"Man, are you joking?" Ohm snapped. "You really think she can beat the four of us?"
To him, Arton was clearly messing with them.
A Skypiea native girl, born and raised up here—how could she possibly have the power to defeat them?
If Conis truly had that kind of strength, then why hadn't she challenged them earlier?
If she had, she might've replaced one of them and become one of Enel's priests herself. And if that happened, she'd get the honor of serving Enel—and maybe even learn Mantra from him.
Ohm had no idea Conis had already learned what kind of monster Enel really was… from Arton's diary.
She knew Enel would someday collect all the gold on Skypiea and build a ship that could fly to the moon.
And before leaving, he'd try to destroy Skypiea, the same way he'd destroyed his homeland.
Knowing that, how could Conis ever choose to become Enel's priest and serve him?
Besides—Arton's template power was right there, laid out in front of her through the Diary Replica.
Even if she only cared about strength, there was no world where she'd pick Enel over Arton.
Sure, Arton was a little perverted… but as time went on, Conis found she didn't really mind anymore.
Especially after she'd tasted him.
The moment the image flashed in her mind—her and Raki together, licking Arton clean—Conis subconsciously wet her lips.
Heat rushed up her face, and her cheeks bloomed red.
Arton mistook it for nerves. He gave her back a reassuring pat.
"Don't worry. Just use your power," he said. "I've got your back—so swing freely."
"…Yeah." Conis nodded hard, eyes steady now.
She stepped forward—one step—toward Ohm, Shura, Gedatsu, and Satori.
"Hey, hey, hey… you're serious?" Shura rested his spear on his shoulder, lips curling into something ugly. "You're not afraid you'll die here?"
"Hehehe… so we're being completely looked down on," Satori said, clearly pissed. "Fine. I'll kill the woman first… then I'll kill the man."
The round, ball-shaped priest launched forward in a sudden burst—fast as hell—charging straight at Conis.
Seeing Satori move, Ohm, Gedatsu, and Shura all held back for the moment.
They were already picturing it: Conis getting blasted away by Impact Dial recoil.
But the scene they imagined never came.
Because the one who went flying… was Satori.
Conis calmly summoned the weapon that came with Serval's template—an electric guitar.
Then, right in front of Satori's stunned eyes, she used it like a baseball bat—swinging up from low to high.
BAM!
The guitar smashed into Satori's chin.
His jaw visibly warped from the hit—and his massive body rocketed into the air, soaring up before crashing down far away.
Satori lay there, unmoving.
Done.
Ohm, Shura, and Gedatsu all froze—jaw-dropping, spine-chilling disbelief washing over their faces.
They couldn't process what they'd just seen.
Chapter 581: This Woman Isn't Simple
"Hm? That woman's this strong?"
Enel sat up where he lounged, muttering in confusion.
Through Mantra, he'd seen it clearly—Conis swinging that electric guitar and launching Satori like a human cannonball.
So he understood better than anyone just how brutal that single hit had been.
"This is weird… she should've just been an ordinary woman."
"When did she suddenly get so damn strong?" Enel frowned, irritation creeping into his voice.
He'd watched Conis with Mantra before. In his eyes, she'd always been no different from any other Skypiean.
If she had anything special about her, it was probably just this—today, she'd run into Arton and his crew.
"Don't tell me she ate some weird fruit like I did?"
"And the Blue Sea people gave it to her?"
He went back and forth, and in the end, that was the only explanation that made sense.
After all, he had eaten a strange-looking fruit once—and gained the power to control lightning.
If Conis had eaten some kind of fruit that turned her into a superhuman, and even let her summon a weird electric guitar…
Enel couldn't say he'd be shocked.
"The strength and speed she swings that… wooden-box-thing with… it's already beyond the priests."
"At this rate, even Ohm and the others won't be able to handle her."
"…Whatever. If they lose, they lose."
"That just means they're useless."
"And when it's over, I'll just take that woman as my subordinate."
He mumbled to himself, then lazily flopped back down again, calmly enjoying the view of the fight through Mantra.
"Honestly… that Blue Sea guy doesn't look bad either."
"Should I take him as a subordinate too?" Enel mused.
If the rest of the Flameblade Pirates had been beside him right then, Nami and Nojiko would've laughed him into the dirt.
A mere Logia user thinking he could make Arton into a lackey?
That was a joke so huge it belonged in a museum.
Even the Marines—stacked with monsters—had never managed to successfully recruit Arton.
…
Meanwhile…
"Whoa. That was a clean home run," Arton said, clapping. "Nice work, Conis."
He even threw her a thumbs-up.
His voice snapped Conis out of her own surprise—and yanked Gedatsu, Shura, and Ohm back to reality too.
"Thank you, Captain Arton," Conis said, turning back with a bright smile.
Seeing that smile, Arton quietly exhaled in relief.
He'd been worried gentle, kind-hearted Conis might freeze up after her first real fight—after her first kill.
But apparently… he'd worried for nothing.
"Looks like my Conis is braver than I thought," Arton said with a pleased grin. "Alright—this is yours."
"Mm. Leave it to me."
Conis nodded hard, eyes shining as she faced the three remaining priests—Ohm, Gedatsu, and Shura—who were now staring at her like she'd grown fangs.
After that first swing, Conis was practically overflowing with confidence.
Meanwhile, the three of them had gone the opposite direction—their faces tense, their bodies tight with caution.
"This woman isn't simple," Shura said in a low voice. "We can't take her lightly, Ohm."
"I know," Ohm answered coldly, nodding once. "I don't need you to remind me."
Chapter 582: Scream—Not Loud Enough Yet!
"Whew—finally caught up. I thought by the time we got here, they'd already be done fighting," Nami said as she slowed to a stop, watching from a distance.
Conis was facing off against the three remaining priests—while Captain Arton, as usual, was basically just hanging around on the sidelines.
"Well, Captain Arton didn't exactly go full speed," Carina said as she set Raki back down, smiling. "Wouldn't surprise me if he took Conis on a date on the way here."
"With his personality? Yeah, that's absolutely possible," Uta nodded.
She even suspected Arton might've found some quiet, empty spot and snuck in a quick round with Conis… but considering he'd already burned through a ton of stamina earlier, Uta figured the odds weren't that high.
"So… we're just going to watch?" Raki asked.
"Of course," Uta said brightly. "Those three aren't Enel. Conis can handle them without any problem."
"Honestly, even if Enel shows up, it's not like he's guaranteed to beat Conis," Uta added with a grin.
Now that she was close enough, she could feel Enel's presence too. From her perspective, he had some ability—sure—but not much.
And if he really was the type who wasn't great in an actual fight… then Conis taking him down wasn't impossible at all.
After all, the template Conis had just received was easily the highest-potential one on the ship.
Of course, she still had to use it properly.
Still, having a few enemies like this to warm up on was perfect—maybe she'd pick up real combat experience from these priests.
"They don't look like they're underestimating Conis anymore," Robin said quietly. "I just hope it goes smoothly."
"Move!"
Ohm barked the order and charged first.
Gedatsu and Shura followed right behind him—one launching a sudden ground-side rush, the other swooping in from above on his flying mount.
At the same time, Arton took a casual step back, fully yielding the battlefield to Conis.
Conis's eyes sharpened. In a flash, she locked onto all three targets—Ohm, Gedatsu, and Shura—then lifted her right hand toward the electric guitar hanging at her hip.
"Time to get loud," she said, smiling. "Come on—follow my rhythm!"
Her fingers ripped across the strings.
The music surged—hot, aggressive, electric—and lightning began to gather around her in snapping arcs.
"Ohm: "Huh?!!"
Shura: "What?! How is that possible?!"
Gedatsu: "Lightning…?! M-my god?!""
All three of them stopped dead.
Years of serving Enel had conditioned them—so the instant they saw lightning wrapping around Conis, their first thought was that it had to be Enel's doing.
And if it was Enel's doing… then attacking now could interfere with the "god's" plan.
They hesitated.
They froze.
And in that brief moment of stupidity, they lost any chance to regret it.
Because Conis didn't stop.
She kept playing—faster, harder—her smile widening like the guitar itself was feeding her joy.
"Scream—still not loud enough!"
Her fingers flew.
The music exploded.
And three bolts of lightning slammed down from the sky—each one precisely aimed at Ohm, Gedatsu, and Shura.