Zoro looked him over, noticed the other wasn't using a sword, and immediately lost interest. "Not a swordsman. Boring."
Sanji also yawned. "Not a beautiful woman. Even more boring."
The two took a step back in perfect sync, leaving Usopp conspicuously at the front.
Usopp was dumbfounded. He pointed at his own nose, his voice trembling. "What? Me?! You want me to fight?!"
He quickly looked towards Chopper for support, only to find the little reindeer had already whooshed behind the mast, peeking out with just half his head and one hoof, mouthing a "You can do it!" at Usopp with an awkward yet polite smile on his face.
Chopper, you betrayed me!
"These lowly Blue Sea dwellers dare to have the same starting point value as this Priest?" Shura looked at Usopp, who had been pushed forward, feeling insulted. He grinned savagely, urged his vulture into a dive, and his lance spewed scorching flames as he charged straight at Usopp!
"Aaahhh! I'll fight, then!"
Though his legs felt like jelly from fear, Usopp's survival instincts kicked in. He rapidly began moving, using Impact Dials and Smoke Dials to disrupt Shura's vision and movement while counterattacking with various small gadgets and special ammunition from his pockets. For a time, he actually managed to keep Shura entangled.
Sanji and Zoro stood to the side, arms crossed, watching the battle leisurely and occasionally offering commentary.
"That guy Usopp, his skills in running away and staying alive have definitely improved."
"Mhm. His timing for attacks isn't bad. Just the power is a bit lacking."
"Will he be okay?" little Merry asked, watching worriedly.
"Don't worry. They're watching closely, nothing will happen. If Long-Nose really can't hold on, they'll step in immediately," Nika reassured her from beside her.
Zoro and Sanji might have seemed like they were making excuses, but in truth, they wanted to give Usopp some proper training.
After a series of dangerous maneuvers, Usopp finally found an opening. He hit Shura point-blank in the face with a special "Firebird Star: King Protea." The intense explosion and flashbang temporarily robbed Shura of his vision and balance, sending him tumbling from his vulture's back.
Seizing the chance, Usopp rushed forward and fired a "Hammer Comet" at close range from his slingshot, finally knocking Shura out completely.
"I... I won!"
Usopp collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He had several burns from the flames and looked utterly disheveled.
Only then did Sanji and Zoro saunter over, grinning, and slung their arms over Usopp's shoulders from either side.
"Not bad, Long-Nose."
"You barely managed not to disgrace us."
Usopp looked at these two who had just left him for dead, grinding his teeth in fury—and also because he was covered in burns. "Don't touch me, you two jerks!"
"Doctor! I need a doctor!"
Chopper hurriedly scrambled over with his small medical kit.
Not far away, several Shandia warriors hiding in the woods witnessed Shura's swift defeat, their faces filled with astonishment.
These Blue Sea dwellers... seemed far stronger than imagined.
Regarding this "Survival Game," Sanji and Zoro's thoughts were surprisingly aligned.
Having personally witnessed Luffy's strength skyrocketing like a rocket, already reaching a level where it was hard to even see his back, they felt a keen pressure.
Any opportunity to grow stronger or temper themselves had to be seized actively. They absolutely could not afford to fall too far behind.
Even the still-shaken Usopp deeply agreed with this sentiment in his heart.
If they wanted to follow behind their monstrous captain, they too had to strive to become little monsters themselves.
After a brief rest, the group continued deeper into the forest.
Before long, they arrived at a strange area.
Tall, giant trees surrounded them, but floating in the mid-air of the forest were many uniformly-sized white spheres, creating an eerie and quiet atmosphere.
"What kind of crazy trial is this now?"
Usopp looked around warily, then glared firmly at Sanji and Zoro. "It's your turn this time, right? You can't make me handle it alone again."
Just then, Nika, who was floating nearby, suddenly let out a sound of surprise as a few tiny arcs of electricity crackled uncontrollably from her body.
"What's wrong, Nika?" Merry asked with concern.
"Nothing. It's just Luffy playing a little too enthusiastically over there. A bit of power is occasionally flowing over."
Nika's small face was full of resignation. She hugged her wine gourd and sighed. "Ah, forget it. Seeing how slow you all are, I'll just handle this myself."
As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze locked onto a figure who had appeared ahead.
A man with a yellow hat, a round, pudgy body—bearing a certain resemblance to those white spheres—was sitting cross-legged on a floating white ball, smiling at them.
"I am the Priest in charge of the Trial of Balls—Gedatsu."
The round man introduced himself, then looked at Nika, who had stepped forward. His brow furrowed. "Sending out a pet tanuki? Isn't that looking down on me too much?"
Without waiting for Nika's response, he lightly moved a finger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several white spheres floating near Nika exploded without warning! Though the power wasn't immense, the sudden explosions and shockwaves still startled everyone.
"They exploded?!" Usopp jumped.
"The survival rate here in the Trial of Balls is ten percent. You'll be lucky if even one of you makes it out alive," Gedatsu said with a smug laugh.
However, his smile froze on his face the very next second.
From within the smoke and dust of the explosion, Nika's petite body rapidly swelled up like a balloon. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a muscular, white giant tanuki, crackling with blue arcs of electricity!
"You're noisy, fatty."
Nika glanced at Gedatsu with her blood-red eyes, then simply and directly swung a giant fist wreathed in lightning.
BOOM!
Gedatsu, along with the ball he was sitting on, was sent flying by this terrifyingly powerful punch, shooting into the distant forest like a cannonball. Whether he was alive or dead was unknown. All that remained was a charred fist imprint on the ground and a wisp of smoke.
"Th-that's it?"
Usopp's jaw dropped.
Zoro looked at Nika's transformed state, especially the crackling lightning, and a flicker of interest passed through his eyes. "This is a lot like Luffy's power. Nika, interested in a fight?"
Nika rolled her eyes. That sounds like a thankless task. No thanks.
"I've got a few bottles of good sake hidden."
"Let's do it, then." Nika turned her head and agreed immediately.
Sanji, meanwhile, wore a look of discontent. "Why is it always these weirdos? Aren't there any beautiful big-sister Priests?" Their commotion had clearly attracted the attention of others.
Ahead, the other two Priests, having heard the explosion and noise from this direction, quickly rushed over. They arrived just in time to see the final scene of Gedatsu being punched away by Nika.
One was a long-haired man with a serious expression, a bald man with sunglasses wielding a strange cloud-sword. The other was a man with spider-leg-like hair and a frivolous expression.
"Oh? Looks like we have a decent swordsman here." Zoro's gaze instantly locked onto the bald swordsman, his fighting spirit igniting. "Nika, we'll fight later."
Nika had already asked Merry to go find the sake Zoro had hidden.
After the drinks are gone, whether to fight or not is up to her!
Sanji looked over the two men, the word "annoyed" practically written on his face. "As expected, not a single decent-looking one among them."
***
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