Somewhere in Upper Yard.
Using his so-called "Heart Network," Enel had expanded his sensory range to cover the entirety of Upper Yard. In truth, many were unaware that, according to the geography, Upper Yard was several times larger than Angel Island. Even though it was only a portion of Jaya Island, it was still immense.
Moreover, Enel's reach didn't stop at Upper Yard; he could cover all of Angel Island. This demonstrated just how terrifyingly the Rumble-Rumble Fruit enhanced his Observation Haki.
'The Four High Priests have set out, and the trial has begun.'
'Of course, I know the four of them are no match for you, but that doesn't matter. A god has no need for weak followers!'
'If they cannot survive in your hands, then they naturally do not deserve to be my subordinates.'
'Come before me, pass the final trial I have personally prepared for you, and then... submit to me!'
'Ye-ha-ha-ha!'
At this moment, Enel was filled with anticipation for Sean. He was already fantasizing about the scene where, once the Mantra was complete, he would take Sean with him to conquer the Infinite Continent.
Meanwhile, the four High Priests had already prepared their respective trials.
The Trial of the Swamp: Gedatsu.
The Trial of the Orbs: Satori.
The Trial of the String: Shura.
The Trial of the Iron: Ohm.
All four were proficient in the Heart Network—Observation Haki. Had they appeared in the first half of the Grand Line, each one would have undoubtedly been a powerhouse in their own right.
But in front of Sean and Lucci... they were nothing special.
"Rear Admiral, I've confirmed four enemies. They are located at..."
"No need to tell me. Just make sure they don't interfere with our sightseeing."
"Understood!"
'Whoosh...'
With a nod, Lucci's figure vanished instantly.
Sean had absolutely no interest in these so-called "Four Great Trials." While the priests could use Observation Haki, their methods relied entirely on the various Dials of Sky Island, and none of them were Devil Fruit users.
He continued to walk leisurely toward the giant vines with the two women, as if he were truly on a sightseeing tour. As for the feeling of being watched, Sean naturally knew who it was, but he simply didn't care.
However, this sparked a curiosity in Enel regarding Lucci. To let a subordinate handle the Four High Priests with such confidence—it seemed this man's strength was also considerable.
With that thought, Enel shifted his attention from Sean to Lucci.
In the next second, his eyes widened in utter disbelief.
Lucci had already cleanly and efficiently eliminated Satori.
He hadn't just defeated him; he had killed him. And he did it with such composure, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without a single ripple of emotion.
A moment later, Lucci moved rapidly once again. His target this time was Shura, the "Heavenly Knight" of the Trial of the Rope, located over 800 meters away.
Sensing that Satori had been killed, Shura immediately ceased all carelessness. The Three-span Bird he rode felt its master's tension and shifted into a heightened state of alert.
"Heart Network!"
"Let me see where you are!"
"Hmm, is he coming for me? Perfect..."
"Wait—how can his speed be this fast?! This is impossible! It's impossible!"
Once the Heart Network activated and covered the area, Shura quickly locked onto Lucci's trail and direction. However... this speed was simply absurd. Lucci was already within a hundred meters of him!
Most importantly, the man was charging straight at him. Just how much did he look down on him?
Shura immediately leveled the short knight's lance in his right hand and pulled out a Rope Dial with his left. Even his Three-span Bird had prepared a Flame Dial. Man and mount stared intensely at the forest ahead.
The moment Lucci appeared, they would unleash all three attacks simultaneously. Although the opponent's speed had shocked him, Shura still had confidence in his own strength.
He was a distinguished High Priest; how could he possibly lose to someone from the Blue Sea?
However, he had forgotten that Satori, who had just been killed, was his equal—another High Priest. Even so, Satori had been one-shotted by Lucci.
The next instant, a commotion erupted in the woods ahead. Shura knew... the enemy had arrived!
Well, someone had arrived, but it wasn't Lucci.
A Flying Slash tore through the forest, slicing through every tree and obstacle in its path without exception. The Slashing Wave moved with an eerie speed, appearing before Shura in an instant.
Fortunately, Shura possessed Observation Haki. He captured the attack immediately and reacted. He braced the massive knight's lance in front of him and activated a Heat Dial. Meanwhile, the Three-span Bird opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of fire via a Flame Dial, like a Great Dragon.
Since the attack was a Flying Slash created by Rankyaku, ordinary fire would be useless. The flames were instantly sliced apart, and the impact crashed into Shura's lance.
'I can block it! I can block it!'
Feeling the force of the impact, Shura felt a surge of relief. Judging by the power, while it was strong, he was capable of stopping it.
But in the next second...
'Crack...'
Eh?
The sudden sound made Shura's heart tremble. He looked down at his knight's lance to find that... cracks had appeared!
Still, he had successfully blocked the Flying Slash. While surprised by the power of Sean's attack, he also breathed a sigh of relief. He had managed to stop the opponent's lethal move.
Given the sheer power, this had to be the opponent's strongest attack, right?
But before he could fully settle his nerves, another Flying Slash tore through the forest.
The Three-span Bird was a fine mount, but it lacked the explosive, near-instantaneous speed of a teleport. Consequently, dodging was impossible.
He had to tank it!
Left with no choice, Shura braced his damaged lance once more, supporting it with both hands in front of him.
'Boom!'
The second collision occurred. The powerful impact left Shura's hands numb. However, the "good" news was that he had blocked the enemy's strongest move again.
'I refuse to believe you can use an attack this powerful repeatedly without pause!'
Yet, at that exact moment, a third Flying Slash burst from the woods, heading straight for him.
Shura almost wanted to slap himself. Why had he jinxed it?
'Block! I'm blocking!'
'Boom!'
This was the third Rankyaku strike, and its power was just as devastating as the previous two.
Shura still had the means and the strength to hold back the vacuum slash. If he could just hold on for a few more seconds—three at most—the attack would lose its momentum and be stopped once again.
But it was at that very moment that a figure appeared behind him...
"Six Powers: Shigan: Madara!"
Lucci's right hand became a blur, unleashing over thirty Shigan strikes in an instant.
Shura, still locked in a struggle against the vacuum slash, sensed the attack through his instincts, but he couldn't let go of his defense to turn and face the enemy.
Thirty-six Shigan strikes, without exception... every single one landed on a vital point of Shura's body.
Ten seconds later, Shura's consciousness began to fade. With a heavy thud, he collapsed before Sean. A pool of blood began to spread across the ground.
Unless Sean intervened, there was no way this man would survive.
"Two down..."
"Two more to go!"
With a nod, Lucci's figure vanished once again.
'''
Through his network covering the entirety of Upper Yard, Enel kept a close eye on everything happening on the battlefield.
Even as a self-proclaimed god, he was somewhat shocked. But that shock quickly turned into immense delight.
He had initially thought only Sean was a threat, but he hadn't expected the man under Sean's command to be this powerful.
'Not bad. Not bad at all!'
"Very well. From this moment forward, you are also qualified to participate in the final trial!"
"As I thought, the four Priests are far too weak. There's no point in inheriting their titles."
"From now on, the two of you shall be known as Divine Generals!"
"Divine Generals under the God Enel!"
As for the four Priests, Enel had previously found them adequate. However, when compared to Sean and Lucci, they were suddenly utterly insufficient. Even if Sean and the others didn't manage to kill the four Priests, Enel had no intention of using them anymore.
They were simply too weak.
'How can such weaklings possibly be worthy of serving a god like me?'
Enel's expression was one of pure disdain.