Rumble—!!!
A blazing meteor plummeted from the sky, crashing straight into the ground below. In an instant, it smashed out a massive crater on the sacred island of Upper Yard—land that was unimaginably precious to the people of the Sky Island.
Dozens of ancient trees, their ages unknown, were wiped out in the impact.
Birds and beasts scattered in all directions, cries of chaos echoing through the forest.
"Damn it! What the hell is this ability?!"
Vice Admiral Stainless staggered to his feet, shock flooding his face as he felt some strange force inside his body continuously siphoning away his stamina.
He immediately activated Armament Haki, directing it toward the obvious abnormality in his body, trying to forcibly destroy whatever was affecting him.
But the very next second—
A pitch-black spatial wormhole suddenly opened behind him.
And Chopper's body burst out of the void, carrying the momentum he had built up from his descent, slamming straight toward Stainless's back.
"Arm Strength Enhancement · Carved Hoof · Cherry Blossom Snowstorm!"
"Damn it! You just won't stay dead!!!"
This time, Stainless was prepared. He twisted midair, swinging the long blade in his hand toward the incoming gale behind him.
Clang—!!!
The violent clash of metal and raw force exploded like a storm, the shockwave rippling outward and sending the ancient forest rustling violently.
"…Hm? Hooves?!"
Stainless's eyes flickered as he stared at the twin hooves locking his blade in place.
"An Animal-Type Devil Fruit user?!"
He raised his head, his already stern expression growing even heavier as he exerted more force.
"You bastards trying to stir up chaos—your deaths are imminent!"
"The Navy has already surrounded the seas below, and Admiral Aokiji himself is standing guard!"
"Prepare yourselves to face the judgment of justice!"
Vice Admiral Stainless tried to pressure Chopper psychologically with his words.
Unfortunately for him, that plan was doomed to fail.
"Tch~"
Behind the vortex-patterned mask, Chopper let out a dismissive scoff, completely uninterested in responding.
The next instant, an icy gale burst from his hooves, roaring forward like a frozen hurricane and slamming straight into Stainless.
Pokémon move—Icy Wind!!!
Crack… crack!
Frost instantly coated the hand gripping Stainless's blade, rapidly spreading across his body.
"What kind of power is this now?!"
Stainless's expression changed sharply. He forced his strength outward, shattering the ice on his body, then retreated rapidly to put distance between himself and Chopper.
As he felt his legs grow inexplicably stiff, the shock in his eyes became impossible to hide.
Icy Wind only had a base power of 55, making it difficult to deal meaningful damage to someone like Stainless in a higher-tier battle—
But it possessed a terrifying additional effect.
It reduced the target's Speed.
"In that case… your Shave is going to be severely weakened, right?"
Behind the mask, Chopper muttered to himself.
Without Observation Haki, it was hard for him to accurately track ultra-high-speed movement like Shave.
So the best solution—
Was to prevent his opponent from using Shave properly in the first place!
As he spoke, Chopper suddenly pulled out a second Rumble Ball from his pocket.
The Rumble Ball—A miraculous drug Chopper had developed back during his time in the Drum Kingdom.
It altered the life wavelength of Animal-Type Devil Fruit users, allowing them to unlock additional forms beyond the standard human, beast, and hybrid forms!
So far, Chopper had already developed seven combat forms using the Rumble Ball.
Based on this achievement alone, Chopper's name was more than worthy of being recorded in the annals of pirate history as one of the world's greatest medical scientists!
If Kaido were to learn that such a drug existed—one that massively boosted Zoan combat power with almost no side effects—
He would transform into a dragon immediately and personally invite Chopper to join his crew.
"Brain Point!"
"Lock-On · Diagnosis!!!"
Whoosh—
As Chopper changed forms, his body suddenly shrank, causing the red-cloud Akatsuki cloak to drag along the ground.
Right in front of Stainless, he brought both hooves together, shaping them like a focusing lens, completely enveloping Stainless's body within his field of view.
A mysterious, unfathomable aura burst forth from Chopper.
Under the Fairy Skin ability, the normally Normal-type Lock-On instantly transformed into a mischievous Fairy-type move.
And with Lock-On's enhanced perception combined with the diagnostic ability granted by Brain Point—
Chopper almost instantly discovered the abnormalities within Stainless's body.
"What are you scheming now?!"
Stainless had expected Chopper to unleash another bizarre attack after transforming.
But seeing Chopper simply standing there motionless, his face darkened as he realized—
At some point, without even noticing, he had begun to feel fear toward this opponent.
That realization was an insult to his sense of justice.
Fury exploded instantly.
"Damn you!!!"
Vice Admiral Stainless roared lowly as thick black Armament Haki coated his blade. His feet kicked off the ground repeatedly as he charged forward.
Even with his speed greatly reduced by Icy Wind—
As a Navy Vice Admiral, he still erupted with a velocity far beyond that of ordinary fighters, closing the distance in an instant.
He raised the heavy blade high overhead, both arms turning as hard as steel.
"Tekkai · Steel Slash!"
Boom!!!
A crushing pressure like a falling mountain burst from the blade, violently shaking the surrounding air.
Yet in the face of such a devastating strike, Chopper neither dodged nor retreated. His eyes continued to glow with a faint violet-pink light.
Even with Lock-On assisting him, the opponent had undergone the Navy's saturation training and benefited from its top-tier medical system.
His physical weaknesses were few—naturally requiring more time to pinpoint.
Fortunately—
Just before the roaring slash descended, the light in Chopper's eyes suddenly condensed, then vanished like a flash of starlight.
"Found it!"
A grin spread across Chopper's face.
Instead of retreating, he surged forward.
His body rapidly expanded, once again stretching the Akatsuki uniform taut as he charged ahead.
"Leg Enhancement! Laughter Point!"
Step!
With explosive leg strength, Chopper shot forward like an arrow, appearing directly beneath Stainless.
Bringing his arms together, he lightly tapped Stainless's body—then kicked off sideways, instantly escaping the attack range.
"What?!"
Vice Admiral Stainless froze, utterly unprepared for Chopper's method of evasion.
And more importantly—
Another foreign energy had appeared inside his body, guiding it against his will, forcibly returning his steel-like arms to normal.
Boom!!!
The weakened slash crashed into the ground, tearing a massive fissure across Upper Yard.
And the very next moment—
"Hah… hahaha…"
"Hahahahaha—!!!"
Clang!
The massive sword plunged into the ground, propping up Stainless's body like a cane.
For no apparent reason, he hunched over, leaning on the blade with one hand as uncontrollable laughter poured from his mouth.
"It worked!"
Rolling to a stop, Chopper ignored the swelling in his overstrained arm and immediately looked up at Streiss—now completely incapacitated by the Laughter Point.
The Fairy-type Lock-On combined with Brain Point · Diagnosis had allowed Chopper to develop an entirely new combat method.
Unlike the original Diagnosis, which merely revealed existing injuries or weaknesses—
After being infused with Fairy-type energy, Chopper's Diagnosis had undergone a complete evolution!
He was no longer limited to observing weaknesses.
He could now create entirely new weaknesses within his enemy using Fairy-type energy.
Such as the Laughter Point, which forced uncontrollable laughter.The Dislocation Ring, which caused joints to slip apart.The Pain Response, which assaulted nerve endings.Or Calm, which could briefly stop the heart.
Because of its Fairy-type nature, every use of Diagnosis produced a random result.
Even now, Chopper didn't know whether his Diagnosis still had undiscovered effects.
Some were powerful.Others were mediocre.
Clearly, today, luck was on Chopper's side.
Laughter Point didn't instantly eliminate combat capability—but it crippled it severely.
And unlike pain, which could be endured, or dislocation, which could heal—
Unless all the Pokémon energy Chopper had injected was completely exhausted, Streiss would continue laughing until he fainted… or died.
…
…
"There's no suspense left anymore."
High above the battlefield where Chopper and Streiss clashed—
After knocking back Vice Admiral Momonga and Doberman, Red had come over to check in, just in case.
Seeing Chopper still brimming with combat power after using only a few moves, while Streiss was completely toyed with by Pokémon effects, Red finally relaxed.
"He couldn't even force out Chopper's third Rumble Ball. Looks like this Vice Admiral wasn't much after all~"
With a light sigh, Red stepped backward, disappearing once more into the Hyperspace Hole.
But he didn't return to the two Vice Admirals who were still on high alert, unable to locate him.
Outside Upper Yard, above a vast sea of white clouds—
Red emerged from the void, instantly freezing the four figures already locked in aerial combat.
"Hm? Re—"
Robin, hovering in the air with enormous wings spread behind her, was about to speak before remembering she couldn't use his real name.
She immediately corrected herself:
"Vice Captain, why are you here?"
After witnessing the Straw Hat Pirates' madness and miracles firsthand, Robin's sense of belonging only grew stronger by the day.
Compared to what the crew was doing now, harboring a so-called Devil Child was practically insignificant.
And so, without anyone noticing exactly when—
The way Robin addressed her crewmates quietly changed.
Of course, even if she had used Red's real name, it wouldn't have mattered.
The Akatsuki, the vortex masks—those disguises only deterred gentlemen, not villains.
If the World Government truly wanted answers, they would find them eventually.
These disguises merely delayed the spotlight from focusing too quickly on the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Well? You holding up fine?"
Red smiled and asked directly.
Robin returned the smile without hesitation. "Of course."
As she spoke, her gaze swept toward the three Vice Admirals opposite her.
Under her stare, all three stiffened simultaneously, their vigilance skyrocketing.
"Looks like I came for nothing after all~"
Red laughed in amazement.
Even if these Vice Admirals weren't as strong as the one Chopper faced, it was more than enough to prove that—
After obtaining Pokémon power, Robin's strength had already reached the level of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Perhaps…
She had already surpassed her former boss, Crocodile.
"Since everything's under control here, I'll get back to my own business."
"Can't keep the other two waiting too long."
"Thank you for your concern, Vice Captain."
With Robin seeing him off, Red stepped into the Hyperspace Hole once more and vanished into the clouds.
The next instant—
Robin abruptly turned, her eyes glowing with an eerie, pinkish brilliance as they locked onto the three Vice Admirals.
She extended a slender hand from beneath her robe, lightly touching her rosy lips.
"Well then…"
"Shall we continue our game?"
"Y—You demon woman!!!"
One Vice Admiral shuddered violently at her voice.
Remembering how he had just gone berserk and attacked his comrades because of her, his face burned with shame and guilt.
The other two Vice Admirals looked equally wary.
More importantly—
Even now, they had no idea how to break free from this demonic woman's enchantment.
…
…
Meanwhile—
As the battle on the Sky Island raged on—
In the seas near Jaya Island below.
Aokiji, lounging in a deck chair on a Navy battleship, suddenly paused.
He slowly lifted the eye mask from his face, staring up in confusion at four black dots falling from the sky.
(End of Chapter)