Whoosh!!!
Facing Shura's thrusting spear, Wyper threw aside the Burn Bazooka in his right hand without hesitation and lunged toward him.
"Pfft!!!"
"Idiot, don't you want your arm anymore?"
Shura's spear pierced Wyper's left shoulder without meeting any resistance, throwing off a shower of sparks. Seeing what he had done, Shura asked in confusion.
"It's just one arm. If you want it, you can have it!"
Wyper spoke calmly as he placed his right hand against Shura's chest.
"Tch! An Impact Dial? That's no use against me. Don't you know that?"
Seeing Wyper place a hand against his chest, Shura spoke to him without much alarm.
"No, this is ten times more powerful than an Impact Dial..."
Wyper denied it, speaking somewhat mysteriously.
"Could it be... Have you got a death wish? If you do that, you'll also..."
Shura's expression finally changed, and he shouted.
"From the moment I set foot in here, I had already disregarded my life. Taking you down with me wouldn't be bad either... Reject!"
"Boom!!!"
The immense force knocked Shura off the Three-Jo Bird and sent him crashing onto a boulder below. The boulder shattered, burying him in debris as smoke spread through the air.
Wyper, who had taken the recoil from the Reject Dial, wasn't doing well either. Half the wings on his back had been damaged, and one arm hung limply at his side.
Whoosh!!!
Wyper landed safely on the ground, picked up the Burn Bazooka again, and fired in a direction where no one was standing.
"Boom!!!"
The cloud threads binding everyone were destroyed, and the others were finally free to move again. Kamakiri walked over and spoke to him with concern.
"Idiot, have you got a death wish? Using a Reject Dial like that will blow your arm to pieces!"
"Hmph, trading one arm for a priest was a good deal. Besides, when we set foot in here again, we had already stopped caring about our lives.
No matter what you say, this time I'll light the fire of Shandia and fulfill our ancestors' dying wish from four hundred years ago.
This time, everyone should split up. Otherwise, if we end up like we did just now, the enemy might wipe us all out."
When Wyper finished speaking, he rode his waver forward and soon disappeared from sight.
"Let's split up too. We'll meet again at the shrine. I'll get going first!"
Whoosh!!!
Braham walked up to him and spoke, then rode his waver off in another direction.
"All right. Everyone, let's meet at the entrance to the shrine!"
Kamakiri turned and spoke to the other warriors, and then they all headed off in different directions.
"It's so far! Why haven't I gotten there yet? And I don't even know where the others have gone. Making me, their captain, worry about them-honestly."
Luffy stopped walking. Looking ahead and seeing nothing but more forest beyond the forest, he finally couldn't help complaining.
Whoosh!!!
The warrior Wyper suddenly appeared behind him, raised his bazooka, and aimed it at Luffy as he spoke.
"Straw Hat Luffy, what are you doing here? Are you trying to stop our revenge?"
"Huh! Who's that?"
Hearing someone call his name, Luffy's ears twitched, and he turned to look at him.
"It's you! What are you doing here? And what do you mean by revenge?"
Seeing that it was Wyper, the Shandia warrior who had attacked them before, Luffy spoke to him excitedly.
"Is that so? You don't know what's going on here? It doesn't matter. I'll finish you off too, then it'll still be time to go find Enel."
Seeing his puzzled expression, Wyper understood and fired a shell at him from his bazooka.
"Whoosh~boom!!!"
The shell whistled toward him, but Luffy used his ability to dodge it.
The shell he had dodged exploded where he had stood, blasting apart the trees beneath his feet and sending fragments of stone and wood flying in all directions.
"Whoa! That was close! Who are you, anyway? Why do you attack us every time?"
Luffy leaped onto a treetop and, looking at the spot where the shell had exploded, put a hand to his chest as he spoke.
"Does it matter who I am now? All you need to remember is that I'm your enemy."
"Click!"
"Boom!!!"
As Wyper spoke, he aimed the muzzle at Luffy and fired another shot.
The shell destroyed the tree as well.
"Good point. It's better to settle this with a fight. Gum-Gum... Bazooka!"
Luffy dodged the shell again and landed on the ground. He stretched both arms behind him, then blasted them toward Wyper.
Boom!!!
Wyper planted his left foot hard and leaped upward. He pulled out a dial filled with gas, loaded it into the bazooka, and fired at Luffy again.
Boom!!!
A stream of gas quickly ignited, becoming a column of flame that shot straight at him.
At the critical moment, Luffy ducked. The column of flame grazed the top of his head and blasted a large hole through the tree trunk behind him.
Boom!!!
Unable to support itself, the great tree collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The two fought back and forth for a while, leaving the surrounding area thoroughly ravaged.
At last, the fighting drew the attention of the forest's ruler, the giant snake. Its enormous head suddenly burst from the forest, jaws open as it lunged at the two of them.
Whoosh!!
They spotted it at the same time and swiftly dodged its attack. The giant snake's tremendous bite snapped an entire tree in two, and it raised its head and swallowed the tree whole.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!!!
The giant snake flicked its tongue, watching the two of them with its sinister slit pupils.
"Whoa, that was close! It's that thing."
Though Luffy called it dangerous, there was no sign of concern on his face as he stared excitedly at the giant snake.
"The guardian deity of Upper Yard? But if you stand in my way now, even if you are a guardian deity, I'll have to destroy you."
Wyper looked at the giant snake's enormous body and spoke to it calmly.
Then he fired at it without hesitation. The column of flame blasted into its body, sending thick black smoke billowing up, but it failed to break even one of its scales.
Tormented by the two of them, the giant snake finally had enough and thrashed its body around, breaking up their fight.
"Tch, I'll let you off for now, Straw Hat Luffy. Once I've taken Enel's head, I'll come back and deal with you."
Seeing that the giant snake had separated them, Wyper shouldered his bazooka and turned to leave, unwilling to keep fighting Luffy.
"Hey, wait! Our fight isn't over yet! Get back here!!!"
Luffy shouted after him, wanting to continue their fight, but Wyper didn't stop. Luffy could only watch him leave, and when he tried to give chase-
Boom!!! The giant snake's jaws suddenly opened wide in front of him.
"Ah!!! Where is this? Why can't I see anything? Help!!!"
After Luffy leaped into the air, everything suddenly went black before his eyes. It was as if he had entered another space, and he couldn't help crying out for help.