Chapter 222: Nika, the Sun Goddess, Is Just Around the Corner!
"Nami!"
Robin suddenly warned, "Fishman Willy's ship has fish-men entering the water!"
Ralph's heart tightened.
Observation Haki instantly expanded.
Beneath the ship's hull, unusual sounds could be heard.
They were trying to breach the hull!
"I'll handle it!"
After speaking, Ralph didn't go to check the lower deck but directly jumped into the sea.
After entering the water, Ralph didn't sink but instead swam toward the ship's hull as agilely as a fish.
With his advanced swimming skills, aside from being unable to breathe underwater, he was almost as capable as a fish-man.
Beneath the hull, several fish-men were desperately striking with tools.
The Going Merry's hull had already been breached in several places, and seawater was pouring in.
The fish-men causing the damage were startled upon seeing Ralph, then laughed.
"A human? Daring to enter the water? Seeking death!"
They dropped their tools, picked up their weapons, and swam toward Ralph.
Ralph showed no fear.
Underwater combat?
Bring it on.
He charged forward, punching the nearest fish-man in the face.
The fish-man hadn't expected Ralph to possess such speed and strength underwater and was knocked unconscious, slowly sinking.
The other fish-men froze.
"This kid... something's off!"
"Attack together!"
They swarmed him.
Ralph remained calm, unleashing the Six Powers underwater.
Rankyaku!
A slash cut through the water, striking two fish-men.
Shigan: Rain!
A series of piercing strikes hit the remaining fish-men.
In less than a minute, all the fish-men were incapacitated.
Ralph glanced at the breaches in the hull and frowned.
He had to deal with this first.
Meanwhile, the deck was also in chaos.
The giant brothers had caught up.
Their ship was large for humans, but for the two giants, it was essentially a fishing speedboat.
Extremely maneuverable.
They quickly closed in on the Going Merry.
"Hahaha!"
Bobby laughed loudly, raising a massive harpoon.
"Little ones, become our catch!"
The harpoon thrust toward the Going Merry.
The harpoon was thicker than the mast; if it struck, the Going Merry would be finished.
"We're done, we're done, we're done—"
Usopp crouched down, covering his head.
Just then, "Roar!"
Munch-Munch suddenly transformed.
Metal Tyrannomon!
It opened its mouth, and a cannon barrel extended from within.
Boom!
A cannonball struck the harpoon directly, blasting it into two pieces.
"What?!"
Bobby's eyes widened.
Sanji leaped into the air, kicking the broken harpoon head.
The half of the harpoon head changed direction, smashing into another pirate ship nearby and sinking it instantly.
"He can do that too?"
Usopp stared in disbelief.
"Don't just stand there!"
Zoro shouted.
A massive fishing net descended from above, thrown by Pogo.
Zoro drew his swords.
"Three Sword Style: Tatsu Maki!"
Sword light transformed into a whirlwind, instantly shredding the fishing net to pieces.
"Damn it!"
Pogo was furious.
"These guys..."
"My turn!"
Lufia jumped up, blowing hard into her thumb.
Her arm instantly expanded, becoming as thick as a giant's.
"Giant brothers, taste the power of a giant!"
She swung her enormous fist.
"Gomu Gomu no Yari!"
The giant fist, wrapped in Haki, smashed fiercely into the giant brothers.
Boom!!
Both giants flew backward, crashing into the sea and sending up massive splashes.
Silence fell over the scene.
Prisoner of the Great Prison Pizarro, who had been following behind and preparing to attack, saw this and was utterly dumbfounded.
What kind of joke was this?
How could a human suddenly grow a giant-like fist and then punch two real giants flying?
When did the sea become so crazy?
He immediately turned the rudder, wanting to flee.
A man who had escaped death sentences many times now only wanted to save his own life.
But Lufia would never let him!
She leaped up, flying directly above Pizarro's ship.
The giant arm had already returned to normal size, replaced by a massive foot.
"Gomu Gomu—"
"King's Battle Axe!"
A foot chopped down.
BOOM!!
Pizarro's pirate ship was split in two from the middle, slowly sinking.
Pizarro clung to a piece of wood floating on the water, his face still wearing an expression of disbelief.
Almost at the same time.
CRASH!
Fishman Willy's ship suddenly began sinking from the bottom.
The fish-men who hadn't yet entered the water panicked and jumped into the sea one after another.
Ralph emerged from the water, stepping on Geppo to fly back to the Going Merry.
He was soaked all over, but his face wore a smile.
"Returning their own medicine."
"They tried to sink our ship, so I pierced through their hull."
All the popular pirate crews had been defeated.
The remaining pirate crews followed from afar, no longer daring to approach.
Some simply gave up the race and turned away.
The Going Merry continued forward, heading toward the true finish line.
On the deck, everyone gasped for breath, looking at each other.
Then—
They laughed.
This was the joy that belonged to adventurers.
"Lufia!"
Usopp suddenly shouted, "You've shrunk again!"
Everyone looked over.
Lufia had indeed shrunk.
She had returned to that little girl of seven or eight years old, with short arms and legs, the straw hat looking especially large on her.
"Hehehe!"
Little Lufia didn't mind at all, "It's fine, it's fine! Just let Ralph poke me a few more times and I'll recover!"
The whole crew looked at Ralph.
"Lufia didn't explain clearly, I use my fingers..."
Everyone's expressions grew even stranger.
Ralph's face instantly flushed red.
"It's Acupressure! Acupressure!"
He emphasized, "A method to regulate the human body!"
"Oh..."
Everyone nodded meaningfully.
"Last time Lufia shrank, this was how she recovered in the end!!"
Ralph continued to explain, "Why are you all looking at me like that? It's a very proper skill!"
Zoro stepped forward.
"Why are you shouting so loudly?"
He said seriously, "We never said your skill wasn't proper."
Ralph: "..."
Everyone snickered.
Ralph picked up little Lufia and rushed into the cabin as if fleeing.
Behind him came even louder laughter.
Chopper didn't understand what everyone was laughing about.
But he found it interesting, so he laughed along.
Then he remembered, "Usopp, I want to learn Acupressure from Ralph!"
Usopp pulled him back.
"Another day."
"Why?"
"Because... today isn't suitable."
Chopper grew even more confused.
But he obediently nodded.
"Okay."
The Going Merry continued onward.
The finish line grew closer, but Lufia's recovery wasn't going smoothly.
So he tried stimulating the acupoints on Lufia's body, activating the power within her to restore her body to normal.
But it didn't work, as if the successful use of Acupressure last time had been an accident.
Ralph felt somewhat anxious, but Lufia was very optimistic.
"Ralph, what's wrong?"
Little Lufia tilted her head to look at him.
"Nothing."
Ralph smiled, "Maybe something's off? I need to improve the method."
"It's okay, you're so smart, you'll definitely find a way!"
Little Lufia didn't mind at all, "Anyway, I believe in you!"
Ralph looked into her clear eyes, feeling warmth in his heart.
He walked out of the cabin and onto the deck.
Chopper was sitting there, studying his medical books.
"Chopper."
"Hmm?"
Chopper looked up.
Ralph sat down beside him.
"Chopper, I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
Ralph paused.
"Would the Rumble Ball... have any effect on Lufia's recovery?"
Chopper froze.
He blinked once, then again.
Then he cried out in alarm, "How could you even think that?"
"The Rumble Ball is specially made for me to regulate the transformation frequency of Zoan-type Ability Users!"
"But Lufia has a Paramecia-type Fruit!"
"Theoretically—"
He was so agitated he started spinning in place.
Ralph glanced toward the cabin.
Little Lufia was probably rolling around on the bed right now.
Ralph still hadn't figured out how to explain to everyone that Lufia's Devil Fruit was actually the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Sun God...
It sounded absurd, so he had to keep it hidden for now.
With a serious expression, he explained to Chopper, "Don't worry, I won't just give the Rumble Ball to Lufia to eat."
"I want to use the principles of the Rumble Ball to understand the characteristics of Lufia's Devil Fruit."
"And specially formulate a medicine tailored for her."
Chopper saw that Ralph didn't seem to be acting on impulse.
"Ralph, have you decided? You want to research this with me?"
Ralph smiled.
"Of course."
The "Rumble Ball" for Lufia—
The first step: solve the side effects of her techniques. If they could succeed...
The Sun Goddess Nika would be within reach!