Ace's eyes blazed with sudden understanding.
"Hahaha, I've got it!"
Without another word, he grabbed Chopper by his hind leg, hoisting the glowing, furry reindeer like a shield in front of him.
"Chopper!"
"Ace!"
"The Chopper-Shield is ready for action!"
Kizaru observed this bizarre development, his eyebrows climbing high above his sunglasses. "Ooooh my~ What an... unconventional strategy~ Do you hold this old man in such low regard?"
He lazily flicked a finger, sending a photon beam sizzling toward them.
***Pafu!***
The beam struck Chopper square in the chest, but instead of a cry of pain, the reindeer's entire body flared with a brighter, more intense golden light. "Yes! That took off another two and a half hours!" he cheered.
Ace could feel the thrumming energy radiating from the "shield" in his grasp, a wide grin splitting his face. "This is incredible!" He began to swing Chopper violently, charging toward Kizaru like a man wielding a living, furry flail. "**Flame-Chopper Cyclone!**"
"Wait! Not so fa— WOOOAAAHHH AH AH!" Chopper's screams whipped through the air as he was spun dizzyingly. "I'm gonna be sick! I'm seeing stars!"
Kizaru, caught off guard by the audacious charge, took the full brunt of the swinging reindeer. What shocked him more was that his instinctive counter-attack—a volley of photon beams—was utterly absorbed by the strange, glowing tanuki... no, *reindeer*!
"What in the world... is this combo?" Kizaru muttered, momentarily dumbfounded, though his hands never stopped moving.
"**Yasakani no Magatama!**"
He crossed his arms, and a torrent of dazzling light projectiles rained down.
Yet, to his utter astonishment, the duo didn't evade. They charged *into* the storm of light.
And every single photon that struck the little reindeer was harmlessly absorbed, making him shine even brighter.
"This... is that even possible?" Kizaru's perpetually lazy expression shifted for the first time. He pushed his sunglasses back up his nose. "No, no~ You must be joking me~"
Ace, holding the brilliantly glowing Chopper before him, grinned from ear to ear. "Hahaha, you're doing great, Chopper!"
"How interesting~" A dangerous curve finally touched Kizaru's lips. A blinding golden light condensed on his fingertip, humming with immense power. "Then, how about you try this? **Pika Pika no Mi: Laser.**"
A searing laser beam, thin and deadly, sliced through the air, aimed directly at Chopper's forehead.
"The Chopper-Shield is unbreakable!"
Ace leaped forward, using Chopper like a club to smash directly into the oncoming laser!
The connection was instantaneous.
But instead of a catastrophic explosion, there was only a soft *fizzle* as the lethal energy was siphoned away.
"Oii, oii, oii~" Kizaru's expression completely froze, his jaw going slightly slack. "What the hell? What *species* of tanuki are you, to be completely immune to this old man's attacks?!"
Chopper, still clamped under Ace's arm, trembled with pure, unadulterated rage, his little hooves flailing wildly. "I'M! NOT! A TANUKI! I'M A REINDEER, YOU BASTARD!!!"
This furious roar even caused a momentary lull in the surrounding battles. Kizaru was left utterly speechless, his sunglasses sliding down to the very tip of his nose. "A... a reindeer? Since when do reindeer... do *this*?"
"Shut up!" Chopper snapped, turning his head to yell, before suddenly getting shy and fidgeting, "B-Baka... Even if you praise me, I won't be happy... But I'm really *not* a tanuki~"
The sheer absurdity of the scene finally broke through Kizaru's nonchalant facade. His expression became one of unprecedented seriousness.
"It appears... this old man will have to take a *tanuki* seriously today~"
"I TOLD YOU I'M A REINDEER!"
"Very well, tanuki."
...
On the other side of the plaza,
Zoro's eye slowly slid open. He had slept from noon until sunset, a solid five hours. But within the first layer of the Dreamland, he had endured two and a half days of grueling, relentless training.
*Huu—*
Zoro exhaled a long, slow breath, and the aura around him underwent a profound transformation. His previously razor-sharp sword intent was now as deep and immeasurable as an abyss, yet the keen edge remained, refined and concentrated. He rolled his neck, the vertebrae popping softly.
"Busoshoku Haki... I've finally grasped it properly."
He looked down at his arm, and with a mere thought, the black sheen of Haki flowed over it like living ink.
Even more remarkably, every single minute of his dream had been spent relentlessly drilling, using the memory of Hawkeye's world-cleaving slash as his benchmark and goal. His comprehension of that ultimate technique was now complete.
His gaze shifted to Sanji, who was standing not far away, battered, bloodied, but still defiantly smoking a cigarette. The blue flames wreathing his body flickered unsteadily, a clear sign he was running on fumes.
Yet, Aokiji also stood upon his ice, his expression grim. Just what *was* this monster? He simply would not stay down!
"Hey, shit-cook." Zoro strode forward, all three of his swords sliding from their sheaths in a single, fluid motion. "Shift change."
Sanji glanced over, too tired for his usual vitriol. "Hmph... Finally awake? It's already night, why not just sleep till morning!"
"...Tch. My bad."
"Hmph! That guy's punches are no joke. Don't get yourself killed." Sanji finally seized the moment to take a long, slow drag from his cigarette, blowing a perfect smoke ring into the chilly air.
Aokiji scrutinized the newly awakened swordsman. His presence had undeniably grown stronger?
A flicker of genuine vigilance passed through the Admiral's eyes. "What kind of monster gets stronger from *sleeping*?" With a casual wave of his hand, several jagged ice spears shot toward Zoro. "Let's see what you've learned."
Zoro didn't bother to dodge. He crossed his three blades before his chest.
"**Santoryu... Oni Giri!**"
The black Haki coiled around his swords, and the slashing energy he released materialized into three phantom-like, demonic arcs!
The ice spears shattered upon contact, and the residual force continued unabated toward Aokiji!
"Now this is a bit interesting." Aokiji's pupils constricted slightly. He swiftly erected multiple layers of thick ice walls in front of himself.
***BOOM!***
The barriers shattered one after another. Aokiji was forced back over a dozen steps before steadying himself. A clean, precise slash now marred the fabric of his Justice Coat. For the first time, genuine surprise showed on his face.
"He's mastered Armament Haki?!"
Zoro held his final pose, his single eye burning with ferocious fighting spirit. "That slash... was my thanks to Hawkeye." He slowly shifted into a new, unfamiliar stance, the intent gathering around him like a storm. "The next one... is for you!"
Aokiji brushed a hand over the cut in his coat, but a faint, intrigued smile touched his lips. "My, my... Then by all means, let this Admiral see just how far a rookie can go."
The attention of the entire battlefield was drawn to the swordsman, awaiting his next move.
Ron watched from a distance, a satisfied nod. "If the Dream System's Dreamland could be developed to a third layer, a single day's sleep could equate to nearly five years of real training..."
Zoro slowly sheathed both Kitetsu and Shusui, leaving only the white-hilted Wado Ichimonji in his right hand.
He closed his eye, centering himself. In his mind's eye, Hawkeye's world-severing slash replayed with crystal clarity—every minute angle, every ounce of transferred force, even the subtle tremor of the air parting before the blade.
"**Ittoryu...**" Zoro's eye snapped open, a sharp glint erupting from within!
The muscles in his right arm corded like steel, the jet-black Busoshoku Haki on Wado Ichimonji flowing like a living stream.
Seeing this, Aokiji immediately fortified his position, erecting multiple, colossal ice walls while simultaneously sheathing his own body in a layer of Armament Haki. "**Ice Age!**"
Zoro's sword moved!
It wasn't a flashy technique, but the most fundamental of vertical slashes.
Yet, as the blade fell, a hundred-meter-long arc of sinister, ghostly green sword energy... roared into existence, tearing a scar across the very sky!!!
....
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