Chapter 127: Trial of Ordeals! Luffy's Intuition and the Priest's Nightmare
Passing through the dreamlike exit of Angel Island.
The trio of Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp finally arrived at the entrance to the legendary forbidden zone—Gods Island, Upper Yard.
"Yosh!! The big adventure begins!!"
Luffy held his clenched fists high, his fighting spirit soaring, completely unaware of his status as a "criminal."
Behind him, Usopp was observing his surroundings with trepidation.
He clutched the still-shivering dachshund gun, Lassoo, tightly to his chest.
"Hey, Luffy, keep it down... This is the territory of a god, after all..." Usopp muttered.
Sanji lit a cigarette, his gaze so determined it was almost burning:
"Wait for me, Robin! I'm coming to save you from that so-called god! This is a knight's trial of love!"
Soon, the three stopped before a massive pass.
Standing before them were four giant stone gates, each engraved with a different name and a hair-raising number.
Trial of Swamp (Survival Rate 50%).
Trial of Iron (Survival Rate 0%).
Trial of String (Survival Rate 3%).
Trial of Balls (Survival Rate 10%).
"What... What kind of deadly multiple-choice question is this!!"
Usopp looked at the ridiculously low survival rates, his eyes nearly popping out in fear.
He frantically counted on his fingers:
"Stay calm... Usopp... We need to choose the one with the highest survival rate...
"The Trial of Swamp is 50%, which means if two people go in, one survives...
"Wait, no! There are three of us! Doesn't that mean one and a half people will die?!"
"I'm picking this one!!"
Before Usopp could finish calculating, Luffy unhesitatingly stretched out his finger and pointed straight at the gate labeled "Trial of Balls (Survival Rate 10%)."
"Eh?!" Usopp screamed, "That's 10%! That's a death trap! Why pick that one?!"
"Because it's 'Balls'!"
Luffy's eyes shone, and he shouted righteously:
"Even though I don't know what it is, it sounds like fun! There must be lots of balls to kick!"
"Are you here for an outing, you idiot?!" Usopp retorted, on the verge of a breakdown.
"Forget it." Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke, hands in his pockets, "Since the Captain has chosen, let's go.
"Besides, no matter which one we pick... we just have to kick away any bastards standing in our way."
...
Pushing open the gate, the three entered a bizarre, mysterious forest.
The trees here were tall and twisted, and floating between the branches and above the grass were countless white spheres of varying sizes, looking just like balloons made of clouds.
"Is this the Trial of Balls?"
Usopp curiously leaned toward a ball and poked it gently with his finger.
"Bang!"
The sphere instantly burst, and a bunch of colorful poisonous snakes sprang out from inside.
"Waaaaah!! Snakes!!" Usopp hugged Lassoo and started doing a tap dance in terror.
"Oh? I'll try too." Luffy grinned and poked a ball nearby.
"Pop~"
A beautiful bouquet of flowers exploded out, accompanied by a few doves.
"Wow! Flowers! That's amazing!" Luffy clapped.
"Tch, boring." Sanji glanced at a ball by his foot and kicked it to burst.
"Pffft—!!"
A thick brown gas instantly spewed out—it was a skunk-level super stench.
"Cough, cough!! It stinks!! What the hell is this?!"
Sanji was brought to tears by the smell, his elegant image instantly collapsing.
Just as the three were feeling dizzy from this group of bizarre balls:
"Ho ho ho! Welcome to the Trial of Balls! Lost little lambs!"
A giggling voice came from the treetops.
A man who looked round like a ball, wearing orange sunglasses but with unusually nimble limbs, was jumping around on a giant sphere.
Priest — Satori.
"I am Satori, the priest who controls the 'Trial of Balls'! Since you've chosen this path, prepare to meet god!"
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!!"
Luffy didn't hesitate and threw a punch.
However, Satori moved as if he had eyes on the back of his head; with just a slight sway of his body, he easily dodged Luffy's extremely fast punch.
"Useless!" Satori mocked.
"Mutton Shot!" Sanji launched a kick from the side.
"Too slow, too slow!" Satori performed a backflip, dodging perfectly, and even took the opportunity to pat Sanji on the head.
"What's going on? Can this guy read minds?" Sanji was shocked.
"Ho ho ho! That's right! In this sanctuary, I am omniscient!"
Satori pointed to his own head, smugly:
"Your movements, your breathing, even where you plan to strike next second—my 'Mantra' hears it all clearly! I am a god!"
Before the words left his mouth, Satori's gaze turned cold, and his gloved, chubby hand slammed into Luffy's abdomen.
"impact dial!!"
Without any fancy moves, just a single palm strike.
"Bang!!!!"
A terrifying shockwave instantly pierced through Luffy's rubber body.
"Pfft—!!"
Luffy coughed up a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a cannonball, crashing through three huge trees before barely coming to a stop.
"Luffy!!" Usopp and Sanji were horrified.
One had to remember, Luffy was a rubber man; normal blunt attacks were almost ineffective against him. That he could cough up blood meant this strike had caused massive internal damage!
"Ho ho ho! This is the power of the 'Impact'! Even if you're rubber, it's useless!"
Just as Satori thought victory was in his grasp and prepared to finish off the other two:
"Cough..."
In the ruins, Luffy wobbled to his feet.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pulled down his straw hat. The playfulness in his eyes vanished, replaced by the instinct of a wild beast.
"So you can read my intentions, huh..."
Luffy didn't charge at Satori; instead, he suddenly turned around and threw a punch violently at a big tree nearby.
"Gomu Gomu—"
"Stun!!"
"What?" Satori was stunned, "He's hitting a tree?"
In the next second, Luffy's fist didn't stop; instead, utilizing the rebound force of his rubber body, he bounced wildly off the surrounding tree trunks.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless fist shadows flew chaotically through the forest, following absolutely no pattern, even nearly hitting Luffy himself several times.
"This... What kind of move is this?!"
Satori panicked.
His Mantra was in chaos because, in that instant, Luffy's mind was a blank slate—even Luffy himself didn't know where his fist would fly the next second!
"If even I don't know where I'm going to hit... you can't read it either!!"
"Bang!!"
A rebounding fist smashed fiercely into Satori's round face.
"Gotcha!!!"
...
The scene cut away briefly.
Deep in Gods Island, aboard the Going Merry docked by the altar.
Tatsuya was holding binoculars, observing the rising dust and explosions in the distant forest.
"That's the direction Luffy and the others went..."
Tatsuya looked at the spherical explosion clouds rising continuously, the corners of his mouth curling up:
"Looks like they've encountered a rather tricky ability. But..."
"Make a scene. The bigger the better."
Tatsuya closed the binoculars, his gaze deepening:
"Only by drawing the attention of the priest and that so-called 'God' away can I go 'take care of business'."
He pulled a yellowed piece of parchment from his pocket—an "Ancient Map of Gods Island" he had pilfered while wandering through a bookstore on Angel Island.
Tatsuya's slender fingers traced the complex patterns on the map, finally stopping at a specially marked location.
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