The Straw Hat crew was actually no stranger to Logia types, the rarest and most powerful class of Devil Fruits.
On the contrary, ever since they set out on their journey, they seemed to be constantly running into Logia users, giving them a firsthand understanding of just how formidable they could be.
"Black Crow" Fred had eaten the Oil-Oil Fruit. In terms of destructive power, oil obviously couldn't compare to the likes of the Flame-Flame or Rumble-Rumble Fruits, and was roughly on par with Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit.
However, while the "White Hunter" specialized in physical combat alongside his Devil Fruit abilities, Fred was a pampered official's son who had grown accustomed to a life of luxury. His hand-to-hand combat skills weren't even much better than those of an ordinary Marine soldier.
As such, Rear Admiral Black Crow was by far the weakest Logia user the Straw Hats had ever encountered.
Yet despite that, Luffy and Sanji—both close-combat specialists—were still being driven absolutely crazy by the guy's elemental transformation...
"Gum-Gum... Gatling!"
With a roar from a certain straw-hatted captain, a torrential storm of fists rained down upon Fred. The latter didn't even bother to dodge, allowing Luffy's massive onslaught to shatter his body into puddles of pitch-black liquid.
"Hehehehe! I told you, your attacks are useless against me, Straw Hat kid!"
With only half of his head fully formed, Rear Admiral Black Crow flashed a cruel smile at Luffy. "And I also said: as a liquid, oil's greatest advantage is its incredible malleability!"
"—Black Swamp!"
Splash! To Luffy's horror, the oil scattered by his fists suddenly seemed to come alive, transforming into pitch-black tentacles that surged toward him from all directions. The dimwitted captain tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
"Luffy!" Seeing his captain completely engulfed by a massive mass of oil, Sanji roared in anxiety. He lunged forward to help, but was forced back by a surging wave of pitch-black oil.
"Don't be in such a rush. You're next!"
The scattered black liquid coalesced, and Fred fully reformed. He raised his right hand, and with a mere thought, the mass of oil trapping Luffy slowly floated into the air.
"Damn it! Let me go!" Luffy struggled violently, but it was no use. What horrified the Straw Hat captain even more was that he felt his stamina rapidly draining away, and his consciousness was starting to fade.
"Hehehehe! I wonder if you've ever seen a seabird trapped in oil, Straw Hat kid."
Looking completely assured of his victory, Fred spoke to Luffy in a slow, deliberate tone while manipulating the oil to keep Sanji at bay. "Pure white feathers stained by sludge, desperately struggling in the pitch blackness, utterly consumed by despair... it truly is a magnificent sight!"
His lips curled into a twisted grin, and Black Crow's low voice brimmed with rage and madness.
"Keep struggling. I'm going to slowly torture you to death!"
"Usopp, what on earth are you doing?"
Nami looked utterly bewildered as she watched the long-nosed sniper suddenly sit flat on the deck and start tinkering away on a new invention.
"I'm going to help Luffy! With my latest invention," Usopp said with a firm determination, a total shift from his usual cowardly demeanor.
"To avoid drawing the Marines' attention, we can't get any closer. We have to help them from long range!"
Hearing this, Zoro and the others exchanged glances. They already understood what the long-nosed sniper was getting at.
"But, Mr. Long-nose..."
Robin peered into the distance, silently calculating. "It's roughly 800 meters from here to the shore. Furthermore, visibility is poor at night, and the wind is quite strong. Are you certain you can hit the enemy from such a distance?"
"Hmph, naturally! As long as these eyes of mine can spot the enemy, I can hit him!"
Finishing the adjustments on his gear, Usopp slowly stood up. His gaze swept across his crewmates one by one, and then he pointed a thumb at his own chest, his iconic long nose held high in the air.
"Tell me, who is the [Sniper] on this ship?" The long-nosed sniper's voice overflowed with absolute confidence.
Silence———— Everyone was utterly bewildered by Usopp's action, which was dripping with a heavy sense of déjà vu.
"Strange, why does that sound so incredibly familiar..."
The green-haired swordsman rubbed his chin, racked his brain for a moment, but simply couldn't remember where he had heard those words before.
(Isn't that exactly what I said when we rode the Knock Up Stream to Skypiea? And hey, don't just randomly plagiarize and alter other people's catchphrases!) Nami rolled her eyes, a sweatdrop forming as she turned her face away.
"Hehe, naturally it is Mr. Long-nose." Robin chuckled softly, playing along with Usopp's dramatic display.
"Usopp is so cool!" the innocent, blue-nosed reindeer cried out, tiny stars sparkling in his wide, round eyes.
"Hmph hmph hmph..." Usopp crossed his arms, nodding in immense satisfaction.
"Time is short. Chopper, just like back in Alabasta, I need you to act as my artillery mount."
"No problem, Usopp!" The little reindeer nodded, pulling a pale yellow pill from his pocket and popping it into his mouth.
"—Rumble Ball! Horn Point!"
Transforming into his Horn Point form, Chopper walked to the bow of the ship. Once Usopp secured the rubber bands onto Chopper's branch-like antlers, he pulled a round bead out of his tool bag.
"With the help of the Breath Dial, this slingshot can reach that far. But I only have one round of this specific ammo on me..."
Usopp took a deep breath and turned to look at his crewmates.
"Zoro, go furl the sails."
"Got it." The green-haired swordsman ran toward the stern.
"Robin, can you stabilize the ship a bit?"
"Mm, leave it to me. Mil Fleur————" Crossing her arms over her chest, amid a flurry of scattering flower petals, countless arms suddenly sprouted from the bottom of the Going Merry, which was currently disguised as a Marine battleship.
The inner sea of Navarone was not particularly deep and was filled with jagged reefs. Once these arms firmly gripped several of the underwater rocks, the ship instantly stabilized.
"Perfect!" Usopp nodded. He adjusted his goggles and pulled the slingshot back with all his might, his piercing gaze locking directly onto the enemy far off on the shore.
"Nami, can you read the changes in the wind?"
"The wind?" The naturally gifted navigator quickly concentrated to read the shifts in the surrounding air. She murmured, "It's a southeasterly wind right now, but it's going to veer west very soon."
"That's fine, as long as it's not a headwind!" Usopp felt immensely reassured. He adjusted his aim slightly, took a deep breath, and focused. His eyes instantly grew incredibly sharp.
"Sure Kill... Fire Bird Star!"
Swoosh! Under the pitch-black night sky, a blazing streak of fire shaped like a massive bird shot from the inner sea straight toward the shore.
The light was blindingly bright against the darkness, looking exactly like a brilliant meteor dragging a long tail of fire as it traced a stunning parabola across the sky.
(Strange... what is this overwhelming sense of dread?)
Rear Admiral Black Crow, who was busy pondering exactly how to torture the Straw Hat kid, suddenly felt a bone-chilling shiver run down his spine. He whipped his head around, only to see a massive bird composed entirely of raging flames hurtling toward him, engulfing his entire field of vision in an instant!
"What in the..."
The brilliant firelight illuminated the pale, bloodless face of the Rear Admiral. Fred couldn't comprehend, for the life of him, where this attack could have possibly come from.
BOOM!!!
A colossal explosion of flames erupted! The sheer force of it startled the nearby Marine soldiers, causing them to freeze in their tracks.
Crimson flames accompanied by billowing plumes of thick smoke soared into the sky. The blinding light generated by the inferno—as if determined to reduce everything to ash—was so incredibly dazzling that it lit up the entire night sky above the Navarone Fortress!
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