After running to gain some distance, Nami and Chopper hid behind a house.
They avoided going inside buildings or narrow alleyways so they could evade attacks at any moment. They stayed on the main street, crouching in the shadows so as not to be immediately seen.
Chopper was treating his right arm. There wasn't enough time or leeway for a thorough examination, but it was undoubtedly fractured. He wouldn't be able to use it in this fight, at least.
As he bandaged and splinted it with only his left hand, he recalled their recent exchange. Mr. 4, despite his usual demeanor, was by no means slow. His close combat skills were superior to Chopper's.
"I can hit him. It's not impossible to win. The problem is how to land a hit."
Nami exhaled deeply, her gaze darting around, wary of their surroundings.
"How's your arm?"
"It's broken. To be swinging like that, with just one arm, in that stance... What a monster..."
"He really is a monster. We should probably assume he's as strong as Luffy or Zoro."
"I'm sorry... I'm just getting in the way."
Even though he knew he had to stay alert, his gaze involuntarily dropped. Chopper, visibly disheartened, looked down. He, the ship's doctor, couldn't easily forgive his own injury. He was supposed to be treating his comrades, but his arm was out of commission. He couldn't help but imagine that he might not be able to help anyone like this.
Noticing his crestfallen expression, Nami's face hardened as she spoke to Chopper.
"Listen, Chopper. From now on, you don't need to say 'thank you' or 'I'm sorry'."
"Huh?"
"Isn't that right? You protect me, and I protect you. We're nakama, so that's natural, nothing strange about it. Before you even think about saying thanks, think about something else. Like how to defeat the enemy, or how to protect our friends."
Chopper was surprised, but he noticed Nami's hand, gripping her Clima-Tact, trembling slightly. She must be anxious too. Could they really get out of this alive? The enemy was so strong that even being careful, she couldn't help but wonder. It probably didn't help that they had avoided combat as much as possible until now.
Nami looked into his eyes, trying to cheer him up. He gritted his teeth, then rubbed his tear-filled eyes with his arm, changing his expression. Nami nodded firmly, seeing Chopper's resolve.
He couldn't afford to be weak. No matter what, he would protect Nami. He was already a pirate, and she was a precious comrade. And he wanted to protect not just her, but their other friends too. So what if his arm was broken? His legs still worked. His mind was still sharp. He could fight with his left arm. Now, with Nami beside him, they could combine their strengths. Thinking about it again, an astonishing amount of power surged through him. His fear vanished, and Chopper nodded.
"Yeah, I understand. I won't apologize anymore, and I won't say thanks. Helping each other is just natural."
"That's right. Now then, let's come up with a plan to defeat them—"
The moment she spoke, they were caught up to. In front of the two, who were backed against what used to be a house wall, six holes opened instantly. Miss Merry Christmas had moved quickly underground. Her speed was so extreme that she didn't even wait for them to stand up.
"They're here!"
"Ugh, we can't even rest for a second...!"
They knew it was dangerous to stay put. So, the two hurriedly stood up, instinctively thinking of escaping, but holes had been dug all around them, encircling them. The distances were uneven, and the semi-circle was distorted. There was no consistent pattern. Behind them was a wall. Breaking through this encirclement wouldn't be easy. Hesitation over which hole she would emerge from slowed their actions.
By the time they tried to run, Lassoo's upper body emerged from one of the holes. He looked at them with a dumbfounded expression, snot dripping, and then sneezed again. A ball flew from his mouth, just as before.
"Ikkishi!"
"Here it comes! Dodge!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Seeing the sneeze, they couldn't stay still. They ran to escape the ball. To avoid the ball flying from their right front, they moved to their left front. They had finally gotten used to its speed. Since Nami had been watching its direction, dodging itself wasn't a problem. They were away before the ball came close, and it passed behind them at a slight distance.
At that moment, a new hole opened. As if anticipated from the start, a hole opened in the direction the ball was heading, and Mr. 4 emerged, his upper body visible. The bat, swung with full force, connected powerfully with the ball.
He was completely behind them, and the batted ball flew, aiming for their backs. Chopper, glancing back slightly and seeing the scene, reflexively transformed into his human form.
There wasn't even time to call out. He wrapped his arm around Nami's waist in a protective embrace and kicked off the ground. Immediately after they hit the ground, the batted ball flew over their heads. A few more seconds passed. It exploded about two meters from them. At that distance, they couldn't exactly say they had avoided it; they were caught by the blast and sent tumbling across the ground. Their bodies moved without conscious thought, kicking up dust as they hit various things on the ground.
"Ugh...?!"
"Haa, more are coming! We have to keep running!"
"Ikkishi! Ikkishi!"
Chopper helped Nami up and started running again, listening to Lassoo's sneezes. Two more balls were spat out, but this time they weren't aimed at the two of them, but at the waiting Mr. 4. He was already poised with his bat.
Two more sounds of the ball being struck. Chopper looked back as he kept moving. One was a line drive. It flew straight, aimed for their backs.
"Wait, no way?!"
"Damn it!"
He was the cleanup hitter. Long hits were a given, and he could handle any breaking ball, intentionally producing various types of hits. The intentionally hit line drive surprised the two, forcing them into desperate evasive action. A split-second decision split them to the left and right, and they lay on the ground, separated, as the ball passed between them.
An explosion. Then, they were hit by the blast. Nami, huddled and enduring, was trying to find a breakthrough. At this rate, they would only be attacked unilaterally. It was natural for her to think she had to somehow turn the situation around, but unfortunately, she didn't know how. She simply endured until the blast passed, and when things settled, she looked up.
Chopper was also trying to get up. The only difference was that a sliding grounder was hurtling towards Chopper along the ground.
"Eh—?"
It was in front of him before he knew it, exploding immediately after. By the time he realized it, it was too late. Chopper's human-form body was swallowed by a roaring explosion, and Nami cried out, losing her composure.
"No way...?! Chopper!"
"It's still going on. Four Hundred Fierce Hits Bank Knock."
A voice suddenly came from her right, and she turned to see Miss Merry Christmas, her upper body emerging from the ground. A self-satisfied smile. She seemed to be gloating. Nami bit her lip, feeling frustrated, even though she knew from the start that there was a difference in their abilities, and this was perhaps the expected outcome.
"You've given us so much trouble. Don't think you'll die easily."
"Shut up! We didn't come here with half-hearted resolve either! Just you wait, I'm going to beat you to a pulp...!"
"Nami!"
As she knelt, gripping her Clima-Tact, she heard Chopper's voice. Nami immediately looked in that direction, gazing at the spot where smoke was billowing. His voice was as strong as before. He seemed to be safe.
"Chopper! You're safe!"
"I shrank and escaped! More importantly, I have an idea!"
"Oh, right, he's a Zoan too..."
As she muttered, Miss Merry Christmas disappeared underground. Nami stood up and immediately warned Chopper to be careful.
"Just give me a little time! If it works, we can take them all out at once!"
"Be careful! That old hag might have gone that way!"
"Got it!"
Chopper, in his Human-Beast form, came running out of the smoke. Just before the explosion, he had transformed from Human form to Human-Beast form and instinctively rolled on the ground to evade. Due to the difference in body size, he was easily thrown, avoiding a direct hit from the explosion. After being thrown far away, he apparently avoided the blast and hid in the smoke by making a quick decision.
His right arm was still unusable, but it was a stroke of luck that he hadn't died from the previous attack. He could still fight. Now was the time to execute the plan Kiri had told him about beforehand. If Chopper, who could talk to animals, were to fight, the Mr. 4 pair would be a good match. Although it relied on luck since they didn't know who they would encounter, Kiri had given him the secret plan, saying this. That's why Chopper had drilled the information about the Mr. 4 pair into his head.
The running Chopper aimed for Lassoo, who had his face sticking out of a hole. He proceeded without looking at anything else, approaching directly from the front without hesitation.
"Lassoo! There's something I want to tell you!"
A new hole opened, and Miss Merry Christmas appeared in front of him. He was surprised, but he couldn't stop his feet now, and a slap assaulted Chopper. Chopper's right arm was unusable against her left arm, which she swung. There wasn't enough time to defend.
"Nngh!"
"Whoa?!"
His small body was lightly thrown and rolled on the ground. Seeing that, Nami started running to help him.
"Hey, old hag! That's enough!"
"Let's continue. Four Hundred Fierce Hits Bank Knock!"
"Bow! Bow! Bow! Bow!"
"Fooo..."
Again, Miss Merry Christmas dug a hole and escaped underground. At the same time, Lassoo spat out balls and tossed them, and Mr. 4 hit all of them. He hit four balls, all pop flies. They spun and fell. They fell from directly above Chopper, who was trying to get up, and Nami's expression changed in alarm.
"Run, Chopper! It's dangerous?!"
"Ugh, ugh..."
Chopper hurriedly scrambled into a nearby hole that had just opened. Miss Merry Christmas had just disappeared right in front of him. Having narrowly escaped death, the balls hit the ground and exploded right after he disappeared from sight.
A powerful blast from the four balls swept through the main street. Nami, who was enduring, almost fell but managed to hold on, and then thought about her next move.
Chopper had said he needed time. He must have a plan. Believing in him, she tried to figure out a way to buy even a little time. There wasn't much she could do. But she, too, wanted to protect her friends. Seeing Lassoo about to spit out a ball at Mr. 4, she quickly reconfigured her Clima-Tact.
"Mr. 4! Look at this!"
"Foooo...?"
"Fine = Tempo!"
When she combined them into a triangle and pressed a button, two doves flew out from the center. It was a type of magic trick. The doves flew off somewhere, completely pointless. It wasn't an attack either. However, it piqued Mr. 4's interest in a strange way, and his eyes glittered. Nami broke out in a cold sweat, wondering if it had worked.
"Fooooooo...!"
"Well?!"
"Ikkishi!"
Lassoo produced a ball. Although his aim was slightly off due to his aroused interest, Mr. 4, with reflexes ingrained in his body, hit the ball back. The arc-shaped shot aimed for Nami. She had hoped for a direct hit from that miss, but it seemed that was asking too much.
Nami unhesitatingly turned her back and ran. However, the effect of the misaim was that it wasn't difficult to avoid.
"Ugh, when is this going to end?!"
"It'll end when you die."
"Eh?!"
The ball itself was easily avoided, exploding far away. As she breathed a small sigh of relief and complained, her legs again stopped moving. She saw, as before, Miss Merry Christmas gripping both her ankles. Only her right hand was out of the ground, her body still underground. Miss Merry Christmas held Nami in a position that felt unfairly advantageous. A voice came from the small hole where her hand was, even though it was underground, sending a shiver down Nami's spine.
"Special service. Take this! Mole Mound Number 4 Crossroads!"
"No, what are you doing?! Let go of me, old hag! Mole!"
With Nami's feet gripped, Miss Merry Christmas began to swim underground. Unable to resist due to the high speed, Nami was carried along, looking like she was crucified.
"Mole Mound Highway!"
"Noooooo?! Stop it?! What are you two trying to do?!"
"Hahaha! Don't worry, your skull will just be crushed! Get ready, Mr. 4!"
"Don't be ridiculous! If you do that to my pretty face, I won't forgive you...!"
Where they were heading, Mr. 4 had completely emerged from a hole and was poised with his bat. He tapped the ground with the tip, completed his routine, and took his stance. If they continued like this, she would be hit. Not by a ball, but Nami herself. Panicked, she reconfigured her Clima-Tact into a different shape to resist.
"I won't die easily...! I still want to live, I want money, and I want to draw sea charts...!"
"Fooooo..."
"Alright, here we go! Get ready, Mr. 4!"
They approached rapidly. Nami gripped her weapon, her body trembling with fear. Mr. 4's eyes were fixed on Nami.
Taking advantage of that split-second opening, Chopper, who had crawled out of a hole, suddenly appeared behind Mr. 4. In his Human-Beast form, he stood behind him, then leaped between his legs. There, he transformed into his Human form.
"Uwoooooooh!"
"Fooooo?!"
Mr. 4's massive body was surprisingly heavy. However, Chopper, whose body had suddenly grown larger from the transformation, lifted him up as if giving him a piggyback ride, forcibly flipping him over. Chopper himself felt a great strain on his body, but Mr. 4 hit the ground headfirst with a thud and then remained motionless. Seeing that, Nami smiled with relief.
Miss Merry Christmas, still underground, couldn't see it. Even after passing the spot where Mr. 4 had been standing, Nami's feet remained gripped, and only then did she finally feel something was off.
"Hm? What are you doing, Mr. 4! Did you miss a swing?!"
"Nice one, Chopper! How long are you going to keep holding onto me, old hag?!"
"Ow!?"
Nami hit Miss Merry Christmas's hand, which wouldn't let go, with her Clima-Tact. The pain was considerable. But even more than that, the surprise was great enough for her to let go. Nami's body was flung to the ground, and her shoulder hurt, but she endured it, remembering the previous attack.
With Mr. 4 defeated, Miss Merry Christmas dug a hole and emerged. Seeing him lying there, she openly displayed her anger, realizing her attack had failed.
In the meantime, Chopper transformed back into his Human-Beast form and ran towards Lassoo, no one else.
"Agh?! What are you doing, Mr. 4! You're really useless! 'Guh'! You're such a 'no'!"
"So-rry..."
"Ugh, how irritating! I said speak up!"
Miss Merry Christmas was frustrated by the repeated blunders. In terms of pure strength, they should have been overwhelmingly superior. Yet, they were still locked in a stalemate due to persistent resistance. It was a situation that wounded her professional pride.
While the two were distracted, Chopper made contact with Lassoo. He took off his backpack, and though it was tricky with only one left arm, he pulled out some food he had stored inside. What he brought out was an ordinary yogurt. Lassoo's eyes lit up the moment he saw it. It was his favorite.
"You like this, don't you? Just listen to me for a bit."
"Hm? Hey, what are you doing!"
"Your opponent is over here, old hag!"
Chopper's actions were noticed, but Nami had already raised her weapon. She swung it towards the angry Miss Merry Christmas, and from a distance, only the cross-shaped tip of her weapon flew. It approached spinning like a boomerang, and Miss Merry Christmas snorted, dismissing it as a weak attack.
"What's this? Are you playing boomerang?"
It wasn't even worth avoiding. Thinking that, she lightly poked it with her claw. The moment she touched it, the Clima-Tact generated a storm, blowing her body away. There was no direct damage, but the surprise was great. Furthermore, she flew towards Mr. 4, who was sitting and watching, and the two bumped heads and both fell down.
"Aaaargh?!"
"Fooooo?!"
"Alright. We got them back."
Nami quickly retrieved the two pieces that had returned due to the blast and immediately put some distance between them. In the meantime, Chopper had finished his conversation with Lassoo. He didn't state his purpose, only made a request, and after letting him lick the yogurt, he made Lassoo stick his face into the hole. There, Lassoo sneezed.
All the spat-out balls went into the hole. Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas, who had been knocked down, didn't know this, and when they got up, they glared at Nami.
"You're messing with us, aren't you!"
"Nami! Get as far away from the holes as you can!"
"Eh, yeah! I'm already doing that!"
When the sneezing stopped, Chopper straddled Lassoo's back. He looked like a friend. When Chopper called out, Lassoo started running, carrying Chopper towards Nami. Miss Merry Christmas couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and was surprised.
"Hey, Lassoo! What are you doing! Are you betraying us?!"
"Hey! We're escaping! Try to catch us if you can!"
"Tch, you're messing around... Let's go, Mr. 4! Don't let them get away with this any longer!"
"Fooooo...!"
The moment the two jumped into a pre-made hole, explosions erupted from almost all the surrounding holes, and a powerful blast rushed through the narrow tunnels. The heatwave was palpable even at a distance behind them. The backs of the two, moving away, were pushed relentlessly.
Nami involuntarily stopped and looked back. Flames roared upwards. The destructive power was immense. She shuddered at the thought of being targeted by something like that. It seemed to have attacked the enemy now, and she looked down at the Human-Beast form Chopper, surprised.
He was sitting neatly on Lassoo's back beside her. Had he become their ally? She still didn't know. For now, he seemed harmless.
It couldn't have happened by chance. He had aimed for this. As she looked at the enormous explosion again and questioned him, he stared in the same direction with a serious gaze. She vaguely understood without him saying anything. His eyes, his demeanor, indicated that the decisive moment hadn't passed. He probably thought it wasn't over yet.
"Amazing... How did you even come up with that?"
"This is their weakness. All the holes are connected, so if an explosion happens, there's no escape. No matter where they are, they'll definitely be hit."
"It's over now, right?"
"No..."
He didn't seem embarrassed by the praise. He was that tense. Staring at a wavering shadow, Chopper whispered.
"They're alive."
"Ugh... They can still move?"
Mr. 4 appeared, walking with heavy steps that conveyed a sense of pressure. He was covered in burns, and his clothes were tattered. Although he was in a dangerous state of extreme exhaustion, his gait itself was steady. It couldn't be called a decisive blow yet. A final push was needed. Against him, who possessed overwhelming close-combat strength, one or two more attacks were necessary.
It wasn't over yet. They hadn't fallen yet. Nami's face was now on the verge of tears, her mind wavering. She shook her head, telling herself not to be weak, and tried to steel herself again, but her hands trembled uncontrollably. The mental impact was stronger than the physical damage.
Mr. 4, now even more intimidating with his wounds, approached step by step. Nami, frightened, took a step back, clearly overwhelmed.
"If even that didn't work, what should we do? C-can we do it again...?"
"No, it probably won't work anymore. He'll dodge it."
"Then have that dog spit out balls... Oh, but he'll hit them back if it's him. At least the old hag, with the dog's bombs—"
"That's impossible. Lassoo won't attack his allies."
A voice was heard again. Miss Merry Christmas was somewhere. But she was still underground, no matter where Nami looked. Only the pressure was given. She considered focusing on Mr. 4 first, but she couldn't think of any effective strategies.
If only there was one change in the situation. At this point, there was no room for thought, and perhaps due to the pressure, Chopper, on a whim, decided to have Lassoo spit out balls. He knew that if he shot at Mr. 4 himself, he would hit them back. So, if he could at least shoot around him and use it as a smokescreen.
"Lassoo, spit out the balls again! I'll give you more of your favorite later—"
With a sharp sound, Miss Merry Christmas burst out of the ground. She attacked Chopper from the side with a jump, slashing his torso with her sharp claws.
"Nngh!"
"Whoa?!"
"Chopper?! Damn it, you old hag...!"
Chopper fell off Lassoo's back. He lay on the ground, bleeding profusely. Seeing Miss Merry Christmas land nearby, Nami, her face filled with anger, instinctively swung her weapon. She wasn't thinking she could win, but she aimed to hit her. However, their fundamental strength was different. Her attack was easily parried by claws, and in return, a slap from Miss Merry Christmas's left hand struck Nami's torso.
"That won't work! You idiot!"
"Kyaaah?!"
She fell back hard, losing her breath. She immediately thought she had to get up, but her body wouldn't move properly, and she fumbled, unable to get up at all. Nami turned to Miss Merry Christmas with clearly shaken eyes. She stood triumphantly nearby, but didn't immediately make a move.
Chopper also tried to get up, but the wound in his abdomen seemed deeper than Nami's. Mr. 4 was heading towards him, still some distance away. That, too, was terrifying.
"You tamed Lassoo. Did Kiri tell you? You really caused a lot of trouble."
"Haa, too bad for you... He became our friend."
"No. Actually, I don't think so."
Miss Merry Christmas looked at Nami, who was struggling to move, and smirked.
"He's a fool. The one he betrayed was the Warlord Crocodile. If he had stayed in the organization, he wouldn't have been killed, but it's too late now."
"He won't die... Because he's a fool, but a good-natured fool."
"You guys don't know anything. About the level of the Seven Warlords. No matter how much he's connected to Crocodile, there's no way he can go against that level and survive."
Nami's eyes sharpened with strong defiance. This prompted Miss Merry Christmas to lean in closer.
"Why? Because this is the friend he chose. He resisted a little, but he can't even move anymore."
It was frustrating, but she was right. Miss Merry Christmas's face was right in front of her, and Nami couldn't even punch her.
Chopper gritted his teeth, trying to stand up. Nami also put all her strength into her body, glaring at Miss Merry Christmas, trying desperately to stand. Miss Merry Christmas laughed at the two of them.
"And what about your captain? I thought he was strong, but only 30 million! A rookie like that, who doesn't know his place, is going to defy us?!"
"Luffy is the man who will become the King of the Pirates! He's definitely going to punch Crocodile and the Seven Warlords!"
"Hm? King of the Pirates? Kh... Hahahahaha!"
Hearing Nami's desperate cry, Miss Merry Christmas burst out laughing. Not only her, but Mr. 4 also laughed, holding his stomach, looking as if he couldn't help himself. Nami and Chopper's expressions vanished, and they felt an uncontrollable rage.
"King of the Pirates! Kaikuo, Kakuo, 'Ka'! He says he's going to be 'Ka'! Ahahahahaha!"
"Fooooo-fooooo-foooooo...!"
"W-what's so funny?!"
"What's funny? It's obviously funny! A bounty of just 30 million can't become 'Ka'!"
"Luffy just arrived in the Grand Line! His bounty will increase as much as it wants from now on...!"
Miss Merry Christmas leaned her face close to Nami, who was trying to argue, so close that their noses almost touched, and spoke in a lower voice than before. Just that changed the sense of intimidation. Her whole body tensed, but anger gave Nami a strength she hadn't had before. Still, she couldn't move.
"Then it's even more impossible. Someone who doesn't know this sea can't possibly defeat us."
"No! That's not true! Luffy will become the King of the Pirates!"
"Anyone can talk about dreams. How many people do you think have said 'I will definitely become "Ka"' and died? I can't count them, this sea is full of such fools!"
Miss Merry Christmas dove underground. She grabbed Nami's ankles and began moving at high speed towards a damaged house.
"Such fools who don't know their place deserve to die! They'll be killed by Crocodile anyway! Just like you're going to be killed by us!"
"Ugh...?!"
"Nami!"
She was heading straight for the wall. At this rate, she would collide with it head-on. She couldn't attack the hand gripping her ankles. Her body felt heavy as lead. So, as a last resort, Nami desperately raised both her arms and crossed them in front of her face.
"Protect this country?! Become 'Ka'?!
Are you serious about saying such things?!
Talking about impossible ideals isn't a dream, it's recklessness! You're just a fool! If you can't face reality, just die already! While saying you'll become 'Ka'!"
"Shut up... What do you know...!"
"Mogu Mogu Crushing Impact!"
Nami's body slammed into the hard wall.
She hit it head-on, her body spun, her head inverted, and she was so disoriented that she herself didn't know what was happening. Intense pain assailed her entire body.
She spat up blood, and even simple breathing was difficult. She fell weakly to the ground. Even when Miss Merry Christmas appeared on the surface, Nami couldn't move.
"It's over."
"Nami?! Damn it, you!"
"Fooooo..."
Chopper, barely able to stand up, heard a voice behind him and turned around.
At that moment, Mr. 4's full swing caught him in the torso, sending his body flying with a tremendous impact.
He disappeared in the opposite direction from where Nami had gone, breaking through the house wall. Chopper was soon out of Mr. 4's sight, and he leisurely patted his shoulder with his bat.
Miss Merry Christmas returned to Mr. 4.
Indeed, they had struggled more than expected. But that was all. Now, their enemies were no longer in front of them, and they could calmly walk away.
"You're on a different level than us, you fools."
Whispering that, she casually turned her back, and the two and the animal began walking in search of their next prey.
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