"Huff… huff…"
"That woman was seriously tough…"
Inside the room, Nami panted heavily, her face filled with the relief and joy that came after finally defeating an enemy.
After pulling the key from Kalifa's body, she glanced worriedly at the wall Chopper had smashed through earlier.
"Is he going to be okay…?"
"Nami?"
"Huh—oh, it's you guys."
Hearing the voice, Nami turned toward the doorway and saw Jin and the others.
"You beat a CP9 member too, huh…"
"I am a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, you know," Nami said with a smile.
"Beating her is only natural."
She tossed the key over.
"Here. Try this one."
Jin caught it without hesitation and immediately tried it on Robin's cuffs.
Click.
A crisp, beautiful sound rang out—
The Sea-Stone handcuffs that had bound Nico Robin for so long finally fell open.
"It worked?!"
"Yes!" Nami exclaimed happily.
Robin stared at her hands as the heavy sense of weakness completely vanished.
"Freedom… at last."
"How does it feel?" Jin asked with a grin.
"Wonderful. Truly wonderful."
"…Thank you."
"No need for formalities," Jin replied.
"The fight isn't over yet."
"Oh—right!"
Only then did Nami remember something important. Her expression turned anxious.
"Quick, we need to go upstairs and find Chopper!"
"Chopper?"
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know exactly," Nami said nervously.
"He suddenly became huge… and it's like he doesn't recognize me at all."
"From the way he's acting… he looks like he's in pain. Something feels really wrong."
She didn't know what caused it, but she instinctively felt that Jin needed to see it as soon as possible.
At that moment, another terrifying roar echoed from above, like a feral beast rampaging through the upper floors.
"ROOOAR!!"
"So that roar isn't from CP9…" Robin said worriedly.
"It's Chopper?"
"…Is he going to be okay?"
"Let's go find him," Jin said.
"Celebrating your freedom can wait until after the battle."
"Robin—no problem treating you as combat power now, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then let's move."
Without another word, Jin led them upstairs.
As they reached the upper floor, violent crashes echoed from within one of the rooms—something inside was smashing everything in sight.
When Jin stepped through the breach, he finally saw it.
A massive, rampaging beast.
"ROOOAR!!"
"Hey, Chopper! It's me!!" Sanji shouted while dodging wildly.
"Don't you recognize me?!"
"Chopper, it's Zoro!"
"And me—Sniper King!"
But Chopper gave no response—only relentless, mindless punches.
"Damn it, what's going on?!" Zoro growled, forced to keep one eye on Chopper while staying alert toward the two remaining CP9 members.
"So this is… Chopper?"
Jin walked in through the opening, studying him in confusion.
"How did this kid get this big?"
"Jin!"
"Jin!!"
"Jin!!!"
Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp all lit up at once.
With him here, Chopper's situation might finally be resolved.
"Leave it to me," Jin said calmly.
"Hm?"
Jabra noticed him—and noticed something else.
Blueno.
Being dragged along by Franky.
"Blueno… was taken down?"
"Blueno…"
Kaku frowned deeply.
If that was true, then retreating would now depend entirely on themselves.
"And it's not just that," Jabra said darkly, staring at Robin.
"The Sea-Stone cuffs on that woman are gone."
Which meant—
Their comrades downstairs had likely all been defeated.
"That's… not good news at all," Kaku muttered.
"Then let's kill them all," Jabra snarled.
"For once, I agree with you," Kaku said.
"Hey, ninja!" Jabra roared at Jin.
"We'll be your opponents!"
But Jin didn't even look at him.
He simply kept walking toward Chopper.
"Bastard! Looking down on us?!"
"Soru!"
Jabra and Kaku vanished at the same time, reappearing instantly on both sides of Jin.
Their massive forms surged forward with crushing pressure.
"Nose Pistol!!"
"Tekkai: Wolf Fang!!"
Before their attacks could land—
Two figures intercepted them.
"Don't interfere with Jin!!"
"Three-Sword Style — Two-Goriki Slash!!"
"Extra-Grade Mouton Shot!!"
Clang!
Boom!
A blade and a kick sent both CP9 agents flying.
Whoosh—!!
They smashed violently into distant stone pillars, shattering them on impact.
Throughout it all—
Jin never even spared them a glance.
His eyes remained fixed on the panting giant before him.
"Hey, Chopper," Jin called out.
"What's going on with you?"
Chopper didn't answer.
He only raised his massive palm—ready to crush Jin flat.
"…Then I'll have to put you to sleep first."
Jin opened his Sharingan.
"Look into my eyes."
Humm—
The enormous palm descended at terrifying speed—
Then stopped.
Completely still.
Jin looked at Chopper, now no longer rampaging.
"Lost your reason… left with only instinct, huh," he murmured.
"That actually makes you easier to control with the Sharingan."
Under Jin's command, Chopper's massive body trembled—
Then began shrinking.
Until he returned to his usual small form.
Looking at the unconscious Chopper, Jin spoke softly.
"…You've been through a lot."
His body was covered in wounds—clear signs of a brutal battle.
Jin picked him up and used medical ninjutsu for basic treatment.
Only after Chopper's breathing steadied did he stop.
"What the hell just happened…?"
Jabra stared in disbelief.
Why did the monster calm down the moment that ninja arrived?
Why did the Zoan user shrink back to normal?
None of it made sense.
Sanji finally exhaled in relief, then glanced sideways.
"None of your damn business."
"Bastard—then I'll kill you first!"
Enraged, Jabra lunged back into combat with Sanji.
Kaku, however, stayed still—watching the battlefield with growing caution.
"What?" Zoro grinned.
"Realizing things aren't going your way anymore?"
Robin was free.
That alone meant CP9 had already suffered major losses.
"Giraffe old man—"
Zoro's smile widened.
"—the tables have turned."
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