"Hehehe! Chopper! Do you miss us?"
Usopp grinned confidently at Chopper, clearly expecting the little reindeer to burst into joyful laughter.
"..."
Instead, Chopper stood frozen. His body was stiff as stone, and his fearful gaze was fixed directly on Shirogai.
"Huh? Chopper, what's wrong with you?"
Usopp quickly noticed the strange reaction and stepped forward.
"Shirogai teleported us here from far away. As soon as we arrived, we saw you gripping a pirate and standing completely still on the deck."
He pointed at the pirate kneeling nearby.
Black Gun Heck remained on his knees, trembling as he obediently surrendered before Shirogai. He did not dare move even a single inch.
"This guy tried to break free from your grip but couldn't," Usopp continued. "Just when he was about to order the other pirates to cut you down, we arrived."
"I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I didn't know this lord was a companion of the Divine King!"
Black Gun Heck trembled violently as he begged.
"Please spare my life! Please! I swear I'll quit piracy. I'll go back to being a fisherman and catch ordinary fish to support my family!"
The poor pirate was truly terrified.
When his neck had been seized earlier, he forced himself to turn his head just enough to see the man standing behind him. The moment he realized that the smiling pirate before him carried a bounty of ten billion Berries, every ounce of courage left his body.
It took every bit of willpower he had to keep control of his bladder.
Then he learned something even worse.
From the long-nosed pirate's mouth, he discovered that the man he had been fighting, the blue-nosed reindeer, was actually a companion of that ten-billion-Berry monster.
I'm doomed.
I'm completely doomed.
In the end, Heck failed to hold it any longer.
A yellow stream slowly spread beneath the trembling pirate.
Usopp's eyes widened immediately. He jumped backward in disgust.
"Hey! Hey! What the hell! Why are you peeing in public!"
The scene instantly killed any desire Zoro and Usopp had to keep questioning the man.
Both of them simply stepped aside and waited for Shirogai to deal with Chopper and figure out what had just happened.
---
"Damn it... is this guy Shirogai?"
Killing Intent Chopper quickly searched through the main body's memories, trying to identify the man standing in front of him.
"Hiss..."
The moment he understood Shirogai's abilities, Killing Intent Chopper erupted instantly.
O
Blood-red flames burst from his body as he leaped toward another pirate ship, trying to escape.
"Hehe, don't move."
Before he could get far, a powerful hand grabbed him firmly.
"Little blood-red Chopper, do you really think you can escape from me?"
The voice behind him was calm and amused.
"Shirogai! I'm Chopper! I don't know what you're talking about!"
The instant Killing Intent Chopper felt all the power in his body sealed, he immediately withdrew the crimson aura surrounding him.
He turned his head, forcing an innocent expression onto his face. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he pretended to be confused.
"Oh wow, that scared me! I thought the enemy used some kind of hallucination Devil Fruit ability. Right! This red aura thing is just a new ability I've been developing, hehehe..."
He stammered nervously, trying his best to bluff his way out.
"Little guy, do you really think you can fool me?"
Shirogai crouched down in front of him with a faint smile.
"So tell me. Was it unpleasant being killed by the illusion of me inside that hallucination? Do you want to try killing me for real this time?"
"Huh? Isn't he Chopper?"
Usopp and Zoro exchanged stunned looks as they listened to the conversation.
No matter how carefully they observed him, the small blue-nosed reindeer standing there was clearly Chopper.
The only strange thing was his eyes.
His normally bright black pupils had turned blood-red.
Perhaps he had simply been staying up too late recently.
"..."
Cold sweat poured down Killing Intent Chopper's face as he stared at Shirogai.
Too terrifying.
This human was simply too terrifying.
The creature inside him loved slaughter and bloodshed, but that did not mean it lacked intelligence. On the contrary, a predator that thrived on taking lives understood the hierarchy of predators better than anyone else.
The aura coming from the man before him sent a very clear message.
He absolutely could not win.
If he attacked, he would be the one who died.
This was not an illusionary world anymore. Death here would be real, and there would be no second chance.
"Damn it... the main body actually has such a terrifying companion..."
Killing Intent Chopper swallowed nervously as memories surfaced.
Then his body suddenly trembled.
"Damn it! Main body, I'm returning this body to you! I don't want it anymore! Human, I, I'm not afraid of you! Hmph!"
After shouting a few forced and arrogant words, the crimson energy filling his eyes suddenly froze.
Then it rapidly faded away.
Killing Intent Chopper retreated into the depths of Chopper's mind.
He had originally believed the main body was naive, fooled by the smiling human in front of him.
But now he understood.
That smiling man was far more terrifying than Chopper had ever imagined.
This body?
Hmph. He could keep it.
Killing Intent Chopper curled up deep within Chopper's heart, quietly sobbing.
---
"Little guy, scared so easily?"
Shirogai looked down at the unconscious Chopper and shook his head with a small smile.
As expected, this was Chopper's inner demon, the embodiment of Killing Intent.
Simple.
Cowardly.
And honestly a little foolish.
In many ways, he was almost identical to Chopper himself, except one loved slaughter while the other cherished life.
---
After a few seconds, Chopper slowly opened his eyes.
"Huh..."
He stared blankly at Shirogai and rubbed his eyes, mumbling softly.
"That's strange. I think I just saw a hallucination of Shirogai. What was I doing just now?"
His consciousness had been swallowed by Killing Intent Chopper earlier, but fortunately the merge had not completed before the entity fled.
"Chopper, I'm not a hallucination."
Shirogai smiled gently and rubbed the little reindeer's head.
He picked up the repaired hat from the deck and carefully placed it back on Chopper's head.
"It's been a long time. You've grown stronger. You look more like a real man now."
"Ah..."
Chopper's eyes widened in shock.
"Shirogai!!!"
After realizing the man in front of him was real, Chopper suddenly leaped forward and hugged him tightly.
"Wuwuwu! You're really here! I missed you so much!"
"Hehehe! Chopper! We're here too!"
Usopp walked over with a wide grin and rubbed Chopper's antlers.
"We're finally reunited!"
Even Zoro's normally cold expression softened into a rare smile.
"Usopp! Zoro!!! Wuwuwu!"
Chopper looked at them with sparkling eyes and hugged them one after another.
"This isn't a dream, right? I missed you guys so much!"
His eyes darted around excitedly.
"Huh? Where are the others? Where are the rest of our crewmates?"
^_________^
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