From Brindo's perspective, the moment his elder brother Campacino approached Meiser, his fist mercilessly struck Meiser's body, sending him flying with tremendous force!
"Whoosh—"
"Boom!!"
Meiser crashed hard into a distant iceberg!
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out as Meiser slid down the iceberg and plunged into the sea below.
"Hahaha!" Campacino laughed heartily. "See that, Ninja? This is the power of us brothers!"
"That's right! When we brothers work together, we're invincible!" Brindo also burst into laughter.
Perhaps because they were twins, the two were born with a special magnetic ability—they could attract or repel each other at will.
Just now, Brindo had used the repelling force to drastically increase Campacino's speed, sending Meiser flying.
At least, that was how it appeared in the eyes of the Campacino brothers.
But from the perspective of the Straw Hat Pirates, the scene was entirely different.
Campacino had suddenly appeared, throwing a punch at Meiser, who was standing on the deck.
But Meiser was too fast—he dodged effortlessly in an instant, then countered with a whip kick that sent Campacino flying straight into Brindo.
"Thud!"
The two collided and landed on the Thousand Sunny.
Yet, as if they felt no pain, they stood up laughing and spouting nonsense like lunatics.
"These two... are they insane?" Franky muttered, his lips twitching.
"Probably because of Meiser," Sanji remarked, glancing at the ninja.
The man had the ability to make others see illusions—these two must have fallen victim to Meiser's Illusion Technique.
"So you're the so-called bounty hunters?"
"And twins, at that."
Franky studied them curiously. Twins were a rare sight.
"Exactly! We are the strongest brother duo in the Accino Family, second only to our father!" Brindo sneered at Franky. "Pirates, your doom has arrived!"
"That ninja has already been knocked into the sea. There's no escape for you now," Campacino declared. "Surrender!"
"Knocked into the sea...?"
Usopp glanced between the Campacino brothers and Meiser, feeling an odd sense of dissonance.
"What's going on? What happened?!"
Luffy and Chopper came running out from the cabin of another ship, shouting toward the Thousand Sunny:
"Hey, you guys okay?"
"We're fine, Luffy," Meiser replied. "Just some bounty hunters showing up."
"What?"
Luffy was surprised. He hadn't expected them to actually come knocking.
"Luffy, go help them."
"But what about you?"
Luffy looked at Chopper. Leaving their ship doctor alone here didn't sit right with him.
After all, these people had a track record—he couldn't fully trust them.
"I'll be fine."
Luffy didn't answer immediately. After a brief pause, he said, "I'll go check it out first."
Grabbing the ship's bow with both hands, Luffy catapulted himself back onto his own ship, landing beside Nico Robin.
He glanced at Robin and asked, "Robin, where are the enemies?"
"Right there, see?"
Following Robin's gaze, Luffy looked over and immediately wore an astonished expression. "Clo... Clone Technique?!"
"Hey, Meiser, look! There are ninjas here too!!"
Luffy was beyond excited—never did he think he'd encounter ninjas one day.
Meiser:
Hearing Luffy's words, Meiser was momentarily at a loss for what to say.
Who knew what this idiot was thinking? These were obviously just twins.
Sure, they looked alike, but their clothes were different, damn it!
"So you're the Straw Hat Boy," Campacino said coldly, eyeing Luffy. "We'll be taking your head now."
However, Luffy ignored him, still shouting excitedly at Meiser.
"Hey, Meiser, they're ninjas, real ninjas!"
Meiser didn't want to engage with him, maintaining his aloof expression.
Campacino: ???
"Bastard, are you looking down on us?!" Brindo roared. "That ninja of yours, Meiser, has already been knocked into the sea!"
At those words, Luffy froze for a second.
Brindo, thinking Luffy was scared, smirked triumphantly. "Now you know fear—"
"What are you talking about?" Luffy said, picking his nose. "Meiser's right here."
Meiser was standing not far from Franky, watching from above. Could these two not see him?
Were all ninjas besides Meiser visually impaired or something?
Following Luffy's gaze, Brindo saw no trace of Meiser—only Franky standing alone.
"Hah, trying to trick us?" Brindo sneered. "That lie is pointless."
Luffy: ???
For a moment, Luffy was baffled. Were these ninjas really not seeing him, or was this some act?
"Luffy, they're under an Illusion Technique," Little Merry giggled.
"Illusion Technique?"
Luffy tilted his head in confusion. Was that another one of Meiser's abilities?
"Did you even listen to Meiser back in the City of Seven Waters...?" Nami sighed.
Meiser had explained his clone abilities before. Had Luffy not paid attention at all?
Or... given his brain capacity, maybe he just couldn't comprehend what an Illusion Technique was.
"Whatever, never mind." Luffy leaped in front of Brindo. "So you're the bounty hunter, huh?"
"If you're coming after us, you'd better be ready."
"Hmph, you think you stand a chance?" Campacino scoffed, scanning the crew before finally settling on Luffy. "Judging by that ninja of yours, your bounties must be seriously inflated."
"Can't believe the Marines would give you lot such high rewards."
"But... that just works in our favor. Hahahaha!"
"That's right, Brother Campacino!" Brindo laughed. "We can't let such an opportunity slip by!"
"Straw Hat Boy, your head belongs to us brothers now!"
"Eh?!"
"Brothers?" Luffy exclaimed in shock. "Not clones?"
"You bastard, where the hell did you get the idea we're clones?!" Brindo cursed.
Any normal person could tell at a glance they were twin brothers. Was this jerk just messing with them?
"Brindo, take him out!"
"Yes, Brother Campacino!"
The two brothers quickly stuck together before repelling apart due to opposing forces.
Propelled by this energy, Brindo charged at Luffy and landed a solid punch.
"Whoosh—"
"Thud!"
Caught off guard, Luffy was actually sent flying by the punch, crashing into the ship's cabin wall behind him.
"What just happened?" Sanji wondered. "Did they just stick together and then immediately separate??"
"Ability users...?"
"No, we're not Devil Fruit users," Brindo sneered. "As twin brothers, we're born with the natural ability to attract and repel each other."
"To be precise, it's magnetism!" Campacino added.
To demonstrate, the brothers showcased their special power—magnetic attraction and repulsion—before bursting into arrogant laughter at the Straw Hat Pirates as if their ability made them invincible.
"Robin, what do they mean?" Merry looked up and asked.
"Don't mind them. Just consider them a bit... simple."
"So that's how it is..."
Following Robin's words, Merry's gaze at the Campacino brothers softened with pity.
"They're so pitiful..."
"Did you make them say that?" Usopp glanced at Meiser.
Meiser: "..."
"No, not at all," Meiser deadpanned. "I overestimated them."
This time, he hadn't even used his Illusion Technique to control them—he'd merely let them see what they wanted to see. Yet, to his surprise, they'd voluntarily explained their abilities in detail, as if afraid their enemies wouldn't understand... What absolute idiots!
In battle, information was everything. Yet here they were, casually revealing their own strengths. Meiser's expression twisted with disbelief.
How had these morons survived as bounty hunters? What kind of family raised them?
"Wow! How do you do that?!" Luffy cheered, completely unfazed by the punch that had left no damage beyond dirtying his clothes.
"Hmph! It's because of our unbreakable brotherly bond!"
"Amazing... so amazing!"
"I don't care about your 'brotherly bond,'" Sanji snapped, kicking forward. "Luffy, they're enemies. Beat them down first, talk later."
"Got it!"
Without hesitation, Luffy joined Sanji in attacking. But the twins' abilities made them surprisingly agile, and the initial assault failed to take them down.
Seeing the fight underway, Meiser didn't intervene. Instead, his gaze shifted to the distant water—or more precisely, the dark shadows lurking beneath.
"Ferocious Penguins, huh..."
"Watch out!"
Franky suddenly shouted and swiftly dashed behind Luffy, leaping up to block.
"Clang~"
A peculiar ice sphere struck Franky's arm, immediately forming frost that began creeping up his limb.
"What the hell is this?"
Franky's expression changed as he immediately clashed his arms together, shaking off the ice. Then, he looked up at Iceberg and said, "Ice?"
"Dammit, could it be a Marine Admiral?" Usopp's face paled.
"Bounty hunters teaming up with the Navy...
This ability was truly striking a nerve with the group.
"No, that's not it." Meiser glanced sideways at Iceberg, then at the three figures who had just appeared above them. "Those guys aren't Navy."
"Not the Navy...?"
Usopp frowned. If it wasn't that Marine Admiral, then how could they wield freezing power?
Could they be Devil Fruit Ability Users with similar powers?
Or perhaps... this was an innate special ability, just like the twin brothers possessed.
"You bastard, daring to ambush us—you've made your choice!" Franky glared furiously at Hockera.
Hockera didn't respond. Instead, he stared at Meiser with a grim expression. "You... why are you unharmed?"
"Surprised?" Meiser raised his head, grinning. "Not even a Navy Vice Admiral could kill me. Did you really think they could knock me into the sea?"
"You're all... truly naive!"
Hearing Meiser's words, Hockera's face darkened further. Clearly, they had underestimated this pirate crew's strength.
At that moment, Hockera realized the gravity of the situation.
"Brother Campacino, Brother Brindo—run!"