"It hurts so much! I need to treat my wounds right away…"
Chopper trembled on the Going Merry, his body covered in burns from the flames. The ship itself bore scorch marks, its mast splintered and hull pitted with fire damage.
He looked up in alarm as Gan Fall, the Sky Knight, who had been holding his own in the air, was suddenly pushed back by Shura, one of Enel's Four Priests, mounted on his strange bird.
"W-Wow! Sky Knight, are you alright?!" Chopper cried out.
"Cough, cough… I'm fine!" Gan Fall forced out, though he clutched a bleeding wound on his arm with one hand.
He sat astride Pierre, his Three-Stage Bird partner who had eaten the Horse-Horse Fruit, spear ready in his other hand. But his expression darkened.
"What's going on? Pierre and I… our movements feel heavier… slower…"
Above him, Shura sneered, circling like a hawk.
"Old man, you dare trespass on God's Island? You must be tired of living!"
Shura tugged on the feathers of his bird's leg, his laughter sharp and cruel.
"Do you feel it now? Every second, your body gets slower and slower! That's the beauty of my Ordeal of Rope!"
With a burst of speed, Shura thrust his blazing spear toward Gan Fall's chest.
"Hmph! So what?!"
Gan Fall urged Pierre upward, colliding spear against spear in a sharp clang that lit sparks across the sky.
The two men crossed weapons mid-air, recoiling back to their mounts. Shura balanced on his bird with crossed legs, his gaze filled with disdain.
"You're finished, old man! You're nothing but a fake god. The only true God is Enel!"
But even as he declared it, a chilling memory surfaced in Shura's mind—the image of a dragon made of ice, vast and overwhelming.
If Enel could be called a God, then what about the man who commanded such a beast?
Shura clenched his jaw and shook the thought away. No, he told himself. Enel is absolute! There is no other God!
His grin returned, cruel and unrelenting.
"Hmph, today I'll take your head as tribute to God! Among the Four Priests, I am the strongest!"
Gan Fall's eyes filled with sorrow.
"Shura… you were once an upright child. Why throw your soul away for the false glory Enel feeds you?"
"Old fool!" Shura snapped. "Just because you watched me grow up, you think you can lecture me? I admire strength, nothing else! And you, weak as you are, don't deserve my respect!"
The killing intent in Gan Fall's gaze sharpened.
"What a pity… You've lost yourself completely."
Shura smirked. "And you're still as indecisive as when you played at being God!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the heavens lit with raging thunder. A giant figure of crackling lightning formed high in the sky.
"Die, blasphemer!" Enel's booming voice roared across the clouds.
Even Shura froze at the sight, awe slipping into his expression.
Gan Fall seized the chance. He raised his spear and aimed for Shura's throat.
"This ends now!"
But Shura's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"You fell right into my trap!"
Gan Fall's body locked stiff in mid-air. His thrust froze before it could connect. Both he and Pierre were caught, unable to move.
"Kahahaha! Feel it? My Ordeal of Rope binds you where you hover! The days when you called yourself God are long gone, Gan Fall!"
Shura advanced, fire spear gleaming.
"Pfft!"
The spear plunged deep into Gan Fall's chest. Flames licked the wound, searing him inside and out.
"Step onto God's Island, and you face trial. That is our law," Shura hissed. "Trash like you can never touch God!"
His next words, though whispered as if to himself, revealed his true devotion:
"Enel is the only God, high above all."
With a vicious kick, Shura sent Gan Fall's unconscious body plummeting into the White Sea below.
"And you," he sneered, turning to Pierre, who remained bound in the air. "Join your master!"
A blazing spear shot forth, striking the terrified bird. Together they fell into the endless clouds.
"Oh no! Oh no!"
On the Going Merry, Chopper panicked, tugging at his antlers in despair.
"The Sky Knight is down! What do I do?!" His heart pounded with guilt. He had failed to protect the ship from Shura's destruction, and now Gan Fall had fallen because of him.
"I can't just stand here!"
Chopper clenched his teeth, gathering his courage, and leapt from the Merry into the sky.
"Sky Knight! I'm coming to save you!"
High above, Shura watched him fall.
"Hmph. That weak little reindeer jumped too? Pathetic."
For Shura, Chopper wasn't even worth the effort. Just another toy to be broken.
…
Elsewhere, the battle raged.
"Oh?" Shura suddenly glanced toward the outer island. His expression shifted.
"It seems today gets livelier. The Shandia Tribe has come too."
Not far away, Priest Ohm of the Ordeal of Iron, blood at the corner of his mouth, also looked skyward. His battlefield was littered with wooden stakes topped with the skulls of countless victims. Behind him, his massive wolf Holy stood guard, fangs bared.
"Ohm…" he murmured, voice calm but sharp. "The Shandia dare covet God's Island once more."
At the same time, Priest Gedatsu of the Ordeal of Swamp turned crimson from forgetting to breathe. He nearly suffocated before snorting air through his nose.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph! A fool who lost to a Blue Sea man dares shame God?!" he growled. His senses prickled with the presence of new intruders.
"Shandia tribe… Perfect. My swamp will be your grave."
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