Nami was stunned for a moment before instinctively drawing the wooden stick from her waist.
But even faster than her was Sanji. In the blink of an eye, he leapt forward, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With a series of high-speed kicks, Sanji's long legs struck the massive lizard one after another. The creature let out a few miserable howls before collapsing to the ground, foam bubbling from its mouth.
Seeing Sanji take down the monstrous lizard, both Nami and Vivi patted their chests, letting out sighs of relief.
The sudden burst of danger and adrenaline had made their hearts race. But now that it was over, Sanji rushed toward them, his eyes brimming with infatuation. Without hesitation, he threw himself at their legs, hugging them as if he were embracing precious treasures.
This bold and shameless move, however, earned him nothing but swift kicks of disgust from both Nami and Vivi.
Of course, this was exactly what Sanji wanted. Even while sporting a bruised face, he refused to let go, love hearts practically floating from his eyes.
Just then, Vivi's expression changed sharply as she turned toward Leo and Chopper standing behind her.
She seemed to suddenly recall something. Before she could utter a word of warning, the ground beneath them trembled violently again. Sand and gravel were flung into the air as the desert cracked open—another giant lizard, identical to the one before, burst out of the ground.
Vivi finally blurted out her reminder.
"I forgot... these large desert lizards usually travel in pairs!"
The next second, a high-pitched scream was heard.
Chopper's tiny figure had been swallowed in one gulp by the second giant lizard.
Before anyone could even react, there was a loud crack! and a gaping hole suddenly opened in the lizard's skull. Chopper, in his shrunken form, leapt out of the beast's mouth, hooves landing hard on its head. He bounced a few times and then landed gracefully in front of the group.
"Phew, I was scared to death!" Chopper gasped, patting his chest with his tiny front hooves.
Vivi blinked, then let out a laugh.
She realized she'd worried too much. Her companions were more reliable than she had imagined.
After the chaos subsided, the desert returned to its usual quiet. At that moment, Luffy appeared in the distance, dragging along a very strange-looking camel.
"This desert is seriously dangerous," Usopp said as he flopped down onto the sand, panting.
He had been frightened, sure—but he also thought there was no need for the great Captain Usopp to step in when his capable teammates could handle everything.
"All right, let's eat something," Leo suggested, pulling out a few juicy slabs of meat from the lizard Chopper had defeated.
He quickly roasted them over a fire, turning them carefully until they were golden brown, then handed them out to everyone.
After a short break and some much-needed food, the group turned their attention to the strange camel Luffy had brought back.
"There's something off about this camel…" Nami said, squinting.
"It doesn't look wild. Look—it has a saddle," Vivi added, pointing to the worn leather strapped to its back.
Indeed, there was nothing particularly unusual about its physical appearance. But the way it looked at them was downright bizarre.
Its eyes pointed in different directions—one looked up, the other down. There was a peculiar mix of sadness and disdain in its gaze.
"How did such a strange camel end up here?" Usopp muttered suspiciously.
Curious, he stepped closer to get a better look. But as he did, the camel's disdainful gaze grew even more pronounced.
"..."
Usopp froze, then snapped, "What's with that look?! Are you looking down on me!?"
First it was the Kung Fu Dugongs, and now even a camel dared to mock him?
"Calm down, Usopp," Vivi said, stepping in front of him. "This camel seems almost… human. It doesn't speak, but you can read its emotions clearly through its eyes."
As soon as Vivi approached, the camel straightened its posture. Hearts sparkled in its eyes, and it stood obediently at her side, tail swishing with affection.
"..."
Usopp stared in silence.
Even camels were judging people by appearance now?
"Tch! He's not human—he's a total pervert!" Sanji grumbled.
One look and he understood exactly what was happening here. He'd met this kind of guy before—mirror image of himself.
Nami approached the camel curiously, stepping forward to examine it more closely.
Sure enough, the camel's face lit up with joy. It narrowed its eyes and seemed to melt under her gaze, as if savoring every second of attention.
"Hahaha! What a funny camel!" Nami giggled. "Its thoughts are written all over its face. And look at those eyelashes—so long! I'll call it Eyelashes!"
The camel neighed softly and nudged Nami affectionately as if thanking her for the name.
"Damn it! That's treatment I don't even get!" Sanji's eyes turned red with envy as he stomped his feet.
"Well, since it's a camel, I should be able to ride it!" Luffy declared suddenly, his hunger now satisfied.
Without waiting, he ran toward Eyelashes with a big grin. "Here I go!"
Seeing Luffy's bold move, Usopp followed, just as eager to hop on.
Mooo!
Eyelashes neighed loudly and began to buck and kick, clearly refusing to let them climb on.
"It says it's just a camel passing through," Chopper translated, standing by with a serious expression. "It was in danger earlier and thanks us for helping. It's willing to let us ride, but only the beautiful women."
"You can understand him?" Nami asked in surprise.
Chopper nodded proudly. "Yeah! I'm a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit. Not only can I speak human language, but I can also communicate with animals!"
He puffed out his tiny chest and waited with wide eyes for their reaction.
"Wow, Chopper, that's amazing!" Nami and Vivi chimed in together, praising him with bright smiles.
Chopper immediately swayed on his hooves, flustered. "Ehehe… even if you say that, I won't get too happy... hehe…"
Sanji, meanwhile, was livid. "I knew it! This bastard camel is trying to take advantage of Miss Nami and Miss Vivi!"
His eyes burned with fury. "I'll cook it into stew right now!"
"You arrogant four-legged freeloader! Do you even know who saved you?!"
With a furious shout, Sanji launched into a full-on attack against the camel, joined by Luffy and Usopp.
"Okay, okay, calm down," Nami interrupted, rubbing her forehead. "Since it only wants to carry women, then Vivi and I will ride it."
"We'll be faster this way. Just follow behind it."
She gave Sanji a sharp glare, and he nodded obediently. He couldn't say no to a woman's request—even if it made his blood boil.
"Tch. Boring," Zoro muttered from the side.
He had no interest in any of this. He just wanted to reach Yuba quickly. It didn't matter who got to ride.
Though, a little sake wouldn't hurt. Ever since Luffy lost their supplies, he hadn't had a drop.
Originally, Luffy and Usopp had intended to argue further. But after getting thrown into the soft sand and ending up covered in bruises, they had no choice but to give in.
"Well, since no one objects—decision made!"
Nami dusted off her hands and turned to Vivi. "Let's go, Vivi!"
The two women hopped onto Eyelashes, who pranced proudly as if carrying two queens. The rest of the group followed behind on foot.
And so, in the vast desert under the scorching sun, the Straw Hat crew continued their journey toward Yuba—with a narcissistic camel leading the way.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)