"This… what… what is this, Luffy…?"
Chopper cautiously held out his small hooved hands and carefully lifted the gift from Luffy.
He raised it toward the light, looking at the rectangular screen and the buttons above, but he couldn't guess what it was. A little confused, he turned to Luffy.
"Hahaha…"
Luffy laughed again, patting Chopper on the head. He stepped back, feigning mystery, and said to Chopper:
"You wouldn't understand it yet!"
"Because that's only part of the gift. Chopper, watch this!"
As he spoke, a strange energy began to glow between Luffy's hands.
And at the instant it appeared!
The object in Chopper's hands suddenly shot a dazzling light, shining directly between Luffy's hands.
[Spirits of Ice]
Origin: Digimon World
Description: A warrior spirit with ice attributes. When used, it can evolve via the Digivice into a Digimon with ice powers.
This!
This was the exclusive tool Luffy had drawn for Chopper, the ice-type digital power from the Digimon world!
The Digivice's beam enveloped the warrior spirit. Its mystical evolutionary energy gradually condensed and finally moved in front of Chopper.
The warrior spirit split in two!
One was a small white bear clad in green armor and a headpiece; the other was a curled-up beast with long fingers and a terrifying face, resembling an angry gorilla.
In an instant, the two warrior spirits shrank rapidly and, following the mysterious white light, entered Chopper's Digivice.
The Digivice, now containing the Spirits of Ice, instantly lit up with a cyan-blue ice symbol on its screen.
Chopper, gripping the Digivice, seemed to understand what it was. He looked up at Luffy.
Then, one hand clutching the Digivice, the other summoned a rotating digital halo.
That was the warrior spirit's power!
Chopper's expression turned serious. With a stylish motion, the warrior spirit glided across the Digivice, leaving a fleeting trail of light.
"Spirits of Ice! Evolve!"
Suddenly, the Digivice exploded with digital halos that danced in the air, completely enveloping Chopper.
The digital energy surged over him, finally coalescing into a dazzling light that spread across the Going Merry's main hall.
Crack!
The energy shattered into countless tiny fragments, slowly vanishing into the air.
A white bear wearing green armor and a green headband emerged from the sparkling fragments.
The evolved Chopper leaped backward in a backflip, landing as his body briefly transformed into flowing shards of ice. He immediately reformed into his Digimon-like white bear form, flashed a "V" sign to Luffy and the others, and shouted joyfully:
"Spirit of Ice Chopper! Reporting!!!"
"Wow!!!"
"Wow!!!"
Chopper's dazzling transformation sent Usopp and Koby into another bout of excitement.
This time, however, it wasn't just them, every member of the Stellar Pirates watched Chopper expectantly.
"How does it feel, Chopper!?"
Luffy lightly patted evolved Chopper on the head and asked.
"I feel… I've gotten so much stronger!!!"
"Hahaha~"
"Of course you have!"
"But… it's still not enough!"
"Hmm~"
Chopper looked up at Luffy with curiosity.
Luffy, pretending to be mysterious, didn't answer. He sat back down and lifted his cup once more:
"Let's raise our glasses again! To celebrate Chopper's new power! Cheers!!!"
"Cheers!!!"
Laughter and cheer filled the hall once more.
…
…
Arabasta, an island with a climate completely opposite to Drum Island.
The island was vast, nearly one of the largest in the Grand Line.
Yet despite its size, it was still in chaos.
Much of it was desert or barren rock, leaving little arable land. Constant summer heat caused frequent droughts.
In recent years, Baroque Works, secretly controlled by Warlord Crocodile, exploited the kingdom. Publicly, they ran the largest entertainment venues; secretly, they sold the kingdom's forbidden powder, "Dance Powder."
Dance Powder, a powdered substance, produced gas when burned that gathered clouds and caused rainfall.
It was a remarkable scientific creation.
But in Arabasta, it was absolutely forbidden.
Because the clouds formed by Dance Powder didn't originate over the sea…
They came from other cities!
Frequent use in one area would create devastating droughts nearby.
And thus, the rebel army was born.
They had heard rumors that King Nefertari Cobra used large amounts of Dance Powder in the capital to maintain comfort for the royal family.
The spread of this information quickly exceeded the king's control.
Even in the royal army, it began circulating.
A few days ago, a senior Arabasta general, whether genuinely misled or tricked, defected with 300,000 troops to the rebels.
What had been a stable unrest immediately escalated. All cities outside the capital gradually lost contact.
Realizing the danger, the king sent his daughter and trusted aides to secretly leave the capital and investigate.
To this day, no word had come from them.
King Nefertari Cobra was at his wits' end. Even surrounded by countless concubines, he felt no joy.
A man's greatest suffering isn't facing hardship… but feeling powerless in the face of it.
Being a man is hard. Being human is hard.
…
…
"Captain Smoker! We intercepted a strange conversation. You must come immediately!!!"
Near Arabasta, a massive Marine warship cut through the sea.
Its waterline alone testified to the sheer number of weapons and soldiers onboard.
"Huh?!"
Smoker, draped in a grey wool coat, turned thoughtfully and followed a soldier's directions to the ship's communication room.
"I am Mr. 0… time… arrives… tomorrow… plan… in Arabasta…"
Pfft…
The black listening device suddenly closed its eyes, going back to sleep.
Smoker's gaze flickered slightly. After a pause, realizing the device would make no more sound, he asked:
"Is that all?!"
A Marine soldier quickly nodded.
"Due to the distance, that's all we could hear. But judging from their codenames, it's probably related to Baroque Works, which we've been tracking."
"I see…"
Three cigars released thick smoke, shrouding Smoker's eyes.
"Set sail! Full speed ahead! Head for Arabasta Kingdom!"
"Yes, Captain Smoker!"
=======
Notes: Digivice/Digital Evolution: In the Digimon world, a device used to evolve digital creatures into stronger forms.