"Tsk, what kind of swordsman are you?"
Facing Zoro's question, the tattooed, sunglasses-wearing priest Ohm, who held a giant white longsword, pushed his sunglasses up with his middle finger.
"Swordsman of the Blue Sea, the 'Iron Cloud' in my hand is not only as light as a cloud and as hard as iron, but it can also stretch and change shape..."
"So, the so-called swordsmen of Sky Island are just a bunch of jugglers?"
Zoro couldn't help but complain after crashing into the 'Iron Wall' formed by the opponent's cloud sword during the fierce battle!
Can you so-called swordsmen fight me passionately and properly? Why do you have to use all these strange abilities? A longsword that can transform into a shield, whip, fork, gun... Can't you just use the sword properly?!
Swish, swish, swish.
"Lord Ohm, we're here to help you!"
A dozen 'divine soldiers' leaped down, and at the same time, four Shandian warriors also rushed over.
"Are we the only ones left, Wyper?"
The leader was the Shandian warrior Wyper, whose shoulder injury had already healed. Behind him were the last three warriors.
"It seems the others didn't catch up, but it doesn't matter!"
They had already advanced to the foot of the giant vine. As long as they climbed this skyscraper-like vine, the 'God's' shrine was above! This time, this time!
"The target is right in front of us, take Enel's head!"
"Light the lamp of Shandora!"
"In your dreams!"
The tattooed priest Ohm pushed his sunglasses up with his middle finger. In his mind network, the voices of the other three priests had disappeared, indicating that they had all been defeated.
Boom~~~
Amidst the flying dirt and rocks, the giant snake 'Sky Lord' also charged into the battlefield! But its appearance... It looked inexplicably painful?
"What a disgrace, a bunch of poorly trained guys."
Facing the enemies who had already broken through and arrived in front of him, Priest Ohm waved his hand fiercely.
"Holy, use that move!"
The so-called 'Holy' was a giant dog he had raised.
Following Priest Ohm's command, this giant dog suddenly ran around the battlefield. Circles of white thorny iron clouds rose up with its steps, forming a huge upside-down iron cage that trapped everyone inside, including the giant snake 'Sky Lord'.
Hmm, if Roman were here, he would definitely complain that this is a low-quality knockoff 'birdcage' that doesn't shrink.
"Hahaha, this is Lord Ohm's 'Trial of Iron.'"
"White Thorn Death Game!"
"None of you can escape——"
*Slash!*
With a flash of his blade, Zoro cut down the dedicated commentator soldier with one strike, casually stretching his neck.
"Anyway, I wasn't planning to run."
"You fool, this is the White Thorn——"
Before the next commentator soldier could finish shouting, a large hand covered the back of his head and slammed him into the iron cage behind him.
*Splat!*
"Yeah, once you touch it... it's troublesome."
Wyper nodded calmly, the bloodied soldier falling behind him serving as an example.
???
"Seventeen people and two animals left..."
Kill!!
In an instant, all the creatures in the iron cage lunged at the nearest enemy.
Zoro's target was the master of this place—the priest Ohm, who presided over the Trial of Iron! No matter what these iron cages were, taking down the active enemy first was definitely the right move.
"Two-Sword Style: Hawk Wave!"
"Iron Wall!"
The cloud sword in Ohm's hand instantly transformed into a wall, blocking Zoro's wave-like shockwave. With a flick of his cloud sword, it transformed from a wall into a long whip.
"Iron Whip!"
*Slash——*
The weapon, sharp as a blade and flexible as a whip, instantly swept across the battlefield, leaving a long crack in the ground! Zoro had already dodged.
"Blue Sea man, your attacks are too simple."
"Your sword's range is only two meters around you, while my cloud sword extends for dozens of meters. It can transform into a solid shield for defense or attack. You can't..."
"Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are the six senses of humans,"
"Plus good, evil, and neutral! Each has its own purity and pollution, making thirty-six troubles in a lifetime..."
???
We're in the middle of a fight, why are you reciting poetry?
Priest Ohm was speechless, thinking this made them look uncultured!
"My sword is already aimed at your heart, pray to the gods——"
"Thirty-six troubles in one life, seventy-two troubles in the second life, one hundred and eight troubles in the third life..."
"Die!!!"
The furious Priest Ohm swung his cloud sword, like waves crashing and splitting gold and stone, attacking Zoro, who had assumed a three-sword stance!
"One Hundred and Eight Calamities!"
Zoro spun rapidly, his body and swords rotating together, the sword energy from his three blades forming a massive wheel of destruction, cutting everything in its path!
With one strike! The spinning blade's force grew stronger and faster, the resulting hurricane deafening! In an instant, it shredded the cloud sword, said to be stronger than steel, into pieces! Then, without stopping, it charged forward like a ravenous dragon.
"How could this be——"
The attack was too fast, the blade's range too wide!
Priest Ohm could only let out an incredulous cry before his entire body was torn apart by the blade storm, blood splattering as he was sent flying!
A flying slash, a one-hit kill.
————————
"Paper Dance - Maple Forest!"
*Swish swish swish——*
Sheets of white paper flew and spun, like high-speed cutting wheels slicing through the air! Not to mention mere flesh and blood, even a steel robot would be shredded into a pile of scrap metal. But:
"With just these tricks, you want to challenge me?"
Letting the paper spin and cut through his body, Enel looked calmly at the boy full of fighting spirit in front of him.
"Then give it a try!"
Roman, holding a single sword, suddenly charged at Enel, who stood still. At the same time, the white paper flying around the battlefield formed chains that grabbed at the feet of the white figure standing still.
"Childish."
The golden staff in Enel's hand struck the Tomoe drum on his right shoulder, and a giant bird-shaped thunder beast suddenly pounced out.
"30 million volts? Thunderbird."
Facing the huge thunderbird rushing towards him, Roman didn't dodge. He crossed his arms in front of him and met it head-on!
Crackle!!
In an instant, Roman's entire body was covered in blue lightning, with stray bolts exploding and shooting out. His skin sizzled with the winding currents, lifting as if it would crack and shatter into ashes at any moment.
Lifting?!
"Oh, using the insulation of paper."
Enel raised his eyelids indifferently. Under his Mantra that covered the entire Sky Island, he had long known Roman's fruit ability.
"Unfortunately, the paper's inability to withstand high temperatures means you have no chance against me."
"Electric Light!"
Even though Roman's charging speed was too fast for an ordinary person to react, Enel could still leisurely send out lightning from his fingertips, converting it into light and heat, and this:
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle,
The paper on Roman's body quickly turned black, carbonized, and then turned to ashes!
Even 'Life Paper' couldn't last long under such high temperatures, but as long as he got close, he would at least have a chance to fight.
"Slash!"
Roman's single sword fell like lightning, but in front of Enel, the true embodiment of lightning, this speed was still not enough. With just a thought, he could instantly—
?
Clang!
The paper sword and the golden staff clashed fiercely, and Enel's eyes swept over, immediately understanding.
"Nice little trick."
"Embedding metal in the paper, then linking them together and grounding them."
The two weapons were firmly pressed together, Roman giving his all, while Enel still had the leisure to speak.
"In other words, if I try to 'elementalize' and teleport away, the current will inevitably be conducted into the ground by these 'wires' in an instant."
"A clever trick, but even so, it's just a stretch for me."
Enel's 'kind' explanation was just to break Roman's will. Roman knew this, and so did Enel. But what Enel didn't know was:
"I'm not fighting alone."
Whoosh!
As the two clashed, a whirlwind of yellow sand suddenly swept into the battlefield! Unfortunately, Nami wasn't Crocodile, so this sand could only deal with ordinary people. To Enel, it wasn't even worth dodging—
!!??
In an instant, the sand fell on Enel's bare upper body, making his face change drastically!
Opportunity,
Roman's paper sword twisted and turned, aiming for Enel's chest! Just as the blade touched Enel's skin, a blinding light flashed before his eyes! Only the blazing white light remained.
Boom—thud,
The charred Roman was sent flying, and in the center of the battlefield, a figure surrounded by thunder stood proudly!
His entire body was engulfed in lightning, with countless thunder snakes writhing and drilling around him, instantly spreading in all directions, weaving into a dense lightning barrier. The 'ground wires' Roman had set up melted and broke in the high temperature in an instant!
(Simplified Version - Thunder God)
As Enel himself said, it's indeed unrealistic to think that mere earth could conduct away his power.
"Cough, cough, hahaha~~~"
However, Roman, who was sent flying, got up, with charred pieces of paper peeling off and new ones forming to cover his body.
"This,"
He raised the golden staff in his hand.
"I'll take it."
As the paper on his palm opened its large mouth, Enel's weapon bid him farewell.
"Just now,"
The 'God' whose face had fallen didn't care about a mere staff, but rather about the weakness just now...
"Just as I suspected, you can only 'hear' my thoughts, but not others'."
Why is that?
Of course, it's because Roman is the only one on this island who knows Enel's true strength, making him the most 'fearful'. His constant, intense thoughts about Enel allowed Enel to clearly 'hear' his thoughts.
As for the others—who is Enel? They don't know... Just like:
Nami behind him!
"I see, you entrusted the most important part of the plan to the girl behind you."
Enel instantly understood the key point, which was in the yellow sand that flew over just now—
"Sea Stone particles."
Roman sighed,
"Unfortunately, it can only suppress your power for a moment, otherwise..."
"Childish tricks,"
Enel wiped his chest, and a touch of red made his face serious.
"Looks like I need to get serious."
————————
PS:
I thought I had hinted clearly enough that Enel can only occasionally hear others' thoughts during battle (as in the original), but because Roman constantly and intensely thought about Enel, he could read Roman's thoughts. —It's like the difference between a whisper and a repeated loudspeaker broadcast.
And Nami didn't even know what Roman gave her to throw in the yellow sand, so Enel got hit on the spot. (Superpowers can affect seawater and Sea Stone, refer to Golden Lion controlling seawater. Nami's ability relies on the book, she herself is not afraid of Sea Stone.)
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