"But what's with the injuries on your body?" Usopp asked suspiciously, staring at the dried blood on Satori.
"No need to think too hard," Sanji said calmly, lighting a cigarette.
"Luffy probably did that."
"Damn you!" Satori snarled.
"Don't worry. That straw hat brat will definitely be dealt with by God Enel!"
"Oh?" Sanji replied.
Without another word, he suddenly stepped forward and launched himself toward Satori.
His leg swung out.
"Concassé!"
"Right Upper Kick!"
But in Satori's eyes, Sanji moved as slowly as a turtle.
He casually stepped aside and placed a hand on Sanji's chest.
"What?!"
BOOM!
Sanji was blasted out of the cloud river and slamd into a tree.
Blood burst from his mouth.
"Fire Star!"
Usopp fired a flaming projectile from his slingshot.
"Useless!" Satori said.
He easily dodged.
"How is that possible?!" Usopp gasped.
But the next mont—
Satori appeared beside him and pressed a palm against his chest.
BOOM!
Usopp was sent flying, following the sa fate as Sanji.
"Well then… that leaves only you."
Satori grinned at the trembling Chopper.
"Little reindeer."
'No… I have to be brave!'
Chopper clenched his teeth and charged forward.
"Oh? Going to transform?" Satori laughed.
As if answering him, Chopper instantly shifted from a reindeer into his Heavy Point form.
"What—?"
"Disappear along with your questions."
Satori smiled.
BOOM!
"What a disappointnt," Satori said, laughing loudly.
"I thought that man was strong, so his companions must have sothing special."
"But it turns out you're just a bunch of weaklings."
"Just now… that was Observation Haki," Sanji said with certainty.
"What?!" Usopp shivered.
"That's the Observation Haki Luffy talked about?"
Hearing about it was one thing.
Facing it was completely different.
The ability to see through everything made it feel impossible to fight back.
"Yeah… this just got troubleso," Sanji said.
"Chopper, Usopp. Leave."
"No!" Chopper protested.
"You can't beat him alone! If we fight together, we might win!"
"Idiot," Sanji replied calmly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't make it sound so tragic."
"Beating him is inevitable."
"He's my opponent."
"You heard what that dumpling said, right?"
"If I can't defeat him…"
"How am I supposed to face Luffy?"
"And that damn marimo-head will laugh to death."
"But—!" Chopper tried to argue.
Usopp stopped him.
"…We'll et at the ruins."
"Trying to run?" Satori scoffed as he noticed them leaving.
"You think it'll be that easy?"
He rushed after them—
But suddenly—
BAM!
A kick shot toward him.
Satori dodged instantly.
The two of them clashed again.
"Hahaha!" Satori laughed.
"I can see every movent you make!"
"How could you possibly defeat ?"
Sanji remained silent.
His thoughts drifted back to a past conversation.
A mory
"Luffy… what should we do if we face an enemy who uses Haki?"
"Shishishi! Just hold out until I arrive and then I'll punch him away!"
"Be serious!"
"Alright, alright."
"If you're facing Observation Haki, controlling the pace of the fight becos difficult."
"But there are three solutions."
First: Disturb your opponent's mind.
"If soone loses their calm, their Observation Haki weakens—or even stops working temporarily."
Second: Use wide-range or extrely fast attacks.
"Observation Haki predicts attacks, but it doesn't guarantee they can dodge them."
"Seeing it coming doesn't help if they can't avoid it."
Third: Awaken your own Observation Haki.
"The first two are temporary fixes."
"This one works in all situations."
"Only when you stand on the sa level as your opponent can you truly deal with it."
"So…"
"What will you choose, Sanji?"
Sanji smiled stubbornly.
"Isn't that obvious?"
He slowly closed his eyes.
Fear surged inside him.
Eyes are humanity's window to the world.
Closing them is like shutting that window completely.
And nothing frightens people more than darkness.
"Oh?" Satori laughed.
"Closed your eyes already?"
"Accepting defeat?"
"What an idiot."
But his attacks never slowed.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
anwhile — Above the Clouds
Luffy kicked Enel away again and glanced down at Upper Yard with concern.
After a mont, he sighed.
Then charged forward again.
To be fair—
A fully serious Enel was extrely powerful.
Without using Gear Second, defeating him would take at least another day.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was simply too versatile.
Before Enel could even understand what happened, Luffy was already charging again.
He steadied his mind and stopped paying attention to anything else.
Soon—
Thunder roared.
Lightning flashed.
Rain began falling across Upper Yard.
The battle continued.
anwhile — Zoro & Nami
"You're seriously annoying," Zoro muttered.
He casually cut down a giant snake lunging at Nami.
"Idiot!" Nami shouted.
"This is all your fault! What kind of route did you lead us on?!"
"There's no gold anywhere—just snakes and bugs!"
"So now it's my fault?" Zoro replied.
"I can't find those priests. My Observation Haki isn't picking them up, so I'm just walking where my instincts tell ."
"If you don't like it, stop following ."
"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Nami snapped.
"If you can't find them, let's just look for gold together!"
"Hm?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"You know where it is?"
"Yes."
"Rember what Mont Blanc Cricket told us?"
"The treasure is in the right eye of the skull."
"And Luffy said Upper Yard is the other half of Jaya, blown into the sky by the Knock Up Stream."
"That ans Upper Yard Jaya = the real Jaya Island from 400 years ago."
Nami took out the ancient map Luffy found from the sunken ship and combined it with the map of Jaya.
Sothing incredible appeared.
"A skull…" Zoro muttered.
"Exactly!" Nami said excitedly.
"Jaya Island used to look like a giant skull!"
"That's why Noland said:"
"I saw gold. It's in the right eye of the skull."
"That was the clue!"
"So?" Zoro asked.
"We head to the right eye of the skull."
Back at the Ordeal of Balls
Cough…
Blood.
Blood everywhere.
Sanji's body was covered in wounds.
His flesh was torn.
His bones broken.
He lay quietly inside a crater, blood soaking the ground.
But his eyes remained firmly closed.
"What is going on?!" Satori scread.
"He took so many hits! Why is he still alive?!"
"…Fine."
"I'll finish you with this."
"Ball Dragon!"
Satori waved his hand.
Dozens of white spheres ford into a long chain and shot toward Sanji.
"Hahaha!"
"Those spheres have a high chance of containing bombs!"
"When they explode, the chain reaction will kill you!"
But Sanji lay still.
Then—
'The world… is quiet.'
Suddenly, his darkness beca bright.
His eyes were still closed.
Yet he saw everything.
He saw the wind flowing.
He saw the trees swaying.
He saw ants moving across the ground.
He saw the Ball Dragon rushing toward him.
And he saw Satori's arrogant grin.
"So this…"
"…is Observation Haki."
A completely different world unfolded.
Whether one possessed Observation Haki or not ant seeing reality in an entirely different way.
Sanji finally understood.
Why Luffy and Zoro seed so extraordinary.
They weren't seeing the sa world he was.
"Hahahahaha!"
Sanji laughed from the crater.
He had done it.
He slowly stood up.
Red light flickered in his eyes.
The world seed to slow down.
Inside each sphere of the Ball Dragon—
Bombs.
Spikes.
Flowers.
Grass.
Everything beca visible.
Sanji leapt into the air.
He stepped across the spheres like stepping stones.
Then began spinning.
His shoe ignited with flas.
"What?!" Satori gasped.
"My Mantra isn't working?!"
"Diable Jambe!"
Flas blazed in Satori's eyes.
BOOM!
A pillar of fire erupted across Upper Yard.
The Ordeal of Balls Priest — Satori was defeated.
Sanji collapsed onto the scorched ground.
"…This feeling."
"…is amazing."
anwhile—
Usopp and Chopper had unknowingly entered the Sacrificial Altar.
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