Wapol barreled into the castle, familiar halls flashing by as he raced toward his goal.
His steps were frantic yet purposeful, driven by unwavering intent.
"If I can just reach the armory, those hags are finished! Baku Baku Shock: Human Weapon will end them in one shot!"
He stomped through the first floor, heading deep into the castle's heart.
No hesitation slowed him; his eyes locked onto a massive door ahead. A triumphant grin spread across his face.
"Ha ha ha! Once I get there, no one can stand against me! Victory is mine!"
Wapol reached the sealed armory door, stopping with a smug smirk, utterly convinced of his triumph. He moved to open it, then froze, realizing he didn't have the key.
"Wait… where's the key? Hey, Chess, where's the armory key—"
He turned, only to gape in shock. His trusted aide, Chess, wasn't there.
"Oh, right! Chess got done in by my idiot brother's poison! That moron, always causing trouble! I told him to be careful with his powers!"
Fuming, Wapol stomped the ground, spinning back to the door. No key meant he'd have to force it open.
Without a second thought, he aimed his cannon-arm at the door. "Fine, I'll break it down myself!"
The armory held volatile gunpowder, but Wapol didn't care. He fired, blasting the door apart. Miraculously, no explosion followed, and the armory lay open before him.
Rows of untouched weapons—swords, firearms—sat in silent vigil. Wapol's eyes gleamed with glee. If he consumed them all, he'd become an invincible fortress. Victory was certain.
He took a step forward.
Before his foot crossed the threshold, Chopper charged in, slamming into Wapol's side in his beastly reindeer form. The headbutt, powered by sturdy antlers, sent Wapol tumbling across the floor.
"Ow! What the hell?!" Wapol yelped.
"It's me," Chopper said coldly.
"You… you monster! Do you know who you just attacked?!"
Wapol scrambled up, aiming his cannon at Chopper, who faced him without flinching.
"You're no king anymore," Chopper said. "Attacking you isn't a crime."
"It is a crime! I decide that!" Wapol roared.
"Then I'm not scared. You mocked the Doctor, and I won't forgive you."
"Scream all you want! I'll execute you right now!"
Wapol turned, desperate to devour the armory's contents. Chopper, sensing his intent, charged again, slamming into Wapol's gut. The impact sent him sprawling once more, shrieking.
"You—!"
"Gah!"
"You're not touching anything in this castle!" Chopper growled.
"Don't mess with me, you hag! This castle is mine! Everything in it belongs to me!"
Wapol staggered to his feet and bolted, not daring to face Chopper. He aimed for the stairs, heading upward.
Chopper froze for a split second, stunned by the retreat, then gave chase. The brief pause had given Wapol a head start.
"Wait! Running again?!" Chopper shouted.
"Shut up! This is strategy to execute you, hag!"
Wapol sprinted up the stairs, eyes fixed on the upper floors, too panicked to glance back. His cannon-arms hung useless, his bravado replaced by fear.
Chopper, in his swift beast form, bounded after him, hooves pounding. The gap wasn't wide.
"If I can just… eat that…!" Wapol muttered.
He seemed to have a new target. Racing toward one of the castle's towers, he climbed its spiral staircase. Chopper pursued relentlessly.
A door loomed ahead. The distance between them was tight. Wapol, frantic, realized his cannon-arms couldn't turn a knob. Destroying the castle was unthinkable, but desperation left no choice.
"Out of my way, you hag-door!"
He fired, the cannonball shattering the wooden door. The blast left a narrow opening, too small for Wapol's bulky form, but he dove in, crashing through the wall.
The commotion made Chopper pause at the entrance, wary of the chaos.
Dust and smoke clouded the air from the broken wall. Chopper squinted, trying to pierce the haze.
As it cleared, Wapol stood tall, facing Chopper with an uncharacteristically confident grin. Behind him loomed a massive object.
A weapon.
A multi-barreled cannon, shaped like a hippo, as large as Wapol's transformed body. It radiated danger.
Wapol stood before it, exuding arrogance. "Ha ha ha! It's execution time! You're about to die by the Royal Drum Crown Seven-Shot Bliking Cannon!"
Chopper said nothing, his silence unnerving Wapol, who snorted and reverted his right arm to normal, reaching for the cannon's lever.
"Time to regret, hag! This shot will end you! Disappear!"
He yanked the lever. Seven barrels should have unleashed a deadly barrage, turning Chopper into a pincushion.
But nothing happened. A hollow click echoed, then silence.
Wapol's eyes widened, his jaw dropping. He pulled the lever again and again, but no shots fired.
His mind stalled.
Chopper, unimpressed, spoke up. "It's useless. The cannonballs were removed. They weren't needed for the Doctor's tomb."
"What?! You did this?!" Wapol shrieked.
"It's over. You've got nowhere left to run."
"Shut up! Fine, I'll eat the Bliking Cannon and use something else for ammo—"
Wapol opened his massive mouth, lunging toward the cannon. Chopper, sensing danger, sprinted forward, shifting from beast to human form mid-stride. He leaped, tackling Wapol to stop him.
"No you don't!"
"Gah! Let go, you monster reindeer!"
Their struggle sent them crashing through a window, glass shattering as they tumbled onto the steep castle roof. They rolled down the slick incline, nearly falling off, but separated just in time, clinging to the slope.
Panting, they locked eyes, Wapol's voice louder than ever. "That was close! What the hell, you hag?!"
"No more of your schemes," Chopper said. "We end this here."
Chopper regained his footing first, standing firm on the slanted roof. Wapol, sprawled and struggling, watched as Chopper shifted to his beast-human form, reaching into his hat to pull out a small yellow pill, held between his hooves.
"Three minutes," Chopper said. "That's all I need to take you down."
"Take me down? With that candy?" Wapol scoffed.
"It's not candy. It's the result of my research."
"Stop spouting nonsense! I'll execute you right here, criminal!"
Wapol staggered up, aiming his cannons despite the unstable footing. He'd abandoned dodging, banking on overwhelming force.
Chopper tossed the pill into the air, catching and swallowing it in one motion. "Rumble."
"Die!" Wapol roared, firing.
The cannonball screamed toward Chopper, its aim true.
It struck the roof, exploding and carving a chunk from the surface. Wapol grinned, certain of victory, smoke obscuring Chopper's form.
But his laughter died as a shadow descended from above.
Chopper landed perfectly, transformed into a form Wapol had never seen—a hybrid neither fully human nor beast.
"What?! You're still alive?! And… what's that form?!" Wapol stammered.
Chopper's appearance was alien. His face leaned toward reindeer, his upper body thick with fur, yet his fingers were human. His lower body had thinner fur, retaining hooves, and his antlers were gone. This wasn't his human, beast-human, or beast form.
He called it Jumping Point, a form excelling in leap and evasion. Speedy but not attack-focused, it let him dodge Wapol's cannonballs with ease.
A form that shouldn't exist.
Chopper wielded it masterfully, staring Wapol down with calm resolve.
Answering Wapol's shock, Chopper spoke evenly, his voice carrying a cold edge. "The Rumble Ball disrupts the wavelength of devil fruit transformations. Five years of research let me unlock four new forms beyond the usual three."
"Disrupting… wavelengths? That's absurd!" Wapol sputtered.
"It lasts three minutes. Sorry, but this ends quick."
"Don't mess with me! I'm the king! You can't end me!"
Terrified, Wapol raised both cannons, firing a relentless barrage. The roof shook under the onslaught, but Chopper leaped high, dodging effortlessly. The cannons targeted one spot, useless against a moving target.
As the roof crumbled, Wapol redirected his aim skyward. "No, no! I have to hit him!"
Chopper soared, untouchable. Then, mid-air, he shrank back to his beast-human form, making himself a smaller target. The cannonballs missed entirely, sailing harmlessly past.
"What?!" Wapol gasped.
"Brain Point: Diagnosis Scope," Chopper intoned.
Falling headfirst, Chopper pressed his hooves together, scanning Wapol's body as if searching for a weak point.
Wapol, enraged, prepared another volley, only to realize his cannons were empty. "Out of ammo?! Damn it, why didn't anyone tell me?! …Oh, right, no one's here!"
"I see it. Your jaw," Chopper murmured.
He spun, landing cleanly, locking eyes with the stunned Wapol.
Despite his empty cannons, Wapol's fury sparked an idea. He opened his mouth, devouring chunks of the roof. With the Baku Baku Fruit, he could turn the stone into ammunition.
Chopper watched, certain of his target. Wapol's tin jaw—his weak point—was obvious now. The Baku Baku Fruit relied on eating; stop that, and Wapol was powerless.
Wapol stopped eating, grinning. "Alright, ammo's ready! Now I'll blast you away!"
"Just stone," Chopper said dismissively.
"Shut up! Talk after you eat this!"
Wapol fired, launching stone fragments. They were powerful but crude compared to real cannonballs.
Chopper didn't move, transforming instead. His fur thickened, his body rounding into a fluffy ball—Guard Point. The stones struck, but his fur absorbed the impact, leaving him unharmed. He bounced lightly, standing on all fours, a fortified version of his beast form.
The stones had no effect. Wapol trembled as their eyes met.
"No way…" Wapol whispered.
"Guard Point's fur blocks impacts," Chopper said coolly. "Stones are useless."
"No… no way!"
Cornered, Wapol fired more stones in a desperate frenzy. "Screw it! I'll crush you!"
"Jumping Point!" Chopper countered, leaping high to evade.
The stones hit only the roof, breaking it further. Wapol looked up, fear in his eyes, as Chopper transformed mid-air.
"Arm Point!"
Chopper's form shifted again, optimized for attack. His face was beastly, his body human-like, with massively muscled arms ending in hooves said to crush iron.
He plummeted toward Wapol, who froze, arms spread, mouth agape, unable to react.
Chopper's right hoof shot forward, striking Wapol's forehead with a crack.
"Take this!"
"Guh?! What?!" Wapol cried.
The blow, combined with Wapol's backward lean, sent him tumbling off the roof. Chopper pursued, leaping after him as they fell toward the ground.
"Gaaaah! I'm gonna die! Help!" Wapol screamed.
"Even if the Doctor would forgive you, I won't forgive you for mocking his way of life!"
"No, stop—gah!"
As the ground rushed up, Chopper closed the distance, pulling back both arms. Aiming for Wapol's jaw, he unleashed a final strike.
"Kokutei… Roseo!"
"Urgh!"
The hoof smashed Wapol's jaw, the impact stealing his consciousness. The force accelerated his fall, and he crashed headfirst into the ground, collapsing in a heap.
Chopper landed deftly, shifting to Guard Point to cushion the impact. He bounced, unharmed, and reverted to his beast-human form, brushing snow from his hat. The Rumble Ball's effect faded.
"Three minutes," he murmured.
He glanced at Wapol, confirming he was out cold, then looked up at the castle. The skull flag still fluttered, defiant against the storm.
Belief, Chopper thought, closing his eyes.
Emotions swirled—pirates, belief, friends—concepts once distant, now etched into his heart. Meeting Luffy had awakened memories and truths.
Opening his eyes, Chopper turned to check on Luffy.
What he saw froze him.
Luffy was trapped in a wall of mycelium, his face ashen from poison, limp and motionless, as if unconscious—or worse.
Fear gripped Chopper. The thought of Luffy's death shook him. Unable to stand still, he sprinted toward him, driven by instinct, not thought.
But Musshuru stepped into his path.
"Where you going, little reindeer? You hurt my brother."
Musshuru's foot swung up, striking Chopper's jaw with brutal force.
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