"Karl, how is it?"
Seeing Karl return on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with no trace of battle on him, Karina secretly let out a breath and asked.
"Just as I guessed—King of Lies Noland wasn't just a fairy tale."
Karl slid down from the dragon's back, grinning. "The Golden City most likely exists, and its location is actually Jaya! A portion of Jaya that held the Golden City was blasted up here by the Knock Up Stream four hundred years ago."
He turned and pointed toward Upper Yard. "I saw land in that direction."
"Jaya? The Golden City?!"
Robin—new to the crew and unfamiliar with their earlier voyage—arched a brow, surprised. "A landmass ten thousand meters above sea level… incredible."
"Fantastic—we're going to be rich!"
Nami, on the other hand, cheered outright.
"Karl, when do we head out to find the gold?"
"Any time. How about right now?"
He spoke casually, then exchanged a look with Karina.
Catching on, Karina nodded at once. "Now it is. We'll search for the gold first and explore the Sky Islands afterward."
"Alright—cast off!"
Under the lure of the Golden City, Angel Island's charms plummeted to zero for the navigator.
They raised anchor and, with Karl guiding, drove the three-masted ship straight toward Upper Yard.
"So he already knows Upper Yard's history—and about the gold. No wonder he wasn't surprised at all when he saw it…"
Enel, who had been monitoring Karl, lounged on a long sofa, eating an apple while a divine attendant served him. "Go. Tell Gedatsu to head over."
"Yes, God."
When the attendant withdrew, Enel's lazy face curled into a chilling smile. "Since they avoided the cloud road and broke the rules, they can be ready for the trial to be doubled. The Four Priests' trials—don't let me down."
Ever since destroying his homeland, seizing the Sky Island, and occupying Upper Yard, Enel had stopped training, save for the occasional drill with the priests.
He felt too invincible.
With his lightning body and Mantra blanketing the entire Sky Island, Enel could judge and smite "ants" at will. Boredom followed invincibility, and he began building the Ark Maxim to depart for the Endless Varse.
Until the Ark was complete, Enel tolerated outsiders coveting the gold, and even the Shandians trying to reclaim Upper Yard.
They were toys to amuse a god.
That was why he hadn't struck Karl when Karl flew over Upper Yard, nor when the ship bypassed the proper trial route.
But as punishment for skipping the trial road: where one priest would have sufficed, now all four would descend.
"Karl, why'd you bring the stone coffin ashore?"
When the ship reached Upper Yard and dropped anchor along the coast, the little dragon became the Blue-Eyes again, shouldered a black stone coffin stuffed with fruit, and flew it onto the beach.
Nami and Perona stared, baffled.
Robin, who knew the secret, was thoughtful.
"Less talking—let's go find the gold!"
Karina flicked Nami on the forehead, then dragged the other two into the forest.
"Robin, I'm counting on you to watch them."
Karl didn't follow. He vaulted onto the Blue-Eyes and called down, "Four decent auras are heading this way. Nami, do not take a single step away from Karina and Perona."
"I'll go greet their boss."
The dragon roared, wings thundered, and they were airborne.
"So—you sensed me?"
Because Enel's Mantra covered the island, Karl hadn't dared say much back on Angel Beach. His sudden launch made Enel sit up.
"Could that Blue Sea boy have Mantra as well?"
Watching the dragon arrow toward his position, Enel decided the answer was yes.
"Interesting. A Blue Sea man with Mantra who can find this god? A first."
"Very well—let's play. See how far you get before you stand before my divinity."
Enel raised his right hand. Blue-white lightning flared along his wrist and forearm, then detached and vanished.
A moment later—over Upper Yard.
The sky above the rushing Blue-Eyes lit with searing blue-white light, and, with no clouds gathering, a pillar of lightning coalesced and dropped.
"Too slow."
From formation to strike took seconds—swift, with all the tyranny of thunder.
But to Karl it crawled.
Without a word, the Blue-Eyes poured will into flesh, Life Return perfecting control of that massive body, and pushed its speed to the limit.
As the godbolt descended, the dragon vanished from the targeting line.
"What speed—worthy of this god's chosen mount."
The pillar slammed into the forest below, detonations and thunder rolling.
Enel wasn't angry; his delight only grew. He wanted that dragon more than ever.
He again sent lightning streaming from his hand.
Thunder boomed across a cloudless sky.
This time, hundreds of bolts fanned out and fell.
For hundreds of meters the world became a lightning hell.
Each bolt hit hard enough to char a man; the weak would die on impact. Either way, any wooden sailer not made of Adam would be reduced to splinters and cinders—much like a casual laser from Kizaru.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was that strong.
It was also why Karl had gone to Alabasta to learn the Nefertari method for passing down Devil Fruits.
Because—
the Rumble-Rumble was being wasted on Enel.
A near-invincible fruit like this belonged with Karl.
Watching lightning pour like rain, Karl still didn't strike back.
He patted the Blue-Eyes' neck and smiled. "Show me you haven't been slacking."
The dragon roared.
Its wings darkened with Armament Haki, speed ticked higher still, and its Observation Haki unfolded to read the fall of each bolt. Like a razor-edged Soru carved through the air, it left black-and-white trails, slipping the storm with ease.
In a few blinks, they were clear of the lightning field.
Twice denied, Enel liked the dragon more—but his face soured.
Once was a favor. Twice was an affront to a god.
He decided he'd kill the boy—and then tame the dragon.
A few minutes earlier, in the forest of Upper Yard—
Nami and Perona, pulled along by Karina, glanced up as the dragon passed.
"Where are they going? I thought we were hunting gold together," Nami whispered.
"Shhh."
Karina lifted a finger to her lips, expression severe.
Nami clapped a hand over her own mouth—and, on reflex, over Perona's as well.
They walked in silence beneath the trees.
Thunder began, distant, then nearer.
Karina finally exhaled. "Looks like Karl's engaged the island's ruler."
"What's going on?" Nami and Perona asked at once.
"Just as I suspected—there's a powerful lord here."
Karina folded her arms, ready to throw up a barrier at any moment. "He has Observation Haki like Karl—maybe even sharper—and can eavesdrop."
"You're kidding!" Nami's eyes went wide. "Karl's sensing can cover a small island. Stronger than Karl, and able to eavesdrop—that's like a god's gaze!"
"Likely aided by a Devil Fruit."
Seeing nothing fall from the sky or move in the brush, Karina relaxed a fraction and analyzed. "The sky hasn't changed, so that thunder is man-made. That strong one's ability should be lightning."
"Eyes up—we've got company."
Robin, who'd been quietly scouting with her power, spoke.
"All who set foot on God's Island are sinners!"
"Those who defy the rules of the Trials—unforgivable!"
"Rejoice, invaders… you are blessed to be judged beneath God's eyes, and to force all four of us to move at once."
"This is the Trial of the Four Priests. We shall mete out the verdict. Your sins will be washed away by our hands!"
Four voices rang from different quarters of the forest—two men, two others—each as theatrically portentous as the next.
Nami, who didn't know what "chuuni" was, was spooked and pressed closer to Karina. "Who's there? Show yourselves!"
"As you wish, invader—"
With a shriek of air, four figures lit atop the surrounding treetops, forming a square around the girls. Tall and short, fat and thin, each bore white wings on his back.
They were second only to Enel on Sky Island, charged with testing and judging all who trespassed on Upper Yard—the Four Priests:
Gedatsu of the Swamp,
Shura of the String,
Satori of the Orbs,
Ohm of the Iron.
In the first half of the Grand Line, few indeed wielded Haki. These were among them.
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I have published a new novel. You can check it out on my profile. The title is:
One Piece: The Strongest Creature Started with the Dark-Dark Fruit
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