As Paru hammered his shield, Nami pulled out her Clima-Tact while Usopp readied his slingshot, aiming it at Paru.
Truth be told, neither of them really wanted to fight.
They were just weaklings—why did they have to get involved in battles?
Despite their resolve, Nami leaned toward Usopp and whispered, "Think of something, Usopp! How are we supposed to fight against such a huge shield?"
Usopp glanced at Renetia, who was watching them from the rooftop, and muttered, "That annoying pink-haired brat is staring at us. If we want to escape, we'll need the perfect timing. Until then, we have to deal with Parru through combat—at least cause some chaos."
"So…" Nami caught the look in Usopp's eyes and understood.
"Exactly!"
A faint smirk curled on Usopp's lips as he looked ahead. "In situations like this, the best course of action is obviously—"
The two straightened up in unison and bowed toward Chopper. "We leave it to you, Chopper!"
"Huh?!"
Chopper turned in shock. "Me?!"
"I have a disease that kills me if I fight!" Usopp declared.
Nami put on a frail act. "I'm just a delicate, beautiful woman. Even with my top-tier figure and face, I'm not cut out for battle."
Hearing this, Renetia glanced at Nami from the rooftop and scoffed silently.
So what if she was well-endowed? She'd grow up too!
"No way! Why should I fight alone? Aren't we partners? If we're fighting, we do it together!" Chopper yelled.
Who in their right mind enjoyed fighting? Especially when he was just a reindeer!
"Special Attack: Smoke Star!"
Seizing the moment while Chopper was shouting, Usopp pulled back his slingshot and fired a smoke bomb at Paru. It exploded, filling the area with thick smoke.
"Now, Chopper!" Usopp shouted.
"Got it!"
Almost instinctively, Chopper transformed into his reindeer form, charging forward on all fours. As he entered the smoke, he shifted into his humanoid, muscular form and threw a powerful punch at the shadowy figure within.
Boom! A metallic clang reverberated like a bell. Chopper stared at the silhouette in the smoke, stunned.
As the smoke cleared, Paru stood completely unmoved. Chopper's fist had struck the iron shield covering his body—without leaving a single dent.
"Monster!"
Ironically, it was Paru who looked shocked, his eyes wide as he screamed.
"Don't call me a monster!"
A vein bulged on Chopper's forehead as he threw another punch at Paru's face.
But his fist met empty air—Paru's head had completely retracted into his shield.
"An Ability User?"
Renetia blinked from above. "A Zoan type? But what kind? It still has fur even after transforming… A hybrid form?"
Recalling how Chopper had turned into a reindeer earlier, she tilted her head. "No, that must be his human form. The reindeer is his beast form, so that tiny tanuki-like shape is his hybrid form? How strange."
As a Paramecia user, she had heard her mentor mention Logia and Zoan types before. While Logia was only briefly described as a force akin to natural disasters, she knew that for Zoan types, the hybrid form was the most optimal for combat.
"Which Zoan-type user's hybrid form looks this unimpressive? Hehehe."
From behind his shield, Paru's laughter rang out. "It's useless, Doctor Chopper. My defense can withstand a Cannon. Ordinary Fists won't do a thing. Ouch!!"
Chopper's punch landed on Paru's shoulder, the one spot not covered by the shield, making him poke his head out like a turtle stretching its neck. "I'll just hit the gaps!" Chopper swung another punch straight at Paru's face.
Bam! Even in his human form, Chopper's strength was nothing to scoff at. But the blow was blocked by the small iron shields crossed over Paru's arms.
Whoosh! The Firefly Stone embedded in the center of the iron shield glowed brightly, igniting a Flame that raced up Chopper's fur-covered arm.
Chopper hastily retreated, but the moment he stepped back, Paru rubbed his small round shields together, sparking flames, and delivered a fiery punch to Chopper's torso. The impact sent Chopper tumbling to the ground, his chest now ablaze.
"Fire!!"
Chopper reverted to his small, normal form, rolling on the ground to put out the flames.
"That's right. I am Iron Wall Palu, and also Flame Palu—invincible and dashing."
Paru grinned, his teeth gleaming. "What do you think? Pretty skilled, huh?"
"Chopper!"
Usopp panicked and rushed forward.
"Fire, let me see, let me see!"
Nami frantically flipped through the manual for her Clima-Tact. Though Usopp had made it, she realized during their journey to Alabasta that even he didn't fully understand its functions.
"Got it, got it!"
Nami connected the Clima-Tact segments and ran over, aiming it at Chopper. "Rain Tempo!"
A small stream of water shot out from the rod's nozzle, dousing Chopper and extinguishing the flames.
"Nami, thank you."
Chopper lay sprawled on the ground, relief washing over his face.
"It's no use, Doctor Chopper. I can summon these flames anytime. With all that fur, you stand no chance against me!"
Paru confidently held a few Firefly Stones between his fingers, ready to hurl them at Chopper.
"Special Attack: Gunpowder Star!"
At that moment, a Gunpowder pellet shot toward Paru's face. Paru raised his shield to block it, the impact producing only a tiny puff of smoke—far too weak to matter.
Usopp dashed around, loading his slingshot. As Paru waved his arms, Usopp took aim at his face. "Special Attack—"
Snap! Another pellet struck Paru's face. He smirked. "This level of power isn't even worth blocking— AHHH!!"
Half his face instantly turned bright red, as if scorched by fire, his eyes bulging from the intense spiciness.
"It's the Iron Chili Star! Nami!"
"On it!"
Nami combined two Clima-Tact segments and swung them at Paru. Though just ordinary metal pipes, they unleashed a powerful gust of wind, extinguishing the flames on Paru's small round shields.
"Quite the invention."
Renetia's eyes sparkled with interest. As a mechanical expert, she loved tinkering with odd gadgets. This Clima-Tact, capable of generating such strong wind, definitely caught her attention.
She could clearly see that the three rods could be separated or connected together. One could emit hot bubbles, another cold bubbles, and the last one electric bubbles. Though weak individually, when used skillfully, they could unleash powerful techniques.
Like this air current.
If not for the two large iron shields on his body, Paru might have been blown away.
"Damn you!"
Paru finally managed to ease the stinging pain on his face and glared at Usopp. But in that brief moment, Usopp had already drawn his slingshot again.
"Special Attack: Twin Smoke Stars!"
Two pellets shot from the slingshot—one directly at Paru, creating thick smoke, while the other flew toward Renetia's position, exploding against the wall beneath her and producing more smoke.
"Go!"
He shouted, darting past with Nami through the smoke, heading straight for the Royal Palace.
Inside the smoke, Renetia gripped her Mechanical Hammer, activating its internal mechanism with Power. A burst of air erupted from the hammer's holes, dispersing the surrounding smoke.
She glanced at the two sprinting past Paru and clicked her tongue. "Boring."
"Burn it all!"
Paru's roar echoed through the smoke as numerous Firefly Stones scattered in all directions, landing in front of Usopp and Nami and igniting a wall of Flame.
Paru spread his arms, hurling the Firefly Stones outward. With himself at the center, the wall of Flame formed a perfect circle, completely trapping them.
Paru turned his head and yelled, "These petty tricks won't work on me!"
Annoying, but still just petty tricks.
Nami and Usopp stood before the wall of Flame, turning back in unison with mysterious smiles. "No, this isn't a petty trick at all."
Only the two of them stood there.
Chopper had never moved.
"Rumble Ball!"
With the sound of chewing, Chopper's figure appeared right in front of Paru. By the time Paru turned around, the Reindeer had already leaped toward him.
The flames had been extinguished, the Firefly Stones that could ignite them had been thrown away—now all they needed was to shatter the shields!
If ordinary strength wasn't enough, then amplify it! "Arm Point!"
Chopper's arm suddenly bulged, muscles swelling as veins popped out. His hooves came together, delivering an Impact straight at Paru's iron shields.
"If they can withstand a Cannon, then just surpass a Cannon's power! Cross Horn!"
BANG!!
The sturdy iron shields bore the imprint of a cross-shaped hoof mark.
Around the mark, massive cracks rapidly spread, causing the entire shield to shatter. The tremendous Impact sent Paru sprawling, his eyes rolling back instinctively.
Direct hit!
Chopper's hoof sank into the iron shield, poised to strike Paru's body.
If this hit landed, they would win!
"Iron Block!!"
CLANG!!
As the iron shield clattered to the ground, Chopper's hoof struck Paru's chest, producing only a metallic clang as if hitting something unyielding.
Paru didn't budge an inch.
"Doctor Chopper!"
Paru stood firm, slowly raising his head with a confident grin. "Beneath the shield lies my true defense!"
The iron shield was one layer, and his own flesh another—Paru, with his dual-layered defense, was the true "Iron Wall"!
...
Meanwhile, on another street leading to the Royal Palace.
A man with a herb-like head of hair wandered aimlessly through the alleys. Though he stood right at the street entrance, where the Royal Palace was clearly visible, he stumbled around like a headless fly, circling every intersection.
"Dammit, where is the Royal Palace? Is Alubarna really this huge?"
Zoro scanned his surroundings, then glared at the palace buildings looming ahead. "It's right there, but I just can't reach it. Is the layout of this place some kind of maze?"
"Are you trying to get to the Royal Palace?" A cool voice spoke up.
"Yeah, I need to get to the Royal Palace. Do you know—"
Zoro turned instinctively, his gaze sharpening. Before him stood a woman clad in a princess gown layered with armored plating.
Her golden, wavy hair shimmered under the sunlight, swaying gently in the dusty wind.
At her waist—"A swordsman?" Zoro asked.
Lily rested her left hand on the ornate pearl-inlaid ivory hilt at her waist, standing at the mouth of the street. "The Royal Palace," she said flatly, "is off-limits."
___
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