I?" Kai thought to himself. Even Enel, the so-called "god," was someone he casually toyed with. And now they wanted him to go in and handle these small fry?
That'd be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—or an atomic bomb to swat a fly!
Naturally, he wanted the others to take on these trials. It would help them grow, after all. He wasn't going to step in unless there was real benefit for them.
"Alright, you guys handle this! I've got my own business to take care of," Kai said, his figure vanishing in an instant.
"Wait, Kai! What do we do without you?" Usopp yelled, but by then, Kai was already long gone.
"Ch-Chopper, how about you take this trial?" Usopp stammered.
"No way!" Chopper shook his head vigorously.
"You two can take your time figuring it out. Robin and I are heading out," Nami said, pulling out her map and starting toward the altar of sacrifices. She and Robin left Usopp and Chopper behind without a second glance.
"Wait, what about us?" Usopp cried.
Nami turned back with a sly smile. "You're a man, right? You've got this!"
As Nami and Robin disappeared into the distance, Usopp grew more and more panicked. He turned to Chopper nervously. "How about we just follow them?"
Chopper's eyes lit up. "That sounds good!" But then, he hesitated. "But… won't they look down on us for following?"
"Well, I'm just a reindeer, so it's not a big deal for me," Chopper said, trying to reason with himself. "I'm the crew's pet, after all. But you? You're human."
Usopp stared at Chopper in disbelief. Since when did his innocent pet know how to use psychological tactics? He couldn't believe it. When did he become so cunning?
But Usopp wasn't going to back down. He was Captain Usopp, after all! He couldn't let himself get shown up.
"Fine, Chopper. You stay here, and I'll go on ahead," Usopp said, feigning confidence. "There definitely won't be any giant monsters here, no deadly weapons like Kai mentioned, and certainly no gods lurking around. You'll be fine."
With that, Usopp nervously walked toward the Swamp Trial.
"Monsters? Weapons? Gods?" Chopper repeated, feeling a sudden chill. He tried to reassure himself. "Usopp's right. Nothing scary like that could possibly be here, haha..."
Suddenly, Chopper heard a soft rustling in the grass behind him. Stiffly, he turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw something moving.
o((⊙_⊙))o
"U-Usopp, wait for me!" Chopper screamed, instantly transforming into his reindeer form and bolting after Usopp, tears streaming down his face.
A moment later, a tiny bird hopped out of the grass, tilting its head in confusion.
"Huh? I've been walking forever, and the priest still hasn't shown up," Zoro muttered, trudging through the Iron Trial's dense forest.
"And what happened to the Cloud River? It was just here!" Zoro scratched his head. "Does the river… move?"
Not for a second did he suspect he might be lost.
Just then, Zoro felt a disturbance. Instinctively, he jumped to the side.
In the spot where Zoro had just stood, something heavy crashed into the ground, creating a massive hole.
"What is this? A cloud?" Zoro muttered.
"Indeed, that's Iron Cloud," came a voice.
Zoro turned toward the sound and saw a bald man sitting atop a massive dog, holding a strange weapon. The cloud-like mass that had attacked him was slowly retracting into the weapon.
"Are you the priest of the Iron Trial?" Zoro asked, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
"Correct. I'm Ohm, and I oversee the Iron Trial, where the survival rate is 0%."
"Zero, huh? Guess that'll change today," Zoro said with a grin.
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it," Ohm replied coldly. "Holy, go and see what this swordsman is made of."
At Ohm's command, the large dog growled and charged toward Zoro.
Unfazed, Zoro casually drew his sword, and with one effortless swing, sent a massive wave of sword energy flying toward the dog.
The dog, who had been baring its teeth just a moment ago, immediately panicked upon seeing the attack. It turned tail and sprinted back toward Ohm, faster than it had charged.
But there was no escaping Zoro's sword strike. The energy slashed through the air, hitting the dog dead-on. The beast froze in place.
A split second later, blood sprayed everywhere, and the dog collapsed with a thud.
"Holy!" Ohm shouted in shock, rushing to the side of his fallen companion. But it was too late. The dog had been killed instantly.
Zoro cleaned his ear lazily. "You were saying something about it knowing how to fight? That's impressive," he said sarcastically.
Ohm stood over the body of his dog, his eyes blazing with fury. "You… How dare you harm my holy beast! You'll pay for this!"
"Oh, I'll pay, huh?" Zoro smirked, his hand tightening around his sword.
With a roar, Ohm launched another Iron Cloud attack at Zoro. Zoro blocked it, sliding back several meters before countering with another powerful slash.
But this time, Ohm dodged, leaping lightly to the side.
Zoro's eyes narrowed. That wasn't just speed... He's using Haki.
Zoro had noticed the subtle movements Ohm made—he had dodged before the attack had even fully formed. It was Observation Haki.
"Interesting," Zoro muttered under his breath, a grin forming on his face. "Looks like I'll be using you for some practice. Maybe this'll push me far enough to awaken my own Observation Haki."
Zoro's eyes gleamed, his gaze fixed on Ohm as though the priest was now his prey.
-------------------------------
Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.