Without wasting words, Meiser immediately condensed two special water spheres using Chakra.
Luffy blinked, not understanding why Meiser had created two water spheres—they looked no bigger than a fist.
"Hold out your hands."
"Okay."
Though unsure of Meiser's intentions, Luffy obediently extended his hands.
Then, to his astonishment, the two water spheres attached themselves to his hands! Watching as the water gradually enveloped his fists, Luffy's eyes lit up with excitement.
"This... this is amazing!"
He shook his hands up and down, but the water wouldn't come off—instead, it clung firmly to his skin without hindering his movements.
"What is this, Meiser?"
"That fat guy is a Boil-Boil Fruit user. He can instantly turn metal into molten iron, which requires temperatures of at least 1500 degrees!" Meiser explained. "And I suspect that's not even his maximum heat. If you recklessly attack him, you'll get burned."
"But with these two water spheres, it's different. They'll block most of the heat for you."
"Luffy, fight without fear—just remember to use your fists!"
After saying this, Meiser patted Luffy's shoulder, as if to say, "You've been empowered, now go!"
"Hahahaha, you think these two little water balls can defeat me?" Accino scoffed. "I'm a Boil-Boil Fruit user—my maximum temperature reaches 10,000 degrees!"
"If you want to beat me, you'd need the ocean itself!"
At the mention of the ocean, Arbell shuddered involuntarily, recalling the sight of that man manipulating seawater. If he really used the ocean, he could probably nullify her father's Devil Fruit ability in an instant.
"You'd better watch your words, huh?" Nami narrowed her eyes at Arbell.
Arbell said nothing, merely lowering her head.
"Fatso, if you think it's that simple, go ahead and try," Meiser said coolly.
"Then come—"
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Not giving Accino a chance to finish, Luffy threw a punch without hesitation!
"Bam!"
This time, Luffy's fist wasn't burned—instead, it landed squarely on Accino's stomach.
"Ugh!"
Sliding backward from the impact, Accino's face twisted in pain. Confusion filled his mind—why hadn't his extreme heat evaporated the water on Luffy's hands?
In that instant, he had raised his temperature high enough to melt steel.
"Damn it... It's been years since anyone's hit me..."
Clutching his stomach, Accino glared at Meiser in agony. "Kid, what the hell did you do?"
"I don't make a habit of explaining my abilities to enemies."
"Bastard..."
Accino was furious. Without his ability, his combat power would plummet. His strength relied entirely on his Devil Fruit ability.
"This is awesome! I can barely feel any heat!" Luffy exclaimed, thrilled as he examined his hands. "Is this what it's like to have Ninjutsu?!"
"SO COOL!!"
Never did he think that one day he would get to experience Ninjutsu. Meiser was really good to him.
"It's just two blobs of water. I refuse to believe I can't break through them!" Accino said, activating his ability underfoot as he swiftly charged toward Luffy.
"Gum-Gum Rocket!"
"Dodge~"
"BOOM!!"
Luffy's fists slammed violently onto the ice surface, the tremendous force blasting a huge crater into it.
Meanwhile, Accino himself used steam propulsion to quickly sidestep the attack.
"This could work!"
Excitement flashed in Accino's eyes. If he could just get close, he could completely dry him out with his Devil Fruit powers!
"Meiser, you're playing favorites."
"Yeah, yeah! We want Ninjutsu too!"
Seeing Meiser return, Usopp and the others immediately chimed in: "We want to experience manipulating Ninjutsu too!"
"It's not Luffy controlling the Ninjutsu—I'm the one maintaining it," Meiser said, spreading his hands. "You guys don't have Chakra, so there's really no way for you to learn."
If he ever reached the Six Paths level, maybe he could share Chakra with them. But for now, it was impossible.
"What... So you were just messing with Luffy..."
"Not exactly. At least he can use the power of water, right?"
"Meiser, what exactly do those two blobs of water do?" Nami asked curiously.
"They ensure Luffy doesn't get burned," Meiser explained. "That guy clearly isn't skilled in hand-to-hand combat. If you nullify his Devil Fruit abilities, he's basically powerless."
The two blobs of water wrapped around Luffy's fists weren't ordinary—they were infused with Meiser's Chakra. Even if part of it evaporated, the Chakra would rapidly absorb water molecules from the air, replenishing the lost portion.
With this power, Luffy could pummel that guy without taking any damage.
Usopp glanced at Accino and nodded seriously. "True."
With a physique that bulky, he definitely didn't seem like the hand-to-hand type.
Watching Luffy happily trading blows with the enemy, Meiser said, "Let's leave this fight to Luffy. It's time to go find Zoro."
Just hearing Zoro's name gave Nami a headache.
"How did that idiot manage to get here so fast?"
"Hey, what do you expect from a guy with zero sense of direction?" Sanji chuckled.
"You guys go ahead. We can't just leave this place completely unguarded."
Franky remembered that the enemy had a son-in-law somewhere. Who knew if that guy might try a sneak attack?
Hearing this, the others agreed it wouldn't be wise for everyone to leave. So Meiser, Nico Robin, Chopper, Usopp, and Merry—along with the little girl Lil—set off to find Zoro and retrieve what they needed.
"Let's go."
Chopper transformed into his reindeer form, carrying the two little girls on his back as he quickly followed Meiser and the others toward the Accino family's hideout.
"Huh?"
Accino, still locked in combat with Luffy, caught a glimpse of the group darting past from the side and froze momentarily.
"Lil...?"
He didn't understand why his daughter was running toward their home alongside the enemy. She didn't seem coerced—if anything, she looked like she was willingly following them.
Ah, he realized. Lil must be planning to use her special plant-controlling ability to capture them! That had to be it!
At this thought, Accino grinned and said, "That's my daughter for you."
"Bam!"
The moment he was distracted, Luffy's fist struck his face, sending him spinning like a top before crashing into a distant ice block.
"Boom!"
Upon impact, Accino shattered the ice block, which immediately began melting, producing a massive cloud of steam.
"You bastard, Straw Hat Boy, you've made me angry!" Accino growled as he got up. "Rubber, huh? I'll melt you down to nothing!"
"Hmph, if you can do it, then try me!"
The two locked eyes and charged at each other.
"Ugh... so cold..."
In the underground prison, Zoro shivered, hugging his arms. Thankfully, he had drunk some alcohol earlier—otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to endure it.
"I wonder if they'll even find this place."
Since falling down here, he had been searching for a way out. But the place was barren, with nothing to climb. The only way up was if someone above lowered a rope or ladder.
Just then, Zoro faintly heard familiar voices.
"They're usually kept here when captured."
"Yep, I definitely smell Zoro's scent."
"Zoro, are you there?!"
"Chopper!"
Zoro's face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected the little guy to find him—what a relief!
"Hey, Chopper, I'm down here!"
"That's Zoro's voice!" Chopper exclaimed excitedly. "Quick, how do we open this thing?"
Without a word, Lil walked over and pressed a button.
Soon, the prison hatch opened, revealing the scene below.
Seeing that Zoro wasn't injured, the group sighed in relief.
"You idiot..."
Usopp didn't even know what to say. How had this guy ended up here alone?
Climbing up the ladder Lil had lowered, Zoro grinned. "Finally saved."
"Zoro, why were you down there?" Merry asked curiously.
"Looking for you guys, of course," Zoro replied. "I followed the iceberg searching for you but couldn't find anyone all the way here."
"Seriously, there's a limit to getting lost."
Usopp: ???
"Hey!"
Usopp pressed his nose against Zoro's face, baring shark-like teeth as he roared, "You're the one who got lost, you moron!"
"No way!"
"Way! We walked through the Icy Sea Route for ages and never saw a trace of you!"
"That's because you guys got lost, so of course you couldn't find me!"
Usopp: ...
How could this guy be so confident?
"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Zoro found the One Piece someday," Meiser muttered.
"Hmm, it's not impossible."
Nico Robin chuckled, agreeing wholeheartedly with Meiser's assessment.
"Zoro is... unexpectedly impressive," Merry remarked.
"I think he's just directionally challenged," Lil said flatly.
No one could deny that navigating the complex Icy Sea Route wasn't easy, let alone reaching their base.
But this swordsman?
Alone, he had walked all the way from Iceberg to her house—something that was quite absurd by any measure.
"Who are you?" Zoro glanced at Lil.
"Me..." Lil sighed. "I'm just a poor captive, that's all."
"Captive?"
"We'll explain later," Meiser said. "Let's go. Time for the next destination."
Though puzzled, Zoro chose to trust Meiser and followed him as they left the place.
The group quickly exited the dungeon and, under Lil's guidance, arrived at a room filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
"A garden built in this kind of environment?" Usopp remarked in surprise. "Now that's extravagant."
After all, this was all iceberg—plants weren't exactly easy to keep alive in such harsh conditions.
"Hey?"
"Did that plant just move?" Merry pointed at a massive flower nearby.
Hearing this, Nico Robin and Meiser immediately turned their attention to Lil. Such an odd change could only mean the little troublemaker had done something.
Lil pressed her lips together, glanced at Merry, and finally sighed silently, choosing not to act.
"Let's go. Next room."
Upon reaching the actual treasure vault, Zoro finally understood what Meiser and the others were up to. Not that he saw any issue with it—if the other side had intended to kill them, what was wrong with taking a little interest in return?
As Meiser unceremoniously pocketed the Berries, Lil spoke up. "You've got the money now. Will you let us go?"
"Kid, I told you—we have no interest in bullying children," Meiser said. "As long as you behave, we won't make trouble for you."
At the end of the day, this little girl posed no threat and had even become friends with Merry. Naturally, they wouldn't harm her.
Lil relaxed. With that assurance, it was unlikely they'd kill her.
"Let's go."
"Wait—Gino's Pirate Flag!"
Chopper suddenly remembered. Their Pirate Flag was inside this very building, and he could easily take it with them now.
"Chopper, a pirate's spirit must be reclaimed by their own hands," Nico Robin said. "Otherwise, it's considered abandonment—a disgrace to any pirate."
Put yourself in their shoes—if their Pirate Flag were stolen, they'd have to take it back themselves.
"I see..."
After a moment's thought, Chopper nodded and gave up on the idea.
Come to think of it, Gino had never actually asked for their help in retrieving the flag. In that case, he wouldn't meddle.
Suddenly, Chopper's nose twitched, and he grinned. "That Gino..."
So he came himself after all. Now that's a proper pirate!
BOOM!!
At that moment, a deafening explosion echoed from outside, as if something massive had crashed into the ground, shaking everything violently!
"What was that?" Zoro said. "Why the sudden quake?"
"Probably Luffy fighting that guy."
"Quick—let's go check it out!"
Watching the Straw Hat Pirates gradually fade into the distance, Lil suddenly called out, "Merry!!"
"What's wrong?"
"Will we meet again?"
Tears welled up in Lil's eyes as an intense feeling of reluctance overwhelmed her.
After all these years, this was the first time she'd made a friend around her own age - someone who had saved her life.
Yet now they had to part ways... She truly couldn't bear to say goodbye to Merry.
Merry stopped in her tracks and turned back to Lil with a bright smile, saying, "Lil, please don't be sad!"
"Someday in the future, we might meet again on the high seas."
"On the high seas..."
"That's right!"
Though their crews were enemies, Merry had genuinely enjoyed her time with Lil and sincerely hoped they'd meet again someday.
Lil suddenly laughed, her expression relaxing completely.
Yes, since they'd become friends, there was no need to dwell on such matters. They would surely meet again one day.
Even if they might end up fighting when that day came... that wouldn't affect the friendship between her and Merry, would it?
"I'll look forward to that day!"
"Mm!"
After watching Merry leave, Lil murmured softly, "Goodbye, my friend."
She glanced back toward the window, now blurred by steam.
But Lil knew her father was still fighting outside.
"Dad... please come back safely."