radicalducati Chapter 352 The Trial Grounds, Flower Fruit Mountain!
Chapter 352 The Trial Grounds, Flower Fruit Mountain!
Rayleigh, who had already spoken with Shanks beforehand, looked at Luffy with some worry but also felt helpless.
"I was already planning to retire, but these young people these days are such a worry."
As Rayleigh sighed in this way.
The Straw Hat crew, however, had already shifted their attention from Luffy to the Esther.
"Oh! What a beautiful young lady!"
"Oh! It really is! That skin color... is she from the 'Rainbow Tribe'? She's so beautiful!"
"Hey! Look at that girl, her legs are so long!"
"Those are long-legged people, they're making my heart race! But I don't have a heart, yohohoho!" "A mermaid, a mermaid... Hmm? Mr. Sanji! Mr. Sanji, what's wrong? Cheer up!"
For example, at this moment, Brook and Sanji immediately noticed the diverse crowd in the square.
"oh!"
The scene before him made even the seasoned veteran Rayleigh raise an eyebrow.
Because, as they said, there were not only ordinary humans among that bustling crowd.
Long-legged races, rainbow races, fish-men, aromatic races, and various other races are all active on it at this moment.
They were either chatting or holding some papers, seemingly discussing something with serious expressions.
"Hey! It's food! I knew there was a restaurant nearby!"
Luffy, now excited, exclaimed, "Let's go ask them!"
"Please...it's better not to approach rashly."
Just as Luffy was saying this, the Straw Hat crew heard a different voice.
They instinctively turned their heads, and then froze.
Behind them, two merfolk slowly emerged from the starlight.
One of them was a huge female fish-man with flowing ribbons, a pink tail, and hair.
The other merman was a burly, blue-haired male, who was currently guarding her side with a serious expression, holding a trident. "Those are some rare race trial participants who are preparing for the 'conquest' over there. If you approach rashly, they will treat you as an enemy," the female merman explained nervously.
It is worth mentioning that she wore a unique sea monster mask on her face, with a small dog head prominently displayed on it.
"Oh my god! A merman, a beautiful merman—no doubt about it! Even though she's wearing a mask, my radar has already detected her. She's definitely a super beauty."
Upon seeing her, Sanji, who had been engrossed in the beauty of women of all races, was jolted awake from his deathbed and rushed toward her with hearts in his eyes.
"Bang!"
But before the male merman could issue a warning, he was kicked to the ground by Reiju.
"I'm sorry, my brother is having a hysterical episode."
Reiju ignored Sanji's voice at her feet, "Reiju, let me go," and smiled elegantly as she spoke.
at the same time..
"Prince Shark Star, and...Princess White Star?"
Jinbe, standing next to the Straw Hat crew, already showed a look of astonishment.
He naturally recognized the two fishmen at a glance.
Straw Hat Crew: "The Prince?" *N
Sanji: "Fishman...Princess, wait—Reiju, let me go! This is my lifelong request!"
"Then your life ends here!"
With a cracking sound, Sanji's waist made a crisp sound that made Brook tremble involuntarily.
No, that's not it.
Shirahoshi looked at Jinbe nervously, "Boss Jinbe, I'm not Shirahoshi... I'm the 'Lou Jin Gou' of the Twelve Zodiacs." She said this, but her timid demeanor and the unconscious crossing of her fingers made it clear she wasn't good at lying. Jinbe: "?"
Beside her, Prince Shark Star glanced helplessly at his younger sister: "Bai Xing, that Mr. 'Dog' was just teasing you when he said he absolutely forbade revealing his identity to anyone."
"Huh!? Huh!! Is that so?"
Amidst Shirahoshi's exclamation, the Straw Hat crew introduced themselves and their purpose to the two royal relatives from Ryugu Palace.
"So it was you guys who saved Boss Jinbe."
After learning that the Straw Hat crew were the ones who saved Jinbe from the World Government, Shark Star's wariness lessened somewhat. Just as mentioned before, Jinbe's prestige among the Fish-Men was something even the royal family of Ryugu Castle had to respect.
"I'll talk about my matter later, Prince Shark Star... please tell me, what exactly happened on Fishman Island?"
Jinbe couldn't help but ask.
In fact, his insistence on coming here with the Straw Hat crew was precisely to find out what had happened on Fish-Man Island. Sensing Jinbe's urgency, Shark Star and Shirahoshi naturally didn't hide anything and told Jinbe about Shamrock's arrival to destroy Fish-Man Island and the destruction of the Sun Tree Eve.
The truth behind this left the Straw Hat crew and Jinbe completely stunned.
"Destroyed the Sun Tree Eve? That giant tree of the deep sea?"
"No wonder even the Sabaody Archipelago sank completely!"
"That guy the government sent, named Shamrock...he's so cruel!"
"No, it sounds absolutely terrifying! There are creatures that can live 10,000 meters underwater and even destroy an island or something."
The Straw Hat crew remarked in this way.
"Shamrock, it's Shanks' kid."
Rayleigh frowned – as someone who had fought against the God Knights who tried to reclaim Shanks more than once in the past, he had obviously heard of this name.
"They're clearly blood brothers, yet they've taken completely different paths?"
Rayleigh was filled with endless admiration.
Jinbe's face darkened upon hearing this.
"I'm sorry, it's precisely when my hometown needs me most, yet I've been caught up in that 'Black Xie'..."
He said in a deep voice, clearly feeling ashamed, "How is everyone on Fishman Island now?"
"The situation has stabilized."
To ease Jinbe's worries, Shark Star tried to tell him the good news: "Although many people sacrificed their lives, with the help of the Twelve Constellations, everyone who was demonized has been freed from the demonization and is currently undergoing treatment."
"My father also built a new Dragon Palace within the Courtyard of Stars. With the help of the giants, it is currently developing..."
Princess Shirahoshi was also nodding in approval.
As they continued their story, Jinbe gradually calmed down.
"That's good then."
He said, "But Princess Shirahoshi, what are you dressed like now?"
His gaze fell on the sea monster head on Shirahoshi's face.
"Um?"
Although Bai Xing didn't understand why the topic suddenly turned to her, she remembered that her brother Sha Xing had said there was no need to hide her identity, so she honestly told him: "I have joined the Twelve Constellations on behalf of the Fish-Men, and I am now a 'Star Constellation' under the Twelve Constellations, responsible for the security protection of the Esther near it."
"My elder brother and father are in charge of managing the fish-men, and occasionally they are responsible for guiding other minor races."
That's how she explained it.
Hearing this, the Straw Hat crew was somewhat surprised, not quite understanding what abilities this seemingly weak mermaid princess had to be responsible for the safety of the Esther.
However, Jinbe immediately understood the situation upon hearing this—as a former comrade-in-arms of Queen Otohime, he was one of the few fishmen on Fishman Island who knew about Shirahoshi's special qualities.
"I see, so you've already mastered that power?"
He thought to himself, "That's good. This way... I can rest assured."
With that thought in mind, he couldn't help but look at the Straw Hat crew, who had been with him recently.
He silently made a decision in his heart.
As they walked, Shirahoshi and Shark faithfully fulfilled their duties as guides.
"This is the 'Trial Plaza,' where everyone who arrives on the Esther for the first time will be teleported to undergo their first trial." "After the trial, those who complete part of the trial will receive a 'temporary visa' to reside on the Esther, allowing them to participate in subsequent trials at any time."
As Shark Star spoke, he pointed to the giant village and fishman settlement outside the huge starlight surrounding the square: "After obtaining the temporary visa, you can leave the square and go to various areas on the ship—you can go to the territories of the giants and fishmen. There are hospitals, food, and shops nearby."
"As long as you keep exploring during the trials, you can keep renewing your temporary visa."
"Of course, participants can leave at any time, but if they want to board the ship again after leaving, their trial progress will be reset and they will need to obtain a temporary visa again."
Temporary visa
Upon hearing this, Nami suddenly realized, "No wonder so many rare races appear here!"
Rare races face extremely harsh living conditions on the entire ocean, making them even more coveted than pirates—after all, no matter how strange a race is, there will always be nobles who like to "collect" them.
But the Esther was different.
First of all, there were already fishmen and giants on this ship—the existence of these two races is enough to show that the Twelve Stars had no ill intentions towards rare races.
In addition, the strength of the twelve constellations means that even if the member states of the World Government knew that there were rare races on this ship, they would never dare to attack them.
This makes the Esther a true "ark" for the rare races.
"They went to great lengths to renew their visas on the Esther, not only for the trials themselves, but also by organizing specialists to research the background stories and myths within the trial grounds."
At this point, the Straw Hat crew naturally understood why he and Shirahoshi had stopped them from approaching the rare race. It was similar to trying to chat with someone in the library the day before a civil service exam; if they didn't beat you up, they were already being very nice.
"However, speaking of the Trial Grounds... I've heard there's a Trial Grounds here called 'Sword Tomb,' where one can hone their swordsmanship?" Just then, Zoro, who had rarely spoken along the way, asked with great interest.
"Um."
Bai Xing nodded: "The Sword Tomb is the training ground of 'Snake,' one of the highest-ranking officials of the Twelve Constellations. It is said to be the source of Lord Snake's power. Inside is a high hill with countless swords stuck on it, each of which embodies the swordsmanship of a powerful swordsman."
"By drawing a particular sword, one can engage in combat with the phantom of its master, making it one of the most dangerous trial grounds."
"It is said that if one's swordsmanship can overwhelmingly defeat all the swords in the Sword Tomb, then one can gain the qualification to fight Lord Snake," she said, pausing halfway through her sentence.
There was no other reason than that Zoro was trembling with excitement at that moment.
"Hey, hey... that kind of place, that kind of place... is it heaven!?"
Clearly, he didn't take any of the warnings about "danger" to heart.
As a swordsman, he only felt excited.
However, he is clearly not an isolated case.
"Me too, me too! I've also heard that there are many unique herbs found only on the sea in the 'Dreamland,' is that true?" "Yes, it's true—those are all creations of Lord Wei Yang's power, the herbs of the Dreamland."
"Huh? There should be some good ingredients among the magical beasts in there, right?"
"...It's best not to let Miss Bi Yuewu hear this. She's good friends with the magical beasts, but...it's said that some of them do have rather good taste."
"I heard that if you pass the trial, you can make a wish upon one of the twelve zodiac signs. Can you wish for anything? What if I want ten billion... no, ten billion Berries!"
"I'm not sure about that, but if it's only 10 billion... the treasures of Ryugu Castle would be enough, wouldn't you say?"
"Damn it, it's so hard to communicate with you rich people!"
"Food...food...I'm so hungry...any kind of food will do."
Starting with Zoro, the Straw Hat crew members all began to ask questions.
Aside from Luffy, who was so hungry his tongue was practically sticking out, the Straw Hat crew members quickly made their decision as well.
They all have to participate in trials—that sounds interesting.
Of these, only Rayleigh and Jinbe decided not to participate in the trial—the former seemed to be planning to go find Jabba, while the latter was going to go with Shirahoshi and Shark Star to the new Dragon Palace to meet Neptune.
It was precisely at the same time they made their decision.
"arrive."
As Shirahoshi and Shark Star came to a stop, they realized that they had unknowingly arrived at the foot of the enormous star gate. "Let's start with Mr. Luffy."
As Shirahoshi spoke, she led Luffy to the door.
"Ah, Mr. Luffy hasn't been feeling well lately, so I'll go with him into the same training ground... Hmm?"
Brook looked at Luffy, who was so hungry he was sticking out his tongue, and started to speak, but he stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.
"No."
At that moment, Rayleigh reached out and stopped him, saying, "Let Luffy go by himself."
The Pirate King's left hand was smiling so much, as if he could already hear someone's voice coming from beside him.
"There are some things he has to do himself."
As the words fell, a bewildered Luffy, at Shirahoshi's prompting, instinctively placed his hand on the Star Gate. [Heading to the Trial Grounds]
【War for Freedom - Flower Fruit Mountain】