Chapter 416: Sulong
Almost everyone sat around the dining table as they ate, only Jinbe remaining outside to keep the ship on course. Sanji had prepared a right and proper feast for Luffy's triumphant return, and Cherry had promised to save enough for Jinbe from Luffy's blackhole of a stomach.
There was even a carrot cake for Carrot, much to the young rabbit mink's delight.
"How did the fight with Katakuri-chan go, Luffy?" Cherry asked curiously. She wondered if the man had gone easy on her little captain or not.
"It was so annoying! He kept predicting all my moves with his haki and I could barely hit him or dodge any of his attacks!" Luffy spoke through a mouth stuffed to the brim with surprising eloquence. He did have a lot of practice, though, Cherry supposed.
Pekoms couldn't get over the fact that Cherry had just said 'Katakuri-chan'.
"How did you beat him, then?" Chopper asked curiously.
"I took a break on a peanut island. Rayleigh told me a little about people who could see the future with haki, so I figured out how to do it myself," Luffy drained a jug of water to wash a bowling ball sized mass of food down his throat.
"Pffft," Cherry burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Name asked her.
"Most people never manage to see the future with observation haki, but our favorite idiot here did it just because he decided to; and in a ridiculously short amount of time, no less. That's hilarious," Cherry explained.
'As expected of a child of destiny. Completely unfair,' Cherry thought.
Even thinking as such, she wouldn't trade places with him in a million years. Too much trouble came with that much of Fate's attention.
"It is indeed quite impressive," Pedro complimented.
Chopper and Carrot watched Luffy with wondrous eyes, whilst Pekoms was choking on a chicken bone that he swallowed in shock from that revelation.
"What happened when you went back?" Cherry asked.
"No time to waste, Carrot," Pedro said, leaping clear across the large stretch of ocean between the new fleet and the Sunny in a single bound, and making it look easy too.
Carrot leapt over to the other side of the approaching fleet, her own jump looking much more graceful compared to Pedro's show of raw strength.
From there, the two of them began to tear the enemy ships apart. Masts were snapped like twigs, helms ripped from their decks, the large paddles jammed or outright shattered. "Pedro?!" That was a voice that Pedro didn't expect to hear again. Perospero glared at him hatefully, still bearing wounds from his close encounter with death thanks to Pedro and still missing an arm from the experience. "How are you still alive?! I watched you blow yourself
up!"
"Tsk, why could I have blown that tongue tongue off instead of your arm?" Pedro responded. "No matter, I can remedy that right now!"
Pedro let out loud, bestial growl as he leapt at Perospero, who panicked at the sight of his speed. The lackeys aboard the ship couldn't even muster the courage to attack Pedro, cowed
by his ferocity.
Arcs of electricity lit up the night like a light show made just for the Straw Hats to watch.
Not even ten minutes after it all started, Pedro and Carrot returned to the Thousand Sunny with most of the enemy fleet disabled, or in some cases outright sinking.
The two minks heaved large sighs of relief as they hid their eyes from the moon, their bodies returning to their normal state.
"It really sucks to come down from that..." Carrot complained.
"It can't be helped. That is the price we pay for such power," Pedro said.
"Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?" Chopper asked, even as he looked them over.
"No, no. We'll be fine," Pedro explained. "Sulong is powerful, but consumes a great deal of stamina. A major downside is that you can't even tell how much energy you've used up until you drop the transformation, so it is very possible to inadvertently fight until we drop dead. That's why it's better in short bursts."
"Oh! You two should go rest, then! Don't let us keep you," Chopper insisted.
Cherry overheard Chopper start muttering about possibly altering his rumble ball formula to draw out that transformation in minks, even without the full moon. She scooped him up in a hug, "You little genius! I like the way you think! I'll help, so let's get started right away!"
"Eh?!" Chopper yelped in surprise. "P-put me down, you bastard! Don't call me a genius!" He said that, but he had a goofy smile adorning his face.