Chapter 171: Docking! And You Didn't Even Call Me!
Wapol gazed upon his latest "creation," a twisted yet satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Suffer! Wail! This is the price for crossing me!"
Before him, Zoro, Nami, and Vivi were "spit" out.
But unlike when they had been swallowed earlier—
It wasn't three.
It was one.
A monster with three heads, six arms, and six legs.
Fortunately, the thick cotton clothes they had been wearing were also "synthesized" along with them.
The massive, onesie-like cotton garment tightly wrapped the three together. Three heads poked out from the collar, six arms extended from the sleeves, and six legs struggled inside the pant legs.
It didn't look like a terrifying monster—not that sanity-shattering—but more like a clumsy Halloween costume, or... three unlucky souls crammed into the same sleeping bag.
"Once I fully reclaim the Drum Kingdom," Wapol stroked his white iron chin as if admiring a work of art, "I'll hold a grand exhibition! I'll display the three of you—no, the one of you—as freaks! I'll charge 100 Berry per ticket!"
Under normal circumstances, anyone transformed into such a monster would break down on the spot, go mad, despair over their life, and beg Wapol for mercy.
He was looking forward to seeing that.
But he was wrong.
There were no ordinary people here!
Zoro strained against the shackles on his wrists,
"Even with two women on my back, I can still cut down you bastards. Have the guts to unlock these shackles."
Wapol: "...Do I look like an idiot to you?"
Nami poked her head out from the left side, her face full of disdain:
"You bastard, you actually want to put me on display? And only charge 100 Berry per ticket? At least 1,000 Berry! And half the ticket sales go to me!"
Wapol widened his eyes:
"Why should I give you any money?!"
Vivi poked her head out from the right side, suppressing her anger:
"I am the princess of a nation! How dare you treat me like this? Aren't you afraid of causing a diplomatic incident and starting a war between our two countries?"
This made Wapol burst into laughter.
He patted his belly, waving his short limbs as if he had heard a joke:
"Stop bluffing! I've heard about the civil unrest in Alabasta. In a few days, it might be destroyed, and then you, a princess of a fallen kingdom... might be even more valuable."
He rolled his eyes and continued:
"Even if it isn't destroyed, how much of an army could Alabasta have left after a civil war? They'd be no match for me."
"Even if, by some chance, your army does come, and I'm not a match—I'll just run. The vast sea—do you think you can chase me forever?"
Wapol spread his hands, his smile shameless:
"I'll leave the civilians on the island to you. You're so kind, you'll surely treat them well, right?"
"If you try to seize it by force, I'll report you to the World Government. Under pressure, you'll have to retreat. And once you're gone, I'll come back and continue being king."
He raised his hands high and declared loudly:
"A kingdom exists because of its king. As long as I live, I will always be king!"
Vivi was left speechless by these words, only managing to squeeze out two words through gritted teeth:
"...!"
"This is the wisdom of a ruler! Naive Princess Vivi!"
Wapol turned around triumphantly.
"Take them away! We'll deal with them slowly after we retake the castle!"
The army continued its advance up the mountain.
Midway up the mountain, another battlefield.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!!"
Lufia's fist slammed like a cannonball into the face of a white creature larger than a bear.
The creature let out a howl, tumbled, knocked down three cedar trees, and collapsed on the ground, motionless.
A chorus of mournful cries rose around them.
It was a group of... rabbits.
To be precise, "Lapahns."
Their size rivaled that of giant bears, with sharp teeth and fierce eyes. They usually preyed on other animals in the snowfields and even dared to attack lone humans.
But now, these rabbits were trembling as they formed a circle, watching Lufia and Sanji in the center, along with their beaten-down leader.
"..."
Lufia panted heavily. Despite the freezing cold, she was so exhausted that sweat beaded on her forehead.
Sanji was in even worse shape.
His padded coat was torn in several places, and a bloody scratch marked his face.
He lit a cigarette, looking at the surrounding rabbit horde that didn't dare approach:
"These guys... there are just too many of them, aren't there?"
Originally, they had just come to hunt, to catch a couple of rabbits to nourish Ralph.
But as they fought, they ended up attracting the entire rabbit horde.
From a dozen to several dozen, and finally, even the Lapahn Leader had emerged.
But what surprised Sanji was that after defeating the Lapahn Leader, Lufia suddenly stopped.
She crouched in front of the Lapahn Leader, looking at the giant rabbit that, though fallen, still used its body to shield several smaller rabbits behind it. Her eyes sparkled.
"You..."
Lufia poked the Lapahn Leader's nose, "Protecting your little ones?"
The Lapahn Leader weakly raised its head, emitting a threatening growl, but its body remained firmly in front of the little rabbits.
Lufia suddenly laughed.
"Good! I like your style!"
She stood up, waving at the rabbit horde, "No eating, no eating! You all can go!"
Sanji was stunned at first, "...?"
Then, instantly, his eyes turned into hearts, "As expected of the kind Miss Lufia, so full of love for little animals!!"
If Ralph were here, he would surely say, Lufia loves little animals?
Isn't that obvious!
The kind you have at every meal!
Actually, Lufia's criteria for judging animals were quite vague.
If she recognized them as having loyalty and righteousness, treating them as potential friends, she wouldn't eat them.
Otherwise, they could all become food.
The rabbit horde scattered as if granted amnesty, dragging their injured leader away.
The crisis was resolved, but a problem arose—
"So," Sanji looked at the empty snowfield, "We didn't catch any prey, and we wasted a lot of energy. Ralph's nourishing soup... is gone."
Lufia patted her stomach, her face falling:
"So hungry..."
The worst possible situation occurred right at that moment.
"Yo—isn't that the Straw Hat brat?"
A nauseating voice came from down the slope.
Wapol's army was coming up.
Lufia and Sanji turned their heads simultaneously, their pupils contracting sharply.
They saw the "merged" Zoro, Nami, and Vivi.
They also saw Wapol's ugly, grinning face.
"Zoro! Nami! Vivi!"
Lufia exclaimed.
"Green algae head! You, you..."
Sanji's gaze swept over the three people sharing one body, and he suddenly broke down, "Damn that moss-headed bastard, why are you so lucky?! To be tied up with Miss Vivi and Miss Nami?! Why can't I get that kind of luck?!"
Nami poked her head out from the middle, shouting angrily:
"We're not tied up! We've been merged! That bastard's ability can fuse people together!"
"M-merged?!"
Sanji was struck as if by lightning, his whole body turning ashen, "Physically connected with two beautiful ladies...this kind of luck...this kind of luck..."
But Lufia's eyes lit up:
"Merged?! That's so cool! I actually missed it, what a shame!"
Wapol looked at these two enemies, especially Lufia, and rage surged in his heart:
"Get them! Capture them! I'll merge them into monsters too! Make them a set of collectibles!"
Jesslar drew his giant bow, while Kuromarimo plucked explosive afro balls from his head.
The royal guards raised their weapons and closed in.
"Sanji! Lufia! Get us out of here!"
Nami shouted.
Lufia and Sanji exchanged a glance.
They were exhausted.
The earlier battle with the rabbit horde had drained too much of their stamina, and they were still injured.
But their comrades were right before their eyes.
"Gomu Gomu—"
"Collier—"
The two attacked simultaneously!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The battle erupted once more.