...
"Our location is here. According to the legend of 'seeing gold in the right eye of the skull,' combined with the map, it should be referring to this place marked with an altar..."
Allen and his crew strolled through the forest. Nami looked around, checking the map to identify their bearings. A look of distress gradually appeared on her face as she sighed,
"The map is just too old, and this primeval forest is so dense. There's simply no way to figure out the route."
"That doesn't matter at all. A path is made by walking; as long as we have a direction, we'll be fine,"
Allen said casually.
He had no intention of going to the altar anyway. The gold there had long been emptied out, all taken by Enel to build the [Ark Maxim].
As for Enel's location, if he remembered correctly, it should be over by the Giant Jack. Before landing on the island, he had seen that massive vine piercing the clouds and memorized its direction.
What he was worrying about now was how much of the Sky Island's gold he could actually take with him. The only thing more painful than not making money was having a mountain of wealth right in front of you, yet being unable to carry it.
Given the *Freewill*'s cargo capacity, just transporting the broken pillar of the Golden Bell would probably be a struggle, let alone figuring out how to get it all down from the Sky Island.
*Sigh...*
Allen sighed inwardly. As he walked and pondered, it wasn't long before they began to see trails of clouds appearing one after another.
These cloud paths hung in mid-air, winding and crisscrossing as they extended deep into the forest, with no end in sight.
Driven by curiosity, Buchi and Sham hopped onto one, but their feet sank into it as if they had stepped into a muddy swamp.
"What the heck? It's so hard to walk on."
"This sucks. This kind of road isn't convenient at all."
Buchi and Sham complained in disgust.
Just as they were about to jump back down to the ground, two figures suddenly appeared from above.
Buchi and Sham instinctively looked up, only to see that the newcomers were both wearing white robes, with a pair of short horns on their heads and two long ears fluttering in the wind behind them.
"What the hell?"
"Goats?"
Buchi and Sham wore expressions of utter confusion.
The two Divine Militia members leaped onto the cloud path. The Breath Dials on the soles of their shoes erupted, propelling them forward at breakneck speed along the cloud path as they let out a bizarre cry,
"Baaah!"
"They really are goats!"
Buchi and Sham yelled, their eyes wide. Despite their shock, they could tell from the newcomers' expressions that they came with hostile intent.
"Even though I don't know what breed of goat they are..."
"...they're definitely enemies."
The Nyaban Brothers smirked, dropping into a combat stance and baring their ten-bladed cat claws, the sharp edges gleaming with a cold light.
Sham was the first to strike, leaping high into the air to position himself right above his opponent, only to see the goat-man preemptively raise an arm and aim at him.
"Slash!"
*Schwing!*
The goat-man shouted with a ferocious glare, instantly releasing an invisible slash from his palm!
*Spurt!*
Sham's pupils trembled in shock. Before he could even react, the slash struck his body. Accompanied by a tearing pain, blood splattered into the air!
Losing his balance, his body plummeted from the sky, crashing headfirst into the dirt with a heavy *thud!*
"Sham!"
Buchi cried out in panic. Turning back to glare at the two goat-men, a flash of anger appeared in his eyes as he immediately transformed into his tiger-man form.
One of the Divine Militia members arrived in front of him, once again raising his palm from a distance.
"You bastard, do you have some kind of mechanism hidden in your hand?"
Seemingly recalling the explanation about Dials, Buchi's gaze sharpened. He immediately bent backward, his body flexibly arching into an inverted U-shape.
*Schwing!*
The invisible slash flew past at breakneck speed, grazing his abdomen and shaving off a few tiger hairs.
Buchi planted both palms on the ground and kicked his toes upward, viciously striking the militiaman right on the chin!
*Bam!*
"Ugh—!"
Bloody saliva and broken teeth flew from his mouth. The militiaman's head snapped back, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he was instantly knocked unconscious by the heavy kick.
"What an agile fat guy."
Seeing this, the other Divine Militia member looked at Buchi with a solemn gaze. The Breath Dials on his feet erupted, and he suddenly accelerated forward.
Buchi did a backflip, landing steadily on his feet. He locked his eyes on the second goat-man charging at him and swung his tiger palm down with a fierce, howling gust of wind!
The militiaman raised his palm to block.
*Bang!*
The collision of their palms sent out a shockwave of wind, but Buchi's eyes widened in shock. His opponent had actually managed to firmly block such a heavy blow?!
"What a pity. My right palm is equipped with an Impact Dial, so I'll gladly accept your attack, baaah!"
The militiaman let out a smug sneer. He then slightly shifted his palm, aiming it squarely at Buchi's face, and roared.
"Impact!!"
*BOOM!!*
A powerful shockwave suddenly erupted, blasting viciously into Buchi's face!
"Blergh—!"
Buchi spat out a mouthful of bloody froth. His body flew backward, plummeting from the cloud path before smashing heavily onto the ground.
*Thud!*
"Buchi! Sham!"
Seeing both of them knocked down one after another, Nami couldn't help but cry out in panic. She then whipped her head around, staring warily at the goat-man gliding along the cloud path.
Gin furrowed his brows slightly, his face darkening as he said coldly,
"Using powerful Dials to fight... that guy must be a Priest or part of the Divine Militia."
As he spoke, he drew his twin tonfas and spun them rapidly. Bending his knees slightly, he prepared to jump up and confront the enemy, but Allen raised a hand to stop him.
"Hold on, Gin. I want to test the effects of those two Dials."
"Understood."
Gin stood up, dropping his stance, and tucked his tonfas back behind his waist.
Up above, the Divine Militia member looked down at Allen's group, a dark look flashing across his face.
Defeating just two intruders had already cost him a comrade. With so many people still down there, there was no way he could win.
His only option was to go back for reinforcements and use his mobility advantage to slowly wear them down later.
Thinking this, the militiaman turned his head, preparing to retreat deep into the forest along the cloud path.
But right at that moment.
*Tap! Tap! Tap!*
A series of crisp sounds, like snapping fingers, echoed from below. The militiaman turned his head with a strange expression, only to see Allen rapidly kicking the air, flying upward step by step!
"Hey, what kind of technique is that?!"
The militiaman's eyes widened in absolute shock. Seeing that Allen had already flown up to block his path on the cloud road, he gritted his teeth, his eyes turning ruthless as he suddenly accelerated forward!
"Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll—!"
Just as he reached Allen, the militiaman's words came to an abrupt halt.
A large hand instantly clamped around his throat at a speed invisible to the naked eye. A wave of suffocation rushed to his brain. The militiaman's face turned beet red as he flailed his limbs, struggling desperately.
"Hmm? Did I squeeze too hard?"
Seeing that the man couldn't even lift his arms, Allen slightly loosened his grip on his throat and smirked.
"This should be fine. Alright, hurry up and attack me with your Dials."
"You bastard...!"
Gasping for air and recovering slightly, the militiaman glared viciously at Allen and immediately raised his palm, aiming it right at his heart!
"Slash!!"
*Schwing!*
An invisible slash shot out from his palm, accurately striking Allen's chest. However, the expected spray of blood never happened.
The militiaman's eyes filled with disbelief. The slash that landed on the man before him had only left a faint scratch, with merely a few drops of blood slowly seeping out!
Allen looked down at the wound and evaluated it to himself,
"The power isn't bad. Although it can't compare to a full-force strike from a master swordsman, it can at least cut into my muscles."
"Next, switch to the other one. Use the Impact Dial on my face."
Allen ordered him with an indifferent gaze.
The militiaman's face was filled with terror. He was so frightened by Allen that he was at a loss for what to do. His mind went completely blank, and he simply obeyed the command, trembling as he raised his other hand, aimed his palm at Allen's face, and pressed the Impact Dial.
*BOOM!!*
A powerful shockwave suddenly erupted! It blasted viciously into Allen's face, knocking his entire head backward!
"Hiss—! That actually hurts a bit, and it feels different from a direct physical blow."
Allen straightened his head, a trail of blood slowly trickling from his nose. He grinned savagely at the militiaman and said,
"So this is the power produced by absorbing Buchi's palm strike? That idiot actually packs a bit of a punch."
"Alright, say goodnight to this world."
Allen grabbed the man's wrist, placed his palm against his own chest, and under the militiaman's horrified gaze, pressed down hard.
*BOOM!!*
A massive shockwave erupted! The militiaman's body was instantly sent flying backward, his back smashing heavily against the trunk of a giant tree before he slid down like a puddle of soft mud.
...
"Those damn bastards! I'm so pissed off! Next time we run into them, I'm gonna beat the crap out of them!"
Inside the forest, Allen's group resumed their journey.
Buchi and Sham wore indignant expressions, throwing a flurry of punches at the empty air behind the group.
When the two of them had gotten back up earlier, they wanted to get their revenge, only to find that Allen had already dealt with the goat-man. Now, they had a belly full of fire with nowhere to vent it, wishing they could immediately catch a few more goat-men to skin alive.
Up ahead, Allen toyed with the Impact Dial and Axe Dial for a moment before casually tossing them to Nami.
The usage and principles of these two Dials were identical: they absorbed external impacts and slashes, and then, by pressing the apex at the back, they released the previously endured attacks through the hole in the shell.
The power of the impact or slash depended on the intensity of the absorbed attack, but this was not without a limit.
Allen had tested it a few times just now. Under a full-force strike, several cracks appeared on the surface of the Impact Dial, and it simply exploded when releasing the shockwave.
Moreover, both Dials generated a recoil when used, which was directly proportional to the power of the released attack.
The Dial Encyclopedia recorded a type of Reject Dial, which functioned similarly to the Impact Dial, but the upper limit of the impact force it could endure and release was ten times higher.
Of course, the recoil generated by releasing that impact was equally terrifying. One careless mistake could instantly kill the user from the shock.
However, even though the various Dials had their limitations and inconveniences, they were still quite good for Nami to use for self-defense.
Allen couldn't help but think.
Speaking of which, he wondered if Bellamy had started the commissioned search for that Devil Fruit yet.
Nami was now undeniably the weakest person on the ship; her strength couldn't even compare to some of the squad captains.
Although Allen didn't require her to fight on the front lines, she couldn't be left without any means to protect herself.
It just so happened that the Teru Teru Bozu Fruit was a Zoan-type. Whether she ate it directly or it was forged into a Devil Fruit weapon, its abilities perfectly suited Nami and would be enough to elevate her strength to a whole new level.
...
As they walked and pondered, their journey deeper into the forest was met with increasingly frequent ambushes from the Divine Militia.
Allen couldn't be bothered to deal with these small fries, leaving them all for his subordinates to handle. Gradually, as they progressed, the crew began to spread out.
Bringing along about thirty squad captains this time was specifically to let them loose on the island to hone their skills. Those who proved capable would receive more resources for their development in the future, and any Devil Fruits collected would be prioritized for them to eat.
The main focus was a training route of growing braver with every battle, and fighting more as they grew braver.
As long as he was willing to spend the money and be ruthless enough, the ship would sooner or later cultivate an elite squad that mastered the Six Powers, both types of Haki, and possessed Devil Fruit abilities.
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