Boom!!!
In that instant, the once-flat ground suddenly twisted and deformed, as if something indescribable were being forced upward from beneath. Like a colossal blunt object, it surged violently toward Saint Garling, who was charging forward at full speed.
"What!?"
Saint Garling's expression changed abruptly as the raging storm obscured his vision.
The next moment, a gigantic fist burst out from the ground and slammed squarely into his body, blasting him skyward like a cannonball.
"What the hell… is this ability?!"
Sent flying through the air, Saint Garling released his arms, which had been coated in Armament Haki, and stared down at the now grotesquely transformed ground below in disbelief.
He wasn't completely ignorant of Monkey D. Luffy's intelligence profile.
After all, this was the cunning criminal who had taken advantage of the absence of the God's Knights to launch an audacious assault on Mary Geoise.
As the commander of the God's Knights, Saint Garling had long wanted to wipe out the Straw Hat crew.
However…
All he knew was that Luffy was a rubber-type Devil Fruit user. As someone ranked just below the Five Elders, he simply didn't have the clearance to access deeper, classified intelligence.
And he certainly had no way of knowing that Luffy was the very Joy Boy spoken of by Imu.
"Hey! Where are you looking?!"
Just as Saint Garling was lost in doubt, a rocket suddenly erupted from the ground, shooting straight up and catching up to his side.
"You brat!"
Seeing that all-too-familiar and irritating face atop the rocket, Saint Garling frowned sharply and swung his blade, slashing straight toward Luffy.
But at that moment, the flames surrounding Luffy's rocket-shaped body suddenly seemed to solidify, stretching outward like slime as countless liquid-like tendrils extended from the fire.
"Let me take you on a little trip through space, Celestial Dragon!"
As he spoke, the fiery tendrils rapidly wrapped around Saint Garling, binding him tightly and pinning him against the outer shell of the rocket.
The next instant, Luffy's face at the rocket's tip broke into a hearty laugh. Then, from behind him, flames comparable to one of Ace's full-power blasts erupted, and the rocket shot straight into the sky, blasting toward the world above the clouds.
Under Red's guidance, Luffy had long since abandoned his old habit of reckless, playful fighting.
Now, he clearly understood his own advantages—and his enemy's weaknesses.
In the world of pirates, even legends like Roger or Rocks, who once shook the entire era, had never even dreamed of fighting in outer space.
Thin oxygen. Zero gravity. The vast, unfathomable expanse that could make anyone question their existence with a single glance…
What battlefield could possibly suit Luffy better than this?!
The rocket accelerated at extreme speed.
In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the protective layer surrounding the blue planet and soared into the mysterious star-filled void.
Bound tightly to the rocket, Saint Garling's beard and hair were whipped into complete chaos by the violent turbulence, as if drenched in hair spray and frozen mid-storm.
Yet no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free from those seemingly soft yet incredibly resilient unknown limbs.
Just like that, Saint Garling was forcibly dragged into outer space by Luffy's surprise assault.
With the two of them gone, the entire island of Elegia suddenly felt far more empty.
As a result, the remaining battlefields rapidly expanded, and the scale of combat grew even more ferocious.
...
...
Deep within the dense forest, inside a frozen world completely sealed in ice and snow—
After swallowing a Rumble Ball to activate Strength Enhancement, Chopper lowered his head. His massive antlers—nearly as large as those in his Monster Point—lined up like the sights of a slingshot, locking firmly onto Celeste Palace in the distance.
At the same time, hidden atop an ice-covered tree, Celeste Palace raised her frost sniper rifle, her crosshairs trained directly on Chopper.
For a brief moment, the two of them resembled seasoned snipers, and they shouted in unison:
"Double Horn Cannon · Solar Beam!!!"
"Breath of Snow · Ice Soul Snipe!!!"
Boom!!!
Two terrifying beams of energy erupted simultaneously from opposite ends of the crystalline ice forest, colliding violently in midair.
In an instant, the scorching power of the sun and the frigid might of Devil Fruit ice clashed like mortal enemies, grinding against each other in a fierce stalemate. Not a single bit of energy leaked out as both sides poured everything they had into overwhelming the other.
Watching her shot get blocked once again with pinpoint precision, the proud Celeste Palace finally frowned.
At this moment, the answer to her doubts became crystal clear.
"This guy… he's a sniper too?!"
She didn't want to admit that someone without even a gun could possess such outstanding marksmanship…
But whether it was his sharp eyesight that allowed him to detect her position, his excellent long-range attacks, or his timing—nearly identical to her own—
Even if his sniping skills weren't superior to hers, they certainly weren't far behind.
Celeste Palace tightened her grip on the rifle in her hands.
Though she wielded the immense power of a Mythical Zoan · Snow Woman, her preferred combat style had always been fighting with firearms.
After all, this rifle had been her closest companion long before she joined the God's Knights.
"A contest of sniping, huh?!"
"In that case, I won't lose to anyone!!!"
A terrifying surge of frost gathered around Celeste Palace, then instantly flowed into her sniper rifle.
This weapon had been personally modified by Dr. Vegapunk himself!
Backed by immense resources, its Haki conduction rivaled that of a Great Grade Meito, and it possessed extraordinary resilience—even near absolute zero, its performance remained flawless.
When paired with special ammunition created using Celeste Palace's Snow Woman abilities, the rifle could adapt to virtually any battlefield, featuring multiple adjustable output levels. It was, without question, her perfect weapon.
And at this very moment, she loaded a special round.
This ammunition could store enormous amounts of energy and ice power over several seconds, then unleash it all in a single, devastating instant.
Simply put—
Focus it all into one point, and push it to the absolute peak!!!
Whoosh!
A thin, deep-blue beam shot out from the icy barrel, drilling straight toward Chopper's heart.
"I refuse to believe this won't kill you!"
A manic smile twisted Celeste Palace's elegant face as her frozen eyes locked onto Chopper, who was still locked in the beam struggle.
This was the advantage of firearms!
While her opponent was still gathering power, she could already launch a second—or even more—attacks.
However…
Just as Celeste Palace thought she was finally about to injure Chopper—
The little reindeer suddenly flashed a wide grin.
"Finally… the moment I've been waiting for!"
As he spoke, the fur on his wrist peeled back automatically, revealing a translucent, tender-green gemstone.
It was a Leaf Stone—modified and enhanced by Usopp!
Its function was simple: in an instant, it could channel all of its Grass-type energy through Chopper's body and release it at once.
In the past, Chopper might not have been able to withstand such an intense surge of power.
Even though Grass-type energy was the gentlest of all Pokémon attributes.
But after three months of training in the Room of Spirit and Time, Chopper had long since mastered the use of this special Leaf Stone.
Crack…
With a soft explosion, the Leaf Stone hidden at Chopper's wrist shattered.
The next second, a torrent of energy surged through a special device embedded in his body, flooding directly into his massive antlers.
The already superior Solar Beam instantly received an enormous boost, erupting in full force. It devoured the icy energy head-on and continued surging toward Celeste Palace.
"What?!"
Shock flashed across Celeste Palace's face.
Fortunately, as a sniper, she wasn't just skilled at long-range attacks—she also possessed exceptional mobility.
An essential trait of any top-tier sniper.
As the scorching energy rushed toward her, frost rapidly formed beneath her feet, pulling her body upward in an attempt to escape.
But what she didn't expect was—
At that very moment, Chopper's massive antlers vanished, reverting to normal.
And he muttered quietly,
"Leg Strength Enhancement!"
Gulp!
Chopper's slender legs suddenly swelled with muscle.
That was precisely why he had chosen to consume a Rumble Ball despite not intending to enter Monster Point.
Even though his base form could already access all fundamental transformations without it, the Rumble Ball made those changes faster—and stronger.
With legs like a muscular powerhouse, Chopper leapt forward, charging straight into the extreme cold beam Celeste Palace had just fired.
Despite being an Ice-type user, Chopper hadn't used a single Ice-type move throughout the entire battle.
All to conceal just how deeply he understood ice-based combat, lulling his opponent into complacency.
The frigid beam carried immense Ice-type energy.
Even Chopper, charging straight into it, couldn't avoid taking damage.
But precisely because the energy was so dense, it didn't disperse immediately after being fired.
Instead, it formed a continuous beam, relentlessly pouring compressed ice energy into the target until every last bit was exhausted.
And that—
Was exactly what Chopper wanted.
He already knew that Ice-type combat only came in a few forms:
Blizzard coverage. Cold erosion. Ice projectile impacts. Low-temperature energy beams.
Even Kuzan, the ultimate authority on ice in the pirate world, couldn't escape these patterns—his versions were simply more spectacular.
So Chopper had long anticipated this very attack.
"Freeze Shock!!!"
At that moment, Chopper shouted as the extreme cold beam struck him.
Instantly, the Ice-type energy he had been suppressing inside his body erupted—transforming into blue lightning infused with freezing power!
Crackle!
Brilliant arcs of electricity burst from Chopper's body, racing miraculously along the extreme cold beam and surging straight toward Celeste Palace.
Freeze Shock—an Ice-type lightning attack!
In the Pokémon world, this move boasted a staggering base power of 140!
That immense power allowed it to unleash overwhelming energy in a single instant.
The electricity formed from Ice-type energy not only carried the paralyzing effect of Electric-type attacks, but could also travel along ice—normally a poor conductor—by transmitting energy through the same elemental medium.
In other words—
The electricity created by Freeze Shock could treat ice as a perfect conductor!
"Ahhh!!!"
Terrifying lightning surged along the beam and engulfed Celeste Palace in an instant.
The brilliant current inflicted heavy damage and instantly paralyzed her body.
In that moment, the ice crystals beneath her feet—meant to help her escape—lost their directional control as paralysis seized her body.
By the time Celeste Palace realized what was happening—
It was already too late!!!
Boom!!!
The roaring Solar Beam, blazing like a miniature sun, swallowed her whole.
Under that terrifying impact, Celeste Palace's Snow Woman body hissed violently, the sound like ice being vaporized and sublimated.
"Yes~"
Chopper lifted his head happily, a grin spreading across his face.
He didn't believe someone as strong as Celeste Palace would be taken down by a single Leaf Stone-boosted Solar Beam…
But at the very least—
This strike had dealt her serious damage.
And that would make the rest of the fight far easier!
"Now then… it's time for the real battle!"
A sharp glint flashed in Chopper's eyes as he executed his trap.
The next moment, he pulled out a yellow Rumble Ball and bit down hard.
"Enhancement · Monster · Martial Artist Form!!!"
Boom!!!
A thunderous roar echoed through the crystalline forest.
The sudden upheaval drew the attention of other Straw Hat members and God's Knights locked in battle nearby.
Then they saw it—
A massive monster rising from the ground, instantly becoming the most eye-catching presence in the entire forest!
In his monstrous form, Chopper's physique showed no distortion at all. Under the influence of the Rumble Ball, his proportions were even more refined than his standard human-like form.
This was a brand-new form he had developed by combining Monster Point and Martial Artist Form.
A state that possessed strength, agility, explosive power, and perception all at once—
A perfect form!!!
(End of Chapter)