It had been quite some time since Luffy had gotten this far into the loop, but he still remembered the best way forward – give Robin as much information as possible and let her do all the thinking.
He did forget about the stinky ointment that kept away all the nasty bugs on Little Garden, but this time around it was Zoro that got stung. The swordsman had a constitution that an ox would envy, so he was still on his feet, albeit just barely, by the time they reached Drum Island. And knowing where Kureha would show up meant that there was little danger of him expiring.
The rest of the voyage went without any serious troubles and they once again reached Jaya. Cricket was easily convinced to properly reinforce their ship and send them off to the sky.
And this time, Luffy remembered not to let Usopp swim in the clouds.
"There's a gatekeeper lady somewhere around here…" Luffy dredged out of his memory.
"Is she sexy?!" Sanji noodled, imagining a beautiful and buxom woman in a tight dress and bright smile.
"She's old." Luffy replied.
"Oh, I see." Sanji instantly went back to acting cool and indifferent. While he still wouldn't kick an elderly woman, his usual enthusiasm was nowhere to be found.
"Does that mean we have to pay for admission?" Nami asked warily.
"Not really?" Luffy asked more than stated. He vaguely remembered something about an admission fee, but that it was also not required to pay it.
"That's alright then!" Nami instantly cheered up at the thought of not having to part with money. "Let's go get my gold!"
That's when Chopper suddenly screamed in fright.
"Eh, what's going on?" Zoro asked.
Chopper blubbered incoherently for a while, annoying the swordsman.
"Oi, calm down and speak calmly." He ordered impatiently.
Chopper took a deep breath and then blurted out what he saw. "There's a bull on a square cloud charging right at us!"
"Ehhhh?!" They all responded.
"It's a man in a strange tribal mask, a shield, and a bazooka?!" Usopp discerned, looking through a telescope. "He's skating across the clouds!"
"Oh, that guy!" Luffy slapped a fist into his palm, remembering that they got attacked as soon as they reached the sky the first time. "What was his name again?"
The newcomer decided to introduce himself with a flying kick right into Sanji's face, and then bouncing over to do the same to Zoro. Neither of the two powerful fighters managed to defend themselves, despite the attacks not being anything they hadn't seen before.
Luffy had more luck. Although the thin air was affecting him as well, he still saw the rather telegraphed bazooka slam coming a mile away.
"Blue Sea dwellers, go back to where you came from!" The tribal warrior snarled as he dodged away from a return kick. "I will reject you!"
"Hey, your name is Wiper, right?" Luffy finally remembered.
That visibly shocked their attacker, making him reel back as if struck. But then he defaulted back to his usual emotion – anger. They didn't call him 'the berserker' for nothing. "How do you know my name?!"
But he would receive no reply, because an old man with a lance and knightly armor charged in on his pink bird, driving him off.
"Who is it now?!" Nami demanded to know.
The old man dramatically landed on the Going Merry and stood tall with his lance held across his body. "I am the Knight of the Sky."
"Oh, it's Gan Fall." Luffy remembered the cool old guy.
"You know my name, Blue Sea dwellers?" Gan Fall blinked in surprise.
"We're here to kick Enel's ass!" Luffy declared.
"So, you know about him as well?" Gan Fall muttered, confused.
"Luffy, can this man be trusted?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, he's cool."
Robin nodded and turned towards the old man. "Knight-san, would you care to join us for tea? We have a lot to talk about."
XXXXX
Robin quickly explained the situation to the old knight, only prodding Luffy for extra information when it became clear that he'd left something out. It didn't take long for Gan Fall to become convinced that the rubber captain had at least been to Skypiea before and met many of its residents.
"Now, what can you tell me of this Wyper fellow? He seems important." She asked once their bonafides were established.
"He is the leader of the Shandian warriors. An angry man, who sees everyone not of Shandora as an enemy and trespasser on his people's ancestral land." The old man stroked his beard. "Before Enel came, I wished to end the long war between our peoples so that we could live together in peace, but his demands were unreasonable."
"Luffy, do you have anything to add?" Robin asked her captain.
Luffy paused to swallow the roasted skyfish Sanji had made for him before answering. "He's not a bad guy. He wants Cricket to hear the golden bell, too."
"Hmm." Robin hummed, her prodigious mind already putting the pieces together.
"Pardon me, but who is Cricket?" Gan Fall asked.
"Mont Blanc Cricket is a descendant of Mont Blanc Noland."
"The great friend of Shandora and the warrior Kalgara, Wyper's own ancestor?" The old man asked in surprise, having learned that tale while trying to make peace with the Shandians.
More pieces slotted into place. "Knight-san, what can you tell me of Shandora's culture?"
Robin had an idea of how to get Wyper on their side.
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Conis was having a very ordinary day, until it suddenly turned very extraordinary.
"Conis-chan, my beautiful angel!" A blond man in a black suit exclaimed, taking great bouncy steps in her direction.
"E-excuse me, but who are you?" She asked uncertainly, quite sure that she had never seen this strange man in her life.
"I am Sanji, your knight in shining armor!" He declared, kneeling before her and reaching out to grab her hand with a kissy face. "For you, I will fight God himself!"
Conis froze up in shock and fear. Enel had killed people for far lesser offenses than that.
Jumping away from the blond man and looking at the skies in anticipation of sudden lightning bolts striking him, she failed to see the others approaching.
"Sanji-kun, what did we say about first impressions?" An orange-haired girl asked sweetly.
"That they were important, which is why I had to assure Conis-chan that her troubles were over now that I'm here." Sanji argued.
It sounded like a very bad justification to Conis' ears…
"Excuse me, Gan Fall- san? Who are these people?" She tried again, this time asking Skypiea's former God.
"They are Blue Sea dwellers who have come to challenge Enel and ring the great golden bell." Gan Fall explained, as if that wasn't madness.
"Yeah, we're gonna kick that jerk's ass!" The boy in the straw hat yelled.
"Don't dismiss them out of hand, Conis, they are quite strong." Gan Fall cautioned. "May we impose on your hospitality until Mckinley and his White Beret's come to arrest them?"
Conis was still very confused, but at least she wouldn't have to feel guilty about delivering another batch of clueless people to their doom in Upper Yard, since they were already intent on going there.
XXXXX
Enel was, of course, aware of the Blue Sea dwellers that had come to challenge him. He had heard their voices the moment they arrived in Skypiea through his Mantra.
They were an amusing bunch in their fearlessness and their declaration that they had come to challenge him, although the weaker ones among them were doing a poor job of pretending they were not scared. The stronger ones were genuinely not scared.
This was novel enough that he put his plans of flying to Fairy Vearth aside for a moment. One final amusement before boarding the Ark Maxim with his chosen few sounded perfect.
To his further amusement, they chose Ohm's Ordeal of Iron despite Gan Fall being with them as an advisor. A truly reckless bunch.
And they didn't even think to fight him all at once, which Enel could tell would have probably overwhelmed the Iron Cloud user. No, instead the swordsman of their crew challenged his strongest priest to single combat.
In a surprising turn of events, the Blue Sea swordsman proved himself the better, allowing his crew to proceed.
Enel would have considered them pardoned of their crime for such a feat, but that was unnecessary since they had come to challenge him.
And then the Shandians attacked.
Truly, it was time to leave and ascend to Fairy Vearth. These mortals were getting far too arrogant, thinking they could challenge God. He would let them fight it out in a grand battle and offer the last five of them a place on the Ark Maxim as long as they showed him proper respect. If not, then they would be destroyed along with Skypiea, just as all things who defy God's will must be.
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Wyper had known it was time as soon as Aisa said that the voice of one of Enel's priests had gone silent. The Blue Sea dwellers had weakened Enel and would keep his attention long enough for him and his warriors to sweep away the rest of the trespassers.
Then, once Enel and his forces were gone, he would turn his weapons on the Blue Sea dwellers and Shandora would finally once again be theirs. It was the will of the warrior Kalgara and all of their ancestors.
They stormed through the jungles of Upper Yard, encountering no resistance. That made them wary, but it turned out to be because everyone was gathered at the base of Giant Jack.
Wyper was happy for the chance to kill all of his enemies at once.
"Wyper-san, welcome." The dark-haired woman on the Blue Sea dweller crew greeted him kindly. "Mont Blanc Cricket, descendant of Mont Blanc Noland, sends his regards."
Wyper reeled back in shock, having never expected to hear such a thing. "A descendant of Noland lives?!"
The man who had saved their people from a deadly disease centuries ago and forged a friendship with Kalgara.
"He does." The woman nodded. "He has been looking for Skypiea for many years. We are here to ring the golden bell so that he can hear it."
The Blue Sea dwellers were here to light the Fire of Shandora and put Noland's soul to rest. That changed things.
"Warriors of Shandora!" he roared. "The Blue Sea dwellers are our allies. Kill Enel and his priests!"
"Don't damage the ruins!" The dark-haired woman called out sternly.
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In a different situation, where the Straw Hats were blundering about cluelessly, Enel would have come upon the idea of a survival game to decide who would be worthy of joining him on his voyage to Fairy Vearth.
Their direct intention to challenge him and the Shandian warriors charging towards his throne sparked a different idea, a grand battle royale!
It should be noted that Enel was more than a little delusional. It was only the overwhelming power of the Rumble Rumble Fruit that forced everyone else to go along with said delusions.
Although not a stupid man, his grasp on reality and his sense of self-importance was such that he assumed everyone would go along with his battle royale idea, simply because he ordered it. He was not the slightest bit prepared for the unexpected alliance between the Straw Hats and Wyper's Shandian warriors.
Still, he was too arrogant to feel any kind of concern even as his priests and lesser forces were overwhelmed. After all, he was lightning. What could harm lightning? All he felt was disgust at how weak all his servants turned out to be.
And then the Blue Sea captain's fist was buried in his gut, making him feel pain for the first time since he'd eaten his Devil Fruit.
XXXXX
Luffy had forgotten how funny Enel's shocked look was. The first time around, he had been more focused on kicking the guy's ass, but now he could help but start laughing at the bulging eyes and hanging jaw.
The 'God' retreated in a flash of lightning, that expression still on his face. "W-W-W-W-What was that?! How can you hit me?! I'm lightning!"
"Rubber beats lightning." Luffy said shortly, rolling his arm in preparation for a legendary asskicking.
"Nothing beats lightning!" Enel's face darkened as he said this, followed up by a huge blast of lightning.
Luffy didn't even try to dodge it, he just barreled right through and planted his foot in Enel's face. The lightning was bright, but didn't do anything.
"No, it's impossible!" Enel tried to deny, firing more and more blasts of lightning while retreating, and taking several more hits because of it.
By now, Luffy was quite familiar with Logia Devil Fruit users that relied too heavily on the intangibility it granted to them.
Robin had told him to take advantage of that as much as possible. She'd also told him that he could not let the lightning man get the idea to just stay away and use long range attacks. Luffy understood this well because of what the stupid sand croc had done if it ever looked like he was losing.
That was why, instead of just punching and kicking Enel while ignoring the attempts to blast him with lightning, Luffy used his rubbery limbs to wrap himself around the man. In a matter of moments, he had him completely immobilized.
"What is this?!" Enel roared in fury, turning himself to lightning in an attempt to kill the grappling rubber man. But it didn't work. Luffy wasn't hurt, nor could Enel use his powers to travel anywhere while wrapped up in a non-conducting material.
When that failed, he tried to use his considerable physical strength to break free, but that also didn't work. Luffy's limbs just stretched instead of broke.
"Shishishi, you're not getting away." Luffy grinned, glad that he had asked Robin for advice. He never would have thought to do this on his own. "I'm going to ring that bell!"
Then he pulled his head back and rammed it into Enel's. Not quite the bell he claimed he would ring, but it was a start.
"Straw Hat!" Wyper suddenly roared, charging towards them. All of Enel's priests and lackeys had been overwhelmed by the combined forces of the Shandians, pirates, and Gan Fall. "Hold him still!"
Luffy had been intending to do exactly that, so he just cocked his head sideways in curiosity at what Wyper was planning to do.
The Shandian berserker roared a battlecry as he launched himself towards his enemy. One Seastone-lined waver skate crashed into the 'God's' gut, weakening him severely and toppling both him and Luffy to the ground. This was followed immediately by a hand placed over his heart.
Wyper's eyes were murderous as he spoke a single word. "Reject!"
The force of the Reject Dial instantly stopped Enel's heart.
XXXXX
Luffy woke up back on his dinghy, frowning at the sky. He had not known that Enel could restart his own heart.
Dying because your opponent was a cowardly cheater hiding in the storm clouds above and blasting lightning at everything beneath him sucked. No wonder Robin had told him that he couldn't let Enel get the idea to just run away.
XXXXX
OMAKE – Lost Samurai
Zoro frowned at his environs in confusion.
"Now where did they all wander off to?" He asked with a scoff. His crew just kept on getting lost.
Seeing a road nearby, he knew that if he followed it, he would eventually reach some kind of civilization and ask if anyone had seen his crew. They tended to attract attention, so if they were anywhere close, people will have heard of them.
Unfortunately, that wasn't as simple as it sounded. Just like every other road, this one writhed and twisted, randomly disappearing under his feet. Still he did eventually run across some kind of merchant caravan once the road reappered.
And it was being attacked by bandits, because of course it was. Figuring that saving them would get him both information and maybe a stiff drink for his parched throat, Zoro moved to engage them.
Despite using swords, they were dishonorable sorts and attacked in groups. Not that it helped them at all – they were pitifully weak.
"A thousand thanks, noble samurai!" The leader of the merchant caravan bowed low in gratitude.
"No problem." Zoro grunted. "Hey, have you seen a guy in a straw hat, a witch with orange hair, a long-nosed liar, a swirly-browed pervert, a talking raccoon, and a creepy woman with dark hair?"
The merchant gaped at him in shock and confusion, so that was probably a no. "Errr, I have not, but the shogun may? At least, he may be willing to take a swordsman like yourself into his service."
Zoro had no interest in going into anyone's service, but this shogun guy sounded like a leader. That was the kind of person that Luffy often ended up punching in the face. And they might have some decent swordsmen for him to challenge.
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"They had no decent swordsmen." Zoro explained to his crew once he finally found them. "All of them were weak as hell. They kept begging me for training or trying to bribe me to fight for them. I think I might have accidentally conquered the whole country at some point? I don't know, I was drunk."
Normally, he would never allow himself to become inebriated anywhere near potential enemies. However, those swordsmen were too weak to be considered enemies. Although they did get at least a little better by the time he finally found his crew.
"You could have at least taken some of their gold with you if you conquered the country." Nami complained.
XXXXX
Feudal Japan.
The passage of the Demon of Three Swords had left Japan deeply unsettled, but there had been surprisingly few casualties despite that. All the shogun and their armies had been crushed with humiliating ease, deemed unworthy of even killing. Seppuku by those who could not stand the shame had taken more lives than the demon's blades.
It got so bad that the Emperor had needed to declare that the demon had been sent to remind the samurai of their roots just to stop them from killing themselves. It had worked, and the Empire's warrior class dedicated their lives to honing their skill and unraveling what few words of wisdom the demon had spoken.
When the westerners came with their guns, it was to a Japan whose mightiest samurai were capable of parrying bullets with their blades.