"Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding me. What the hell is up with this absurd defense?"
Franky's mouth twitched. Under his shocked gaze, Nami's skin had somehow turned brown. At the same time, her long orange hair was gradually turning white, and a cluster of flames burned fiercely behind her back.
Franky felt as though he wasn't standing in front of a person, but a humanoid heavy tank!
"Wind Lance!!"
Nami shouted in a low voice. Little Qing puffed up its cheeks, faced Franky, compressed the atmosphere, and violently spewed out a hurricane thrust from its mouth!
Boom!!
"Uwaaah—!"
Franky's eyes widened in pain as the hurricane pierced his chest, sending his entire body flying backward to smash heavily into a house.
Right at that moment.
"I've seized the opportunity! Yohohoho~"
A skeletal figure suddenly darted out from behind Nami. Brook wielded his longsword, the freezing cold of the Underworld wrapping around the blade.
The initial lightning strike hadn't completely taken him down; he had been secretly hiding for quite a while, all for this crucial strike!
Sensing the danger, Nami abruptly turned around, but it was too late.
"Song of Scrapes・Blizzard Slash!"
Brook's eye sockets darkened. He tapped his toes on the ground, accelerating suddenly. The cold air on his blade erupted as his figure instantly crossed paths with Nami!
Clang!!
A crisp sword chime echoed through the space. Brook slowly came to a halt after passing Nami, smoothly sheathing his longsword.
Click!
His blade was so fast that the enemies he cut wouldn't even realize they had been slashed until the sword was sheathed and the wound finally split open.
However, this time was different.
When Brook turned his head to look back, he saw Nami standing in place, completely unscathed, watching him with a calm gaze.
"Eh!"
Brook's eyes widened in astonishment. He hurriedly drew his sword and examined it in a panic.
"Wait, wait! What's going on! Did I miss? No, no, I definitely hit her! Was it an illusion?!"
"No, you definitely hit me. This is the mark your sword left behind," Nami suddenly spoke up, raising her arm to reveal a frozen trail of ice on her skin.
Then, a cluster of flames ignited in her palm, rapidly covering her entire arm and melting the ice away in the blink of an eye.
A white mark remained on the skin of Nami's arm, clearly the result of Brook's slash, looking as though it would fade away with just a quick rub.
"Ah... to actually be... completely unscathed..."
Brook's jaw dropped, unable to close for a long time. Amidst his shock, he became somewhat at a loss for what to do.
That was already his strongest technique, and he had even managed to land a sneak attack. If that couldn't cause any injuries, it basically meant they had absolutely zero chance of winning.
"White Rainbow!!"
Nami aimed her palm at Brook and shouted. Little Qing responded instantly, spewing out a massive amount of compressed, ultra-low-temperature freezing gas. It formed a ribbon-like shape that completely covered the entire hundred-meter-long street ahead!
"Oh crap!"
Realizing what was happening, panic filled Brook's eyes, and he hurriedly tried to run away.
But it was too late.
Wherever the freezing gas passed, everything was frozen into ice, turning the entire street into a world of snow and ice in an instant!
Brook stood silently within it, his legs frozen in a running posture, a terrified expression permanently etched on his face.
"Brook!!"
Usopp cried out in panic, then quickly turned his head, looking at Nami with a solemn and wary gaze.
What in the world was going on? They had only been apart for two years. He thought his two years of training had made him far stronger than before. He never expected Nami to be even more exaggerated; her strength was simply absurd. She was taking on three of them with such ease.
Usopp gritted his teeth. "We're no match for her like this. Damn it, I have to think of a plan."
Whoosh—!!
Nami spread her pitch-black wings, flapping them violently to kick up a fierce gust of wind on the ground, and her figure vanished from the spot.
The next instant.
"Oh crap!"
Nami suddenly appeared right in front of him. Usopp's pupils dilated in shock. He instinctively took a few steps back, stumbled, and fell hard on his butt.
"Unfortunately, the battle is over."
Nami chuckled lightly. She retracted Little Qing's transformed state and spun the Clima-Tact around her fingers a few times before aiming the end right at Usopp.
Usopp looked at Nami with panic, his left hand stealthily reaching for the pouch on his back.
However, Nami didn't give him a single chance.
"It's useless, Usopp. I know your fighting style too well."
The corners of Nami's mouth curled up. Her finger flicked a mechanism, and the Impact Dial installed inside the Clima-Tact released a powerful shockwave that blasted out from the tip!
Boom!!
"Blergh—!!"
The impact struck him squarely in the face. Usopp's eyes rolled back as a massive amount of blood sprayed from his nose and mouth into the air, and his entire body was sent flying backward!
Nami retracted her Clima-Tact and simultaneously deactivated her Lunarian Bloodline. Her white hair, brown skin, and pitch-black wings gradually reverted to normal.
Just as she was about to turn and leave.
"..."
Usopp pressed his hands against the ground, struggling to push his body up from the pool of blood. A resolute look appeared on his battered and bloody face.
"I'm still... I haven't lost yet...!!"
Seeing his stubbornness, Nami was surprised and somewhat uncomprehending. She shook her head and sighed, "Honestly, couldn't you just lie there and play dead? That's what you're best at, right? I already saved you guys from Allen's hands, couldn't you at least understand my intentions?"
Although it looked like she had beaten Usopp and the other two quite miserably, at least it wasn't life-threatening. Unlike Allen, who never held back.
If she hadn't taken the initiative to step in, Allen would have beaten them beyond recognition by now.
"If you stand up again, you might lose your life. I'm not joking with you, Usopp," Nami said coldly, her eyes suddenly turning sharp.
However, the more she acted like this, the more determined Usopp became to fight to the end.
"I know, Nami... I'm already very grateful to you, but... we aren't the only ones still fighting..."
Usopp gritted his teeth, his fingers digging into the ground as he struggled to support his body, shakily getting to his feet.
"Of course, I'm terrified of dying too. But Luffy is still fighting, Zoro is still fighting, Vivi... Chopper... Everyone's situation is no better than mine."
"Telling me to give up resisting, lie down, and play dead, pretending that everything will automatically get better once the battle passes... How could I possibly do that!"
Usopp shouted through gritted teeth, his eyes growing even more resolute.
And so.
Bzz—Bzz—!
Arcs of electricity sparked across the Clima-Tact, the golden lightning gradually becoming blinding.
"Bolt from the Blue!!"
Nami shouted in a low voice, swinging the Clima-Tact fiercely. A chain of lightning swept across the ground, shattering the floor and leaving scorched black marks in its wake.
Crack!!
"Uwaaah!!"
Usopp was bathed in the lightning, screaming hoarsely as he was electrocuted.
A moment later, the lightning gradually dimmed.
Usopp's entire body was charred black and smoking. His eyes were rolled back, having clearly lost consciousness, and his body slowly toppled backward.
Thud.
"Resolve isn't something you just talk about, but I respect your choice. Have a good rest here," Nami said expressionlessly.
She put away her Clima-Tact, turned around, and walked away.