A large grin spreads on Luffy's face, something that appears to happen often Elsa notes, as she confirms her part in helping rescue Robin. With Elsa's answer, Luffy shouts "Yahooooo!" followed by a small fit of laughter. Elsa hated to admit it, but that large smile of Luffy's was becoming infectious. Chopper gives his own little cheer, while Nami smiles that her recruitment tactic work. That smile quickly morphs into a look of horror as it dawns on her that she pledged 100 million berries to what might as well amount to a parlor trick. Zoro merely shrugs, considering his own thoughts on this quick reversal irrelevant. Elsa also would swear she heard a trumpet playing triumphant music off in the distance, a short and upbeat rising tune, but she chalked it off as her imagination.
"So," Luffy announces, facing the members of the ragtag group, a stern look replacing his jovial smile. "Franky family, Galley-La shipwrights, and Elsa. We've had our differences," he indicates to the shipwrights and dismantlers, "and I've just met you." He points to Elsa, "But now we have the same enemy. In the upcoming fights, that pigeon bastard is the strongest, so I'll be the one to kick his ass."
"That's right." Says Zoro, "The reason for this fight is to take back what those four took from us. It won't end until we get them." The group nods in response. Despite a noticeable tension in the air, a sense of camaraderie was also starting to blossom. Elsa felt disjointed from those bonds though, being the only one there in because of money. It may have been shallow in comparison, but if they were willing to pay for her help, extraordinary as it is, she wasn't going to refuse. She only hoped that her abilities could get blamed on whoever this Aokiji is, besides an individual of similar power. That the Strawhats actually had the 100,000,000 berries for her would be very nice as well.
Out of curiosity, Elsa decides to glance at the conditions outside. Rain, winds, waves, and a large, looming wall of black in the distance rapidly approaching. Business as usual. Elsa does a double take, looking directly at the wall of black. Nearby, Kokoro explains how Rocket Man is unable to stop, and is a runaway train that can never slow down. Chimney and Nami have also seemed to spot the massive wall of black, now a dark blue for what it is: a enormous tidal wave. With the tracks going right through it. Well...that is going to be challenge. Elsa mutters in her head.
Nami, having also spotted the wave, tries to get Luffy's attention, but he is currently in the middle of a pact with Zambai and Paulie, the three forming a triangle of hands holding arms. They release, and Luffy faces the group again.
"The sea train that's ahead of us, has our friends on it!" The people in the cabin and on the house are still, rapt at attention. "By joining up, our power is even stronger! We're not going to be beaten by a wave, we're going to achieve all of our goals!" His speech is having a rousing affect, as smiles start to grow larger and larger among the group. Turning to face the colossal wave barreling down on them, Luffy raises his first into the air. "LET's GO!"
An equally loud chorus of "WOOOOH!" Erupts from the alliance, the infectious attitude of Luffy fully spread amongst the crew.
In a flash of movement, Luffy is by Elsa's side, clutching his hands together while his eyes sparkle in admiration. "So Elsa, think you can do something about that wave?" Elsa quickly shifts away with a 'gwuh' type of sound escaping her mouth.
After taking a couple seconds to process his request, Elsa cocks her eyebrow at Luffy, "Perhaps, as long as you stop doing...whatever that is where you pop up right by me." A bit of her regal tone slips into her request, despite her surprise and wariness.
Nonetheless, Luffy stands ramrod straight, saluting with his right hand. "Yosh!"
Suppressing a giggle, Elsa turns to go outside. She flinches the moment the wind blasts at her face. Right, now's not the time for silliness. Looking across the train, she decides that the best spot would be near the front. At the rear of the train and on the house, Galley-La and Franky Family members are firing round after round at the wave, but they might as well have flung pebbles for all the damage it was doing. Even their largest cannon achieved nothing. Using a bit of her magic to keep herself in place, Elsa traverses the slippery nose of Rocket Man. When she arrives at her planned spot, she notices Luffy and Zoro following right behind, Luffy clenching his fists and Zoro wielding three swords. With one held by his mouth, of all places.
Before Elsa can ask, Zoro answers the question on her mind, "I've never heard of a wasted back up plan, have you?"
Smirking, and filing away how he can talk with that sword there for later, Elsa returns her focus to the wave. "This ought to be a nice warmup for what lays ahead." While Luffy and Zoro do not visibly react to her comment, it does cause those with artillery to pause their shooting. Elsa cracks her fingers, summoning magic to their tips. She twists to her right, her left arm curled around her torso. She hears shouts to hurry, as the wave approaches closer, but she blocks the voices from her mind. Time seems to stand still as Elsa readies herself, with all eyes on her and the approaching wave. With a snap of her wrist, she unwinds and flings a horizontal slice of magic at the wave. Tracking it with her eyes and hand, she watches as it speeds forwards. As the magic neared its target, Elsa suddenly found the strange urge to shout what her moves will be.
There are three actions that Elsa decides would be fun to announce, the first being when her magic hits the wave. "Freeze." With a clench of her fist, the wave, from the top to bottom, and along the entire length, is frozen. The only spot that has water is a small tube surrounding the track,just in case. However, the storm and ocean currents are still wailing, and Elsa finds it more difficult than she imagined to keep the wave in place. Taking deep breaths to keep her focus steady, Elsa brings her other hand up. "Weaken." She clenches her other fist, and for a few seconds the wind is muffled by a cacophony of cracking sounds as shatter lines race all over the frozen wave. However, Elsa keeps it in place, as it would be easy for a chunk twice the size of the train to fall on them if she were to let go. Slowly unclenching her fists, she places her palms flat together in preparation for the final act. They are within moments of striking the frozen tsunami.
"BREAK!" She shouts, thrusting her hands skywards. An earth-shattering roar erupts as countless chunks of ice suddenly fly off left and right, sending ripples of energy through the water in all directions. Even the storm temporarily submits to her act, as the howling winds are blown away from the sheer force of the ice blasting apart simultaneously. High in the sky, the clouds also succumb to her action and part, allowing moonlight to come through, revealing the stars above. For a brief moment as the train passes through where the wave was, Elsa appears radiant, standing tall with her arms spread wide, the moon shining on her, and an indefinite amount of small ice shards reflecting light in all directions.
The moment passes quickly though, and soon the rain and wind are back at full strength. Elsa turns around to see Luffy and Zoro relaxing. Luffy gives her a thumbs up, while Zoro goes about putting his swords away. They walk back to the cabin, ignoring the stunned looks of shock, and fear, from Galley-La and Franky Family members, including Paulie dropping the cigar from his mouth. Behind them, the shattered remains of the waves splash into the sea. As the three of them slide in through the window, cheers erupt from the Franky Family, with one man even shouting that he is not worthy, while the Galley-La men breathe sighs of relief.
"Nga-ga-ga-ga, impressive as ever Elsa!" Kokoro appears to be the only one to not have a change in moods through the whole ordeal. Everyone else in the room are looking at Elsa with a mix of shock and admiration. Including Nami, who gapes at Elsa with a den-den mushi at her side, held in a limp head. There are noises coming from the speaker, but it is difficult to determine what they are. Only the twin Kiwi can manage to speak a word.
"H-how?"
"Yeah, how do you have those powers?" Asks Zoro. Before Elsa can answer, the den-den mushi begins to wail.
"NAMI-SWAAAAAAAN! Speak to meeee! What happened? Did that marimo do something?"
Nami is shocked out of her stupor and fumbles with the receiver before maintaining a grasp on it. "Oh! Right, hold that answer for later. It's Sanji."
Luffy nods, and grabs the speaker. A short conversation follows, with Sanji providing his status on the train Robin is on which is further ahead. Luffy commands him to keep going after her, which Nami and Zoro immediately protest, followed by Zoro and Sanji insulting each other. Yet Elsa feels as though that latter part is common for the two, and their way of showing affection. There is a short crunching sound before the line falls silent. Nami wonders aloud if Sanji will be okay.
"Granny, make this train go faster!" Demands Luffy.
"You want it to go faster?" Kokoro glances towards Luffy briefly before returning her gaze to the window. "It's already way past its safe maximum speed. It's out of control!" The train blares its horn as it whips through the storm. "I don't even know we'll even be able to stop! Nga-ga-ga-ga!"
"Oi! Elsa!" Luffy approaches the ice mage in a normal manner, for once. "Can you freeze those tracks and stop the train Robin is on?"
Elsa glances outside for a moment, "Luffy, that would be a terrible idea. These tracks need their flexibility to weather the ocean. Sure I could stop that train, but that would leave them stranded in a storm on brittle tracks that could break at any moment." Elsa looks over to Kokoro, who nods in agreement with the assessment. "Plus an out of control train going over frozen tracks is even worse."
Luffy does his best not to pout over the rejection, instead, he presses his lips extremely thin and grumbles under his breath.
"If we really want to go faster, then the best option would be to dump those guys." Zoro jerks his thumb towards the back of train, referring to the house attached by large hooks. Before any Franky Family member can protest, he quickly adds, "But we do need their help."
A small lull passes over the cabin, the only sounds being the persistent patterns of hard rain and strong winds. Elsa turns to face Chopper, having yet to be acquainted with the doctor. "By the way, as I'm sure you know, I am Elsa. Pleasure to meet you." She bends down and offers her hand. Chopper, still a bit starstruck by her actions, enthusiastically grabs her hand to start shaking, not even noticing the cold coming from it.
"Tony Tony Chopper, but please call me Chopper." The reindeer replies.
"Chopper it is then. Now, if you don't mind me asking, how is it you can talk?"
"Eh? I ate the hita hita fruit. I'm a reindeer who can turn into a human." He says this as though it were the simplest thing. Elsa stares momentarily, but a smile soon forms as she's reminded of Sven, wondering if the two of them, plus Kristoff, would get along. Whether or not Anna could become friends with Chopper isn't even a question.
Taking advantage of the free time, Nami strips down to quickly change into her battle outfit. Her orange tank top and yellow mini skirt were replaced by a blue jacket that goes down to her just above her waist, an even smaller dark blue top that looks more appropriate for the beach, and a just as small, compared to the orange one, light blue skirt. This all happened before the eyes of everyone in the cabin. Elsa wonders where Nami had been keeping the spare set of clothes. Luffy and Zoro also change their outfits, but with minor modifications compared to Nami.
"Okay! Ready for Battle!" Nami stands confidently, a metal pole sequenced by three bulbs spaced in thirds held in her right hand. She then notices the looks being directed at her. "What's wrong?"
"You changed in here without a moment's thought! You scandalous woman!" Paulie shouts, a mix of anger and embarrassment on his face. Sitting on the ground next to him are Zambai, Peeply Lulu, and Tilestone, all with noticeable nose bleeds and are giving a thumbs up.
"Nice scandal~" The three groan before collapsing one by one.
"We only have this one car, it couldn't be helped." Nami responds, shrugging her shoulders. Paulie shouts at her again, and at the twins, going on about how they should cover themselves and are what's wrong with society. Mozu and Kiwi retort by calling Paulie a shy boy, further flustering the shipwright.
"Ummmm, Nami?" The navigator looks over to Elsa, who also has a blush on her face, but nowhere near as noticeable as Pualie's. "I would have offered this, but you were rather..." Elsa trails off, unable to find a word she's willing to speak. Instead, she sends a small sliver of magic towards a corner of the cabin. It hits the wood, and morphs into a ice changing curtain that is completely opaque.
Nami stares at the curtain, "Huh." She sighs before waving her hand, "Well, what's done is done." After hearing Luffy grumble about not being able to fit meat into his pants, she turns to berate her captain on stuffing food into pockets.
"Did you change weapons Nami?" Zoro asks, noticing the pole in her hand.
With a swift click, Nami takes the pole apart into three segments. "Nope, after coming back from Sky Island," SKY island? A bewildered Elsa wonders, "Usopp strengthened it using dials. The new and improved 'climate tact'!".
"Ah, so Usopp..."
"It's his last project..." Suddenly both Nami and Luffy have depressed looks with small tears in their eyes. Elsa even thinks she sees the air above them turning darker from the negative feelings espoused by the two. She wondered who this Usopp was that could garner such a reaction.
"Don't act so solemn!" Zoro shouts in annoyance. Mumbling under his breath, he decides to take his focus elsewhere, in what little space he could. It then occurs to him that they still know very little of their hired help, and is about to question Elsa on that before noticing she is still wearing her pants and hoodie outfit. "Eh, don't you want to change, or is that what you wear when you fight?"
"Huh?" She gives a confused look to the swordsman before glancing at her outfit. "Oh this? No, I don't plan on fighting dressed in these. Or fighting at all." This earns quite a few shocked looks from the group around her, including another complete reversal of moods from Nami and Luffy. Before anyone can voice their protest, Elsa holds up a hand. "I will still be helping you, I just work better...behind the scenes."
"Awwww, come on! You can just freeze the marines in place!" Luffy throws his arms in the air in an exasperated manner, with Chopper copying him off to the side.
"And how exactly will doing that in the open help the blame get placed on Aokiji? Whoever that is." Elsa asks, crossing her arms. With their hands still in the air, both Luffy and Chopper give blank looks, unable to answer or even say 'oh'.
"He's a marine admiral with an ice logia devil fruit. Basically your powers plus being intangible." Says Nami. She raises an eyebrow critically at Elsa, "Unless there's more to you than just ice."
"Not to mention where they came from. Or you in general for that matter." Zoro adds, also eyeing Elsa critcally. "Just how do you have similar powers? There should always be a single person with each ability. Take Luffy for instance." He reaches to grab his captain's arm, and pulls on it. To Elsa's surprise, while Luffy stays in place, his arm starts to stretch just like rubber. "Our captain here," He releases the arm, which shoots back to Luffy with a loud 'snap', "is the only rubber man in the world. Previously, we had assumed that Aokiji was the only man ice wielding individual, now we have met you." The cabin is quiet as all are listening to Zoro, and looking at Elsa. "So what gives?"
Elsa sighs, and pinches at the bridge of her nose. "It's a long story, but in consideration of the time I will tell you the basics. I was born with these powers, and I am able to swim, so it's definitely no devil fruit. I can also manipulate snow and wind, and where I come from devil fruits don't exist, or are thought not to, so for the longest while I though my situation was unique." To her bemusement, a glint is starting to form in Luffy and Chopper's eyes. "As for how I got to Water 7, Mr. Iceburg and Kokoro rescued me after I my ship had gone down in a storm."
"Ah, it was quite the shock to find a young woman on a lifeboat made of ice." Reminisces Kokoro, who takes another drink of her wine.
"You should've seen her face when she saw her first sea king. Her eyes were like dinner plates!" Chimes in Chimney, with Gombe adding 'nyah-nyah!'.
Grunting in exasperation, Elsa dismisses what Chimney said with a wave of her hand, "Continuing, I was lost and with no way to return home. Luckily, Mr. Iceburg and Kokoro were kind enough to offer me shelter and employment opportunities. Since then, I've been saving up and looking for ways back."
Luffy appears satisfied with that answer, and with his curiosity sated, he jumps out the window to be on top of Rocket Man again. Nami yells at him that he will ruin his new clothes, but he brushes her off by claiming he likes it up there.
Elsa takes the time from the distraction to look over her clothes. Perhaps it would be prudent to wear an outfit better suited for battle, just in case. She takes off her boots. Then with a twirl of her hand, a ring of magic starts glowing at her feet. It rises quickly, her clothes transforming as it passes. Out of a sudden sense of nostalgia, she chooses her old ice dress she first created on the North Mountain, this time with more armor plating. Other modifications include an altered weave that can allow strikes to slide or bounce off, and in extreme circumstances her magic can freeze whatever hits her in an instant. Satisfied with her changes, she looks up to find Gombe, Chimney, Chopper, the twins, and Tilestone lined up in front of Peeply and Zambai, and appear to be reenacting something.
"Freeze." Says Zambai, bringing up his left hand. The six of them halt their movements, not even allowing themselves to breath.
"Weaken." Follows Peeply, bringing up his right hand. The six start to shiver, with their arms shaking and knees trembling.
"Break!" Zambai and Peeply shout together, thrusting their hands up high. The other six jump to the sides, crying out in mock pain and declaring that aqua laguna has been destroyed. Zambai and Peeply even add a 'krakow' sound for extra affect. Zoro and Paulie are watching, tear drops on the back of their heads, with opposite reactions. Paulie can only stare with a blank face. Zoro, meanwhile,
"Can't you guys be serious for one minute?!"
Standing perfectly straight, and with utter sincerity, Zambai and Peeply give the same response, "Nothing wrong with relaxing before the fight."
"Then go sharpen your blades. Idiots..." He grumbles at the two, despite only Peeply wielding swords. Turning around, he's surprised by Elsa's reaction. "Did you really find that funny?"
Elsa, who had been suppressing a giggle with her hand, merely smirks at the question. "Honestly, it's flattering. Plus watching those little guys is pretty cute." She gestures to Chimney, Gombe, and Chopper, the latter of which is doing his happy dance upon hearing Elsa's compliment. He brought another chuckle out of Elsa when claiming he wasn't happy and calling her a bastard. Zoro just sighs, annoyed at the lack of seriousness around him.
"Hey! Guys! There's a train up ahead!." All heads turn towards Luffy, who is hanging upside down by the window.
"Already?" Ask numerous voices in unison. Although a few ponder how they could have caught up so quickly.
As the train moves closer and closer, Zambai notices that it's actually just two cars just abandoned on the track. This brings forth many questions, chief among them being whether Sanji, Usopp, and Franky are onboard. Paulie demands that Kokoro hit the brakes in order to prevent a crash, but she laughs it off by restating that Rocket man can't stop. Luffy decides he's going to check it out, and using the smoke stack plus his arms as a sling, flings himself over and crashes into the back of the closest car.
There's a pause as Rocket Man moves closer, before a series of shots ring out. Zambai shouts that Luffy is saying Sanji, Usopp, and Franky are not there and that he's being fired upon. With the consensus that the cars are filled with government agents, there's a rush to figure out how to avoid crashing into it.
"Hey~! Zoro~!" Comes Luffy's cry from the rapidly approaching cars. Peeply notifies the swordsman his captain is calling for him. "It's in the way. Cut it!"
"Sure." Replies Zoro.
Surely they can't be serious. Elsa bemoans to herself. She wills her magic to the fore of her hands, before an eerie sense of calm comes over her. One which emanates from the first mate of the Strawhats. Zoro begins a meditative chant, and time appears to slow around him. Elsa's magic fades from her focus as an unsettling stillness settles over them.
"RASHOMON!"
In the blink of an eye, the stranded cars have been cut clean in two, not a drop of blood spilled. The two halves rise into the air as Rocket Man passes through. Members of both the passing train and the stranded one all have bug eyes and jaws dropping to their chests. A piercing cry of to the heavens rings out from all directions and near every persons.
Zoro, however, doesn't even look back. He's tying his bandana on, his concentration focused on the tracks ahead. He shouts for everyone to look forward at an unusual sight before them, which turns out to be the corpse of a large sea king that has also been cut cleanly in half. Zoro grits his teeth at the realization that there is someone strong somewhere ahead of them.
A few minutes later they spot a man, who is tall, pale, and wielding a large, straight sword, running on the track. As they draw near, the sound of the train draws the man's attention. "I'll say this only once: get out the way or die!" Zoro shouts at man, Captain Cutter T-Bone of the Marines. The captain continues to stare down the train, and raises his sword. The two exchange words, Cutter proclaiming his defense of justice, Zoro affirming their quest to rescue Robin. Still, neither men move from their spots. In a burst of strength and speed Elsa did not think was possible, Zoro leaps in front of the train and charges at T-Bone. The Marine attacks first, delivering a flying slash which moves through air at 90º angles. In a flurry of moves and strikes of his own, Zoro dodges the slash and counters Cutter's following attacks, managing to evade every blow. With a single strike, he defeats Captain T-Bone Cutter, shattering his sword and sending the marine into the waves. After Zoro leaps back onto the train, he gives a word of respect to the Marine who chased after Puffing Tom on foot.
As everyone settles back inside, Nami notes that the disconnected train cars must have been Sanji's work, to Luffy and Chopper's excitement. "Go Rocket Man! Our enemy is close!" Cries the exuberant captain.
A few minutes later, with Luffy back on the front of the train, another obstacle appears before Rocket Man. Standing on the tracks is an enormous frog wearing a red mawashi and, somehow, a mane of black hair down its back. Various people in the group yell at this frog to move, but the only response they receive from it is a loud "Gero!" and some arm poses.
Elsa also pokes her head out the window. "Shall I blow it away?" She raises her hand, poised to strike. Luffy looks back to shake his head.
"NO! This frog means to challenge us! We can't turn it down!"
Elsa shrugs, and begins to lower her hand before another idea strikes her. As insane as it sounded in her head, her gut believed that this frog was meant to join them. She takes aim, her hand in finger gun formation. Elsa utters a quiet "pew" and fires a small orb of magic right at the feet of the frog, who looks down in confusion. With a flick of her wrist, a platform forms beneath the frog. To the shock of everyone, she sends the frog flying straight into the air by quickly raising ice, and then the platform quickly dissipates into harmless mist. The frog flies just high enough to fall down right on top of the Franky family house.
"Gaaah! Elsa what the heck?" Cries Luffy, who leaps back to go confront the frog. Before he can get there though, Kokoro has already met up with the frog, and the two exchange words. Within a minute, the frog has change attitudes and is now croaking in an upbeat manner. Kokoro introduces the frog, whose name is Yokozuna, and is an old friend of the shipwright Tom. Luffy all too quickly celebrates the this new arrival, and the two hit it off immediately. However it is that a frog and zany captain can.
For a couple minutes the train powers on unhindered by any additional obstacles besides the rain and wind. Elsa watches as Luffy paces back and forth as he mumbles and rants about wanting to kick asses and eat meat, and that he has to save his meat for later. There are also bits about wanting the train to go faster. With the latter complaint in mind, Elsa glances outside again, and idea forms in her head. "Miss Nami?"
Nami, who had also been observing her captain, gives Elsa an inquisitive look, "Yes?"
"If I were to completely neutralize the surrounding weather, how wide of a radius would that have to be for there to be a noticeable effect?" Her question has draw many questioning looks from those in the cabin, including the now quiet Luffy.
Nami appears shocked that Elsa can even suggest such a possibility. "Are you talking about gaining speed?" The following nod from Elsa further confuses the navigator. Nonetheless, she peeks her head out the window to gauge the conditions. After a few she seconds she pulls it back in, "With this storm, what you are suggesting would have to be at least 300 meters around us for full effect."
"Okay." Comes the simple answer. A moment of silence passes before anyone reacts.
"O-okay? Just like that?" Sputters Nami. Before she can continue though, her body involuntarily shivers as the surrounding air temperature starts to drop. The sound of the wild winds slowly quiets, the rain that passes by thins until it disappears entirely. After a few moments, the only sound left is the wind rushing by the windows, and a few chattering teeth. Just as Nami is about to wonder if is actually doing anything, all in the train feel a strong pull on their bellies, and half the cabin is thrown backwards as Rocket Man picks up an incredible amount of speed.
"YAAAAAAHOOOOOOO!" Shouts Luffy, laughing exuberantly at the new speed. Kokoro is also laughing, astounded that Rocket Man could even reach such a speed. The only other people enjoying the change are Chimney and Gombe, laughing it up along with Luffy. Meanwhile, as they pick themselves up, everyone else simply stare at Elsa, who had not moved from her spot. A few rub their eyes, not quite understanding what they saw.
One of the Franky Family members pokes their head through the back window, "Yo, what the heck is happening in there? The storm's gone out here and we're going even faster!"
"It's Elsa." Replies Zambai, "She asked about changing the weather, Nami said yes, then all of sudden this happens. Is the storm really gone out there?"
"Yeah! It's way off in the distance. What is this, magic?"
All heads turn to Elsa, but she remains still, on the outside at least. Inside, she was refraining from replying with a sarcastic yet serious 'yes', but figures that would raise more questions. This does not prevent a smirk from forming on her lips though. She puts the final touches on the windless dome surrounding them, and with one last nudge of power, everything is in place, "And done." She turns around to find most of the cabin gaping at her in disbelief. To almost everyone, everything had happened without Elsa even blinking. Only Zoro noticed her eyes glow faintly for a second.
Changed the weather with mere thought. What kind of discipline does she possess for such power? He glances outside again, taking in the new found peace. He finds the cool wind relaxing, and feels almost ready to doze off when he spots a glint father upon the track. Squinting, he studies the object rapidly approaching before shouting in alarm, "We have another car ahead!"
On the roof of said car stand Sanji and Usopp, the latter chattering incessantly. Although wether in fear of the approaching train or the cold, he could not decide. Sanji is taking a long drag from his cigarette, looking at the surroundings as the storm gives way to this chilly coldness, "It would seem Luffy neglected to mention bringing a devil fruit user." He exhales his smoke, which drifts lazily in front of his face with no wind to carry it away.
"O-o-o-or it means that certain Aokiji fellow I-I-I've heard so much about has caught them!" Responds Usopp in his Sogeking persona, his attempt at putting on a stoic voice weighed down by the cold and his chattering.
"No, if it were Aokiji that train would be frozen in its tracks. Plus his powers do not affect a storm like this." Sanji muses, his focus back on Rocket Man. There's a flash of light, then all of a sudden a blur of pink, red, and black shoots right for them. Just as they can register hearing a whooping shout, Luffy slams into the roof in front of them.
The rubber man jumps up, and greets the two pirates with much enthusiasm, "Sanji! Usoo~...eh? Who are you?" Before Usopp can respond, Luffy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small blue orb. "Right, no time! We need to get off before they blow up this car." He smashes the orb to the ground, and from the remains rises a single pole of ice. It twists into the air before splitting in two to form an oblong horseshoe shape. Finished, the three recognize it as a large, cold slingshot handle, without the sling. "It worked! So cool!" Remarks the excited teen. "Anyone else on here?"
The two shake there head; and just as it dawns on them what Luffy intends to do with this construct, a loud voice cries out from the approaching train. "Ready!" Through his goggles, Usopp spots a large and intimidating cannon moving into position. "Aim!" If it were not for the false confidence he finds in the mask, Usopp would have fainted at the sight of the cannon as it takes aim right at him. Before he can protest, Luffy has grabbed him and Sanji into a tight hug, and is starting to lean backwards while stretching his arms, which have also grabbed the two prongs of the large slingshot.
"Now Luffy, I now what you're thinking, and I would like to offer a perfectly reasonable alternati-" Usopp's attempt to dissuade Luffy falls on deaf ears as the straw hat teen snaps forward and catapults the thee of them through the air. No less than a second later does the call for 'fire' ring out, and the train car is engulfed in a series of explosions, leaving the tracks bare of obstacles. Although the sound of that is nothing compared to the screams emanating from Usopp's lungs. Just as they're about to hit the roof of Rocket Man's cabin, a mound of snow appears out of nowhere. With a loud 'woumph', the three crash into the soft pile and come to a complete halt.
Sanji sticks his head out of the snow, his gaze directed towards the sky. A long sigh shudders through him as he shakes his head free of the snow, "Luffy, just who did you find on your way here?" Sanji asks his captain, who has just popped his own head out of the snow. Usopp follows soon after, a hand adjusting the mask to prevent any slippage.
Luffy gets a very excited look from this question, "Yosh! Her name is Elsa and she is this awesome, pretty, ice and snow wielding magical person!" He begins to move his hands in various motions as he describes to the two what Elsa had done so far on this short journey. Both Sanji and Usopp hold incredulous looks at first, but the part where Elsa disintegrates an aqua laguna wave leaves the two astounded.
"Hold up. Waves are just a form of energy, even when moving through the water. How could she possibly freeze it?" Asks Usopp, amazed yet still critical of the story Luffy is telling the two. Luffy responds with a simple blank stare, not knowing how to answer that question.
"Sogeking, you're missing the important part here." Sanji, keeping in mind to continue to facade, has lit another cigarette. Both Usopp and Luffy stare at him in question, the cook exhales, "That being this man here, for the first time ever, has acknowledged a woman as pretty."
A moment goes by with nothing said, the other two giving Sanji similar looks of flat confusion. "And that means?" Pipes up Usopp.
"It means, dear sniper," Sanji takes another long drag, before exhaling smoke into the shape of a large heart, "she must be the most beautiful woman in the world!" His declaration draws the attention of all the people outside, who quickly dismiss him as they see that it is just his silly antics.
Meanwhile, many miles away, a tall, slender, raven haired woman who sits upon a throne, sneezes. She rubs her nose, wondering where that sneeze came from. "Something wrong, nēchan?" Asks the pirate Sandersonia to her sister and leader, the shichibukai Boa Hancock.
"I'm not sure, but all of a sudden I have this feeling that someone, somewhere, declared that someone else is more beautiful than me." Responds Boa, which grabs the attention of all of the women surrounding her.
"What? Impossible!" Exclaims nearly everyone surrounding Boa, with added comments reiterating her beauty and how they love her.
"I know. And yet, I also get the feeling that they may...be..." Boa decides to silence herself before completing that statement, "Well, whoever it is, I will find them and be the final judge of this mistake." All the way back on Rocket Man, Elsa involuntarily shudders, and gets an odd sense that she is now being hunted.
After Sanji's declaration of love, the three quickly make their way into the cabin, with only Usopp complaining about the rough and cold treatment he had just received. Brief introductions are made, mostly for Elsa to Sanji and Usopp. There is a small interruption during Sanji's reaction to seeing Elsa for the first time.
"He froze! He completely turned into ice!" Exclaims Chopper in shock. Standing tall and his heart bursting out of his chest, Sanji had indeed frozen over at his first sight of Elsa. All eyes turn to the ice mage, who quickly puts her hands up in defense.
"Hey, he just looked at me and froze on his own. That is honestly a first."
It takes a few minutes, but eventually Sanji defrosts on his own account, and goes to light another cigarette, as though nothing happened at all.
Despite all of this, rather than see if there's any information to be gleamed from their reunion with their crew-mates, Luffy, who is once again back in the cabin, is practically starstruck by the man in the mask, along with Chopper. After hearing the man speak, especially on the part of sniper island being in one's heart, Elsa leans over towards Nami. "I take it Sogeking is this Usopp that was briefly mentioned earlier?"
Nami sighs, looking towards the ceiling. "Yes, but don't tell those two that, it'll ruin the morale."
Elsa nods in understanding. Her focus turns to Sanji, who calls for everyone's attention. He explains what him and Sogeking learned in their attempt to rescue Robin, why she is going along with CP9, their blackmail on her, and that Robin may not want to willingly leave when they get to her. Luffy's determination is unfazed.
"I don't care! I won't forgive them!" He declares.
"Wooo!" Chopper is right next to him, joining his shout.
"Robin that stupid-"
"Shut up!" Nami hits her captain in the back of the head, interrupting his moment.
"Well it's true. We tried to rescue her and she refused!"
"That's because she's worried about our safety."
"She should worry about her own safety. If we don't rescue her, she might die. She doesn't want to die, so we gotta rescue her!" Luffy begins walking away.
Nami tries to retort, but is stopped by Zoro, who says that they've already made up their minds. Nami sighs, but says nothing.
Sacrificing herself for her friends and refusing their help, now just where have I heard that before? Wonders Elsa, a small smile on her face, the similarities of this mission brings forth memories of her coronation week.
Paulie has laid a simple map of Enies Lobby on the floor, and calls over the crew to explain the layout. Their path is as simple as it looks, just a straight line through the island to the judicial tower. He proposes the Strawhats stay behind five minutes to allow him, Peeply, Tilestone, and the Franky Family to open up the main gates so Rocket Man can get through. In addition, Luffy and co. should allow them to fight the main group of infantrymen to save their energy for CP9.
"Dear god, what is that?" Exclaims Zambai, who is looking far beyond the island. Surrounded by clouds and mists of vapor, are two gigantic steel doors with the world government logo emblazoned upon it. It reaches hundreds of meters into the air and absolutely dwarfs the island before it.
"That's the Gate of Justice." Says Kokoro.
"Uwaaaaaah, that's huge!" Exclaims Luffy.
"The gate never completely opens, just a little bit to allow criminals to pass through." Continues the conductor, "On the other side is a windless area, just like the calm belts on either side of the grand line. Giant Sea Kings live there, and passing through with a normal ship is impossible. Somehow only the marines know how to get through. In other words, it's just as the pirate girl said, if you wanna rescue your friends who have been arrested, then you gotta do it before they pass through the gate."
Elsa is still staring at the gate, taking in everything about it. I'm going to have to discuss with Iceburg about the word 'underselling', this will need a lot more ice than I thought. She turns to address the group, who have split into the two attack groups, with Nami and Sogeking being called out by Zoro for their peculiar placement by Zambai. She clears her throat to get their attention. "It looks like this is where we part, for now. I do not wish to become directly involved with any fighting, plus I have a feeling my powers can be better utilized on those." She jerks her thumb to the gate, "As I see it, if we don't want Robin and Franky to pass through the gate, then the best way to achieve that would be to prevent the gate from opening at all. I'll see about freezing the mechanisms running it." She leaves out how much freezing she has intended, not wanting her ideas to become a distraction.
"Will you be fine on your own?" Asks Zoro, "Work like that is bound to draw attention."
"I have my methods of keeping attackers at bay." Elsa goes towards the door, preparing to jump onto the water, freeze it, and skate over towards the gate. Although she figures that this will likely take some time, as she needs to go along an elongated route to avoid being spotted. Just before she's about to leap, Chopper notices something quite important missing.
"Um...where's Luffy?" He asks. All heads turn to look at the spot the captain was just occupying.
"Gomu-gomu noo~" Luffy is on top of the fence surrounding the island, stretching back as he prepares to launch himself onto the island. There's silence as everyone looks at him, stunned speechless.
Only Elsa is able to say anything just as Luffy stops moving back. "What happened to the plan?"