"Hey! What are you doing?!"
"You people of the Blue Sea, your ship has been requisitioned by God. It is your honor..." A man dressed like a Priest, wearing a strange tall hat and holding a Sky Island-style long staff, turned around. His expression was arrogant, as if bestowing a favor.
Before he could finish, Luffy was already moving.
Without using his Devil Fruit ability, relying purely on physical skills and speed, Luffy's figure weaved through the crowd like a ghost. His fists and kicks left afterimages and howling gusts of wind in their wake.
Thwump!
Thwump-thwump!
Accompanied by a series of dull impacts and screams, the ordinary Divine Soldiers were sent flying like leaves caught in a gale, scattering as they crashed into the distant sea of clouds, losing consciousness.
Only the Priest who had spoken was left standing there, dumbfounded, his face etched with disbelief.
"You dare lay hands on the Divine Soldiers? This is blasphemy against God! You will suffer God's Retribution from Lord Enel!" The Priest regained his senses, pointing a trembling finger at Luffy and shrieking.
"God's Retribution?"
Luffy sneered, looking up at the sky. "You mean that guy peeping from somewhere?"
As if in response to his words, the previously clear sky abruptly darkened. Thunder surged within the Knock Up Stream clouds. A blue pillar of lightning, radiating destructive energy like a spear thrown by a deity, tore through the sky and plummeted straight toward the Going Merry!
It's over!
Conis, who had arrived late, covered her mouth when she saw this.
Gan Fall, who had just arrived, also wore a grim expression. As the former God, he understood the terror of Enel's Retribution all too well—power enough to obliterate a town in an instant!
"Is that it? Not even one million volts." Luffy's expression was impassive. Instead of retreating, he charged forward!
He bent his knees slightly and kicked off the ground violently, shooting into the air like a rocket. At the same time, faint white, flame-like wisps began emanating from his body. As he leapt, his body expanded and grew at an incredible rate!
Gan Fall's eyes widened. "What is that?"
Conis: "He's so big!"
Under everyone's stunned gazes, Luffy, now transformed into a white giant, reached out with his massive rubber hand, now sheathed in Armament Haki, and grabbed the terrifying pillar of lightning that was capable of destroying everything.
Zzzzt! Crackle!
The wild lightning thrashed violently in Luffy's grip, emitting a grating, deafening noise. Luffy assumed a throwing posture, aimed in a certain direction, and hurled it with all his might.
"Impossible?!" The Priest's eyes nearly popped out of his head. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
How could anyone oppose the power of God?!
Gan Fall was even more shocked beyond words. He possessed a weak form of Mantra. Before Luffy's aura erupted, he hadn't sensed anything special. But now, he clearly felt the presence radiating from this rubber giant before him. It even gave him an illusion...
It felt... stronger than Enel?
"Just who is this Straw Hat kid..." Gan Fall murmured to himself.
[Detected unexpected emergent situation. Verifying...]
[Verification complete. Anticipated behavior aligns with the ultimate goal of becoming Pirate King. Assessed as necessary! Formulating temporary schedule plan...]
[Temporary schedule plan issued.]
[Objective: Proceed to the Holy Land, the Shandora Altar, and locate the Poneglyph.]
[Time limit: Half a day.]
The prompt sounding in Luffy's mind made him frown.
A Poneglyph?
As a half-baked historian diligently taught by Professor Robin, of course he knew how rare Poneglyphs were.
But Luffy was angry.
Right now, all he wanted was to find that guy called Enel and punch him into the sky.
Requisition the Going Merry?
Who did he think he was?
Luffy spotted Gan Fall. He canceled his giant form and landed back on the ground. He remembered this old man was a Sky Island expert.
"Sky Knight old-timer, do you know where that guy called 'God' is?"
Gan Fall, still not fully recovered from the earlier shock, nodded instinctively. "He should always be in the Holy Land... the core of God's Country, the Upper Yard Altar, which is also the venue for this Trial of God..."
"Shandora is there too?"
"How do you know that?"
"Great! Old-timer, mind giving us a lift?"
Luffy grinned, his gaze sweeping to the Express Lobster nearby, which had been scared stiff by the lightning pillar and was trying to sneak away.
The Express Lobster froze. Big bro, don't look at me like that, I'm scared.
Luffy's figure flickered, appearing beside the Express Lobster. He patted its hard shell. "Big guy, do us another favor. Take us to that Shandora place."
The Express Lobster's bulbous eyes were filled with terror. But under Luffy's unwavering gaze, it ultimately gave in, obediently lowering its body.
"Huh? What?"
"Why are you deciding things so rashly?"
"Where are we going?"
Everyone was caught off guard by Luffy's sudden, impulsive decision.
"I'm going to find that guy called 'God'." Luffy jumped onto the Express Lobster's back, then called out to Robin. "There's a Poneglyph on this island, Robin. You coming?"
"Of course."
Upon hearing the words "Poneglyph," a light of immediate interest flashed in Robin's eyes. She gracefully leapt up, landing lightly beside Luffy.
Nami and Vivi exchanged a look, then without hesitation, jumped aboard as well.
"We're coming too."
"Right! We definitely can't let that jerk who tried to harm Merry get away with it, right?"
Nami and Vivi spoke one after the other, each finding their own excuse. Aside from wanting to avenge Merry, the two glanced at each other and then looked away.
They couldn't just leave Luffy alone with Robin.
They both had experience with what could happen when alone with Luffy. And Vivi had more experience—Robin dared to do that kind of thing even when she was around. What might happen if they were alone together was simply unthinkable!
Gan Fall: "... Is no one going to consider me, speak up for me?"
"Hey! What about us?!"
"We haven't boarded yet!"
Seeing the Express Lobster begin to move, Usopp, left on the shore, shouted urgently.
"Well, if Luffy's going to defeat this so-called God, then we'll clean up his underlings." Sanji bent down, picked up the Trial of God invitation from the ground, glanced at it, took a deep drag from his cigarette, and said, "Pawns deal with pawns, generals deal with generals."
Zoro agreed. "I'm actually quite interested in this so-called Trial of God. Good chance to stretch my limbs."
Usopp and Chopper clung to each other, tears streaming. "Can't we choose to stay and guard the ship?!"
However, the minority succumbed to the majority. The Straw Hat crew thus decided to split into two groups.
Luffy, Robin, Nami, and Vivi boarded the Express Lobster to strike at the heart of the enemy, targeting Enel and the Poneglyph.
Zoro and Sanji would act as the main force. Usopp, Chopper, and the spectating Nika and Merry, floating in the air, would take the ship to participate in the Trial of God and clean up Enel's lackeys.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!