With the collapse of the Swamp Trial, the god's remaining combat strength dwindled further.
Only one Priest was left.
Ohm, guardian of the Iron Trial.
At this moment, he watched the Blue Sea swordsman before him with a tension coiling in his gut.
He sensed a clear, undeniable threat from Zoro, so potent that he'd all but ignored the other intruder, Wyper.
After just one brief exchange, he knew this green-haired man was powerful—the kind of powerful that could kill him.
Ohm even felt a dark spike of gratitude that Wyper had foolishly attacked Zoro, allowing him to escape that first lethal clash.
'Just one move,' Ohm thought, his hand tight on his hilt, 'and my Sword was nearly torn from my grasp.'
His sword was unique, possessing the hardness of iron yet the impossible, flexible lightness of a cloud.
It was harder to block than steel.
It had nearly caught Zoro off guard, but with his newly-awakened Observation Haki, Zoro had sensed the curving attack and narrowly avoided injury.
Currently, Zoro was just plain exasperated.
The beast-skin-clad man who had barged in was just annoying.
One moment he attacked Zoro, the next he attacked the Priest.
He was a pure troublemaker, making it impossible to focus.
As if to prove the point, Wyper's cannon fired again, forcing Zoro to dodge.
"Tch, fine! I'll just take care of both of you!"
The Straw Hat Pirates didn't know the Shandia people's story.
In Zoro's eyes, if this Wyper wanted to kill him, he was an enemy.
Thinking this, Zoro tied on his bandana and bit Wado Ichimonji into his mouth.
"So, which lucky one should I cut first? Hmm... let's start with this guy in the beast skin!"
(Zoro got a huge buff here iykwim)
Decision made, Zoro's three swords darkened with Armament Haki.
"Three Sword Style~ Black Rope..."
Before he could finish his thought, a long, rubbery arm shot from the forest and clamped around his neck.
A single drop of cold sweat dripped from Zoro's forehead.
He sensed impending doom.
This familiar, infuriating feeling... it was that brainless captain.
"You... damn it!"
As Luffy's arm retracted, Zoro vanished, yanked from the spot in an instant.
A moment later, he was swinging wildly through the air, flying over Luffy's head.
"Zoro! Help me cut this snake behind me~"
"I WILL CUT YOUR HEAD OFF INSTEAD!"
Despite his words, Zoro was already twisting in mid-air, preparing his stance.
He turned to look.
"It's... that big?"
This was, without question, the largest snake Zoro had ever seen.
Seeing its sheer size, he felt a brief moment of resignation... which was instantly burned away by a surge of pure fighting spirit.
He was eager to see if, after all his training with Ray, he could slay this.
His Armament Haki was still flaring.
Zoro took his stance in the air.
"Three Sword Style Secret Technique~ Three Thousand Worlds!"
Sword gleams crisscrossed in a blinding flash.
Zoro landed lightly on the ground.
"It seems that training both has indeed made me much stronger," he muttered, sheathing his blades.
"This snake's skin is harder than ordinary steel. But... I cut it!"
Zoro was deeply satisfied.
This Three Thousand Worlds was far more powerful than the one he'd used against Mihawk.
He had broken through the barrier of cutting steel.
He was a true master swordsman.
"Just as Ray taught," he smiled. "Training both sword techniques and Haki is the path to becoming the strongest."
Behind him, the massive serpent—known to the Sky Islanders as the Lord of the Sky—suddenly ceased its movements.
Fifty meters below its tongue, three gashes, each fifteen meters long, gushed torrents of blood.
The pain made the Lord of the Sky howl before it gradually lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Watching from a distance, Wyper trembled, his pupils shaking as he swallowed hard.
"He... he actually inflicted such severe injuries on the Lord of the Sky. Just who is this Blue Sea Person?"
Wyper had clashed with the Lord of the Sky several times.
Even his strongest Burn Bazooka couldn't so much as scratch the serpent's scales.
Yet this swordsman had brought the behemoth down with a single strike.
Standing frozen, Wyper felt a new wave of tension.
Just like Ohm, who's standing dozens of meters away, both men were lost in thought.
Ohm was contemplating how to survive Zoro's attacks.
Wyper, on the other hand, was thinking about how to avoid fighting Zoro.
He needed to save his ultimate move for Enel and couldn't afford to waste it here.
"Since Ohm is being held up by them," he decided, "I'll head straight to Enel's shrine."
A man of action, Wyper activated his Cloud Dial.
Seizing the moment, he shot toward the massive beanstalk, leaving Ohm to his fate.
Wyper's departure made Ohm feel significantly less secure.
That slash from Zoro was far beyond his own capabilities.
"Damn it, why are these Blue Sea People so absurd? I'm not even confident against that swordsman, and now there's another one... Maybe I should just surrender with my dog. No, no—if Enel finds out, he'll strike me down... What should I do...?"
Today, it seemed the Iron Trial's 0% clearance rate was likely to be breached.
"What are those two doing?" Ohm squinted. "Arguing? Maybe I still have a chance."
At that moment, Luffy had Zoro's sword pressed against his own neck.
"My deepest apologies!" Luffy grinned cheekily.
Zoro sighed in exasperation.
"I'm going to cut you down one of these days, but for now, let's deal with the enemy in front of us first. He's in our way."
Luffy nodded, and the two walked toward Ohm.
Ohm was on the verge of losing his mind.
These Blue Sea People had no respect for him at all!
"If that's how it is," he roared, "then no one's getting out of this unscathed! Holy, initiate the White Thorn Death Race! If we die, we die together!"
His partner—a massive white dog—suddenly stood on its hind legs and began running in human form.
It circled the trial grounds, triggering trap after trap.
As it ran, the area became enveloped in white Cloud Iron Thorns, forming a massive, thorny, spherical cage two kilometers in diameter.
Holy, the large white dog, had 10 meters left.
With a powerful push, it performed a backflip followed by three and a half mid-air spins before landing on one foot, triggering the final trap.
"CHOUCHOU!" Luffy shouted loudly, clapping. "That was a great run! I give that final flip a perfect score!"
Zoro was immediately speechless.
He'd also been enjoying the dog's acrobatics, but only because he wasn't remotely worried.
Their captain, as always, was face-blind.
Watching the cage take shape, Ohm's fear was replaced by a ferocious, crazed expression.
"Even if I die, I'll trap you both! These Cloud Iron Thorns—even you won't be able to cut through them! I'll starve you to death!"
Zoro scoffed.
How dare this guy be so arrogant? He drew Wado Ichimonji, preparing to show Ohm his power.
Just then, a white figure flew toward the cage from outside.
Behind it, a green whip of light was wrapped around three men and one woman.
It was Ray, carrying Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and the awakened Gan Fall.
He'd docked the Merry but had sensed something amiss and flown over.
Arriving at the scene, Ray looked at the iron cage with pure displeasure.
Who had placed an obstacle in his flight path? With a casual swing of his Poison Claw, the Cloud Iron Thorns cage shattered, leaving a gaping hole dozens of meters wide.
This scene instantly crushed Ohm's ferocious expression.
"What the hell..." he stood dumbfounded.
What was he even protecting? Why were these people treating his domain like child's play?
Look at me! I'm a Priest, damn it!
Ohm was devastated.
As Ray landed, the group immediately broke into noisy chatter.
Every other Blue Sea Person had begged for mercy before.
Now, Ohm was completely and utterly ignored.
He began to question the very meaning of his existence.
Why was he here? What was he supposed to do? Who was he?
"I am the strongest Priest," he muttered, then roared, as if to convince himself.
"No one has ever broken through me! ┗|｀O′|┛ RAWR~~"
Embracing death, he drew his cloud blade and charged fiercely toward Ray and the others.
Just as he was about to reach them, he suddenly heard Luffy shout.
"What? Ray, you've already killed their god?"
"Yes, we can testify!" Nami chimed in.
Ohm screeched to a halt, ending up right in front of the group.
Luffy looked at him, "Do you need something?"
"No, no, no—wait, yes, yes, yes!" Ohm bent over, his voice dripping with subservience.
"Are you all planning to go to Enel's shrine? This humble one will immediately lead the way for you all."
His mind cleared.
He remembered who he was now.
He was the exclusive Sky Island tour guide.