After staring at the serious expressions of Nami and Perona for a while, Sanji fell silent.
Then, he quietly lit a cigarette for himself, his gaze sharpening.
"If that's the case..."
As if understanding Sanji's thoughts, Franky and Chopper also prepared for battle.
"Brothers and sisters..."
"Leave it to us," Perona said softly.
With that, Perona turned her gaze toward the pursuers behind the children and summoned her ghosts.
"Damn it, what's going on with these brats?" a man in a protective suit said with a grim expression. "Why are they running with these pirates?"
It made no sense at all!
"I don't know..."
"Letting them keep running isn't an option either..." Another man raised his weapon and said, "Open fire! Take out the brats too!"
"But the master will..."
"That's still better than letting them all escape!"
"Fine, let's take them out too!"
With that, the men in protective suits raised their weapons, intending to eliminate everyone in front of them!
Seeing this, Nami's expression immediately changed.
Without hesitation, she activated her Devil Fruit ability.
"Cloud Wall!"
"Boom!!"
In the next moment, a massive amount of clouds surged from Nami's body, forming a thick cloud wall behind the children at incredible speed!
The enemies were stunned by the sight.
"What the hell is this now?"
"What do you think? It's obviously the work of that Logia-type Ability User!"
"Never mind, open fire!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Several gunshots rang out, and the fired bullets mercilessly targeted Nami!
However, due to the cloud layer, the kinetic energy of the bullets gradually dissipated, and they eventually fell slowly from the other side of the clouds.
Seeing this, Nami breathed a sigh of relief.
"It seems I wasn't wrong..."
A sufficiently thick cloud wall could block flintlock bullets!
"Orange Sister, you're amazing!"
"Not bad~"
Though she said this, Nami couldn't help but let a smile spread across her lips, clearly in a very good mood.
Perona also sighed in relief, glad that the children wouldn't be harmed by the bullets.
Then, Perona floated into the air, fixing her gaze on the enemies.
"You scum, you've angered me!"
In the next moment, numerous Explosion Ghosts appeared around Perona.
These Explosion Ghosts descended from the sky, rushing toward the enemies at incredible speed.
"Quick, dodge! Otherwise, we'll be hit by the negativity again!"
"Not good, we can't dodge in time!"
Watching the approaching ghosts, the expressions of the enemies turned fearful.
Then, they were grabbed by these ghosts!
"Huh?"
Looking at the Explosion Ghosts clinging to their decks, a flicker of confusion appeared in their eyes.
Why hadn't they become depressed?
"Making you depressed would be letting you off too easy," Perona said coldly. "So... just fall down!"
"BOOM!!"
As Perona's words fell, the Explosion Ghosts on the enemies suddenly detonated, violently blasting them away!
"Ah!!"
"What the hell is this thing?"
Another group of enemies chasing from behind looked in horror at their fallen comrades and said, "Did that ghost just explode?"
"It seems so."
The leading man said with a grim expression, "It seems this woman's Devil Fruit Ability also has explosive capabilities..."
"Hurry, use the Sea Stone Net!"
"Right!"
The enemies quickly moved into action upon receiving the order, clearly intending to use Sea Stone to suppress Perona and Nami's abilities.
Hearing the commotion, Sanji quickly used Moonwalk to leap into the air, saying, "Can't let you touch Miss Perona and Miss Nami with that strange thing."
With that, Sanji swiftly moved, arriving beside the enemies at incredible speed.
Then, he kicked out.
"Collarbone!"
"THUD!"
The heavy attack sent the opponent flying!
"BOOM!!"
Sanji then began attacking with wide, sweeping movements, knocking all the pursuers to the ground.
"Huh?"
Chopper and Franky, who had just rushed around the cloud wall, paused in surprise. "Is it already over?"
Isn't Sanji's efficiency a bit too strong?
"Damn it... why are these guys so strong..."
The man lying on the ground looked extremely grim.
There wasn't even a chance to use the Sea Stone...
At that moment, a man raised his weapon, aiming at Sanji. "Damn pirates, go to..."
"Strong Right Hand!"
"BOOM!!"
Without giving him a chance to fire, Franky punched the man, sending him flying.
"WHOOSH~"
"BOOM!!"
Seeing this, Sanji calmly lowered his leg and said, "If you want to capture us, you should at least send some stronger people."
After speaking, Sanji ignored the struggling figures on the ground and turned to look at the cloud wall behind him. "Chopper, take Miss Nami and Miss Perona away from here first."
As he spoke, Sanji glanced at the enemies appearing outside the door.
If these guys weren't dealt with, the children could still get hurt.
"Okay, I understand."
Chopper nodded, then prepared to leave with Nami and the others.
Nami, who also heard Sanji's voice, dispelled the cloud wall and said, "Sanji..."
Sanji, exhaling a puff of smoke, calmly replied, "Yeah, go ahead."
Then, Sanji glanced at the children and said, "Kids, follow the two pretty ladies and the kung fu raccoon. Leave this place to me."
"Big brother... you..."
"Don't get the wrong idea, you brats!" Sanji interrupted, saying: "I'm only responding to Miss Nami and Miss Perona's desire to save you all—it's not like I want to rescue you myself!"
"I absolutely despise you lot for being protected by two beautiful ladies!"
Franky blinked as he listened to Sanji's words—was this guy being tsundere?
Upon hearing Sanji's words, the children didn't get angry; instead, they broke into happy smiles.
"Thank you, curly-browed big brother!"
"Shut up, you little brats!" Sanji's face flushed slightly as he deliberately opened his Shark Mouth and said: "Hurry up and follow them!"
"Okay!"
"Haha, let's go." Nami said with a smile: "We'll leave this place first."
"Okay!"
Hearing Nami's words, the children nodded, then happily followed Nami and the others away from the area.
"Will you two be alright?" Perona asked.
"Leave it to us."
As he spoke, Sanji gave a thumbs-up, indicating that they could handle everything without any problem!
"Then I'll leave it to you."
With that, Perona turned and flew off toward Nami and the others.
After watching them leave, Sanji glanced at Franky and said: "You don't have to stay with me either, Franky."
"What are you talking about, you idiot." Franky lifted his head and declared: "How could I possibly abandon a fan of Iron Man Franky?"
Hearing this, Sanji's mouth unconsciously curved into a smile—clearly, he was in a very good mood.
"Alright, let's keep going."
Franky swept his gaze over the enemies who had just rushed in and said: "This time, your opponents are us!"
"Kids, follow me quickly!" Chopper shouted excitedly: "If you want to escape, run!"
"Okay!!"
"You're really fired up, Chopper." Nami laughed.
"Of course!"
Chopper lifted his head and declared: "Sanji entrusted me with the passionate mission of protecting the children, so I must get them to safety!"
At this moment, bearing this sacred mission, Chopper seemed as if he were about to burst into flames—full of energy and determination!
"How reliable." Perona chuckled.
"Naturally!"
As a man, he would safely lead his two companions and the children out of here!
Just then, several armed enemies appeared in the corridor ahead.
"Huh?"
Noticing the situation, the enemies were momentarily stunned, then exclaimed in disbelief: "Why are the children running with these guys?"
Aren't they supposed to be enemies?!
"Although we don't know what's going on, we have to stop them, or the master will be angry!"
"Right!"
Understanding the seriousness of the situation, the men immediately raised their weapons and aimed at Chopper, clearly intending to take him out first.
Seeing this, Chopper's expression instantly changed.
Then, with incredible speed, he charged up to the enemies and kicked their weapons to pieces!
After doing this, Chopper launched his follow-up attacks.
"Take this!"
"And this!"
"Ha!"
With one kick per person, he forcefully knocked all these enemies to the ground!
"Hah~"
Landing steadily on the ground, Chopper lifted his head and declared: "I'm a man, so I have to do my best!"
"Woof!"
"That's amazing, Tanuki Brother!" Raid exclaimed with shining eyes.
So cool!
"I'm a reindeer, you idiot!"
Nami smiled at the sight, then looked around and said, "By the way, where should we run to?"
"You figure that out," Chopper replied without hesitation.
Nami was the Navigator, so naturally, finding the exit fell to her.
As for him?
Although he wasn't an idiot, he couldn't find the way out in a place like this either, so he didn't plan to waste his brainpower on it.
"Just as I expected," Nami said, feeling a bit of a headache.
Although she had initially prepared herself to be the one to find the exit, now that it came down to it, she had no idea how to go about it.
After thinking for a moment, Nami said, "Forget it, let's just walk around for now."
Maybe they'd stumble upon the exit while walking.
"That won't be necessary."
Perona, floating in mid-air, stared at the distant street and said, "I'll just send my Negative Spirits to find the exit."
Her Negative Spirits could pass through walls, making them very practical for exploration.
Nami: ??
Nami looked at Perona with a confused expression and said, "Why didn't you do that earlier?"
"I thought you could find the way out," Perona replied.
Clearly, she, like the others, had placed her trust in Nami.
Nami: ...
"I'm quite touched that you have so much faith in me, but..." Nami twitched the corner of her mouth. "I'm not a god, you know."
She was just an ordinary Navigator—how could she quickly find the exit here?
Perona chuckled softly and said, "Actually, this is for the best. After all... if it weren't for this delay, we wouldn't have been able to save these children, right?"
Hearing Perona's words, a hint of emotion appeared on Nami's face.
"Yeah..."
If it weren't for this delay, they wouldn't have been able to rescue these children.
"Alright, time to get to work."
Perona released her Ghosts as she spoke. "Let's try to find the exit as soon as possible."
"So what do we do now?" Chopper asked.
They couldn't just wait here—what if they encountered a large number of enemies?
"Let's move forward first," Perona said. "Maybe the exit is right ahead."
"Okay!"
Everyone nodded in agreement and then followed Perona, who was floating in mid-air, as they rushed forward.
"Oh, right."
Chopper seemed to remember something and said, "I remember you said earlier that the illness was cured, right?"
"Yes."
"What kind of illness was it?"
Chopper glanced at the children behind them and said, "None of them look sick."
"I don't know either."
The boy shook his head. "But they told me that all of you were sick and that it would take a year to cure."
"A year?"
"Yes," the boy nodded. "Then I was brought here."
"Do your parents know about this?"
"They probably know."
"Probably?"
Nami was taken aback. What did "probably" mean?
Either they knew or they didn't—what did "probably know" even mean?
"Those guys said my parents asked them to help cure my illness, so I think they probably know," the boy explained.
Nami: ??
Listening to the little boy's words, Nami instinctively felt something was off.
"So, when you were taken away, your parents weren't around?" Perona frowned.
"Yes."
The boy said, "Those people who suddenly appeared at our doorstep said we were sick and needed to be taken for treatment, otherwise we might infect our parents."
"So... I was taken away before I could even say a word to my parents."
Perona: ??
Nami: ??
This wasn't about treating illness at all—it was clearly child trafficking!
How despicable!
At that moment, anger surged in both women's hearts.
"Taken away without even seeing their parents..." Chopper said with a grim expression. "Could it be... a terribly contagious disease?"
Whack!
After slapping Chopper on the head, Nami opened her Shark Mouth and yelled, "Are you an idiot?!"
"This is obviously just like what happened with Camie and the others!"
How could Chopper not see something so obvious... This guy really is a fool!
"?"
"!!"
"So they were human traffickers?!" Chopper widened his eyes.
"What else?" Nami said, exasperated.
Perona also looked at Chopper with some disbelief. Why was this kid so clueless again?
Well, a clueless guy who's nice to pet!
"Damn it!" Chopper's eyes flashed with anger. "Then we must get these children out of here!"
Otherwise, they might be sold as Slaves!
"Of course."
Nami nodded seriously. She would never hand these children back to those scoundrels!
"Is anyone too tired to run?" Chopper glanced at the children. "If anyone can't run, I can carry..."
Before Chopper could finish his sentence, the smiling children pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.
"Hey!"
Chopper, pinned underneath, was completely stunned.
How was he supposed to get up like this?
Seeing this, Nami chuckled and said, "They don't look tired at all."
"Each one is full of energy."
"Because Master healed us~" Raid laughed.
"Master?"
"Yes, Master."
Nami frowned at the mention of "Master." Could this "Master" be the leader of the human traffickers?
And what kind of place was this, anyway?
"Chopper."
Perona, floating in mid-air, turned to look at Chopper. "Once we're safely out of here, give these children a checkup."
Her intuition told her that something might be off with these children.
But she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, so... it was best to let Chopper examine them.
"Understood." Chopper, pinned down by Raid, struggled to speak. "Once we're out, I'll check them."
"And, everyone... could you let me go..."
He couldn't get up like this.
The children burst into laughter but didn't continue lying on Chopper.
Relieved as the weight lifted from his back, Chopper sighed and said, "Let's go. We should leave this place first."
"Alright!"
"Perona, haven't you found the exit yet?" Nami asked.
"We didn't find the exit, but..." Perona, with her eyes closed, furrowed her brow and said, "I found a strange place."
"A strange place?"
Several question marks immediately popped up in Nami's head. What kind of strange place?
"It's a room with many people frozen in ice," Perona said, opening her eyes. "Judging by their expressions, they must have been frozen instantly."
It was unclear whether this was man-made or a natural disaster.
"Frozen instantly..."
A flicker of surprise flashed in Nami's eyes. Did something like that happen here?
Then, as if remembering something, Nami looked at Mocha and said, "I remember you mentioned this earlier, right?"
"Mhm."
Mocha said somewhat fearfully, "We went there and saw those terrifying frozen people."
"So... so let's not go there."
As she spoke, Mocha's body trembled slightly, clearly very afraid of those strange people.
Seeing this, Perona comforted her, "Don't worry, we won't go there."
"That's good..."
Mocha breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. She really didn't want to see those scary people.
Perona smiled at the sight. The little girl was so timid.
A few minutes later...
"I found the exit!" Perona's eyes lit up.
Her ghost had seen a very large door, which should be the exit!
But just to be safe, Perona still described that door to Mocha and the others.
Upon hearing this, Mocha nodded and said, "Yes, that's the entrance we came through."
"Then it seems we found the right place."
Perona smiled and also deactivated her Devil Fruit ability.
Then, she waved her hand and said, "Follow me, let's leave this place together!"
"Alright!"
Everyone who heard Perona's words immediately smiled and followed her as she ran into the distance.
Just at that moment, Franky and Sanji caught up from behind.
"Miss Nami, how is it? Did you find the exit?" Sanji asked.
"Yes, Perona just found it," Nami nodded and said. "We're planning to go check it out now."
"Then let's go."
"Did you deal with the pursuers?"
As she spoke, Nami glanced at the corridor behind them but didn't see any enemies.
"Don't worry, we took care of them all," Franky said, giving a thumbs-up. "We even blocked the door to that room, so no one will be chasing us anymore."
Now, all they needed to do was escape through the exit!
"That's good," Nami sighed in relief.
This way, no one could catch up and harm the children.
"Damn... damn pirates..."
"Huh?"
Chopper, hearing the voice, paused for a moment before noticing Kin'emon in Sanji's hands.
When he clearly saw the other's appearance, Chopper was stunned.
"Hey, why is he all bruised and swollen?"
"I beat him up."
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, said with a displeased expression, "This guy was too arrogant, so I gave him a beating."
Recalling the earlier scene, Sanji still felt very annoyed.
Not only did he not ask for help, but his attitude was so arrogant... he really deserved a beating!
"Nicely done!" Nami said, giving a thumbs up.
"You wretched woman, you..."
"Hmm?"
Nami slowly narrowed her eyes and said, "You'd better think carefully before you speak."
Kin'emon:
Sensing the killing intent, Kin'emon decisively averted his gaze and said, "I... I won't stoop to argue with a woman."
Right, Nami just sneered coldly and didn't say anything more.
Clearly, she couldn't be bothered to argue with that blockhead either.
"Alright, enough chatter, let's hurry up and go," said Perona, recalling her Ghost. "We need to regroup with the others sooner."
"Okay!"
Hearing Perona, everyone nodded and then ran toward the distance.
After running for a while, they finally saw the large gate.
"That's it, that's the gate!" Mocha exclaimed excitedly.
Good, they had finally returned to this place.
Could they go home next?
Thinking this, Mocha grew even more excited.
Noticing her reaction, Nami smiled and said, "Let's go, we're leaving this place together!"
"Okay!"
With that, everyone immediately charged toward the massive gate in the distance.
Once they reached the gate, Chopper leaped up and delivered a kick.
"I'll kick it open!"
"Boom!!"
With a single strike, he sent the half-open gate flying wide!
"Ah~"
Landing steadily on the ground, Chopper spread his arms wide with satisfaction. "This is the feeling..."
He loved this chilly environment!
Then, Chopper opened his eyes with a smile and said, "Everyone, we..."
"Huh?"
Before he could finish, he froze, then stared ahead in shock at the Marines. "Why are there Marines here?"
Wasn't this supposed to be a human trafficker's territory? Why were there Marines?
Sanji and the others also frowned as they looked ahead, clearly not expecting to encounter Marines here.
Then, Sanji waved his hand and said, "Kids, there are evil Marines here, so let's head back and find another way out!"
"Okay!"
Though they didn't understand why they should fear the Marines, the children obediently ran back inside.
Just then, Nami noticed Law standing in front of the gate, watching them with a surprised expression.
"Wait a minute..."
"Aren't you the guy who appeared with us at the Sabaody Archipelago auction house two years ago?"
As she spoke, Nami's brow furrowed, and she added, "Don't tell me you're the one who kidnapped these children."
"You scumbag, I won't hand these kids over to you!"
After cursing angrily, Nami turned and left with the others, leaving only Law behind with a dark expression.
"The Straw Hat Crew..."
Why were these guys here?
And... since when had he become a child-abducting scumbag?
"Though I'm not sure what's going on, those guys just now must be from the Straw Hat Crew, right?" said a Marine from G-5.
"It's them, I've seen their Wanted Posters."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's..."
"Huh?"
"Hold on, where's Vice Admiral Vergo?"
The Marines were stunned to find their vice admiral missing. He was just here—how could he have vanished so suddenly?
Then, one Marine seemed to realize something and glared angrily at Law. "Did you do something, you bastard?"
It must be him! Otherwise, Vice Admiral Vergo wouldn't have left without a word!
Damn Seven Warlords of the Sea!
"What a pathetic bunch." Law slowly raised his hand, casting a mocking gaze toward the Marines as he said, "You don't even know how you died."
"What do you mean?"
"I have no obligation to explain it to you." Law said coldly.
With that, Law activated his Devil Fruit ability without hesitation.
"ROOM!"
"Command!"
"BOOM!!"
The next moment, the warship floating on the water suddenly soared into the air, startling the Marines and causing them all to show expressions of horror.
"The... the warship is flying!!"
"This guy is a monster!"
"What do we do, what can we do?"
"Forget it, take him down!" one Marine roared. "Otherwise, we're all dead!"
Realizing the severity of the situation, the eyes of the Marines sharpened, and they immediately launched an attack on Law without hesitation.
But unfortunately... within his Operating Room, no cannonball could ever hit him!
The next moment...
"Slice!"
With a flash of his blade, Law used his ability to cut all of them in half!
"Ah!"
"We've been cut!!"
The Marines, feeling their bodies sliced apart, let out terrified screams.
But soon, they realized something was wrong—why didn't it hurt?
"Even if we don't understand what's happening, we need to report this information immediately!" one Marine said, pulling out a Den Den Mushi. "Otherwise, we..."
Before he could finish speaking, he noticed the Den Den Mushi in his hand had vanished.
No... not just his. All the Den Den Mushi on the others had disappeared as well!
"What's going on? Where are the Den Den Mushi?"
"It's him! It's this Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
One Marine pointed at the pile of small Den Den Mushi beside Law and said, "He used his Devil Fruit ability to steal all our Den Den Mushi!"
"We're finished..."
Without the Den Den Mushi, how could they contact Vice Admiral Vergo?
They were done for... they were dead for sure!
Taking in their reactions, Law said coldly, "I can
't let you report the situation here."
Otherwise, it would interfere with his plans!
Then, Law turned his gaze toward Nami and the others who had just escaped, narrowing his eyes slowly.
"The Straw Hat Crew, huh..."
"ROOM!"
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