The Trials

"What's happening?" Nami couldn't help but ask.

"It must be time for their duel," Moonlight replied, his own face grim as he stood up. "Nami, Luffy and the others are in danger. I'm going to go." He had perceived a great deal with his Observation Haki.

"What? Luffy and the others are in danger? From those two?" Nami asked, a look of surprise on her face. She subconsciously assumed that the two giants were going to harm her friends.

"No, it's another group," Moonlight said, shaking his head. "If I'm not mistaken, it's the high-level agents from Baroque Works who were hunting us. There are four of them, and they should all be Devil Fruit users." He knew they had sailed all the way to Little Garden in a single day. The only organization that could have arrived at the same time and so perfectly avoided their detection was Baroque Works.

"Four Devil Fruit users!" Nami cried, her voice filled with a new wave of worry. "Moonlight, are you sure?"

"It's no problem, but you'd better stay on the ship," Moonlight replied. "The ship is the safest place right now." He nodded, and after carefully pinpointing their direction, he prepared to leave.

"Wait, Moonlight," Nami said, stopping him. "I still feel safest by your side." Now that the high-level agents of Baroque Works had arrived, there was no safe place on the entire island. In comparison, Moonlight made her feel much more at ease.

"Alright, let's go," Moonlight said, and the two of them headed into the island.

In the center of the island, Dorry and Brogy were once again locked in combat, and the terrifying force of their blows made the entire island tremble. Luffy, Usopp, and Vivi stared, dumbfounded. Was this the battle between two giants? It was incredible. Usopp, in particular, was stunned. Watching the two of them fight, his soul was shaken. He felt as if he had found something he had been looking for.

"The 73,468th battle... is a draw!" The two of them fought for most of the day, and in the end, they were evenly matched once again. "Is it a draw again?" they both said, sighing in disappointment. When would this endless battle finally have a victor?

"Come on! I'll buy you a drink!" Luffy shouted, taking out the ale from the ship.

"Alright! A drink!" the two giants' eyes lit up at the sight of the ale. They had been on this island for a long time, and they hadn't had a proper drink in years. They didn't stand on ceremony, each of them downing a massive barrel of ale in a single gulp.

But three minutes later...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A shocking explosion erupted from within their stomachs.

"What's happening?" Luffy, Usopp, and Vivi were all surprised. Why were the giants' stomachs exploding?

"You despicable pirate! You tricked us!" Dorry and Brogy roared in fury. The ale Luffy had given them had exploded in their stomachs. The conclusion was obvious. The two of them raised their massive weapons and swung at Luffy.

"That's the ale from our ship! How could this be?" Usopp, Vivi, and Luffy were all grim-faced. They had never expected something like this to happen.

"I didn't do it! I don't know anything!" Luffy explained quickly, dodging the giants' furious attacks.

"You're the only other people on this island! If it wasn't you, who was it?" the two giants roared, their attacks growing more and more ferocious.

"It really wasn't me!" Luffy shouted, but the two of them, enraged and in pain, couldn't hear him. Though Luffy was strong, the two giants were stronger, and he was no match for them one-on-one, let alone when they were teaming up. Soon, he was at a disadvantage.

"It really wasn't me!" he roared again, but the two massive weapons were already descending upon him like Mount Tai. A direct hit would surely be fatal.

"Luffy!"

"Luffy!" Vivi and Usopp screamed. They saw a look of grim determination on Luffy's face. He wasn't going to dodge. He was going to use his own life to prove his innocence.

"Despicable pirate! Go to hell!" the two giants roared, their anger blinding them to his plea.

Just as Luffy was about to be beheaded...

BOOM!

A sword, as if sent from the heavens, suddenly appeared, blocking the two giants' massive weapons.

"Moonlight!" Usopp and Vivi cried out in joy. At the most critical moment, Moonlight had finally arrived.

"Moonlight, don't interfere!" Luffy said, his voice grim. "This is my business with them!"

"He can actually block our attack?" Dorry and Brogy stared in surprise at the man who had suddenly appeared. It was the first time they had ever seen a swordsman who could withstand their full-power blow. Their casual attacks could shatter mountains.

"I know," Moonlight said calmly, "but if someone is playing dirty and trying to frame our captain, then I, as the vice-captain, can't just stand by and do nothing. That would be too incompetent." He already knew the truth.

"Who was it? Who did it?" Luffy roared, his own anger now flaring.

"Are there other people on this island besides us?" Vivi and Usopp asked, surprised.

Dorry and Brogy calmed down, their respect for Moonlight's strength evident.

"Yes, it's the senior agents of Baroque Works," Nami said, walking out from behind a tree. "Where are Zoro and Sanji? Have you seen them?"

"Nami!"

"So the senior agents of Baroque Works really are here," Vivi said, her heart sinking. "They've come to hunt us down."

"That's right," Moonlight said, nodding. He was about to speak, but at that moment, a long river of wax suddenly shot out from the darkness, flowing to their feet and wrapping them all in its sticky grasp. The attack was so sudden and stealthy that no one had time to react.

"What is this?"

"Ah!"

Dorry and Brogy were also caught, and no matter how much they struggled, they couldn't break free.

"This is wax," a voice said, and Mr. 3 appeared, a smug smirk on his face. "I ate the Wax-Wax Fruit. You are all now trapped in my wax."

Then, Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, and Miss Goldenweek also appeared.

"Now I will have my revenge," Miss Valentine sneered, looking around for Moonlight. But to her surprise, he was nowhere to be seen. Mr. 5 was also surprised. He scanned the group carefully, but the swordsman was gone.

"What?" Mr. 3's face grew rigid. Had someone escaped his blockade?

"Over there," Miss Goldenweek said, pointing. Moonlight was standing a short distance away, looking at them with a calm, indifferent expression.

"To be able to escape Mr. 3's Candle Lock... he's no ordinary man," Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine said, their faces now serious.

"Interesting," Mr. 3 said, though a sneer was still on his face. "But so what? All your resistance is useless in the face of my Wax-Wax Fruit ability. My wax is as hard as steel." He couldn't believe someone had managed to avoid his attack, but he quickly regained his composure. "Candle Lock!"

A river of wax shot towards Moonlight, covering a wide area and blocking off all his escape routes. But Moonlight moved with an easy grace, and the wax couldn't touch him. No matter how dense the attack, it was useless. It was as if he could see through the attack, always one step ahead. At the same time, a figure was dragged out of the nearby bushes, wrapped in wax. It was Zoro. He had heard the commotion and had come to investigate, but before he knew what was happening, he had been caught in the wax river and turned into a wax figure, just like Luffy and the others. Now, with the exception of Moonlight and the still-missing Sanji, the entire Straw Hat crew had been defeated.

"Damn, what is this stuff? I can't break free!" Zoro struggled, but the wax was as hard as steel. The more he struggled, the faster the wax hardened, and soon, half of his body had been encased.

"Moonlight, be careful!" Nami shouted. "That wax is very powerful! If it touches you, you're finished!"

"Moonlight, it's all up to you now! Be careful!" Usopp added. They had all been defeated; Moonlight was their only hope.

"Moonlight, I'm gonna send these despicable guys flying!" Luffy roared.

"This swordsman is too fast," Mr. 3 said, realizing that he couldn't beat him alone. "Everyone, together! Create an opportunity for me!"

As long as they could block Moonlight's movements, he could end it all. No one had ever been able to break free from his wax.

"Alright, let me blow him up," Mr. 5 said, nodding. He had already experienced Moonlight's strength and knew he couldn't be careless. He picked his nose and flicked a booger at him.

Miss Valentine also nodded and flew into the air with her umbrella, her weight suddenly increasing to ten thousand pounds as she fell towards Moonlight. Miss Goldenweek, holding a paintbrush, began to draw strange patterns on the ground. Though she wasn't a Devil Fruit user, she could control people's emotions through her paintings.

The three high-level agents of Baroque Works attacked in unison, and Moonlight's range of movement was constantly shrinking. Seizing the opportunity, Mr. 3 unleashed his Candle Lock once more, and a long river of wax shot out, finally catching Moonlight and wrapping him in its sticky grasp.

"Moonlight!"

"No! There are too many of them! He can't handle them alone!"

"Their abilities are too strong! It's over!" Nami and the others felt a chill run down their spines. Even Moonlight had been caught. They were completely finished.

"Damn it! It's so despicable! Four people bullying one!" Dorry and Brogy roared. They had never seen such a cowardly display, but they were trapped in the wax, their own bodies seriously injured, and they couldn't break free.

"Well, now you can't escape," Mr. 5 sneered, picking his nose as he looked at the waxed Moonlight. He was going to get his revenge for last time.

"Yes, let me show you the feeling of ten thousand pounds," Miss Valentine said, flying up again.

"Boring," Miss Goldenweek said, putting away her drawing board and sitting down to drink some tea. The target was difficult to deal with, but he couldn't escape their grasp. The ending was now set.

"This person is extraordinary," Mr. 3 sneered. "I don't trust it. Kill him first, and then I can finish my art." For some reason, Moonlight made him feel a little uneasy, as if he still had some powerful ability he hadn't shown yet.

"It's over," Nami and the others said, covering their eyes, unable to watch.

"Moonlight!" Luffy roared, but he couldn't move.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted where Moonlight was standing, a combination of Mr. 5's explosive booger, Miss Valentine's ten-thousand-pound press, and Mr. 3's wax attack. Under such a terrible assault, no one could possibly survive.

But before the Baroque Works agents could celebrate their victory, a figure walked out of the smoke and flames, completely unscathed. His skin was now a dark, shimmering black.

It was Armament Haki.

His clothes were not even singed. He raised the Pheasant Sword and, with a single slash, a massive, hundred-meter-wide crescent of energy shot out, a wave of pure power that not only shattered the wax that was imprisoning Zoro and the others, but also sent the four Baroque Works agents flying, their bodies covered in deep wounds, all of their combat effectiveness gone.

"Impossible! How did you break through my Candle Lock?" Mr. 3 stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief. "My wax is harder than steel!" No one had ever broken free from his wax before.

"Yes, Mr. 3 has never missed! How could this happen?"

"Is this swordsman really that powerful? Even my Bomb-Bomb Fruit was useless against him. And the four of us attacked together, and he still defeated us?"

"He's too powerful! We're no match for him at all!" the three other agents cried, their faces filled with a terrified awe. All four of them, defeated with a single sword slash. This swordsman was too terrifying.

"Hahaha, what a powerful slash! It's extraordinary that there's such a strong man among you!"

"We're saved! He's even stronger than us!" Dorry and Brogy roared, their voices filled with a newfound respect.

At the same time, in the Upper Yard, deep in the core of Apayado, in the palace of the gods, a man with a white headscarf, an aunt's hairstyle, a naked upper body, four taiko drums behind his back, on which were painted three tomoe, holding a gold staff, wearing bloomers, and barefoot was digging his ears. In front of him, the priests Satori and Shura bowed, not daring to come out, surrounded by magic soldiers. He was the legendary "God" of the Sky Island, Enel.