Everyone was stunned at what they had just heard.
Nami immediately stepped beside Robin and said angrily, "Is that the Marine Admiral who's been making you run for so long? If he's really here, we'll have Shin'ya beat him up later to vent your anger."
"Right~ After all this training, we've wanted to test our strength against an Admiral anyway, haven't we, Luffy?" Zoro's eyes gleamed with determination.
"Ah~ yeah, but whether he's here or not, let's check out the island first and see what's going on," Luffy said, standing at the bow of the ship with his arms raised. His voice echoed across the sea. "Prepare to drop anchor! Time for an island adventure!"
At his command, the crew snapped into action, securing the ship quickly. Then, Luffy launched himself off the deck like a bullet, landing squarely on the icy island.
"Whoa!" Luffy shouted with glee as he slid across the glossy, frozen surface. "Ahaha~ This ice is amazing! It's like a natural skating rink! Let's go ice skating!"
Sanji, nearby, shrugged. "Too bad we don't have skates."
"Don't worry about that!" Shin'ya stepped forward with a grin. He clapped his hands together and used Wood Release. In an instant, wood sprouted from the ground and twisted into shape under his control, forming finely crafted pairs of ice skates.
"Here—just slip them over your shoes." Shin'ya handed them out one by one.
For himself, he created a special snowboard that could support one or two people.
"Ooh-hoo~ I wanna try it!"
"Me too~ Me too~"
The crew cheered excitedly, eager to put on their skates and race across the frozen landscape.
Luffy, unable to contain his excitement, pointed toward the island's center and yelled, "Let's go, everyone—snowboarding adventure time!"
Everyone shot across the ice like wild horses, laughter echoing in the air.
"Wahahaha~~ This is awesome!" Luffy shouted, giddy with childlike joy.
"Yeah! This is amazing!" Chopper echoed, racing beside him.
"Come on, Robin. Let's go too." Shin'ya smiled, taking her hand. They stood together on the two-person snowboard and glided forward, keeping pace with Luffy and Chopper.
But after a while, the group suddenly slowed to a halt.
Ahead of them was a strange sight: a long, slender dog, easily several hundred meters in length, shivering in the cold as it trudged forward, seemingly unaware of their presence.
Not far off stood a towering, tree-like bear, more than ten meters tall. Even the fruits hanging from the trees were oddly shaped—thin, stretched out, and almost comically long.
"Hey, why'd you guys stop?" Shin'ya and Robin caught up to find the others frozen in place, their gazes locked on the surreal landscape.
Luffy scratched his head. "This place is way too weird! I saw a small dog earlier… but it was hundreds of meters long!"
Nami stared around in disbelief. "Everything here looks... elongated."
Usopp's voice trembled slightly. "C-could this be... the legendary Long Ring Long Land?"
Zoro furrowed his brow, observing carefully. "From what we're seeing, everything on this island seems unnaturally stretched out."
Chopper clung to Robin's side like a frightened child. "Is it really safe here? What if we get stretched too?"
"Haha~ Don't worry, Chopper," Shin'ya said reassuringly. "This island has some weird ability. Let's explore more—maybe we'll find some people living here."
Just as he spoke, Usopp shouted, "Hey! Over there! Is that a house?"
The group turned and followed his pointing finger.
Luffy, ever impulsive, grabbed a frozen apple from a tree, casually cracked off the ice, and munched it as he stared into the distance. "Hmm… yeah, that does look like a house. Let's check it out!"
Before anyone could stop him, Luffy sped off like a missile. The rest followed quickly behind, a blur of motion across the ice.
Shin'ya and Robin followed at a slower pace, gliding side by side, as if enjoying a romantic date rather than an adventure.
Soon, they reached the house. But something was off—there were no signs of life.
"This place looks abandoned," Usopp muttered. "Did the people living here leave?"
Just then, Luffy spotted two towering bamboo poles outside the house.
"Everyone, come check this out! These poles are huge—you can't even see the tops!" he shouted.
The group gathered around, staring up at the massive stalks that seemed to disappear into the clouds.
"How can bamboo grow this tall?" Usopp said, eyes wide.
Luffy grinned. "Let's cut them down and find out!"
"Don't you dare!" Nami snapped. "They might belong to someone!"
But Luffy was already gone. In a flash, he burst into the house and reappeared with a sharp kitchen knife.
"I'm cutting the bamboo!" he yelled.
With lightning-fast movements, he hacked away at the stalks. "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" echoed across the clearing as chunks of bamboo flew everywhere. In seconds, the poles came crashing down.
Suddenly, a panicked scream rang out from above.
"AAAAH! HELP ME! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!"
"Oh no! There's someone up there!" Nami shouted.
"Watch me!" Luffy yelled. "Gum-Gum... Grab!"
His arm shot up like a rocket and wrapped around a figure. With a yank, he pulled someone from the sky.
A moment later, a bearded, tattered old man, unconscious and limp, came flying into Luffy's arms.
Usopp's jaw dropped. "Is… is this a bamboo spirit?!"
"Wake up, old man!" Nami shook him by the shoulders.
The man groaned, eyes fluttering open. "Am I... still alive?"
"Who are you?" Zoro asked. "And why the hell were you up on those bamboo poles?"
The old man cleared his throat. "Name's Tonjit. I live here on Long Ring Long Land. And those weren't just bamboo poles… they were my stilts."
The crew collectively blinked, dumbfounded.
Usopp leaned forward. "You expect us to believe those were stilts?!"
Tonjit gave a weak laugh. "When I was younger, I had a dream of becoming the world's tallest stilt walker. I started training here. But one day… I developed acrophobia."
"Then why the hell were you using stilts?!" Sanji blurted out.
"I didn't expect it!" Tonjit protested. "Once I realized, I was already too high up. I couldn't get down. So the bamboo kept growing... and here I am. Ten years later."
Chopper's jaw dropped. "Ten years?! How did you survive?!"
Tonjit pointed at the trees. "Luckily, the trees here are so tall I could pick fruit from up there. That's how I lived."
"…Okay, but—" Shin'ya stepped forward with a skeptical look. "What about the bathroom situation? You've been up there ten years. Don't tell me you just let it go from that high up. And what did you wipe with?"
---
Send stones!!