Ordeal of Balls:

-x-

Zoro, Nami, and Robin walked through the forest of Upper Yard each with a different purpose. Robin was there to explore the island in the sky's vast history. Nami had come along at the mention of valuable treasure. And Zoro wanted to have a face-to-face encounter with God.

"Enough is enough," Zoro complained, "Where is this God?"

"It may not matter," Robin replied, "If He really is a God, chances are He already knows exactly where we are."

"Well if he would just come to us I could get this thing over with," Zoro remarked.

"You say that because you haven't seen the things I have," Nami insisted, "There is somebody or something on this island with the ability to destroy us." She thought back to the red-haired man she'd seen when she came to Upper Yard with Y/N. And how that bright light had descended from the sky and completely vaporized the man. There was nothing left where the man once stood except a ring of dirt and the notable destruction that had been inflicted on the forest.

Nami quickly dropped to her knees and prayed in the hope that God would spare her. "Oh Powerful One, we are but simple sailors. Please leave us in peace. Oh! And also please help us find lots and lots of treasure."

"Nice prayer Nami," Zoro dead-panned. He once again wondered which was stronger, her sense of fear and self-preservation or her greed. What he could remember from Bonsatsu Island put her firmly in the 'greed' category.

Zoro walked along one of the roots of the enormous trees and stared out at the river of Sea Cloud that they'd reached the bank of. "Look, you can sit on your knees and pray all day," Zoro said, "but it's not gonna get us out of here. I say we cross the river and see what's on the other side."

"Yes, I agree," Robin stated.

"And how do you plan to get across this time?" Nami inquired, "I don't see any vines handy. Hey Zoro, maybe you could throw Robin across and she—" Nami was cut off when the dirt under her feet started to crumble and caused her to tumble towards the river.

Splish! A Sky Shark popped out of the Sea Clouds with its mouth wide open and ready for Nami to fall right into it.

THWAK! Zoro rushed in and shoved Nami backwards while he lashed out and kicked the Sky Shark in the neck and it flew across the river and slammed into the bank on the other side. Meanwhile, Nami fell backwards when Zoro shoved her but was caught by a cluster of arms that quickly grew out of the huge tree root she was about to slam into. WHUP!

"Aaahh..." Nami gasped as she slid back down to her knees.

"Grr... those things are everywhere!" Zoro growled.

"If you think I'm crossing that now, you're out of your mind!" Nami told him. "I may as well just hop in and give the sharks a free snack!"

"Calm down!" Zoro scolded her, "It'll be fine. We'll just keep walking upstream and hope we find a safe place to cross over."

"Give up, I'm not going!" Nami insisted. "I knew I should've stayed behind with Y/N..."

"Maybe you should've!" Zoro snapped, "If you're so scared then why'd you even come in the first place!" Zoro and Nami glared at each other and were about to dissolve into an all-out shouting match when Robin slid down the nearest root and interrupted them.

"Hey guys," she called out as she knelt down and rubbed her hand on the dirt at her feet. "Look at this..."

"Look at what exactly?" Nami asked.

"It's dirt," Robin pointed out as she rubbed bits of the soil between her fingers.

"Yeah I know," Nami said, "It was one of the first things Y/N and I noticed the last time we came here."

"But don't you think it's odd that there's dirt on a sky island?" Robin questioned.

"You're right," Zoro realized, "The ground's not fluffy."

"Most Sky Islands are made of cloud," Nami reasoned, "So why do you think this island is different from the others?"

"Not sure," Robin admitted, "but the fact that it is different might be the fact that makes this place so special... at any rate, its reason enough to start exploring."

-x-

Back on the Milky Road on the other side of Upper Yard, Luffy, Usopp and Sanji were faced with a choice between four potential ordeals: the Ordeal of Swamp, Ordeal of Iron, Ordeal of String and the Ordeal of Balls.

Eneru's four priests anxiously awaited their decision to see whose ordeal the three pirates would have to face.

"Prepare for judgment criminals," Gedatsu said as he waited in his Ordeal of Swamp. "You have no choice but to receive it."

"Select a gate, select from four Ordeals," Shura stated as he stood in his Ordeal of String.

"For you there can be no turning back," Satori added as he prepared his Ordeal of Spheres.

"You may choose your own trial," Ohm announced from his Ordeal of Iron, "But we will decide your Fate."

"Swamp!"

"Iron!"

"String!"

"Balls!"

"Choose your path criminals!" the four priests chorused.

Luffy, Usopp and Sanji sailed to up the gate with the four marked entrances on the Crow.

"So what do we do?" Usopp looked back and asked the Captain.

"Um... let's go with Balls!" Luffy decided.

"Why do you like that one?" Usopp questioned.

"Balls sound like fun," Luffy answered.

"That's your only reason?" Usopp inquired, "They're Ordeals! They're not supposed to be fun! Not that I'm disagreeing with you... 'Balls' is definitely the one that doesn't sound too violent... at least to me. I mean... all swamp makes me think is..." Usopp pictured himself sinking in a murky puddle of swamp. "That's the type of sinking you don't come up from!"

"Okay, so what about Iron?" Luffy suggested.

Usopp thought about it and mentally screamed as he pictured giant iron anvils being dropped on their tiny boat from above.

"AAAAAH!" Usopp shrieked in terror and shook his head. "No thank you! Way too scary!"

"Fine, string then," Luffy said.

Usopp imagined himself climbing hand-over-hand along a long line of string. But then he looked down and realized that there was no longer an island underneath him. He suddenly found himself deathly afraid of heights.

"No way!" Usopp insisted, "It sounds so harmless it's probably the worst!"

That left the Ordeal of Balls. Usopp pictured them sailing down a cloud canal and being chased by a giant red ball that would easily squish them.

"Come to think of it..." Usopp whimpered, "Balls doesn't sound all that safe either... Maybe we should think this over..."

"We don't have time for a debate here," Sanji finally spoke up, "We're right on top of it."

"Alright, Balls it is!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Okay..." Usopp reluctantly agreed. "I guess we'll have to trust Luffy's instincts on this one."

"Then it's decided," Sanji resolved, "Just don't let your guard down guys. Remember, these are God's islands. Anything can happen."

"READY! LET'S DO THIS!" Luffy cheered.

Usopp steered the Crow towards the gateway on the far right and they sailed right through the circular opening marked 'Ordeal of Balls' and found themselves going through a long tunnel. Usopp tensed and closed his eyes, as he prepared for the worst.

"Driver!" Sanji called out to Usopp, "Would you mind not shutting your eyes?"

Usopp reluctantly cracked his eyes opened despite the terror he felt inside. "Noo!" he whined, "It's just as dark with them opened!"

"Hey guys what if this is like one of those games?" Luffy asked.

"Like a what?" Usopp questioned.

"You know, if you pick the right door you get a prize," Luffy explained, "But if you pick the wrong one..."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Usopp shrilly demanded. "WHAT IF WE PICKED WRONG? WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE LUFFY?"

Well, let's see here..." Luffy thought to himself. "If you pick the wrong one... then you fall off this island!"

"HOW COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING SO STUPID?" Usopp shouted. "WE'RE THOUSANDS OF METERS IN THE AIR! I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES YOUR LIFE CAN FLASH BEFORE YOUR EYES DURING A FALL LIKE THAT! AND I DON'T WANNA KNOW!"

"You guys are both being idiots," Sanji reprimanded them as a light appeared ahead of them. They had reached the end of the tunnel. "Nothing like that's gonna..."

Sanji trailed off when they sailed out of the tunnel and kept going while the Sea Cloud canal plummeted downwards in a seemingly infinite cloud waterfall. The Crow kept going for a bit but then gravity finally kicked in and they fell.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Luffy, Usopp and Sanji all screamed in terror as they fell downward right through small clouds on the way.

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Usopp hollered.

SPLOOOSH! The Crow splashed down onto a lower canal. Much to their relief they hadn't dropped through the clouds back down to the Blue Sea. The cloud water fall was only a few hundred feet high. Compared the ten thousand meters they could have fallen that was actually a huge relief.

"Pheeww..." Sanji sighed, "We're alive!"

"I seriously thought we were falling all the way back to the Blue Sea..." Usopp whimpered. Dried tears and snot completely covered his face.

"SHISHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed.

THWAK! Sanji lashed out and kicked him on the side of the head. "That's because somebody had to make up a lame story to scare us!" Sanji snapped as he continued to pound his foot into the side of the laughing Luffy's head. THWAK! THWAP!

"I was scared!" Luffy assured them, "I thought I was a goner too! Shishishishi!"

Sanji lit up a new cigarette as he claimed the driver's seat due to the sniper being too scared to drive anymore. Luffy and Sanji stared around the forest they now found themselves in.

"Alright... now what is this place?" Sanji wondered.

"A forest," Luffy pointed out the obviously, "...with balls."

The forest on both sides of the cloud canal were filled with white balls that floated mysteriously in midair and appeared to be made out of fluffy white Island Cloud. The canal weaved back and forth and up and down through the forest for as far as they could see and all of it had the white spheres floating around and over it.

"They're balls made of Island Cloud," Sanji realized.

"Shishi! Awesome!" Luffy chuckled, "They look like really big snowflakes! Now what's scary about that? See Usopp? It's okay!"

Usopp was still in the same place where Sanji had dumped him after he claimed his seat. The sniper appeared to have gone catatonic after surviving their terrifying fall.

"Heads up," Sanji warned Luffy since Usopp was unresponsive. "The Milky Road is leading us up into the trees."

"I just don't see how this is an ordeal," Luffy said, "Do you?"

"Not yet," Sanji answered, "It'd be great if there was nothing ahead. But somehow I doubt it."

"What if it was like one of those games?" Luffy suggested, "And we picked the right door and now all we have to do is float around in this giant snow looking for the others!"

"Y-y-y-yeah..." Usopp stammered, the pleasant thought of going through a non-fatal ordeal had brought him out of his catatonic state. "Maybe that's it!"

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed.

"You're still being idiots," Sanji scolded them. "They think we're criminals. I doubt they'll let us off that easy. Use your brains for once. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more traps like the ones earlier. We have to stay sharp. Let's just keep moving."

"What? Are you the Captain now?" Luffy challenged him. "Can't we at least have a snack?"

"Oooh, yeah!" Usopp agreed. "Whatcha got in the bag Sanji?"

"C'mon! Gimme!" Luffy urged him.

"No!" Sanji refused. "No snacks!"

"But Sanji!" Luffy protested, "We need to keep our strength up!"

"Just a little something?" Usopp pleaded.

"I said 'no'!" Sanji growled, "Now listen, it's really simple, I'm going to keep steering, you two keep watch out the sides."

Despite their new instructions, Luffy and Usopp missed the round man that floated over them on top of one of the large white balls.

"Wow, I didn't realize how high up we were getting!" Usopp remarked as he and Luffy stared off the side of the Crow as well as the canal which was floating in midair as it snaked its way through the forest.

"Something's not right," Sanji thought to himself, "It's too quiet. There are four Priests so I assume each tunnel would lead to one. Why haven't we seen any of them yet?" Sanji was caught up in his thoughts and Luffy and Usopp weren't paying enough attention so they all failed to notice that shadow of a round man on a ball as it drifted alongside them. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Hey Usopp, catch!" Luffy called out as he and Usopp sat in the back of the boat behind Sanji and tossed one of the white spheres back and forth and ate a snack despite what Sanji said.

"I got it, I got it!" Usopp mumbled around the food in his mouth as he bumped the fluffy white ball of Island Cloud and knocked it back to Luffy.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO KEEP WATCH!" Sanji snapped at them.

POP! The game ended when a large snake popped out of the side of the ball Luffy and Usopp were playing with and snapped at Usopp's long nose.

"SNAAAAKEEE!" Usopp wailed as he lunged away from the scary animal that had appeared out of nowhere.

"STUPID SNAKE-BALL!" Luffy yelled as he lashed out and kicked the snaked-filled ball. THWAK! The ball and the snake were sent flying off and were instantly lost in the forest. "Okay... I didn't see that coming..."

Unnoticed by all of them, Satori grinned as he watched his Ordeal get underway.

"AAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed when he noticed a ball that was in front of the Crow. "SAANJII! CLOOUUD-BAALL! KICK IT AAWAAYY!"

"I don't like the idea of being surrounded by snake eggs," Sanji growled. Thawk! Sanji kicked the sphere but the power of his kick was seemingly absorbed into the sphere. And then it exploded. KA-BOOOOOOM!

"This can't be good..." Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji chorused all three of them had been blasted when the ball exploded.

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Usopp shouted. "WHAT'S WITH THESE THINGS?"

"HOH-HOH-HOO!" a loud laugh rang through the forest. "Silly children! These are surprise clouds! You never know what's going to come out of them!"

A large ball spiraled down in front of them and revealed Satori as he sat casually on the large ball as it spun.

"Hoh-hoh-hoo!" Satori laughed, "Heso! I'm so glad you picked my challenge the Ordeal of Balls! Although... I was hoping to see your red-haired friend again. Oh well! Hoh-hoh-hoo!"

"Is that a talking dumpling?" Sanji wondered as he, Luffy and Usopp stared up at the round-bodied priest in surprise.

-x-

Satori of the Forest:

-x-

"HOH-HOH-HOOOOO!"

The three Straw Hats stared up at the priest in surprise as he danced on his ball.

"This guy is one of Eneru's Priests?" Sanji questioned.

"THAT'S THE ORDEAL?" Luffy demanded, "BALL-GUY?"

"STOP WITH THE DANCING!" Sanji yelled, "AND TELL US WHO YOU ARE!"

"HOH-HOH-HOOOO!" Satori just continued to laugh and dance without a care in the world.

"Gotta say, he's not as bright as I expected," Usopp admitted.

"Didn't the old guy say these priests were strong?" Luffy asked, "'Cause I'm not seeing it."

"HEY! DUMPLING!" Sanji shouted at Satori. "MISS. NAMI, MISS. ROBIN AND THE OTHERS HAD BETTER BE SAFE!"

"You mean the sacrifices?" Satori inquired, "They'll escape or they won't, doesn't really matter much! If they escape, they'll die! And if they're sacrificed, well then they'll die too! All except for your red-haired friend, he is to be brought before the Almighty Eneru... it's a pity he isn't here with you. I would've liked to take him myself. OH WELL! If you three want to go any further, you'll have to beat me! And I really don't see that happening! Hoh-hoh-hooo!"

WOING! Satori bounced off of his cloud ball and launched himself at the Crow.

"HE'S COMING RIGHT FOR US!" Usopp shouted as he hid behind the umbrella pole. "LUFFY, GET HIM!"

"I hope you're ready for this!" Luffy called out as he pulled his arm back and swung it around beside him. "GUUUUM... GUUUUM..."

"Ooo! You're going to stretch!" Satori announced. He started to spin to avoid the attack he knew was coming.

"PIIIISTOOOOL!" SHOOOM! Luffy shot his fist out at Satori but the round man spun out of the way as he dropped down closer then reached out and brought his gloved hand to Luffy's face.

"HOH-HOH-HOO!" Satori laughed. BING! WHAAM! As the impact from Satori's hand blasted Luffy in the face.

"WAAAAAH!" Luffy yelled as he flew backwards off of the Crow and slammed into a tree. WHAM! He hit the tree so hard that he ended up embedded in the side of it before he dropped down to the ground below. FWUMP!

"No way!" Usopp gasped.

"LUFFY!" Sanji cried out in alarm.

"Luffy!" Usopp called out to the Captain, "You're okay, aren't you? A hit like that couldn't have hurt you that much!"

"Well you see..." Satori said as he stood perched on the side of the Crow with is gloved hand extended, "...it's not what you would call a 'normal hit'!"

"I'LL SHOW YOU NOT NORMAL!" Sanji snarled as he shot up and charged at the Priest.

"Right foot, high kick," Satori thought to himself.

"COLLIER..." Sanji started to shout only to trail off when Satori spun out of the way of his attack as if he knew it was coming from the start.

"Only the most well-trained are granted the power of Mantra," Satori told him.

"Impossible, how could he have predicted my attack?" Sanji only had a second to wonder to himself before Satori took advantage of Sanji being off-balance from his missed kick and drove his hand into his back. BING! WHAAM! Sanji soared right passed Usopp as he flew off of the boat and crashed to the ground on the shore next to Luffy. THUD!

"GAAH!" Usopp yelped as he stared off the side of the Crow after Luffy and Sanji. Satori had dispatched two of the Straw Hats' three top fighters with ease. "NOOOO! SAAANJIIIII!"

"I warned you, didn't I?" Satori said from behind Usopp which caused the sniper to break out in a cold sweat. Satori extended his opened hand. "IMPACT!" BING! WHAAM! Usopp was blasted in the back of the head and was knocked off of the boat and slammed down next to Luffy and Sanji on the shore. THUD! "The shock destroys the body from the inside out!"

"Sanji! Usopp!" Luffy called out as he finally started to push himself up off of the ground and noticed his two Nakama on the ground nearby. He picked up his hat that had fallen off and put it back on.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Sanji reported as he staggered sat up. "What did that bastard do to us?"

"I got no idea," Luffy admitted, "Who is this guy anyway?"

"Hoh-hoh-hoo!" Satori laughed, "My name is Satori and I am one of the Four Priests of the Almighty Eneru who watch over Upper Yard and see to the judgment of criminals like you. I own the Vearth in this lost forest."

"Lost forest?" Luffy repeated.

"Why yes!" Satori replied, "My forest, in all its glory!" With Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp down on the shore, no one could stop Satori as he pressed his foot down on the Crow's accelerator pedal. VRRRRRR! The Crow's dial-powered engine roared to life and the boat sped off along the canal. Skish! Satori quickly leapt from the boat to the shore. "And now your boat will be lost in my forest's illusions!"

"WAAAH!" Luffy wailed, "WE'RE USING THAT!"

"She will now speed along the Milky Road which will eventually lead to this forest's only exit!" Satori explained, "I'm sure I don't need to tell you this... but if you lose a dial boat in here, it's the same as losing your way to the Sacrificial Altar! That means you will have to find the boat and board her before that happens! Of course, my hundreds of Surprise Clouds and I will never allow you that chance! Does that seem unfair to you boys? Welcome to the Upper Yard! HOH-HOH-HOOO! HOH-HOH-HOOO! The Ordeal of Spheres! There's a ten-percent survival rate!"

"Survival rate?" Usopp repeated, "Just ten percent?" Those weren't good odds.

Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji stared up at Satori.

"HOH-HOH-HOOOO!" Satori laughed. He might seem stupid but there was no underestimating how dangerous their latest opponent was.

-x-

Back on the other side of Upper Yard at the Sacrificial Altar, Y/N and Chopper stood over the Sky Shark that Y/N had caught with Zoro.

"Okay, I'm going to cut this thing up so we can cook it," Y/N told Chopper, "How 'bout you get started on repairing the ship and I'll join you once I finish."

"Okay," Chopper agreed as he quickly hopped back on the Going Merry went to get Usopp's toolbox. "I'm glad Big Brother's here. I'd be terrified if the others left me here all alone." Chopper peered over his shoulder at Y/N and watched as he started to use his sword to cut up the Sky Shark. Chopper remembered how Y/N had caught the Sky Shark. He bravely dived into the shark-infested Sea Clouds to help Zoro when he went under. "He's so brave. And he's not scared at all." "Big Brother... how come you're not scared? We're on a scary Altar in a scary forest with a scary God and His scary Priests. Doesn't that worry you?"

"More than you know," Y/N silently replied but he knew he needed to relay Chopper's fears. "I'm not worried because I know we're all going to be okay. Zoro can handle anything, and Nami's with him and Robin so I know she'll be okay. Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji are all probably on their way here as we speak. So really, all we have to do is stay alive until the others get back."

"Right, then I'm not scared either!" Chopper announced, "I've got you with me so we'll be fine! Then once the others get back we can get out of here and leave this scary island behind us."

"That's the spirit," Y/N encouraged him as he went back to his work on the sky shark.

Chopper got out a wooden board and transformed into his Heavy Point form and began to hammer it in on top of one of the broken boards. KONK! KONK! KONK! WHUMP! Chopper's clumsiness came back to bite him as he drove the hammer down onto his thumb.

"YAAAAAAHHH!" Chopper screamed and waved his swollen thumb around, he accidently threw the hammer away in the process.

"Chopper, are you alright?" Y/N asked as he looked up from his shark.

Chopper immediately stopped sucking on his thumb and quickly puffed out his chest, "Of course I'm fine," he boasted in an attempt to sound tough, "I just missed the nail... I'm not hurt at all."

"Be more careful," Y/N warned him, "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Right," Chopper agreed, "Where'd it go?" He glanced around for his lost hammer and stared in wide-eyed terror when he saw where it landed.

The hammer was on the bottom step of the Sacrificial Alter. Inches away from the sky shark infested Sea Clouds.

"Uh oh..." Chopper whimpered.

-x-

"HOH-HOH-HOOOO!" Satori crowed as the Crow sailed away on the Milky Road while he danced on top of one of his floating surprise clouds. "You boys had better catch her! She's getting away!"

"He's right, guys," Usopp realized, "We need to get moving now before we lose sight of her. Ugghh... if we lose her in this forest, finding her again will be impossible!" He ran off to catch up with their wayward boat.

"Usopp wait!" Sanji called after him, "finding each other again won't be easy either!" The cook glanced over at the Captain, "Luffy, you coming?"

"You two go on ahead without me," Luffy replied as he cracked his knuckles and prepared to fight. He never took his eyes off of Satori. "I'm gonna take care of ball-guy!"

"Hoh-hoh-hooo!" Satori laughed, "This should be amusing! Do you really think you can beat me, boy? Hoh-hoh-hooo!"

"I guess someone needs to deal with this pot-bellied freak," Sanji thought to himself. "Don't do anything reckless. He's got weird powers. I'll be back as soon as we get the boat." Sanji turned and ran off after Usopp and left Luffy alone to fight Satori.

"Great," Luffy said as he swung his arm and locked his eyes on his opponent. "It's just you and me now, fat-so!" SHOOOM! Luffy stretched his arm out.

"He'll grab that branch," Satori whispered as he used his Mantra to predict Luffy's movements.

SHOOOM! Luffy's arm retracted and he shot up into the air then pulled his arm back and aimed a punch at Satori. "GUUUUM... GUUUUM..."

"Same move as before," Satori noted as he prepared for the attack.

"PIIIISTOOOOOL!" SWISH! Satori spun to the side and Luffy's arm extended and whizzed right by him. The Priest quickly took advantage and grabbed onto Luffy's arm. Whap!

"HOH-HOH-HOOO!" Satori laughed. SHU-WHUP! He used his hold on Luffy's arm to yank the rubber pirate towards him then started to swing him around the clearing. WHING! WHING! WHING! WHING!

"WAAAAAHHH!" Luffy screamed as Satori swung him around by his arm over and over again before Satori spun and smashed him into the side of a tree. KRASH!

Luffy dropped from the tree but stretched his legs out and wrapped them around the branch above him to stop himself from falling down to the forest floor.

"HOH-HOH-HOOOO!" Satori laughed, "WHAT'S THE MATTER? I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO 'TAKE CARE OF ME'!"

"I am!" Luffy growled as he hung from the huge tree branch. "I said I would, didn't I?" SHOOOM! Luffy stretched his arm out passed Satori and grabbed onto a vine that was wrapped around a tree behind the Priest. FWUP! Luffy yanked himself through the air and used his hold on the tree to launch himself at Satori. "AND THIS TIME I WON'T MISS! GUUUM... GUUUM..."

"You'll feign a punch but follow with a kick," Satori stated.

SWISH! Luffy's feint went right by Satori unheeded then he lashed out his leg, "WHIIIIP!" SKISH! Satori jumped over Luffy's extended leg and landed safely on his surprise cloud. Luffy flew by Satori but spun in midair and lashed out his leg again, "AND AGAIN!" SHWING! Luffy whipped his leg at Satori but the Priest caught Luffy's foot with ease. WHAP!

"HOH-HOH-HOOO!" Satori laughed then he used his hold on Luffy's foot to pull the rubber pirate towards him. SHOOOM!

As he was yanked towards Satori, Luffy drew back his fist for another punch. "GUUUM... GUUUMM..."

But before Luffy could connect with his attack, Satori extended his arm with the opened palm aimed at Luffy's face. BING! WHAAAAM! Luffy went limp from the attack and Satori quickly took advantage and grabbed Luffy by the ankle and hoisted him up over his head and once again started to swing him around the clearing. WHING! WHING! WHING! Satori finally let go and Luffy smashed head-first into a tree. KRASH!

SKISH! Satori leapt off of his surprise cloud and dove -hand-first at Luffy. BING! WHAM! BING! WHAAM! Satori's attacks connected and drilled Luffy deeper and deeper into the tree until he was embedded into it. All the while, the Priest cackled madly, "HOH-HOH-HOOOO!"

-x-

Usopp raced through the forest and through the surprise clouds in an attempt to find the Crow.

"Where is she?" Usopp wondered as he frantically scanned the Milky Road as it weaved through the trees over his head. "Where's the Crow? If we don't get her back we'll be stuck here forever!" Usopp stopped running at the base of a huge tree. "I can't see anything from down here." He turned to the tree and began to climb it. "Up I go."

Seconds later, Sanji ran into the same area. "Watch yourself Luffy," Sanji thought to his Captain, "These Priests are far from ordinary... now to find the boat and get out of here. Fast." Sanji raced through the clearing and ran right by the tree Usopp had started to climb.

-x-

"Damn it my head's stuck!" Luffy complained as he tried to wrench his head out of the tree trunk it was still embedded inside.

"HOH-HOH-HOO!" Satori laughed on one of his surprise clouds. "Aren't you stubborn!"

The Straw Hats were in a bad situation. The three pirates had been split up, their ship the Crow had disappeared along the Milky Road, and Luffy had yet to land a hit on his strange opponent.

-x-

Surprise Balls:

-x-

"Hoh-hoh-hoo!" Satori laughed as he watched Luffy attempt to pull his head out from the tree it was stuck inside. "Oh good, it looks like this one will be sticking around for a while!" Satori did a pirouette on top of his ball and spun around in search of Usopp and Sanji. "Now, where did those others scamper off to? I'll be oh so disappointed if they got away!" Satori grinned when he turned and spotted Sanji as he raced through the huge trees. "Ah, there we are!"

-x-

"Hey! Usopp!" Sanji called out as he ran through the giant trees still in search of the Crow. "You see it yet?"

"Hmm..." Usopp mumbled from on top of a large branch while he stared through his sniper goggles in search of their lost boat. Usopp scanned the Milky Road as it weaved through the trees and eventually gasped when he saw the Crow as it sailed away from them. "AH! THERE SHE IS!"

"WANNA TELL ME WHERE?" Sanji questioned.

"STRAIGHT AHEAD!" Usopp shouted back, "CLIMB UP THE – one... two – THIRD TREEE ON THE RIGHT! YOU CAN JUMP ON WHEN SHE PASSES BENEATH YOU!"

"Gotcha," Sanji replied as he ran up to the indicated tree and started to climb up it so he could jump down onto the Milky Road that currently floated over his head.

"HOH-HOH-HOOOO!" Satori crowed as he popped up on a ball a full tree behind Usopp.

"Oh crap!" Usopp cursed, "It's that priest! What's he doing?"

THWAK! Satori lashed out his foot and kicked the surprise cloud closest to him. WOOOSH! The big white ball whizzed through the air and flew right by Usopp.

"HEADS UP SANJI!" Usopp cried out in warning as the surprise cloud flew towards the cook. "KILLER BALL COMING YOUR WAY!"

"What?" Sanji asked as he stopped climbing and looked over his shoulder and saw the ball as it flew right at him. "WHAT'S LUFFY DOING BACK THERE?"

Sanji tensed and prepared himself for the worst. There was no telling what could pop out of the surprise ball. KONK! Sanji's eyes widened in surprise as the ball slammed into the side of the surprise ball that was behind him. Like billiard ball in a game of pool the first surprise cloud bounced off of the second one at a different angle and then slammed into another surprise cloud. KONK! The surprise ball flew back the way it came.

"SURPRISE CLOUD BILLIARDS!" Satori cheered.

Sanji gasped in alarm. The surprise ball had bounced off of the two balls near him and was now headed right towards... Usopp. "UUSOOOPP!" Sanji shouted.

The sniper stared wide-eyed at the surprise ball as it flew at him. "WAAAAH-HAAA-HAAA!" Usopp lunged backwards in an attempt to dodge the ball. "THAT FAT FREAK WAS AIMING FOR ME!" But Usopp wasn't fast enough and the ball sank onto his long nose. Shunk! "At least I'll die like a man..."

POP! A flower sprang out of the top of the surprise ball. "WHAT? A FLOWER?"

"Aw... it was a dud..." Satori pouted.

"YAAAAAHHHH!" Usopp screamed as he continued to fall down from the branch. He'd been completely fooled by the harmless surprise ball and had dove off the branch for nothing. FWUMP! Usopp landed in an undignified heap nearly a hundred feet down.

"BASTARD!" Sanji yelled.

"HOH-HOH-HOOOO!" Satori laughed happily as he danced on top of his ball.

-x-

Meanwhile, Luffy continued to yank backwards in an attempt to free his head from the large tree trunk it was wedged inside. "UUUUGGGHHH!" Luffy groaned as he pushed himself backwards with all of his considerably strength which caused his rubber neck to stretch. KRASH! Luffy's head finally came free and he did a flip and landed safely on the tree branch below. TMP!

Luffy glanced around him for any sign of the priest he'd been fighting. He eventually spotted Satori on a ball off in a distance but also saw a tree branch that would take him there.

SKISH! Luffy jumped onto the tree branch and sprinted along it towards Satori. Being about as subtle as a bull in a china shop, Luffy shouted loudly as he charged at the round priest. "ALRIGHT YOU! THAT DOES IT! NOW YOU'VE MADE ME MAD!" SKISH! Luffy jumped off of the branch and onto a ball. "GUUUM... GUUUUM... GAAATLIIING!" SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! But Satori managed to dodge Luffy's flurry of punches and as a result they only hit the surprise balls that floated around the priest. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! The surprise balls were sent flying when Luffy's fists struck them.

"LUFFY STOP!" Sanji yelled. He'd managed to climb up to the branch he needed to be on. "USE YOUR HEAD! YOU'RE ONLY MAKING THINGS WORSE!"

"Huh?" Luffy asked. He blinked in surprise and watched as the surprise balls flew around in front of him and slammed into other surprise balls. KONK! KONK! KONK! Luffy's attack had caused a good thirty surprise balls to knock into each other and fly through the forest in all different directions and speeds. Some of the balls bounced back the way they'd came others slammed into other surprise balls and sent them back towards Luffy. Now the surprise balls were no longer stationary and whizzed through the forest and brought their unknown cargo closer to the three Straw Hat Pirates. "What the... what the... WAAAAAH!"

"OOOOH NOOOOO!" Usopp screamed when he got up off of the ground. "IT'S TOO LATE!"

"TAKE COVER!" Sanji warned them. "THEY'RE COMING AT US FROM ALL SIDES!"

"HOH-HOH-HOOO!" Satori laughed, "HAVE FUN BOYS! I'LL BE WATCHING!" Even he couldn't tell what was in each of the surprise balls while they were flying like this. So he quickly jumped from his ball to a higher one and then onto an even higher one until he was up above all of the surprise balls and could watch from safety as the Straw Hats dealt with the situation Luffy had created.

KONK! A surprise ball ricocheted off of another one and whizzed towards Sanji. WHAM! The ball slammed into the branch and Sanji quickly jumped off of it. SKISH! SHUNK! Nearly a dozen pointy spears shot out of the ball. "SPEARS!" Sanji fell downwards into the path of another surprise ball that had struck the tree trunk. SHUNK! Two large crab claws that were the same size as Sanji popped out of the ball along with thin crab-legs and two stalk-like eyes. "CRAB!" KLAK! KLAK! SWISH! Sanji spun and avoided a swipe from the crab's claws and landed on the forest floor. TMP!

-x-

"AAAAAHHH!" Usopp screamed as four surprise balls flew at him, "NOT FOUR AT ONCE!" Usopp ducked down. SQUISH! SQUISH! SQUISH! Usopp peeked back up and saw that the four balls hadn't bounced off of each other and instead were now stuck together.

POP! "Ba-caaaaw!" A pink bird popped out of the first surprise ball.

POP! "Baa-caaaaaw!" A blue bird popped out of the next once and crowed in a higher pitch.

POP! "Baaa-CAAW!" A yellow bird popped out and sang crowed even higher than the others.

POP! "BAAA-CAAAW!" A green bird popped out of the last ball and created a quartet.

"What the..." Usopp sputtered as the stared up at the four birds in surprise, "Another dud? Nah, I'm not that lucky."

"BAAA-CAAAAAAAW!" the aviary quartet sang together.

"YOU GOT ME ALL FREAKED OUT OVER NOTHING!" Usopp yelled at the birds. "Oh wait, maybe it's part of the ordeal... Well, if it's a singing contest you want, get ready! People call me Captain Golden Voice! Eh-hem..." Usopp took a deep breath to sing.

DING! The small pink bird rang a bell. Usopp's time was up.

"HEY!" Usopp protested. "I haven't even sung yet!" But that quickly became the least of Usopp's worries as the four birds lunged downward and started to peck at him. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! "OOW! OOWW! WAAAAH!"

-x-

"YAAAAAAHHH!" Luffy screamed as he ran along a branch with the seat of his shorts on fire. "WAAAAH! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!" WOING! He jumped off of the tree branch towards the Milky Road in an attempt to put the flames out.

SPLISH! A small gray sky shark came up out of the sea clouds and opened its mouth. WHUP! Luffy landed with the seat of his pants in the monster's mouth. But while the flames on his shorts kept the shark from closing its mouth some of its sharp teeth still sank into Luffy's skin.

WOING! "YAAAAAAAHHH!" Luffy hollered as he launched himself out of the monster's mouth. Smoke floated out of the shark's still opened mouth and Luffy plummeted downward through the Sea Clouds. SPLOOSH! But while the water-like clouds may have put out the flames on his shorts, Luffy fell through the bottom of the floating canal and continued to drop downward. "I went straight through!"

"LUFFY! YOU'VE GOTTA CATCH YOURSELF!" Sanji advised. "NONE OF THESE RIVERS HAVE A BOTTOM!"

WOING! Luffy shot his arm out and managed to grab onto a vine that was wrapped around a tree branch over his head. SHOOOM! Luffy flew up after his arm but the vine came loose and Luffy swung down through the trees. SWOOOOSH! "WAAAAAH!" Luffy yelled as he flew through the trees and quickly leapt to another vine to avoid contact with a surprise ball. WHING! Like a monkey, Luffy jumped from vine-to-vine as he swung through the forest and avoided the floating balls of cloud and let out a Tarzan yell that would've made Zoro proud. "AAAAAH-AAAAAAH-AAAAAAH-AAAAAAAH!"

"YOU IDIOT!" Sanji shouted after him. "GET SERIOUS!"

-x-

"USOPP HAMMER!" WHOMP! "USOPP HAMMER!" WHOMP! "USOPP HAMMER!" WHOMP! "USOPP RUBBER BAND OF DOOOOOM!" WHAP! "USOPP HAMMER!" WHOMP! Usopp dispatched his four aviary adversaries with his trusty hammer and left them all behind with large lumps on their heads.

Usopp panted as he stood over the four birds and sported a large lump on his forehead and the side of his face from when they had pecked him. "Phew..." he sighed in relief.

"YAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!" Usopp looked up in time to see Luffy swing over him on a vine. "AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAH! SHISHISHISHI!"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Usopp said, "I should try out my new thingy." Usopp reached into his arsenal pouch and started to climb back up the tree he'd fallen from.

"What's up Usopp?" Sanji called out to him from a branch on his own tree. "You got an idea?"

Usopp stood on his branch in a manly pose. "Do I?" he repeated, "Friend, they don't call me Usopp the Technological Pirate-Wizard for nothing! BEHOLD MY LATEST INVENTION!" Usopp put his hands on his hips and showed off his new belt. It was brown and was lined in red. The buckle had a large hole in the middle of it. "USOPP AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAAAH!"

"Yeah... WHAT?" Sanji demanded.

"Just watch!" Usopp told him. He lowered his sniper goggles again and spotted the Crow as it sailed along the Milky Road. "There's the Crow! Milky Road straight ahead! Perfect line-up!" Usopp raised his goggles as he prepared for a different kind of shot. BANG! A grappling hook with a long length of rope attached to it shot out of the hole in Usopp's belt and flew towards a branch that was over the sniper's head. SHU-WHUP-WHUP-WHUP! The rope swung around the tree branch a few times before the hook hooked on the rope. WHAP! Usopp pulled back on his end of the rope and pulled it tight. KLAK!

"Hmm... now what are they up to?" Satori wondered as he watched from up above.

Usopp gripped the rope that came out his belt and grinned, "Yes, now I just have to swing over there and catch the Crow!" he said, "But my timing's gotta be absolutely perfect. If it miss it, that's it. I've only got one shot at this!"

"Oh, not bad," Sanji remarked, "but how are you going to get passed those balls?"

"Just let me worry about that," Usopp reassured him. He was in the zone. "Did I happen to mention that they also call me King of the Jungle? Here it goes... UUUSOOOOPP..." Usopp took a deep breath... and then he jumped, "AAAAAH-AAAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAAAH!"

-x-

Ten Percent Survival:

-x-

SWOOOOSH! Usopp swung through the forest on his latest invention the Usopp Aaaah-Aaaah-Aaaah-Aaaaah in a desperate attempt to catch the Crow. WHING!

"YEEEAAAH!" Usopp cheered as he swung passed the trees and surprise balls towards the Milky Road and the Crow. "IT WORKS! AAAAH-AAAAHH-AAAAHH-AAAAAAAAHHH!" Usopp reached the peak of his swing and ended up above the Crow on the Milky Road.

"That's it Usopp!" Sanji encouraged him, "Now just drop straight down! You can't miss!"

Usopp tugged at his harness and prepared to drop down onto the boat. The boat drifted onward... and onward... and completely passed under Usopp.

"HUUUUH?" Satori watched from above in surprise as Usopp struggled futilely with his belt. It wouldn't come undone and prevented him from landing on the Crow which caused him to miss his window.

"DAAAMN IIIIT!" Sanji shouted. "JUUUST JUUUMP!"

"Yeah... um... about that..." Usopp sheepishly replied, "There just one small problem... I forgot the rope is sort of attached to the belt... I never really got around to fixing that part... throw me some scissors or something!"

So as the Crow sailed onward underneath Usopp, gravity finally took its effect on him and the sniper started to come down from his big swing. WHOOOOOSH!

"Aaaaaaaahhh..." Usopp let out a depressed groan as he dropped downward and swung listlessly through the trees. He made a desperate grab the branch he had started out from but his swing didn't have enough momentum for him to reach it. "Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" SWOOOOOSH! Usopp dropped down as he fell into another long swing on his dud of an invention.

"Aaaah-haaaa-haaaa-haaaa-haaaaa..." Usopp cried pitifully as he swung back and forth through the trees (and conveniently missed all the surprise balls) as he rode out the momentum of his first big swing.

Sanji clenched his fist in irritation.

SWOOOSH! Luffy swooped by the depressed Usopp on a vine of his own. "YOOHOO!" he exclaimed. "HEY USOPP! WHADDAYA THINK? THIS IS A LOT OF FUN ISN'T IT? SHISHISHI! AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAAH-AAAAAAAH!"

"I think I need to have a little word with those two," Sanji decided as he glared down at the two swinging pirates.

-x-

One savage beating later, the three pirates were ready for another go at catching the Crow.

Sanji casually smoked a new cigarette while Luffy and Usopp both sported fat lips, black eyes, and numerous large lumps and bruises on their heads.

"Here's the deal," Sanji instructed as they stood together underneath a tree, "I'm gonna forget about what just happened. But now you do what I say."

"Wight..." Luffy mumbled through this swollen mouth. "I'm fwowwy..."

"Yeah..." Usopp added, "Me too... what he said..."

"Okay then," Sanji resolved, "First thing, we're gonna forget about the boat for now. Then we're all gonna charge that fat freak at once. I don't care what kind of powers he's got. With all three of us attacking at the same time, if there's a way to beat him we'll find it."

"OOH! DON'T BE SO SURE!" a voice called out from somewhere behind them.

Luffy, Usopp and Sanji all glanced around warily for any sign of Satori but none of them could spot him.

"Um... where'd he go?" Luffy wondered.

"WAAAAAH" Satori flipped down from overhead and landed behind Sanji. TMP! Sanji turned around in time for Satori to lash his hand out at Sanji's chest. "IMPACT!" BLING! WHAAM!

"SAAAANJIIIIII!" Luffy and Usopp shouted at the cook was blasted backwards and slammed back-first into a tree. KRASH! Then he bounced off and dropped to the ground. FWUMP!

"Now what're we supposed to do?" Usopp wondered. Weren't they supposed to listen to him? That'd be hard if he was unconscious.

"HOH-HOH-HOOOOOO!" Sanji crowed. "Like they say, life is pain!" Satori's yellow-tinted glasses focused on Luffy and Usopp. "Now... who wants to go next?"

-x-

On the other side of the island, a little girl ran through the giant forest. She wore a fur cap that hid her short dark hair from view and a fur dress that her tiny white wings poked out from.

The little girl darted into a large 'cave' that was made from the space in between two of the humongous tree roots.

Just as the girl disappeared underneath the tree, Robin walked around the far side of the tree and casually took in the scenery. She never noticed the girl.

Inside the 'tree cave' the girl dropped to her knees and started to drag her hands through the dirt. The girl lifted her hands up and smiled when she saw them covered in dirt and then started to brush the loose dirt off of her hands into a small opened sack that she'd brought with her.

Meanwhile, Robin climbed up onto a tree root and then offered her hand to Nami who took it and allowed herself to be pulled up onto the large root along with Robin.

"Thanks," Nami said simply.

Zoro walked up behind the two of them.

Underneath the tree, the little girl's head jerked to the side as she stared out through the opening at the sound of 'voices'. She darted out of the cave and made a break for it.

Nami noticed the movement from the other side of the tree and glanced back at Zoro.

"Hey, did something just move over there?" Nami questioned.

"I don't know," Zoro answered as he climbed up onto the root.

"Oh," Nami sighed, "Um... then did you see anything Robin?"

"Nope, sorry," Robin replied, "Can't say I did."

"Are you sure it wasn't a monkey or something?" Zoro suggested.

"A monkey?" Nami repeated, "Um... yeah... I guess..."

"So what do you think?" Robin asked. "Maybe we should check out the other shore."

"Forget it!" Nami refused, "I told you I'm not getting attacked by those sharks again!"

"Ugghh..." Zoro groaned, "Here we go again..."

The little girl watched the three of them from on top of a higher root then turned and ran off.

-x-

At the Sacrificial Altar, Y/N and Chopper stared down at the hammer on the bottom step. It was inches from the Sea Clouds that they knew were filled with vicious sky sharks.

"Don't worry Chopper," Y/N tried to reassure him, "I'll get it for you."

"No!" Chopper interrupted. "I'll get it."

Y/N looked over at Chopper in surprise, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm a man!" Chopper insisted, "So I've gotta give it my best shot."

"Alright then," Y/N said with a slight smile. He turned around and sat down on the step below the sky shark he'd been cutting up. "Try and go as quickly and as quietly as possible."

Chopper climbed up onto one of the railings that ran alongside the stairs and slowly slid down it. SWISH! "Just don't let them see you..." Chopper whispered to himself as he continued to slide down the railing, Swiish! "Gently... geentlyy..." Swiiisshh! "Nice and easy..." Swiiiissshhh...

Chopper reached the bottom of the stairs and hopped off of the railing onto the step.

Up above him, Y/N tightened his hold on the handle of his sword while Chopper crept along the step that was alongside the lake of sky sharks.

Tmp... tmp... tmp... Chopper tiptoed across the step towards the hammer in the middle. Tmp... tmp... tmp... Chopper got to the hammer and slowly reached down and picked it up.

"Got it," Chopper whispered he looked up and beamed at Y/N whole smiled back. "Now I can fix the ship like I promised."

CAAAAW! CAAAAW! The bird flew overhead and let out a loud cry that startled the reindeer.

"WAAAAAH!" Chopper shrieked as he jumped around on the step. Then he remembered where he was and clamped his hooves over his mouth. Up above him, Y/N stood up on his high stair. Chopper's heart pounded, as he slowly peaked over his shoulder at the Sea Clouds behind him.

Sure enough, a purple dorsal fin cut through the water. SPLOOSH! A huge Sky Shark shot up out of the white water-like clouds and dove at Chopper with its mouth wide opened.

"CHOPPER! JUMP!" Y/N yelled.

SKISH! WHAAM! Chopper stared wide-eyed as he found himself perched on the snout of the Sky Shark which had its huge tooth-filled mouth clamped down on the step Chopper had just stood on. SWOOSH! SWOOSH! The Sky Shark swung its head while Chopper desperately attempted to stay balanced on top of it. SWOOOSH! With one final swing of its head, Chopper was launched back up the steps towards the Going Merry.

SKISH! Y/N jumped up and caught Chopper in midair then dropped down and landed on a step about three-quarters of the way up. TMP!

SPLOOSH! The Sky Shark lunged out of the sea clouds and dove at them.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Chopper screamed in terror.

"Machete... BACK KICK!" Y/N spun around and drove his boot into the sky shark's snout just as it reached them. THWHAM! The Sky Shark was knocked back down the steps and plunged down into the Sea Clouds. SPLOOSH!

"Phew," Y/N sighed in relief, "that was a close one."

"Yeah..." Chopper timidly agreed as Y/N put him down.

"That was really brave, Chopper," Y/N remarked.

"Shut up! Don't say stuff like that!" Chopper shouted... while he did a happy dance. "I'm a man! So you know that won't make me happy!"

"I can see that..." Y/N dead-panned, "So do you want to get back to work or would you like to have sushi to celebrate?"

"What's 'sushi'?" Chopper questioned.

"Raw fish," Y/N answered with a pointed glance at the dead sky shark up above them.

"That doesn't sound very healthy..." Chopper commented.

"You kidding?" Y/N asked, "When I was on Ace's pirate crew our cook made it all the time. Now, I'm nowhere near Treys' level but it doesn't take a cooking prodigy like Sanji to cut up vegetables and wrap them around bits of fish. Celebrating your bravery against a sky shark by eating a sky shark seems fitting, don't you think?"

"In that case I'll give it a try," Chopper agreed.

Y/N smiled and the two of them headed back up the steps.

FWAP! FWAP! FWAP! FWAP! FWAP! A large purple bird flew through the trees towards the clearing the Sacrificial Altar was in.

The hair on the back of Y/N's neck stood up and he whirled around and saw a familiar man fly into the clearing on the back of a familiar bird.

"Chopper, get back on the ship and stay there no matter what happens," Y/N instructed, "We have company." Chopper looked backwards and Y/N waited until he was sure Chopper had seen the Priest then gave him a shove towards the ship. "Go."

Y/N turned around just as Shura swooped down on Fuza.

"Well, well, well, looks like today's my lucky day," Shura remarked.

"Okay hey," Y/N greeted him, "You're just in time. I was just about to cook that sky shark I caught. But now that you and your fire breathing bird are here, you can save me the trouble. What do you say? Cook that shark for me and I'll give you half."

Shura glared at him, "So is this how Blue Sea Dwellers plead for their lives? How pathetic."

"I'm not pleading for my life," Y/N told him, "It's a genuine offer. There's no need for us to fight when we can sit down and talk this out over a nice meal like rational people."

"Do you really think I'd agree to that after you embarrassed me in front of the Almighty Eneru?" Shura snapped. "You made the four of us look like fools! I never thought you'd be stupid enough to fall for this trap. I had thought you were one of the three intruders that was coming through the entrance to save your friends that we were set to sacrifice. I was disappointed that they picked Satori's Ordeal of Balls instead of my Ordeal of String. But it turns out that I was the real lucky one because here you are."

"Yup, here I am," Y/N agreed.

"Hmm..." Shura said, "There were supposed to be eight of you Blue Sea Dwellers altogether. Three that came through the entrance, you and that creature that leaves three unaccounted for."

"Watch it!" Y/N snapped, "That creature is my little brother."

Shura blinked in surprise as he glanced up at Chopper as he watched them while he held onto the railing of the Going Merry from the inside.

"Seriously?" Shura asked.

"I'd never expect someone like you to understand," Y/N stated.

"No matter," Shura remarked as he gripped his lance, "Your stunt from earlier caught the attention of the Almighty Eneru and He has requested that I bring you before Him. It will be my pleasure to bring you to Him... IN PIECES!"

Y/N reached down and grabbed the handle of his sword, "Well unlike last time, I'm actually ready for a fight," Y/N retorted, "So I'll be my pleasure to resist you!"

-x-

Robin knelt down and brushed her hand on a piece of stone she'd noticed coming out of the ground. Most people would have walked right over it. But Robin was a master archeologist.

"Cobblestones," Robin noted, "We may find more clues if we see where these lead..."

Nami slid down the root she'd been standing on and glanced down at Robin, "What'd you find?"

"Quiet!" Zoro suddenly ordered as he gripped the handle of Wado Ichimonji. "Don't move."

Nami sensed the graveness in Zoro's tone and immediately tensed up.

All three of them were silent. Robin glanced upward.

SPLOOSH! A sky shark dove out from the bottom of the Milky Road that was up above them. The monster's mouth was wide opened and it was headed straight for Nami.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Zoro roared as he lunged at the shark and punched it in the face. POW!

WHAP! At the same time, Robin had sprouted a dozen arms on both sides of the sky sharks mouth and clasped the top and bottom hands together to keep the monster's mouth shut.

The sky shark was knocked backwards and crashed down into the Milky Road in front of them. SPLOOOSH!

"Huuuh..." Zoro let out a short sigh as he shook out his hand.

"What a day, huh?" Robin remarked.

They glanced back at Nami who had dropped to her knees and looked terrified.

"Try to be more careful," Zoro told her.

"Yeah..." Nami timidly replied, "Sure... thanks."

-x-

BLINK! WHAAM! Usopp was blasted backwards and slammed down onto a root. KRASH!

"UUUSOOOPP!" Luffy shouted in alarm. He turned and glared at Satori who had retreated to up above him.

"HAAAA!" Satori shouted as he lashed out his leg and kicked a surprise cloud. THWAK! The white ball flew forward and slammed into a bunch of other surprise clouds and knocked them forward. KONK! KONK! KONK! KONK!

Four surprise clouds flew down at Luffy... and exploded. KA-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM! While not quite up to the level of Jun's blood the four explosions were enough to blow Luffy off of the root. He dropped down to the ground in a smoking heap. THUD!

Satori grinned as he glanced down at the three fallen Straw Hats. Satori's Ordeal of Balls had really started to live up to its ten percent survival rate and while Luffy, Usopp and Sanji were down on the ground the Crow continued to sail further and further away from them.

"HOH-HOH-HOOOOO!" Satori's mad laughter rang through the area.

Things looked bad. The Priests of Upper Yard really lived up to the place's terrible reputation.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!