The scene shifted to the Shandia several hours earlier, after Hogg had defeated the four priests and the many divine soldiers.
At the Shandia tribe's camp, a little girl's cries suddenly rang out from inside a crude, primitive tent. Startled, everyone hurried over to check on her.
"Aisa, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly scream?"
Laki was the first to pull aside the tent flap and enter. She asked the little girl with concern.
"Boo-hoo-hoo!!!"
Aisa didn't answer her. She cowered in the corner, trembling and crying.
"It's all right, everything's fine. We're all here with you, so don't be afraid. Tell me, did you hear something again?"
Laki came over, took her in her arms, and comforted her.
"Laki, is Aisa all right?"
The other warriors called to Laki from outside, asking how Aisa was doing.
"Mm, she's all right. She must have heard some unusual sound again that frightened her so badly. You can all rest easy now. Just leave Aisa to me."
"Whew! As long as she's all right, we can rest easy. Call us if anything happens."
Hearing that, the warriors all breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to her. Everyone in the Shandia was well aware of the little girl Aisa's mysterious ability, so they gave it no further thought and went their separate ways.
One person stayed behind, however: the warrior Wyper. He stood at the entrance without interrupting their conversation.
"What is it, Aisa? Can you tell me what happened?"
As Laki soothed her, she asked about what Aisa had heard.
"Mm, just now, over in Upper Yard, all those nasty voices disappeared, and a very, very strong voice appeared there."
Aisa held up both hands as she described what she had heard to Laki. She didn't know how to describe Hogg's power, so she could only express his strength with her limited vocabulary.
"A powerful voice? How strong? Stronger than Wyper?"
Laki was surprised to hear Aisa say that another powerful, unfamiliar voice was in the sacred land, so she questioned her again.
"Very, very strong. Much stronger than Wyper."
Aisa spread her arms as wide as she could to describe Hogg's strength. In her perception, Wyper's strength was far inferior to his.
"What? Stronger than Wyper? Then how does his strength compare to Enel's?"
Laki was surprised again and asked her urgently.
"Mm, about the same as Enel, but he's probably still not as strong as him! But he's getting closer and closer to Enel now. He probably wants to fight him!"
Born with Observation Haki, Aisa knew Enel's strength very well after the more than two years since he had arrived on Sky Island. She hadn't expected someone nearly as strong as him to appear today, much less defeat all the priests so easily. It had filled her little heart with fear and terror, leading to what had happened today.
"Uh, wait, Wyper! What are you going to do?"
Outside the tent, Wyper heard Aisa say that a powerful person had defeated all the priests and was heading to Enel to challenge him. He immediately turned and left, intending to summon all the warriors to defeat Enel.
"Wait, Wyper, don't do anything foolish! We don't know whether that person is friend or foe, and Enel won't be so easy to defeat!"
Laki turned and saw Wyper standing at the entrance, about to leave. Knowing what her companion, whom she had grown up with, was thinking, she immediately called out to stop him.
"Does it matter whether he's friend or foe? Either way, he's already done us a huge favor, and he's heading to Enel, which means we have the same goal. So now is the best time to attack Enel. Don't try to stop me, Laki."
Hearing Laki try to stop him, Wyper explained without turning around, then left to call the others.
Before long, the many Shandia warriors gathered at Wyper's summons, ready to discuss the matter again.
"Wyper, are you saying you just heard from Aisa that a powerful person is going to war with Enel?"
The warrior Braham was the first to question him.
"That's right. That's what I heard from her. Everyone has long seen Aisa's extraordinary ability for themselves, so I've summoned you here to ask whether you'll come with me to attack Enel."
Wyper nodded, shared what he had learned from Aisa, and asked the others what they thought.
"Since you've already decided, Wyper, I'll follow you to the Sacred Land Upper Yard and defeat him."
The spear-wielding warrior Kamakiri replied, saying he was willing to follow in Wyper's footsteps and reclaim their sacred land.
"I'm willing too."
"Mm, so are we."
The warriors voiced their agreement one after another, all resolving to follow him to the Sacred Land Upper Yard and defeat Enel.
"Wait, Wyper. All of you, stop and hear this old man out."
Not far away, Laki arrived supporting the chief, intending to stop them.
"Chief, if you're here to talk us out of it, save your breath. I've already made up my mind. Whoever wants to follow me, come along!"
Wyper cut the old chief off. Everyone in the Shandia was well aware of the little girl Aisa's mysterious ability.
"We've already made up our minds, Chief. We're willing to follow Wyper and defeat Enel, so there's no need to try to talk us out of it."
The warriors looked at one another. A moment later, Braham stepped forward and told the old chief what was in their hearts.
"You all... Sigh! Forget it. I can't talk you out of it, so take care of yourselves!
"Laki, let's go. It seems I can't persuade them, and I'm afraid your words will be no use either. Don't waste your efforts."
Looking at these young people he had watched grow up, he found himself at a loss for words. He could only tell them to take care of themselves, then turn to Laki and speak.
"Yes, Chief."
Laki also saw the determination in their eyes and made no further attempt to dissuade them. Supporting the chief, she watched them gather their weapons and leave.
That was what had happened among the Shandia several hours earlier. Back in the present, the Shandia, led by Wyper, passed straight through the four priests' trial grounds and arrived at Luo Chen's Ordeal of Blood.
"Everyone, be careful. This is that guy's territory. He's no less troublesome than Enel. Aisa said the mysterious person took care of all the priests, but that probably didn't include him.
"After all, he was able to hide all the sounds he made as soon as he learned Mantra, so even Aisa couldn't hear his voice."
As soon as they stepped inside, Wyper told everyone to stay alert, lest Luo Chen discover and take them out before they knew it.
After that battle, Wyper had been on the highest possible guard against Luo Chen. In his mind, Luo Chen was no less of a threat than Enel!
"Understood!"
"Don't worry, Wyper. We all know how strong that guy is. We won't let our guard down."
The warriors answered one after another, then watched their surroundings warily, not overlooking the slightest movement or daring to relax for an instant.
"Mm, not bad. You still know better than to let your guard down around here. I thought victory might have gone to your heads. For that, I should praise you, warriors of the Shandia."
Suddenly, a deep voice reached everyone's ears from the depths of the jungle. The warriors went on alert and looked in that direction.
"Who's there? Come out!"
Wyper took the Burn Bazooka from his back, aimed it in that direction, and shouted.
"Hehehe! What, don't you recognize my voice after two years apart, warrior Wyper?
"In that case, I'll come out and let you see who it is!"
With that, a dark figure shot out and landed on a tree branch, looking down at them as he spoke.