Translator: PapaSmurf0700
"You've truly created something magnificent here, Franky."
The voice echoed through the Sunshine Merry's main control room. It belonged to the very man Franky had been searching for: his master Tom's brother, Kokoro's husband, the shipwright Den. Because of the strange genetics of Fish-Men, Den was not a horned pout-pout fish-man like Tom, but a striped beakfish fish-man.
"Whoa! This ship is the proudest work of my life!" Franky declared, striking a pose. "The Sunshine Merry won't just circumnavigate the Grand Line like Master Tom's Oro Jackson. She's going to rival it and become the greatest pirate ship on these seas!"
He slammed his forearms together. "Suuuuuper!"
Like a beast awakened, the Sunshine Merry plowed through the battlefield, clearing a path through the chaos with overwhelming force.
-----
"Jump Point!"
"Brain Point!"
"Arm Point!"
Somewhere else on Fish-Man Island, Chopper activated his triple-stacked transformation. Jump Point granted him incredible mobility, Arm Point boosted his attack power to devastating levels, and Brain Point… that was the key.
"Every living thing has a weakness," Chopper murmured, forming a diamond shape with his hooves in front of his eyes. He scanned the swarm of Fish-Man pirates, his enhanced mind processing tactical data at an astonishing rate, searching for the single easiest point to shatter their formation.
"There!"
He launched himself into the fray, his powerful legs propelling him into the heart of the enemy ranks. He brought his hooves together, his voice low and focused.
"Level 3 Enhancement: Kokutei Rosseo Metel!"
In what seemed like a single, fluid motion, a flurry of precise, powerful strikes rained down. Dozens of Fish-Man pirates crumpled, knocked completely unconscious. And for Chopper, the battle had only just begun.
On the other side of the plaza, Robin, who was traveling with him, moved with an unshakeable calm. As a horde of Fish-Man pirates charged her, she simply clasped her hands together, her eyes closing slightly.
Countless feet sprouted from the ground behind her, weaving together into a pair of gigantic human legs.
"Cien Fleur: Gigantesco Mano Stomp!"
The colossal legs swung down with terrifying force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each stomp, dozens of Fish-Men were crushed into the ground, unable to rise.
-----
The Mermaid Café. A place of dreams for countless pirates. Now, it was a ruin.
Nearby, a group of beautiful mermaids huddled together, surrounded by a mob of leering Fish-Man pirates. Standing between them and the aggressors was a lone man with a long nose, wielding a new, sleek, black slingshot.
The band was pulled taut, a single seed nestled in the pocket, ready to fly. Usopp's lips curled into a confident smirk.
"Special Attack: Green Star—Devil!"
The seed shot from the slingshot, not at any of the Fish-Men, but into the ground between them. As they began to laugh at his terrible aim, the seed made contact with the watery environment and exploded into a monstrous, Venus flytrap-like plant. Its massive, scarlet maw snapped open and devoured all the surrounding Fish-Men in one gulp.
"What in the world was that?!"
The Fish-Men, who had lived on the seabed their entire lives, had never seen anything like it. They froze in shock.
"The perfect opportunity!" Usopp thought.
He clicked the heels of his modified Dial-powered boots. With a surge of wind, he shot into the enemy's encirclement, his movements erratic and impossibly fast.
"Special Attack: Green Star—Rafflesia!"
"Special Attack: Green Star—Bamboo Javelin!"
"Special Attack: Green Star—Humandrake!"
More seeds flew into the battlefield, and in an instant, the situation was under his complete control. Carnivorous plants preyed on the Fish-Men, giant flowers emitted foul, disorienting odors, sharp bamboo spikes erupted from the ground, and hidden plants lay in wait, ready to ensnare any who drew too close.
Wails of pain and confusion filled the air.
"Get that man! Don't let him shoot again!"
"That's right! If we can get close, we can take him down in one hit!"
The few Fish-Men who escaped the botanical chaos shouted to their comrades, swimming desperately toward Usopp, intent on capturing the leader.
"Catch me?" Usopp, floating effortlessly in the water, stopped dodging and let a wicked grin spread across his face. The black slingshot in his hands began to grow and stretch. Facing the pirates rushing him from all directions, Usopp hefted his now-massive weapon and laughed.
"I may be the world's greatest sniper, but that doesn't mean you're even qualified to get a shot at me!"
As he spoke, he swung the enormous slingshot like a club, smashing it into the face of the fastest Fish-Man.
WHAM!
Even in the water, the pirate had no chance to avoid it. He was sent flying backward even faster than he had charged forward, stunning his comrades into silence. They stopped dead in their tracks, their faces etched with disbelief.
Aren't Fish-Men supposed to have ten times the strength of a human? they wondered. Why does it feel like this man is more of a monster than any of us?
The truth was simple. Usopp had been personally "trained" by Monkey D. Garp to the point of awakening his Armament Haki. While he was far from mastering it, the ordeal had forged his body into something far beyond what these common soldiers could handle.
"Hmph! Allow me to show you the results of my training!"
Usopp didn't wait for them to recover. His Dial boots flared to life, launching him forward.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
Three more dull thuds echoed through the water as three more Fish-Men were sent flying. The sounds were a death knell. A moment later, Usopp returned to the mermaids' side, completely unscathed.
"Usopp, you were so amazing!" Camie was the first to greet him, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"You were so cool!"
"That's right! You took care of so many of them so easily!"
"And you're not even hurt! Look at those muscles!"
The other mermaids from the café crowded around, praising him while playfully poking at the well-defined muscles on his bare torso. The attention made Usopp puff out his chest with pride.
"Hahahaha! I'm a man worth 500 million Beri! Enemies like this are nothing to me!"
Perhaps even Usopp himself didn't realize it, but he was slowly but surely becoming the brave warrior of the sea he had always boasted he was.
"What was that slingshot? And all those seeds? I thought you used a pistol," Camie asked, her curiosity piqued by his new arsenal.
"These seeds are something I found on the Boin Archipelago during my three months of special training," Usopp explained with a nostalgic smile. "I also met a man there named Heracles. Now he was a true warrior! Hahahaha!"
He grew more serious. "There's seawater everywhere here. If I used my Elemental Guns, the effects could spread and hurt you by mistake. But these seeds are perfectly safe for bystanders." He flexed, striking a pose. "Of course, even without them, I could have handled those guys easily! Hahahaha!"