While Sanji was rescuing Vivi, on the other side of the ruins.
"Iron Rapier!!"
The Priest Ohm shouted as he swung his cloud sword. The white blade suddenly elongated, slashing down from above.
*Crash!*
Zoro leaped to the side as the cloud sword struck the ground, slicing through the stone bricks. After dodging the attack, he pushed off the ground and charged forward!
However, his opponent seemed to have already seen through his movements. The cloud sword on the ground suddenly became flexible, sweeping across rapidly under Ohm's control!
"Iron Whip!!"
*Clang!!*
Zoro hastily raised his swords to block. Sparks flew from the blades as the immense force sent him flying. With a loud crash, he smashed into a dilapidated, collapsed stone house.
"It is useless. In my eyes, your movements are a predetermined trajectory, much like the destined, rugged life of a mortal."
*Swish!*
Ohm waved his hand to retract the cloud sword. He lightly adjusted his sunglasses with two fingers and spoke in a deep, pretentious voice,
"This is... what they call fate...!"
"Tch, stop acting so mysterious. You so-called Priests are just people using weird weapons."
Zoro gritted his teeth and pushed himself up from the rubble. He swung his sword to cleave through the fallen rocks blocking his path and stepped forward, a cold smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Something like fate has no right to dictate my life. No matter what kind of obstacle stands in my way, I just need to cut it down with the swords in my hands!"
"Is that so? Placing your faith in swords forged from mere mortal iron... your vision is truly short-sighted. Before the God-given Mantra and my Iron Cloud sword, all resistance is futile."
Ohm remained expressionless. He raised the cloud sword level with his side and thrust it forward with a loud shout!
"Iron Fork!!"
*Whoosh!*
The white blade suddenly elongated and shot forward. Mid-flight, the tip of the sword bloomed, rapidly splitting into three prongs like a trident as it pierced toward Zoro.
*Clang!!*
Zoro crossed his two swords in front of him to parry, but the cloud sword violently pushed him back several meters. Gritting his teeth, the muscles in his arms suddenly bulged.
"Nigori-Zake!!"
Surging power rapidly flowed into his twin blades. With a forceful shake, Zoro deflected the cloud sword and dashed forward with quick steps, his figure moving even faster than his opponent could retract the blade!
"Trying to rush me before I can pull back my cloud sword? Ridiculous. The move you're using is a three-sword horizontal slash?"
Ohm's gaze narrowed slightly. He had already read Zoro's upcoming offensive movements in his mind and bent his knees slightly, preparing to jump and dodge in advance.
But at that moment, a look of shock crossed his face. His mind suddenly read a strange, completely unavoidable attack coming from elsewhere.
The next second, six arms bizarrely sprouted from his body!
Robin crossed her arms in front of her chest, activating her ability. Those six arms tightly coiled around her opponent's limbs, making it impossible for him to exert any strength.
"Six Fleur: Bind!"
"What is going on?! What is this thing!"
Ohm's face paled in panic. Before he could even think of how to break free, he whipped his head around, only to see Zoro already right in front of him!
"You've been playing god all this time, but it seems you couldn't foresee your own fate."
Zoro's mouth curled into a smirk, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He crossed his two swords upright at his side, his killing intent blooming!
"Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!!"
*Schwing!!*
All three swords struck at once, cold light flashing brilliantly. The chilling edges sliced across Ohm's body, sending a massive spray of blood into the air!
"Urgh—!!"
Ohm's eyes rolled back into his head. He flew backward, crashing heavily into the ruins with a loud thud!
...
*Click.*
Sheathing the Wado Ichimonji last, Zoro slowly turned around. He looked toward Robin, who was standing on a ruined stone house in the distance, and said in a light tone,
"Was that your ability? Anyway, thanks."
"You're welcome."
Robin replied, her tone completely devoid of emotion.
Then, both of them fell silent, sparing with their words and not uttering another sentence.
...
At the same time, in the Ordeal of Balls arena.
"Since ordinary Surprise Balls are useless against you, let's try this move. Come out, Ball Dragon!"
Standing on a cloud ball, Satori of the Forest yanked a rope forcefully. From within the woods, a winding dragon made entirely of Surprise Balls flew out.
Allen jumped onto a cloud ball, casually kicking away a crow that darted out of it, and looked at his opponent with his hands in his pockets.
The long dragon circled in the air before winding and flying toward him, controlled by the rope in the rotund Priest's hands.
"Ho ho! Unlike those random Surprise Balls, the cloud balls on its body are filled exclusively with explosives and blades. As soon as an explosive ball is triggered, the Ball Dragon will set off a chain explosion, and all the blades inside will fly out and skewer you!"
Satori controlled the Ball Dragon with one hand while bouncing around smugly.
"Ho ho! The game begins! Hurry up and run, ho ho! Flee in despair until you die in the Ordeal of Balls!"
"Explosions? You mean like this?"
Facing the incoming Ball Dragon, Allen's mouth curled into a grin. He remained completely unfazed until the Ball Dragon was right in front of him.
"Shaori—"
Allen slowly extended an arm and, under Satori's astonished gaze, pressed his hand directly against the first cloud ball, which had a dragon's face painted on it.
However.
To Satori's disbelief, neither an explosion nor a barrage of flying blades occurred.
Allen pushed his palm upward. The Ball Dragon abruptly changed direction, folding a full 180 degrees to fly right back at Satori, its speed even increasing slightly!
"The Surprise Ball actually didn't react? Strange. Whatever, even though I don't know what trick you used to make the Ball Dragon fly back, don't forget that I'm the one controlling it."
A mocking expression appeared on Satori's fat face. He pulled down on the rope with his right hand, but accompanied by a feeling of pulling on nothing, the severed end of the rope flew back into his face.
"Eh?"
Looking at the broken rope in front of him, Satori froze for a moment. Then, realizing what had happened, he opened his mouth wide and his eyes bulged in shock.
"Ehhh!!!"
"Sorry, I conveniently cut the rope."
Allen flashed a toothy grin, raising his hand like a blade to gesture.
"You cut it with your bare hand?! How is that possible!"
Satori screamed in shock. However, whether he believed it or not, the Ball Dragon was already right in front of him. He hurriedly jumped up in a panic.
The moment the Ball Dragon collided with the cloud ball he had been riding, a blinding white light erupted!
*Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!*
Accompanied by a dense barrage of loud bangs, a terrifying chain explosion was triggered. Towering flames engulfed the surrounding dozens of meters, and countless blades shot out in all directions!
Satori's body was instantly swallowed by the explosive shockwave, as black smoke mixed with roaring flames billowed into the sky.
"Nicely done!!"
Seeing this, Nami, who was standing on a tree branch, raised her fists and jumped up in excitement.
The next second.
"Phew! Phew! That was close. Good thing I calmed down and used Mantra to dodge the blades."
Through the smoke, Satori's figure slowly emerged. He was kneeling on a cloud ball in a sorry state, his clothes scorched black all over.
Seeing that he was still alive, Nami shuddered in fright. She quickly shrank back behind the tree trunk to hide, only poking her head out to watch cautiously.
Satori looked up and stood, glaring indignantly at Allen, who was watching him make a fool of himself. He roared angrily,
"You damn bastard! How dare you make a fool out of this Priest! I absolutely won't forgive you today!"
With that, he leaped forcefully from the cloud ball, his round, ball-like body tumbling nimbly through the air.
Arriving right above Allen, he straightened his arm and aimed his orange-gloved palm at him.
"It's a pity, but I've already heard your movements. You're going to dodge to the left, right?"
Reading Allen's reaction in his mind, Satori sneered smugly. He preemptively shifted his palm slightly and then pressed the Impact Dial!
"Die!"
"Impact!!"
A powerful shockwave erupted on command, but it completely missed. The strong wind howled past Allen's face, blowing his black hair into a wild dance.
Satori's pupils dilated in shock. Allen hadn't moved an inch, completely throwing off the adjusted attack position based on his prediction!
"How is this possible! Why? Weren't you supposed to dodge to the left?!"
"I was originally going to dodge to the left, but after predicting your attack, I changed my mind. Sorry, but I can use Observation Haki too."
Allen's mouth curled into a grin, a sharp, piercing glint flashing in his eyes. He raised his arm and thrust his fist forward with blinding speed!
Faced with a punch so fast it was nearly impossible to dodge, Satori's pupils shrank in terror. He instinctively turned his head to the side, but Allen's rock-hard fist struck true, landing squarely and solidly right on his face!
*Bam!!*
"Blergh—!!"
The heavy, forceful punch contorted Satori's face. He spat out broken teeth and bloody foam as his eyes rolled back, his brain instantly losing consciousness!
The next second, Satori's fat body flew backward, plummeting like a fired cannonball and smashing into the ground!
*Boom!!*
Cracks spread out like a spiderweb as a cloud of dust and debris kicked up from the earth.
Above on the cloud ball, Allen slowly retracted his fist.
Observation Haki wasn't something he had learned during his battle with Drake; rather, it was something Allen had figured out on his own through continuous training with his Demon Brain.
When he activated his Demon Brain, he had a predictive ability. Against familiar opponents, he could read their movements through subtle muscle twitches.
The basics of Observation Haki involved sensing an opponent's presence to make predictions. The underlying principle was actually the brain's subconscious calculation after the five senses gathered information from the surrounding environment.
It was similar to the predictive principle of his Demon Brain, except that once one grasped the basics of Observation Haki, it was much more convenient to use and could be activated at will.
After using his Demon Brain to fight Drake countless times, Allen had naturally mastered it.
Facing the Priest, with their Observation Haki being relatively equal, the initiative in battle still lay in the hands of whoever was faster and had quicker reactions.
He couldn't speak for his speed—at least if he were facing Enel, he would definitely be at a disadvantage—but when it came to combat reflexes, Allen, armed with his Demon Brain, was confident he wouldn't lose to anyone.
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