Chapter 113: Slime Splattered All Over Sanji's Face!
Clockwork City, or rather, this town renamed Clockwork Town after being occupied by the Trump Pirates, possessed a unique style rarely seen in the East Blue.
At the moment, however, the atmosphere inside a clothing store bearing the sign "Spiral Fashion" was rather heated.
"How about this one?"
The curtain of the fitting room was pulled aside, revealing Nami in a new outfit.
She wore a pale blue dress with a spiral pattern, its hem designed in the shape of gears, which would slightly unfurl as she twirled.
"Absolutely stunning!"
Sanji nearly dropped to his knees.
"Miss Nami, this dress was practically made for you! The pale blue accentuates your deep, ocean-like eyes, the spiral pattern seems to whisper of fate's intricate twists, and the gear-shaped hem adds a touch of mechanical elegance—"
"You're exaggerating."
Nami waved her hand with a laugh but still spun around in front of the mirror.
"But it really is quite nice."
The praise from the shop assistant beside them flowed like an endless river!
Nami, full of enthusiasm, pulled the curtain closed again, intending to try on another piece.
Sanji stood outside the fitting room, his heart inexplicably racing.
Miss Nami was changing inside, and he was waiting outside, occasionally able to comment on her new looks.
This feeling... it was almost like... like a husband waiting for his wife to try on clothes?
As soon as this thought surfaced, Sanji's face flushed bright red.
Just imagining it—behind that curtain was Miss Nami, possibly taking off that dress and putting on another, her fair skin, her graceful curves...
No, no, no! How could he have such blasphemous thoughts!
Sanji felt a sudden warmth in his nostrils.
"No! I'm a gentleman!"
He shook his head vigorously, but his eyes uncontrollably drifted toward the curtain.
The curtain was made of thick, deep red fabric, completely obscuring the view inside, but Sanji's imagination was already running wild.
His hand unconsciously lifted, reaching toward the curtain, his fingertips just centimeters away from the fabric.
"I can't... I mustn't..."
Sanji was locked in an internal struggle.
"Peeking at a lady changing is the lowest of acts... but... just one glance... no, half a glance..."
The shop assistant glanced at him struggling like this, pushed up his glasses, expressed disdain, and continued organizing the clothing racks with an expressionless face.
Clearly, he had seen plenty of men like this.
Just as Sanji's fingers were about to touch the curtain—
"BOOM—!!"
The wall facing the street suddenly exploded!
Debris flew, and dust filled the air.
Sanji instinctively shielded his head and face. When he looked up, he was shocked to see the entire fitting room, along with that wall, had been torn away from the outside!
More accurately, it had been "scooped up" by a modified mechanical cart.
The fitting room, like a small house, had been uprooted and loaded onto the cart, now speeding down the street!
Surrounding the cart were over a dozen underlings of the Trump Pirates, each armed with weapons.
Sanji froze for a second before fury erupted within him.
"Kidnapping?! How dare they kidnap Miss Nami! Stop right there!!"
He glanced at the floor—Nami's golden bo staff lay in front of the fitting room entrance.
Clearly, she had left it outside while changing.
Sanji snatched up the staff and charged out.
"You bastards! Give Miss Nami back—!!"
The cart was speeding down the street.
Sanji pushed himself to the limit. Though not as fast as Ralph, his speed far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
With a few leaps, he caught up to the back of the cart and was about to jump on—
"Oh my, isn't this the handsome guy who kicked over so many of our men last time?"
A sickly sweet voice rang out.
Pink, viscous liquid splattered from the cart, quickly coalescing into a human form.
Honey Queen—one of the officers of the Trump Pirates—stood before Sanji, wearing her signature seductive dress, arms crossed over her chest.
She glanced at the changing room on the cart and curled her lip:
"Nami? Not Lufia? I only heard that a girl from that group of strangers was changing clothes here, so I took action… I didn't expect to grab the wrong one."
Honey Queen shrugged, her ample chest swaying with the motion:
"Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. I'll just deliver her to the boss as planned. She's a woman too, so the boss should still like her, right?"
For a moment, Sanji's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Honey Queen.
The woman was undeniably sexy and fiery.
But he quickly suppressed his distracting thoughts, forcing himself to calm down.
No matter how beautiful she was, she was still an enemy—and she had kidnapped Miss Nami.
What was even more troublesome… he never laid a hand on women.
What Sanji didn't know was that his opponent was also nervous.
Honey Queen had seen Sanji's kicking skills firsthand. In their previous battle, Sanji had taken down countless underlings of the Trump Pirates with nothing but his bare feet.
What was even more annoying was that the golden staff embedded with Seastone was still in his hand.
She had revealed herself to intercept him, expecting a fierce battle, only to find that Sanji hadn't made a move even after waiting for a long time.
Just as she was thinking this, Sanji moved!
But it wasn't an attack—it was a full-speed dash!
He unleashed the full power of his legs, attempting to slip right past Honey Queen and chase after the cart!
"Naive."
Honey Queen chuckled softly.
Though she didn't know why this man wasn't attacking her, even if she was weak, she wouldn't fail to intercept in a situation like this.
Honey Queen's body instantly liquefied, transforming into a pool of pink, viscous liquid that surged toward Sanji like a tidal wave!
Though Sanji was fast, the liquid covered too wide an area, leaving him nowhere to hide—
"Squelch!"
The slime smeared all over Sanji's face.
No, not just his face—his entire body!
The living slime tightly wrapped around Sanji, especially around his mouth and nose, forcing its way inside!
"Ugh—!"
Sanji struggled to breathe. He tried to wipe it off with his hands, but the slime was like a living creature—for every bit he wiped away, more took its place.
He wanted to use the golden staff, but he had no idea how to activate it!
His vision began to blur.
Sanji desperately ran forward. He could see the cart just a few dozen meters ahead, the curtain of the changing room fluttering in the wind, faintly revealing Nami tied up inside.
Just a little more… If only he could pass her the staff… Miss Nami would know how to use it…
But his steps grew slower and slower.
Lack of oxygen made his head heavy, and his lungs burned with pain.
"Thud."
Sanji fell to his knees, the golden staff slipping from his hand.
With his last ounce of strength, he reached forward, his fingertips just a few centimeters away from the fallen staff, but he could go no further.
Honey Queen reformed into her human shape and walked over to Sanji.
"Quite tenacious."
She picked up the golden staff, weighing it in her hand.
"Is this that Seastone rod? Tsk, almost got taken down by it."
"Last time was a loss due to insufficient intel."
Honey Queen muttered to herself, "This time on our turf... let's see how much you can really do?"
Meanwhile, in the mechanical workshop district on the other side of town.
Usopp felt like he had fallen into heaven.