Meanwhile, in the Snow Woman's territory—the mysterious snow mountain—Luffy and Nami were frozen to the point their limbs were stiff.
Each step was a grueling effort.
"Luffy," Nami panted, her voice trembling, "is there any way to keep warm? If this continues, we might not even make it to that cabin in the mountains."
Hearing Nami's words, Luffy remained silent for a moment before inspiration struck.
"I've got an idea."
"Gear Second!"
By accelerating his blood circulation, his metabolic rate rapidly increased.
The steam that began to vent from his body surface was a welcome, if strange, source of warmth.
"Nami, to save time, I'll carry you on my back."
Thus, a red, steaming streak flashed by, rapidly charging toward the cabin at the mountain peak.
Moments later, they skidded into the courtyard where the Snow Woman resided.
When they got a clear look, their pupils dilated.
Sanji was slumped against a post, completely drained.
His cheeks were sunken, his eyes lifeless—the very picture of someone who had been utterly broken.
Seeing this scene, Luffy flew into a rage.
"BASTARD! What did you do to my cook?"
The Snow Woman merely glanced at Luffy without responding.
At this moment, she appeared as nothing more than a pitiful, delicate young woman, the kind that would evoke sympathy from anyone who saw her.
But Luffy couldn't care less whether she was a wolf or a tiger—seduction tactics were utterly useless against him.
He roared at the woman before him.
"Return Sanji to normal immediately! Otherwise, even if you're a woman, I'll punch you flying!"
Nami hugged Luffy's steam-emitting body to keep warm while joining in.
"Our captain's a monster! You better listen to him, you—you witch!"
Hearing their provocation, the ice-cold beauty's eyes revealed a trace of anger and irritation.
Yet she didn't attack Luffy or Nami.
Instead, she slowly stood up and walked toward a young man dressed in deep blue monk robes who appeared to be a priest.
Nami's expression turned grave.
She had been organizing her thoughts throughout their journey.
When this woman first encountered their group, she immediately launched a mental attack.
'A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit,' Nami had thought.
But then she saw the woman disappear into the vast snowy mountains with Sanji, as if merging with the environment.
'That's a Logia ability!'
'But no one can possess two Devil Fruit abilities'.
Nami had been deeply puzzled, unable to comprehend what kind of monster this woman was.
But when Luffy used Gear Second, Nami remembered the person who helped Luffy develop this technique.
Among their crew, there was one who shared similar bizarre traits.
Ray.
'Ray can wield a Light Whip, like a Paramecia. He can fly. He can release poison. He can transform into a giant dog, which would be a Zoan.'
In summary, Ray alone possessed at least four abilities, defying all common knowledge about humans and Devil Fruits.
But Ray wasn't human—he was a yokai.
Nami's eyes widened.
'Only yokai could display such illogical, multi-ability states. Does this mean the beauty before us is also a yokai?'
"Luffy," Nami warned, "this woman might be the same kind of creature as Ray. We must be careful."
Luffy immediately got excited.
"A yokai?! Awesome! I wonder if she knows transformation techniques!"
Nami felt a vein pop in her temple.
When Luffy learned that Ray and Chouchou were yokai, he had constantly pestered them to show him transformations.
He only shut up after Ray had beaten him down until he couldn't get up.
Just as Nami was about to remind Luffy to take this seriously, a weak, raspy voice came from beside her.
"So... she is a female yokai... truly... beautiful."
Nami snapped, veins bulging on her forehead.
"SANJI! YOU MIGHT AS WELL LET HER SUCK YOU DRY!"
Sighing, Nami exhaled heavily.
With such two unreliable teammates, she felt utterly exhausted.
"Wait! Luffy, quickly save that priest! If the Snow Woman kisses him, he'll definitely be drained dry too!"
That priest clearly looked like an ordinary person, unlikely to have Sanji's robust physique.
He'd probably be drained with a single kiss.
Even Luffy, dense as he was, understood this woman was no good.
He immediately sprang into action.
"Gear Second: JET PISTOL!"
A steam-powered fist instantly shot toward the Snow Woman's face, striking her squarely.
She was immediately sent flying, straight out of the house.
Only now did she realize that the two people she had overlooked were no ordinary humans.
Enraged, the Snow Woman threw her head back and howled, emitting a sharp, piercing shriek.
Moments later, she transformed from a gentle and beautiful woman into a fierce snow yokai with sharp fangs and vicious features, standing at least 5 meters tall.
Witnessing this scene, Sanji's mentality shattered.
Had he just been "kissing" such an utterly hideous monster?
"MY FIRST KIIIIIIISS!"
Heartbroken, Sanji began shedding tears like a streaming brook from his already dehydrated body.
No one knew where this moisture came from.
Meanwhile, Luffy grew even more excited.
"Nami, she transformed! Yokai really can change forms!"
Nami chuckled. "Whatever makes you happy. Hurry up and defeat her, Luffy! Stop fooling around."
Hearing Nami's urging, Luffy's expression turned serious as Armament Haki coated his hands.
"JET Gatling!"
The high-speed black gatling strikes completely pummeled the Snow Woman, soon scattering her into a flurry of snowflakes.
Yet Luffy showed no joy of victory, instead growing more solemn.
Not just him—Nami and Sanji also noticed something wrong.
The Haki-infused fists had struck the enemy's body directly, yet not a single drop of blood was seen.
Not even Logia types were this absurd.
Just then, the monk nearby regained consciousness.
Smiling at Luffy and Nami, he approached them.
"Many thanks for your heroic rescue. I am Miroku. Might this young lady be willing to bear my children?"
As he spoke, Miroku held Nami's delicate hand with his left while his right hand caressed her curvaceous ass simultaneously.
The outcome, naturally, was Nami slapping him flying while a near-death Sanji unleashed his latent potential with a Neck Meat SHOOT.
Now buried headfirst in the snow with twitching legs, Miroku appeared on the verge of expiration.
Luffy roared with laughter.
"This monk actually touched Nami right in front of Sanji—breaking two major taboos at once! Truly courageous."
Suddenly, Luffy's expression tightened as he launched a JET Whip kick behind Nami.
A newly formed snow monster was instantly kicked apart.
Startled, Nami immediately jumped behind Luffy, standing back-to-back with him.
"How can something be completely unaffected by Haki?"
At that moment, Miroku pulled his head out of the snowdrift.
He smiled at the two.
"Friends, this Snow Woman is formed from vengeful spirits. Conventional means cannot harm her."
"Allow me. Behold, spiritual power!"
With a wave of his hand, Miroku sent several talismans flying like hidden weapons toward a female statue in the house.
Instantly, the statue emitted a terrifying scream.
Then, a wisp of gray smoke slowly dissipated from the statue.
No further snow yokai appeared across the vast snowy landscape.
As the gray smoke faded, a green light flowed into Sanji's body, restoring elasticity to his withered skin.
"Wow, so magical!" Luffy exclaimed with curiosity, running to Miroku's side.
"Is this the legendary exorcism art? Such an interesting ability! Join my pirate crew!"
Miroku didn't refuse but instead turned to gaze at Nami.
"As long as this young lady agrees to bear my children—Ah!"
Before he could finish, a beautiful woman clad in a black and red-striped bodysuit appeared behind him.
The woman carried a giant bone boomerang on her back, accompanied by a large two-tailed cat with flames erupting from its paws.
With a heavy punch, she struck Miroku in the kidney, causing the lecherous monk to cease his inappropriate behavior.
"A dignified monk like you, Miroku, taking half a day just to exorcise a minor monster? No wonder... you were out flirting—and here I was worried something had happened to you."
"Sango, it's not what you think! Let me explain... Hey, what are you doing, you brat!"
Just as Miroku was about to justify his actions, a dark figure appeared before Sango.
Sanji bent forward in a gentlemanly bow, holding Sango's left hand.
"Fair lady, my name is Sanji. I am overjoyed to meet such an elegant and noble woman like you. Would you honor me by joining me for a meal?"
As he spoke, Sanji leaned in to kiss the back of her hand—only to be struck down by Nami's staff, landing face-first in the snow.
The atmosphere finally calmed.
Observing the attire of Nami, Luffy, and Sanji, Sango couldn't help but consider one possibility.
"You're not locals, are you?"
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