The situation before them left them both puzzled for a moment, but staying alert was clearly the most sensible thing to do at a time like this.
Luffy was still looking around the snow, even bending down to inspect the craters left by the cannonballs. But no matter how hard he looked, he could find no sign of the Fat Man.
Naruto did not keep wasting time with him. Instead, he looked up at the castle nearby.
"Stop looking. If that guy didn't stay here, he most likely snuck into the castle already."
Luffy's expression changed at once.
"The castle? Nami's still in there!"
"That's why I'm telling you to hurry," Naruto said irritably. "If you keep studying the snow out here until he finds Nami, all we'll be able to do is go in and clean up the mess."
Those words struck a nerve in both of them. Luffy immediately turned and sprinted toward the castle, with Naruto close behind. The confusion over the enemy's disappearance was instantly compressed into outright tension.
Meanwhile, the Fat Man had already broken into the castle.
But after only a few steps, the smug look on his face slowly froze.
It was still a castle, but the corridors and rooms inside looked nothing like he remembered. The routes he once knew seemed to have been completely scrambled, leaving even him unable to find the most convenient place to position himself. Worse still, the power inside his body felt awkward here, as though every wall were deliberately working against him.
"Damn it, how did this place end up like this?"
He raised a hand and slapped the wall beside him. The wall did not react at all; instead, the impact left his palm tingling.
Just as he was about to continue searching for the