Though he didn't understand what was going on with this woman, he didn't bring it up, as he currently needed these people's help!
Then, Kin'emon cleared his throat and said, "Um… everyone, you don't seem like bad people, so… could you help me out?"
"How can we help you?" Nami asked curiously.
"What you see now are the pieces of my face," Kin'emon said awkwardly. "So, could you help me put them together?"
Being cut into so many pieces was truly unbearable!
If possible, he hoped to restore himself to his original state.
"A face…"
Franky stared closely at the fragments below, then exclaimed in surprise, "This really does look like a person's face."
"Look, here are the eyes, here's the mouth…"
With that, Franky bent down and pieced together the other's head, roughly assembling the shape of a face. "It really turned into a face!" Chopper said, dumbfounded.
"No, no, no, you got it wrong."
Kin'emon glanced at the extra parts of himself and said, "There are still several pieces missing. You messed it up."
At the very least, they should have attached the part with his nose!
Besides, his ears and hair weren't even included yet!
"Then let me do it," Nami said with a giggle.
With that, Nami stepped forward and fiddled with Kin'emon's head, completely twisting his face out of shape.
"Is this how it goes?"
"No, no, that's not right at all." Noticing the change in his vision, Kin'emon quickly said, "The eyes are below the eyebrows. You got it wrong!"
"Let me try~"
Perona leaned over, her eyes sparkling as she rearranged the pieces, then placed her hands on her hips and laughed. "This looks pretty good, doesn't it~"
"Hara hara hara~"
Kin'emon: …
So, why did the mouth end up on the forehead this time?
"This is so fun!" Chopper exclaimed, his eyes shining. "I want to play too!"
Kin'emon: !!
"Darn it, don't play around with someone else's face!" Kin'emon roared, opening his Shark Mouth.
Did these guys have no idea what respect meant?!
Hearing this, Nami and the others smiled sheepishly. It seemed they might have gone a bit too far~
Thinking this, they exchanged glances, all looking a little embarrassed.
"Let me handle it," Sanji said, stepping closer.
With that, Sanji carefully pieced together the other's head, finally restoring him to his original appearance.
"Hmm, this should be fine now," Sanji said, barely holding back a laugh.
"Well, even though the chin and hair feel a bit off… it doesn't really matter." Kin'emon, whose chin and scalp had swapped places, smiled and said, "Anyway… everyone, I'm deeply grateful!"
Hearing this, Nami and the others froze for a moment, then stared at Kin'emon in shock and shouted, "The severed head is talking!!"
Kin'emon: ??
"Aren't you all a bit too slow on the uptake?!" Kin'emon roared.
Even being thick-skinned shouldn't reach this level!
"What exactly are you?" Chopper asked fearfully, pulling out an exorcism tool. "Are you an evil spirit?!"
As he spoke, he moved the exorcism tool in his hand closer to Kin'emon, leaving Kin'emon utterly bewildered.
What is this thing now?
"An evil spirit..." Franky stared at Kin'emon for a moment before saying, "I actually think this guy looks more like a zombie."
He remembered that zombie monkey they encountered before—it was still alive even after being split in half. So, the probability of this guy being a zombie is quite high.
"A zombie?"
Hearing this, Perona's eyes immediately lit up. Could it be that Lord Moria is on this island?
If that's the case... then she'll get to see him soon!
"No, no, no, I'm not a zombie," Kin'emon said. "I ended up like this because of a man."
Perona felt disappointed upon hearing this. Not a zombie?
Then the reason he became like this probably wasn't because of Lord Moria.
Meanwhile, Sanji asked curiously, "A man?"
"Who?"
"Is he a former Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea?"
Nami added, clearly having noticed Perona's thoughts.
"No, his name isn't 'Former Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea.' He's just called 'Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea,'" Kin'emon said through gritted teeth. "That man used a strange technique to cut off my head."
"At the time, I thought I was done for, but I somehow managed to survive..."
"Damn it, this is such a disgrace!"
As a samurai, he felt utterly humiliated!
Damn it... if it weren't for the mission he absolutely had to complete right now, he would have committed seppuku long ago!
"'Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea' isn't a name," Franky interjected. "It's a title."
"A title?"
Kin'emon was taken aback. So, after all this time, he still didn't even know that man's real name?
Damn it!
"A current Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea..." Sanji said with a frown. "I didn't expect there to be one here too."
The Straw Hat Pirates really do have a strange connection with the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Perona sighed. It seems it really wasn't Lord Moria's doing...
As if sensing Perona's thoughts, Nami reached out and patted Perona's arm, saying, "Don't worry, we'll find him sooner or later."
"Yeah!"
Comforted, Perona nodded. She would definitely find Lord Moria!
"By the way, what kind of ability does that Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea have?" Franky leaned closer to Kin'emon and asked. "To be able to leave you with just a head and still survive..."
Isn't that ability a bit too miraculous?
"Could it be that guy Buggy?" Nami frowned.
If she remembered correctly, Uncle Rayleigh said that Devil Fruit Ability Awakening could affect things beyond oneself.
So... could this guy have been turned into this by Buggy's ability?
"Buggy?" Kin'emon asked, confused. "Who's that?"
"He's a clown with a red nose."
"That's not him."
Kin'emon said, "The man I encountered had a nose just like a normal person's."
Although he didn't know who this woman was talking about, the man he encountered this time definitely didn't have a red nose.
"It seems it's not that guy." Nami frowned.
Who could it be?
"Then which of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea is it?" Chopper asked curiously.
Sanji, calmly lighting a cigarette for himself, replied, "We'll only know when we encounter them."
They had no leads at the moment, so wild guesses were pointless.
Chopper nodded upon hearing this—that made sense.
Meanwhile, Nami approached Kin'emon and said, "By the way, do you know where this place is—'you actually said'?"
Kin'emon widened his eyes and declared, "A woman like you dares to speak to this samurai in such a tone... Do you even understand propriety?"
"Women should take three steps back in front of men and speak with elegance and composure, understand?!"
Nami: ??
What nonsense is he spouting?
Grabbing Kin'emon by the hair, Nami glared and said, "You're just a head, yet you still dare to act so arrogantly...
"Is this how you treat the benefactor who helped reassemble your head?!"
"Huh?!"
With that, Nami punched Kin'emon on the head, leaving a large bump on top.
After doing this, she tossed Kin'emon to the ground, her expression filled with utter disdain.
"Ouch..."
Kin'emon gasped in pain after being thrown, then looked at Nami speechlessly and muttered, "What kind of woman is this from which country? So utterly rude..."
He had never encountered such an outrageous woman!
"Hah, sorry for being so rude," Nami sneered.
Spouting all that nonsense for no reason—she was lucky she didn't beat him up.
"Hmph, considering your clothes are nearly stripped off, I won't stoop to your level," Kin'emon snorted.
"My top is a swimsuit, you country bumpkin," Nami retorted, exasperated. "This is called fashion, got it?!"
Does this idiot even understand?
"Fashion?"
Kin'emon stared at Nami in shock and said, "How utterly shameless..."
After a moment of silence, he blushed and added, "But this samurai actually quite likes—"
"Bzz~"
"I... I'm just a worthless piece of trash..."
"Hmph."
Before retracting the Negative Spirit, Perona snapped, "If you dare spout any more nonsense, I'll gouge your eyes out!"
"Believe me, I'm fully capable of doing it!"
Seeing this, Sanji retracted his foot, which he had just extended. If Perona had been even a second slower, he would have kicked Kin'emon.
A moment later...
"Huff... huff..."
Panting heavily, Kin'emon stared at Perona in terror and stammered, "Wh-what kind of sorcery is this?"
Why did he feel so utterly negative just now?
That feeling was truly terrifying!
"This is called a Devil Fruit Ability, you country bumpkin," Perona said disdainfully, looking at Kin'emon. "I really don't know which remote mountain village you crawled out from, not even knowing about Devil Fruits."
Not knowing about Devil Fruits was one thing, but acting so arrogant on top of it...
Who gave him the courage?
"Women from the outside world are truly terrifying..." Kin'emon muttered.
"I heard that!"
Kin'emon: .
Kin'emon's mouth twitched slightly at the words. Was the other party about to deal with him again?
To avoid experiencing that strange ability any further, Kin'emon changed the subject: "By the way, who exactly are you people?"
"I just heard you were brought here from a ship... Are you merchants?"
As he spoke, a glimmer of hope appeared in Kin'emon's eyes. If they were a merchant ship, perhaps they could hire some powerful guards from the world.
"No, we're definitely not a merchant ship," Sanji said, blowing a smoke ring. "We're pirates."
Kin'emon: !!
"Pirates..." Kin'emon said with a grim expression. "You're actually pirates?!"
"No wonder you're so savage... I despise pirates, so much it makes me sick!"
At that moment, Kin'emon thought of the man who had brought ruin to the Land of Wano. That man... called Hundred Beasts Kaido!
"Was this guy hurt by pirates or something?" Chopper wondered.
Hearing this, Sanji's expression turned complicated. "Probably."
After all... not all pirates were as kind-hearted as their Straw Hat Pirates.
The others also wore complicated expressions upon hearing this.
"Hmph, I originally thought it was quite a fate for us to meet on this Ice Island, so I planned to escape with you," Kin'emon said with a dark look. "But I never expected you to be pirates... It seems we can only go our separate ways here."
Perona: ??
Hearing Kin'emon's words, several question marks immediately popped up above Perona's head. When had they ever said they were taking this weird guy with them to escape? This guy was really a bit too self-important.
Thinking this, Perona said helplessly, "What a self-important fellow."
"Putting that aside, I'm more curious about what he just said," Franky stepped forward, looking at Kin'emon. "You just said this is an Ice Island? Isn't this Fire Island, burning with Liver Flame?"
"Yeah," Chopper also nodded. "This is a Fire Island where even the sea surface is burning! How could it possibly be an Ice Island under these circumstances?"
"Did you forget what Nami said on the ship?" Perona spoke up.
"What she said?"
Franky and Chopper's eyes immediately showed a trace of confusion, clearly having no memory of that part.
"It seems because of the Hypnotic Gas, you forgot about that matter," Perona shook her head.
Hearing this, Chopper looked at Nami in confusion. "Nami, what did you say?"
"Opposite Fire Island, there might really exist an icy side," Nami said.
After speaking, Nami glanced down at Kin'emon and continued, "You said this is an Ice Island, right? Can you tell us the specifics? Also, have you heard any sounds of Liver Mountain erupting?"
Kin'emon fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then, considering they had saved him, he spoke: "I drifted here from the Drift Ice Sea to this Winter Island, so I can confirm this is indeed a Winter Island. As for the Liver Mountain eruption you mentioned..."
Kin'emon paused here before continuing, "I occasionally hear some explosion sounds, but whether it's Liver Mountain erupting or not, I don't know."
"Alright, stop talking to me, pirate!"
As Kin'emon finished speaking, he struggled to turn his head, but being just a head, he couldn't manage it at all.
This comical sight made Sanji's lips twitch.
Nami, however, paid no attention to his reaction and instead frowned, saying, "It seems just as I thought—there really is a winter space on the other side of the island."
"So, these two environments actually exist on the same island?!" Franky exclaimed in shock. "Is that even possible?"
Under normal circumstances, an island like this shouldn't exist at all.
After all... these are two conflicting attributes!
"From what we can see now, yes," Nami nodded.
Although the island's setup seemed a bit strange, it was undeniably real.
"Doesn't that mean we've been taken to the opposite side of them?" Chopper said, dumbfounded.
Would they even be able to find them now?
"It looks that way."
"So, what should we do now?" Perona asked. "Should I go out and check the situation?"
Her Devil Fruit ability allowed her to pass through any solid object, so this thick steel wall couldn't stop her.
As soon as she said this, the others' eyes lit up.
"That's right!"
Chopper looked at Perona with shining eyes. "Perona can go out!"
Meanwhile, Sanji stroked his chin and said, "This door really can't hold Miss Perona back."
After all... once Perona activates her Devil Fruit ability, her body can become intangible.
"Then go out and check the situation," Nami nodded. "It would be even better if you could find the switch for this room."
That way... they could leave this room quietly.
"Leave it to me!" Perona gave a thumbs-up.
With that, Perona activated her Devil Fruit ability, making herself float, and cheerfully walked toward the wall.
Then, under Kin'emon's astonished gaze, she passed effortlessly through the closed door!
Kin'emon: ??
Watching all of this, Kin'emon was utterly dumbfounded.
"What... what kind of sorcery is this?" Kin'emon exclaimed in shock.
How could she pass through the door?
This was truly astonishing.
"This guy is an idiot, isn't he?" Nami glanced at Kin'emon. "We already said it's a Devil Fruit ability, and he's still asking."
Kin'emon:
So, what exactly is this Devil Fruit thing these people keep talking about?
"Just think of it as a special ability," Sanji said, glancing at him.
"A special ability, huh..."
Listening to Franky's words, Kin'emon fell into deep thought.
Come to think of it... he also had an extremely special ability.
"I just wonder if there are guards outside," Chopper stared at the steel door. "Will Perona be okay?"
Hearing this, Nami smiled and said, "Perona isn't some weak little girl, so don't worry."
With Perona's ability, as long as she doesn't run into some top-tier Haki master, she should be fine.
"That's good," Chopper sighed in relief.
Meanwhile, Perona, whom the two were talking about, was outside the stone gate searching for something to open it.
"Switch, switch..."
Perona, carefully examining her surroundings, frowned and said, "Where's the switch..."
"Ah!"
"Found it!"
Perona stared at the special button at the lower right corner of the stone gate, her eyes lighting up.
Then, Perona flew over without hesitation and pressed the stone gate's switch.
The next moment...
"Bzzz bzzz bzzz~"
The tightly closed steel stone gate suddenly began to vibrate, emitting a series of sounds as it slowly opened.
Seeing this, Chopper excitedly shouted, "Great, the stone gate is open!"
Now they could leave this damned place.
"Well done, Perona!" Nami gave a thumbs-up.
"Of course."
"Hara hara hara~"
Praised, Perona immediately laughed, then said, "A mere stone gate can't stump me~"
Seeing Perona's smiling face, the others laughed along.
Perona's ability was truly convenient.
"Alright, let's hurry and leave this place," Nami said. "The commotion from opening the stone gate just now was quite loud. Someone might already be heading this way."
Although they didn't know who had captured them, it was best not to be caught by them again.
Otherwise... they might not get a second chance to escape.
Thinking this, Nami quickly walked out from inside the stone gate, intending to see which direction would be best to flee.
Seeing this, the others hurriedly followed, afraid that if they were too slow, they'd be caught by the enemy.
However, just as they were about to leave, Sanji stopped.
Then, Sanji turned to look at Kin'emon and said, "Hey, what about that guy? If we weren't pirates, you'd probably want to escape with us, right?"
"Just leave, pirates!" Kin'emon closed his eyes in pain and said, "I'll figure something out myself!"
Although he didn't know what he could do, he didn't want to get involved with pirates right now.
After all... pirates were truly despicable!
"Figure something out yourself..."
"How can you figure anything out with just a head?"
As he spoke, Sanji walked up to Kin'emon, crouched down, and picked him up.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing, just helping you return to your original form."
While speaking, Sanji swapped Kin'emon's chin and skull, restoring him to his original appearance.
After doing this, Sanji said, "So you really are a Samurai from the Land of Wano..."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Chopper looked at Kin'emon in shock and said, "This guy is a Samurai?"
"Yes, that's right."
Sanji nodded and said, "At first, I didn't pay much attention, but later I remembered this is the distinctive hairstyle of Samurai from the Land of Wano."
As if his thoughts had been seen through, Kin'emon's expression immediately turned grim.
Had his identity been exposed?
"A Samurai from the Land of Wano... gulp..."
Chopper instinctively swallowed, then looked fearfully at Kin'emon and said, "So, the Samurai who was cutting people down over the Den Den Mushi earlier was this guy?!"
"So scary!"
This guy wouldn't jump up and cut them all down, would he...
Just then, voices came from the end of the corridor.
"Hurry, I heard the sound of the prison gate opening."
"Could it be those pirates escaping?"
"Damn it, we absolutely can't let them escape, or our master won't spare us."
"Roger!"
Hearing the voices from that direction, Franky instinctively furrowed his brow and said, "They actually discovered we escaped so quickly..."
Could it be that these guys were nearby from the very beginning?
That's not impossible either.
"Hey, Sanji, hurry up." Nami turned to look at Sanji and urged, "The pursuers are here."
"Yeah, I know."
Sanji nodded, then picked up Kin'emon and said, "Hey, Samurai."
"We ended up in this situation because we responded to the emergency signal from the person you cut down."
"So... don't you plan to explain something?"
Hearing Sanji's words, Kin'emon's eyes grew conflicted.
If possible, he really didn't want to get involved with these pirates.
But... but if he didn't leave with them, he wouldn't be able to find Momonosuke.
So...
As if having made some kind of resolution, Kin'emon gritted his teeth and said, "I would not cut someone down without reason—that would bring shame upon me."
"Then what was that earlier?"
"I came to this island to save my son!" Kin'emon said. "So naturally, I cut down those who tried to stop me from finding my son."
After saying this, Kin'emon paused, then with a fierce expression, roared with all his might, "Whoever gets in the way of me finding my son, I'll cut them down!"
Looking at Kin'emon's expression, Sanji fell silent.
This guy...
"Hey, Sanji!" Chopper said, looking at the enemies appearing in their line of sight. "The enemies are already here."
"I know."
Sanji nodded, then grabbed Kin'emon and moved into the corridor, saying, "Then let's take this guy with us."
"Huh?"
Chopper stared at Sanji in shock and said, "You're going to take this dangerous guy with us?"
"Yeah."
Sanji nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for this guy."
If this guy really turned out to be an ungrateful wretch... he'd kick him to death!
Nami frowned and glanced at Kin'emon, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she signaled to her companions to run in another direction.
"Let's leave first."
Whatever it is, we'll talk about it after we find Meiser and the others.
"Roger!"
"What about these pursuers?"
"They won't catch up." Nami said.
As she spoke, Nami turned and glanced in the direction behind them, then decisively swung her Clima-Tact downward.
The next moment...
"Boom!!"
"Ah!!"
The pursuers struck by lightning all screamed and fell to the ground.
"As expected of Nami..." Franky remarked with admiration.
"Stop admiring and hurry up!!"
"Roger!!"
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