On the battlefield below, after a grueling fight, Deuce and his friends finally defeated the remaining divine soldiers. As they caught their breath and surveyed the aftermath, they turned their attention to Wyper and the spherical Priest Satori, who were still locked in fierce combat nearby—just in time to witness a decisive moment.
The prolonged battle had clearly taken its toll on Satori. His stamina was flagging, and Wyper's relentless pressure was forcing him into increasingly desperate situations. Seeing his fellow priests fall one by one, Satori realized that dragging out the fight would only guarantee his defeat.
Gritting his teeth, the rotund priest decided to risk everything on one final gambit. His round body twisted as he rapidly released a dozen more ball clouds, mixing them with several special explosive spheres he'd been saving for emergencies.
With practiced skill, Satori guided the spherical clouds to collide with each other while maintaining his Mantra, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Sure enough, when Wyper charged forward with his usual tactic—wielding his cannon like a club to close the distance—Satori's lips curved into a satisfied smirk. He immediately guided two gunpowder-filled spheres to converge on his opponent's position.
A fierce gleam flashed in Wyper's eyes. He roared and pushed forward desperately, blocking the initial sphere with his battered shield while the explosions erupted all around him.
Just as Satori began to feel victorious, Wyper emerged from the smoke and dust like a vengeful spirit, appearing directly in front of the shocked priest.
"Impossible!" Satori had no way to avoid the sudden appearance. He instinctively tried to counterattack with the Impact Dial in his hand, but Wyper acted decisively, smashing the priest's arm with his cannon barrel.
Then Wyper discarded his weapon entirely, extending his bandaged right hand and pressing it firmly against Satori's ample chest.
"Reject!"
"How... could you have a Reject Dial..." Blood spurted from Satori's mouth as his voice of disbelief gradually weakened before he collapsed unconscious.
Wyper exhaled heavily, gently massaging his right hand as he endured the devastating recoil. The Reject Dial's force was ten times more powerful than a regular Impact Dial—enough to seriously injure even the user.
Deuce and the others approached the victorious Shandian warrior with respectful expressions.
"You alright?" Deuce asked with a smile. "We're planning to head up there. What about you?"
"I'm coming too," Wyper replied, bending to retrieve his weapon while gazing up at the cloud platform above. "This is my homeland. I need to see this through to the end."
"Hey! Wait for me! I'll be there in just a minute!" Cavendish's voice carried across the battlefield as his duel with Ohm continued.
The narcissistic prince had expected to finish his opponent quickly and make a dramatic, elegant entrance to assist his struggling friends. In his imagination, he should have been the first to defeat his enemy, then appeared beside whoever needed help with perfect timing and grace.
Instead, even the massive dog that had initially accompanied Ohm was already unconscious, while Cavendish remained entangled with his slippery opponent.
If Cavendish hadn't been so concerned about maintaining his flawless appearance, he might not have let the fight drag on this long. He'd held the upper hand since the beginning, but Ohm's sword could stretch and deform at will, allowing the priest to attack from a distance while avoiding close combat.
"Go ahead, we'll catch up," Deuce called, not particularly worried about the prince's situation. The group began their ascent up the massive vine.
"Ahh! This is all your fault! My perfect battle plan is completely ruined!" Cavendish shouted in frustration.
His eyes flashed with sudden intensity as he finally unleashed the full power he'd been holding back, ending the prolonged duel with decisive force.
Flames erupted and thunder roared overhead.
Following Deuce and the others, Cavendish climbed to the upper ruins where an incredible spectacle greeted them—a clash resembling a natural disaster in miniature, with fire and lightning colliding in violent displays of elemental fury.
Jerry stood at a safe distance, casually observing the battle, while the newcomers gathered on the island cloud beside the vines to witness this rare showdown between Logia users.
In the center of the chaos, Ace was pursuing while Enel dodged and weaved.
Ace had combined compressed flame jets with his natural explosive power, dramatically increasing his speed and gaining the ability to engage in true aerial combat with minimal physical strain.
This enhanced mobility had caught Enel off guard early in their duel, allowing Ace to land a solid Armament Haki-enhanced punch that left the self-proclaimed god stunned and bloodied.
After realizing his opponent could strike his physical form just like Jerry had, Enel shifted to an evasive strategy, seeking the perfect opportunity for a decisive counterattack.
Enel firmly believed that with the right opening, defeating this fiery nuisance would be simple.
Noticing his opponent's reluctance to engage in close quarters, Ace relied on his superior speed and long-range flame attacks to pursue Enel, who intermittently unleashed electrical discharges to test his defenses.
Their chase had been continuing for some time now, leaving the remaining ancient ruins scarred with black marks from flames and lightning strikes.
During this rare experience of being hunted rather than hunting, Enel's eyes suddenly lit up with inspiration. A cunning plan began forming in his mind.
"Hey, Auntie! How long are you going to keep running?" Ace called out, attempting to copy Jerry's psychological warfare tactics.
He stayed close to Enel's trail, dodging across platforms and through the air while throwing powerful punches whenever opportunities presented themselves.
Unfortunately, ever since Enel had been bloodied by that first hit, he'd become extremely evasive and refused to engage in physical combat.
"Silence! God's magnificent hair is not for your amusement!" Enel stopped abruptly and whirled to face Ace in rage, pointing his golden staff directly at his pursuer.
"100 Million Volt Discharge!"
A massive electrical current crackled through the air, aimed directly at the closely pursuing Ace.
However, a pained groan escaped from Enel's mouth instead of his target's.
Ace had exploited the brief moment when his enemy launched the attack, using his fire elemental form to instantly close the distance between them. His clenched right fist, coated in Armament Haki, struck home with devastating force.
Seizing this perfect opportunity, Ace delivered a powerful blow directly to Enel's abdomen, causing the god's eyes to bulge as fresh blood sprayed from his mouth.
After being sent flying backward, Enel immediately scrambled to his feet and resumed his evasive tactics.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm while pretending to casually glance at Jerry standing nearby, then at the spectators like Deuce. His mind was clearly calculating something.
"Hahaha! What a lively battle you're having! But this Golden Bell belongs to me!"
A strange, booming voice suddenly echoed from high above.
Jerry's expression instantly turned cold and serious as he looked up at the sky above the massive vine with sharp focus.
Everyone present froze and turned their gazes skyward simultaneously, searching for the source of the unexpected voice.
Then Jerry moved with explosive speed, spinning around and rushing toward Deuce and the others at lightning pace while shouting urgently:
"Everyone get back!"
"Lion's Might: Earth Roar Manifestation!"