"Grrr!!"
Seeing the children charging toward him, Chopper immediately threw his head back and roared.
Then, he said in a deep voice, "Kids, you absolutely must not eat that candy anymore!"
"Otherwise, you..."
Before he could finish his words, the enormous children rushed over, lifting their weapons and smashing them down.
"Get out of the way!"
"Don't stop us from eating the candy!"
"Grr!!"
"Bam!"
The children roared and howled, frantically attacking Chopper with their weapons, making it extremely difficult for him to defend passively.
In the end, he was knocked down by them and lay on the ground.
What made Chopper even more desperate was that the duration of his Rumble Ball had run out.
"Oh no..." Chopper said with a grim expression. "The three minutes are already up..."
Without the pharmacological support of the Rumble Ball, he couldn't maintain his Giant form at all.
Looking at his gradually shrinking arms, a trace of despair appeared in Chopper's eyes.
What should he do?
"Great, the obstacle is gone!" Raid shouted excitedly. "Quick, let's charge into the cookie house and eat the candy!"
"Whoo!!"
The others also cheered excitedly, then followed Raid as they ran toward the distant cookie house.
"Don't go, everyone."
Tears welled up in Chopper's eyes as he watched their retreating figures. "That thing is poisonous!"
As he spoke, Chopper tried to struggle to his feet to stop them, but his body was in a weakened state and he couldn't move at all.
"Darn it, I can't move..."
Darn it, if only he weren't so weak, he could have stopped the children.
At this thought, tears welled up in Chopper's eyes.
Just then, a pair of hands reached out from behind and gently picked Chopper up.
"Chopper, are you okay?" Perona, holding Chopper in her arms, said, "What happened?"
"Perona... everyone!"
Looking at the familiar faces around him, Chopper's expression immediately became excited.
Great, the children can be saved!
After sniffing hard, Chopper said, "There's been an accident."
"An accident, huh."
Nico Robin looked up at the children running into the distance and said, "They seem even more ferocious than before."
"Ferocious, huh..."
Glancing at the injured Chopper, a shadow passed over Nami's eyes.
To be ferocious enough to beat the giantized Chopper like this... what exactly have these children been through?
"What exactly happened?"
Usopp leaned in and said quickly, "Tell us the situation."
"That's right." Brook also nodded and said, "Tell us quickly so we can help."
Zoro didn't speak but stared intently at the children in the distance, feeling that something was very wrong.
"Okay."
Chopper nodded slightly, then said, "That guy Caesar is indeed conducting giantization experiments. He wants to turn these children into savage soldiers."
"And because of the poison, these children have now lost their minds."
"I can't stop them alone, so... everyone, I'm counting on you!"
"Hurry and stop these children! Don't let them enter the Biscuit House!"
"Biscuit House?"
Usopp had a few question marks popping up over his head. What was that?
"It's a room we passed earlier," Nami replied, then added, "Has Caesar already delivered the candy there?"
As she spoke, Nami quickly maneuvered the cloud, rushing toward the Biscuit House ahead and soon bringing everyone inside.
"That's right," Chopper said. "But a girl named Mocha returned to normal. She helped me steal the candy, though I don't know if she managed to escape."
"A girl named Mocha..."
Nami, floating in mid-air, stared at the inner room in the distance and said, "I think I see her!"
As she spoke, Nami raised the cloud a bit higher so everyone could see what was happening far away.
"Oh no!"
Seeing this, Chopper's expression changed. "Mocha's in danger!"
"Quick, everyone... protect her!"
If so many people attack Mocha together, they'll kill her!
"Leave it to me!" Usopp said.
With that, Usopp raised his slingshot, intending to fire another Sleep Star.
"It won't work, Usopp,"
Chopper shouted. "In this state, sleep weapons probably won't calm them down."
It's better to use a sedative—one shot and it'll take effect.
"My weapons won't work?"
Usopp immediately frowned. This wasn't good news.
"Then let's think of another way," Nico Robin said.
As she spoke, she considered whether she could use her abilities to knock the children unconscious, but she dismissed the idea as soon as it came to mind.
After all... if she acted, these children might be seriously injured.
"What other way is there?" Usopp said, sounding troubled.
Apart from using Sleep Stars to knock the children out, he had no way to control them without causing harm.
"Leave it to me," Perona said. "I can calm them down temporarily."
In a way, her ability was somewhat rule-based and should be able to restrain the children.
Thinking this, Perona handed Chopper over to Nico Robin and then acted without hesitation.
"Negative Swarm!"
"Buzz~"
A large number of Negative Spirits appeared around Perona, who then controlled them as they rushed toward the children.
The next moment...
"I really want to go home..."
"I miss Mom..."
"Mom, Dad, where are you..."
One by one, the children fell to the ground and began weeping bitterly.
The sight was heartbreaking to behold.
"These children..."
Looking at these poor little ones, Perona felt her heart ache.
"That's strange," Zoro said calmly. "Why is their negativity about missing home?"
No... this wasn't even negativity anymore. It was more like it had awakened their deepest desires.
"Huh?"
"Do you even have any sympathy?!" Perona sprang up, poking Zoro's forehead with her finger, and said, "They're all poor little children!"
"I know..."
Zoro, with her finger in his face, said, "I was just a bit curious about how your ability works."
When others become negative, they say very pessimistic things, like wanting to be a paramecium or something, but these children...
"Perhaps... it's because they're children," Nico Robin speculated. "After all, when children feel negative, the first thing they think of is their parents."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Yes, when children are troubled by negative emotions, the first thing they think of is their parents who can help them.
After all... parents are a child's protectors!
"That despicable Caesar!" Nami gritted her teeth and said, "He actually made so many children leave their parents... he really deserves to die!"
If it weren't for the agreement between Luffy and Law, she would really want to kill that bastard!
"Everyone?"
Looking at all her companions lying on the ground, Mocha suddenly had several question marks pop up above her head.
She had just prepared herself for a desperate fight, but then all her companions fell down?
What's going on?
"Mocha, it's okay."
Chopper, lying in Nico Robin's hands, shouted loudly, "With us here, they won't hurt you!"
"Chopper..."
"Big brothers, big sisters..."
Mocha glanced at the people standing behind her, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
"You've finally come."
That's great, really great!
With the big brothers and sisters here, they can definitely leave this island alive and return to their parents' side.
At that moment, the children lying on the ground began to move again.
"Candy... candy..."
"Huh?"
Mocha, who was about to walk toward Nami and the others, froze upon hearing this, then said in panic, "What's going on?"
Didn't everyone just calm down? Why do they want candy again?
"It seems it's not easy to make them completely calm down," Perona frowned.
That's right, Negative Spirits can only make people negative for a short time, so it's normal for these children to recover.
"Don't you have any move that can make them completely calm down?" Zoro inquired.
"Of course not," Perona shook her head and said, "Besides, even if I did, I wouldn't use such a move on children."
Being negative for a long time can completely change a person's mind, and she doesn't want these children to be harmed.
Zoro fell silent upon hearing this. So it's not possible.
Then what should they do?
"It seems we can only use the candy in Mocha's hands to lure them forward," Nami said calmly. "When they're about to get close to Mocha, have Perona use her ability to calm them down again."
"This way, we can take the children to R-66."
Although this method will be much slower... at least it's safe!
"Then let's do it!" Brook said, "While ensuring the children's safety, take them to R-66."
"The door!"
"Right!"
Their companions nodded, then ran toward Mocha's direction.
Meanwhile, Kin'emon surveyed the room and shouted, "Momonosuke, are you here?"
"Momonosuke!"
Unfortunately, no one answered his call.
"Dammit..."
"Your son probably isn't here," Usopp glanced back at Kin'emon and said. "Otherwise, he'd definitely come out to find us."
Hearing this, Kin'emon fell silent.
Indeed, if Momonosuke had heard his voice, he would have surely come looking for him.
Thinking this, Kin'emon said, "Then let's search elsewhere."
"Mm."
Usopp nodded, then charged forward with the others.
At that moment, an intensely cold air swept in from the door behind Mocha, completely blocking the exit!
"The... the exit is blocked?" Little Mocha stared dumbfounded at the ice-sealed door. "What do we do now?"
Where should she go?
"Hehehe~"
"Little Mocha, no need to worry~" Monet, appearing above the door, smiled gently at Mocha. "Because I'm here~"
"Sister Monet!"
Seeing Monet's gentle expression, Mocha's face lit up with excitement.
With her help, they could definitely break free from control!
"What's with this woman?" Zoro asked, puzzled.
"She's that bird-person we encountered earlier in the Scorching Land!" Usopp exclaimed. "Zoro, it's her!"
Hearing this, Zoro immediately furrowed his brow.
So it's this person?
If that's the case... then this one is also an enemy!
"An enemy, huh..."
Brook glanced at Mocha's attire, then smiled, as if he didn't need to ask that question anymore.
"Yohohohoho~"
Hearing Brook's laughter, Nami couldn't help but look exasperated, unsure what to say for a moment.
"Mocha~"
Monet leaned forward slightly, smiling at Mocha. "It's not good to keep all the candy to yourself~"
"Share the candy with everyone~"
"That way, everyone can happily enjoy the candy together~"
"Huh?"
Mocha, who had been about to step forward, froze at these words.
Share the candy with everyone?
Wouldn't that just harm them all?
Thinking this, Mocha instinctively took a few steps back.
Seeing this, Monet smiled, then without hesitation activated her Devil Fruit Ability, summoning a blizzard inside the biscuit house.
"Such a fierce blizzard," Kin'emon stared at Monet and said. "So this person also knows Sorcery."
"I already told you, it's a Devil Fruit Ability..."
Nami first muttered in annoyance, then studied Monet closely. "This woman is likely a Logia-type Devil Fruit Ability User."
"Logia type..."
Zoro glanced at the changing surroundings and said, "A Logia type related to ice and snow, huh."
To think they'd encountered another Logia type...
When did these become so common?
"That's right, I'm a snow-person who ate the Snow-Snow Fruit~" Monet said with a smile.
"So it really is a Logia type..."
Usopp instinctively glanced at Nami, wondering if dealing with this kind of person was best left to her.
But then, remembering that Zoro knew Haki, Usopp shifted his gaze toward him.
Leaving this to Zoro didn't seem like a bad idea either.
"Hey, you're called Monet, right?" Nami looked up and stared at Monet. "What are you trying to do here?"
"Are you here to stop us from saving the children?"
"Saving the children?"
Hearing this, Monet glanced at Nami and said, "You pirates saying something like that… don't you find it ridiculous?"
It was the first time she'd ever heard of pirates willing to save people without expecting anything in return.
What an absolute joke.
"So what if we're pirates?" Nami frowned. "Can't pirates save children too?"
"Exactly!"
Perona also glared at Monet with displeasure. "Even if we're pirates, we're still better than scum like you who experiment on children!"
In Perona's eyes at that moment, Monet was no different from Caesar!