Chapter 422: Trial of the Holy Knights: Skypiea’s Vibrant Challenge

“Trial of the Holy Knights? What’s that supposed to mean?” Luffy scratched his head, clearly confused.

But after a moment he tapped his temple as if the answer would come. “Sounds like fun either way! Count me in!”

With a cheerful spring in his step he took off after Conis, racing toward the center of the island.

“Honestly, you just can’t win with this guy,”

Nami sighed, rubbing her forehead.

The rest of the group hurried after Luffy, following him deeper toward the island’s center.

Above them, fireworks bloomed across the sky, one after another, painting the heavens in dazzling color.

“So pretty!” Chopper popped up out of nowhere, somehow clutching a camera and capturing the magical scene.

For Chopper, who’d grown up in a world of snow and ice, all this whiteness felt oddly familiar. But with the pink-and-blue bursts of fireworks overhead, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of homesickness. “Dr. Kureha!”

“Look over there! There’s a town!” With every step they drew closer to the island’s heart, soon reaching the administrative district of Angel Island.

They’d never seen anything like it—towering buildings, gigantic LED screens blasting out cool visuals, and strange vehicles lined on either side of the road, some with people inside operating them, all while the aroma of delicious food drifted from the food carts they passed.

They looked like country bumpkins stumbling into a high-tech paradise, mouths agape at all the wonders they’d never seen.

Ever since Karl took control of Skypiea, the land had grown over a hundred times larger. He’d gathered all the stray floating islands to create a sprawling archipelago in the clouds.

On top of all that, the island now held a massive research center. With no threats from outside, Karl had stashed a lot of important resources up here.

And ever since an elevator directly connected Skypiea with the New World, the place had only gotten busier. The permanent population alone now numbered nearly 1.5 million.

“Administrative District Thirty-Seven?” Robin read the sign at the village’s entrance, her eyes narrowing with curiosity.

But nothing about this place looked like a mere town. Could this really be World Government territory?

Robin glanced further in and noticed the locals all wore big smiles. They definitely didn’t look like people under World Government rule.

After all, every island run by the World Government was grim and hard-edged, if not riddled with all sorts of dark dealings. How could life seem so peaceful here?

It turned out there were 108 of these administrative zones on Skypiea, all arranged to form a giant bagua array. Even more amazing, each district was self-contained and freely mobile.

“Delicious! So good!” Luffy had already taken a seat at an oden stand, clutching a skewer of piping hot fish balls in each hand, mouth stuffed as he happily chewed away. From the pile of empty sticks beside him, it was obvious he’d already eaten a ton.

“Hey, Luffy.”

“You blockhead,” Nami stomped over, nails and fangs bared, and yelled at him.

She’d just noticed the price tag on the food cart—100 yen a stick. Somehow, in just a few moments, Luffy had polished off 200 skewers. That meant he’d racked up a bill of 20,000 Berries in just one sitting.

No wonder Nami was furious; 20,000 Berries could buy enough supplies to feed Luffy for several meals.

Watching Luffy still stuffing his face, Nami angrily whacked him on the head, leaving a huge lump. “Boss, here—Berries for you!”

Even so, she paid for him, then grabbed Luffy by the leg and dragged him back toward the others.

“But I want more, Nami…” Luffy whined, looking longingly at the next food stall. The smells here were simply too tempting.

Some of these vendors cooked up food that even smelled tastier than Sanji’s meals.

He’d planned to try them all, one after another, savoring every flavor. But Nami had spoiled those dreams by dragging him away.

“Don’t forget why we’re here, Luffy.”

“Yeah, it’s crazy bustling here—and people don’t seem oppressed at all.”

“Makes me wonder when that journal we found was written,” Robin mused, recalling the diary they’d picked up from that sunken ship.

Looking at this thriving place, it was hard to believe it had once been ravaged by war. Whoever was in charge must be really extraordinary.

“Ah! Over there, look!” Usopp shouted from up ahead, waving them over to the right at the street corner.

They hurried to where Usopp was standing and spotted a massive plaza straight ahead, surrounded by a huge crowd.

On the plaza’s raised stage, a dancer spun in the spotlight, while two men stood beside her, busily jotting things down.

Banners hung on both sides: [The Annual Trial of the Gods Begins! All brave warriors welcome to sign up!]

“What does this ‘Trial of the Gods’ even mean?”

“Probably just selecting new members,” Robin pondered aloud, studying the phrase ‘Trial of the Holy Knights.’

“Maybe it’s some kind of test for locals—those who pass probably become something like the Skypiea Guard.”

“Especially since it’s a yearly event.”

“Whatever it is, it shouldn’t involve us. Looks like it’s mostly locals signing up. We’re here for the New World,” Sanji said, shaking his head calmly.

He was right—they had their goals, and getting caught up in some tournament was the last thing they needed.

But they overlooked one huge factor—Luffy could never resist the call of adventure.

Even back at Long Ring Long Land, Luffy had joined a contest he barely understood, just for the thrill of it. The word ‘quit’ simply wasn’t in his vocabulary.

“Guys, look! Luffy!” Chopper’s eyes were wide as dinner plates. He pointed his hoof at Luffy, utterly dumbfounded.

At some point, Luffy had slipped away from the group. Now he was already at the registration table, slapping down his handprint and waving the sign-up form at them.

“Honestly, you just can’t win with this guy.”

“Well, if that’s the captain’s call, guess we’re jumping in too,” Zoro grinned with absolute confidence. Even if the locals tried to keep them here, they’d never manage it.

“Hey! Hey! Isn’t this supposed to be their thing? Are we really going along with it?” Usopp’s face was full of question marks. It was pretty clear this event was made for locals. Why on earth were outsiders joining?

Besides, they had no idea what the trial actually involved. Jumping in blindly sounded like a perfect way to get into trouble.

“Luffy, you idiot!” Nami clenched her teeth and stormed up to him, leaving two big red lumps on his head.

“Hand that over! Let me see it!” Nami rudely snatched the registration form.

The front was a declaration pledging to join the Holy Knights’ selection. The back had rules and details about prizes and warnings.