This is the 39th chapter. I don't own the series of One Piece.
Fierce Mid-Air Battle!
Aboard the Going Merry, Nami's group traverse a traitorous Milky Road. Their goal: to rendezvous on the other side of the island with the rest of the Straw Hats and make their escape. All the while, the Shandorians blazed a path to God's Shrine, eager to destroy Eneru, but they were in a fight against the Divine Soldiers. Following the Shandorians venturing further at the Upper Yard, the Survival Game has begun. As the 6 members of Luffy's exploration team know precisely the location of the gold this island has kept secret for 400 years. They set their sights on it and head South from the Sacrificial Altar. South...I mean, straight...um...South? Or down? Opposite of North, or...um...whatever...
Upper Yard
After Luffy's team were separate and got themselves lost, except Sareena, Leon, and Robin, in the middle of the jungle after losing the giant snake, Luffy encountered Wyper again. He starts walking away with a terrible singing tune, about to sing when Wyper called him.
"Hold it!" Wyper shouts.
"What is it now?!" Luffy shouts back in annoyance, turning his head to Wyper.
"One last thing, I'm through wasting any more of my words on you. So, I'm gonna destroy you." Wyper told him, loading up his bazooka while Luffy threw the stick as he readies his fighting stance.
"I see. If you wanna fight, you just have to say so." Luffy said with a smirk, cracking his knuckles and clenching his fist.
Chopper, however, kept on running around in a jungle in panic with teary eyes and looking for his crew. Robin and Leon continued to head South, which the walk became quiet after the scatter and running away from the giant snake. Robin investigates the ruin.
"This forest really did a number on it when time passed." Leon states.
"I wonder if the ruins of the actual city are intact." Robin said.
"I doubt it, considering this place has been around in centuries, it's been in ruin." The voice of Sareena said, earned their attention when she revealed herself from the trees.
"Sareena, glad you could make it." Leon said with a smirk.
"I know this island like the back of my hand. I can get there inside out." Sareena declares.
"Where are the others? Did they know where the city is?" Robin questions, worried for her crew.
"I don't think so. Luffy and Zoro got themselves lost because of their lack of sense of direction, and Chopper...let's just say he had his own problems and it got him scared easy." Sareena explains which made them sweat dropped.
"That sounds like them alright." Leon said with a sigh. "Oh well, they'll figure out where they need to go instead of getting into trouble."
"I don't think it's possible, this is Luffy and Zoro." Robin told him with a chuckle. "Chopper probably got himself into trouble."
And speaking of which, Zoro kept on walking further in the jungle while try to find the Skull's Right Eye, but he kept getting himself lost.
"Both the priests and those guerillas all have powers that I can't hold up to. So, close quarters fight doesn't mean much. Guess I'll have to back up." Zoro said to himself when a giant-sized bird is flying above the sky. "If I have to take him down at a distance, I think I have a move that'll work."
Zoro remembered at the time during the fight against the Baroque Works back at Whiskey Peak, using the 'Hawk Wave' move to take them down.
'Well, works on your basic class job fighters, but against a real guy?' Zoro mentally questions himself when the giant bird flew towards him, which made him grabs his blade with his narrowed eyes as he draws it out while the bird brings out its talons, but the swordsman slashed it with only one slash and the feathers were blown away. He then placed it back on his sheathe. "Need some work, but I think after a few tests, it'll be ready. The flying blade attack."
As Zoro continued walking, the giant bird crashed down to the ground, unconscious after the attack from the swordsman.
While the war between the Shandorians and the Divine Soldiers continued, Chopper found himself in the middle of the war zone between the two groups. He got himself into this situation by being chased by some group of warriors and almost ran into the Shandorians. The second the two parties locked eyes into each other, it became an all-out fight between them, with Chopper trying to escape and to die.
'I WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER OFF ALIVE AT THE ALTAR!?' Chopper mentally shouts with bulging eyes and his tongue sticking out, shouting in panic.
While Robin, Leon, and Sareena continued to venture further South, the loud explosion was heard along with a scream coming from a certain reindeer.
"Huh, sounds like the island is having its fair share of drama." Robin stated.
"No kidding." Leon agrees.
"I bet these homes were built so far out from the city in hopes of greater longevity with crops, but it looks like all this brush swallowed up the mortar and brick." Robin said. "I hope the city is still there."
"It should, but your navigator friend isn't going to like what we told her since there's no gold." Sareena points out.
But just as Robin is about to question the monk, the sound of a goat bleating was heard as the Divine Soldier appeared but landed on the roof of the ruined house.
"What are you three doing here? You should be aware that this is the path to God's Shrine. Proceeding any further would be insolent."
Before Sareena could start a fight and Leon could say anything, Robin said to the Divine Warrior with a glare.
"Would you get down!" Robin shouted. "Do you even have a clue as to the archeological significant of these ruins?! They're priceless!"
The Divine Soldier scowled at her.
"How dare you talk back?!"
"Oh, shut up! You Divine crooks have no business of being here in these ruins in the first place!" Sareena remarked. "I take Eneru sent you guys here to kill us?"
"Yes, it's a simple business. Like you said, I've been charged by God to eliminate any Shandorians or Blue Sea people I find with my Axe Dial."
But just as the Divine Solider is about to kill them, Sareena leaps in midair with her fists ready which made the goat priest bleat in dismay.
"Meteor Crusher" Sareena delivers a flurry of punches and kicks, combining with fire, and then deliver an uppercut to the chin.
The Divine Soldier crashes down to the ground, knocked out with burnt marks. She then lands on the ground and then walk to them, but noticed Robin had a shocked look on her face.
"What?" Sareena asks, raising her eyebrow. "I was holding back of my strength while beating the goat man. Are we gonna get moving or what?"
With that, Sareena walk past Robin and Leon, who shook his head with a chuckle.
"I know she's strong, but does she really had to do that?" Robin questions, glances at the Gunbreaker.
"Well, she kept it intact, didn't she?" Leon counters with a shrug as he follows the monk, but Robin picked up a fallen piece of ruin.
"Such a lack of respect." Robin said.
Back in the war zone at the jungle, the Shandorians and the Divine Warriors continued to rage on. The Shandorian dodged that projectile, which explodes right at the tree and the branch falls down to the ground. The Divine Solider is about to attack again, but the Shandorian slashes him from behind and killing him as the goat man crashes down to the ground.
"And you call yourself Divine!"
The Shandorian then lands on the ground next to the dead warrior.
"These are going to be the end of us. So far, they've manages to kill a lot more than we have of them."
But then, the Shandorian heard Zoro rambling on which direction to go to the Skull's Right Eye while walking right into the war zone. He glances at the swordsman with a scowl and knows who he is.
"That's one of those Blue Sea people Wyper was talking about. Better go take him out."
With the Shandorian readying his spear, he then charges after Zoro, who stops himself and turns to see the Shandorian charging with a war cry.
"A guerilla! And he looks pissed!" Zoro exclaims with his eyes widen as the Shandorian got close.
"Die!"
The Shandorian thrust his spear, but Zoro was able to dodge, barely.
"What's your problem?" Zoro grunts, draws his sword and knocks him down with the flat edge of the blade as he sheathed it. "You fellas have some serious anger management issue."
He then heard a bleating sound as Zoro turns his head and saw a Divine Soldier retreating, landing on top of the tree trunk. The Divine Soldier pleads for mercy after surrendering to himself, but was shot and taken out as he crashed into the ground next to Zoro. Zoro turns to see Braham leaps out of the bushes, much to his annoyance.
"Not again! Listen, nutcase, if you're not a priest, then go find another goat to shoot! I'm in a hurry here!" Zoro shouts, but Braham lands on the grounds as he aims his twin pistols and fires at him, which made the swordsman flinch when he notices the flash, dodging the bullets.
Braham jumps in the air, using his waver skis to fly against the tree, then in the air while twirling his pistols. He then fires bullets, which made Zoro flinch a bit after noticing a flash of light blinding him, causing him to quickly dodge and roll away from the bullets and stand on his feet with a grunt.
"Alright, what's the deal with these pistols?!" Zoro said with a scowl, but noticed Braham isn't here. "Where'd he go? Couldn't have gotten far..."
He heard the rustling sound coming from behind, glances over and noticed Braham is close. It got Zoro in defense and Braham in offense by delivering a front and back kick combo, which the swordsman was able to dodge them. Braham got into a handstand, using his waver as he delivers a spin kick to the stomach, causing Zoro to groan in pain and sent flying right into the ground. Braham flips himself up to the ground on his feet, and Zoro stands up with a grunt with a glare.
"You put up a good fight, I almost underestimated you." Braham said, then readied his pistols while Zoro tosses the bag away.
"Well, thanks pal." Zoro thanked him sarcastically, drew his katana. "But I should apologize to you...I took you for a loser."
While both Braham and Zoro can hear loud explosions coming from the far distance in the Upper Yard, hearing a loud battle cry between the Shandorians and the Divine Soldier killing each other. The grass was rustling from the wind blowing and both Zoro and Braham were staring each other in the opposite direction. The Shandorian made his first move when he readies his waver skis, which made Zoro shocked and watches the Shandorians leaps over him, aiming his pistols.
'He never moved his feet!' Zoro mentally exclaims, glanced over and noticed Braham fires his pistols, but flashing lights. He blocks the lights while ran into the tree trunk, after dodging bullets. Braham jumps back and lands behind the bushes. 'Pagaya said there were different types of Dials out here. I wonder if this guy has one or two stuck on his shoes? Because when he moves, the gust of wind shoot from his feet. What else could it be? Those pistols of his flashes bright as the sun, blinding me every time he fires.'
"Where is he now?" Zoro questions himself, but it got his attention from behind when he heard a gunshot and the light flashes, causing him to jump away from the bullets while placing his sword on his mouth which got Braham confused and shocked as the swordsman charges after him with his three swords.
"He's using all three?" Braham asks.
"Tiger Trap" Zoro then swings his swords down, which Braham quickly reacts by using his waver skis to fly up in the air with his pistols twirling. "Aren't you a hotshot!"
Braham then aims his pistols again, firing bullets while flashing lights at Zoro, who ran up to the tree and quickly rushes up next to the branch which the Shandorian notices after landing on the Milky Road. Zoro jumps out of the tree, flying towards the Shandorian.
"Huh, this Blue Sea idiot has no clue about using Dials." Braham said, unimpressed as he pulls out a Dial. "He doesn't even stand a chance."
Once he presses the apex, Braham throws the Dial which leaves a cloudy trail and he's taking a ride.
"Hey, guess what this is!" Braham shouts which made Zoro flinched in dread. "It's called the Milky Dial!"
Braham aims his pistols at Zoro, who flinched and quickly leans back to dodge the pistols as the Shandorian jumps.
"You know, aerial combat isn't just leaping around out of desperation." Braham points out as he descends, but the sky leech merges out of the Milky Road and about to eat Zoro.
"That...was big!" Zoro groans, but quickly sliced it in half and the dead leech splashes down while he lands on top of it. "A ton of wood in these things would make for a killer barbeque."
Braham rides on the Milky Dial, flying right behind Zoro, who quickly noticed as the Shandorian fires his guns which the swordsman quickly dodged, but the bullet just shot him in the leg and it got him grunt in pain. It didn't stop Zoro as he leaps off of the dead carcass, the tree, and leaping into the air to find a place to hide. Braham lands on the Milky River to look for Zoro, who heavily pants while hiding from behind the tree.
"That was stupid! What's wrong with me?!" Zoro grunts, panting while reflecting his recklessness during the fight against Braham. "This guy is already faster than me...and made...myself out an easy target! Ugh, and I got a bullet in my leg! Ugh, genius! Gotta be something I can do with those flashing pistols...Hold on..."
Braham turned his head at the area, looking for Zoro since he ran up around on one of those trees.
"Those guns of yours are pretty nice accessories." Zoro called him, earned his attention when he revealed himself with his goggles on. "But too bad for you, I've found my lucky goggles. Which means your little blinding trick won't work on me anymore! You'll might as well give up!"
"Those just look like regular goggles." Braham points out, much to his dismay.
'He found me out!' Zoro mentally exclaims with his face pale and jaws dropped.
"Not a big fan of my Flash Guns, are you? Being a swordsman, you need close quarters to fight which I won't give you." Braham said, readying his guns. "I don't understand your reasons for being here and I don't care, but I will say that your mere presence defines you as an enemy of the Shandorians. Now I'm telling you, surrender or die, which might happens sooner if we keep standing here. That leg of yours isn't getting any better."
"Doesn't hurt too hard, barely made a dent." Zoro remarked which it isn't convincing. 'Getting shot while I made smug comments about some big dead eel proves I'm lacking in concentration.'
Zoro decided to take his goggles off, which he might be able to try out his new move.
"Alright, guess I found the perfect situation to test that technique again." Zoro said with a smirk. "Let's give it a try."
Braham then fires his Flash Guns at Zoro, who ran and dodging the bullets as he leaps out of the tree branch and landed on the ground, which made him groan in pain because of the bullet wound from his leg. Braham fires his pistols again, causing Zoro to run while dodging bullets again.
"Think you can run away?" Braham scoffs as the smoke clears, revealing Zoro standing on the ground.
"Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought...These 6 roots ground us all by way of good, evil, and peace." Zoro told him.
"What are you talking about?" Braham asks, confused.
"And of course, each these can either be pure or impure. These are the 36 earthly desires." Zoro said which Braham doesn't seem to care about that as he readies his blade by holding it horizontally above the shoulder. "Listen up, I have the barrel of the cannon aiming directly at your head, and all you have are a couple of pistols. In both distance and power, my weapon is superior. You've done very well, but you're still going to die."
With a scoff, Braham isn't convinced as he throws the Milky Dial, which leaving a trail of clouds to Zoro as he uses his waver skis to glide down and twirling his pistols.
"What cannon?! You're out of your mind! All I see are three swords!" Braham said.
"Have you ever seen a Flying Blade Attack?" Zoro questions with a smirk.
"ATTACK THIS!?" Braham shouts as he leaps and aims his pistols, firing at Zoro which he isn't moving and waiting for the Shandorian to get close.
"Ittoryu: 36 Caliber Phoenix" Zoro performs a circular slash that fires an air compressed projectile, spiraling at Braham, who grunts in pain with a slash wound at the side of his torso and the swordsman's cheek is grazed in a cut mark.
Braham crashed down to the ground, knocked out and unconscious with a loss against the swordsman, who grabs his bag and sheathed his blade.
"That looked uncomfortable." Zoro said. "Nothing personal being natural enemies and all, but you're in the dirt because I hate being told what to do. No other reason. I'll survive, you watch..."
After the fight between Zoro and Braham is over, the battle in the Upper Yard is still ongoing with the Shandorians and the Divine Soldiers continued to kill each other. Gedatsu, however, is able to kill a Shandorian with ease due to the 'Mantra' and experience in fighting at the ruins as he lets go of the Shandorian while looking for another one to kill. But the problem is, his eyes are white and he's biting his lower lip.
"Where am I?!" Chopper whines which it got his attention when he saw a reindeer walking around in the ruins in teary eyes. "I've lost my sense of direction, the trees are too tall for me to see the sun! Help...Luffy, Zoro, Leon, Sareena, Robin, please find me, I don't wanna be left alone on this stinkin' island just to die after turning into food for gigantic bugs! And if I do die, won't there even be a doctor for me? Wait, it doesn't matter when you're dead, you're dead, and no doubt you couldn't save you, but I don't wanna die!?"
While Chopper continued complaining and whining about not wanting to die here, and thinking about a different career, Gedatsu watches him walking away with a groan while tried to cross his arms which it's not the right way. But Chopper realizes that he's in the ruins without even noticing a priest, who scowls at the reindeer in annoyance and wondering if he's a raccoon dog, but he not, about to shout since he wasn't even noticed.
Meanwhile, Wyper fires his bazooka at Luffy, who uses the 'Gum-Gum: Balloon' to inflate himself and bounces the bazooka right back, explodes behind the Shandorian.
"You'll never be able to hurt me with that thing!" Luffy told him, which Wyper kept firing his bazooka and the rubber captain bounces the rounds right off with his 'Gum-Gum: Balloon'.
While back at the Milky River, the rest of the Straw Hats continued to sail, but they've got trouble when Eneru revealed himself with a sinister smirk on his face. Sanji is about to deliver a kick, but got electrocuted by Eneru's Devil Fruit power and it got him severely burned, much to their horror.
"SANJI!?" Usopp yelled with a scream and Sanji collapsed down. "Sanji!"
"Sanji?" Nami said with worry as she and Usopp kneels down to his level when Pierre quickly hides while the liar tried to find his heartbeat which he didn't get anything.
"This is bad! This is really bad!? Sanji!" Usopp shouts while Gan Fall, Caius, and Ventus scowls at Eneru, who chuckles in amusement.
"I-I can't even hear his heartbeat!" Usopp told him.
"It can't be!" Nami adds, turns to Eneru with her face pale as he laughs.
'Bastard...' Ventus mentally snarls in anger as he eyes slits into a dragon.
"What a foolishly angry man. If I'd come here today and brought me with pain and destruction, it would've been the first thing you felt." Eneru mocks with a smirk.
"Then why are you here, Eneru?!" Gan Fall questions angrily, causing Eneru to chuckle.
"I've expected a warmer 'hello'...It has been 6 years now, my former God, Gan Fall." Eneru mocks again.
That's it for the 39th chapter.