"I… I've lost!!!"
Half an hour later, Kana stared up at Franky in the sky, watching as a terrifying energy storm continued to gather at the energy core in Franky's chest, its aim locked firmly onto him.
Kana knew it then—there was no turning this around anymore.
Even with the power boost granted by an Ancient Zoan–type Devil Fruit, he stood at the very pinnacle among pirates.
Yet in the face of a true monster—a shamelessly overpowered existence—submission was his only choice.
A blinding light like a blazing sun instantly swallowed the heavens, illuminating the island below, which had gradually turned into a blue forbidden zone under the overwhelming energy.
Suspended high in the air on jets of flame, Franky threw his head back and roared. The deafening sound of pistons thundered from within his body as scorching heat poured outward.
"SUPER!!!"
"Triangle · Cannon Light!!!"
RUMBLE—!!!
A dense beam of energy erupted from Franky's chest, channeled through his arms crossed into a triangular frame, blasting straight down at Kana below.
Seeing this, Kana—his body already riddled with burns and impact wounds—slowly closed his eyes in resignation.
This battle could be called the strangest he had ever fought since his debut.
If he hadn't known his opponent was a cyborg, he would've sworn he was fighting someone with multiple Devil Fruit abilities.
Flames, lightning, ice, poison, iron fists, flight, lasers…
On Franky's body, he had witnessed the ultimate form of a metal-modified human.
And it made him realize one thing—
The era had truly changed.
BOOM!!!
A beam formed from the trinity of Pluton fringe technology, the Light Stone, and Pokémon moves instantly engulfed Kana, relentlessly tearing his body apart.
And with that, the battle was over.
Half a minute later, Franky descended slowly on jets of flame, exhaustion clearly written across his face.
"Whew~! That was one tough opponent."
"An Ancient Zoan, huh? If he awakened, he might've become something truly terrifying."
"But too bad—he ran into me."
With a sigh, Franky gradually retracted his weapons and mechanisms, returning to his usual form.
It had to be said—Hogback, the man Chopper admired so deeply, truly lived up to his reputation in the field of surgery.
In truth, Franky's modification project had begun the very moment he joined the Straw Hat Pirates.
And Red's original design plan had indeed been inspired by Iron Man—from appearance to capabilities.
Even with the perfect healing provided by the Pokémon Center, installing countless mechanical systems and weapons into a human body—especially one that had already been modified—was an incredibly difficult task.
Because of that, despite Usopp having already built many Pokémon-themed gadgets and weapons for Franky, the overall modification plan had been delayed again and again.
Until…
The Straw Hats arrived at Thriller Bark and found the genius surgeon, Hogback!
After seeing the blueprints provided by Usopp and Franky, Hogback took only half an hour to completely overhaul them.
And just like that—a brand-new Franky was born.
Watching this unfold, Red's eyes immediately began to sparkle.
Hogback's talent was beyond question.
Even Red himself hadn't expected he had such skill hidden away.
Leaving him by Moria's side was a complete waste of talent!
Red had already decided—once they succeeded in creating a powerful Tailed Beast zombie, he would request to take Hogback with them.
That way, Hogback would have more time to study Laboon's internal condition and refine a perfect modification plan for him!
Beyond that, Red even had a bold vision.
If the Straw Hat Pirates could one day obtain signal transmission technology even more advanced than Den Den Mushi, then based on Franky's modification model, they might be able to mass-produce an entire army of cyborgs.
Reaching Franky's exact level would be impossible.
But if the standards were lowered a bit, with the Straw Hats' current capabilities, it might not be entirely out of reach.
"So heavy…"
Hoisting the barely alive Kana onto his shoulder, Franky turned his gaze toward the distant coastline of Amazon Lily.
Over there, a gigantic antlered beast was locked in combat with an even larger monstrosity—one so massive it resembled a mountain itself.
These two monsters were none other than Tony Tony Chopper, the Zoan-Type, Human-Human Fruit (Commoner Form) user of the Straw Hat Pirates, and Sanjuan Wolf, an executive of the Blackbeard Pirates and user of the Inflate-Inflate Fruit!
After observing their earth-shaking battle for just a moment, Franky shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Although little Chopper was always cute and harmless aboard the Going Merry, Franky knew better…
As the crew's beloved mascot, Chopper had countless hidden safeguards left behind by Red, Usopp, and the others!
What's more, with just a quick glance, Franky had already spotted no fewer than a hundred parasitic seeds embedded in that gigantic monster's body.
Those weren't things seawater could deal with.
So while Chopper seemed temporarily suppressed, his victory was already set in stone.
With his decision made, Franky opened the hatch on his abdomen, pulled out two bottles of Super Potion, chugged them down, and immediately sprinted toward the icy region on the city's outskirts—Kana still slung over his shoulder.
"Sending Brook, who just joined us, to fight a veteran pirate right off the bat…"
"That devious plan—hard to say whether it was Red or Robin who came up with it."
Franky muttered internally as he ran, choosing not to voice the thought aloud.
Unlike the others, Brook hadn't yet received Red's serious training—he was still just an ordinary skeleton.
So from the very beginning, both Franky and Chopper had planned to go support Brook as soon as their own fights ended.
…
…
Meanwhile—
On the other side of the battlefield, after noticing that the "Iron Man" firing lasers across the sky had disappeared, Monster Chopper's face immediately fell into a look of boredom.
"Huh… is it already over?"
"That was sooo cool, Franky!"
But at that moment, distracted by Franky's battle, Chopper failed to notice that Sanjuan Wolf had broken free from the ice encasing him. Scooping up a massive boulder from the ground, the giant hurled it viciously toward Chopper.
"DIE!!! YOU MONSTER!!!"
Having been toyed with for far too long, Sanjuan Wolf roared in a mix of stupidity and rage.
The boulder streaked through the air like a meteor.
BOOM!!!
The terrifying force contained within smashed into Chopper like a colossal fist before exploding, sending his tens-of-meters-tall body flying straight into the forest.
Birds and beasts scattered in panic.
Nearly a third of the forest was obliterated.
And yet—
A soft green glow suddenly emerged from Sanjuan Wolf's body.
The light grew brighter and brighter, until a few seconds later, it drifted away like fireflies, flying toward where Chopper had fallen and merging into his body.
In the blink of an eye, the Chopper who had just been sent flying stood up from the forest—completely unscathed.
"Guess I really can't let my guard down."
"Good thing this guy's stamina is massive, or I almost would've gone berserk just now."
Chopper said thoughtfully, having already maintained Monster Point for half an hour.
That's right!
The current Chopper had not only retained his sanity in Monster Point, but had also broken through the original three-minute limit from the canon timeline!
The method was simple—
By using the Grass-type Partner Move Bursting Bloom to plant massive numbers of parasitic seeds on a sufficiently powerful enemy.
This allowed him to constantly replenish stamina, stabilize the chaotic Devil Fruit factors in his body, and remain in peak condition.
It was admittedly a bit of a trick.
After all, if the enemy wasn't strong enough—or there weren't enough of them—Monster Point would still be bound by the three-minute limit.
Fortunately, Sanjuan Wolf was both strong—
And stupid.
"Damn you!!!"
Seeing Chopper stand back up no matter how hard he attacked, the brainless giant let out a furious roar.
Panting heavily, he waded through the sea once more and charged toward the island.
This time, however, Chopper didn't slow him down with Ice-type moves.
A glint of icy-blue light flashed through Chopper's massive eyes.
He murmured softly:
"Almost time…"
"It's time to finish this."
As soon as he spoke, Chopper's body rapidly shrank. Using the forest as cover, he vanished completely from Sanjuan Wolf's sight.
"Huh!?" Wolf froze.
Despite his enormous size, his intelligence was pitifully low.
Losing his target, he began roaring angrily and resorted to the crudest method imaginable—carpet-bombing the forest with indiscriminate destruction.
Meanwhile, after swallowing a second Rumble Ball and entering his Leg Point–enhanced state, Chopper moved through the forest at speeds comparable to Shave.
Before long, he reached the coastline behind Sanjuan Wolf.
Facing the nearly 200-meter-tall colossus, there wasn't a trace of fear in Chopper's eyes.
A Chopper who could attack, defend, and escape at will was the natural nemesis of low-IQ powerhouses like this!
This was the true value of being able to stand against a Yonko with one arm!
"Sorry, big guy."
Standing atop a rock, Chopper suddenly reverted to his normal form.
"Even if you were just being used, and maybe you're not evil by nature…"
"This is the mission my friends entrusted to me."
"So to live up to their trust—"
"I have to defeat you right here!!!"
A resolute gleam flashed through Chopper's eyes.
"Brain Point Enhancement · Fairy Diagnosis!"
In an instant, strange pink energy surged around his body.
Chopper raised his hands like a camera frame and carefully examined Sanjuan Wolf.
His massive body granted him unmatched power—
But also left him riddled with weaknesses!
In mere moments, Chopper identified dozens of unique pressure points across his body.
But those weren't what he wanted.
The combination of Fairy-typed locking effects and Brain Point enhancement greatly expanded Chopper's tactical options—but at the cost of decisive killing power.
And against a monster of this size, Chopper couldn't risk applying a non-lethal effect that might drive him into a frenzy.
If Wolf lost control and charged toward the city, the damage to Amazon Lily would be catastrophic.
So Chopper made absolutely sure he was fully prepared before acting.
After several full minutes of Diagnosis—just as Sanjuan Wolf was about to completely flatten the forest—Chopper's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.
"Found it…!"
With that, he opened the Green Vine Grapple Device at his waist.
Though he rarely used it in combat, Usopp had never forgotten that Chopper, like him, possessed Grass-type affinity.
Every time the device was upgraded, Chopper's version was upgraded as well.
After several rounds of redesigns, the current device looked nothing like its original form.
Forged from ultra-elastic special metal, it functioned like the Hulk's shorts—perfectly adapting to any of Chopper's transformations.
The plants stored inside were all personally selected by Usopp—the strongest varieties available at this stage!
Feeling that weighty concern, Chopper was even more determined to repay his friends.
This battle—
He had to win it beautifully.
"Move · Strength!"
"Form Change · Martial Artist!"
Chopper's body transformed once more.
Strength—a Normal-type move.
It converted Pokémon energy into pure physical power, greatly enhancing attacks.
In some game versions, it was even a key Hidden Move used to push massive stone mechanisms.
But unfortunately—
The Strength Chopper was using now wasn't a Hidden Move from a game world, but a TM Red had obtained after capturing a Machamp!
Though the move didn't seem particularly compatible with Chopper at first, since it was a Normal-type move, Red still had him learn and test it.
Unexpectedly, under Fairy Skin, Strength unleashed by Chopper resonated with his Devil Fruit in a miraculous chain reaction.
Whoosh—
A bloom of pink light exploded outward, completely enveloping him.
Within that glow, Chopper's body began to change.
From a childlike frame, he suddenly grew tall.
That alone wasn't unusual—his Devil Fruit already allowed such transformations.
But unlike his previous Commoner · Strongman Form—
This new figure was perfectly proportioned, with powerful arms, solid legs, and sleek, flowing muscles.
Aside from a hairstyle that looked like it belonged in a card game tournament, Chopper now looked almost identical to Goku from Dragon Ball!
Thus, Red jokingly dubbed this form—
Martial Artist Form.
This was the effect of Fairy-typed Strength!
It didn't just amplify Chopper's power—it enhanced his entire body, even triggering a new form through his Devil Fruit.
In this state, Chopper could effortlessly use Six Powers techniques and skillfully wield both Armament and Observation Haki.
He had gone from a doctor who barely fought—
To a warrior born for battle!
The only drawback was the immense Pokémon energy consumption.
Which was exactly why he had saved this move for the decisive moment.
"Then…"
"The real fight begins now!"
Chopper's eyes sharpened as a powerful aura erupted from his body, locking onto the towering giant before him.
Yet at the corner of his mouth—
There was a relaxed, almost delighted smile, completely unlike his usual personality.
In Martial Artist Form, even Chopper's mindset seemed to change.
Right now—
He just wanted to enjoy the fight.
(End of Chapter)