"Huh?! Did he notice something and decide not to go?"
Captain McKinley, who was secretly following behind them, spoke in a low voice.
Conis, who was acting as their guide, grew nervous too. Watching them, she thought none of them intended to go anymore.
Luffy's next words finally put them at ease.
"I don't want to ride this boat. I want that one!"
Luffy looked at it with distaste as he spoke, then pointed to the luxurious bull-headed cruise ship they had seen at the start.
"Phew! He was just being stubborn and didn't want to ride that boat. Here I thought they were scared and didn't want to go."
Captain McKinley, lying flat on the ground, wiped the sweat from his face and spoke with relief.
Conis had also been frightened by what Luffy said, but fortunately, his next words helped her relax.
Bang!
Bang!!
Bang!!!
"You bastard! Miss Conis was kind enough to lend us a boat, and you're complaining about this and that? Apologize to Miss Conis right now!"
Sanji instantly kicked Luffy more than a dozen times, leaving his face swollen like a pig's head, and apologized to Conis.
"All right, it's time for us to leave. Miss Conis, please go home and wait for our good news without worrying."
Once everyone was aboard, Sanji raised the anchor and said goodbye to Conis.
Conis saw how completely they all trusted her, even though she was guiding them to the place of the ordeals, and that they had never doubted whether she might harm them. At last, she could no longer keep quiet.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, your companions wouldn't have been taken there."
"Idiot, don't say it!" Captain McKinley rushed out at once and spoke to her in alarm.
"Huh?! What are you talking about, Conis?" Usopp asked.
"It's all my fault. I was the one who summoned the Express Shrimp earlier, and taking your companions away on it was my idea too. And now I'm supposed to lead you to Upper Yard.
"If we don't do that, we'll all die."
"Huh?" Luffy looked at her in surprise.
The residents nearby immediately scattered in panic, putting as much distance between themselves and Conis as they could and looking at her in fear.
Boom!!!
A huge pillar of lightning fell from the sky toward her.
Luffy immediately picked up Conis, who had fallen to the ground, and tried to dodge, but the lightning covered too wide an area and engulfed them both.
"Hey, Luffy, are you okay?!"
After seeing the lightning engulf them, Usopp shouted anxiously toward the place where it had struck.
By then, the lightning had faded and smoke spread through the air. In its wake, only a huge, bottomless black hole remained.
"Pierre!!!"
A cry like both a horse's and a bird's rang out overhead. The Sky Knight rode down through the air on his mount, which had transformed into a winged horse, and landed in front of Usopp and the others.
"I'll take this little girl with me and keep her safe. Take care of yourselves!"
After setting Luffy down safely, he spoke to them, then took the unconscious Conis and left.
"Oh, thanks! Sorry for the trouble, but please take good care of her. We're going to rescue our companions first, then we'll come find her."
Luffy waved to Gan Fall in midair as he spoke. Then he jumped back aboard and sailed the Crow toward Sacred Land Upper Yard to rescue his companions.
"Just wait, Enel, Luo Chen! I'm going to send you all flying and rescue my companions."
Standing at the bow, Luffy rubbed his fists together as he spoke.
"Bastards! You made lovely Miss Conis cry. I won't let you off either."
Sanji lit a cigarette, took a drag, and spoke.
"Hey, hey, hey, I think it'd be enough just to rescue them. There's no need to provoke those guys, right?"
Usopp, meanwhile, sat at the stern and timidly tried to dissuade them. He seemed terrified that Enel would bring down divine punishment once again and blast them all to pieces.
"Shishishi! It's okay, Usopp. We'll protect you, so don't worry!"
Luffy laughed, clutching his stomach, not at all worried about whether they would run into trouble ahead.
"It's because you say things like that that I'm even more worried! Aah! I can't do this. I've come down with a disease that keeps me from taking part in ordeals."
With that, Usopp pretended to be sick again and collapsed on the boat.
"You bastard, get up! Miss Nami and Miss Robin are still waiting for us to rescue them!"
Sanji had seen through his trick long ago and kicked him to his feet without mercy.
"Shishishi! This is so much fun."
Luffy laughed at the side, making no attempt to keep things from getting even more chaotic.
Their boat gradually sailed toward the site of their ordeal, Sacred Land Upper Yard, though they had no idea how much danger awaited them.
After the boat had traveled slowly for some time, they finally reached the entrance to the place of the ordeals and looked at the gloomy, frightening surroundings within.
"We're here. There's still time to leave. Well, Usopp, do you want to go back now?"
After glancing at the surroundings inside, Sanji lit another cigarette and took a drag, then turned to Usopp.
"Ah! I still need to think about whether I should go in..."
"Here we go! Full speed ahead to the place of the ordeals!"
Before Usopp could finish, Luffy interrupted him. He stepped on the accelerator, and the boat sped inside, paying no attention to what Usopp thought.
"Hey, wait, Luffy! I haven't said I actually want to go in yet!"
Usopp hurriedly grabbed him by the collar.
"Shishishi! It's okay. We have to go anyway," Luffy said, looking back at him with a smile.
"Ah, you don't listen to a word anyone says," Usopp said with a despairing sigh.
Pat, pat!
"Forget it. Nothing you say will help now. We should think about how to rescue Miss Nami and the others."
Sanji walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
The little boat continued along the silent cloud stream for a while. When Usopp saw the wreckage of ships appearing all around them, his heart tensed again. Gripping Luffy's collar tightly, he looked around and spoke.
"Why do I feel like it's really unsafe here? There are shipwrecks all around us. Could there be traps waiting for us?"
"It's nothing, just some shipwrecks. You see things like that out at sea too. Relax, it'll be fine."
Sanji spoke without a care, never even considering what might have caused the wrecks.
"Hey, hey, hearing you say that just makes me more worried. Hmm... did you hear something?"
Just after Usopp spoke, he seemed to notice something. His ears twitched, and he asked the others.
"What? I don't hear any-look out! Luffy, dodge!"
Sanji was about to argue with him when he saw a dark shape hurtling toward them from nearby. It turned out to be a huge guillotine blade swinging down at them, and he hurriedly told Luffy to speed up and get them out of there.
The moment they entered that area, the traps in the forest had already been triggered.
Panicking, Luffy and the others dodged one attack after another: huge guillotine blades slicing across their path, wooden stakes shooting at them in succession, and enormous boomerangs flying through the air. They were left in a sorry state as they evaded them.
At last, the three reached the fork where they had to choose a path of trial.
"There are five paths of trial in all. Do we have to choose one? Hey, Luffy, which one should we take? Hurry up and decide."
Sanji looked at the five signs above the branching paths, marked "Ball," "Iron," "String," "Swamp," and "Blood," and asked Luffy.
"Hmm... I've got it. We'll choose..."
Luffy rested his chin on the back of his hand and thought for a while, but just as he was about to make his choice, Usopp interrupted him.
"Wait, Luffy."
"What is it, Usopp?"
"Let me make the decision this time. Let's choose the Ordeal of Balls."
After looking over the ordeals and weighing the options in his mind, Usopp chose the Ordeal of Balls, which he considered relatively safe, and steered the Crow in that direction.
Deep in the forest, in a pleasant area with fresh air, a black-haired man suddenly stood and looked in a certain direction. It was where the Ordeal of Balls Luffy and the others had chosen was located, and he spoke.
"So you've finally come? Straw Hat Luffy, I really didn't expect fate to make you choose that ordeal after all. Heh, hurry up and come! I'll wait here for you to finish that ordeal and make your way over. I hope you won't disappoint me!"