NABC Chapter 353 Only War
Chapter 353 Only War
Rainbows swirled in the sky.
Strands of seven-colored celestial light flowed across the strange rocks and spiritual trees, illuminating the sky brightly.
The waterfall cascades down, and the scenery inside the waterfall is faintly visible.
In Huaguo Mountain.
"Awoo awoo!"
"Awoo awoo!"
Accompanied by chewing sounds, the little monkey with a straw hat on its back kept swallowing the fruits from the mountain, until the whole monkey was as big as a ball.
Beside him, a group of monkeys from Flower Fruit Mountain watched him and whispered among themselves.
"That belongs to the king."
"Is this new guy starving?"
They muttered to themselves.
But clearly, Luffy, who was busy showing off his food, didn't notice any of this.
"Ah~ these fruits are so delicious, they're almost as good as the meat Sanji makes."
He ate heartily while sighing like this.
"But speaking of which... I feel like my body is getting a little weird... Wait, I've grown hair!?"
Without realizing it, Luffy subconsciously raised his hand, and upon seeing the monkey hair on his body, his eyes widened instantly.
"What do you mean it's grown hair? Are you an idiot?"
Just as Luffy was stunned, he heard a voice coming from the side.
He instinctively turned his head and saw a monkey walk out from the troop and stand beside him.
"It's not that you've grown hair, it's that you're now just a monkey from Flower Fruit Mountain."
The monkey was clearly a "trial participant" just like Luffy, and it spoke to Luffy in a low voice.
Luffy wasn't sure if he had heard what the other person was saying.
He just stared at the top of the other person's head, and then his face gradually turned red—he was trying to suppress a laugh.
"Hahaha, what's wrong with you? Why does your monkey fur grow like that?"
The next moment, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Indeed, at this moment, the "trial participant" who came out to tell him the situation, although he also looked like a monkey, had very "distinctive" monkey hair on his head.
To put it bluntly, those tufts of monkey hair were bent and folded like lightning, and even presented a strange, multicolored appearance, which looked quite funny.
The monkey was taken aback by his reaction, and then its face quickly turned red.
This guy's focus is so strange.
"I didn't want to have this hairstyle. It's because Sister Sharna got some kind of shock at the Pyramid of the Gods and insisted that only people with this hairstyle can have good luck... Anyway, my name is Ross, come with me."
Although he was speechless, he didn't hesitate and pulled Luffy into the monkey troop.
"Come on, let's go pick fruit in the orchard."
"what?"
Luffy was taken aback upon hearing this: "But I'm already full—that fruit was delicious, but I still want to eat meat."
Ross: "Who told you to eat it!?"
He glanced at Luffy speechlessly: "Yeah, you didn't enter the Trial Grounds without doing any preparation, did you...? Okay, you really didn't."
He was halfway through his sentence when he saw Luffy's innocent eyes.
He sighed.
"This is Flower Fruit Mountain, the place where the deity known as the 'Monkey King' resides. If there are no surprises, this Monkey King, known as the 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' should be the source of the power of the fruit consumed by Lord Shenhou, one of the twelve constellations."
"We are currently playing the roles of the monkeys and their offspring on Flower Fruit Mountain. In a while, the gods from the 'Heavenly Court' will attack this place, and then Flower Fruit Mountain will be destroyed... Everyone is currently stuck at this point, and no one has been able to advance the trial any further."
He briefly explained the current situation to Luffy.
"The Heavenly Court? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"
Of course, it's easy to see from Luffy's confused expression that he didn't understand what the other person meant at all.
However, he did manage to understand the name Ross mentioned.
"Is Shenhou-11 Uncle Monkey?"
"...What do you mean by 'uncle monkey' or 'not an uncle'?"
Ross was speechless. He had originally planned to help the newcomer who had just entered the Trial Grounds, but now it seemed that this guy was not very bright.
But adhering to the principle of helping people to the end, Ross waved his hand helplessly: "In short, everyone currently judges that the next step in the trial's plot is likely to be to investigate the cause of the destruction of Flower Fruit Mountain and help the Monkey King defeat the 'Heavenly Court,' which may represent the completion of this trial's phase. Someone has already summarized the information currently known about the gods of the 'Heavenly Court,' and I will give it to you later."
"However, the Monkey King will disappear at the very beginning of the great battle and will not reappear afterward, so we are currently searching for a way to get close to him."
As he said this, he glanced back at the fruit that Luffy had eaten.
"Those fruits were originally top-grade immortal fruits that everyone collected to offer to the Monkey King. I was planning to go to the Water Curtain Cave today to offer the fruits and see if I could get any information, but you ate them all."
He rolled his eyes at Luffy: "So, we need to replenish the fruit before the King arrives today—you have to help."
"I see."
Upon hearing this, Luffy rubbed his chin, "I don't understand, but it seems like it was indeed my fault." Then, he grinned, "But, no need for all that trouble—you guys want to get close to that guy called 'Monkey King,' right? Why don't we just go find him directly!?"
"So didn't I tell you? That's a god... Although we haven't truly witnessed his full power, just from the aftershocks of the battle at Flower Fruit Mountain that everyone experienced, we can tell that guy is a true monster."
Ross felt like he was going crazy—what was wrong with this guy's brain?
"So what if he's a god? He's just a slightly stronger guy, right?"
"However... if he really is a very strong guy, I'd much rather meet him!"
It was during this conversation between Luffy and Ross that...
"Oh?"
They suddenly heard a voice coming from above them.
Ross's body stiffened instantly.
He subconsciously raised his head—and almost all the monkeys present did the same.
Then, they saw that figure.
That was also a monkey.
He stood atop a golden somersault cloud, his golden chainmail gleaming, his crimson cloak billowing in the wind, and his purple-gold crown swaying atop his head. His identity was self-evident.
Upon seeing the other party, all the lesser demons present, including Ross, involuntarily bowed slightly.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" *N
As Ross had said before, these trial participants, who had been in Flower Fruit Mountain for some time, were naturally already used to the way the monkeys and their offspring interacted with the Monkey King.
But Luffy doesn't know any of this.
So at this moment, he still stood out among the kneeling crowd.
Seeing this, Ross thought to himself, "This is bad."
But before he could speak, Luffy had already raised his head to look at the Monkey King, grinned, and revealed a bright smile.
"Oh, you're the Monkey King that Uncle Lightning Ross was talking about, right?"
He said with a grin, "It seems like the uncles have something to ask you."
At the same time, all the trial participants present turned their attention to Ross.
Ross himself silently lowered his head, pretending not to hear.
However, at this moment, he regretted meddling in Luffy's affairs before—this guy really is out of his mind.
Such blunt words will likely anger this lord.
Thinking of this, Ross's forehead began to sweat slightly.
But to everyone's surprise, the Monkey King did not show any anger after hearing Luffy's words.
On the contrary, he even grinned at Luffy with great interest.
"You little monkey, you do have some courage."
He picked at his ear: "According to the rules of the monkey troop, I should teach you a lesson on a normal day."
"But I heard everything you just said."
He looked at Luffy with his golden eyes: "The so-called gods are just stronger guys. I like that statement, but it also has some flaws."
At this point, a hint of disdain and ferocity appeared on his face: "Let me tell you—not everyone who is a god possesses any outstanding power."
"There are a few who are quite capable in combat, but most of them are just bullies who rely on their power. They were born into high positions and therefore want to rule over all living beings as a matter of course."
His words surprised many of the trial participants present, including Ross.
This was the first time they'd heard the Monkey King directly mention the gods of Heaven after spending so much time in this trial grounds. "Is this a new plot twist?"
They instantly became excited, and some of the "scholar" type trial participants who had been dedicated to studying the background stories of the trial grounds had already begun to quickly devise how to answer the Monkey King's question.
But before they could react...
"ah."
They then heard Luffy exclaim "Ah!"
"Huh? Rule over all living beings?"
He tilted his head, seemingly puzzled: "What's the point of that kind of thing?"
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent once again.
Even the Monkey King in front of them seemed to be stunned at this moment.
It took him a moment to realize what was happening.
"Hahahahaha!"
He burst into laughter: "Good question, good question!"
That's exactly the point—that kind of thing is really utterly pointless.
"So I, Old Sun, resigned from that divine position and returned to Flower Fruit Mountain."
"Unfortunately, they got annoyed by this and wanted to disturb my peace."
At this point, he pointed at Luffy and said, "You little monkey are quite interesting. Would you like to come with me to heaven later and witness my battle against the Heavenly Court?"
He said this in his words.
Ross and the other trial participants were instantly thrilled upon hearing this.
"It's done!"
"The Monkey King actually extended an invitation!"
"What a coincidence! The plot progressed under such a coincidental circumstances!"
"What's next? What's next?"
"Who knows what to do next? But I'll just agree for now. At least the trial storyline has moved forward a step, and maybe I can come up with a new strategy later!"
"Hey, does anyone know that guy? I want to buy his strategy guide, I'm willing to pay any price!"
The trial participants whispered among themselves.
But
"Ascending to the heavens? That sounds interesting...like a floating island?"
Upon hearing this, Luffy's eyes lit up, and he looked very interested.
But soon, he clutched his stomach: "But...no, I'm getting hungry again. I guess I really can't go without meat." "You...you refused?"
"Hungry? Want some meat!?"
"What on earth is this guy saying?!"
The whispers of the trial participants gradually turned into furious growls that were difficult to control.
Upon hearing Luffy's words, the Monkey King seemed somewhat taken aback.
But then he shook his head: "What an interesting fellow—if you come with me, Old Sun, to ascend to heaven, after we leave the Heavenly Court, there will be plenty of wine and meat in the Water Curtain Cave. Back in the day, I, Old Sun, brought down quite a bit of dragon liver and phoenix marrow, fine wines and immortal spirits from the Queen Mother's Peach Banquet." "Oh!?"
Upon hearing this, Luffy instantly became excited: "Meat? And sake?"
He swallowed hard, then abruptly rolled up his non-existent sleeves and clenched his fists: "Leave it to me—that Heavenly Court thing, I'll definitely beat them to a pulp for you!"
It was precisely at the moment he finished speaking that...
"Waaah~" "Waaah~"
The bugle call suddenly sounded.
"Thump!" "Thump!"
The war drums thundered like lightning.
"Buzz!"
The golden sunlight suddenly shone down on Flower Fruit Mountain.
Luffy instinctively raised his head.
Then, we saw that the clouds in the sky were suddenly torn apart at that moment.
Above the torn clouds.
A massive army, densely packed and countless, stood amidst the clouds.
The countless soldiers were more orderly than any army Luffy had ever seen in any country.
Amidst the fluttering banners, only the character "天" (heaven) was written on them.
Before those countless heavenly soldiers and generals were a boy riding on fire wheels and wielding a musket, a young man with three wide-open eyes and a three-pointed double-edged sword, a giant god wielding a giant hammer and being even larger than the giant race, and a marshal dressed as a general and holding a pagoda.
Even higher up, countless magnificent palaces and heavenly realms can be faintly seen.
What he saw before him gradually gave Luffy a profound understanding.
The other party's identity.
Just as Ross said, just as the trial participants on Flower Fruit Mountain said.
They are...gods.
"It has appeared."
"The gods of Heaven."
"No matter how many times I see it, this sense of oppression... Is the goal of the trial really to defeat them?"
"I've always thought it was impossible—you guys haven't seen it? I saw that 'Giant Spirit God' make a move during the trial two rounds ago. He smashed a mountain range and me together with one hammer blow. I was in a daze for a long time after I left the trial grounds." Other trial participants shared the same thought as him.
But
"Hey little monkey, are you scared?"
The Monkey King, however, smiled as he looked at Luffy.
Luffy slowly exhaled.
He didn't directly answer the Monkey King's question, but instead looked at the beings in the sky: "If we just knock them away, we can eat their meat, right?"
He never knew what fear was.
Upon hearing this, the Monkey King raised an eyebrow.
"right."
Without answering Luffy's question, he simply reached into his ear and pulled out his own ear.
The next moment, a golden staff was already in his hand.
He stretched his neck and twisted his shoulders, then looked up at the gods above.
Fear is useless; they stand among the clouds precisely because of the fear of all living beings.
Retreat is useless; they will only become more unrestrained as the masses retreat.
So
"Only war."
"Only by defeating all living beings in the world can we have food."