The CHILDREN Set Sail!
Disclaimer: One Piece is mine~~~!
Normama: Luffy, don't use that as the first thing you say; you're going to make a lot of people misunderstand!
Luffy: Huh? How?
Normama: … …Never mind~! Readers please don't misunderstand; I don't claim ownership over One Piece or Zettai Karen Children! Luffy was talking about the treasure known as One Piece…
Luffy: What else I could be talking about?
Normama: … … …Moving on~!
We last left the crew of the Little Crow facing a new obstacle on their way to the Sacrificial Altar. Before them is giant statue with four entrances. Above each of them are titles: Ordeal of Swamp, Ordeal of Iron, Ordeal of Strings, and Ordeal of Spheres.
Though Kaoru and Aoi question the meaning behind the titling, they remain on relatively high alert. As special government Espers, they had the privilege of knowing first-hand what it's like to be fooled by appearances alone.
"…So which one are going for?" Aoi wondered nervously as she continues to eye the paths.
"Let's go with spheres!" Luffy glee as he pointed to the path titled Ordeal of Spheres, "Doesn't it sound fun~!?"
"F-Fun!?" Aoi sweat dropped; she should have been used to it by now but she have to come to trusted Luffy with seeing only the bright side of a dire situation.
"This is a trail!" Usopp exclaimed, "How can it be fun? … …Is what I want to say, but I would choose spheres too…"
"Oh~?" Kaoru snickered in mockery, "So you think it sounds fun too~?"
"That's not it; among the choices given here, it's the only one that does sound so violent…at least to me…"
"Looks can be deceiving," Aoi reminded, "Not that I'm disagreeing with you though; I don't feel so comfortable with the idea of undergoing an ordeal involving a swamp…"
"Yeah, I mean all Swamp makes me think is…"
A quick image of Usopp crying for help as he quickly sank underneath the surface of quicksand flashes through everyone's minds.
"And I'm talking about the kind of sinking you don't come back up from…"
"Okay," Luffy nodded, "So what about iron?"
Everyone thought about it for a while before the image of them sailing away in fright as iron anvils fell from the sky after them flashes through everyone's thoughts.
"NO THANK YOU~!" Usopp shook his head in fright, "WAY too scary~~!"
"Iron could mean anything too," Kaoru noted, "like blades or spears…"
"That makes it worse!" Aoi exclaimed as a quick image of swords and spears raining down on them popped into everyone's minds.
"Fine, string then," Luffy offered.
"…Strings makes it seems like I'm getting entangle…"
"D-Depending on how it turns out, it might not be so bad~!" Kaoru drooled as an image of Aoi tangle up in ropes in a turtle-shell style tying flashed through her head.
"Get your HEAD out of the gutter!" Aoi comically dope slapped her redhead friend.
"…I don't know about you kids," Usopp muttered in thought as he instead imagines himself scaling across a huge drop to the ocean many meters below on a single ropeway, "but NO way! It sound so harmless, it's probably the worse!"
"Sphere is the only I'm not quite sure how that could be threatening, admittedly…"
"Well, when you think about it," Kaoru chimed, "It could end up like those Indian Jones' scenes!"
"… … …You don't mean like a boulder is tumbling after us from behind, right?"
"Yeah, like that!"
A quick image of the boat speeding down the river of clouds while a large boulder-like chase after them appeared in everyone's mind.
"…U-Ugh, come to think of it," Usopp whimpered in thought, "Sphere doesn't sound all that safe either~! … … …Maybe we should think this over…"
"I don't think so, Usopp," Aoi sighed.
"We don't have time for a debate anymore," Sanji noted as the boat continue to close in of the pathways, "we're right on top of it…"
"Right!" Luffy pumped his arms, "Sphere it is then!"
Usopp grumbled before sighing in resignation. "Okay, I guess we just have to trust Luffy's instinct on this one…"
"Then it's decided," Aoi finalized, "Just don't let your guard down, everyone!"
"Yeah, we're on God's Island," Sanji reminded, "Ten Thousand Meters above sea level. No one knows what kind of strange things are going to happen…"
"Let's go~!" Luffy and Kaoru cheered, "The Ordeal of Spheres~!"
"Got it," Usopp nodded as he directed the dinky into the tunnel label "Ordeal of Spheres…"
"Oi, Oi! Chauffeur!" Aoi tapped Usopp's shoulder when she notice Usopp had closed his eyes in fright as soon as they enter the tunnel, "Don't close your eyes now!"
Usopp slowly opened his eyes in response. "Wah~~! It's still dark with them open~!"
"…Ah, hey guys," Luffy suddenly called, "what if this is like one of those games?"
"…? What?" Kaoru blinked in confusion as everyone turn to Luffy.
"You know how there were four doors? One of them is a prize door, and the rest of them are all losing doors! If you pick the right one, you get a prize. But if you pick the wrong one…"
"Ah~! I see-! Wait!"
"Huh!?" Usopp exclaimed in understanding as well, "What the hell!? Why are you saying that NOW, Luffy!? What will happen if we picked the wrong one!?"
Kaoru thought about for a moment, before sweating nervously. "…Y-You don't think we'll probably fall off Sky Island, do you?''
"Ah, yeah!" Luffy nodded, "That's probably it-!"
"Screw that!" Usopp exclaimed, "HOW can you say something so STUPID!? I'm not FALLING off anything! It's TEN THOUSAND meters from here to the Blue Sea! You know how many times your LIFE would FLASH before your eyes DURING THAT FALL!? Even FALLING has to have a LIMIT!"
"Of course you would know," Aoi chuckled, readjusting her glasses, "You nearly did!"
"Why aren't YOU panicking!?"
"That's because she knows better," Sanji noted, "So enough about this dumb shit! There's no way that-!"
But as Sanji said that, they exit the tunnel to find that there was a steep drop of the Cloud Road. The only thing below that sudden drop seems to be ordinary clouds.
…
… …
… … …
"…!" Everyone on board gasped a wild-take in comical horror as they began falling.
"NO~~~~~~!" Aoi and Usopp screamed (for the last time) in terror, "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING~~~~~~!"
It was only minutes later when they finally crashed with a big splash back into the blue seas, killing everyone instantly…
…I'm kidding. Don't worry for all of you first timers to One Piece, they're alright. Just below the regular clouds were the sea clouds, where they landed with a splash. As for everyone aboard, they were all gapping for breath, trying to relax their fast-beating hearts.
"…W-We're alive?" Sanji manages between coughs and breath.
"…I-I-I-I thought~," Usopp's face was completely drenched in his own tears, "I seriously thought…we were really falling Ten Thousand meters…"
"…That's because SOMEBODY had to make up a DUMBASS story to SCARE us, huh Luffy!" Sanji angrily kicked Luffy's head, despite his "near-death" experience, "Did you say all those MISLEADING shit on purpose, huh you bastard!?"
Luffy, on the other hand, laughed his head off upon recovery, earning several more kicks in the head from the overwhelmed Sanji. "I was so~ scared too~! I thought I was going to die~!"
"D-D-Damn it, Kaoru!" Aoi wailed at her redhead friend, comically shaking her by the shoulder, "At that moment, you could have used your powers to keep us from dropping!"
"GEH-! W-W-What about you!?" Kaoru argued, shaking her glasses-wearing friend by the shoulder, "Why didn't you teleport us to safety at that moment!?"
"Ugh-!" Aoi managed before comically crying, "I-I-I was scared~! It caught me off guard and I couldn't think straight~!"
Kaoru suddenly hugged Aoi, before also comically crying. "WAAH~~! Me too~!"
"… …Okay, calm down you two," Sanji sweat dropped as he watch the two comically wailed in each other's arm, "Stop! That's enough; you're making yourselves more pathetic than Usopp here…"
"Hey!" Usopp comically shouted in retaliation, "Who's pathetic!?"
"…Anyway," Sanji turn to look at their new surroundings, "…Where are we?"
"Oh~~!" Luffy cheered in shock, "Spheres! Lots of Spheres~!"
Kaoru and Aoi soon managed to stop crying to get a look at their surroundings and gasped in awe. They were still on the Milky Road in the midst of a large ancient forest, by now there tons of floating Spheres scatter about.
"Those spheres looks like they're made of Island Clouds," Aoi observed.
"Amazing!" Kaoru awed, "If I didn't know better, I would say they're gigantic snowballs~!"
"Yeah, that's what I thought too!" Luffy eagerly cheered.
Sanji glared ahead pass the floating spheres. "Hmm~! Looks like the Milky Road goes up and down amongst those trees…"
"And I thought freeways are laid out strangely," Aoi commented.
"…What kind of ordeal would be in a place like this?" Luffy suddenly noted as they continued on the Milky Road.
"Good question," Kaoru noted as she eyes the floating spheres, "When I saw these things, I thought they could be related, but since nothing is happen…"
"It'll be nice if nothing happens," Sanji sighed.
"Yeah~," Aoi sweat dropped, "Not likely…especially after we just went through to get here…"
"My thought exactly…"
"Did we make it?" Luffy asked excited, "Did we picked the right one!? We'd probably be suffering some gruesome fate right now if we had chosen another path!"
"…Ah-! Yeah!" Usopp blinked in understanding, "That's probably true!"
"Right~!?"
"Idiots!" Sanji huffed unamused, "Don't let your guard down!"
"For starters," Aoi added, "why would they make a prize door for criminals?"
"Yeah, just think about it a little! There may be traps like earlier…"
"Or the ordeal has to do with testing how much luck we have and they'll judge whether we're worth the effort to trial personally?" Kaoru offered.
Aoi sweat dropped. "What kind of ordeal is that~?"
"Anyway, stay sharp," Sanji warned, "Let's just keep moving forward with that in mind…"
"I'm thirsty," Luffy scratched his throat, ""let's have some tea~!"
"EH!?" Kaoru gave Luffy a blank stare, "We brought tea!?"
"Yeah, in the backpack!"
"It's not a bad idea," Usopp hummed, "There should be some Rice Crackers in there too; let's have some of that too~!"
"Ah~!" Kaoru smiled in agreement as she dug into the backpack and pulled out a back of rice crackers, "Sounds good-!"
"EVERYONE!" Aoi exclaimed in disbelief at the idea they could calmly be setting up a rice cracker party at a time like this.
"…? What? Can't we have some Sky Island Rice Crackers?"
"That's not the point!" Sanji exclaimed in the same manner as Aoi, "Listen here! I'm going to take the wheel, so you all keep a lookout in all direction!"
"Wow~!" Kaoru noted as she glances over the side of the ship, "We're really sailing high above the ground…"
"…Ugh~! They're not listening~!" Aoi sighed in defeat as she turns to Sanji, who was glaring around in suspicion, "…? What's wrong?"
"…Well, this is strange," Sanji noted.
"Of course this situation is strange. I expected a disaster once we got here…"
"Well, that's just it. Pagaya say that there're four priests back when he told us about the ordeal, remember?"
"…? Yeah! So?"
"So I figure each of those paths should lead us to one of them, but I don't see anyone like a priest here…"
"…Ah~!" Aoi glared about, "That makes sense…"
"Was I wrong?"
"No, that sounds about right given the situation," Aoi hummed in thought.
"Oi~! Usopp~!" Luffy, with a rice cracker in his mouth, called as he suddenly toss a nearby Cloud Sphere over to Usopp, "Catch~!"
"You got it!" Usopp, with a rice cracker in his mouth, nodded as he prepares to receive the Cloud Sphere.
"Ah! Usopp!" Kaoru, also with a rice cracker in her mouth, "Pass it to me next~!"
"Alright~!"
"I said to be on lookout!" Sanji comically raged at the three.
At the time though, as the Cloud Sphere inched closer over to Usopp, Aoi suddenly sense something. Being a teleporter allows her to detect certain spatial distortion, in other words her sense have been heighten so that she can "see" things others mostly miss or things that are obscure. In this case, she senses something moving inside the cloud sphere.
"Usopp! Watch out!" Aoi called to her long-nose friend.
"Eh-?" Usopp managed just as the cloud sphere burst open and a snake sprang out, aiming to bite Usopp in the face, "GYAH~~~!'
"EH~~~!?" Kaoru and Luffy exclaimed in comically shock.
"What!?" Sanji managed as Usopp ducked out of the way of the bite, "A snake!?"
"Get out of here!" Kaoru then aimed a psychic-empowered kick at the cloud sphere, sending it and the snake off into the distance.
"Damn!" Luffy panted in a daze, "That scared me! What the hell!?"
"Hey, Sanji!" Usopp exclaimed in terror as he pointed pass Sanji, "In front! A Cloud Sphere!"
Sanji turn in time to see a Cloud Sphere in their path.
"Kick it far away!"
"Damn it!" Sanji swore as he prepares to aim a kick at the path-blocking Cloud Spheres, "Are these floating things all snake eggs-!?"
"Ah-! Wait, Sanji-han!" Aoi called as Sanji's foot collided with the Cloud Sphere, "That's not a-!"
BOOM~~~! The Cloud Sphere exploded upon contact with Sanji's attack, leaving everyone aboard the Little Crow comically smothering from the rupture.
"… … …It was a bomb this time!?" Kaoru coughed.
"You knew what was inside, Aoi!?" Sanji managed.
"Well, kind of," Aoi managed as she cleaner her glasses, "With my powers I could vaguely tell what's inside; at least I knew it wasn't a snake this time…"
"Why didn't you say anything!?"
"Excuse me! Your foot move faster than I can stop you!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THESE SPHERES!?" Usopp exclaimed in comical rage.
"…Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~!" A laughter suddenly echoed overhead, "Silly children~! It's fun not knowing what'll come out~! These are called 'Surprise Clouds~!"
"…!? Who's there!?"
Everyone glared up to find a round-shaped man with fair skin and long, dark red hair. He is clad in a white, full-body jumpsuit, which has a vertical line of golden rings that run from front to back, an orange hat similar in style to a Roman Hat, orange gloves, shoes, and large, yellow sunglasses that completely obscure his eyes. He also has wings projecting from his back like other people on Skypiea.
"Heso~!" The man laughed in greeting as he playfully dance about on top of his Cloud Sphere, "Welcome to my Ordeal of Spheres~! Hoh-Hoh-Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~~!"
"… …Is that a talking dumpling?" Kaoru sweat dropped as she and everyone else stared stupefied at the person.
"… …I don't even know how to respond to that," Aoi face-palmed with a sweat dropped.
"That's a Priest," Sanji managed, perplexed since the person didn't fit his image of what he had in mind.
"Yours!?" Luffy exclaimed angrily, "So this is your Ordeal of Spheres!?"
The man continues to dance silly on his Cloud Sphere, laughing a strange tune.
"… …Stop dancing!" Sanji comically yelled when the man didn't answer, "Who the hell are you!?"
The man ignored Sanji's demand and continues to dance silly on his Cloud Sphere, laughing the strange tune.
"Got to say," Usopp managed, "He's not as bright as I expected…"
"…Looks can be deceiving," Aoi mumbled as she ready her katanas, "…At least that's what I like to believe…"
"Hey~, dumpling~!" Kaoru suddenly called to the guy.
"D-Dumpling!? Are you really going to call him that!?"
"Are Nami and the others alright~!?"
"You mean the Sacrifices~?" the man finally responds, though he dance silly on top of his Surprise Cloud, "In that case, I don't know. They'll probably die if they're left alone. But even if they escape, they'll still die…"
"What did you say!?" Sanji exclaimed in rage.
"Hoh-Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~! You should be more worried about yourselves~!" the man suddenly declared as he suddenly somersaulted towards them, "I'll say it clearly: if you can't beat me, you can't move forward~!"
"…!? I-It's coming!" Usopp screeched in fright, "Luffy! Do it! Kick his ass!"
"Okay!" Luffy began winding up his right arm, "I'll knock him down! Gum-Gum—!"
"Hoh, you're going to stretch, eh?" the Priest suddenly noted and began curving his body slightly to his right.
"Eh—PISTOL!" Though startled by the Priest's words, Luffy nevertheless launched his attack. But because of the Priest's earlier body-adjusting movement, Luffy's attack missed him by a huge margin. "What-!?"
The priest, in response, laughed triumphantly as sent his open left hand into Luffy's face. No sooner did the open palm made contact that Luffy is suddenly sent rocketing in an uncontrollable spiral towards one of the trees, where he slump into unconscious.
"…!?" Aoi soundlessly gasped in shock. The movement looked no different from a punch at best. Yet not only had Luffy, apparently, been damaged by it but the force was powerful enough to knock him out.
"Luffy!?" Sanji exclaimed in shock as well.
"Ah-! Luffy's hat!" Kaoru exclaimed, having noticed that during the attack, Luffy's prize straw hat was sent flying off.
"Going after a mere hat now~?" the Priest sneered as swung his outstretched arms upward…towards Kaoru who had leaped after the hat.
"…What-!?" Kaoru managed as she just grasped onto the rim of the straw hat.
"How utterly foolish~~!" Immediately, Kaoru felt some sort of strong pain blasting through her body, as if a shock wave had went on to damage only her internal organs.
"—GAH!?" Kaoru managed as she was sent rocketing into the air before falling relatively around the same place as Luffy, also unconscious. Granted, she somehow still managed to have a firm grip on the hat until hit land.
"KAORU~~!" Aoi exclaimed in shock and worried.
"Hey, are you two alright~!?" Usopp called as well down towards their fallen comrades, "And Luffy, what happen!? How can you get hurt from a simple punch when you're immune to it!?"
"Punch~? The Priest noted, soundly slightly offended, "There's a little difference~…"
"What's the difference!?" Sanji roared as he prepared to attack.
"Hoh~! A kick from the upper right, huh~…"
"Collier—What!?" Sanji noted in surprise, but that gave the Priest the opening he needs to stretch out his right hand into Sanji's face, "Impossible! This guy can predict my movements—!?"
"A power given only to those who practice the art—Mantra!"
No sooner did the Priest finished Sanji was sent flying away in the same manner as Kaoru and Luffy.
"Ah! Sanji—! Usopp managed as the Priest's right closed in towards his head.
"Usopp watch out—!" Aoi called out in alert, but by then the Priest had already launch Usopp into a painful flight, "Damn it!"
"You're going to appear behind me, huh~?" The Priest immediately turn and stretch out his open palm…right into Aoi's face, who had just teleported there in an attempt to slash at the Priest's back.
"…!? Dammit—!" Aoi managed to lift up her guard just in time as Priest's attack sent Aoi flying in pain.
"This is different from a simple punch…The shockwave of Impact cause damage directly inside your body~~!"
"*Cough*…I-Impact, huh!?" Aoi managed as she steadily got up from her landing place.
"Dammit!" Luffy managed, having by now already regain conscious from the attack, as he place his hat back on his head and try to wake up Kaoru, "Kaoru, are you alright!? Wake up!"
"Is she alright!?" Aoi warped to Luffy's side, "Let me take a look!"
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded before calling to Sanji and Usopp who had landed relatively nearby, "You guys okay~!?"
"…That bastard," Sanji managed as he steadily rose to his feet while Usopp managed some coughing in response, "What the hell's going on!?"
"No idea! I just know he's really strong!"
"…Dammit!" Aoi hissed after examining Kaoru, "That Priest got her good! She won't be waking up any time soon!"
"Well that's too bad~~!" the Priest laughed on the boat, dancing silly on the spot, "More burden for all of you~! If I were you, I would abandon it if you want to survive…a little longer, that is~~!"
"What was that!?"
"Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~~! My name is Satori of the Forest~! I'm one of the Priest who serves the Almighty God Enel~! The Vearth in this Forest of Illusions is under my control~~!"
"Forest of Illusions?" Luffy repeated in confusion.
"That's right~! And in this forest, one of the illusions is…" Satori suddenly used his feet to activate the Little Crow's accelerator, "…your boat~~!"
"Ah-! The boat is moving by itself!" Aoi exclaimed as Satori leaped off of the boat as it sped off and landed on top of yet another Surprise Cloud.
"From now on, it will drift aimlessly on the Milky Road…and will eventually exit this forest by itself~! I'm sure you already understand, but without this Dial Boat, you can't get to the Sacrificial Altar~! You have to get back on board before it leaves; of course, these Surprise Clouds and I will not allow you to succeed~!"
"…So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Aoi glared as she mounts the unconscious Kaoru onto her back, making sure she'll remain there, "And this is the ordeal we have to go through…"
"That's right~! Welcome to the Forbidden Holy Land, Upper Yard~! In this Forest of Illusions, the chance of survival is 10%~! This is the Ordeal of Spheres~~~!"
Satori cackled after finishing his monologue, continuingly dancing silly atop his Surprise Cloud.
"… …Well, at least he's honest," Aoi sweat dropped.
"Honest!?" Usopp exclaimed in shock, "Isn't he just being a jerk!?"
"Well, think about for a moment. He didn't say there was a 0% chance of survival; he said there's a survival chance of 10%! That means if we can exploit that 10%, we can survive this ordeal!"
Usopp thought about it. "… …Okay, fine~! You got a point, but that doesn't mean we can exploit that 10% though…"
"We can!" Aoi prepared her katanas, "Shiho's not here and Kaoru is knock out for now, but we're still the Children; if there's even so much as 1% chance of success, we'll find some way to increase the odds in our favor…"
"How optimistic," Sanji huff a smile before preparing himself for the battle ahead.
"Hoh-Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~!" Satori, "Come, come~! If you don't move quickly, the boat will be gone~~!"
"Ah-! That's right!" Usopp jolted before running off in the direction the Little Crow was drifting off in, "If we don't get the boat back, we're screwed! If it's really gone in this huge forest, it'll be difficult to locate it!"
"Wait, Usopp!" Sanji called after, "If we don't stick together, the result will be the same—!"
"Go stop the boat," Luffy punched his palm before cracking his knuckles.
"What-!? And you!?"
"I'll go take down that Dumpling Guy!"
"D-Dump—!?" Aoi comically stopped herself from comically prat-falling, "Are you really going to keep calling him that, Luffy!?"
"Yep!"
"N-No hesitation… … …Well, whatever," Aoi ready herself alongside Luffy, "I'll help you out then!"
"Sure, no problem!" Luffy grinned before glaring up at Satori, "Get ready for a beating, Dumpling Guy!"
"Hoh~! I don't think so~!" Satori laughed, with not a single hint of worry in his voice, "I have luck and honor on my side~!"
"Well, we got guts and power!" Aoi teleported herself and Luffy up to the large tree branch right above them.
"…Alright," Sanji nodded at the scene before racing off after Usopp, "We to distract Walking Dumpling anyway, so do your best you two!"
"W-Walking Dumpling~~!?"
"Gum-Gum Pistol~~~!" Luffy sent his stretching fist at Satori, only for the Priest to casually dodge the attack and smoothly grip Luffy's stretched arm, "Eh!?"
"Uh-oh!" Aoi watched as Satori spin on the spot, causing Luffy to be pulled with the spin. The end result: Satori now swung Luffy towards Aoi, "Emergency Teleport!"
Aoi teleported out of the way, causing Luffy to slam head first into the tree instead.
"What an unusual ability you have~!" Satori noted as he brought up his palm in time to intercept Aoi's katana attacks, "But it pointless before Mantra~~!"
"Dammit!" Aoi immediately teleported back to the tree branch and turn to Luffy, whose head is stuck in the tree, "Hang on Luffy! I'll get you out in a jiffy!"
Aoi immediately teleport Luffy out of the tree.
"Gee, thanks Aoi," Luffy laughed as he patted himself down, dusting off his clothes
"Save the thanks for later," Aoi turned back to Satori, only to see Satori kicking a Surprise Cloud…aiming at Sanji, who was climbing a tree to get to the boat, "Ah-! Sanji-han, careful! A Surprise Cloud is heading towards you!"
"What-!? You two were supposed to keep that Walking Dumpling distracted!" Sanji exclaimed as he watch the Surprise Cloud fly towards him…only for it to ricochet to its left after colliding with another Surprise Cloud and once more after colliding with another…which now sent it on a collision course towards Usopp. "…Eh?"
"GAAHH~~~! He was after me~~~!" Usopp exclaimed.
"Usopp, don't move!" Aoi called.
"Yeah right!" Usopp leaped back in an effort to avoid the oncoming Surprise Cloud, but it still managed to slightly graze his long nose, "Ah-! It's going to—!"
Not one second later, a flower popped out from its top.
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… …
… … …
"…Told you," Aoi gave a long sigh.
"GAAHH~~~! I should have listen~~~!" Usopp screamed as he fell towards the ground. It was when he about one meter from the ground when his body glow faintly green and began to fizz out until he gently landed on the ground. "…Eh? I didn't die?"
"Like I'll let you," Aoi rolled her eyes, only to notice Luffy racing over to where Satori was station, "Ah-! Luffy—!?"
"Gum-Gum~~~!" Luffy roared as he launch a ballista of punches at Satori, "Gatling~~~!"
"Ah-! Luffy! Don't do that! He'll just dodge and you'll hit the Surprise Clouds—!"
But it was too late! Just as Aoi predicted, Satori quickly leaped over Luffy's onslaught and turn the attack collided with the various Surprise Clouds in the way. The result: the immediate area was filled with ricocheting Surprise Clouds bouncing, off trees and each other; a complete and chaotic mess!
"Hoh-Hoh-Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~! You people are very interesting~!" Satori laughed.
Aoi sighed heavily as everyone else did their best to avoid the chaos before teleporting over to Satori. "Looks like I have to deal with you myself!"
"Hoh~!" Satori chimed as he once again intercept Aoi's katana attack with his palms, and just like before he received no damaged.
"Dammit! Why is that shell hidden in your glove able to block my attack so easily!?"
"Hoh~? You can tell what is hidden in my glove huh~?"
"Disappointed!?" Aoi continue her attacks, increasing her attack speed as she did, "I don't know if you got precognition or not, but I do know this: You're only as untouchable as you are fast at predicting! If I can out-pace your predicting speed, I can hurt you!"
"Hoh~! Not bad~! You fought against someone with Mantra before, little girlie~?"
"Wouldn't you like to know!? Special Skill…!"
Aoi used her psychic powers to form numerous duplicate of herself around Satori, arbitrarily vague versions of her.
"Random Shadow Clone~~!"
"Hoh-Hoh~? Trying to deceive my eyes, eh~?"
"Two-Sword-Style~~!" All of the Aoi began to spin rapidly as they descend on Satori in all direction, "Bird of Paradise~!"
"Not good enough, still~~!" Satori responded by simply waving his about wherever Aoi's clones came first, neutralizing all of the attacks and parry the last, real Aoi.
"Damn," Aoi clicked her teeth and quickly distance herself before Satori could retaliate, "That didn't work either!?"
"Hoh-Hoh-Hoh~! Futile, truly futile~~!"
"…Well, at least I distracted you long enough for the others to get the boat by now!"
"Are you sure about that~?"
"… …Huh?" Aoi turn in question see…
"{Tarzan's Cry} ~~~!" Luffy swinging joyfully on a vine.
"{Tarzan's Cry} ~~~!" Usopp, though not enjoying, was also swinging around on a rope that seem to be attach to a belt around his waist.
Sanji? He's staring at them with a deadpan expression.
"… … … …Uh, Priest-han?" Aoi called to Satori politely.
"…? Yes~?" Satori responded with a tilt of his head, surprise by Aoi's sudden polite tone.
"Time out for a moment, would you please~? I need a quick talk with my fellow inmates about the importance of time and place…"
"…? Sure~?"
"Thank you, oh merciful Priest," Aoi bowed politely before teleporting herself next to Sanji. She then teleported Luffy and Usopp over to them.
"Aw~~!" Luffy frowned in disproval, "Aoi~~! Why did you—!?"
"Phew, it ended," Usopp sighed in relief, "Thanks, Aoi! You really—!"
Intermission! This program is currently facing difficulties! Please Standby until our Regular Program resumes!
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… …
… … …
"…Here I am, trying to keep the Priest occupied so that you guys can get to the boat after escaping from that chaotic minefield of ricocheting Surprise Clouds," Aoi panted in exhaustion, "I turn my back away for a few seconds and you guys are goofing off!?"
"We'll forget what just happen," Sanji puffed on his cigarette, "But from now on, take this more serious and follow our leads…Got it!?"
"…Yes!" Luffy nodded obediently with a swollen and bloody face, "Sorry!"
"I'm really sorry!" Usopp nodded obediently, also with a swollen and bloody face.
"Good! Now, I'll return to distracting the Priest while you guys—!" Aoi turn to the direction she left Satori but no longer see there, "…!? Where did he—!?"
BOOM!
A noise from behind quickly caught her attention as she turn in time to see Satori had already attack Sanji in the chest with that Impact ability, causing the dumbfound Sanji to collapse into unconscious.
"SANJI-HAN~~~!" Aoi exclaimed in shock as the other two also called out to their fallen crewmember in worry.
"Life is pain~!" Satori grinned as he turn to stare at the remaining three, "Now then…three to go~~!"
Meanwhile, back onboard the Going Merry…
"…Are you really going to wear that?" Shiho wondered as she watches Chopper hanged the One Whistle around his neck.
"Yeah," Chopper nodded, "If something happens, the Sky Knight will come and save us!"
"If he does come. I mean, he did give this one without receiving any payment. Maybe this one's a dud…"
"Don't say that!"
"For that matter, even if it does work, it not like he'll come immediately. It'll probably take a few minutes at minimum before he gets here…"
"…! That's right!"
"And it that time…someone's going to get a hurt real bad~!"
"WAAHH~~~!"
Shiho chuckled at Chopper's reaction. "I'm kidding, Chopper~! Everything's going to be fine~!"
"R-Really!?"
"Yeah, don't forget, I'm here! I'm sure I can keep anyone or anything preoccupy until the Sky Knight comes here after you blow that whistle…"
"Whew~! That's a relief then…"
"What? Are you two the only Sacrifices to kill?" A voice popped up from behind.
Aoi and Chopper turn in time to find a man riding a giant bird. The man himself resembles a stereotypical aviator from the early 1900s: he has a thin, pointed mustache that splits into two parts; on his head there is an aviator hat decorated with wings, and a pair of goggles on the front. His attire is composed of an orange fur-lined jacket, with brown swollen sleeves decorated by beige spots and wings coming out of his back; loose matching orange pants held up by a belt, fur-lined gloves and boots, and a purple scarf around his neck. He held a jousting lance in his right hand.
"… …Chopper, Whistle—!" Shiho called only to catch sight of Chopper already puffing his mouth to blow into the whistle which was already in his mouth, "…like I even need to say it…"
PIIIIIIIH~~~!
Kaoru: "Another chapter…but…This one was TOO SLOW~~~~!"
Shiho (fuming): "And what happen to my glorious time!? I was supposed to be the star this time!"
Aoi: .MA~~~! WHAT is the meaning of this!? It's been more than half a year since you updated!"
Normama (prostrating): "I am REALLY~~~~~~ sorry everyone! I should have posted this chapter in August last year, but at the time I suddenly had a huge case of writer's block and then afterwards there was community college for four months and then university for nearly six months! A bunch of other stuff in-between as well but overall I really have no time for my private life at all! It's no excuse, but I only found time just starting this month to start working again!"
Shiho (sighing): "Okay, fine~! Then what happen to my spotlight, hm~!?"
Normama (prostrating, still): "I'm so really sorry. The next chapter for sure will have more Shiho screening time. I promise!"
Aoi (sighing): "Well, at least I got most of the spotlight this time…so I'll forgive you…"
Kaoru: "What about me!? I barely got any action time! And what's with me getting knocked out so easily like that!?"
Normama: "But Kaoru-sama, if you had joined the battle against Satori it will be over too quickly!"
Kaoru: "… … … …Oh, yeah~! i guess when I do wake up, it will be over for that Walking Dumpling~!"
Aoi (rolling her eyes): "Ugh, true~! Anyway, can update another chapter soon?"
Normama: "I'll do my best…"
Shiho: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no~~~! You got to update! You hear me!? This is an order~~~!"
Normama (prostrating): "Yes, ma'am!"