"D-Duke Inuarashi!?"
Cold frost blanketed the battlefield like a dense fog.
As the white curtain of mist slowly dispersed, the Minks at the perimeter saw Chopper sheathing his blade—and Duke Inuarashi, frozen solid in lifelike detail.
In an instant, the members of the Musketeers cried out in alarm and rushed toward Duke Inuarashi, trying to protect him.
But just then, Chopper, the one who had caused all of this, suddenly spoke up with a warning:
"I'd advise you not to make any sudden moves!"
"His body has been frozen by absolute zero. Other than losing his vital signs, he hasn't suffered any real damage."
"If you accidentally shatter his body now, that would become permanent damage."
"Th-this..."
Under Chopper's stern warning, the Musketeers who had been charging forward gradually came to a stop, glaring at the Straw Hat crew with both anger and fear.
At that moment, little Chopper, now back in his normal form, suddenly pulled out a bottle of Super Potion from the backpack behind him and tossed it directly into Sicilian's hands.
"This is a medicine that restores injuries. Once the icy aura around him has completely dissipated, make sure he drinks it right away. He'll be perfectly fine."
After saying that, Chopper stopped paying attention to the Musketeers, because the Straw Hats who had originally been standing behind him had already stepped up to his side.
"How was it, Chopper?"
"Did the new form feel easy enough to use?"
Red stepped forward through the crowd, patted Chopper on the hat, and asked with a smile.
Little Chopper hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah... just like you said, Red."
"After entering Pokémon-ization, the Pokémon energy that could previously only be adjusted through moves... as long as it's an Ice-type move I've used before, I can now freely reproduce it."
"However..."
At this point, Chopper suddenly paused.
"What is it?" Red hurriedly asked.
Chopper answered while thinking it through:
"It's nothing much. It's just that I feel like I'm getting better and better at using Ice-type energy, and because of that, my application of Grass-type abilities is getting a little rusty."
"At this rate, I don't know when I'll ever achieve complete Pokémon-ization."
Chopper might have seemed to deal with Duke Inuarashi quite easily, but in truth, that was entirely due to the overwhelming advantage of his methods.
If it weren't for the amplification from all sorts of Pokémon moves—
"I was wondering what it was. So that's what you're hung up on~"
Red grinned when he heard that, then lightly patted Chopper on the head again.
"Don't waste your energy thinking about meaningless things. You're not like Zoro or Sanji, limited to just one way of fighting."
"Don't forget—your Devil Fruit ability is the pure Human-Human Fruit!"
"And humans are best at one thing: using tools!"
"For you, whether it's swordsmanship, combat techniques, or Pokémon-ization, they're all just tools in your hands!"
"As long as it makes you stronger, everything else is just fluff~"
"Got it?"
Red lowered his head and spoke seriously to little Chopper.
If it were any of the other crewmates, he naturally wouldn't be encouraging them to put their Pokémon abilities on hold.
But if it was Chopper...
In Red's eyes, Chopper's greatest potential still lay in that miraculous Human-Human Fruit.
After a period of investigation and discussions with Vegapunk and the others, Red's group had reached an astonishing conclusion...
That Chopper's Human-Human Fruit was very likely even more broken than Red had originally imagined.
At first, Red had only thought Chopper's Human-Human Fruit granted him comprehensive talent in all matters related to humans.
But after studying under Vegapunk for a while, even the man with the greatest brain, Vegapunk, said that Chopper's talent for learning science and technology had been steadily increasing.
As a giant in the scientific world, Vegapunk could naturally tell that this was not just an effect brought about by Chopper's knowledge reaching a certain level.
So after informing Red of this conclusion, the two of them spent several days researching Chopper's Devil Fruit ability.
In the end, they discovered that as Chopper's strength increased, not only would the Human-Human Fruit grant him more flexible control and more forms, it would also continuously enhance his talents across all aspects.
Although these improvements were not particularly obvious—perhaps only enough to raise Chopper from elite among humans to the level of a minor prodigy...
One had to remember that this talent enhancement was all-encompassing.
And Chopper's current foundation still wasn't that high. Even his Pokémon level still had plenty of room to grow.
How monstrously powerful little Chopper might become in the future... no one could possibly know.
This was also the main reason Red had been focusing so much on cultivating Chopper lately.
"Mm, I understand!" little Chopper nodded vigorously.
Seeing this, Red nodded in satisfaction. Then his gaze shifted toward the Musketeers in the distance, who were still standing there in a daze.
"Alright, the fight's over. Time to get down to business!"
Red strode forward and walked straight up to the Musketeers. His dark, profound eyes suddenly flashed with a strange beam of light, instantly hypnotizing the captain before him.
"Take us to the Whale Forest—to the place with the Poneglyph!"
"Yes!"
With his mind under control, Sicilian answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Captain!!!"
"Sicilian!!!"
Seeing this, the Musketeers immediately shouted in alarm.
But no matter how they called out to him, Sicilian acted as if he could not hear them at all and obediently led the Straw Hats toward the Whale Forest.
For a moment, all the Minks present turned their attention toward the Musketeers.
Perhaps because they had lived in close-knit communities for centuries, isolated from the outside world, the Mink Tribe's unity far surpassed that of any race beyond Zou.
For the sake of righteousness in their hearts, they could even sacrifice everything.
At this moment, if the Musketeers gave the order, these ordinary residents would pick up weapons without hesitation and stand in the Straw Hats' way.
However...
Looking at Sicilian, who had been effortlessly controlled, and Duke Inuarashi, who had been defeated by a single, seemingly unknown member of the enemy crew—
Stop them!?
With what!?
With the lives of the entire Mink Tribe?!
If they could have stopped them, the Musketeers would never have hesitated to attack immediately.
But from the look of things now, their sacrifice would mean absolutely nothing!
Fortunately...
Just as the entire Musketeer force was sinking into despair, a lazy voice suddenly rang out from the edge of the plaza.
"Everyone of the Straw Hat Pirates, since you keep insisting that you've already formed an alliance with Wano Country..."
"Then why won't you allow us to go to Wano and verify it ourselves!?"
"As long as everything proves true, then as allies of Wano Country, we would also be more than willing to become a great source of support for you!"
Tap!
A group of Minks in handsome Guardian cloaks suddenly stepped forward and blocked the Straw Hats' path.
And standing at the front was none other than a feline Mink with a long pipe in his mouth.
This man was the other king who ruled the Mokomo Dukedom alongside Duke Inuarashi—
Boss Nekomamushi.
However...
"Franky, deal with them. Don't waste too much time."
Looking at the Guardians and Nekomamushi who had suddenly stepped in front of them, Red's expression remained cold and calm. Without the slightest emotional fluctuation, he simply spoke softly to Franky beside him.
"Got it."
Franky grinned.
The next moment, he stepped in front of the Straw Hats, and under the puzzled gazes of the Guardians, his body suddenly began to transform.
Kikukukaka...
A metallic twisting sound rang out as two metal wings, glowing faintly like beams of light, rose from Franky's back.
In the next second, countless tiny hatch-like doors suddenly appeared across those wings.
"Franky... Flying Leg Missiles · Swarm!"
As Franky muttered, a faint stream of data flashed through his eyes.
In an instant, thousands of projectiles burst out from the tiny doors in those metallic wings.
All of these missiles had been created by Franky using the Fusion-Fusion Fruit over this period of time.
Since he had inherited Usopp's Storage-Storage Fruit, he had naturally also mastered Usopp's infinite-firepower combat style.
And compared to Usopp's flesh-and-blood body, Franky—equipped with an intelligent brain—could simultaneously control massive firepower and intelligent explosive weaponry...
Compared to Usopp's previous skirmishes, the endless barrage Franky unleashed now was true infinite firepower.
Boomboomboomboom...!
The particles, tiny as dust when they first left Franky's body, instantly expanded into missiles the size of heads after traveling a short distance.
Propelled by blazing jets of flame, these devastating missiles rained down over the Guardians like a carpet bombardment.
In an instant, terrifying explosions and firelight swallowed the entire perimeter of the plaza, while smoke and black haze filled the heavens and earth.
Even Zunesha's colossal body seemed unable to endure the baptism of such horrifying artillery, trembling slightly.
At this moment, although Franky's targets were only the Guardians and Boss Nekomamushi, the entire square of Mokomo Dukedom was caught in the blast. The ground cracked, and buildings collapsed.
Wh-what kind of monster is that!?
"Boss Nekomamushi!?"
Seeing this, countless Minks widened their eyes in disbelief.
Watching Franky force a mushroom cloud to rise over Zou Island using nothing but small missiles, the Minks truly understood for the first time...
Just how terrifying the outside world really was!
And just then...
"You damn bastard!!!"
A furious roar suddenly rang out from the pitch-black smoke screen.
A huge black beast shot out from the rolling haze, charging toward Franky at astonishing speed.
It was Boss Nekomamushi, who had only sustained minor injuries under the artillery bombardment.
He had originally intended to negotiate properly with the Straw Hat Pirates on the basis of having once been a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. But when he saw Franky unleash overwhelming bombardment without a word and blast the entire Guardian force into unconsciousness with severe injuries, he could no longer care about anything else and charged at Franky in fury.
"Oden One Sword Style · Cat Laugh Collision!!!"
Wielding his enormous claws, Nekomamushi unleashed an attack from the same lineage as Inuarashi's techniques, bringing down terrifying force upon Franky's body.
However...
Clang!!!
An incredibly sharp metallic clash instantly rang across the battlefield.
Everyone saw that Nekomamushi's claws, sharp enough to tear through anything, had been blocked firmly by one of Franky's arms.
Though under the immense force, Franky was driven back several steps, and his heavy body even plowed two deep trenches into the ground with his feet—
Even so...
No wounds! No blood!
In fact...
Not even a white scratch was left on the surface of his skin!
"H-how is this possible?!"
Seeing that his full-force strike had failed to leave even the slightest mark on Franky, Nekomamushi's mentality instantly cracked!
When he first heard that the Straw Hat Pirates had arrived on Zou, he hadn't been afraid.
Because he had once seen a much broader world, and had even nearly followed the Roger Pirates to witness the final island.
When he heard that Duke Inuarashi had been falling behind in battle, he hadn't been afraid.
Because he had never liked that mangy dog to begin with, and after all these years he had never seen him seriously hone his martial skills. Being defeated was only natural.
When he saw Franky suddenly summon countless missiles, he still hadn't been afraid.
Because while that artillery might be a serious threat to the Guardians, to him it was nothing too extraordinary.
But...
When he saw that his own full-force strike couldn't leave even a trace on Franky's body...
He was afraid.
It wasn't because Franky was too overwhelmingly powerful!
It was because he knew all too well that Franky's standing within the Straw Hat crew was nothing special at all. In terms of combat power, he likely wasn't even in the top five!
Yet even a seemingly insignificant member like this possessed such strength.
Then just how terrifying was the Straw Hat Pirates' overall power!?
Nekomamushi didn't dare think further.
In an instant, he swung both claws in a frenzy, as if using Fury Swipes, unleashing a storm of attacks upon Franky.
At last, through relentless effort, a slight change finally appeared on the surface of Franky's body.
Tiny streaks of blood seeped out from his skin.
Only, those injuries didn't look battle-related in the slightest.
Rather, they looked more like the kind of scratches someone might get after accidentally being smacked around by an angry girlfriend during an argument.
In fact, if Nekomamushi hadn't followed up fast enough, those wounds would already have healed on their own.
Boom!!!
With one final powerful claw strike, Nekomamushi blasted Franky backward nearly ten meters.
"Huff... Huff...!"
After that round of attacks, Nekomamushi panted heavily.
Yet when he looked up, he saw Franky casually dropping his defensive stance and speaking to him with dissatisfaction:
"Is that all you've got!?"
"You bastard!"
Nekomamushi once again surged with Armament Haki, coating his claws.
But at that moment, Franky on the opposite side merely smiled lightly.
"In that case, my turn starts now!"
"Fusion! Transform!!!"
Whoosh—
Franky suddenly brought both arms together and struck a bizarre pose toward the sky.
Then a strange wave of Devil Fruit energy burst from his body and surged down toward the ground beneath his feet.
Only then did Nekomamushi notice...
That in the brief instant of their exchange, a vast number of metal cubes had somehow appeared across the ground!
They stretched all the way from where Franky had originally been standing to directly beneath Nekomamushi's feet.
These were the metal blocks Franky had released while being attacked, using the Storage-Storage Fruit's power.
And now, Franky had already switched his power into the Fusion-Fusion Fruit.
Under the power of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit, those metal cubes, along with the wreckage of the earlier missiles, instantly flowed toward Franky like liquid.
Franky's body rapidly expanded as those resources piled onto him.
In the blink of an eye, a steel giant over ten meters tall appeared before Nekomamushi.
Transformed into a humanoid Gundam, Franky pulled a fourteen-meter-long greatblade from his back and slashed it down in an instant.
The fierce wind from the blade swept across Nekomamushi's body like a cutting edge.
"Come on!"
"Now it's your turn to take one of my attacks!!!"