Mantra—the ability to read an attacker's initial movements, even fragments of their tactical thinking.
At its core, it's a combined application of Observation Haki and ability usage.
Vivi rode Karoo at full speed through the forest.
As an Alabasta-native Fast-Running Duck—one of the powerful creatures capable of forming entire combat units—Karoo possessed leg strength rivaling that of a cheetah and excelled at long-distance running.
Though he wasn't perfectly suited to forest terrain, his speed was still astonishing.
That gave Vivi time to mull over what Ren had said during the meeting.
"So the most troublesome part of Mantra is that the enemy can read attacks and parts of your combat intent?"
Vivi muttered to herself.
Her water-blue hair was tied into a high ponytail, swaying briskly behind her as she rode.
Around her, countless tiny grains of sand drifted within a radius of several hundred meters, forming a dark yellow belt of floating dust.
This was a technique Crocodile had taught her—a detection method that was extremely practical in the early stages.
By maintaining constant attention and precise control over the dust through her Devil Fruit ability, she could create a perception field that immediately fed back any disturbance.
Crocodile had scoffed that he abandoned tricks like this after fully mastering Logia elemental transformation.
A self-preservation method only fit for the weak.
His arrogance had made Vivi grind her teeth in anger.
But after consulting Ren and receiving the answer, "If he recommended it, then it must be useful to you," she had still studied it seriously.
Only to discover—Crocodile really was teaching her something solid.
The dust belt itself was just a small trick.
What truly mattered was the shift in perception that came from mastering it.
The Suna Suna no Mi was the power to control sand—as if one were the king of sand itself.
When Vivi first obtained the fruit, she thought she could only manipulate sand. For a while, she'd even considered carrying sand around with her at all times.
But after Crocodile's instruction, she realized that was completely unnecessary.
So-called "sand" was merely soil eroded and polished smooth by wind.
There was no essential difference between it and other forms of land, earth, mud—or even the dust particles floating in the air.
They were simply different states of the same substance.
Once she grasped this conceptual distinction and learned the dust belt…
Vivi's ability expanded from merely sand to sand and dust.
She could transform soil into sand, and even condense airborne dust into sand at will.
If she had explored on her own, Vivi knew—even if she refused to admit it—that it would have taken at least a year or two to reach this level.
And Crocodile's teaching didn't stop there.
According to him, Devil Fruits were anything but simple.
Developing them required imagination and logic.
If both were satisfied, Devil Fruits could evolve into abilities no one would ever expect.
For example—
Vivi had once witnessed Crocodile's Desert Spada.
At its core, it was a conceptual extension—principles like "the process of soil becoming sand" or even vague ideas like magnetic fields.
By redefining the concept, he altered his Devil Fruit ability, producing a horrifying slash that could cleave anything—even steel.
One strike alone carved out a bottomless fissure dozens of meters long.
If she could master that power…
Then she'd truly be useful, wouldn't she?
I need to work harder… like Mr. Zoro.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Vivi burst out of the forest.
Ahead lay a ruin half-buried in Island Clouds.
"Is this the trial ground?"
With a single glance at the terrain change, Vivi identified it as the likely location of the Trial of Swamp.
She instinctively raised her hand. The soil within the forest behind her immediately began to change.
"Heso! There's an enemy!"
"Notify the priest!"
"Lord Gedatsu is already coming!"
More than a dozen Divine Soldiers leapt over from afar. Their movements were agile, but even so, they disturbed the floating dust.
They landed throughout the ruins before turning to look behind them.
A tall figure came bounding in.
Sea-urchin-like hair. Purple robes.
Most striking of all—his rolled-back white eyes.
"Who goes there?!"
Vivi instantly lifted her head, her beautiful eyes sweeping over the enemies.
"Enemy? Where?! Where'd they go?! They were just here a moment ago!"
The man landed not far in front of her, looking around wildly."Is it invisibility? This enemy's really something!"
"…"
Vivi stared blankly, her eyes filled with confusion.
What is wrong with this guy?!
"Lord Gedatsu! If you're rolling your eyes back, you can't see the enemy!"
A Divine Soldier shouted from afar.
In the next instant, Gedatsu's white eyes rolled back down, revealing black pupils. His expression turned dazed.
"Ah… I forgot."
Vivi: "..."
Alright.
This guy was a weirdo.
But he was still an enemy.
And enemies had to be defeated.
"You're the priest, aren't you?" Vivi asked solemnly, forcing herself to focus.
"Heh heh!"
Gedatsu crossed his arms and repeatedly jabbed downward—
And said nothing.
"Lord Gedatsu, if you don't say it out loud, the enemy can't hear you!"
The Divine Soldier reminded him again.
"Ah! I forgot again!"
Gedatsu opened his eyes wide, looking utterly startled.
Vivi's forehead bulged with veins as her face darkened.
"You bastard…"
Was this guy messing with her?!
Absolutely unforgivable. Crocodile looked down on her, and now this enemy too?!
"I am Gedatsu, Captain of the Sky Guard, examiner of the Trial of Swamp in Upper Yard!"
He puffed out his chest proudly, looking down at the woman riding a duck.
"I also serve the all-powerful god, Enel. You've already stepped into my territory!"
His expression turned smug.
"A word of advice—my domain is filled everywhere with swamp clouds. One misstep, and you'll sink in and suffocate to death!"
"I suggest you watch your step… and don't die too quickly!"
"How arrogant."
Vivi took a deep breath, glaring at him.
"Then let's not waste time. If you want to fight, let's begin."
Vooooom—!
A low tremor rang out.
The floating dust suddenly condensed into yellow sand, surging out like a tidal wave from behind Vivi.
The ruins, the Island Clouds—everything was swallowed instantly by the onrushing yellow flood.
"Swamp countermeasure—Cloud Dial Jet Propulsion!"
Gedatsu's expression changed sharply as massive jets of cloud burst from the soles of his shoes, launching him into the air.
But the Divine Soldiers weren't so lucky.
Or rather—
Vivi's little trick finally paid off!
"Get out of the way!"
"What is this?!"
They leapt hurriedly, but their Cloud Dial shoes jammed with grinding sounds.
Dust had condensed into sand, clogging the exhaust vents!
It lasted only an instant—but that was more than enough.
The raging yellow wave engulfed them whole.
Sand and debris blasted skyward as the flood scoured the ruins and Island Clouds.
"What… what kind of monster is this?! Someone who can control Vearth?!"
Gedatsu's face grew grim, panic creeping in.
Yellow tinged the clouds spewing beneath his feet as his gaze locked onto the enemy hidden within the sandstorm.
"She's just a woman, but she's not someone to underestimate…"
"But don't think controlling Vearth is enough to defeat me!"
Gedatsu spread his arms as a mass of cloud surged from his palms, forming a cloud nearly as tall as a man.
"I'm in the sky—you can't reach me! But I can attack you!"
"Try this! Its weight is cloud, but its nature is swamp!"
"Experience the terror of suffocating to death!"
"Swamp Hamburger!"
A purple mass of cloud was hurled downward at terrifying speed, streaking toward Vivi.
"It's useless."
Vivi watched coldly as she raised her hand and slapped toward the descending swamp cloud.
"Hahahaha! Idiot! Do you even understand what a swamp is?!"
Gedatsu burst into mocking laughter.
"My Swamp Hamburger can't be slapped away!"
"It's weight is cloud—you'll pass right through it!"
"But its nature is swamp! Once you touch it, you'll never get free again!"
"Drown in the darkness, stupid wom—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
Like a duck being strangled, his eyes bulged in disbelief.
Below—
Vivi withdrew her right hand while keeping her left behind her back, flicking away the remaining cloud residue.
"The stupid one… isn't it you?"
"How is that possible?! That was swamp cloud!"
"Sorry, uncle. You're completely countered by me."
Vivi leapt off Karoo's back and crouched, pressing her right hand to the ground.
Suna Suna no Mi—Activate!
An unlimited water-extraction force burst forth from her palm.
The Island Cloud beneath her hand instantly lost its moisture, its structure collapsing before being swallowed by surging sand.
"This…!"
Gedatsu's eyes widened as he watched the ground touched by Vivi turn into sand—and spread outward at alarming speed.
In just a few breaths, everything within hundreds of meters became a sandy wasteland.
The price was that the forest soil nearby sank by several meters.
Of course—
Gedatsu didn't know that.
All he saw was an utterly horrifying scene.
The Island Clouds… had been destroyed.
Whatever the reason, one thing was clear—
His swamp clouds, his Island Clouds…
Were meaningless before this girl.
Useless.
She was the nemesis of clouds themselves!
No good… I have to report this to God immediately!
Gedatsu lost all will to fight and turned to flee.
But—
A sudden pulling sensation came from below.
He looked down.
A pale hand had grabbed his Cloud-Dial-embedded shoe.
Countless grains of sand poured from the woman's hand, instantly sealing the exhaust vent. Yellow sand packed in nonstop, forcibly clogging the dial!
In an instant—
Gedatsu fell like a butterfly with broken wings, his face twisted in terror.
From over a hundred meters away, Vivi raised her fair, slender arm calmly.
"Sables."
Endless yellow sand gathered, forming a colossal desert tempest.
Blades of sand—shaped from the Peacock Saw technique—filled its core.
"Damn it! Don't think this is enough to defeat me!"
Gedatsu roared in fury, raising both arms.
"I'm a priest! You stupid woman—die! Jet Punch!"
BOOM—!
Violent airjets erupted from his elbows, tearing his sleeves apart to reveal embedded shells.
Jet Shells!
A rare shell usually mounted under massive ships as a core power source—nearly extinct.
And yet, they were embedded in Gedatsu's elbows, used as propulsion!
To withstand this monstrous recoil alone spoke volumes about the priest's physical strength.
Almost instantly—
Gedatsu, bloodied, burst through the sandstorm, his iron fist slamming straight through his enemy's chest!
A straight column of air pierced through, dragging sand into a blade of compressed wind that cleaved a massive tree hundreds of meters away.
But—
Instead of joy, terror spread across Gedatsu's face.
"How is this possible?! No resistance—are you not human?!"
He stared in horror at the arm buried to the elbow.
He hadn't struck flesh—
He'd punched into sand.
"That's Logia elemental transformation."
Vivi grasped the arm piercing her chest, her gaze icy.
"As expected—Mantra requires calm to activate."
"Once you're shaken, you lose your precognition."
"And that gives me absolute advantage… and a chance to kill you in a single blow."
As enemies, the priests were undeniably powerful.
But Crocodile was right.
As a Suna Suna no Mi user, before facing Haki users, she never needed to fear physical combat.
Once she mastered elemental transformation—
She stood in an invincible position.
This was the Logia type—The most transcendent and fastest-growing of the three Devil Fruit classes!
Perhaps—
That was one of the reasons Ren chose to train her.
In that case—
She couldn't let him down.
Suna Suna no Mi—Water Extraction!
Gedatsu's hand withered first, every drop of moisture—his blood itself—drained away.
"Let go!"
He struggled madly, swinging his other fist down.
But—
Even Jet Punch couldn't save him now.
Seconds later, a dried corpse collapsed to the ground.
Vivi stood silently for a moment, then raised her hand and swept the sand over everything.
When the yellow dust settled, the Trial of Swamp was completely buried.
Jet Shells… they seem useful. Ren collected the Windrider's inheritance before—there were plenty of Jet Shells in it.
She retrieved the shell-based equipment, then mounted Karoo and headed toward Urouge's position.
Along the way, her mood was light.
She had grown.
She was no longer the fragile princess who fought with everything she had—yet changed nothing.
"Karma Retribution!"
A massive fist smashed down, snapping a colossal tree in half.
Urouge panted heavily, staring at the hopping figure before him.
"You can't hit me."
"You just can't."
"Come on, hit me, idiot."
"I hopped over here, hopped back again—come on, hit me?"
One of the Four Priests—the master of the Trial of Ball, Satori—hopped around, giggling as he taunted his opponent.
"Your power's impressive, but if you can't hit me, it's meaningless~"
"…"
Urouge's expression darkened.
So this is Mantra…
Every attack was predicted.
The only reason he hadn't lost yet was because he could take the hits.
Even so, he said coldly,
"And you? Those weapons and attacks of yours—there's no way they can defeat me either."
(End of Chapter)