WAR DEMON WAIPA

Chapter 256 title page. The text reads 'Chapter 256: WAR DEMON WAIPA'. The cover story illustration shows Wapol wearing a tuxedo and holding a microphone, standing next to a dog-like creature and a small robot. A crowd of people is cheering in the background, and a man in a suit looks surprised with a question mark bubble. The caption at the bottom reads 'WAPOL'S SNACK BANSAI VOL. 18: HEADLINE NEWS! THE NEW WAPOL STEEL!'

The story begins in the Shandian village. Gan Fall, the former God, stands before the Shandian warriors. He says, 'You, again!' Waipa, smoking a cigarette and looking hostile, replies, 'Outta the way, chieftain!!!' A Shandian warrior in the background yells, 'Stop, Waipa! Gan Fall is here to talk!' Another Shandian adds, 'There is nothing to talk about!!' Gan Fall, looking stern, tells them, 'We won't accept the pitiful pleading for alliance from you old men.' A Shandian warrior with a spear shouts back, 'Listen up, Gan Fall, we're not gonna give up!!'

Waipa angrily yells at Gan Fall, 'You say fighting is meaningless; return everything to us!!! Did you forget the things you have done to our people in the past!!? Now you want to "co-exist"!!?' Gan Fall calmly replies, 'Unfortunately, I cannot return everything to you. The Vearth from Upper Yard has already become an essential part of Skypiea. Everyone is grateful for the land. I shall not punish these innocent citizens by taking away that very land...' Waipa, surrounded by his fellow warriors, retorts furiously, 'The citizens of the sky... innocent...!!? That may have been true if there weren't a war going on!! You want to make all those outside of the military involved, too!!? Nonsense! That is foolish.'

Waipa gets right in Gan Fall's face, glaring fiercely. 'If you want peace, you must pay!! Give us the heads of 100 "innocent" people as sacrifice!!' Gan Fall glares back, 'I cannot do such a thing!!!' Waipa turns his back on Gan Fall, dismissing him. 'If that's the case, then this meeting is over!! Get out of here! Unless you want to lose your head here and now!!' As Waipa walks away, Gan Fall calls out, 'Wait, Waipa...!!!' Waipa stops, looking over his shoulder with a dark expression. '... Don't you dare call my name like that... I...'

Gan Fall suddenly shouts, 'Pumpkin juice!!!' Waipa's eyes widen in shock. The scene cuts to a tent where the young girl Aisa is crying loudly, 'Waaaaah—' Laki is holding her, trying to comfort her. Laki says, 'Ma'am... Aisa is crying quite loudly over there...' An older Shandian woman replies, 'Yes... whenever something terrible happens in the village... she always starts to cry...' Outside, the Shandian warriors are mobilizing and running towards the giant beanstalk. Voices shout, 'Hold on, Waipa!!' 'Hey, you!! Stop Waipa!! Hurry!!' 'Kamakiri!!' 'Braham!!' Waipa is seen running ahead, yelling, 'I'll kill you!!'

Inside the tent, Laki looks concerned and asks, 'Because of Waipa...?' The older Shandian woman replies, 'I don't know... he's always in the center of trouble but... why Waipa?' Laki looks down, her expression serious. 'Actually, I'm afraid of him... because he's... like a demon.' Laki then walks outside the tent, looking towards the gathering of warriors in the distance.

Laki suddenly notices something on the ground and gasps, '...!!' She sees a small pouch and realizes, 'The bag of Vearth!!!' She yells out, 'WAIPA!!!' Braham, holding his guns, asks, 'What have you done to Aisa's treasure...?' Another warrior tells him, 'Silence.!! Braham...!!' Braham insists, 'There won't be another chance like this!!! We shall not let this chance escape!!!' By the water, Waipa addresses the gathered warriors. 'Anyone who is not ready can stay here. I won't blame them...' A warrior responds, 'Hey! What are you talking about, Waipa? We have always been ready...'

Waipa looks back at his men, his expression intense. 'Are you ready to leave behind... your fallen comrades in battle?!!? If you are ready to step on your comrades... only then should you come with me!!' The warriors, including Braham, Kamakiri, and Genbou, listen silently. Waipa takes a drag from his cigarette, his eyes burning with resolve. 'Because today, I'm going to cut off Enel's head.'

At God's Shrine, Enel is lounging comfortably. An attendant asks, 'Have they all gone below?' Enel replies, 'Yes... everyone is ready. Including the 3 priests and their trials...' The attendant continues, 'Along with Commander Yama and 50 members of the God's Militia. That is our entire battle force...!! Do we really need to go all out? The invaders are only composed of Shandian warriors... and a few citizens of the blue sea...' Enel laughs heartily, 'Yahahahaha!! The more the merrier, isn't it...? —Oh and... you underestimate the real power of sky combats!!!'

The attendant asks, 'The real power?' Enel replies, 'Yeah. It'll start revealing itself soon... Yahahahahaha... Give me a banana.' A female attendant peels a banana for him. Enel calculates, '... Let's see... we have 50 soldiers... 3 priests. So including me, we have 54 fighters... There are 20 Shandians coming here... Along with 4 citizens of the blue sea who entered the forest, and 4 more on their ship... no... that should be just 3. The old man can't fight anymore...' Enel grins widely, 'So the total is 81 fighters!! Now, this will be a survival game. Yahahahahaha!! The question is, how many fighters will remain after three hours? Anyone want to guess?' He points at the attendant, 'And so? Hey, you! Take a guess.' The attendant stammers, '... You turn everything into derision...'

The attendant sweats nervously, 'Ah!? Me... I can't... I don't have a clue...' Enel chews his banana and says, 'What? What's wrong with you...? Go with the flow... Just use your instinct. Your instinct. Then... you! Take a guess.' The attendant thinks for a moment, '... Hm... the 3 priests will survive, that's for sure... The militia is very strong too, so they won't fall easily. There will probably be 30 fallen fighters... so I'll say 50 remaining. But the enemies are strong enough to rival the priests, so after 3 hours...' Enel bursts into laughter, 'Yahahahaha...!!' The attendant asks, 'You think so...? 50 fighters...?' Enel replies, '—That is an optimistic guess. You seem to underestimate the violence of the upcoming battle.... Then how does God see this situation...?' Enel looks confident, 'Alright... I'll tell you. After 3 hours, out of the 81 fighters I counted...'

Enel holds up his hand, fingers spread wide, and declares, 'Exactly five will still be standing.' The scene cuts to Upper Yard, where a massive explosion erupts in the forest, sending debris flying. The Shandian warriors are shown running frantically through the trees, panting heavily, 'Haa. Haa.' as they navigate the dangerous terrain.

In the forest, the Shandian warriors suddenly find themselves unable to move. One warrior struggles, yelling, 'Ack! My body!!!' Another looks confused, 'What?' A third warrior notices something, 'Hm!?' They are caught in invisible traps. Waipa, running ahead, suddenly stops and looks around in surprise, '!!?' as he realizes what is happening to his men.

From above, the priest Shura appears, riding his giant bird Fuza. He mocks the trapped warriors, '... Hey, Shandians! I was waiting for you! Nice poses!' A Shandian warrior spots him and yells, 'SHURA!!!' Shura laughs menacingly, 'Please pardon my violent welcome... Kuukakakaka!!!' Shura lands and sits cross-legged, holding his lance. '... Aah, you don't need to tell me. I already know what my own name is. Kahahaha... Here's some bad news for you. Quite a few changes occurred in Upper Yard since last night.'

Shura continues his taunting, 'Now that you can't move, your survival rate is 3%... Ready for the trial of strings?' A Shandian warrior realizes, 'Trial!?... It's string cloud!' Shura smirks, 'It's probably too late to tell you to be careful, no? Correct. In my territory, they are everywhere. They are so thin that you can't see nor feel them. But in bundles, they can stop the movements of the biggest of men. You have been tangling into them ever since you entered this island. Look carefully, you're completely strapped in... this is all due to your stupidity! Kahahahahaha!!!' Shura then points his lance, 'Everyone... except one!'

Waipa, who is not trapped, fires a massive blast from his bazooka directly at Shura. A warrior yells, 'WAIPA!!' Shura quickly dodges the explosion, commanding his bird, 'Daw!! Let's go, Fuza!!' Shura takes to the air, boasting, 'No one can defeat me in an aero battle!!' A Shandian warns Waipa, 'Beware!! It's a fire lance!!' Shura swoops down, thrusting his flaming lance at Waipa, who leaps out of the way just in time.

Waipa suddenly grabs the blade of Shura's lance with his bare hand. Shura is shocked, '!!? Why did you throw away your weapon and shield!!? What a fool...!!' Waipa holds tight as Shura yells, 'Say your prayers to Enel!' Waipa pulls Shura closer, 'Stup!!!' Shura notices Waipa's hand positioning and thinks, 'An "Impact!?" If you believe you can beat me with that...' Waipa glares at him, 'Wrong!! This is 10 times stronger than that.' Waipa places his palm directly on Shura's chest and shouts, '"REJECT"!!!'

Waipa unleashes the power of the Reject Dial at point-blank range. A massive, devastating shockwave blasts completely through Shura's body. The sheer force of the impact causes Shura's eyes to roll back into his head as he is violently thrown backward by the explosion.

Shura crashes to the ground, completely defeated and unconscious, with his bird Fuza squawking in the background. Waipa stands victorious but is visibly in pain, clutching his right arm which is smoking and heavily damaged from the severe recoil of the Reject Dial. A narration box appears, stating: 'Upper Yard survival game 1 out. 80 fighters remaining...'

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