Perhaps Aisa genuinely sensed no malice from Carl, which is why she confided so much in him.
Generally, villagers tend to keep their community's affairs private.
However, Aisa might have been holding onto these thoughts for a long time and couldn't resist the urge to share them with someone, and she happened to meet Carl, who was a good listener.
These were things Aisa had heard from the elder members of her tribe.
As for more details, Aisa was unaware. Even some of the things she was recounting now weren't fully understood by her.
Seeing how much Aisa trusted him, Carl didn't want to disappoint her and took the initiative to tell her about many things in the Blue Sea.
For example, he spoke of the Marines and pirates, explaining the ranks within the Marines like Marshals, Three Admirals, and the Hero of the Marines, and the major pirate forces such as the Four Emperors and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
He also described how vast the Blue Sea was and how common, and therefore worthless, Bath (soil) was there.
Carl also mentioned the various races that inhabited the Blue Sea, such as ordinary humans, the Shandians (who could be considered a unique group from Sky Island), the Tontatta Tribe (small people), Fish-Men, Longarm Tribe members, and Longleg Tribe members.
His descriptions were captivating, and the little girl's eyes sparkled with wonder.
For a moment, Carl considered taking the little girl with him, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Unlike Marie, Aisa was too young and had no means of self-protection besides her natural Observation Haki. Bringing Aisa aboard would be putting her in danger. If Aisa truly yearned for the Blue Sea, she could go there on her own when she was older.
The two continued to chat for a long time, and their bond naturally deepened.
As for the Sandian patriarch, Carl had no intention of meeting him.
Carl didn't plan to get involved in the Shandians' conflict. His initial greeting to Aisa was solely out of curiosity about her natural Observation Haki, without any ulterior motive.
While Carl's side enjoyed a pleasant conversation, the atmosphere on the Going Merry was somewhat tense.
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Jango, and Little Three were all on the Merry, along with Law, Shachi, and Penguin from the Heart Pirates. This group was primarily participating in the priests' trials and was also meant to confront Enel.
Also on board was McKinley, under hypnosis, who was responsible for guiding the way.
The Merry sailed around to the other side of Angel Island, found the entrance to Gate No. 2 that McKinley had mentioned, and went straight in.
Descending rapidly, it didn't take long to reach the entrance of a Cloud River. There were signs with the word "God" and some braziers on both sides of the river, giving it a rather formal appearance.
The path to the trials began here!
"Captain, do you think something scary will suddenly pop out?!" Shachi couldn't help but ask.
"After all, it's the priests' trials, so it should just be some kind of mechanism, hopefully not deadly!" Penguin added.
Law frowned slightly, a hint of annoyance in his expression.
These two had undergone medicinal baths and training before, and their strength had improved, but they were still quite timid at times, which irritated Law.
"What's wrong with you two! Since you're here, don't say such discouraging things! You'll make the Straw Hats look down on us! Look at you now, you're more scared than Usopp!"
"Hey, Terran, don't drag me into this!"
Usopp couldn't help but complain; it was obvious Law was being too blunt.
It was true that Usopp was often cowardly, but this time he had followed without hesitation and hadn't complained throughout the entire journey. "Why am I being directly labeled as cowardly here?!"
But to be honest, he had followed with enthusiasm at the beginning, but now that he thought about it carefully, he still felt a bit reckless.
They were going to fight a god! What if this god Enel was incredibly strong, and even Luffy wasn't a match for him? Wouldn't the Straw Hats be wiped out? And the Heart Pirates would be caught in the crossfire too!
Thinking about it made him feel uneasy!
At that moment, Usopp was shocked to see many broken ships on both sides of the Cloud River.
"It doesn't look like it was cut off with a blade; it must be blunt force," Zoro analyzed calmly.
Then came the sound of wind, and a giant axe suddenly flew in from the side. The giant axe was attached to an iron chain, seemingly part of a mechanism, swinging from a distance.
Judging by the size of this giant axe, it could easily cleave a ship in two.
"You actually want to do that to the Merry?! I absolutely won't allow it! Hey! Everyone, do something!"
Usopp didn't hesitate. He aimed his giant slingshot at the iron chain and fired, successfully hitting it. Although he failed to break the chain, he managed to deflect the giant axe.
Then, another attack swung in from the other side.
"Candle Wall!"
Little Three directly created a white wax wall to intercept it. A loud bang followed as the giant axe bounced off the wall, but the wall was also smashed directly.
Little Three couldn't help shouting, "Everyone be careful! This giant axe is incredibly powerful!"
In fact, he didn't need to remind them; everyone had basically seen it. Little Three's Candle Wall was very hard and not easily broken, but it had just been shattered by the swinging giant axe, demonstrating its immense power.
It wouldn't be easy to stop!
Luffy, Zoro, Law, and Sanji remained still, their meaning clear.
This was just a simple mechanism; they would leave it to the others. If they couldn't handle this, it meant their training on the Boin Archipelago had been in vain.
Usopp, Little Three, Jango, Shachi, and Penguin took up the challenge, each resorting to their own methods.
At this point, Shachi and Penguin acted very tough, directly using their Iron Body technique to catch the giant axes and successfully block many of them.
After the giant axes passed, wooden javelins came next, which posed an even greater problem.
Little Three directly surrounded the Merry with a Candle Wall, ensuring no javelins could reach the ship's hull.
Usopp continued to shoot down javelins with his slingshot, and Jango kept knocking them away with his circular saws. They passed this trial relatively easily.
After that, a huge spinning disc appeared.
It kept cutting towards the Merry, and after being dodged, it would turn mid-air and attack again.
Moreover, this disc was extremely sharp and massive; it could easily slice through a towering giant tree. Dealing with this spinning disc truly exhausted the five of them.
First, Usopp and Jango launched ranged attacks on the disc, slowing it down. Then, Little Three blocked the disc's path with layers of Candle Wall, preventing it from advancing. Finally, Shachi and Penguin timed their attacks perfectly and successfully stopped the roundabout.
But the trials couldn't end there.
From time to time, a lamprey-like creature would emerge from the Cloud River, its bloody maw large enough to swallow everyone in one gulp.
Fortunately, this lamprey was easier to deal with than the spinning disc; it just looked scary, so it wasn't a significant threat.
When they saw a statue appearing ahead in the Cloud River, the five of them felt a bit weary. It wasn't that they couldn't handle the obstacles, but being constantly on the defensive was very frustrating.
They would have preferred the priests to appear in person so they could have a proper fight, which would be much better than this.
There were four entrances to the statue, each labeled with a different trial: the Trial of the Swamp, the Trial of Iron, the Trial of the Rope, and the Trial of the Ball. It seemed this was the trial ground of the four priests.
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