Chapter 77: You get stronger by basking in the sun, and you can also get stronger by basking in Kizaru?!
As Chopper spoke, he couldn'tstop twisting his body, his soft fur standing on end. "And... and there's something about his light... it feels strange, it makes my whole body feel restless..."
Hearing this, Ron looked up thoughtfully at Kizaru, who was now exchanging blows with Ace in the distance. The Admiral shimmered with a golden radiance, a veritable human-shaped sun... Wait. *Sun*?
Getting stronger by basking in the sun... and Kizaru *is* a source of intense light...
Just as this realization dawned,
A stray beam of light, a **Hikari no Kagami**, shot from the edge of the battlefield, streaking directly toward Chopper, who was still tending to Robin!
Chopper's pupils contracted to pinpricks. Instinct screamed at him to dodge, but the overwhelming, abnormal sensation coursing through his body locked his muscles in place, as if he were welded to the stone floor.
"Chopper! Look out!" Nami's scream echoed across the ruins.
***Boom—!***
The photon beam struck Chopper head-on, and a blinding flash of light completely enveloped the small reindeer.
Everyone expected him to be sent flying, grievously wounded. Instead, Chopper stood firm, a faint, pulsating golden aura now emanating from his body.
**[Ding! Ultra-high density solar energy detected!]**
**[Constitution Awakened: Super Photon Absorption!]**
**[Passive Effect: All forms of light energy can be rapidly absorbed! Required sunbathing time drastically reduced!]**
**[Current Sunbathing Duration: 3.5 h]**
**[Complete 48 hours of accumulated sunbathing to receive reward: Savage Growth!]**
Chopper stared in a daze at his small hooves, where a strange, flowing luminescence danced. He tentatively flexed a leg. Not only was he completely unharmed, but he felt incredibly invigorated, as if he were soaking in the most perfect, warm sunlight!
"This... this is..." Chopper's blue nose twitched, and he suddenly jumped into the air, overcome with excitement, "A shortcut to power?! It shortens my sunbathing time!"
Kizaru, from his vantage point, raised an eyebrow, his voice a lazy drawl. "Ooooh my~ The little tanuki is perfectly fine~" He observed Chopper with renewed interest. "What a curious ability~"
Chopper spun in a gleeful circle, his fluffy hooves waving animatedly. "This is amazing! I can directly absorb pure light energy now!"
He excitedly pulled out the small notebook he always carried and began scribbling furiously. "The energy from that one light beam... was equal to two and a half hours of sunbathing!"
Nami, who had just sprinted over, stared in disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide. "Wh-what?!" She looked from Chopper to the distant Kizaru and back. "You mean you don't have to lie in the sun all day? You can just... get hit by his attacks to level up?!"
Usopp, who had just fended off Tashigi with a **Killer Star**, gaped at Chopper. "H-Hey! That's completely broken!"
Chopper nodded, his excitement barely contained. "That's right! And this pure light energy is far more efficient! It shortens the time even more!"
"Originally, I needed three full days of sunbathing to complete the cycle, but now..." He shot a furtive, calculating glance at Kizaru, who was launching volleys of light. "Uh... maybe just a few dozen more direct hits..."
Nami sighed, massaging her temples. "As incredible as that is, it's far too dangerous! What if—"
"It's okay!" Chopper declared, clenching his tiny hooves into determined fists. "As long as it's light-based, I can absorb it! My body can handle it perfectly!"
Just then,
Another stray photon beam sizzled through the air toward them. Instead of dodging, Chopper's eyes lit up and he eagerly scrambled toward it. "Here comes another one! Let the light beams rain down!"
"Chopper! Don't be reckless!" Nami cried out.
***Boom!***
The moment the beam connected, it was instantly siphoned into Chopper's form, his fur blazing with a brilliant golden corona.
The timer on his system interface dropped by another two and a half hours!
Chopper looked down at his own glowing body, buzzing with energy. "This is perfect! Now I can fight properly and protect everyone, too!"
Ron observed the golden-glowing reindeer, his eyebrow twitching almost imperceptibly. He subconsciously waited for the familiar chime of his own ten-fold return system, but his mind remained silent.
"No trigger..." Ron murmured, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. It seemed the system's ten-fold return did not activate for the sub-system host's own gains. It only responded to external, additional rewards...
He studied Chopper's state more carefully. The little doctor was standing there, practically vibrating with excitement, his eyes scanning the battlefield for more stray light.
"Could it be..." Ron stroked his chin, a theory forming. "Is there something unique about Chopper's very bloodline?"
Was it possible that Chopper's Devil Fruit wasn't the simple **Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Human** that everyone assumed?
Did his innate lineage hold its own secrets?
Thinking of Chopper's distinctive blue nose, Ron speculated, "Perhaps he was never just an ordinary reindeer to begin with..."
On the other side of the battlefield,
Kizaru, mid-combat, caught Chopper's anomaly in his peripheral vision and merely pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "Ooooh my~ That's one resilient little tanuki, isn't it~"
He naturally attributed this to a peculiar racial trait or a specific defensive technique, never once considering the absurd possibility of his attacks being *absorbed as nourishment*.
After all, in all his years as an Admiral, no one had ever *eaten* his attacks before...
"Hey, hey~ Kizaru~" Ace launched another **Fire Fist**, the flames roaring. "It's rude to lose focus."
"Oh my, what a fearsome rookie~"
Kizaru's body dissolved into a shower of golden photons, dispersing and reconfiguring with elegant nonchalance. He adjusted his sunglasses, his tone shifting from bored to serious. "This has dragged on long enough. It's time to end this little game."
The moment he finished speaking, Kizaru's speed multiplied exponentially!
His form became a solid beam of light, instantly materializing in front of Ace. His leg, now sheathed in the black gloss of **Busoshoku Haki**, swept toward Ace's chest in a vicious kick.
***Bang!***
Ace managed to cross his arms, wreathed in flame, but the force of the impact sent him hurtling backward, carving a deep trench into the earth. He coughed, a spatter of blood hitting the ground, and looked up in shock. "This speed... He was holding back before?!"
Kizaru flickered in the air above, and a storm of light projectiles descended. "**Yasakani no Magatama!**"
This time, the density and destructive power of the barrage were on an entirely different level. Ace's defensive flames were shredded apart.
At this critical juncture,
A small, glowing figure suddenly dashed in front of Ace. "Ace! Grab onto my leg!"
Ace stared in bewilderment. It was Chopper, shining like a miniature sun! The reindeer was standing on his front hooves with fierce determination, his two back hooves pointed defiantly at the sky. "Use me as a shield! Let him hit me!"
"Huh?!" Ace was flabbergasted. "Don't be ridiculous! I can't do that!"
"You can! You have to!" Chopper's voice was urgent, his blue nose twitching with adrenaline. "This is my choice! Please, Ace!"
As Ace hesitated, Chopper lowered his voice to a rapid whisper. "My system is all about getting stronger from sunlight, and it just mutated! I can absorb all light energy now! The stronger Kizaru's attacks are, the more powerful I become!"
....
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