"Finally… I've found you, blue sea dwellers."
The tense silence that had settled over Sanji's group was shattered by a mocking voice. A silhouette dropped from above, landing with a dramatic spin just a few meters away. The man who appeared had a round frame, spiraling hair, and an unhinged grin.
Satori, one of the four priests of Enel, had arrived.
"How dare you beat up my precious little brothers," he growled, though his voice still carried a playful, unsettling tone. "Hohohooo, just thinking about it makes my veins boil! I'll kick you all into the clouds!"
He started bouncing and twirling, moving erratically as he reached into his pouch and hurled several round spheres toward the group.
"Not good!" Sanji's eyes widened. He could dodge easily—but Kaya and the others were behind him. There was no time to think. Acting on instinct, he jumped in front and kicked the balls away.
BOOM!
An explosion erupted the moment his foot made contact. A shockwave of fire and smoke engulfed him in an instant.
"Sanji!" Usopp shouted, shielding his eyes from the smoke.
From within the smoke, Satori cackled. "Hohohoo! That's what you get for underestimating the Power of Surprise Ordeal Balls!"
He spun in another dance, clearly pleased with himself. "Now, for the next volley!"
But before he could hurl another, a voice rang out through the haze.
"Damn you…"
The smoke was suddenly pierced by a shape launching through it.
Sanji burst forth, clothes slightly charred but body still moving strong. He spun mid-air, aiming a fierce kick toward Satori.
"Watch out!" Raki warned from the side. "He knows Mantra!"
"Mantra?" Sanji blinked in confusion mid-attack.
Satori smirked. "Kick to the right, is it?"
His body shifted unnaturally—almost as if he knew the kick was coming before it even launched. He twisted and dodged effortlessly, evading the blow with uncanny precision. With a quick step forward, he pressed his palm to Sanji's chest.
"Impact!"
BOOM!
A blast shot out from his hand. Sanji was launched backward like a cannonball, crashing through a few trees before tumbling across the ground.
"Hohohoo! Weak little blue sea bug! Did you really think you could fight me?" Satori twirled with laughter. "Now then, how about a taste of my surprise bombs again?"
He reached for more balls—only to freeze.
"Eh?"
His arm wouldn't move.
He looked down—and to his horror, several pale arms had sprouted along his shoulders and limbs, wrapping around him like snakes.
"W-What the—!?"
More arms appeared, locking down his legs, his torso, and even lifting him slightly off the ground.
"You should really calm down," Robin's voice spoke coolly from behind. She stood with her arms crossed, gaze sharp. "Or I'll break you in half."
Satori's face twisted in panic. "L-Let me go! This is cheating!"
She raised her hand slightly to finish it—but Sanji's voice called out from the distance.
"Wait, Robin."
Everyone turned. Sanji walked back into the clearing, dusting off his torn shirt, eyes burning with irritation.
"I'm not done with this clown yet."
Robin paused for a moment, studying him. Then she nodded and let her arms dissolve into petals.
"He's yours."
Satori landed roughly on his feet, stumbling to keep his balance as the phantom grip of Robin's powers faded.
"Y-You're still standing?" he gasped, watching Sanji walk toward him through the haze of dust and ash. "But that was an *Impact Dial*! It should have crushed your ribs!"
Sanji cracked his neck with a calm, lazy motion and placed a cigarette between his lips. A flick of flame sparked from his finger, lighting it as he took a long drag.
"I've taken worse hits from my own crew," he muttered, smoke curling from his mouth. "That little tap of yours? It tickled."
Satori's eye twitched.
"But…" Sanji exhaled slowly, gaze narrowing. "I believe in returning kindness. So now…"
He dropped the cigarette and crushed it underfoot.
"…it's your turn to feel my kind of tickle."
In a flash, Sanji stepped forward.
"Soru!"
"That's futile. I will read your movement." Satori squinted, his Mantra kicking in. "You're going left—!"
But Sanji had already appeared on his left side, mid-sprint, wind whipping around him.
"Come on. Read my movements." Sanji smirked.
Satori's face twisted. "You—your movement is too fast!"
"Guess again. Geppo!"
Sanji launched upward with a burst of air, flipping midair as he bounced between invisible footholds in the sky. He blurred left, then right, then disappeared entirely.
"Where—!?"
"Above you."
Satori looked up too late.
"Concassé!"
Sanji's heel crashed down with brutal force, slamming into Satori's head like a comet. The rotund priest was driven straight into the ground, the earth cracking beneath the impact.
Before the dust could even rise—
"Mutton Shot!"
Sanji spun and kicked again, this time slamming into Satori's side and launching him like a cannonball. The priest's body flew through the air in a wide arc before crashing violently into a distant boulder, splitting it on impact.
Boom!
The forest trembled with the force of the hit. Birds scattered from the trees, and a silence fell over the clearing.
Satori didn't rise again.
Sanji dusted off his jacket, walking back toward the group.
He didn't look back.
"That's what you get," he muttered, adjusting his collar, "for trying to hurt the lady."
With a quiet inhale, he pulled out another cigarette and lit it.
...
Elsewhere in the Upper Yard.
A fierce clash echoed through the trees as Galdino and Binko battled Shura, the Sky Rider, in a volatile ground fight. Explosions of wax collided with trails of flame, illuminating the canopy with flashes of light.
Galdino stood his ground, his arms coated in hardened wax armor, repelling most of Shura's piercing attacks. With his Special Paramecia powers, he could liquefy and reform his body at will—almost like a Logia. But while his defense was formidable, his speed was his weakness.
Shura zipped around him on Fuza, his flying mount, launching blazing spear strikes from above. His movements were fluid and unpredictable, enhanced by Mantra—the Sky Island's form of Observation Haki.
"Tch… if I didn't have this wax body, I'd be toast by now," Galdino muttered, barely dodging another lance attack.
He gritted his teeth. Unfortunately for him, wax and fire didn't mix well.
But he wasn't alone.
"Yo!" Binko called, appearing in a blur. "Don't fall behind, candle guy!"
Binko darted in and intercepted Shura with surprising agility, matching the priest's pace with sharp, high-speed movements—something close to pre-Soru footwork. He wasn't as fast as a true Rokushiki user, but his reflexes and improvisation kept Shura on his toes.
With daggers in both hands, he jumped and slashed at Shura, forcing the man to block with his lance. The force of the blow pushed the man down from his flying steed.
"Annoying pests!" Shura growled. He tried calling for Fuza to reposition and bombard them from the air. "Fuza, circle around and—Fuza?"
He looked up.
Nothing.
No bird. No screech. Just a black blur leaping through the sky in pursuit.
It was Nojiko. In her panther form, she bounded through the air using Geppo, launching herself off invisible footholds like a predator in flight. Her target: Fuza, who was now flapping in sheer panic, fleeing for its life.
"What in Skypiea…?!" Shura's eyes widened.
Meanwhile, in a clearing not far away, a far more bizarre duel was taking place.
Gedatsu, wild-eyed and twitchy, squared off against the unbothered Marianne, who calmly wielded her paintbrush like a blade.
"Jet Punch!" Gedatsu roared, surging forward. His fist blazed with speed and force—yet he punched the ground instead of Marianne.
Bam!
His eyes bulged in confusion. His voice muffled. "Mmphh mmhmmm!" (What did you do to me?!)
He had accidentally bit his lip again—his bad habit—and now his words came out like garbled nonsense.
"Wrong spot again," Marianne said gently, twirling her brush. "You're letting the wrong emotion guide your hand."
Gedatsu, growing more agitated, leapt into the air. "Jet Punch—!" He dove from above, a flying hammer of power and fury.
Boom!
Again, he hit the same marked spot on the ground.
"Still wrong," Marianne said with a small sigh. Then she dipped her brush in a new color and flicked it toward him. The paint swirled midair, landing perfectly on Gedatsu's back with a soft glow.
"What now—?"
Before he could finish, his body went rigid.
Marianne handed him a teacup. "You look like you need to calm down."
In one smooth motion, Gedatsu found himself sitting politely on a log, crossing his legs, and sipping tea.
"Hmm… good tea," he murmured, despite himself.
Sweat trickled down his face. His hands trembled slightly as he tried to put the cup down—but failed. He sipped again. And again.
"Why… can't… I stop…?!"
"You've been painted into 'serenity mode'," Marianne said cheerfully. "Don't fight it. Just go with the flow."
Gedatsu's expression twisted between horror and blissful confusion as his body betrayed him. He reached for a biscuit—against his will—and chewed slowly, eyes twitching.
Just then, Lakuari silently approached him from behind. His expression was cold—filled with restrained fury. In his hands, he gripped a long staff, his steps silent as mist.
He stared down at the priest who had taken so many of his comrades. The man who had mercilessly delivered sham judgments for his own amusement was now defenseless, absurdly sipping tea.
"This is for my fallen friends."
Crack!
The staff slammed down on Gedatsu's head. Then again. And again.
Bonk! Bam! Thud!
Gedatsu had sensed Lakuari with Mantra. He knew the strike was coming—but his body, still under Marianne's painted compulsion, refused to move. All he could do was blink helplessly as the blows rained down.
After a brutal minute, the staff slipped from Lakuari's hands. Gedatsu lay sprawled on the forest floor, unmoving. The tea cup still gently tipped beside him.
Nearby, the battle with Shura the Sky Rider raged on.
Boom!
A blast of smoke and wax shot up as Galdino's hidden trap activated. Shura suddenly realized that one of his legs was caught in a creeping wall of hardened wax.
"Tch—! Damned trickster!" Shura growled, trying to pull away.
"Chance!"
Binko's eyes flashed. With daggers drawn, he steadied his breath; his figure shimmered—and then disappeared. He was now using a real skill.
"Soru!"
In a blur, he closed the distance. *Slash—Slash—Slash!* A flurry of rapid dagger strikes rained down on Shura's torso. The Sky Rider tried to defend, parrying with his lance, but his position was compromised.
"Got you!" Galdino yelled, charging forward. His body expanded, covering himself in a suit of gleaming white armor—*Wax Champion Mode*.
"Champion Punch!"
A giant wax-coated fist surged forward, aimed straight at Shura's exposed side.
Shura gritted his teeth, raising his lance as a final defense—too little, too late.
BAM!
The impact sent tremors through his body. The lance absorbed some force, but the power behind the wax fist shattered the priest's guard. The bones in his hand cracked loudly.
"ARGH!!" he howled, stumbling from the shock.
Before he could recover—
Whack!
A foot slammed into the back of his neck with surgical precision. Binko, now above him, followed up the combo with a brutal kick that sent Shura flying face-first into the dirt.
Thud!
The wax hardened instantly, locking him in place as he twitched once… then went still.
Shura was defeated.
For a moment, there was silence—until a shadow fell over the battlefield.
Crash!
From the sky, Fuza, the enormous bird mount, plummeted and hit the ground with a heavy thud. The creature groaned, exhausted. Moments later, a sleek, black shape landed beside it—gracefully and silent.
It was Nojiko, reverting from her panther form, landing lightly on her feet.
"The bird's down," she said coolly, brushing off some dust from her shoulder. "Took me long enough."
Galdino chuckled, breathing heavily. "Nice timing."
Binko twirled his daggers before sheathing them. "Good job, team."
As they glanced at the other fight, they saw Lakuari still beating the unconscious Gedatsu.
"Alright. Stop it," Galdino called, stopping the man.
As the team gathered, two defeated priests lay unconscious in the forest, and the once-feared sky warriors had fallen one by one.