48: Chapter 48 Kung Fu Manatee, Heading to the Rainy LandInside the training space, Luffy starved to death, looking at Miss.3 and Goldenweek, who had fainted from hunger, and fell into deep thought.Ever since he had designated an area and locked them up there, he had completely forgotten about them.Although everyone could see this area every time they came in, they would only glance at it before continuing their training.At first, the two of them could eat Goldenweek's biscuits to tide them over, but after the biscuits ran out, they were almost starving.If Miss.3 hadn't desperately stopped them, that unlucky Goldenweek would have already tried to bite into the candle bed he had made.Everyone knew that although they wouldn't die in the training space, the sensations were real.The two of them were lying on the ground, delirious from extreme hunger and thirst, as if they saw their respective grandmothers coming to pick them up.Luffy touched his nose awkwardly and decided to release them after the training was over.
"Water Breathing.First Form: Water Surface Slash"
Kuina's twin swords, enveloped in a current of water, slashed swiftly towards Zoro.Zoro remained calm, deflecting the attack and countering with his own Flame Breathing First Form.Although Luffy had said that while there were many enemies, the Straw Hat crew was currently only at the level of small fry, the two dared not let their guard down.If a stronger enemy appeared, they needed at least the ability to stall for time.Thinking this, they fought even harder, their swords flashing and sparks flying."Form Change!Angel of Light!Angelic Light!"
Chopper's Angel of Light form is similar to the angels in the movies, with six pairs of wings and a halo above his deer head.However, because he's a deer, Luffy finds it quite incongruous.Nevertheless, his attack power is considerable.Luffy analyzes the situation while dodging Chopper's attacks.Chopper, undeterred, raises his claws and summons six beams of angelic light, all aimed at Luffy.Luffy then gathers ice and earth elements in his hands, creating the "Frozen Earth Shield."
A chilling earthen shield stood before Luffy.After a period of training, Luffy had successfully mastered the fusion of multiple elements.Apart from the still-recovering wood element, the shield created by fusing ice and earth was even harder than a single earthen shield.Chopper, seeing that his first attack had failed, tried to switch to a hit-and-run tactic, but Luffy, of course, wouldn't give him that chance with his "Gravity Enhancement."
Taking advantage of Chopper's pause to gather his attack, Luffy seized the opportunity.Chopper suddenly felt a powerful gravitational pull from the ground, dragging him down.Chopper struggled desperately but to no avail.Fortunately, Luffy stopped in time, preventing Chopper from getting hurt.Seeing Chopper lying on the ground, panting, back to normal, Luffy couldn't resist giving him a couple of pats.He also offered his opinions to Chopper.Uta and Nami's training methods were much simpler.Uta mainly focused on how to cover his attack with Armament Haki, while Nami focused on developing her Devil Fruit abilities.Luffy had considered exchanging a Stand called "Weather Forecast" for Nami in the system shop, but decided to wait until Nami was more proficient with her Devil Fruit.Luffy had also considered Zoro's idea; Zoro had told him that one strike would be enough to kill Murasame.He can use it without hesitation when facing enemies.However, if he were to win a duel with a swordsman using this sword, it would be an unfair victory.After the Alabasta expedition, Luffy will exchange a new sword for Zoro from his system space.At this moment, the clay dolls Luffy created earlier suddenly sent a message saying that unknown creatures had surrounded the Going Merry.Luffy received the notification and led his crew out to investigate.They saw a group of manatees with turtle shells staring at the Going Merry.Vivi recognized these creatures as Kung Fu Manatees.Then, a creature that seemed to be the leader came out and said to the crew of the Going Merry, "If you want to pass, defeat us.If we lose, you will have to leave all the food behind!" Chopper, who understands animal speech, acted as the translator.Luffy smiled, his fate uncertain, and said, "Groundfall!"
The moment these kung fu manatees took a step, they all fell into a pit.The lead manatee, seeing Luffy's lack of sportsmanship, became enraged and clenched its little fists to attack him.Luffy, just playing around, dodged the attacks.Seeing its attacks fail several times, the manatee bellowed at Luffy, even making a "Come here!" gesture.Luffy, seeing this, realized he was being controlled by this powerful technique.He raised his fist, took a step forward, and the manatee flew away.Luffy innocently claimed it wasn't his doing, but that the manatee forced him to do it.Vivi sighed helplessly, saying, "These guys want to fight anyone they see.If they lose, they want to become that person's apprentice.Luffy, you defeated them, so."
Before Vivi could finish speaking, the Kung Fu Dugongs, whom Luffy had defeated, stood in neat rows before him and bowed respectfully.Chopper, the translator, immediately began to translate: "You're strong!You defeated us!We want to become your students!" Luffy, intrigued, immediately pulled the dugongs into the training space and began teaching them the Six Powers of the Navy.After demonstrating and explaining the key points (Chopper translated), Vivi led everyone into the desert, heading towards Baroque Works' base, Rainfield.Luffy, emerging from the desert, scratched his head, feeling like he'd forgotten something again.Meanwhile, inside the training space, a group of manatees whispered amongst themselves, watching the imprisoned MISS.3 and Goldenweek.They concluded that their master must have a deeper meaning behind his actions, and then resumed their training.Luffy and his crew continued their journey to the Rainlands, intending to eliminate the Baroque Works executives first.Along the way, Vivi witnessed countless people fleeing their homes due to drought and war, which fueled her anxiety to stop the rebellion.She even offered to risk her life to see if the rebels would trust her, causing Luffy to immediately abandon the idea, declaring Vivi's thinking wrong.War always results in death, and this time the enemy is a whole bunch of warlords and their ilk.Then Vivi and Luffy get into a fight (Luffy barely fights back).In the end, it's basically the same old "If you want to gamble, we'll be with you; we're comrades" kind of encouraging talk.Vivi, tears streaming down her face, looks at the smiling boy she's pinning down, her cheeks flushed.She quickly gets up and helps Luffy up.Then, hand in hand, the group heads towards the Alabasta Kingdom, to the Baroque Works headquarters.Inside the Spider Cafe, all the chief commanders are gathered.They've just learned from Robin.As the Straw Hat crew, carrying Princess Vivi, neared Rain Country, everyone unanimously decided to set up a trap to ambush them.Before that, they sent Mr.2, who possessed the Imitation Fruit ability, to probe the Straw Hat crew and, incidentally, find out the whereabouts of the "traitor" Mr.3 and Goldenweek.Ever since the boss learned of their betrayal, he had been searching for them, but they seemed to have vanished into thin air.The vice-president said nothing, locking himself in his room to read.Crocodile, though angry, still needed Robin to translate the Poneglyphs, so he could only send his subordinates to gather information