself across the New World would die here, without even a body left behind. Fate really is unpredictable!"
After telling Enel the outcome of his own battle, he turned to look at the deep hole created by Enel's ability. Thinking of the pirate, he spoke with deep feeling.
"Luo Chen, I'll leave everything here to you. This god is going back."
Without waiting for Luo Chen to answer, Enel turned into a bolt of lightning once more and left.
"Ugh! Honestly, why did he just leave me with the responsibility again? I still wanted to ask him how to handle the rest!"
When Enel said he was leaving the rest to him, Luo Chen looked surprised. He then tried to stop him and push all the responsibility back onto him. But to his surprise, Enel left without even waiting for his answer.
"Sigh! Forget it. I'll deal with those pirates according to the country's laws. As for him..."
Luo Chen thought briefly and settled on how to handle everything. Then he turned to look at the marine Hogg, who had let his guard down while fighting Green Will and fallen victim to his sneak attack. Hogg was still unconscious, and Luo Chen kept considering what the most perfect solution would be.
"Right, I'll take him back to the outpost and give him some treatment first, see if he can survive. I can think about the rest afterward."
He thought it over for a while, then gestured with his hand as he decided to take Hogg back first and deal with the rest later. In any case, Enel had given him the authority to handle everything that remained, so he wouldn't object to whatever Luo Chen did now.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
No sooner had he decided than he acted. Luo Chen immediately spread his wings and flew over to Hogg, landing near the little girl who was tending to him and walking straight toward her.
"Haso! Lord Luo Chen, is there anything I can do for you?"
Seeing Luo Chen approach, the little girl hurriedly greeted him and respectfully asked how she could help.
"Haso! It's nothing. I just came to take that man back with me. Go on with what you were doing."
Luo Chen returned her greeting and explained why he had come.
"Yes. Thank you so very much for saving my life earlier. By the way, where are you taking my benefactor? Please don't hurt him."
Knowing she couldn't stop Luo Chen from taking her benefactor away, the little girl pleaded with him.
"All right, don't worry. I'm only taking him back to give him some treatment. I won't hurt him."
Looking at the kind and sensible little girl before him, Luo Chen patted her head and explained gently.
"Oh, I still don't know your name. What's your name, little girl?"
As if remembering something, Luo Chen realized he still didn't know the name of the sweet, adorable little girl before him, who was only fourteen or fifteen, so he asked her.
"Conis! My name is Conis, Lord Luo Chen!"
When the little girl heard her other savior ask her name, she lowered her head, too shy and happy to look him in the eye, and answered him softly.
"Is that so? Conis! That's a lovely name."
"Hmm! Wait, that name sounds familiar. Could it be..."
Hearing her name, Luo Chen praised it as a lovely one. Then, as if remembering something, he studied the little girl carefully. She wore feminine angel attire, her fair skin was lovely, and she had long, smooth, silky golden hair and a sweet, adorable face.
It really is her, Conis, the beautiful, warm, and incredibly kind girl from the original story who dared to defy Enel's divine rule!
After confirming it, Luo Chen spoke to himself inwardly.
It looks like the story will begin in another year or two. Child of destiny, Straw Hat Luffy, I'm looking forward to meeting you.
Looking at her face, younger than it would be when the story began, he knew the plot was about to start. He also looked forward immensely to the day he could meet Luffy, the protagonist of the original story.
Afterward, Luo Chen waited until the little girl Conis's father and a cloud fox came to take her home, then carried the injured, unconscious Hogg back to his outpost.
As for the pirates, Luo Chen had the divine soldiers deal with them according to Sky Island's laws. Apart from the captain of the Green Vine Pirates, who had been defeated by Enel and had no remains left, everyone else, even the dead vice captain Samo, was thrown aboard a ship and offered to the god as a sacrifice.
Time passed quickly, and before long it was night. The marine Hogg, who had received emergency treatment and was now lying on the ground, slowly opened his eyes.
"Ugh, where am I? Has the enemy been defeated?"
After opening his eyes, he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and asked in confusion.
"Looks like you're awake. How are you feeling? Are you all right, Mr. Marine?"
Nearby, Luo Chen was roasting tonight's dinner, an animal that had been prepared and set over the charcoal fire, giving off a tempting aroma. As he was about to add more firewood, he noticed Hogg wake up and turned to ask him.
"Hmm, did you save me? I can't thank you enough! I'm mostly fine now. Oh, I haven't asked your name yet. And what happened to those pirates?"
After thanking Luo Chen, Hogg hurriedly asked him about the pirates' current situation.
"I'm glad you're all right. My name is Luo Chen. I'm a priest here on Sky Island. You can rest and recover without worrying now. The pirates have all been dealt with."
Luo Chen picked up a branch and added it to the fire, telling him what had happened to the pirates.
"Is that so? That's good, then. So the person who ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, whom I sensed with Observation Haki back then, is the god of this place? He's the one who defeated Will, right?"
After taking a moment to digest the information, Hogg spoke again.
"That's right. The one who defeated the pirate captain was Enel, the god who rules this place and ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which is said to be the strongest Logia fruit."
"Then why did he show up so late? With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power, shouldn't he have been the first to know the pirates were invading? Why did he wait until Will's men had killed his people before appearing?"
The subject, which had nearly been dropped, came up again. As a marine with a strong sense of justice, Hogg could not tolerate what Enel had done.
"If he didn't do that, how could he establish supreme prestige in the hearts of those ignorant residents? That's how Enel maintains his image in the hearts of his people."
Luo Chen explained calmly. Though he was Enel's subordinate and also despised his methods, he had not opposed them.
After more than two years together, he had not joined them in their wrongdoing, but neither had he stopped them. Perhaps that was because of the eighteen years he had spent living in a modern city. Faced with the situation, he helped when he could, and if he couldn't solve a problem, he pretended not to know about it. The saying "every man sweeps the snow from his own doorstep" probably described his situation!