"Is the Samurai nearby?" Sanji said, staring around.
"Yes, the presence I sensed is right here," Meiser nodded.
It's just that the other party's presence felt somewhat strange.
"This is the place where I encountered that guy before," Brook said, looking around. "Why can't I see any trace of him?"
Could it be that the guy has already run out?
But that doesn't make sense; Meiser sensed his presence right here.
"Maybe he's behind some rock."
After saying this, Sanji walked forward and shouted, "Hey, Samurai, where are you? We've come to find you!"
"No need to shout."
Meiser glanced at the large boulder ahead and said, "I've already sensed his location."
With that, Meiser quickly ran toward the target area and soon arrived beside Kin'emon.
At this moment, this guy was already covered in ice and snow.
"You mean..."
Sanji, staring at the unidentified object on the ground, twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "This is that Samurai?"
"Yes, the presence is correct," Meiser said, also twitching the corner of his mouth.
This guy is indeed a bit too pitiful.
From their perspective, Kin'emon was completely covered in ice and snow, his shape quite bizarre.
"Since it's confirmed, that makes things easier."
Sanji nodded, then kicked Kin'emon right on the head.
"Wake up!"
Crack~
With one strike, the ice and snow shattered!
"?!"
Watching Sanji act without hesitation, Brook was dumbfounded.
Was this definitely not revenge?
"So cold!"
Kin'emon, now free, couldn't stop shivering, his expression also somewhat contorted.
"Hmm, seems he won't die," Sanji nodded, calmly lighting a cigarette for himself.
"It's... it's you guys..."
"Why were you lying here?" Brook asked curiously. "Were you defeated by someone?"
"No..."
Kin'emon shivered as he spoke. "I was frozen inexplicably, almost died..."
He had just arrived here when he was frozen, having no idea what happened.
"Frozen inexplicably?"
Hearing Kin'emon's words, Sanji's eyes immediately grew alert.
"What's wrong?" Zoro asked.
"Could it be that guy Aokiji?" Sanji said, scanning the surroundings. "Someone who can freeze a person instantly... only he could do that, right?"
He clearly remembered how that guy had frozen Robin, so he suspected that person might be here.
"Why would he be here?"
"Why couldn't he be here?" Sanji retorted. "Don't forget he's left the Marines!"
Aokiji, no longer a Marine Admiral, could appear anywhere, couldn't he?
After all... no one can stop him!
Zoro fell silent upon hearing this, momentarily uncertain as well.
Meiser, however, frowned. Could that guy who left the Marines really be on Punk Hazard?
But if Aokiji had acted, would Kin'emon have had a chance to wait for them to arrive?
He felt that probability wasn't very high.
However, just to be safe, Meiser used Observation Haki to sense the nearby situation.
A moment later, Meiser opened his eyes and said, "I didn't sense Aokiji's presence."
"Maybe he's already left," Sanji speculated.
"It might not have been him either."
Meiser glanced around at the surroundings and said, "It's possible this guy was so frozen that he lost his ability to perceive, which is why he didn't notice his body being covered in snow and ice."
Sanji was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded thoughtfully.
Upon careful consideration, that possibility couldn't be ruled out.
Then, he looked at Kin'emon with a disdainful expression and said, "You actually sneaked away... Do you have any idea you almost froze to death?!"
"N... not at all!" Kin'emon, trembling, said, "I don't feel cold at all!"
"A Samurai does not feel the cold!"
After saying this, Kin'emon sneezed, and his body trembled even more violently.
Sanji:
Still stubborn even when frozen like this.
Is your mouth the only thing that's still tough?
"What a troublesome guy," Zoro scratched his head and said, "I'm starting to regret coming out together."
He had originally wondered if he could test this guy's skills, but then this happened.
It completely killed his interest.
"Yohohohoho~"
"But it's also quite interesting, isn't it?"
Zoro felt speechless upon hearing this. Where was the fun in any of this?
"Why don't you just create some clothes?" Sanji complained in exasperation. "Aren't you an Ability User who can conjure clothes?!"
"That's true, but... but the situation is a bit special right now."
"Special?"
Sanji was taken aback, then asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
What does it mean that the situation is special?
Could it be that it's too cold here, so he can't use that ability?
But that doesn't make sense. He could use it earlier at the back door of the laboratory, so there's no reason he couldn't use it here.
"After I obtained that Sorcery, I also gained a weakness," Kin'emon stammered. "Isn't that just being a Landlubber?" Sanji retorted. "That's common knowledge."
"Common knowledge?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Kin'emon's eyes. Is this common knowledge?
"It is indeed common knowledge," Brook nodded, then asked in confusion, "But what does that have to do with you being unable to use your ability?"
Meiser gave Brook a speechless look upon hearing this. What had this guy been listening to earlier?
"It goes without saying," Meiser said. "It must be because this guy's upper body fell into seawater."
That's probably also why he suddenly froze solid here.
Upon hearing this, Kin'emon immediately nodded and said, "My... my upper body does feel like it fell into water."
"I see."
Sanji showed an expression of sudden realization and said, "No wonder you were frozen here. So it was because of the seawater."
That makes sense.
When an Ability User's body comes into contact with seawater, they do lose their strength.
"Seawater, huh..." Zoro stroked his chin and said, "In that case, this guy's body must have fallen into that lake we passed earlier."
That vast lake located between Ice Island and Fire Island.
"Yes."
Brook nodded and said, "This guy did indeed fall off the cliff near that area, so he must have fallen in there."
"But that's not a lake, it's the sea~"
What renders Ability Users powerless is seawater, so it couldn't possibly be a freshwater lake.
Zoro also realized this, and his expression immediately turned grave.
"In that case, there should be sharks in there," Zoro said.
"We need to hurry."
Meiser also glanced toward the sea and said, "There might be other strange things in that water."
"Strange things?"
The others were taken aback. What did he mean?
"Have you forgotten what we encountered before?" Meiser glanced at his companions and said, "With that evil scientist around, anything is possible!"
Hearing Meiser's words, the others' expressions immediately darkened.
Yes, this island was far too unusual.
Centaurs, bird-people, dragons...
If these things had appeared, could there be even more terrifying creatures in the water?
That was a real concern.
Thinking this, Sanji said without hesitation, "Let's go, we need to hurry."
"P-please..." Kin'emon stammered, "I truly cannot handle the body in the lake myself, so I must trouble you to... help me..."
"Alright, alright, I get it, you useless Landlubber Samurai," Sanji said.
After speaking, Sanji exhaled a long puff of smoke, wondering whether he should hang this guy up and beat him again later.
Kin'emon fell silent for a moment, sensing that these pirates seemed genuinely different.
"E-everyone..." Kin'emon raised his head and said, "Why are you going to such lengths for someone you've never met?"
He knew full well what venturing into the sea in this weather meant.
"I told you it's my principle, didn't I?" Sanji glanced at Kin'emon and said, "So I'll definitely do what I said I would."
"But in return... once your body is put back together, we'll duel!"
"Just wait until I beat the crap out of you, you bastard!"
Hearing Sanji's words, Kin'emon was stunned.
In that moment, he fully felt Sanji's goodwill.
This person... truly wanted to help him!
After a brief silence, Kin'emon lowered his head and said, "I... am deeply grateful."
"Heh, interesting," Sanji said, casually picking Kin'emon up. "You've even learned to say thank you."
"Looks like freezing your ass off wasn't for nothing this time."
Kin'emon's expression turned somewhat awkward at the remark. Who would have thought this group of pirates was so unusual?
If he had known earlier what kind of people they were, he wouldn't have been so stubborn.
Noticing Kin'emon's reaction, Sanji smiled. So this guy knew how to feel embarrassed too.
Thinking this, Sanji was about to tease Kin'emon.
But before he could speak, Brook from ahead said, "Hey, something seems off up front."
"Huh?"
Sanji was taken aback and asked, "What's off?"
"Look, a lot of people are running toward us from up ahead." Brook pointed forward and said, "They're the centaurs we defeated earlier."
"They're all Brownbeard's subordinates."
"Centaurs..."
Sanji frowned as he watched the group. Could these guys be here to get revenge for Brownbeard?
What a pain...
"Hey, run for it!" a sheep centaur cried out in terror.
"Dammit, where was that terrifying creature hiding before?" a lion centaur said with a grim expression. "Why didn't we notice it earlier?"
"How should I know?!"
"Never mind, let's just run first—get away from the monster!"
"Right!"
"Monster?"
Zoro, who had been listening to them, frowned. "What do you mean 'monster'? Aren't you guys the monsters?"
After all, these unusual centaurs would be seen as monsters by anyone else.
"?!"
"Wait!"
The centaurs noticed Zoro and the others and immediately stopped in their tracks, their faces turning pale with fear. "They're the pirates who beat us up earlier!"
"Damn you bastards!"
If it weren't for these pirates, they wouldn't have been lying around here for so long!
Thinking of this, they were about to attack Zoro and the others.
"Stop, all of you!" one centaur shouted. "Now isn't the time to fight them. Our priority is to get to the research facility!"
After all, something incredibly terrifying was chasing them from behind—they had to run!
The other centaurs, understanding what he meant, calmed down and then skirted around Zoro's group, fleeing into the distance without looking back.
Watching their reaction, Sanji frowned and said, "What exactly do they mean by that?"
"I don't know."
Brook shook his head; he couldn't figure it out either.
"If I remember correctly..." Zoro stroked his chin and said, "The direction they came from is the lake we passed earlier, right?"
Meiser, staring at the strange shadow in the distance, replied, "Yes, you're not mistaken."
"Then, when we came through, was there a mountain there?"
"No, there wasn't."
"So what the hell is that thing?" Zoro exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, what is that?!"
Brook was also staring in shock at the opposite shore, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.
"Is that the 'monster' those people were talking about earlier?" Sanji frowned.
Although he didn't know what it was, he instinctively felt that something was off about it.
Thinking this, Sanji turned to Meiser and asked, "Did you get a clear look at what that is?"
Meiser, observing with his Sharingan activated, frowned and said, "I don't know what that thing is, but... I can confirm it's a blob."
His Sharingan clearly showed the monster's condition—it was indeed a blob!
After all... it was squirming!
Yes, squirming!
It looked like a giant slime squirming around.
"Wait... a slime?"
As if he had thought of something, several question marks popped up in Meiser's mind.
Should such a creature even exist in this world?
Or... is it some kind of strange Ability User?
"You're saying that mountain is a living creature?" Zoro exclaimed in shock. "This is even bigger than the Giant Dragon we encountered before!"
Could it also be some kind of creature created by those scientists?
What the hell is that thing anyway?
"It's definitely bigger than that Giant Dragon," Meiser said with a furrowed brow. "But the most important thing is... its color looks a bit off."
"What do you mean?"
"Its color is just too vibrant," Meiser explained. "I suspect that thing might be poisonous."
Though he didn't know exactly what it was, his intuition told him this was a toxic creature. "Poisonous?"
Brook stared blankly. "You mean... that thing as huge as a mountain is poisonous?!"
No way, you've got to be kidding me!
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