"Hey!"
"You're Brownbeard, right?"
Chopper glared angrily at Brownbeard and said, "Do you know something?"
"What do you mean?"
"These children aren't sick at all!"
Hearing Chopper's words, a look of confusion immediately appeared on Brownbeard's face.
Not sick?
How is that possible!
"Stop spacing out!" Chopper shouted angrily. "Answer me!"
"Although I'm often out on patrol and don't know much about what happens inside the research facility..." Brownbeard said, "these kids really are seriously ill!"
"My master said so himself."
His master had personally stated that these children were suffering from a fatal illness, so there couldn't be any mistake.
These kids are definitely sick!
"So they really are seriously ill..."
Nami anxiously looked at the collapsed children. Had her good intentions backfired?
"Hey, Chopper, come take a look!" Franky said, pointing at the children who had collapsed again. "Even the smaller kids are starting to fall."
Perona also looked anxious but had no idea what to do.
After all... she couldn't even use her Negative Spirit right now.
Nico Robin frowned as she stared at the children, instinctively sensing that something was off.
The state these children were in... was most likely related to that so-called candy!
"Chopper, stop questioning him and come treat them," Usopp shouted.
"They're not sick!"
"Huh?"
Usopp was taken aback by this. What... did that mean?
What did he mean by "they're not sick"?
If they weren't sick, why were they reacting like this?
Chopper didn't answer Usopp's question. Instead, he glared furiously at Brownbeard and said, "What exactly is your master trying to do?!"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you doubting my great master?!" Brownbeard also showed an angry expression. "Don't joke around!"
"If it weren't for my merciful master treating them with the Special Potion, these kids would have died long ago!"
"My master... is a Scientist of Love!"
"A Scientist of Love..."
Hearing Brownbeard's words, Chopper's face flushed with rage, veins bulging on his forehead.
That bastard dares to call himself a Scientist of Love?
Ignoring Chopper's reaction, Brownbeard glanced at the collapsed children and said, "See? You people."
"The reason they're like this is because they didn't receive today's treatment!"
"You're the ones at fault!"
"That's not true!"
Glancing at Chopper, who was angrily refuting Brownbeard, Nami quickly asked, "Chopper, do you know something?"
"I've definitely figured out the problem."
Clenching his fists, Chopper gritted his teeth and spoke.
"What problem?"
"I detected something called NHC10 in the children's bodies..." Chopper raised the reagent in his hand and said, "Although it's in trace amounts... this is poison, damn it!"
"Po... poison?"
Hearing Chopper's explanation, everyone else was stunned.
Poison?
Why would there be poison in the children's bodies?
Could it be... that bastard named Caesar was experimenting on the children?
At this thought, Nami's pupils contracted to their smallest size.
"That's right, it's poison!" Chopper said. "This poison can only be used in designated countries worldwide."
"And those who use this poison must be specific doctors registered with that country!"
"So it's a Controlled Substance," Nico Robin frowned.
It seemed this matter wasn't as simple as they had imagined.
"Yes, it's a very strictly controlled substance." Chopper nodded. "Back when Dr. Kureha was treating people, she sternly warned me never to use this thing lightly."
"And... even if this medication is used to treat diseases, the dosage must never exceed the maximum amount that would cause poisoning!"
"But judging from these children's condition... they're already poisoned."
"And to escape the pain of poisoning, they must take the next dose of medication."
By the end, Chopper's expression was twisted with anger.
"Hey!"
"Brownbeard!"
Chopper crushed the reagent in his hand, glaring angrily at Brownbeard. "Tell me, why is your master doing this to these children?"
"Is it to prevent them from escaping?"
"What exactly does that so-called savior in your mouth intend to do with these children?!"
Could that bastard be planning to experiment on these children?
If that's the case... he'd never forgive that guy!
"Poison..."
Usopp said with a grim expression, "So you're saying that bastard named Caesar is using this stuff to control the children?"
He really deserves to die!
The others' expressions were equally grim, clearly not expecting the children to be suffering through something like this.
"Hey, you guys!" Brownbeard shouted angrily. "The master isn't the kind of person who would harm children with poison!"
"If you dare insult the master, I'll never forgive you!"
Clearly, Brownbeard didn't believe Chopper's words at all.
In his view, the reason these children were suffering so much was simply because they hadn't received timely treatment.
"Hey, Chopper, what should we do?" Luffy shouted. "They look like they're really in pain."
"Candy..."
"Candy?"
Luffy was momentarily confused, then looked at Raid. "That candy thing can relieve your pain?"
"If so, I can go get it from that building."
"No!"
Chopper rushed over and hugged Raid. "You absolutely must not eat that candy again!"
"The children must have unknowingly ingested the poison because they ate that candy."
That must be it... that must be it!
"So it's because of that candy thing?"
Luffy immediately frowned. How should they solve this problem then?
"Isn't there an antidote for this thing?" Usopp quickly asked.
"There's no miracle drug..."
Chopper said with a grim expression, "To treat this, we must take it slow..."
This was also why he found it extremely difficult to handle.
"Straw Hat brother..." Raid trembled as he looked at Luffy and said, "Could you please bring me the candy... I'm in so much pain."
"No."
"Since Chopper said you can't keep eating that stuff, then you can't eat it anymore," Luffy said. "He's our ship's doctor, so let's trust him."
Although he didn't understand what was going on, if Chopper said they couldn't eat it, then they absolutely couldn't!
So... he wouldn't go into that laboratory to get anything.
"Damn it, why..."
Raid lowered his head, trembling, and said, "If I just eat the candy, I'll be fine..."
"Why... why are you stopping me!"
By the end, Raid was practically roaring.
Then, he punched Luffy with all his might.
"Bam!"
The heavy force sent Luffy flying with a single blow!
"Whoosh~"
"Boom!!"
"Wh-what?!"
Usopp was stunned as he watched Luffy get sent flying.
A child knocked Luffy away?
"What terrifying arm strength..."
"Hey, hey, hey, this kid couldn't really be from the Giant Race, could he?" Franky said in shock.
"He's not."
A little girl anxiously shouted, "When we first came to this island, we were all normal-sized..."
"Then why did Raid become so big?"
"We probably caught a disease that makes you grow," the little boy Cambo said.
Other than that, he couldn't think of anything else strange.
"A disease that makes you grow?"
Merry's head immediately filled with question marks. Could there really be such a strange disease in this world?
Was that even reasonable?
"Ordinary people can't contract a disease that makes them grow this huge," Chopper said, staring intently at Raid.
"What if they have Giant Race blood?"
"How could such a coincidence happen!" Chopper said. "If these children were all descendants of the Giant Race, then this place would be the legendary Elbaf!"
"That really doesn't seem likely," Usopp frowned and said. "Otherwise, there would definitely be Giants coming here to cause trouble.
Besides... that little girl said they were all normal-sized at the beginning, right?
So it's not very likely these people are descendants of the Giant Race.
"We really don't have Giant Race blood," a giantized little girl, Ali, said with a troubled expression.
"Then what's going on with you..."
"I don't know what's happening either. I just know the longer we stay here, the bigger we get."
"The longer you stay, the bigger you get..."
Chopper was stunned for a moment, then, as if he had figured something out, his pupils shrank to the extreme.
"It seems these children's abnormally hyperactive pituitary gland hormones aren't innate!"
"They... were used as test subjects!"
"Test..."
Nami's face instantly turned pale. Such young children were used as test subjects?
What kind of joke is that?!
"So that's how it is..." Nico Robin said with a grim expression.
She had suspected this earlier, but she hadn't expected her guess to be correct.
"Bastards!"
Chopper shouted angrily, "What does your master want to do?!"
"Why is he treating these children like this?!"
Doesn't he know this will shorten their lifespans?
"Damn it, why won't you give me candy?!" Mocha roared furiously.
As she spoke, she lifted a massive iron pipe and swung it toward Nami.
Seeing this, Nami's pupils instantly contracted.
"Idiot, dodge!"
As she shouted, Perona rushed to Nami's side, pulling her out of Raid's attack range.
Then... she was struck herself.
"Boom!!"
The impact shook the entire cave.
"Perona!!"
"I'm fine!"
Perona's voice came from a crack in the ground.
Then, a large amount of smoke drifted up from below, gradually forming a human shape on the surface.
Seeing this, Nami immediately sighed in relief.
It's good that she's okay...
Merry also relaxed, having been terrified moments earlier. "Logia-type abilities are so unfair," Perona said, looking at her hands. "I'm completely unharmed."
To be honest, she was starting to like this ability of Nami's.
Though not particularly strong in combat, its survival capabilities were top-notch!
"You idiot, is this really the time for that?!" Nami roared, opening her shark mouth.
If it weren't for the Elemental Transformation ability, Perona would be dead!
"You have the nerve to say that to me?!" Perona roared back, also opening her shark mouth. "What were you spacing out for earlier?"
"If that attack had hit, both my body and yours could have died!"
Can't you take better care of someone else's body, you jerk?!
Nami's momentum visibly weakened after being yelled at.
"It's not like I..."
"Hey, you two, that's enough," Franky said, eyeing the giant children approaching them. "The priority is dealing with this problem."
Otherwise, they might very well be killed by these children with terrifying strength.
"That's true, but I can't bring myself to do it," Nico Robin said with a troubled expression.
If their opponents were the centaurs from earlier, she would have no qualms about taking them down.
But... now they were facing a group of innocent children.
This...
"Then I can do it," Merry said, floating into the air after dodging an attack. "I'm a child too, so it's not against the rules for me to fight them."
She remembered clearly how they had attacked Nami and Perona earlier, so... she couldn't let these guys keep causing trouble!
With that thought, Merry raised her arm, clearly unwilling to let these guys harm her friends.
"No, Merry," Chopper shouted. "They're already pitiful enough, you..."
"Then what should we do?!"
After sidestepping another attack, Merry said, "We can't just stand by and watch them attack us without doing anything, can we?"
Although she also felt sorry for these guys, but... this wasn't a reason for them to hurt her companions. At least in her view, her own companions came first.
"Then I guess it's up to me," Usopp said as he walked over.
Since Meiser, who possessed the Sharingan, wasn't here right now, it fell to him to calm these children down!
With that thought, Usopp took out his slingshot.
"Hey, Usopp!"
Seeing this, Nami immediately shouted anxiously, "Don't hurt them."
"Idiot, of course I know that!" Usopp yelled back. "That's why I'm going to put them to sleep first!"
"Special Attack: Sleep Bomb Star!"
"Whoosh~"
"Whoosh~"
"Whoosh~"
Several plant seeds flew out and then exploded near the children.
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!"
The next moment, a large amount of pollen that could quickly induce sleep appeared around the children, successfully knocking out these rampaging kids.
"Phew~"
"Phew~"
"Phew~"
Looking at the soundly sleeping children, a smile immediately appeared on Usopp's face as he said, "Finally got it done~"
"You really have a way, Usopp!"
"Of course, just look at who I am!"
"Hahahaha~"