Chapter 81: Skypiea – Upper Yard Landing & the Divided Search
God Island Apayado. Enel lounged lazily on his throne, absentmindedly munching an apple.
Suddenly, the corners of his mouth curled into an excited grin: "Interesting… one or two of them actually survived my divine punishment and now dare to come looking for me?"
He casually tossed the finished apple core backward. It landed precisely on the head of one of his divine attendants. The attendant trembled all over in fright but didn't dare raise a hand to wipe the juice dripping down his forehead.
"Heh… perfect timing." Enel stood up. Lightning crackled and danced around his body. "The Ark Maxim is finally complete. It's time to hold a grand survival game!"
His golden staff slammed heavily against the ground. The entire temple shook violently: "Go inform the four priests and those Shandian insects! Tell them to slaughter each other with those Qinghai rats!"
Enel spread both arms wide, eyes blazing with madness: "The survival war has begun! Only the last one standing qualifies to accompany me to the limitless earth!"
The trembling attendant scrambled out of the temple on all fours to deliver the order. Enel sank back onto his throne and closed his eyes to rest: "Let my Mantra observe them well… little ants."
Meanwhile, at the divine altar.
"Where the hell did that giant lobster go? I didn't expect it to screw us over at the very last moment." Sol frowned, staring at the severely damaged bottom of the Merry.
He had assumed the lobster would obediently lead the way and hadn't paid much attention afterward—partly distracted by the bizarre scenery along the route. But upon reaching the destination, the damned thing hurled the Merry violently and then sank into the lake, vanishing completely.
"It's really troublesome. In a place like this, with the Merry in its current state, putting it in the water will definitely sink it," Zoro said, arms crossed, irritably scratching the back of his head.
Robin surveyed the surroundings and calmly analyzed: "Judging from the architectural style, this should be an inland lake on God Island. And this structure…" She looked up at the towering stone altar. "It's very likely an ancient site for human sacrifice. But trapping us here—does that so-called 'God' plan to torment us with starvation?"
Sanji tugged at a hanging vine; the tough tendril creaked under his grip: "Looks like we'll have to swing across using these vines. Besides…" He glanced at the lake surface. Schools of sky sharks were circling below, their sharp dorsal fins slicing through the water. "Those guys definitely won't give us a chance to swim over."
"So—who wants to go on an adventure with us?" Sol scanned his crewmates.
"I'm going with you!" Nami raised her hand without hesitation, her short orange hair swaying slightly with the motion.
"Big adventure! Sanji, hurry and bring my pirate bento!" Luffy bounced excitedly, showing zero concern—only pure eagerness for adventure.
Zoro rolled his neck; the three swords at his waist clinked softly: "Perfect chance to meet this self-proclaimed god and see what he's really made of."
Robin turned to Vivi and gracefully extended her hand: "Care to join? This altar is at least a hundred years old. My inner archaeologist is burning with excitement."
"Delighted." Vivi accepted readily, then glanced at Karoo beside her. "Do you want to come too?" Karoo shook his head frantically like a rattle, neck blurring with motion. "So unwilling…" Vivi sighed helplessly, hand on forehead.
Usopp crouched beside the Merry, tenderly stroking the hull's wounds: "I'll stay here. Chopper, can you help me repair the Merry? Good thing we asked Pagaya for spare parts before leaving."
Chopper transformed into Heavy Point and thumped his chest: "Leave the ship repair to us!"
"Sanji-kun, how do we use these vines? Just swing across?" Vivi looked up at the dangling tendrils, a bit hesitant.
Before Sanji could elegantly demonstrate his gentlemanly style, Zoro had already snatched a vine: "Hmph, this isn't hard at all. Watch."
He cleared his throat, then suddenly let out a Tarzan-like yell—"Ahhh—ooo ooo ooo!"—grabbed the vine, and swung powerfully across to the other side.
"Damn moss-head! Stealing my spotlight!" Sanji's forehead vein throbbed; he ground his teeth.
"My turn!" Luffy excitedly grabbed the vine Zoro threw back, imitating the yell—"Ah ooo ooo ooo!"—and swung across, even doing a flip mid-air. He nearly face-planted into the lake on landing.
"What… is this some kind of ritual?" Vivi blinked in confusion.
Nami facepalmed: "Probably some kind of… courage-boosting chant?"
"Vivi-chan Nami-san Robin-neechan~" Sanji took the vine, spun gracefully in a circle, golden hair gleaming in the sunlight. "Allow me to demonstrate the most perfect vine-swinging technique."
He swung across lightly, landing in a single-knee crouch, one hand on his chest, the other flicking back his suit jacket with flair. He turned and threw a wink: "Rest assured—I'll catch all you lovely ladies in the gentlest embrace!"
"No thanks." Nami rejected him flatly, then transformed into her beast form—golden wings spreading wide. "Robin, Vivi—let's fly over."
"Eh?! Wait! Nami-san! At least let me…" Sanji's outstretched hand froze mid-air as he watched Nami carry Vivi and Robin gracefully across the lake, not letting a single hair touch him.
"Sigh…" Sol, the last to swing over, looked at the petrified Sanji and shook his head helplessly. "You're doomed to be ruined by women for life."
Sanji knelt on the ground, hands on the dirt, whole body shadowed in gloom, muttering: "Rejected by Nami-san… disliked by Vivi-chan… even Robin-neesan…"
Sol patted his shoulder solemnly: "Pull yourself together, horny kappa. Your life can't revolve only around women."
"What do you know!!" Sanji snapped his head up, eyes blazing. "Protecting beautiful ladies is my chivalry!"
"Yeah yeah, go burn alone then." Sol shrugged and turned to the others. "Alright, everyone's here. How do we split up next?"
After some discussion (mostly Luffy yelling he wanted to explore alone and Zoro & Sanji sniping at each other), they finally decided:
Robin and Vivi together—exploring the ancient ruins around the altar;
Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy each going solo in three different directions;
Nami going with Sol.
From afar, Usopp shouted: "Hey! Be careful out there! If you run into danger, run away immediately!"
Chopper and Karoo shouted together: "I-I'll do my best to fix the ship! You all have to come back safe! Quack!"
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