"Who's there?"
The moment Luo Chen spoke, the Straw Hat Pirates all noticed him. They immediately prepared for battle and demanded to know who he was.
"Huh?! What's going on? Why are you all...
"This is... who are you? Have you been following me since earlier?"
Seeing her companions all looking warily behind her, Nami sensed something and turned around. She saw Luo Chen, who had been following her all along, and jumped in fright. She backed away a few steps and asked.
"Huh! You're... Lord Luo Chen, the priest. Hasso!"
"Lord Luo Chen, Hasso!"
Captain McKinley recognized him at once and immediately led his men in saluting and greeting him.
"Mm, hello to you too. Hasso!"
"Huh?!"
"You're Priest Luo Chen, one of the five priests serving that almighty god."
The Straw Hat Pirates were all stunned by his identity. They hadn't expected a priest to arrive right after they had offended God and broken the law. Usopp in particular grabbed Luffy by the collar, tears in his eyes and distress written across his face, and cried to him.
"Hey, Luffy, see? I knew this would happen! The almighty god has already sent his subordinate to execute us!"
Unfortunately, his captain was an optimist. Still grinning, he paid Usopp no attention. He didn't care whether God would punish them for what they had done, nor was he afraid that Luo Chen, the priest who had just arrived, might have come to arrest them.
"Come on, Usopp, relax. Whether they're gods or priests, everything will be fine as long as we beat them. Besides, does Luffy look like the sort of person who's afraid of trouble?"
Sanji walked past him, lit a cigarette, and took a drag before reassuring him.
"But, but..."
Still shocked by Luo Chen's identity, Usopp could barely string his words together.
"Don't worry. Leave all these people to us. You won't need to lift a finger."
Zoro came over as well. He took the black bandanna off his arm and tied it around his head, then drew his swords and pointed them at Luo Chen.
"You're our opponents, right? Bring as many people as you want. We'll take you all on."
"Pfft! Your opponent? You mean me? Sorry, I don't intend to fight you just yet. I can only make my move once the trial begins. For now, they're your opponents."
Hearing Zoro's challenge, Luo Chen chuckled and pointed at himself in surprise. He made it clear that he wasn't their enemy yet, then pointed at the guards and continued.
"Hey, go ahead and attack. Don't worry, I won't interfere with your mission."
"Yes. Please step aside and watch. We'll arrest them and bring them to justice in no time."
So said Captain McKinley, before ordering his men to attack the Straw Hat Pirates.
The guards lined up, drew their bows in unison, and fired arrows fitted with Cloud Dials at them. They then attacked Luffy alone. At first, Sky Island's strange way of fighting did catch Luffy off guard and give him a little trouble, but in the end, he defeated them all with his powerful Gum-Gum Fireworks. The group retreated in sorry shape.
"So strong! Aren't Blue Sea People supposed to be weakened when they come here? How can he still be so strong?!"
After watching the entire fight, Conis and her father exclaimed in astonishment.
"So, are you going to fight next?"
After defeating them with ease, Luffy still hadn't had enough and challenged Luo Chen.
"Sigh! A bunch of good-for-nothings, just like those guys. Fortunately, I never counted on them from the start. I wasn't planning to fight, but since you've challenged me like that, how can I pretend I didn't hear you?"
Luo Chen glanced at the guards as he spoke slowly, leaving them deeply ashamed. When he finished, he vanished from sight in a flash and appeared before Luffy in an instant.
"So fast! I couldn't see him move at all."
The moment Luo Chen moved, everyone was amazed by his speed. They all stared at him with grave expressions.
"Although I can't finish all of you off yet, I can give you an early taste of my strength.
"Well? Do you still want to fight me? You'll die, you know!"
With just a slight step, Luo Chen came before Luffy and looked him straight in the eyes as he spoke.
"Amazing! But I'm not going to lose to you. Gum-Gum... Pistol!"
Luffy wasn't frightened when Luo Chen showed what he could do by appearing before him in an instant. Instead, he instantly stretched his right arm backward, excitement on his face as he spoke.
With that, his right arm snapped back at high speed, his fist shooting toward Luo Chen like a bullet.
"Bang!"
A cannonball-like impact rang out as Luffy's fist struck Luo Chen's palm, kicking up a wave of force.
Luo Chen took the blow without a change in expression, then smiled and said,
"Decent power, but not enough to win. Show me what you can really do, Straw Hat Luffy. Otherwise... if you die, don't blame me for not giving you a chance!"
With that, his right leg lashed heavily into Luffy like a whip. The tremendous force sent Luffy flying, and he smashed into a pavilion without losing speed. The pavilion came crashing down.
Tch, that guy's strong.
Sanji thought, then charged in as well.
"Don't you attack our captain like that! Mouton Shot!"
Once he was close, Sanji planted both hands on the ground and kicked at Luo Chen, his legs moving like the wind.
"Bang!"
Luo Chen blocked one foot with his hand. His expression unchanged, he shook his head and said,
"Powerful legs, but still not enough."
"Then how about this? Three-Sword Style secret technique: Tiger Hunt!"
Suddenly, the air above Luo Chen was sliced apart, and he felt a tearing sensation on his scalp. He looked up to see Zoro slashing down at him, a sword in each hand and another clenched in his mouth.
"Tekkai: Armament!"
Seeing Zoro's blades slashing down at him, Luo Chen shouted and used Tekkai, coating himself in Armament Haki. His body instantly hardened and turned black as it met the blades.
"Bang!"
A white shock wave formed instantly from their clash and swept outward. The churning wind and air blast made everyone unable to open their eyes.
"Ah! What's going on? Who's winning and who's losing?"
The gusts kept Nami, who was closest to them, from seeing the fight clearly. She shielded her eyes with her arm as she spoke.
"Boom!"
The wind died down, and everyone's view suddenly cleared. They saw Luo Chen alone holding two of the three powerhouses immobile.
"Hah!"
Just then, Luffy let out a shout and blasted aside the heavy timber and rubble pinning him down. He got to his feet and charged at Luo Chen again, shouting as he used his trump card.
"Gum-Gum: Rifle!"
As he spoke, he reached Luo Chen in the blink of an eye. His stretched, twisted, spinning fist arrived at the same time, slamming heavily into Luo Chen's stomach with a fierce rush of air.
"Boom!"
A sound like cannon fire rang out. The force of the punch passed through Luo Chen and sent the cape on his back flying.
"Great!" Zoro exclaimed in admiration.
"Hmm... no, something's wrong. This is... watch out! He wasn't hurt at all!"
Sanji was the first to sense something was wrong and shouted a warning.
"Not bad. A very powerful move. They couldn't have taken that blow, but... against me, it's still too weak. Tekkai: Utsugi Rotation!"
After taking the blow head-on, Luo Chen praised it, then spoke in a deep voice. Using his improved Tekkai, he reflected all the force back.
"Bang!"
"Ah!"
The enormous, tremendous force passed through their points of contact with Luo Chen and spread through their bodies, sending all three flying.
Luffy took the brunt of it because he had struck head-on. He was flung straight into the air before falling back down, while the other two skidded backward, leaving two deep gouges in the ground.