Luffy knows exactly how to get a rise out of people, and he's never shy about it.
Luckily, Gan Fall didn't object and agreed right away.
But Gan Fall had a serious question: "What do you intend to do when you face Enel?"
Luffy replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "What else? I'm going to knock that self-proclaimed god flying! I won't let him run things however he wants!"
"But, Enel possesses incredible power!"
"I'm stronger!"
Luffy stated it firmly, like it was an undeniable fact.
Gan Fall started to speak, but then stopped himself. Luffy hadn't witnessed Enel's terrifying strength firsthand, and probably thought blocking a single lightning bolt meant he could take on Enel. He'd likely realize how hopeless the situation was only when he stood face-to-face with him.
Luffy turned to Jango and said, "Jango, ask the captain how to find the priests and Enel."
"Aye, Captain!"
Jango immediately positioned his two circular saws in front of McKinley. "When I say 'one-two Jango,' you spill everything. Easy to remember, o-two-one-ne! Two!"
McKinley's eyes glazed over. Jango had barely asked a question before he started talking.
The god Enel is in the temple of Apayado. His four powerful priests have set up four trials throughout Apayado. If you overcome these trials, you can reach the temple and meet Enel.
As for the priest trials, there are four types: Swamp, Iron, Rope, and Ball.
That's all the information McKinley had. He knew the names of the four priests, but not much else.
"Alright! Goal: Apayado! Let's go!"
With Luffy's command, everyone said goodbye to Gan Fall, Pagaya, and Conis, and began boarding the Going Merry to head towards Apayado.
However, they split up. The Thousand Sunny was heading towards the area where Nami had disappeared, while the Going Merry was taking route number two of the four priest trials.
As for Moo Moo, he stayed on the beach to keep an eye on the beret troops and prevent them from causing any trouble.
Meanwhile, in Apayado…
Carl noticed Enel's thunderous attacks and immediately frowned.
"That Enel always throws lightning around for no reason. I really want to punch him."
However, Carl had already delegated the task of fighting the boss, so he had to put his desire on hold and let Enel have his fun for a little longer. But this unlucky god's fate was sealed. What mattered now was what the Straw Hats would gain.
One was the Poneglyph, and the other was a large amount of gold.
Carl wouldn't let Enel's Ark Maxim get away; it would be a terrible waste.
The golden bell could stay on Skypiea, but the golden pillar had to be taken. Even if the Merry couldn't fit it, he'd carry it himself. After all, gold conducts electricity exceptionally well.
Otherwise, Enel wouldn't have chosen to use gold as a weapon.
But the gold here already belonged to the Straw Hats. No one could take it from them!
Thinking about this, Carl felt much better and continued to follow the direction indicated by his radar.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for Carl to stop in front of a tree. There was no fruit on it, but he found a hole in the trunk instead.
Inside the tree hole, he discovered a palm-sized Devil Fruit.
Carl took out a pirated Devil Fruit Encyclopedia for comparison and finally couldn't help but sigh. "The Zoan-type Monkey-Monkey Fruit… just a regular one, not an Ancient Zoan, not a Mythical Zoan. You'd think it would have a Saiyan form or a Monkey King form. What a letdown. Still, it's worth 100 million Berries, so it's not a total loss."
But he still sighed, his luck didn't seem to be great.
Carl could only console himself and silently put the fruit away.
At that moment, Carl's Observation Haki caught sight of a small figure. He was taken aback for a moment.
The figure disappeared in a flash, and when Carl reappeared, he was already in the tree, watching a little girl below secretly digging in the soil, constantly looking around warily, just like a thief.
"This little one… could she be the naturally perceptive little girl from the Shandians?"
Carl recognized the little girl.
Because the little girl, Aisha, from the original stories was very special. She was born with the ability to sense the thoughts and emotions of others, a natural form of Observation Haki, which was truly enviable.
Thinking about it carefully, even the protagonist, Luffy, and his crew didn't have this kind of innate ability. Their Observation Haki was something they had to learn and develop through hard work.
It was true that comparing oneself to others could be disheartening.
In fact, Carl was also genuinely envious. He had to go through a lot to even grasp the basics of Haki.
If it weren't for the convenience brought by his Devil Fruit ability, it would probably have taken him a very long time to learn.
But now, seeing that the little girl was still weak and didn't yet know how to use her innate Haki, Carl's mood inexplicably improved. Surely, the world had a way of balancing things out. Even if you were born with such an amazing ability, you still needed time and effort to master it and become stronger.
"Little one, is your name Aisha?" Carl suddenly called out.
"Who?!" The little girl Aisha was startled and quickly looked up, only to see a stranger.
And Aisha was shocked because her mind-reading ability hadn't detected the approach of this stranger. In other words, this person was very strong, strong enough to block her sensory perception!
Carl smiled and waved his hands. "Don't be nervous. I don't mean any harm. I was just passing by. I saw you were busy, so I was a little curious about what you were doing."
Aisha didn't seem to sense any malice from Carl. She held the soil in her hand and said, "I'm digging Bath."
Bath? Oh, right, on Sky Island, they called soil "Bath."
Soil was incredibly rare for the people of Sky Island. They even made statues out of it and worshipped it as a kind of deity. These statues were almost as tall as gods. That's why Carl was so warmly welcomed by the Sky Islanders when he bought things with soil.
"Then you can dig as much as you want. Why are you sneaking around?" Carl asked, pretending not to know.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down!"
Aisha made a silent gesture and explained in a low voice, "Enel rules here, and his Observation Haki is very powerful. He can detect when we speak. He'll hear you if you talk so loudly!"
It seemed that Enel was a significant threat to the Shandians; they were even afraid to speak loudly.
But Carl wasn't afraid.
He laughed loudly and said, "Wahahaha! Enel has probably already noticed me, but he doesn't dare do anything to me. Even though he claims to be a god, he's just a Devil Fruit user. Nothing to be afraid of!"
Aisha was taken aback for a moment and couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Because Carl's loud laughter was so booming that it could be heard for miles. Enel must have heard it.
"Where did this fool come from? Doesn't he know he's going to die?! And even if he doesn't care about dying, why bring a little girl into this?!"
Aisha wanted to run, but her legs felt weak. After a long moment, she realized that the punishment from the sky was still silent, and she was a little stunned. It seemed that Enel really wasn't doing anything.
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