Interception

Oars lies smashed into the ruins of Thriller Bark, and the crowd erupts in disbelief and relief. "Awesome, Strawhat!!!" someone shouts, while another cries, "You beat Oz!!!" Lola and the Rolling Pirates rush toward Luffy, calling, "Luffy!!" and "Hey, Luffy!! Hang in there!!" One of them worries aloud, "We made you do something pretty reckless! Are you okay!?" Luffy has used the strength of one hundred shadows, and even Lola understands the cost: "He must be totally exhausted. He was using the strength of 100 shadows, after all." But the victory is not complete. The victims remember the real condition of their survival. "Anyway, we've got to return all of the victims' shadows quickly!!" someone says. "That's right!! Hurry!!" Another points toward the brightening sky: "The eastern sky is getting bright!! Morning is coming!!" Usopp adds the panic that makes everything urgent: "We've got four people without shadows, too!! But how do we get the shadows back!?"

The fallen Oars still sprawls across the wreckage, but the victims realize the rule has not changed. Someone says, "That really is a problem... We wanted Strawhat to do it, but..." Another observes, "It looks like he can't even move." The only one who can release the stolen shadows is Moria: "Moria controls all of the shadows that were put in the zombies... Unless he gives the order 'return to your original owners,' the shadows won't return!!" The conclusion is bitter and immediate. "Standing around won't do us any good!! We have to wake Moria up somehow and force him to say it!!" one victim declares, while another groans, "Unless we get our shadows back, there was no point in beating him!" Then the ground shakes. Debris shifts around Oars, the crowd stiffens, and a terrified silence turns into screams: "... ?" "Eh..." "Uwaaaa aahh!!!"

Against every expectation, Oars rises again. His huge, battered body pushes itself upright with a low "Giku," and the crowd stares up at him in horror. Someone gasps, "...!!?" Another can hardly believe what they are seeing: "O... Oz is standing again!!!" The ruined mansion looms behind him as Oars stands over the tiny figures below, his chest torn open and his face dark with rage. A victim shouts the obvious impossibility: "He took such a beating! He shouldn't even be able to move!!" Yet the giant demon is moving. The earlier victory over Nightmare Luffy's final attack suddenly becomes only a wound, not an ending, and the people who thought they had survived realize that the zombie body can still fight without feeling pain the way a living body would.

Fear washes through the crowd as Oars stands again. The shadowless victims cry, "How could this be...? It's over...!!" and "The entire Strawhat crew has already been beaten...!!" One adds, "The shadows that we collected have all been used, too...!! We don't have enough power left to beat him!!!" Moria's zombie grins through the damage and growls, "That didn't hurt one bit...!!" The victims despair: "There was just no way we could win against zombies... He really is... immortal!!!" The night is nearly gone, and panic breaks their courage. "We're at our limit...!! Night is almost over...!!" someone says. "There's just no way out of our life in the darkness..." Others start to flee: "Let's give up!!! Staying here would just mean death...!!! Let's hurry... back to the forest!! That dark forest... where the light doesn't reach... let's go back..." Then a sharp "Za!!" interrupts them as someone arrives in their path.

Zoro steps out of the dust, battered but upright, swords in hand. Behind and around him, the victims stare in disbelief. Zoro says, "I don't know what happened to Luffy, but... he did plenty." A panicked survivor warns him, "H... Hey, wait a second! If you move around with those wounds, you'll die!!!" but Zoro keeps walking. The crowd looks from him to Oars and cannot understand the strength still left in the Straw Hats: "He took an attack from that giant head-on... and he's still standing...!?" Lola adds, "I can't tell which one is the zombie...!!" Meanwhile, others notice the wounded crew they had moved away are gone. "Hey!! Where did the people we moved over here go!?" someone yells. Another answers, "Eh!? I don't know!! They weren't even conscious." "There's no way they could've gone anywhere, right!?" A final voice asks, "Where did the two people who were unharmed go!?"

The truth becomes clear: the Straw Hats did not run away. The victims look around the broken battlefield and one says, "I'm sure they were here until Oz stood up again!!" Another panics, "They couldn't have...!! They just ran away...!!" but even that sounds wrong. "Did they all flee!?" Then Oars shifts and everyone sees Luffy still in the ruins. "Huh!? Strawhat!!" they shout. Luffy is on his hands and knees, bruised, panting, and barely able to move. One of the victims cries, "Hey, hey, Strawhat, not you too...!!" Luffy answers only with a strained breath. "... Haven't had enough yet, huh...?" someone says, watching him force himself up. Luffy thinks through the exhaustion: "Damn... Looks like I'm still tired from before... If I give him one more attack...!!!" Even stripped of the hundred shadows, he is still preparing to fight.

The missing Straw Hats reveal themselves one by one, having prepared instead of fleeing. Franky sees Robin and calls, "Robin!!!" She answers calmly from the wall, "Yes, I'm here." The crowd gasps, "Uwah!! She didn't run!" Luffy, still fighting to stand, says, "I want to get up higher!!" Robin replies, "Then I'll make footholds." With a steady expression she adds, "If there's anything... I can do...!!!" Brook stands again as well, prompting startled cries of "Owaah!! That skeleton is up and moving, too!!!" and "Whaaa... why!!?" Luffy asks, "Good... Brook, give me a hand!!!" Nami has already understood the Straw Hats' refusal to quit: "I thought this would happen! Everybody's ready to help!!" The victims stare, awed. "These guys didn't even think of running...!! In the instant that Oz got back up..."

The watchers realize the Straw Hats were already setting a trap. One victim says, "They were preparing to intercept him!!!" Luffy grins and tells them, "Take a good look." Around the battlefield, the crew members move despite their wounds. Sanji calls to Chopper, "Chopper, hurry!! The sun is rising!!" Chopper answers, "Right!!" and Franky asks, "Can we use it, Franky!?" Franky replies, "It'll be more than enough." Usopp and Chopper struggle with the equipment, shouting, "Help me out!!" Zoro cuts through the confusion with, "Hey!! You guys are in the way!!! Move it!!!" Nami watches the crew refusing to collapse and says, "I can't believe these guys...!! They haven't given up in the slightest!!!" Lola, seeing the impossible coordination, shouts back with renewed faith, "If you say so!!!"

Robin begins the counterattack by creating footholds with her power. She says, "Pierna Fleur"!! and "leg flower" limbs bloom along the tower wall, giving Luffy a path upward. Luffy launches himself and calls down, "Here we go, yohoho!!" Brook answers, "Thanks!!" as the plan climbs toward the central structure. Oars notices the motion and snaps, "Wait!! Where are you..." then stops at the sight of the tower. Brook laughs from above, "Yohoho hoho!!!" and the sound echoes against the round building. Oars sees strange clouds forming around him and asks, "What's this, smoke? Clouds?" Nami, already forecasting the next part, smiles and says, "The forecast calls for 'rain.'" She follows with the setup, "Cool Ball!!" as the air around the giant begins to change.

Nami releases the weather attack: "Rain Tempo"!!! Rain bursts over Oars, drenching his massive body. The watching victims are stunned. "It's raining!! Why!? Is she a magician?" they shout as the impossible weather pours down in the middle of the ruined mansion grounds. Oars groans, "Uwah buuh!!" while Nami's rain coats him from head to foot. At ground level, Franky finishes the next piece of the trap. He announces, "Emergency pipeline construction complete!!!" and another Straw Hat answers, "Okay!!" The huge improvised pipes point toward Oars. Franky fires, "Coup de Vent"!!! A blast of ultra-cold air races through the pipeline and into the falling rain. The victims finally understand: "Whoa!! Awesome!!! They froze the rain with cold air!!!" Oars stiffens under the icy layer and cries, "Waah... froze!! I can't move!!"

With Oars frozen in place, Sanji moves into the next stage of the interception. He says, "Next is this!!" and kicks loose the heavy helm chain from the tower mechanism. Chopper gives the signal, "Go!!" The chain whips through the air and slams around Oars. The giant coughs, "Ugeh!! A chain!!!" as the massive links bind across his body and drag him into position. Sanji lands the setup cleanly, and Chopper praises him: "Good job!!" Luffy shouts from below, "Throw me!!" while someone calls, "Awesome, Sanji!!" Sanji answers, "Thanks!" The victims recognize the object: "It's the helm's chain!!" The chain tightens around Oars and turns the battlefield itself into a restraint, setting up a launch path for Luffy's final strike rather than relying on brute force alone.

The crew moves into the throw. Chopper yells, "Go!!" and the chain-and-tower setup hauls Oars into place. Luffy launches toward the giant and calls, "Next is this!!" Oars strains against the restraint, shocked by how the trap keeps shifting around him. As the chain yanks tight, he groans, "Ugeh!! A chain!!!" and the crowd realizes how completely the Straw Hats have turned the environment against him. Luffy shouts again, "Throw me!!" and the crew acts. Someone calls, "Good job!!!" while Oars is forced into the exact posture they need. His body is no longer simply being held; it is being positioned. The chain, the frozen rain, and Robin's footholds combine into a single plan that leaves him unable to dodge the blow that Luffy is preparing.

Luffy inflates his bones with Gear Third and calls out the technique: "Gear Third"!! "Bone Balloon." His body expands as his arm becomes gigantic, and someone warns from below, "Be careful!!" Luffy grins despite the danger and shouts, "I'm really going to throw you!! It's fine!! I'm made of rubber!!!" The crew launches him forward with a violent "Ba ba!!" Oars, still trapped by the chain, looks up with a startled "Hm?" Then the next order comes: "Zoro!!! Make Oz pull in his stomach!!!" Zoro answers without hesitation, "Leave it to me." He sets his stance and begins the secret technique: "Santouryuu." With three swords ready, he prepares to cut into Oars's line of movement so that the giant cannot cushion the impact the way he did before.

Zoro strikes through the opening with the three-sword technique "Sanzen Sekai"!!! The attack tears across Oars and forces the giant's body into the exact shape the plan requires. Oars reacts with a shocked "!!?" as the chain bites into him and the damage fixes his posture. Zoro, still moving with the helm's chain, calls, "Now!? Here we go!!" Oars groans, "Uncohh!" while the restraint pulls his torso. The purpose of the attack is not simply to wound him; it is to straighten his spine and remove the protection his zombie body had been using to absorb shocks. By combining Zoro's cut with Sanji's chain setup, the Straw Hats turn Oars's own enormous body against him and prepare the straight path Luffy needs for the finishing blow.

The plan's logic is explained as Oars's posture is forced straight. Someone shouts, "Good, Sanji!! Now Oz's spine is totally straight!!!" A victim asks, "What are they doing!?" and another realizes, "That's...!!" Zoro explains the weak point: "A human spine is naturally curved so that it softens shocks. If the spine is straightened out... The force isn't mitigated, and all the damage is taken!!!" Nami cheers, "Go, Luffy!!" and Brook adds, "Best of luck!" Oars, still a zombie, cannot understand pain but he is about to suffer the full structural impact. He tries to answer with his own giant technique, shouting, "Eat this super large bazooka!!" and winding both huge arms back. Luffy mirrors him, beginning, "Gomu Gomu..." while Oars roars, "Haa... as if...!! I'll give you a bazooka!!!"

Oars tries to swing his own attack, but the trap has already taken away his freedom. He strains and cries, "Huh? My right arm won't move!! It won't move...!! It won't stretch either." His bound body cannot imitate Luffy's rubber technique. Robin states the reason with calm certainty: "A zombie's weakness is that it doesn't feel pain." Zoro finishes the thought: "It's your shadow. You finish it, Luffy." With Oars locked in place, Luffy's inflated fist fills the battlefield. He says, "Gomu Gomu..." and the crowd screams, "Get him, Strawhat!!!" Sanji and the others watch the setup hold. A victim shouts, "How's that!?" and another cries, "I... uwoooh awesome!!" Luffy's face hardens into a grin as he announces the final word of the technique: "Giant"

Luffy's giant fist lands with the completed attack: "Bazooka"!!! The blow detonates into Oars's torso while the helm chain holds him straight, turning every ounce of force into damage. Oars's face twists in shock and painless devastation, and the entire battlefield erupts in impact lines and debris. The Straw Hats and victims watch from the side panels, breath caught in their throats: "...!!!" Lola can only stare as Oars is smashed backward. At the bottom of the page, the distant mansion shakes with the huge "Doka-nn!!" of the collision, and someone cries, "He did it!!!" The interception succeeds because every member's setup mattered: Robin raised Luffy, Nami soaked Oars, Franky froze him, Sanji dropped the chain, Zoro straightened the spine, and Luffy drove the finishing blow into the trapped zombie.

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