Chapter 91: Skypiea – Nami's Golden Hunt & the Triple Clash at Shandora
"That's weird… where did all my gold go?"
Nami crouched down, fingertips gently tracing the patterns on the Shandora ruins' floor, brows slightly furrowed.
She followed the faint traces along the ground, with Sol and Luffy close behind.
Soon she noticed the island cloud beneath her feet seemed to be covering something—"Wait, it feels empty underneath!"
Without a word, Sol plunged both arms into the cloud layer. Muscles bulging, he tore open a wide crack in the thick island cloud.
The three leaned over and peered down. Beneath the deep cloud layer lay another, far more ancient set of ruins!
"Wow, there's a huge area down there!" Luffy stretched his head down for a full look before pulling back.
"I see…" Sol narrowed his eyes. "What's above is only the upper half of Shandora. The real city is hidden below."
Without hesitation he leaped down. Nami followed lightly, landing gracefully in Sol's arms.
But just as Luffy was about to jump—
Swish!
A massive shadow suddenly engulfed him! Before he could turn, a blood-red maw snapped shut!
Gulp!
The Lord of the Sky, Nora—the giant serpent toyed with by Luffy yesterday—had lain in wait all along.
It had concealed its presence, trailing them from afar, and finally seized the moment to swallow its tormentor whole!
"Huh? Where's Luffy?" Nami steadied herself and looked around, noticing one person missing.
Sol's mouth twitched. He pointed upward: "Eaten by the snake."
"Hah?!"
"I sensed that thing following us earlier, but it didn't seem hostile so I ignored it," Sol shrugged helplessly. "Didn't expect it was after Luffy."
Nami looked up. Nora's enormous body was wriggling through the cloud hole; the rasping sound of its scales against cloud sent chills down the spine.
She facepalmed and gritted her teeth: "That idiot…!"
BOOM!!
Nami's wings flared wide in fury. Thunder power surged in her hybrid form! With a powerful flap, a thick bolt of lightning roared down like a mad dragon, instantly shattering the island cloud beneath Nora! The unsupported serpent plummeted, crashing heavily into the ground and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Hiss!
Nora shook its dazed head. Crimson snake pupils locked onto Nami; its hideous maw opened wide in a threatening roar.
"You wanna die? You still dare roar at me?!" Nami's rage boiled over—gold missing, idiot captain swallowed, and now this snake dared provoke her?
Her right leg slammed down; lightning coiled upward, instantly transforming the entire limb into a deep-blue thunder blade!
"Thunder Flash!!"
Bang!!
A whip-like kick smashed into Nora's abdomen. The giant serpent's body instantly bent into a ">" shape and shot backward like a cannonball!
Nora rolled in agony, finally curling into a ball. Its huge mouth opened wide in violent retching—"Urk—Blargh!!"
Luffy—along with years of swallowed architectural debris—was vomited out in one go, mixed with gold and jewels crashing to the ground.
"Wait… this is… gold?!" Nami was about to deliver a finishing blow when the glittering gold in the wreckage caught her eye. Her expression changed instantly; her eyes turned into Berry symbols as she dove toward the shining pile.
"Wahahaha! I'm out of the cave adventure! So fun!" Luffy climbed up from the ground, dancing with excitement, completely unaware of what had just happened.
"Idiot, you were swallowed by a snake." Sol's voice drifted over from behind.
Luffy finally turned and saw Nora collapsed on the ground, seemingly doubting its entire snake existence. He slapped his forehead in realization: "Ah! It's the big snake that chased me and Zoro yesterday! So I really was eaten just now!"
Nami swiftly scooped up all the scattered gold, but after counting she frowned: "How come there's only this much? The legendary Golden City can't have just two bags of gold…" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, scanning the surroundings. "There must be more hidden somewhere!"
Nami planted hands on hips and glared menacingly at the collapsed Nora: "Hey, big guy! Do you know where the rest of the gold is? Don't tell me you ate it all?!"
But the giant serpent ignored her question entirely. It writhed in pain, looking left and right, then finally raised its head and let out a long, mournful cry.
"Hiiiissssss~~~~"
Seeing Nora's tears streaming like a fountain, Nami panicked instantly: "Ah! Sorry sorry! Did I kick too hard?" She flailed her hands helplessly, all traces of her earlier ferocity gone.
"Wow~ Nami's so violent!" Luffy squatted nearby, poking the teary-eyed giant serpent with a finger, then turned to Nami with a teasing look: "You actually made the big snake cry!"
Even the usually calm Sol showed rare shock, silently taking half a step back.
"Aaaah! It's not like that!" Nami covered her face and crouched down, voice cracking with embarrassment: "I really didn't mean to… It's over… my ladylike image is completely ruined!" She was so mortified she wanted to crawl into a hole.
"Nami could never be a lady anyway, ahahahaha!" Luffy clutched his stomach, laughing hysterically. "Your angry face is super scary!"
Bonk!
An iron fist smashed down on his head.
"Shut your mouth!" Nami huffed, retracting her fist angrily.
"Gomennasai," Luffy apologized tearfully, sporting a fresh new lump.
At that moment Sol spoke up: "This big snake doesn't seem to be crying because it got hit." He carefully observed Nora. "It looks more like… it's mourning something."
"Really?" Nami leaned closer to the serpent and noticed it was indeed crying toward a certain direction. Crystal tears kept rolling from its snake pupils, splashing tiny craters into the cloud layer. "If Chopper were here, at least we could understand what it's saying…"
"Sol! Luffy! Help—!!"
Speak of the devil—Chopper came galloping in on Seiketsu, dust flying behind him.
To the left: Yama leading fifty elite Divine Soldiers, silver armor gleaming in the sunlight: "Stop! Hand over Seiketsu!"
To the right: Wiper leading the Shandian warriors, battle intent blazing: "They're the god's lackeys! Don't let a single one escape!" By the time they arrived, they had already defeated Gedatsu, the priest of the Swamp Trial. Defeating the remaining enemies and driving out Enel would finally fulfill the 400-year-old dream.
Swish!
Sol flashed in front of Yama: "This road is closed."
Luffy also sprang forward, landing in front of Wiper, fists cracking: "You're the guy who tried to steal my takoyaki earlier, right? Try touching my friends and see what happens!"
"Get out of the way, Qinghai!" Both sides roared in unison.
BOOM!
The three forces collided instantly—the battle erupted!
Luffy swung his rubber arm in a flash; the Rubber Pistol's impact force sent Wiper and his shield staggering back several steps. In that split-second, he agilely tilted his head back—a scorching white-hot flame streaked past the tip of his nose, leaving a searing wave of heat in the air.
"Wah! What's that? Fire?!" Luffy's eyes widened as he stared at the blaze that had just passed overhead.
Not far away, Sol was effortlessly toying with the Divine Soldiers, each heavy punch precisely felling one enemy. Suddenly sensing high heat from behind, he spun around, opened his mouth wide—and swallowed the entire fireball.
"Cough cough… tastes like gas, disgusting." Sol grimaced and stuck out his tongue, then turned toward the enemy group, heat surging in his throat: "Here—have it back! Dragon's Roar!"
Yama saw the danger and quickly grabbed two Divine Soldiers to use as shields. The blazing fire pillar instantly engulfed the human shields. When the flames cleared, he disdainfully tossed the two charred, smoking subordinates aside.
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