...
"Swamp, Balls, String, and Iron...?"
"...God's Ordeals, what does this mean?"
Following the cloud path deep into the forest, a giant Buddha head statue abruptly appeared before the group.
Allen and his crew came to a halt.
Nami and the others observed the strange structure in front of them with confusion. Four giant fingers stood upright in front of the Buddha head, each inscribed with large characters corresponding to an ordeal.
Sanji took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaling the smoke as he stared at the entrances.
"Although I don't know where they lead, since they're called ordeals, they definitely won't be good places."
"Heh heh, these are God's Ordeals. You guys are doomed this time."
A voice suddenly came from behind, prompting them to look back.
They saw a bruised and battered member of the Divine Militia being dangled from Buchi's hand. The militiaman glared at them with cold eyes and sneered.
"God's Ordeals are execution grounds personally overseen by the four Priests, corresponding to four different punishments. Every single Priest possesses overwhelming strength."
"Among them, even the Ordeal of Swamp only has a 50% survival rate. The survival rates for the remaining three are all below 10%. As for the Ordeal of Iron, no one has ever made it out alive."
"Even though you're strong, you're nothing but mere mortals before the Priests. Every one of them has mastered 'Mantra,' a gift bestowed by God. They are absolutely not existences you can defeat."
A dark glint flashed in the militiaman's eyes as he spoke coldly.
"As long as you enter the ordeals, the Priests will absolutely make you fools regret ever setting foot on Upper Yard...!"
"Is that so? Then we'll be fine if we just don't go in."
Nami placed a hand on her hip, her expression completely unfazed as she stated it like an obvious matter of fact.
Hearing this, the militiaman had a sudden realization, his face immediately flushing red with humiliation and anger.
"Are you kidding me?! You've already made it to the entrances! Any normal person would definitely be curious enough to go in and take a look!"
"No, no, no. A normal person would definitely walk around them. What kind of idiot would enter such bizarre entrances that suddenly appeared in the middle of a forest?"
Nami waved her hand dismissively, looking at him with disdain.
The man's neck instantly turned red upon hearing this, and he glared at her through gritted teeth.
"Damn it! What a cunning woman, actually refusing to play by the rules!"
"..."
Nami retorted speechlessly, "Your IQ is literally on par with a brainless goat."
At that moment, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and patted her shoulder.
Nami turned around to see Allen, who said to her,
"Let's go. Everyone has already split into teams."
"Eh?"
Question marks popped up over Nami's head, her face a picture of utter bewilderment.
Allen jerked his thumb toward Sanji and the others, who had already formed their groups, and said in all seriousness,
"Sanji and Robin are taking the Ordeal of Iron. Gin, Buchi, and Sham are taking the Ordeal of String. You're coming with me into the Ordeal of Balls. No problems, right?"
"No problems... my foot!!"
Nami rolled her eyes hard and screamed at the group, "Did you not hear him say it's dangerous?! Why do we have to go into such a weird place?!"
Sham blinked blankly. "Uh... because they're doors."
Buchi added expectantly, "Maybe there's food inside."
Gin said calmly, "I want to test how strong the Priests are."
Robin smiled. "I'm quite curious about what's inside as well."
"Leaving Miss Robin all alone would be far too dangerous! My heart couldn't take it!" Sanji swooned with a lovestruck expression.
Allen said, "If you really don't want to go in, you can stay out here by yourself."
"Wouldn't that be even more dangerous for me?!"
Nami bared her teeth and shrieked, reaching out with both hands to grab Allen's cheeks and pull them hard.
*I'm so mad I could die!*
...
The cloud path branched into four, each extending into one of the four entrances of God's Ordeals. The group split into three teams and entered, walking along the ground beside the cloud paths.
The surrounding light gradually dimmed. Nami followed nervously behind Allen, her hands tightly gripping his clothes as she looked around with high vigilance.
The tunnel was not short, but they didn't encounter any accidents along the way—aside from the occasional swarms of rats, bats, and cockroaches that kept Nami screaming non-stop.
After a while, a glimmer of light appeared ahead in the pitch-black tunnel. Finally seeing the exit, Nami, who was now clinging to Allen's back, was so moved she was on the verge of tears.
Stepping out of the tunnel into the blinding white light, their pupils adjusted, and their vision gradually cleared to reveal a wide-open landscape.
Beyond the tunnel was a cliff, where the cloud path cascaded down like a waterfall into the clearing below.
Allen stood at the edge of the cliff, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. Countless towering trees rose from the ground, and a massive number of fluffy white cloud balls floated in the air, drifting slowly through the forest like balloons.
One of the cloud balls floated slowly toward them. Nami stared at it with curiosity, completely lacking any guard against something that looked so harmless.
"What is this thing? Is it another type of processed cloud?"
When the cloud ball drifted right in front of her, Nami unconsciously raised her hand and poked it with her index finger.
The moment she poked it.
Poof!
A hole suddenly burst open on the surface of the cloud ball, and a large green snake lunged out, its terrifying jaws opened wide to bite her!
"Kyaaa!!"
Nami shrieked in terror, jumping out of her skin at the sudden ambush.
Allen gave a speechless look. He raised his hand, and just as the snake was about to bite her, he flicked it right on the head, sending it flying away.
Bang!
The snake's body slammed into a tree trunk. Its eyes rolled back, its tongue lolled out, and it was forcefully retired from the snake business.
Seeing that she was out of danger, Nami breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. She covered her mouth with both hands, wearing a pitiful expression of someone who had just survived a disaster.
"Boohoo... I hate the forest..."
Allen couldn't help but feel speechless.
There was no doubt that Nami was a girl with a strong heart, but her cowardice was equally unquestionable.
Allen couldn't understand how one person could manage to be both at the same time.
Smoothing out her skirt, Nami gathered herself and stood up from the ground.
Right at that moment, the Priest in charge of the ordeal finally appeared.
"Yohoho... Yohoho... You guys are really something, actually managing to make it here even with the Divine Militia mobilized."
From behind a giant tree in the distance, two cloud balls stacked on top of each other floated out. The top ball spun around while emitting a voice in a strange tone.
Nami leaned her head forward slightly, her eyes fixed for a few seconds on the top ball, which was wearing a yellow hat.
Looking closely, she realized it was actually a fat man dressed in white clothes, as round and plump as a ball.
"Is that the Priest?"
"You guessed right, little girl! Welcome to the Ordeal of Balls. I am the Priest, Satori of the Forest."
Satori laughed with a muffled, nasal voice. He flipped and jumped up, bouncing around on the cloud ball while nimbly striking various bizarre poses.
*He actually looks quite comical. I can't associate this image with 'terrifying' at all,* Nami thought to herself, looking at him with a weird expression.
Beside her, Allen eagerly cracked his knuckles. The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a hint of interest in his eyes.
"Finally, someone worth looking at. Let me test just how good your Observation Haki is."
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