The group finally realized sothing was wrong—Chopper had been silent for far too long, which was highly unusual.
"What's up with Chopper?" Luffy asked, puzzled. "Wasn't he treating those people in the infirmary earlier?"
"Not sure, but the fact that there's been no sound for this long is suspicious," Usopp said.
Who knew if soone had attacked Chopper?
"Chopper isn't weak," iser said calmly. "Besides, there was only a kid with him at the ti."
That kid might not even be a match for rry, let alone a threat to Chopper.
After all, when Chopper goes berserk, his destructive power is terrifying.
"Let's go check it out."
Zoro stopped his bickering with Sanji, grabbed his swords, and rushed out.
However, he quickly returned.
"Chopper's not in the infirmary."
"You actually found the infirmary that fast?" Sanji said in surprise.
"Bastard, what's that supposed to an?"
Seeing the two about to start fighting again, iser quickly intervened. "I think Chopper might have gone to their ship."
"You an..." Nico Robin seed to have realized sothing. "The captain of the Phoenix Pirates?"
"Yeah, him."
The spiky-haired man from earlier had ntioned their captain. Maybe Chopper had gone to treat that guy.
Chopper was so kind-hearted—if the kid had asked, he might have rushed over to help without hesitation.
"That idiot, he should've at least told us before doing sothing like this," Zoro muttered, frowning.
Being a doctor and saving lives was Chopper's principle, and Zoro respected that.
But when dealing with strangers, kindness needed to be exercised with caution—at the very least, he should have waited until they were present before fulfilling his duty as a doctor.
Otherwise, who knew what could happen?
"Let's go take a look," Luffy said, adjusting his hat.
If anyone dared to ss with his crew, he'd send them flying!
Just then, an explosion suddenly rang out, imdiately grabbing everyone's attention.
BOOM!!
"That sound—artillery fire?!" Usopp exclaid in horror. "Could those bounty hunters already be here?"
"Quick, let's check outside!"
The group hurried out of the cabin, only to find that the sky outside had darkened without them noticing.
Clearly, because of the snowfall, the sunlight had faded early.
"Look, what's that dark shadow in the distance?" Usopp suddenly said.
He pointed into the distance and pulled out his telescope, but due to the dim light, he couldn't make out anything clearly—only that the sails looked sowhat familiar.
The next mont, a glow illuminated the horizon, revealing one battleship after another, all flying the Navy's flag!
The sight made Usopp's face turn pale.
"N-Navy?!"
"That many Navy Battleships...?" Zoro said in disbelief, staring into the distance. "Are they all here to hunt us down?"
Within visible range, at least several dozen warships had surrounded them—were they planning to strangle them here?
"Does the Navy think a little too highly of us?"
Nami was dumbfounded. Even a Buster Call only involved ten warships, yet this ti they had sent several dozen at once?
"It's probably because iser defeated the Buster Call," Nico Robin speculated.
Back at Enies Lobby, the Navy had witnessed firsthand just how terrifying iser's naval combat abilities were.
So it was entirely possible they had dispatched enough warships in one go to encircle them.
"Hah, interesting." A thrilled expression crossed iser's face. "Another good fight, then.
What are these Navy guys thinking, trying to corner him at sea?
Even if they want to kill him, they should do it on land. At sea, no matter how many warships they send, it's pointless.
"Eh, can we fight now?!"
Little rry pulled out her tiny hamr, her face brimming with excitent.
Since coming back to life, she hadn't had the chance to fight alongside her crew yet.
"Even rry is..."
Usopp's expression twisted. Why was this little girl just like iser?
"Everyone, Marine Admiral Aokiji might show up," Zoro suddenly said.
The mont those words left his mouth, everyone's expressions stiffened, and iser frowned.
"That guy's coming too?"
The last ti he encountered Aokiji in the City of Seven Waters, the man's parting words had been peculiar—it didn't seem like he intended to keep pursuing them.
Had he changed his mind?
Or was it like Luffy's grandfather—ordered to kill them no matter what?
"Possibly." Sanji steadied himself. "The Navy must know that against a Ninja like iser, they're at a disadvantage at sea."
"So the man who can freeze the ocean might just co."
Zoro nodded—that was exactly why he'd brought it up.
Nico Robin furrowed her brows. Hearing Sanji's reasoning, sothing felt off to her.
"Let's find a way to run," Usopp pleaded, grabbing iser's arm. "iser, I'm begging you—this ti, let's just not fight."
"Hey, Nami, think of sothing quick!"
As Usopp spoke, explosions erupted across the sea, sending water spraying onto the Thousand Sunny.
Watching the seawater trickle toward the edges, Nami's eyes sharpened. "We need to get out of here. Facing this many warships at sea puts us at too much of a disadvantage."
If dozens of warships fired at once, there'd be no blocking it.
"Ah, I found an opening!" Franky suddenly shouted. "Look—their encirclent isn't fully ford yet."
"Let see."
Nami rushed over and imdiately spotted a massive gap at ten o'clock, where distant warships were slowly closing in.
"This is our chance."
"rry, ten o'clock, hurry!"
"But what about Chopper?" rry asked, steering the ship while pointing at the nearby pirate ship. "Chopper might still be on that one."
The two ships weren't connected—they were only side by side because the Thousand Sunny had furled its sails. But due to the earlier bombardnt, they were already drifting apart.
"iser!"
"Got it."
"Water Release: Double Water Dragon Bullet!"
"BOOM!!"
The seawater began to tremble, as if a terrifying beast were moving beneath the surface.
The next mont, two enormous Water Dragons surged from the depths, lifting two pirate ships onto their backs.
Due to the dim lighting, from a distance, it looked as though the two ships were flying!
"Everyone, hold on tight!!"
"BOOM!!"
Under iser's control, the two Water Dragons began moving, their speed rapidly increasing. The resulting wind resistance was nearly enough to blow people away!
"Ahhh!!!"
Nami, who was clinging to iser's leg, was lifted into the air, her entire body numb with shock. Wasn't this speed a bit too terrifying?
"We're flying!"
rry, held securely by Nico Robin's Devil Fruit abilities, waved her little hamr excitedly, her whole body buzzing with adrenaline.
"So cool!!"
"Damn it, I really want to learn Ninjutsu too!"
"Ah!!"
"F-flying away...?"
Standing on the special sailboat, Salchow stared in disbelief at the two rapidly receding ship silhouettes.
What was he seeing?
How could ships possibly fly in this world?
"S-Salchow-sama, what should we do now?"
Salchow swallowed hard and said, "First, let's gather these special sailboats."
To drive their prey into the Icy Sea Route, they had spent a fortune constructing these special sailboats, even painting Navy-specific patterns on the sails.
Under the light, from a distance, it looked as though countless Navy battleships had suddenly appeared to surround them.
No pirate would see this and not panic, naturally fleeing toward the prepared gap.
This had always worked perfectly in the past.
But today's situation was truly beyond his expectations.
"Yes!"
n in uniform moved to the side, working together to roll up the sails bearing the Navy battleship patterns, revealing the Accino family emblem beneath.
"This group is way too unusual," Salchow muttered.
A bad feeling rose in his chest—the Icy Sea Route operation might not work this ti.
Thinking this, Salchow imdiately pulled out a Den Den Mushi to contact his wife.
Alubarna, receiving the call, smiled warmly. "What is it, dear?"
"Darling, sothing's off this ti."
"What do you an? Did they head into the Icy Sea Route?"
"They did, but..."
Alubarna frowned, sensing her husband's unease. "What exactly happened?"
"Just now, when I used the Seagull Trap, their ships suddenly flew into the air and shot through the gap at an unbelievable speed..." Salchow paused. "I thought you should know."
"Flew?"
Alubarna was stunned. How was that possible? Ships couldn't fly in this world!
"Are you sure you weren't seeing things?"
"No, I saw it clearly. The others can confirm it too."
"This..."
Alubarna was at a loss for words. This was the first ti she'd encountered sothing like this.
In the past, simply guiding the pirate ships into the Icy Sea Route would solve all problems, but this ti was clearly different.
"So, the Icy Sea Route might not work on them either," Don Brindo said. "They could just fly out."
The second son of Accino wore a grave expression.
"It's because of that ninja," Cambacino remarked. "In that case, we need to hurry."
3
Otherwise, letting such a hard-earned prey escape would make Father furious.
That's a bounty of one billion Berries!
"We must find a way to knock that ninja into the sea," Cambacino said. "I suspect that ninja is a Devil Fruit Ability User. As long as we throw him into the ocean, the problem will be solved."
"Understood!"
"Salchow, you should hurry back too."
"Got it, Bro—"
Click~
Staring at the disconnected Den Den Mushi, Salchow fell into silence before finally letting out a quiet sigh.
He wondered when he would ever earn his elder brother's approval.
"The Straw Hat Pirates..." Salchow glanced toward the gap and narrowed his eyes. "I hope nothing unexpected happens this ti."
"Lord Salchow, we're ready to return."
"Set sail!"
"Yes!"
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