A smile tugged at the corner of Kyle's lips.
"Chopper isn't a pet; he's a member of our squad, our nakama!!"
!!
Hearing this, Chopper, who had been struggling in Garp's grip, instantly stopped, turned his head to look at Kyle, and tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Kyle~~~"
Chopper was immensely moved in his heart at that moment.
Although Kyle had already said he was their nakama before, hearing Kyle say it again in front of others like this still made Chopper unable to hold back his tears.
However, his feeling of gratitude didn't last long.
Because Kyle's voice came again.
"Besides! Even if he were to be a pet, Chopper would be my pet. A Racoon this cute isn't something you can find just anywhere!"
"Moreover, he can also be used as emergency food. At a critical moment, he might even save my life!"
Chopper: (⊙o⊙)…
Chopper, who had just calmed down a moment ago, flew into a rage again, waving his limbs and shouting loudly:
"Kyle, I %￥#@*&..."
——
Up in the sky, the group was still playing a game of you-run-I-chase with Sabo.
When Sabo reappeared at another spot, he taunted them, saying:
"Hahaha... I ate the same type of Devil Fruit as Kyle. You little rookies think you can catch me? Dream on?!"
"Even if you had a hundred years, you couldn't catch me, hahaha..."
Sabo floated in mid-air, hands on his hips, laughing heartily.
So what if he couldn't beat them? Catch me if you can! If you can't catch me, you can't hit me, and if you can't hit me, it means you haven't defeated me.
Rephrase that, and it means he, alone, fought them all to a standstill!!
Thinking of this, the corner of Sabo's mouth curled up again.
The eldest brother defeats everyone, the second brother ties with everyone, the third brother...
Forget it, he's a nobody, not worth mentioning!!
On the other side, seeing that they couldn't touch Sabo for so long and hearing his taunts, the group's expressions turned somewhat grim.
Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Law shouted towards Luffy:
"Luffy, punch to your left!!"
"Huh?!"
Hearing this, Luffy was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted. Without asking why, he flung his right arm back, pumping it up like air. The next second, his skin turned a light pink, and faint steam began to emanate from it.
Coating his right fist with Armament Haki, he suddenly thrust it towards the left.
"Gomu Gomu... Eagle Rifle!"
At the same time, Law twisted his wrist.
"ROOM!"
A pale blue sphere instantly expanded, enveloping the nearby Sabo.
Sabo's expression changed. In an instant, he understood what Law was trying to do.
Having been with Law for so long, he naturally understood his fighting style very well. He immediately coated his body with Haki to try and resist.
But—
It was completely useless!
"Shambles!"
With a 'whoosh', Sabo's figure instantly vanished from its spot, reappearing directly in the path of Luffy's fist. It looked exactly like Sabo had come to receive Luffy's punch himself.
And at such a close distance, Sabo had no time to transform into lightning and escape.
Thump—
A dull sound rang out. Luffy's fist landed squarely on Sabo's stomach. In an instant, Sabo's entire body doubled over from the impact, curling up like a boiled shrimp.
His figure was sent flying backwards, tracing an arc through the air.
Seeing this, the others, except for Law, didn't hesitate for a moment. They immediately pressed forward, all charging towards Sabo.
Law, however, remained behind, a look of disdain flashing in his eyes as he sneered.
"Can't move that old man Garp, but I can still move you. Who do you think you're showing off for?!"
As he finished speaking, Law flicked his fingers again, and his figure vanished, reappearing right in front of the flying Sabo.
This is what they call striking after the arrow but arriving before it!
"Die!!"
"Aah~~~~~~"
——
After who knows how long.
"Let me introduce you all. This is our new nakama — Tony Tony Chopper!"
Kyle pulled Chopper forward and introduced him to the group.
"Ni-Nice to meet you all, I'm Chopper!"
Chopper timidly glanced at everyone.
Why timidly?
Because everyone was looking at him with extreme surprise, surrounding him, their faces full of curiosity.
"A Racoon... that can talk?!"
Luffy's eyes widened as he scanned Chopper from head to toe.
Zoro: "That's interesting. Never knew such a creature existed!"
Sanji: "Indeed, I wonder what this special species would taste like if we used it as ingredients!"
Zoro: "I think it's worth a try!"
Chopper: !!!!!!
At that moment, everyone looked like sinister, grinning demons to Chopper, especially Zoro and Sanji, who seemed like the ringleaders of the demons.
Chopper let out a loud yelp and immediately shrank behind Kyle.
Then came the classic half-body-hidden peek, trembling as he observed everyone.
Everyone: ....
"Um... I think you should hide behind the other side!"
Ace pointed at Chopper and said.
Chopper: ...
After hearing this, Chopper silently tucked his body all the way in, then correctly poked only his head out.
....
The air fell into silence for a moment.
After a while~
"So interesting!!"
Luffy suddenly shouted, his eyes shining as he stared at Chopper, looking as if he wanted to devour him whole.
The situation was the same for the others; each stared intently at Chopper, their eyes filled with novelty and excitement.
Gulp!!
Seeing everyone looking like a pack of wolves, Chopper couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
"Wha-what... are you all going to do?!"
"What are we going to do? Hehe... hehehe..."
Luffy let out a sinister chuckle, then suddenly pounced towards Chopper.
Startled, Chopper jumped straight up.
Luffy missed, but he didn't give up. He kept reaching for Chopper.
Chopper's face turned pale. He immediately ran far away, shouting loudly:
"Don't come over here!!"
"Don't run! Let me catch you and have some fun!!"
Luffy shouted excitedly from behind.
Oh, and it wasn't just Luffy; everyone behind him was shouting and yelling, all chasing Chopper with excited faces.
Among them was even Garp.
Back at the original spot, only Kyle and Sabo remained calm, making no move.
Sabo, his face bruised and swollen, looked at the others with a disdainful expression:
"Tch! Look at them, acting like they've never seen anything before!"
Catching Chopper? He'd done it who knows how many times on the way back!!
Kyle watched this scene, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
It's way more fun being together with everyone like this!
Suddenly, Kyle felt a warmth from within his clothes. His brow furrowed slightly as he reached his hand into his pocket...
---
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