Chapter 457: Wrath of the Sky
It was obvious that this masked Shandian man had startled Nami. Her attention had been completely drawn to Ian, and she had no idea how someone had suddenly appeared behind her.
Startled, she quickly abandoned the Waver, climbed onto the island, and ran toward Ian.
Ian, worried that this Shandian might attack Nami, kept a close watch on him. However, even after Nami had hidden behind Ian, the man made no move to strike.
"Who are you?" Ian asked, seeing him stand still.
"They... they're guerrilla fighters!" the pirate hiding behind Ian blurted out, answering on the man's behalf.
Ian naturally knew what guerrilla fighters were—it was the name of the Shandian resistance organization. What Ian was curious about now was whether this person was the leader of the guerrilla fighters, the descendant of the great warrior, Wyper.
So Ian asked, "Can you take off your mask?"
But the man ignored Ian's question entirely. Instead, he pointed at the pirate behind Ian and said, "Blue Sea dweller, you're indeed strong, but if you don't want to die, you'd better abandon that guy! Anyone who tries to escape will be hunted down by the priests. But now that you've defeated the priests, Enel will make his move next!"
"No... don't!" the pirate pleaded, dropping to his knees and grabbing Ian's clothes. "Please, don't abandon me! For the sake of being fellow countrymen, take me away from here!"
Even without his plea, Ian wouldn't have abandoned him. Though this man was a pirate and might even be a heinous criminal, if Ian's guess was correct, he was likely one of those captured to build Enel's ark. Ian still had questions for him, so he couldn't let him die.
So Ian planned to comfort him a few words and tell him to relax.
However, at that moment, a dangerous sensation suddenly descended from above. Without a second thought, Ian grabbed Nami with one hand and the pirate with the other, leaping swiftly to the side.
The next second, a colossal bolt of lightning, bright enough to illuminate the sky, crashed down from above. It was so massive that it struck exactly where Ian had been standing.
The blinding flash temporarily blinded Nami and the others, leaving them completely unaware of what had happened.
Lightning came and went in an instant. It struck the ground and vanished without a trace, leaving only a huge crater and the carbonized fragments of branches within it.
It took Nami a while for her vision to recover. Dazed, she asked Ian, "What... what just happened?"
Ian didn't answer her. Instead, he looked up at the sky. He knew that the lightning strike had come from Enel, but Enel wasn't there—the strike had been delivered from an extremely long distance.
So this guy's so-called "Mantra," which supposedly covered the entire island, was real!
Mantra was the Shandian term for Observation Haki. However, Enel was a unique case. His Observation Haki, due to the nature of his Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit), had transformed into a form similar to telepathy.
He could "hear" the thoughts of everyone on the island, including their emotions—fear, joy, or anger—and discern them clearly.
This was somewhat akin to mind-reading abilities... though not to the extent of knowing every detail of what someone was thinking, he could judge their general intentions with high accuracy.
As for why he had attacked Ian's location, it was because he had sensed their thoughts. Additionally, he might have noticed that the thoughts of the three priests had vanished.
But... Ian glanced at the pirate he was holding and thought that Enel might have been targeting this guy, trying to eliminate anyone attempting to escape.
Unfortunately, Ian had also activated his Psychic Field. So the moment danger approached, he dodged the attack with Nami and the pirate.
That lightning strike had contained immense energy, but it had been wasted. Ian wondered if Enel would try again after realizing his attack had failed.
Looking at Nami and then at the pirate, Ian decided it was best to send Nami back first.
He wasn't yet familiar with this forbidden land of Skypiea. Though he had taken down three priests, if Enel didn't intend to show himself, it would be hard to find him. If Enel kept launching long-range lightning strikes at them, Ian couldn't guarantee he could protect Nami every time.
So Ian planned to send Nami back first. As for the pirate, he intended to keep him with him. After all, this guy had managed to escape to the edge of the forbidden land on his own, which meant he must have some knowledge of the terrain. Later, Ian would have him draw a map of what he knew, saving himself the trouble of wandering around aimlessly.
Nami's face was pale with fear. That lightning strike had come so fast that without Ian, she felt she would have been hit. Looking at the charred crater, it seemed no less powerful than the pit Ian had created with his flame wave earlier. If she had been hit, she would have died instantly!
The feeling of brushing past death was far from pleasant, and Nami was still trembling.
The pirate was the same. He understood even better what that lightning meant—it was God Enel making his move!
So now, the pirate was shaking even more than Nami.
Seeing this, Ian simply hoisted Nami onto his shoulder, jumped down from the edge of the forbidden land, landed on the parked Waver, and set her down.
The masked Shandian man had already disappeared. Ian didn't know when he had left—perhaps during Enel's lightning strike. He didn't bother to dwell on it. He said to Nami, "You saw it too. This place seems more dangerous than I thought. Go back first. Tell them to wait for me on the island. If I find the gold, I'll return."
Nami, still shaken, knew she was a burden here. She nodded and said, "Okay... Brother Ian, be careful."
Though still trembling, her instinct for operating the Waver hadn't faded. Eager to escape, she sped off at full throttle.
Ian returned to the forbidden land, looking up at the sky, on guard against any possible lightning strikes.
Strangely, the expected second strike never came.
It seemed Enel wanted him to continue forward...
For Ian, he had never met Enel, so there was no personal grudge. He had come to Skypiea just to try and find some gold. But the appearance of Enel and his priests, along with the fleeing pirate being hunted, suddenly reminded Ian of something. Damn it, the timing seemed bad. Enel's ark was almost complete, and once it was, he would destroy the entire Skypiea!
Ian was on Skypiea now, which meant if the island was destroyed, he would fall from this 10,000-meter altitude!
Though Ian could fly and falling wouldn't be too dangerous, Matthew, Dorry, Robin, and the Straw Hat Pirates couldn't. They would die from the fall.
For this reason, Ian realized he couldn't just let Enel show off and then leave. At the very least, he couldn't let him destroy this island.
It seemed he really would have to confront Enel...
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While Nami was heading back, on Angel Island, Luffy and Zoro were also in trouble.
Because they hadn't paid the toll at Heaven's Gate, the White Beret security force of Angel Island had come looking for them, intending to arrest Luffy and the others for illegal entry.
As accomplices, Reiju and Robin were also included in the arrest.
And just then, Nami returned.
When she heard that the White Berets were demanding a huge fine, Nami, blinded by rage, rode her Waver and knocked over the White Beret captain.
This made their crime even worse. For assaulting a public official, the White Beret captain declared they would be sentenced to the Cloud Expulsion.
Then... then the entire White Beret force was taken down by Reiju alone!
She was tired of listening to the White Berets' noise, especially since she noticed that Nami had returned alone, while Ian was missing.
After beating the White Berets soundly, she asked Nami what had happened.
Nami nervously recounted the events. Hearing this, Luffy's eyes lit up!
Forbidden land!? Gold!? Treasure!? And unknown enemies!?
Suddenly, Luffy felt the thrill of adventure...
………………………
Not just Nami and the others, but at the same time, on the other edge of Skypiea, in the Shandian settlement of Cloud Village, the masked Shandian man who had crossed paths with Ian in the forbidden land appeared.
After entering the village, he took off his mask, lit a cigarette, and carried his rocket launcher deeper into the village.
His face and arms were covered in intricate tattoos, and he exuded a fierce aura. As Ian had guessed, this man was indeed the Shandian warrior known as the "War Demon," Wyper.
The villagers greeted him as he passed, but Wyper walked forward coldly, barely responding.
When he reached the central tent of the village, he entered and said to an old man wearing a wolf-head hat, "Elder, I think our chance has come..."
The old monster said:
Finally relieved! Last night while peeing, I didn't notice, but I felt like something came out with the stream, and then I felt a huge weight lifted off me.
Today, I went to the hospital for a follow-up, and they confirmed the kidney stone had passed. I was overjoyed.
It's great not having that monthly visitor! Starting today, I'll resume normal updates and make up for missed ones. Tonight, there will be three chapters, though the last two might be a bit late.