One Piece Chapter 669: The Operation Begins

In the snow, Zoro, Brook, and Sanji in Nami's body stagger after the detour that pulled them away from the group. Sanji pants, "LOOKS LIKE I MUST'VE HIT MY HEAD ON THE WAY DOWN..." while Zoro says, "YES, THE SAME MUST HAVE HAPPENED TO ME... MY HEAD HURTS AWFULLY..." Brook remembers the reason they lost time: "JUST WHAT WE NEEDED, ANOTHER SETBACK. THAT SAMURAI HAD BETTER BE ALL RIGHT..." Sanji, embarrassed by their collective mistake, says, "SAYS THE GUY WHO TOOK US OFF ON A MASSIVE DETOUR." Zoro insists, "I SEEM TO REMEMBER THAT WAS A UNANIMOUS DECISION!" Brook mourns the lost mystery of the snow shadows, saying, "SUCH A PITY THAT WE NEVER FOUND IT IN THE END..." and "BUT I'LL NEVER FORGET THE OTHERWORLDLY SIGHT OF THOSE SHADOWS IN THE SNOW..." Zoro rejects the drama: "DON'T MAKE IT SOUND ALL ROMANTIC. YOU WERE SHOUTING ABOUT IT BEING AN ENEMY ATTACK!" Brook protests, "I WAS NEVER!" but then proudly declares, "I SAY MYSTERIES OUGHT TO BE SOLVED AND BE DONE WITH IT."

One hour earlier, Brook had been calling through the blizzard: "SAMURAI!!" and "WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!" He begged the samurai's missing part, "OH, MY...?! COME OVER HERE, YOU TWO!!! I THINK YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THIS!!" The group finds a trail of huge footprints in the snow. Sanji asks, "COULD THESE BE THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE LEGENDARY ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN?!" Brook grows excited: "WHOAH!!! IS THIS FOR REAL?! MYSTERY FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW?!!" He notes that "THEY'RE REMARKABLY BIG," "IT'S QUITE UNBELIEVABLE!!" and "THEY'RE RECENT, AS WELL!!!" His conclusion is immediate: "IF WE FOLLOW WHERE THEY LEAD...!! ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE AWAIT...!!" Zoro and Sanji watch the fantasy take over while the small portraits below show how completely they are being pulled into Brook's excitement.

The trail leads to a suspicious ending in the snow. Brook stops and says, "HM? A DEAD END?!" From behind, the Yeti Cool Brothers' attack begins with sharp shots of "JAKIN!!" The group finally sees the "GIANT SHADOWS IN THE SNOW!!" and someone shouts, "AHHHHH!!! LOOK - BEHIND US!! GIANT SHADOWS IN THE SNOW!" Brook gasps, "THE LEGENDARY-" while another voice wonders, "COULD THEY... COULD THEY REALLY BE...?" Gas spreads from the ambush, and a victim screams, "AAA GHHH HH!!" Brook realizes the symptoms are wrong: "UGHH...? WH...WHAT IS THIS... SOME KIND OF GAS?!" His tongue grows heavy: "THURRENLY MY TUNG FEERS ALL HEABBY...!! AN' I'B SO...SLEEPY..." He staggers, "IT'TH LIKE I'M REARRY DRUNK OR SOMETHIN..." and asks, "C...COULD THIS BE AN ENEMY ATTACK?!"

The Yeti Cool Brothers watch their trap unfold. One explains that "NO MATTER HOW HARDY A STOMACH FOR ALCOHOL A MAN MAY HAVE, ONE SNIFF FROM THESE KYP GAS SHELLS... ...AND HE'LL BE HOPELESSLY DRUNK AND FRIGHTFULLY TIRED...!!" Down below, at "AREA F-16," a bed of icicles waits. "AND DOWN BELOW THIS CLIFF... ...AWAITS AREA F-16. A BED OF ICICLES WITH NO HOPE OF ESCAPE!!!" he says, sealing their fate. Sanji realizes too late: "A BED OF SPIKES?!" Zoro and Brook are already dangling or falling, and Brook sleeps with "ZZZZZZZ" while someone yells, "OI, YOU TWO!!" The group survives the fall only narrowly. Zoro pants, "THAT WAS... CLOSE..." as the ice spikes jut below them.

The brothers report their success at "AREA F-16": "WE'VE FOUND THE THREE DEAD STRAW HAT PIRATES, JUST AS INSTRUCTED. PROCEEDING TO RECOVER THE BODIES!!" The word "dead" wakes Sanji's fury. He lifts his head and snarls, "WHO'RE YOU CALLING DEAD...?" The shocked soldiers shout, "WHAT THE -?! THIS ONE'S STILL ALIVE!!" and "STILL, A LONE WOMAN AGAINST THIS MANY CAN HARDLY -" Sanji answers with a brutal kick and shouts, "IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY OF YOU WEAKLINGS THERE ARE!!!" The ambushers are sent flying as Sanji protects Nami's body despite the damage it has already taken.

Sanji, still in Nami's body, calms himself because "THIS IS NAMI'S DELICATE BODY, AFTER ALL... CAN'T HAVE IT GETTING BRUISED AND BATTERED." He apologizes softly, "MY APOLOGIES, NAMI-SAN... NOW, THEN..." and turns back to the task. The two fallen crewmates remain unconscious until Sanji kicks them awake: "WAKE UP, YOU TWO MORONS!!!" He snaps, "AT ANY RATE, THE TIME FOR IDLE DREAMING IS OVER!! ARE WE GETTING CLOSE YET?! IS THIS WHERE THE SAMURAI SHOULD BE?!" Zoro notes, "INDEED. I LOST SIGHT OF THE 'TORSO PERSON' BEFORE COMING NEAR TO THE LAKE... SO THIS SHOULD BE THE AREA TO WHICH I DIRECTED THE SAMURAI." Brook expects Kin'emon's legs to search nearby for the rest of the body, and they call into the blizzard: "OIIIII, SAMURAI!!!" and "GET OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU, SAMURAI!!"

Brook calls, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, SAMURAI?!! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!" and then "MR. SAMURAI-SAAAN!!" He wonders aloud, "YOU DON'T THINK HE ALREADY FOUND HIS BODY AND WENT OFF TO LOOK FOR HIS SON...?" Then they find the legs frozen solid. Sanji shouts, "AHHHH!! THIS IS HIM RIGHT HERE!!" The legs are encased in ice with a "CLINK!" and Brook cries, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!! HE'S ALL FROZEN UP!!" Sanji rushes to help, saying, "GET A HANG OF YOURSELF THERE!! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?! DID SOMEBODY ATTACK YOU?!!" From off to the side, Luffy's group approaches, calling, "HERE GOES...!!"

Kin'emon's legs are alive but badly frozen. Sanji says, "YOU MEAN YOU ALMOST FROZE TO DEATH IN THIS BLIZZARD, DON'T YOU?!!" Kin'emon's voice answers from the severed lower half, "AHH... AHHHH...!" and then, "STRANGELY ENOUGH... I FEAR I WAS ABOUT TO STOP MOVING FOREVER..." Sanji demands, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO STUBBORN?!!" Kin'emon claims the cold itself is not the problem: "*PANT* N...NOT AT ALL!! TH...THIS COLD IS NOTHING TO ME! A WARRIOR DOES NOT FEEL THE STING OF COLD..." Zoro mutters, "THIS GUY REALLY IS A MASSIVE PAIN..." Sanji tells him to use his ability: "MAKE SOME CLOTHES FOR YOURSELF, WHY DON'T YOU? THAT'S YOUR ABILITY, REMEMBER?!" Kin'emon admits the real issue: "I NO LONGER POSSESS THE CAPABILITY TO SWIM BENEATH THE..." and reveals that his upper body "IS CURRENTLY SUBMERGED IN A BODY OF WATER...!!"

Nami realizes why Kin'emon cannot move and why he was left in the blizzard: "...I GET IT. THAT'S WHY YOU CAN'T MOVE, AND YOU KEELED OVER IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BLIZZARD ...AND WITH YOUR BODY UNDERWATER, YOU CAN'T USE YOUR ABILITY EITHER..." Zoro guesses the location: "SPEAKING OF WATER, BROOK... THERE'S A LAKE NEARBY, RIGHT? HIS BODY COULD HAVE FALLEN INTO THERE...!!" Brook adds, "A CONVINCING THEORY. PARTICULARLY SINCE I HEAR THAT LAKE IS STRICTLY SPEAKING A PART OF THE SEA." That makes retrieval dangerous, but Zoro says there is no time: "SINCE THE GUY'S STILL ALIVE, I GUESS HIS BODY HASN'T BEEN EATEN BY SHARKS OR ANYTHING YET... BUT STILL, THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT'S LURKING IN THAT LAKE. WE SHOULD GET HIM OUT OF THERE QUICKLY." Kin'emon is moved that pirates would go so far for him: "BUT... YOU ARE PIRATES... WHY WOULD YOU GO SO FAR... FOR A MERE STRANGER SUCH AS MYSELF...?!!" Nami answers with practical terms: "LIKE I SAID BEFORE... THIS IS MY WAY OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITY...!! BUT IN RETURN... ONCE YOU DO GET YOUR WHOLE BODY TOGETHER, YOU'D BETTER BE READY FOR A DUEL!! 'CAUSE I'M GOING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!!"

Kin'emon accepts the help with wounded pride. "A... AS YOU WISH...!!" he says, then more plainly, "I AM IN YOUR DEBT!!" Nami carries the frozen legs and says, "OH, YOU FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO SHOW A LITTLE GRATITUDE? I GUESS FREEZING A GUY HALF TO DEATH CAN WORK WONDERS." The group hears a roar in the distance. Nami asks, "WHAT'S THAT?!" and Brook identifies movement: "IT WOULD APPEAR TO BE BROWNBEARD'S CENTAUR CRONIES... ...FROM WHOM WE APPROPRIATED OUR WINTER CLOTHING!!" Across the snow, Brownbeard's men run in terror, shouting, "HANG IN THERE!!! YOU'VE GOTTA KEEP RUNNING!!" and "GET AWAY FROM THAT LAKE!!!" They warn that "THERE'S A FEARSOME MONSTER ON THE OPPOSITE SHORE!!" and that they must report it to the Master. Zoro looks unimpressed and says, "YOU'RE PRETTY MONSTROUS YOURSELVES, YOU KNOW..."

The centaurs panic that the thieves have returned. "GAHHH!!! NOT THESE GUYS!! IT'S THOSE DIRTY THIEVES FROM THE LAKE!" one cries, while another sees the clothes Sanji's group stole: "UGHHH... THAT'S MY COAT RIGHT THERE!!" Their leader tells them, "FORGET ABOUT THEM, JUST KEEP RUNNING!! WE HAVE TO GET BACK TO THE LAB!!" Nami asks, "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE...?" Zoro studies the direction they came from: "HMMMMM!! OI, BROOK... LOOK OVER THE WAY THEY JUST CAME FROM. THAT'S THE WAY TO THE LAKE, RIGHT?" Brook agrees: "HUH?! TH... THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT!! HOW MIRACULOUS!! YOU GOT IT RIGHT, ZORO-SAN!!" Zoro snaps, "WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR POINT?!" In the distance, something black and enormous rises where there should not have been a mountain. Zoro says, "I DON'T REMEMBER THERE BEING ...A MOUNTAIN OVER THERE BEFORE..."

Inside the research facility, Caesar explains the monster with delight. "THE SLIME..." he says, laughing, "SHURORORO...!!" He identifies it as "none other than the chemical weapon explosion that violated Punk Hazard four years ago... ...taken living form...!!!" Caesar boasts that he purified the gas instead of letting the island's poison disappear: "DID THEY REALLY BELIEVE I PURIFIED THE GAS THAT WAS INTOXICATING THE ISLAND?!! OF COURSE I DIDN'T!!" He compressed that terrible waste into a monster. The result is the creature now rolling over the island: "ONCE, THIS ENTIRE ISLAND WAS A WORLD OF DEATH, COVERED IN A MIASMA THAT WOULD ALLOW NONE TO SURVIVE... PEOPLE ARE QUICK TO FORGET SUCH TRAGEDIES... BUT THAT TERROR HAS NOT SIMPLY VANISHED!! IT REMAINS ON THIS ISLAND, UNDER MY CONTROL!!"

At Caesar's research facility main entrance, chaos erupts as the Marines seize a boat. Someone shouts, "WE'VE TAKEN THE BOAT!!" and another yells, "STOP THAT BOAT!!" Tashigi, trapped in Smoker's body, is furious as the fighting continues around her. A Marine calls, "S-SMOKER-SAN, HOW DO I CHANGE BACK?!!" and Tashigi shouts, "YOU'RE IN THE WAY!! JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND DON'T MOVE, TASHIGI!!!" She is trapped by the wrong body: "WORTHLESS, THE LOT OF YOU... IF ONLY I HAD MY OWN BODY... I'D BE ABLE TO INFILTRATE A PLACE LIKE THIS WITH NO TROUBLE AT ALL..." The door is still closed, and the Marines admit, "WE'RE NOT GOING TO ACHIEVE ANYTHING DITHERING ABOUT OUTSIDE!!" and "THE DOOR WON'T BUDGE AN INCH, SMOKE-SAN!!!"

At the rear entrance of Caesar's research facility, Law approaches with Chopper hidden in a bag. Chopper complains, "THAT'S A PRETTY USEFUL ABILITY YOU'VE GOT, HUH? DID YOU TELEPORT JUST NOW?!" Law orders him, "BE QUIET AND GET BACK IN THE BAG." He says they are right outside the facility and suspects Caesar will be in the main laboratory "along with one woman." Law also explains why he is not simply capturing Caesar immediately: "IF YOU DID THAT, WE'D HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO RESEARCH THE DRUG..." Chopper says, but Law replies, "SORRY, BUT THERE'S A REASON WHY I CAN'T DO THAT. THAT'S WHY I'M RELYING ON YOUR CREW TO HELP." Law's own task is to lure the children out: "I'LL DO WHAT I CAN TO LURE THEM OUT OF THE ROOM. ONCE THEY'RE GONE, YOU SEE WHAT YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT THE DRUG. AT ANY RATE, ALL I NEED YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TO DO IS ABDUCT CAESAR. I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE REST."

Outside, someone spots an object falling from the sky: "HEY!! LOOK UP THERE!!!" Another shouts, "SOMETHING'S FLYING THIS WAY!!" and assumes, "IT MUST BE A GIANT BOMB!!" The object crashes with "DOOON!!!" and a huge winged figure slams into the snow. The Marines stare: "H-HUHH?! PEOPLE?!" and "...IT'S A HUMAN!?" It is Brownbeard, thrown down from above with his centaur-like bulk and wings spread, landing hard enough to scatter everyone nearby.

Luffy rides the fall straight into the operation. He lands with Brownbeard and throws both arms into the air, laughing, "SHOW YOURSELF, 'MASTER'!!! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU UP AND KIDNAP YOU!!!" Brownbeard mutters, "GAHAH... THAT WAS QUITE SOME SHORTCUT!!" Robin follows nearby and says, "QUIET ABOUT THAT LAST PART, LUFFY..." The Marines recognize the attackers at once: "IT'S THE STRAW HAT PIRATES!!" Smoker, still separated from his proper body, grits his teeth: "THAT IDIOT... I DIDN'T TELL HIM TO GO UP AGAINST THE MARINES!!" Tashigi stares and says, "STRAW HAT..." The operation to capture Caesar has begun, but Luffy announces it in exactly the least subtle way possible.

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