—Ghostly Presence.
Leaving an illusion behind in his original position, Sherlock's cloaked physical body quickly shifted to the side, putting some distance between himself and the little red-haired girl.
"Ghostly Presence" was a skill he was quite proud of. By relying on this technique, Sherlock had lost count of how many times he had deceived enemy attacks, leaving his opponents frustrated and disoriented. In fact, a large reason why the Marines called him "The Wizard" was precisely because of this elusive and "ghostly" fighting style.
However, in the face of Aisa's innate Mantra, the Wizard's luck had run out...
To Sherlock's stunned eyes, the fuming young girl completely ignored the distracting illusion. She pounced straight toward his true body, grabbed his left hand, and bit down hard!
(How did she see me?!)
Caught by this unexpected sudden strike, Sherlock, now revealed, almost instinctively activated Mirror Reflection. However, he immediately realized that doing so would likely shatter the poor child's teeth, so he held back.
Kind people are often soft-hearted, and being too soft-hearted makes one prone to getting hurt. This was the exact predicament the bespectacled man now found himself in...
Chomp! Aisa bit down fiercely on the Wizard's hand. Her vicious expression certainly carried the spirit of the Shandians, a warrior race.
Sherlock winced slightly at the pain, but he didn't react further, merely looking at the brat with a face full of dark lines.
(Huh? What is this taste?)
After biting for a moment, Aisa suddenly felt a strange, metallic taste of rust in her mouth. Curious, she flicked her tongue to lick it, but her expression immediately froze. She quickly let go.
"Uh, that... I, I didn't do it on purpose!"
Looking at the ring of bloody teeth marks she had left on his hand, and then at the bespectacled man's terrifyingly calm expression, the now-cooled-off Aisa grew flustered. She fidgeted with her skirt and lowered her head awkwardly.
"I'm sorry..."
(Truly idiotic.)
With a soft sigh, Sherlock's face remained as calm as still water. He pulled a white silk scarf from his Mirror Space, wiped away the saliva and blood from the wound, and asked, "How did you see me just now? I was clearly invisible."
"See? No, no, no. I 'heard' you."
Aisa shook her head. Then, the guilt-ridden Shandian girl gave Sherlock a detailed explanation regarding "Mantra."
"I see... so Observation Haki is called 'Mantra' here on the Sky Island."
After listening, Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses. He pondered for a moment before looking at Aisa with a look of utter amazement.
"You're saying you've had this ability awakened since the moment you were born?! And its range can cover the entire Island of God?"
Good heavens. Ever since Sherlock had awakened his Observation Haki, he had been consciously and unconsciously training it. Yet even now, his sensory range—even when combined with his Mirror Transmission—was nowhere near enough to shroud an entire island, unless he used Insomna.
In contrast, this little girl's mastery of Observation Haki at such a young age was already on par with the "Wizard" when he was on "drugs."
Comparison is the thief of joy! For the first time in twenty-four years, Sherlock felt a sense of defeat regarding innate talent.
"Yeah, that's right."
Perhaps embarrassed by the Wizard's "look-at-the-alien" stare, the little girl scratched her hair and whispered, "Not only that, my intuition is also very strong..."
Before she could finish, Aisa's expression suddenly shifted. "Oh no! Three Divine Soldiers are coming this way! That... by the way, Blue Seaer, what's your name?"
(Is this what they call 'extraordinary talent'?)
The Wizard, who hadn't sensed any enemies approaching at all, stroked his chin. He looked at the little girl as if he were looking at a human radar.
"Sherlock. You can just call me Sherlock."
Crackle—!
Lightning exploded! The air was instantly filled with the scorched smell of ionization.
"Sanji!" Nami and Usopp cried out in unison.
"Enel..." The former God, Gan Fall, stared blankly at the uninvited current God before him. His body trembled slightly, his eyes filled with a mixture of rage and terror.
"I told you, I'm not here to fight."
Arcing blue-and-white electricity flickered across Enel's bare torso. He didn't even glance at the scorched, curly-browed cook lying on the deck, his status unknown. Instead, he casually picked at his ear.
"As long as you stay quiet, I won't attack you." As he spoke, the man—whose earlobes stretched down to his chest—lightly blew the earwax off his fingertip. He lacked even a hint of the tension one should have when deep in enemy territory.
After all, he was the invincible "God"!
"You bastard! What did you do to Sanji?!"
Though he was a coward, the long-nosed man always managed to find courage in critical moments. It was unclear where he drew his bravery from this time, but he whipped out his slingshot and aimed it at Enel.
"Special Attack! Gunpowder Star!"
Swoosh— The black pellet passed directly through Enel's head, trailing a string of electricity before exploding far away from the Going Merry.
"Dammit! It had no effect?!" Usopp broke into a cold sweat, but he didn't give up. He pulled out new ammunition and drew his sling again.
"Special Attack! Pepper Star!"
"Special Attack! Rotten Egg Star!"
"You... are you playing house?"
Perhaps finding Usopp's utterly ridiculous weapons somewhat novel, the invincible God didn't immediately deliver "Divine Retribution." Instead, he stood perfectly still, allowing the other man to fire all sorts of bizarre projectiles at him.
"Tch. Do whatever you want. It is impossible to cause me any harm."
"After all, I am God!" Enel declared with absolute confidence.
However, the moment those words left his mouth...
"Usopp Rubber Band!"
Zip—Snap!
A miracle occurred! That translucent orange rubber band actually struck Enel square in the face. Though the force was incredibly weak, it still snapped against the God's pale cheek, leaving a faint red mark.
The originally tense atmosphere on the Going Merry instantly became awkward.
"..." Enel froze for a long while. He touched the spot on his face where he'd been hit, looked down at the rubber band, and then looked back up at Usopp, his face a mask of pure bewilderment.
"He... he actually managed to hit Enel! How did this Blue Seaer do that?" The Knight of the Sky gasped, his eyes filled with awe and a profound sense of "I don't know what happened, but it looks amazing."
"Pierre~~!" The Sky Knight's mount was so shocked its jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Are you trying to be funny?!" The orange-haired navigator, who knew the long-nosed man's true strength all too well, was nearly moved to tears of terror.
"Hahaha! Now you know the power of the Great Captain Usopp!"
Usopp, determined to spend his life boasting, completely ignored the fact that the Thunder God opposite him was currently erupting in rage after having his "flag" immediately slapped down. He continued in an extremely arrogant tone:
"It's not too late for you to leave. Otherwise, my 8,000 subordinates will—"
"100 Million Volt... Vari!!!"
CRACKLE!!!
The deck of the Going Merry was instantly engulfed in a blinding flash of vengeful lightning...
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