"You two bastards!" Perona, firmly bound by Seastone Chains, glared at the Yeti Brothers with an annoyed expression. "Why did you capture me?"
"Could it be that you're taken by this lady's beauty?"
"Hahahahaha~"
"It seems this lady still has quite the charm~"
But her laughter abruptly stopped as she remembered she wasn't in her own body right now.
Which meant... these guys were planning to do something with Nami?
At this thought, Perona's eyes turned dangerous.
"You think we'd be interested in ordinary people like you?" Scotch sneered. "Don't be so full of yourself."
Even if they were looking for someone, it would be someone from the Giant Race, similar in size to them. Why would they go after humans?
The sizes don't even match.
"Then why did you capture me?"
"Of course, because our master is interested in your body," Scotch said. "Logia-type Ability Users aren't common."
Hearing this, Perona immediately understood their intentions.
They planned to use Nami's Logia-type body for experiments!
That won't do!
Nami is her good friend, and she doesn't want her body to be used for experiments.
Thinking this, Perona was about to say something.
But before she could speak, she heard Scotch say, "Big brother, do you think those guys will come after us?"
"As long as they care about their comrades, they'll definitely come," Rock said calmly.
Of course, if these pirates weren't the type to care about their comrades, they could use other methods.
"I see."
Perona, having listened to their conversation, frowned and said, "So you plan to use me as bait to lure the others here?"
Now she understood—she had become bait all along?!
"Exactly."
Scotch raised his head proudly. "As long as they dare to come, we'll definitely kill them!"
"Kakakaka~"
Watching Scotch laugh maniacally, a hint of mockery flashed in Perona's eyes.
"Hmph, you're underestimating them."
Thinking they can kill Luffy and the others with such a method?
What a joke!
What do these guys think the Straw Hat Pirates are?
"You're the one overestimating yourselves," Scotch mocked.
They're just a bunch of rookies who've just entered the New World. Do they really think they can take on the Yeti Brothers?
What a joke!
"I admit that Straw Hat Boy is somewhat troublesome, but only somewhat," Rock said calmly. "Once he gets here, I have plenty of ways to deal with him."
A bounty of 500 million Berries might sound intimidating, but in the end, he's just a rookie who's entered the New World, so he's still easy to handle.
This time, Perona only sneered coldly and said nothing more.
"By the way... isn't the weather a bit too cold today?" Scotch remarked.
"It really is cold."
Rock nodded, shivering at the same time.
Perona: ??
Seeing the two of them wearing only shorts, Perona immediately had several question marks floating above her head.
Wait, you actually feel cold?
Then, she said helplessly, "Then why aren't you wearing winter clothes?"
"The fur on our bodies is already thick enough, so naturally we don't need winter clothes," Rock glanced at Perona and said.
Did they really think their title of Snowman was for nothing?
In this kind of weather, there's no need for winter clothes at all!
Perona: ..
Then why did you say you were cold?
Just at that moment, a loud rumbling sound suddenly came from the distance, sounding as if something heavy had crashed to the ground.
"Heh, it seems the person you mentioned has arrived," Rock sneered.
Hearing this, Perona curled her lips and said, "You'll regret it soon."
"Regret what?"
"Regret not taking me away immediately."
"Don't worry, we won't," Scotch scoffed.
Did they really think the Straw Hat Crew could deal with the Yeti Brothers?
Don't be ridiculous!
After sneering, the two brothers immediately darted toward a nearby cave entrance, clearly intending to hide.
"Get ready to move, Scotch!"
"Yes, Brother Rock!"
"Hey, Franky, you've had enough!" Luffy, who was being chased, shouted without looking back, "Stop hitting us!"
But unfortunately, Franky had already fallen into a frenzied state and couldn't hear what Luffy was saying at all.
"Growl!"
"Thud!"
"This is really a headache."
Merry, who had dodged the attack, looked at Franky with a headache and said, "Luffy, how do we deal with Franky's condition?"
Attack him?
I can't bring myself to do it..
"Luffy?"
When she didn't get a response, Merry turned back to look at Luffy in confusion, only to find that he was staring straight ahead.
Following his gaze, Merry spotted some huge footprints!
"Could these footprints be..."
"These should be the footprints of the two people who kidnapped Perona," Luffy said, staring at the enormous footprints. "Let's go, we need to rescue her first!"
With that, Luffy quickly dashed forward, simultaneously dodging another attack from Franky behind him.
Seeing this, although Merry felt somewhat helpless, she didn't say anything more and obediently flew after him.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the edge of a cliff.
"This is actually a cliff..."
Merry, staring down at the cliff below, exclaimed in surprise, "Could this be a trap?"
"Maybe it is."
Luffy nodded first, then spotted Perona halfway down the cliff.
"Hey, Perona!"
"Luffy, Merry!"
Hearing this, Perona showed a delighted expression and said, "You came to rescue me!"
Great, with these two here, I'm definitely going to be saved!
"Haha, that's right, we came to rescue you," Luffy grinned, showing his teeth. "Not just me, Franky is here too."
"Franky?"
Perona was stunned for a moment, then showed a puzzled expression. Why hadn't she seen him then?
Thinking of this, Perona was about to ask, but before she could open her mouth, she noticed an enormous figure darting out from behind Luffy and Merry.
"Growl!"
Then, this figure lunged toward Luffy and the others.
Perona: !!
"Joe... No... Franky?!"
Looking at Franky, who had grown enormous and was still rolling his eyes, Perona was utterly stunned.
What on earth was going on?
The next moment...
"Bam!"
Luffy and the other, struck by Franky's massive body, plummeted rapidly toward the ground below.
And on that ground... lay numerous sharp ice spikes!
"Though I don't know what's going on with this monster, you can all be impaled together by these ice spikes," Scotch sneered.
The scale of those ice spikes below was more than enough to finish off all of them!
A smile also appeared on Rock's face, clearly sharing the same thought as Scotch.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he said, "Scotch, let's head down and finish them off."
"Right!"
Hearing his brother's words, Scotch nodded and quickly followed him away from the spot, clearly unwilling to give the enemy any chance to catch their breath.
Hearing their conversation, Perona immediately shouted, "Luffy, Merry, Franky, they're coming down for you, be careful!"
"Got it!"
Merry responded to Perona's warning and then intended to use the power of wind to lift the two, preventing them from being struck by the ice spikes below.
"Wind..."
"Wait, Merry," Luffy said, staring intently at the ground below. "Leave these ice spikes to me."
"Why?"
A flicker of confusion appeared in Merry's eyes. Why insist on shattering the ice spikes below?
"If Perona falls, these things could hurt her," Luffy explained. "Besides, fighting on the ground is to our advantage."
Though Merry could keep them flying in the air, it wasn't his own ability after all, and it would be inconvenient during a fight. So, better to head to the ground.
Then, Luffy coated his arm with Armament Haki and launched an attack toward the ground.
"Armament Haki: Hardening!"
"Rubber... Gatling!"
"Rat-a-tat-tat~"
A barrage of fist shadows flew out, forcefully shattering the ice spike trap below!
"I see."
Looking at Luffy and the other two landing steadily, Rock raised his weapon and said, "It seems ordinary methods won't work."
Well, the opponent was, after all, a pirate with a bounty of 500 million Berries, so it was only natural they'd be tough to kill.
"Then let's blast them away with guns!" Scotch declared, raising the Flintlock in his hand that resembled a cannon.
The Flintlocks they wielded were like cannons to ordinary people, so... they could definitely take down the enemy!
Thinking this, Scotch pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Whoosh~"
"Boom!!"
"Huh?"
Watching the cannonball land beside Luffy, Scotch's eyes clearly flashed with surprise.
What happened? Did he miss?
"So it's you."
Luffy stared intently at them and said, "The ones who kidnapped Perona."
"What do you mean kidnapped?"
Perona, from above, shouted upon hearing this, "I'm not an idiot; how could I be kidnapped?"
"I was captured!"
Luffy: ??
Luffy looked at Perona with a face full of question marks. Wasn't that the same thing?
"Daring to space out while fighting us."
In the blink of an eye, Scotch appeared behind Luffy, raised his weapon, and pulled the trigger.
"Die!"
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
"Huh?"
"Missed again?" Scotch frowned at Luffy. "What's going on?"
The first time was one thing, but how could it happen a second time?
"Playing with weapons like that in front of me is pointless," Merry said, raising her small hand with a smirk. "The wind isn't on your side."
"Wind..."
As if realizing something, Rock, who had approached near Scotch, said, "I see. You're a Devil Fruit Ability User, aren't you?"
Is it some kind of wind-manipulating ability?
If that's the case, then relying on guns might not be very effective.
"I'm not an Ability User," Merry replied.
"Hah, trying to fool me..."
Rock clearly didn't believe Merry. After all... if she wasn't an Ability User, how could she manipulate the wind?
So he didn't trust Merry's words at all, assuming she was just throwing out a smoke bomb.
Merry didn't bother explaining further.
She had told the truth. Whether they believed it or not was up to them, right?
"I admit, your ability does counter us quite well, but..." Scotch smirked. "If you can't detect us, how are you going to block our attacks?"
"Can't detect?"
Merry was taken aback. What did that mean?
But before she could ask, she noticed Rock had disappeared.
It was as if... he had never existed in this world at all!
"What's going on?!" Merry exclaimed in disbelief.
"This snowy mountain is our backyard," Rock said with a smirk. "For us snowmen, there are hiding spots everywhere here!"
"So... there's no way you can defeat us!"
With those words, Rock also vanished from sight.
Merry looked around frantically and said, "Damn it, I can't see them with my eyes."
"It looks like we'll have to use Observation Haki to track their positions," Luffy said.
"Observation Haki?"
Merry was stunned. "I don't know how to use that."
She hadn't mastered any form of Haki yet.
"Don't worry, leave it to me," Luffy reassured her.
After saying that, Luffy closed his eyes, clearly searching for the two enemies' locations.
Merry frowned, clearly frustrated.
"Over there!" Luffy suddenly turned and pointed toward a cave.
Hearing Luffy's words, Merry quickly turned around and spotted Rock, who was aiming his gun at them.
Without a word, Rock immediately pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
After firing several shots in succession, Rock retreated, clearly intending to give Luffy and Merry a chance to counterattack.
But Merry had no intention of letting him escape so easily.
"You think you can just run away like that?!" Merry shouted.
As she spoke, a fierce gust of wind appeared around Rock, slamming him forcefully against the wall.
Feeling the force of the wind, Rock's expression immediately changed.
"What...?!"
What kind of power is this?
"Taste your own weapons!" Merry yelled.
With that, Merry used her ability to lift the unfired bullets from earlier and sent them flying straight toward Rock.
Rock:!!
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!"
"BOOM!!"
Rock, struck by the cannonball, immediately let out a piercing scream.
"Ah!!"
"Rock!"
"Nice shot, Merry!" Luffy shouted with a laugh.
After taking that hit, that guy must be having a rough time!
"Hehe, not bad," Merry replied with a somewhat embarrassed smile, then said, "Luffy, we—"
Before she could finish, the familiar roar of Franky echoed from behind.
"Grrr!!"
"Huh?!"
Turning to look at Franky, who had stood up again, Merry was dumbfounded. "Again?"
Wasn't he just calm a moment ago? Why is he rampaging again?!
Is this never going to end?!
"Grrr!!"
"Thud!"
Perona: !!
Watching Franky chase after Luffy and the others, Perona was completely stunned.
"Hey, why are you fighting?"
"Franky's gone berserk!" Luffy yelled.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Perona was instantly filled with confusion.
Berserk?
So... not only is Franky unable to be an effective fighter right now, but he's also attacking his own allies?
But... what exactly is Franky here for?
Watching Franky grow more ferocious with each passing moment, Perona was utterly speechless.
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