Ball Game

"We won, we won, an easy victory." Li Ziming looked thoroughly pleased, as if he had found more than enough amusement in Porche and the others.

"You really have a twisted sense of humor." Nami looked at Li Ziming as if he were a demon. They could have simply rushed ahead, but instead, he had run over to Porche and the others, turned their boat around, then set off an explosion at the stern. The accumulated force sent their boat shooting forward like a rocket the moment the thirty seconds were up.

"But it really was rather interesting." Robin did not seem to mind, or perhaps she found it just as amusing as Li Ziming did.

"How could this be? How could I lose?" Foxy muttered in disbelief. "This has to be an illusion. It has to be an illusion."

"Nice one!" Luffy laughed. "But what are we going to take?" He looked curiously over everything belonging to the Foxy Pirates. Every member he looked at instinctively shrank back.

"Um, can't we choose one of their contestants too? Then wouldn't we be able to win the later rounds without even fighting?" Nami had a good idea, but no one agreed with her.

"No." Luffy was the first to shake his head. "I don't want that crackhead!"

"Crackhead..." Foxy collapsed once again.

"And I don't want anyone from the second match either." Zoro said unhappily. "Though they might make decent drinking snacks."

"Drinking snacks?" Sanji pondered it. "Fish-Men are intelligent creatures, aren't they? Can you even eat something like that? Though if it were Lady Porche, that would be wonderful!"

"I don't want them either!" Chopper objected as well. "We only need one monster on our ship!"

"Nami, it's not that I have anything against Fish-Men, but we really don't need these guys on our ship." Li Ziming had no interest whatsoever in anyone from the Foxy Pirates.

"I agree with them." Robin likewise did not want to choose anyone from the Foxy Pirates.

"We might as well take some treasure or something." Li Ziming shrugged.

"Great!" Nami's eyes instantly turned into Beli symbols. "But is that allowed?"

"No problem. As long as they participate in the Davy Back Fight, everything belonging to both pirate crews becomes a wager. They can choose anything they want, even the other pirate crew's Jolly Roger can become a prize." Li Ziming looked toward the Foxy Pirates. "Though I'm seriously wondering whether they've kept winning because they have absolutely nothing anyone wants."

"Decided! We'll take those stalls!" Luffy said excitedly.

"Decided! We'll take all the treasure on their ship!" Nami blurted out almost at the same time.

"The stalls!" Luffy refused to back down.

"The treasure!" Nami was equally unwilling to yield.

"Enough. We just have to win one more round, don't we?" Zoro was already eager to have another big fight with them.

"Exactly. Luffy, let Nami have this one first. After we win this round, you can pick the stalls." Sanji urged him as well. "It'll be over soon anyway."

"That's right!" Chopper was equally confident. "We'll definitely win!"

"How naive." Foxy said disdainfully. "You have no idea how strong the people we're sending out next are!"

Three people suddenly appeared—or rather, three giants. Three enormous Fish-Men.

"They really are three monster-like things." Sanji looked at the three Fish-Men before him and adjusted the ball perched on his head. "Moss-head, making beautiful ladies wait is not something a gentleman should do."

"Tch, tell that to yourself." Zoro shook out his arms.

"A swordsman without swords is basically useless. Don't hold us back, moss-head." Sanji immediately began mocking him.

"You perverted cook should worry about yourself. Be careful your head, the one being used as a ball, doesn't get stuffed straight into the hoop." Zoro shot back without mercy. "Besides, losing his swords doesn't mean a swordsman loses all his fighting ability."

"Stop arguing! They're coming!" Chopper hurriedly said.

"Die!" Pickles charged forward at once. His enormous body carried tremendous momentum, but that same momentum came at the cost of his agility.

Sanji easily leaped over him. "You're not my target. There's only one guy I'm after!" Sanji said as he rushed at Big Pan, who also had the ball. But the moment Sanji landed on Big Pan's arm, his feet began to slip.

"Sanji, be careful! Big Pan is a Loach-Man, so his skin is very slippery." Li Ziming's warning came belatedly.

"A loach?" Sanji immediately recalled the traits of loaches and began considering how to cook one.

"Quick attack!" Seeing that Sanji could not control himself in midair, Big Pan immediately prepared to punch him away.

"I'm here too! Arm Point!" Chopper swallowed a Rumble Ball and transformed into a giant, blocking Big Pan's attack in one stroke.

"Nice one, Chopper." Sanji adjusted his position on Chopper's body. "Chopper, transform!" Chopper then returned to normal, neatly avoiding Pickles's charge. Pickles, unable to stop, slammed into Big Pan instead. Fortunately, Big Pan's skin was slippery, and he slid away at once. Otherwise, Pickles's impact might have sent him straight into the hoop.

"Pickles, what are you doing?!" Hamburg, who had already been prepared to attack, had no choice but to return to his own half and regroup with his teammates before launching another assault. However, Zoro had no intention of letting him off so easily.

"Hey, I never said I was letting you go like that." Zoro's eyes resembled those of a wild beast. He formed hand blades with both hands and struck swiftly.

"What a joke. You think you can break through my defense with nothing but hand blades? How naive." Hamburg said disdainfully.

"Nigori-Zake!" Zoro's arms suddenly swelled at a visible rate, and a faint blue glow appeared around them. In an instant, he tore open a wound in Hamburg's chest.

"What was that?" Robin looked curiously at Li Ziming.

"Rankyaku. Zoro once asked me about some applications of the Six Powers, so I taught him. I just didn't expect him to apply Rankyaku through his arms. I have to say, Zoro is incredibly talented." Li Ziming explained.

"Is that so? Our swordsman is certainly diligent." Robin remarked.

"That guy, I won't let you hog all the attention in front of beautiful ladies!" Sanji suddenly flared up for no apparent reason. "Chopper, stop that rampaging brute! Diable Jambe!" Flames ignited around Sanji's right leg.

"No problem! Brain Point!" Chopper swiftly analyzed Pickles's weaknesses. "Found it!" At the same time, Pickles charged rapidly toward Chopper. There was no time for him to put on his weapons or armor now.

"Kokutei Cross!" Chopper switched to Arm Point, then brought his hands together. A cross-shaped wound appeared on Pickles's body. Hooves powerful enough to shatter rock inflicted tremendous damage on Pickles, knocking him unconscious in a single blow.

At the same time, the heat of Sanji's Diable Jambe baked away the mucus coating Big Pan's body. Without the protection of that mucus, Big Pan no longer stood the slightest chance against Sanji. Sanji knocked him down with one kick and sent the ball flying into the hoop. In the second round, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper won once again.