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At the top of a towering tree in the forest, Gan Fall and his beloved steed Pierre were hidden within the dense canopy. Through the gaps in the leaves, Gan Fall watched the priests surge past like a tide, his face growing increasingly grim.
"This is bad. Enel's priestly guard has begun to move. Has the news of Wiper and my alliance been leaked? Who spilled the beans? Or is it that our every move is under Enel's Mantra surveillance?"
The more Gan Fall thought, the stronger his unease grew.
Just thinking about his people possibly being sold as slaves to the Blue Sea Marines by Enel filled Gan Fall with an intense anger that he wanted to unleash.
The violent fluctuation of his emotions caused Gan Fall's breathing to become slightly heavier.
And it was this slight increase in breathing that immediately drew a series of fierce attacks.
"An enemy is lurking in the treetops!"
Gedatsu didn't even think; he flipped his hand, revealing an Impact Dial, and pressed it against the trunk of the large tree where Gan Fall was.
"Impact!"
Boom!
The huge tree trunk, several meters in diameter, exploded violently. Amidst countless flying wood splinters, the surrounding priests also raised their various shells, aiming them at Gan Fall, who was revealed in the tree canopy.
In an instant, surging tongues of fire, waves of impact, and slashes came raining down in an overwhelming assault.
"Hiss!"
Pierre reared his head and whinnied, carrying Gan Fall skyward, dodging the attacks. He didn't entangle himself with the priests but turned directly and flew into the distance.
"It's Gan Fall! Stop him!"
Gedatsu roared, his Breath Dial furiously expelling strong air currents, propelling his body into the air, and he punched towards Gan Fall's back.
Gan Fall leaned forward on Pierre's back, dodging Gedatsu's punch. His spear spun in his hand, whistling as he thrust it towards Gedatsu's throat.
Gedatsu extended his left palm outwards, clutching a perforated Breath Dial in his palm.
*Whoosh!*
Gan Fall's spear struck Gedatsu's left palm, but a furious gust of wind suddenly erupted dozens of meters above the ground, causing his mount to flip in the air, unable to maintain flight balance.
Gedatsu, who had blown Gan Fall away with a Breath Dial, lost his balance and fell from the sky.
At that moment, a spherical, corpulent figure spun rapidly above Gan Fall's head, punching towards Gan Fall, who was unbalanced by the strong wind.
"Shura! You traitor who betrayed your people."
Gan Fall brandished his spear, thrusting it forward to meet the descending fist.
However, in the next instant, a massive impact wave erupted from Shura's fist, pushing Gan Fall's spear downwards and smashing into his body, sending him and his mount crashing to the ground.
Still in mid-air, Gan Fall's armor showed large areas of indentation.
A faint trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"Reject Dial, Shura, you're really willing to go all out. Are you that eager to be that bastard Enel's dog?"
"What's wrong with being a dog? Gan Fall, it's too late for talk now. When you were the God of Skypiea, I was your dog, and I didn't see you having any objections. Now that Lord Enel has become a god, and is a hundred or even a thousand times stronger than you, old man, you suddenly have an opinion."
Shura scoffed at Gan Fall's angry rebuke. His spherical body descended from the sky, pressing down on Gan Fall, who had fallen to the ground.
Gan Fall, who had fallen to the ground, clutched his aching chest and was about to dodge, but Gedatsu, who had landed first, swung both hands, shooting over a dozen web-like "cloud ropes" from the white shell he held, covering Gan Fall and his mount and enveloping them.
Seeing Gan Fall caught in the large net, Shura, who was swooping down from the sky, smiled and raised the shining short blade in his hand.
"Gan Fall, hasn't it been hard these past years, being chased and forced to hide everywhere by Lord Enel? As your former subordinate, I'll be merciful and help you end this fearful life now."
The gleaming short blade was about to pierce Gan Fall's eye when a thin, high-temperature line of fire suddenly shot from a distance, grazing Shura's hand.
Then, Shura saw that the blade of his short knife had disappeared, and the remaining half of the blade became scorching hot and red.
"Who!"
His face changed, and he looked in the direction from which the line of fire had come.
But before he could see the enemy, fierce sounds of battle rapidly erupted from within the dense forest.
"Lord Gedatsu! Lord Shura! It's the Shandians! They're all here!"
"And the Angel Tribe people! Are these people crazy? How dare they launch a full-scale attack on the Holy Land? Do they want to be wiped out by Lord Enel?!"
A large group of blood-stained priests ran over in a frenzy, their faces anxious and furious.
"The Shandians and Angel Tribe launching a full-scale attack on the Holy Land?" Shura and Gedatsu exchanged glances, both finding it hard to believe.
"Are they crazy? Who gave them the courage to make those ant-like fellows think they can contend with the great Lord Enel? Wait!"
A scorch mark on Enel's chest suddenly flashed in Shura's mind.
"Blue Sea people! It must be those Blue Sea people helping those trash. Listen to my command! Don't worry about the Shandians and the Angel Tribe. Our mission is to rush at full speed to the location designated by Lord Enel and eliminate that group of Blue Sea people. Prevent their two groups from joining forces!"
"Yes! Lord Shura!" The priests took their orders and left.
Soon, over a thousand priests, led by Shura and Gedatsu, once again accelerated, rushing towards Rorschach's location.
"Hmph! Trying to team up with the Blue Sea people against Lord Enel? No way! Let us deal with those Blue Sea people first. Hehehe, I think we'll soon see the terrified expressions of the Shandians and the Angel Tribe once they've lost their reliance!"
Beneath the shattered tree, Gan Fall coughed up a few mouthfuls of bloody phlegm, tore off the cloud rope, and stood up from the ground.
He turned around and saw a large number of Shandian warriors armed with spears, and Angel Tribe members with various weapons, charging out from the dense forest. Their numbers were well over a thousand.
Leading the charge were Wiper and Ace.
"Are you okay, Gan Fall?" Wiper glanced at the dented armor on Gan Fall's body.
"I'm fine, just shaken by an Impact Dial." Gan Fall's gaze fell on Ace. "This must be the 'Flame of Hope' Ace you mentioned in the Transponder Snail, right? That high-temperature line of fire just now must have been yours; you saved my life, thank you very much."
"Mr. Gan Fall, you're too kind. Even if I hadn't helped, you probably would have been fine."
Ace smiled.
He didn't know Gan Fall, only having been given some basic information by Wiper and his group, knowing that this old man was the previous God of Skypiea and the leader of the Angel Tribe.
"It seems our surprise attack plan has been exposed. The priests have come out in full force and are heading towards the Blue Sea people's location. Shura and Gedatsu, the two priest captains, must be taking their priests to rendezvous with Enel. What do we do now?"
Laki looked worriedly at the dense forest ahead.
"We can only attack head-on; there's no other way. If it's truly as you suspect, Gan Fall, that Enel wants to sell us to the Blue Sea people as slaves, then it's better to die in battle on this Jaya Island; it would be a return to our homeland."
Wiper clenched his weapon tightly, his face filled with determination.
"That's right! There's no other way! Charge! As long as we can take down Enel, everything will turn around!"
Gan Fall once again mounted Pierre, his pegasus, and tightened his grip on his spear.
"Kill! Chase those priests and kill all of Enel's priests!"
"Brother Ace! Follow me, I'll take you to the Blue Sea person Enel disguised as!"
"Okay!"
Ace didn't hesitate; his lower body transformed into a blazing pillar of fire, propelling him skyward. He followed behind Gan Fall, swiftly rushing towards the *Kirin*'s location.
Below, the Shandian and Angel Tribe warriors, who had joined forces, charged at full speed towards the priestly army ahead, led by Wiper and the others.
For a time, the entire Holy Land forest was filled with shouts of battle.
At this moment, several kilometers above the Holy Land forest, a figure was constantly busy.
The crackling sound of electricity never ceased, continuously emanating from Enel's body and extending in all directions.
With the power of the Goro Goro no Mi fully unleashed, Enel was using his own lightning power to constantly gather the naturally occurring lightning power from Skypiea.
Looking at the vast sea of lightning around him, imbued with terrifying energy and capable of easily covering an area of over a dozen kilometers, the smile on Enel's face grew increasingly unrestrained.
He held his golden staff in his right hand, with a tomoe drum strapped to his back, his bare feet radiating lightning. He truly resembled a god wielding thunder, looking down upon the chaotic land below.
"Hehehehe, hehehehehe! Just wait, little arsonist. I will use this Raigo to show you what despair is, what fear is, what... the power of God is!"
Below in the forest, beside the *Kirin*.
"Why are these guys coming again? Aren't they afraid of death?"
The Marine soldiers aimed their weapons at the charging priests and pulled the triggers.
For a moment, whistling bullets and booming cannonballs roared incessantly.
With just one volley, hundreds of white-robed priests fell.
Thanks to Rorschach's prior warning, the soldiers were already prepared for battle.
The ten cannon ports on the left side of the *Kirin*'s hull were also spewing life-taking cannonballs.
The power of ship-mounted cannons and handheld rocket launchers was naturally completely different.
Especially the cannons on the *Kirin*, which had been specially enlarged and thickened.
A single black cannonball, flying into the crowd, could often blow up more than a dozen people.
This wave of bombardment immediately stunned the entire priestly force, including Gedatsu.
They were native Skypieans and had never experienced the baptism of naval gunfire.
"Huh? Wiper! Something's wrong! Why are Enel's priests fighting those Blue Sea people? Weren't they supposed to be allies?"
Laki, who was chasing the priestly force from behind, quickly noticed the Marine soldiers intensely fighting the priests ahead.
Wiper had obviously noticed this earlier than her, which was why he had been intently watching the Marines' actions on the *Kirin*.
"No! Something seems wrong! These Blue Sea people aren't allied with Enel? Then why would Enel disguise himself as a Blue Sea person?"
He had been staring at Hibari on the *Kirin*, and no matter how he looked, that small woman didn't seem like Enel disguised.
On the *Kirin*.
Shura, as round as a ball, bounced nimbly through the Marine soldiers' encirclement, deftly dodging incoming bullets and cannonballs, then zipped onto the ship's railing. He unleashed an impact wave with a swing of his hand, aiming it at Hibari, who was standing by the railing.
*Thump!*
Like compressed air suddenly released, the impact wave exploded, raising a gust of wind. Hibari's small body was instantly shattered, dispersing into scattered clouds.
This stunned both Shura, who had succeeded, and Wiper, who had been observing from a distance.
But in the next instant, the scattered clouds converged and rapidly changed from white to black. Strands of dazzling electric light intertwined within the dark clouds, forming a lightning net that enveloped Shura's corpulent body in his terrified gaze.
*Crackle, crackle!*
Shura's charred body, emitting black smoke, fell from the *Kirin*'s railing.
"It's lightning! Could it be that woman really is Enel in disguise?" Wiper's eyes widened.
In the air, Ace, flying with Gan Fall, felt an increasingly ominous sensation.
This ominous feeling swelled to its limit when the striking dragon-headed ship on the forest clearing came into his view.
At that moment, a lightning roar appropriately echoed from the large ship below.
Gan Fall immediately pointed at Hibari, who had re-converged from her thundercloud state and transformed back into human form, and shouted at the bewildered Ace, "That woman is Enel, Flame of Hope, please, take him down!"
Ace forced a smile that was uglier than a cry, looking at the tall figure wrapped in a pristine white "Justice" coat standing on the *Kirin*'s deck below.
As if sensing his gaze, the person looked up, and Ace saw the corner of their mouth slowly curving into a smile.
Ace's mind instantly went into a whirl.
What the hell was going on?
Didn't they say they wanted my help to fight that Thunder God Enel?
Why, after all this, did I run into the Marine boy I least wanted to see again?
So, the Thunder God you Shandians were talking about was Rorschach, right?
If I could beat him, would I have been sent flying here by the Knock Up Stream because I was running away?
No!
Why did these Marines also come up to this ten-thousand-meter-high sky?
They even brought their warship up.
They must really want to catch me.
Ace was agonizing over whether to turn and run when he caught a glimpse of Gan Fall beside him, who let out a roar and charged downwards with his spear towards the *Kirin*.
And on the ground, Wiper and the others finally confirmed that Hibari was very likely Enel in disguise.
So, at the same time Gan Fall launched his attack, Wiper's Breath Dial also sprayed a powerful gust of wind, propelling him directly towards the *Kirin*. He held a Seastone handcuff and hurled it directly at Hibari.
"Hey! Gan Fall! Wiper! Wait! They don't seem to be that Thunder God Enel you're talking about. They're Marines, Blue Sea Marines."
Ace weakly extended his hand, wanting to dissuade the two.
But everything happened in a flash, and he couldn't stop them.
In less than a breath, Gan Fall, diving from the sky, and Wiper, rocketing out of the forest, almost simultaneously rushed before the astonished Hibari and launched their attacks.
"As long as I hit him with the Seastone chain, the ability user will be tangible. Then I'll immediately use a Reject Dial on Enel! This time, he has to die!"
Wiper looked like an enraged demon, his aura incredibly fierce and exploding with a relentless determination.
However, in the next instant!
*Hum!*
A powerful aura suddenly erupted from the deck not far away, sweeping across all directions in an instant, transforming into a dark-red energy mass that expanded infinitely.
Tiny strands of dark-red lightning, like a spiderweb, spread out from above the *Kirin*, crackling and covering the sky.
Wiper and Gan Fall, who had just rushed in front of Hibari, felt as if someone had swung a huge hammer at their heads. Their eyes lost focus, their minds went blank, and with two thuds, they fell onto the deck in front of Hibari.
Under the cover of this continuously expanding and sweeping dark-red light mass, centered on the *Kirin*, within a radius of several kilometers of the forest, whether it was the warring Shandians, Angel Tribe members, or priests, or even the wild beasts in the forest, all rolled their eyes, lost consciousness, and were instantly knocked out.
Even ninety-nine percent of the Marine soldiers also felt dizzy and their vision blurry.
If it weren't for having constantly followed Rorschach and become accustomed to his aura, they would have also fallen to the ground, foaming at the mouth, like those before them.
In the vast Holy Land forest, the battlefield, which had been filled with shouts of battle and the roar of guns, instantly fell into a deathly silence.
In the sky, Ace's body transformed into a winding fiery snake and turned to flee.
Fight?
How could he fight?!
This Marine disciple taught by his grandfather was simply an absolute monster.
A single burst of Conqueror's Haki suppressed the entire scene, instantly quelling a battle involving thousands of people.
"What... what happened to me?"
Wiper clutched his dizzy head and struggled to his feet, feeling incredibly heavy.
Beside him, Gan Fall also opened his confused eyes and laboriously stood up.
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
Suddenly, the crisp sound of boots hitting the deck echoed in their ears.
Wiper and Gan Fall both looked up and saw Rorschach, dressed in his pristine white Marine uniform, walk past them and lightly tap his foot.
*CRACK!*
A dazzling bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere. Strands of shimmering electricity flowed across Rorschach's body, and he instantly shot forward, propelled by a strong wind, chasing after the fiery snake rapidly disappearing into the sky.
At the same time!
Thousands of meters high in the sky, thick dark clouds had converged into continuous mountain ranges, stretching across the desolate sky.
Thick bolts of lightning occasionally appeared on the surface of the inky black clouds.
The rumbling of thunder sounded like giant dragons roaring in the clouds.
Faintly, a figure wreathed in lightning, drawing countless thick lightning pillars, hovered beneath that vast expanse of thick dark clouds.
Wiper and Gan Fall looked at Rorschach, who was chasing Ace with lightning power, then looked at the lightning figure floating beneath the dark clouds at the zenith, and then at Hibari not far beside them.
Which one was Enel?!
End of Chapter)
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