Chapter 90 The priest's provocation backfired, and he was sent flying with a single punch.The four high priests: "..."
"What the hell is this Sun God?! Where the hell did you come from?!"
The four high priests roared hysterically through the telepathic connection.
On the Phoenix Tail Ship, Luffy burst out laughing. These four chuunibyou idiots had reaction times that could circle the Earth.
"Who! Who are you?!"
The four looked around suspiciously, but Luffy had already severed the telepathic connection, remaining hidden.
"What are you laughing at? You're so disgusting!" Nami looked at Luffy, who was trying to suppress his laughter, with suspicion.
"Nothing... I just remembered something happy."
Nami: "Huh?"
At this moment, the group had entered the chosen passage—the Trial of the Spheres.
The scene before them was extremely bizarre. Countless white, spherical clouds floated densely in the air, like giant cotton candy.
"This is the Trial of the Ball? It doesn't seem too dangerous."
Usopp curiously reached out and grabbed a cloud ball, squeezing it in his hand; it was soft and squishy.
Ever since everyone blindly chose the Trial of the Ball and plummeted from the sky, the journey had been surprisingly peaceful.
"Looks like we're incredibly lucky this time; we actually avoided the hardest part."
Usopp was beaming with excitement, feeling like his luck had exploded.
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Nami, gazing at the sky filled with clouds, was moved to tears. "God, you really heard my prayers!"
Zoro ruthlessly shattered her illusion: "Don't be silly, God is our enemy."
Nami instantly flew into a rage, giving him the middle finger: "Shut up! You blasphemous barbarian!"
Zoro grinned, deliberately trying to scare her: "How about we turn the ship back and choose a more exciting passage?"
Nami and Usopp screamed in unison: "Absolutely not!!"
Just then, the seemingly harmless white cloud in Usopp's hand suddenly exploded, and a long snake with sharp fangs lunged out, biting at Usopp's throat.
"Whoa!" Usopp shrank back, dodging the attack with a bizarre, almost paper-drawn, motion, and casually tossed the cloud away like a hot potato.
Sanji's eyes narrowed, and he immediately looked around warily: "Could it be that all these white spheres are the nests of these strange snakes?"
Nami, terrified, clung to Luffy's leg, refusing to let go: "No! I hate snakes! They're disgusting!"
Zoro gave Nami a disdainful look: "What's so scary about a snake?"
With that, he drew his sword and casually swung it at a cloud sphere that drifted by.
BOOM—!
A violent explosion rang out, flames shot into the sky, and the Phoenix Tail Ship was violently rocked by the shockwave.
"Oh my, I'm really looking forward to what surprises are hidden inside~ These are all 'Scare Clouds'!"
An extremely irritating voice came from above.
Everyone looked up and saw a chubby, ball-shaped creature with long hair, dressed like a comical clown, nimbly leaping between the cloud spheres: "Hasso! Hello everyone!"
Everyone: "..."
"What the heck is this glutinous rice ball that's come to life?"
"Is this the BOSS of the Trial of the Balls?"
At this moment, Shadley, one of the four high priests, bounced and hopped towards Luffy like a bouncy ball: "Let me make this clear, if you can't beat me, you'll never leave this Mysterious Forest for the rest of your lives!"
With that, Shadley stretched out his chubby hand and slammed it down on Luffy.
At this moment, he was filled with contempt for this group of Blue Sea people. Possessing the "Mind Screen" that could read minds, coupled with the terrifyingly destructive "Impact Shell," his Ball Trial had a 90% mortality rate. He was absolutely confident he could wipe them all out here.
His tactic was simple—capture the leader first, teach this seemingly arrogant Straw Hat kid a lesson.
Luffy, watching Shadley hurtle towards him like a cannonball, raised an eyebrow slightly: "Out of so many people, why did you have to pick the hardest one to kick? Are you out of your mind?"
Shadley looked at Luffy, a cold smile playing on her lips: "Thinking you could stand up and punch me in the face with a right hook? Too naive. I already..."
*Bang—!*
A muffled thud echoed as Shadley felt as if an elephant had stepped on her right cheek, sending her flying like a spinning top.
"What's he doing?" Zoro stared blankly at Shadley, who was still mid-air explaining how he'd been beaten.
Sanji looked at the flying fat man as if he were an idiot: "Maybe he thinks his face is too big and needs plastic surgery?"
With a whoosh, Shadley scrambled to his feet from the bushes, staring at Luffy in shock: "How is this possible! I clearly dodged in advance!"
Luffy looked at him with disdain: "Even if your brain can keep up, can your body? What's the use of just being fast?"
The so-called "Mind Network" was actually Enel using his Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability to listen to the brainwaves of everyone on the island, thus predicting the enemy's next move.
In short, it's a high-end version of mind reading. The moment the brain gives the body a command, the Mind Network intercepts the information, allowing for preemptive action.
The four priests, on the other hand, used their Observation Haki to receive the signals relayed by Enel, effectively "piggybacking" on his network.
However, against Luffy's speed, even if Shadley knew Luffy was about to punch, his clumsy body simply wouldn't have enough time to react.
This is a classic case of "Brain: I've learned it; Hands: You're talking nonsense."
Luffy didn't press his advantage and finish off the fat man. Instead, he found a comfortable position on C.C.'s lap and lazily said to Zoro and Sanji, "Want to get stronger? Then go and take down this guy. Try dodging his attacks without using your eyes, just your body's instincts."
This mysterious forest, riddled with traps, was practically a natural training ground for Observation Haki.
Upon hearing Luffy's words, Shadley's face instantly turned ashen, feeling utterly humiliated. He roared at Luffy, "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm one of the four high priests serving God! Lord Shadley! I'll tear you to pieces!!"
However, the next second...
He suddenly felt a chilling, bone-chilling aura of death envelop his entire body, and the hairs on the back of his neck instantly stood on end.
Luffy's arm had somehow already extended forward.
A coin bounced high into the air, tumbling before slowly landing in front of him.
Clang.
A terrifying gust of wind, accompanied by a beam of orange light, pierced through his vision in an instant.
Railgun!
Boom—!