The reason Big Brother Kambaccino and Second Brother Brindy had attacked earlier was simple—
they wanted to knock that ninja into the sea.
Once a Devil Fruit user fell into the ocean, they would lose all ability to resist.
But clearly—
they had failed.
That man was still standing on the deck, completely unharmed.
Which meant their ambush hadn't achieved anything at all.
"Retreat?"
Brindy, who had just been kicked by Sanji, froze for a moment.
He turned his head toward the iceberg above, his face full of confusion.
Kambaccino frowned as he dodged Luffy's punch and looked upward.
"What do you mean, retreat?"
From their expressions, something bad clearly had happened—
but the problem was, the situation still looked favorable to him.
The ninja had already been knocked into the sea.
All that remained was to send the Ferocious Penguins to retrieve him—
and the 400 million Beli bounty would be theirs.
As for Straw Hat and that suited man, they were strong—
but given enough time, the two brothers could still defeat them.
"Big brother! Didn't you see?!" Hawkru roared desperately.
"That ninja is still standing down there!!"
"That's right—something's wrong!" Arubelu shouted.
Kambaccino's expression finally changed.
He recalled what the Straw Hat crew had been shouting earlier—
almost all of it centered around that ninja.
Especially Straw Hat himself, who had directly said the ninja hadn't been blown away at all.
Back then, Kambaccino hadn't believed it.
Arrogant as he was, he assumed the man had already fallen.
But now…
Perhaps—
they were the ones seeing an illusion.
"Move!"
Without hesitation, Kambaccino grabbed Brindy and hurled him upward toward the iceberg.
Once Brindy reached the air, he planned to use magnetic attraction to pull himself over.
But in the next instant—
his face changed completely.
The ninja they believed had been blown away suddenly appeared in midair—
and with a brutal roundhouse kick, smashed Brindy straight back down.
"You're not leaving that easily," Jin said calmly.
The genjutsu had been released.
Bang!
"Ahhh!"
Brindy slammed heavily onto the deck, screaming in pain.
At the same time, Kambaccino felt a violent ache explode in his abdomen—
as if something invisible had struck him.
"So… we were being toyed with the whole time…"
Cold sweat rolled down Kambaccino's face.
The enemy's strength was far beyond his expectations.
This time—
they might have truly gone too far.
He looked at the Straw Hat crew standing on the deck.
In his eyes now, their figures looked terrifying—
those gazes felt like the eyes of demons, overflowing with pressure.
"If we let you just run off," Sanji said coldly,
"wouldn't that make us look pretty pathetic?"
Luffy glanced toward the people on the iceberg, then looked away.
Those opponents would naturally be handled by others.
As the two brothers charged again, Kambaccino gritted his teeth.
"Brindy, get up—they're coming!"
"Got it!"
Enduring the pain, Brindy forced himself to stand.
Even now, he still intended to fight alongside his brother.
"The ones up there are ours," Franky said, pointing at the iceberg.
"Jin—throw us up there."
"Merry wants to fight too!"
"Don't worry, I've got Merry," Robin said with a smile, lifting her into her arms.
Jin looked at the little girl, then at Robin, and nodded with a grin.
"Alright."
With Robin protecting her—and only three enemies—
there wouldn't be any real danger.
"Come here. I'll toss you up."
"Okay!"
On the iceberg, the three remaining members were panicking like ants on a hot pan.
"This is bad… at this rate, big brother and second brother will both die…"
Hawkru said anxiously. "What do we do?!"
"Send in the Ferocious Penguins!" Arubelu suddenly shouted.
"The penguins?"
"Yes!" Arubelu pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
"Have them ram both ships and knock everyone into the sea!"
Once a Devil Fruit user fell into the ocean—
they'd become lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
All they needed was to drop them in.
She quickly contacted their subordinates and ordered the penguins to carry icebergs and ram the ships.
At that moment—
Franky and Robin were thrown upward by Jin and landed on the iceberg.
Merry was held securely in Robin's arms, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
She'd been wanting to fight that little girl up here for a while now.
"Don't know what you're plotting," Franky grinned ferociously,
"but let's knock you flat first."
"You there with the stick—come get some!"
"Stick?" Hawkru froze, then roared angrily.
"Bastard! This is an ice hockey stick, you country bumpkin!"
"I don't care what it's called," Franky laughed.
"Just lie down and behave!"
"Strong Right!"
"Whoosh—!"
BOOM!!
The flying steel fist smashed into the iceberg, blasting out a massive crater.
"That punch is terrifying…"
Hawkru swallowed hard and immediately turned tail and ran.
"You freak! Catch me if you can!!"
"Freak?"
Franky blinked—then burst into laughter.
"Ahahaha! You've got good taste!"
"Then I'll try to make it quick when I hit you!"
"Stop right there!"
"Catch me first!!"
"Third brother ran off…"
Watching Hawkru flee, Lilu instinctively hid behind her sister, peeking nervously at Robin and Merry.
But when she saw Merry clearly—
she froze.
"A… a child?"
"Strange…" Arubelu frowned at Robin.
"Why would pirates have a child on their ship?"
Could it be—
"You monsters!" Arubelu shouted angrily.
"You kidnapped a child?!"
She immediately waved at Merry.
"Come here! Big sister will protect you!"
That adorable little girl instantly triggered Arubelu's maternal instincts.
Robin: ...
Seeing how genuine she looked, Robin wore an indescribable expression.
So this was the day the Straw Hat Pirates got mistaken for child traffickers.
"What are you talking about?" Merry tilted her head.
"Kidnapped?"
"Weren't you abducted by the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"Of course not!" Merry put her hands on her hips.
"I'm a member of the Straw Hat Pirates!"
She had been adventuring with them ever since they first set sail on the Going Merry.
How could she be kidnapped?
Arubelu froze—then suddenly looked enlightened.
"I see."
"You finally understand—"
"They must have brainwashed you!" Arubelu pointed at Robin.
"You despicable pirates!"
Robin: ...
"Big sister… I think you may have misunderstood," Lilu said weakly.
"She could also be someone's child."
"How is that possible?!" Arubelu retorted.
"How could pirates have such a cute child?!"
She didn't believe it.
Not one bit.
"That's enough," Robin said calmly, raising her hand.
"I'm not interested in arguing with you."
"So you're choosing violence, then," Arubelu said, drawing her weapon.
"Hm?"
Hands suddenly sprouted from her body.
Her face changed instantly.
"W–wait—!"
"Twelve Fleur!"
Crack—!
Arubelu was yanked apart into a full split and slammed onto the ice, tears bursting from her eyes.
"It hurts—so much!!"
"Hehe, then let's start too," Merry giggled, pulling out her little hammer and walking toward Lilu.
The doll-like girl wore an excited smile—
as if she'd finally found an evenly matched opponent.
But to Merry's surprise, Lilu raised both hands immediately.
"Nope! I don't want to fight!"
"…Eh?!"
Merry stopped dead, completely stunned.
Weren't they enemies?
Why surrender without even trying?
"…Robin," Merry looked back helplessly.
"Follow your heart," Robin said gently.
"You're a pirate too."
Merry blinked, then slowly put her hammer away.
Lilu let out a huge sigh of relief.
She had no combat ability at all.
At that moment—
a distant iceberg suddenly began to move.
And faster… and faster…
charging straight toward the ships!
Arubelu's eyes lit up.
"It's here!"
Once Big Brother Kambaccino and the others were freed—
this terrifying woman wouldn't stand a chance!
"Ahhh!!"
"The iceberg is crashing over!!" Nami and Usopp screamed.
"Jin!"
"Jin!"
"Got it."
Jin calmly glanced at the incoming iceberg.
"I knew those beasts wouldn't just sit still."
"But…"
"Do they really think this will work?"
As the iceberg closed in, Jin flashed to the bow in an instant and formed hand seals without hesitation.
"Lightning Style · Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
BOOM!!
A water dragon far larger than the ones carrying the ship erupted upward—
its body wrapped in terrifying arcs of lightning.
"ROAR!!"
With a deafening roar, it slammed straight into the iceberg.
The immense impact forcibly halted the massive block of ice.
At the same time, the lightning surged through the ice and water—
rushing violently into the sea below.
ZZZT!!
"AAAH!!"
The Ferocious Penguins beneath the surface were electrocuted instantly—
along with the hidden enemies underwater.
Eyes rolled white as they lost consciousness.
One by one, massive penguin bodies floated up to the surface.
"…What?!"
Kambaccino stared in horror.
Was this—
the true strength of the Straw Hat Pirates' ninja?
A single technique causing such catastrophic devastation?!
Judging by the sea surface—
had all their ferocious penguins been wiped out?!
"Damn you—you demon!!"
Jin merely glanced at him and looked away.
Sanji, however, sneered.
"Naive idiot. Isn't this kind of power normal for a ninja?"
"You attacked without even gathering intelligence."
"No idea how you idiots survived this long."
Before Kambaccino could reply—
a pair of hands suddenly filled his vision.
Fast.
Too fast to react.
"Gomu Gomu no—Rocket Cannon!"
BOOM!!
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