"Finally found a place out of the wind," Chopper sighed in relief.
Although the children now had cotton clothes to wear, if they kept being exposed to the wind, they could still get sick.
So finding a sheltered spot was the best possible outcome.
"This place has a very similar structure to that facility earlier," Franky remarked as he looked around.
Are they the same type?
"It should also be a place for experiments," Nico Robin said.
"Experiments?"
Merry looked around curiously and said, "Can experiments really be done in such a rundown place?"
"Definitely not now."
Nico Robin glanced at something that looked like experimental equipment and said, "But before that leak incident, it should have been possible."
"A big explosion..."
As if understanding what Nico Robin meant, Merry instinctively furrowed her little brow. Was this the place Meiser had mentioned earlier where an explosion might have occurred?
Meanwhile, Franky waved his hand dismissively and said, "That kind of thing doesn't matter at all."
"As long as there's no wind or snow, it's fine."
"That's true..."
What this place was didn't matter, as long as it could shield them from the wind and snow.
Just then, Kin'emon, whose head and lower body were stuck together, let out an excited cry.
"Ah!"
"My lower body has finally returned!"
Great, this is truly great!!
Unlike the excited Kin'emon, Luffy knelt on the ground with a pained expression.
"Darn it, my Ashi Maro... my hind legs..."
Usopp: ...
"So there's no such creature in the first place!" Usopp said speechlessly.
That's someone else's lower body!
What Ashi Maro?!
"Usopp~"
"Hmm?"
Usopp looked at Nico Robin in confusion and said, "What is it?"
"So realistic~"
Usopp: ??
Usopp stared at Nico Robin with a face full of question marks. Does this scheming person have the right to say something like that?
"Yohohohoho~"
"What an interesting person~" Brook said with a chuckle.
Come to think of it... hadn't he seen someone wearing this outfit before?
Hmm... never mind, it's not important.
Yohohohoho~
"Why can bones talk?" Mocha exclaimed in shock as she looked at Brook.
"Of course, it's because I'm special~"
"Special..."
Mocha tilted her head and thought for a moment, ultimately deciding that the other must be a magical creature.
"By the way, Franky, how did you learn to smoke?" Zoro asked, giving Franky a puzzled look.
This guy hadn't said much since earlier, and now he had lit a cigarette all on his own.
Hearing this, Franky showed a complicated expression. How was he supposed to explain this?
He used to be a dashing chef, but now he had become a pervert who wore his underwear on the outside.
What kind of situation was this?!
"I actually felt something was off earlier." Meiser examined his companions before him with an extremely strange look in his eyes and said, "Why are you all acting so differently from before?"
"Could it be some Ability User impersonating you?"
Thinking this, Meiser activated his Sharingan to take a look at them, but didn't notice anything unusual.
At least there was no special Devil Fruit energy emanating from Franky and Sanji's bodies.
"Of course not!" Chopper said, "It's just..."
"Let me explain."
Nami, who was currently occupying Perona's body, said with a headache, "When we were leaving the experimental building earlier, we ran into that Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea, Trafalgar Law."
"Who knows what method he used, but he swapped our souls with each other."
At the end, Nami let out a deep sigh.
Who would have thought such an ability existed?
"Swapped souls?"
Meiser showed a surprised expression. Did such an ability really exist in this world?
That ability was indeed a bit tricky.
After all... who knew whose soul would die if they were killed after swapping souls!
Thinking this, Meiser muttered to himself: Speaking of which... if my soul were swapped, would my Undying Body ability still take effect if I were killed?"
After a moment of thought, Meiser came to a conclusion: if his body were killed, it should still be able to revive again.
After all, he still had the delayed activation of Inner Kido Imperial Manifestation on him.
At that time, his soul should be forcibly pulled back into his own body.
But... what would happen to the soul of whoever was originally in his body was hard to say.
It seems I can't let that guy's ability affect me easily, Meiser thought to himself.
"This ability sounds really absurd," Usopp complained. "Not only can he cut people without killing them, but he can also pull out souls and swap them... That's just too ridiculous!"
Is this Devil Fruit Ability called the Op-Op Fruit really that overpowered?
Compared to it, he felt his own More-More Fruit wasn't as appealing anymore.
"It does sound pretty absurd," Nami sighed. "But that's the reality."
"So, who's who now?" Luffy asked curiously.
"First, me."
Franky, who was occupying Chopper's body, stepped forward and said, "I'm Franky. Don't come to me if you get hurt, because I don't know medicine~"
"Super!"
"6~"
At the end, Franky once again struck his signature pose.
Nico Robin: ??
No wonder she thought Chopper's way of speaking felt awkward earlier. So this guy was Franky all along?
"My turn."
Chopper, who was occupying Sanji's body, raised the medical kit in his hand and said, "I'm Chopper."
"If you get hurt, come to me for treatment."
"Then... you must be the cook..." Zoro said, his mouth twitching.
No wonder Franky suddenly started smoking earlier. So it was because his soul was Sanji's?
"That's right, it's me."
Sanji said with a pained expression, "But I can't shoot lasers or anything like that, because I don't understand Franky's body structure."
At the end of his words, Sanji walked over with a complicated look and sat down on a nearby rock. He held a cigarette in his mouth and gazed at the distant sky, his eyes filled with nothing but melancholy.
Although it wasn't the first time he'd worn such short pants, this feeling was really...
"Ah..."
"What, you got a problem with my body?" Franky glared at Sanji.
This is a super cool mechanical body, okay!
What does this guy, whose head is full of women, know?
"No problem," Sanji said weakly. "I just don't want to wear this..."
He couldn't bring himself to say those last two words.
"Tch, what do you know?"
Franky first curled his lip, then said, "But if you really can't get used to it, I can give you my pants."
As he spoke, Franky started to take off Chopper's pants to give to Sanji.
"Hey, stop that!" Chopper stared dumbfounded at Franky. "This is my only pair of pants!"
"Huh?"
Franky paused, then said in surprise, "I thought these were long pants. So you're like me, huh?"
"Heh~"
"Chopper, you've got good taste~"
At this point, Franky already regarded Chopper as a pervert just like himself.
"I am not!"
Chopper opened his shark mouth and roared, "I'm a reindeer! Why would I wear so many pants?"
He already has fur, okay!
If it weren't for wanting to seem more human, he wouldn't even need to wear pants!
He has fur, you jerk!!
"Tch~"
Hearing this, Franky said somewhat disappointedly, "So you're not like me after all."
He thought he'd found a kindred spirit.
Chopper: ...
So, what exactly is this guy disappointed about?
"Hey, Sanji, you're wearing a cotton jacket right now," Meiser said, giving Sanji a speechless look. "So what are you so melancholy about?"
"That's true, but the image from earlier is still stuck in my head..."
After saying this, Sanji tossed his cigarette to the ground and crushed it underfoot, then continued, "Forget it, this isn't important. Let's talk about serious matters first."
Anyway, feeling upset now won't change anything, so he might as well calm down.
Hearing this, Meiser nodded, then turned his gaze to Perona and Nami, saying, "So... you two swapped souls?"
"Yes."
Nami said with a headache, "I'm currently occupying Perona's body."
"But... but I don't know how to use the Ghost Fruit!"
This Devil Fruit ability was as good as useless on her—she couldn't even release a single ghost!
She's just dead weight now, damn it!
"As if I know how to use the Cloud-Cloud Fruit," Perona said, twitching her mouth.
She didn't even know if this body could perform Elemental Transformation, let alone release clouds.
Listening to the two of them, Usopp showed a puzzled expression and said, "Could it be that Devil Fruit power resides in the soul?"
Otherwise, why couldn't either of them use their Devil Fruit abilities?
"Probably not."
Meiser stroked his chin and said, "Within the bodies of Devil Fruit Ability Users, there exists a special kind of energy."
"Oh?"
"And right now, Nami and Perona still possess that energy within their bodies!"
"Energy?"
Upon hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared in Nami's eyes as she said, "Is that so?"
"Of course it is."
Meiser nodded, then pointed to the area around her heart and said, "Both of you can try to sense it. Use the same feeling you had when you were controlling your Devil Fruit abilities before."
If he wasn't mistaken, these two should be able to utilize the power of the Devil Fruit.
Of course, if the Devil Fruit ability they activated was different from their original ones... then it would mean the theory that Devil Fruit abilities reside within the body was wrong.
"Let me see."
After saying this, Nami closed her eyes and began to carefully sense it, while Perona did the same.
A moment later...
"Pfft~"
A sound like gas leaking was heard, and Perona's arm turned into clouds.
"It seems my guess was correct." Meiser stroked his chin and said, "The power of the Devil Fruit truly resides within the body."
Even if their souls had been tampered with, the ability could still be used!
"What a strange feeling."
Perona looked at her arm and said, "Is this the power of a Logia type?"
Now she felt that her arm had become incredibly light, so light it almost seemed nonexistent.
If that's the case... could she fly if her body turned into clouds? Perona wondered to herself.
Thinking this, Perona began to try using the same feeling she had when controlling her Devil Fruit ability to see if she could fly.
The next moment...
"Flying... she's flying?!"
Watching Perona slowly lift off the ground, Chopper was completely stunned.
Why could Perona, who was using Nami's body, fly?
Meanwhile, Meiser smiled and said, "I knew the Cloud-Cloud Fruit could fly!"
So it wasn't that this Devil Fruit was useless—it was just that Nami was too much of an idiot!
Thinking this, Meiser's gaze toward Nami became somewhat strange.
Noticing Meiser's look, Nami immediately glared and said, "What's with that look?"
"Nothing, just thinking that someone is an idiot."
As he spoke, Meiser shifted his gaze away.
Nami: ...
He was definitely talking about her, that jerk!
Although she was annoyed, Nami had to admit one thing: Perona's talent with Devil Fruit abilities was indeed better than hers.
Thinking this, Nami suppressed her thoughts and turned to Perona, asking, "How did you do it?"
"What?"
"How did you fly?"
"Oh, that..." Perona thought carefully for a moment and then said, "I was just wondering if I could use the same method I used to control the Soul-Soul Fruit to control my body, and it actually worked."
After saying this, Perona flew a circle in the air, making Nami extremely envious.
She wanted to fly so freely too!
"Damn it, I want to..."
"Actually, you don't need to dwell on this," Meiser said. "You can still fly using clouds, can't you?"
"That's different," Nami shook her head and said, "Using clouds isn't as comfortable as flying on your own."
Things created by abilities can be destroyed, but flying itself cannot!
So Nami still wanted to fly on her own.
"Then practice more."
Perona, who had landed back on the ground, said, "If I can master it, there's no reason you can't."
"You're right."
Since Perona could fly with her body, then she must be able to as well!
So... after she gets her body back, she must work twice as hard!
"You can also try flying with Perona's body," Meiser said. "If you can master this power using Perona's body, then you should be able to fly with your own body too."
As soon as these words were spoken, Nami immediately felt tempted.
Yes!
She could try this now too!
If she could master the ability to fly through this incident, then it would be a blessing in disguise!
Thinking of this, Nami's eyes lit up.
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