"Are you going to continue?" Gin asked.
"If I don't defeat you, I won't be able to move forward!" Sanji laughed quietly.
Gin shook his head and laughed as well, "Indeed, if not like this, it wouldn't be the Sanji I know..."
He raised his cane and said sternly, "Next, I'll fight with the resolve to kill you!"
Sanji staggered to his feet, hands in pockets, standing tall on the ruins, staring intently at Gin, and said in a deep voice, "I don't think I'm going to lose!"
"Soru!"
Whoosh!
Gin rushed to Sanji, both feet off the ground like a leopard, his fierce eyes slightly obscured by his kerchief. His body swayed low in the air, twisting the cane in his hand quickly, and smashed down with an iron hammer.
Boom!!
"No!!"
On another street, three figures sprinted forward, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them. Behind them, the King's Army and the Rebel Army had already begun using cannons, and one shell landed right behind them, exploding into a plume of gunpowder smoke.
"Why is the fighting so intense!"
Nami was almost crying as she ran, "These stray bullets could kill us!"
"Then run faster, once we get inside the Royal Palace, we'll be safe!" Usopp was also running hard alongside.
"Ah! Is that so? Then let's hurry to the palace!"
The short figure between them shuffled his little hooves quickly, keeping pace with them at an impressive speed.
"That's right! Chopper, look ahead, if we get through this street, we'll reach the palace!" Usopp said quickly.
"No."
Suddenly, a voice came from beside them.
Usopp nodded with mock seriousness, "No? That's true, there might be more enemies, Nami, we need to find a place to sneak in quietly."
Nami's eyes were almost spinning, full of panic. She turned to Usopp, "I didn't say anything..."
Bam!!
The ground suddenly exploded in front of them, the impact blew the two and the animal off their feet, sending them crashing to the ground.
"It's me talking, idiots!"
The voice continued from above.
Nami looked up to see a pink-haired little girl sitting on the edge of a rooftop, holding a small hammer aimed at them, smoke rising from a hole on the hammer's surface.
They had seen this woman before.
In Nalohara, she was one of the three women following the 'Disaster' Sage.
Being a child, she left a strong impression.
"You're from the Disaster Pirates..."
Usopp climbed up, shouting at Renedia, "Hey, what are you up to? Are you going to fight us?!"
"I'm not interested in you lot." Renedia rolled her eyes, "But you're not allowed to go to the palace. Sage just came out of there and is fighting now. If you go in, it'll ruin Sage's plans."
These three look like small fries; if those smoking and flaming guys didn't get in, then letting small fries in...
Sage would definitely be mad.
"Can you really stop us, little brat?"
Usopp rubbed a finger beneath his long nose, stretched his other hand with a thumbs-up, and confidently smiled, "Go home obediently, or else Lord Usopp will get angry. To tell you the truth, I am a Great Pirate with eight thousand men under me, my followers are nearing, and if you're scared, run fast."
"First..."
Renedia extended a finger, saying, "There's a million people in this massive battle, eight thousand are nothing."
"Second..."
Bang!
The hammer's hole released a burst of air, striking hard against Usopp's stomach, sending him flying and crashing down heavily.
"You're obviously a liar!"
"Usopp!"
Nami and Chopper shrieked in horror as Usopp clutched his stomach, rolling on the ground in pain, "It hurts, it hurts!"
Nami looked at the small hammer in Renedia's hand, just now, the attack that blew them away was shot from the hammer!
"Nami, Chopper, split up and run!"
Usopp endured the pain, quickly clambered up, and tried to dart into a nearby alleyway.
Nami and Chopper reacted, immediately splitting up and heading in opposite directions.
There's only one little girl, and there are three of them. If they split up and run, they can definitely get away.
"Power Air Cannon!"
Just as they were about to enter the alley, Renedia's voice resounded again, whipping up a huge gust of wind by their ears.
Boom boom boom!!
The buildings on either side of the alley collapsed as if struck by a tremendous force, almost burying them inside.
The alley in front of them was now covered by rubble, forming a massive barrier.
The power was so frightening that Chopper's fur stood on end, his mouth agape, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
Renedia snapped, "Don't use such stupid tricks against me, I'm an officer of the Disaster Pirates!"
The intense noise also caught some people's attention. At the window on the third floor below her, a silly-looking face with a stupid head and an ugly hairstyle appeared. "Lady Renedia, what happened?"
"Pearl?"
Chopper was startled to see that face.
"Dr. Chopper?"
Pearl blinked, leaned out of the window, and jumped straight down, landing heavily with two protective Iron Shields.
As his body shook, a strand of hair on his forehead wobbled like a crescent moon.
Very silly-looking.
"It's really Dr. Chopper!"
Pearl grinned, "What are you doing here?"
The last time in Nalohara, General Commander Gin led a team to block the Navy's pursuit with these people, so Pearl naturally recognized them.
"A doctor? Oh...is this raccoon the one who saved our people?"
Renedia looked at Chopper, raising an eyebrow, "Can a raccoon save people? But why doesn't it have a leaf on its head?"
"I'm a reindeer, you idiot!"
Chopper instinctively yelled at Renedia.
"Hahahaha, Dr. Chopper is still so amusing."
Pearl's grinning teeth gleamed in the sunlight, "Perfect, we haven't properly thanked you yet. We robbed quite a treasure, let's share some with you."
Nami, who was initially cautious, lit up at these words, "Treasure! How much?!"
"Nami!"
Usopp shouted, "It's not the time to be thinking about treasure."
"Ah...right."
Nami realized, then said to Pearl, "Pearl, we need to get to the Royal Palace. Can you ask your little girl to let us pass? Of course, the treasure can be given to me alone!"
"To the Royal Palace?"
Pearl was taken aback, faced them, and his previously relaxed body instantly tensed, "No way! I'll agree to any condition except this one!"
"Can't you just pretend you didn't see us? Chopper saved you guys!" Nami asked.
Pearl shook his head firmly, "No way, on the contrary, now that I know, I definitely won't let you pass! Dr. Chopper, you all just stay here safely. As long as you don't go, we won't harm you."
"Hmm..."
Renedia, with a hand on her chin, glanced at Chopper, shook her head, then called to Usopp:
"Hey, long nose who tells lies, give up the idea of running all over the place. I'm watching you guys. Just give up on going to the Royal Palace now. When this city explodes, I'll take you to safety."
Initially, they were somewhat tempted by Pearl's offer.
They could get treasure and hide safely here, which was perfect for the timid three.
But the mention of the city exploding took them by surprise.
"My treasure!"
Nami wiped a tear from the corner of her eye in regret and gritted her teeth, "No way! I don't want the treasure, I have to go!"
"Luffy entrusted me with this!"
Usopp clenched his fists, "We must go, enter the Royal Palace. We promised Vivi to stop this rebellion!"
"That's right!"
Chopper shouted, "We have to help Vivi!"
"So, you intend to thwart Sage's plan?"
Renedia's expression turned serious, her fingers sparking, but she reconsidered and gave up.
"Alright, since you've treated our people, I won't act now. Pearl, can you handle this?"
"Leave it to the invincible Lord Pearl!"
Pearl clanged his Iron Shield loudly, "To enter the Royal Palace, you'll have to get past me, the Iron Wall!"