One Piece: Dream of Immortality-Chapter 528: Frothing Mouths

Luffy and his impromptu escort were trying to get him to the roof.

This has proven to be an annoying task, what with how many Beast pirates were determined to throw themselves into their path. Most weren't even strong enough to hold them up for more than a few seconds, yet they kept coming out of the woodwork.

It was fortunate, then, that Merry and her forces showed up to help clear the way. The viciousness of these wild animals could not be underestimated and the enemy knew that fact well. Some steered clear, more afraid of being torn apart by animals than being cut down by a human, whilst those still foolish enough to intervene were swiftly trampled.

This left Luffy, Sanji, and Jinbe free to charge onwards, only stopping to deal with the occasional foe that slipped past the wall of teeth and claws.

However, all good things must come to an end sometime.

"You thought the Beast pirates couldn't handle a few wild animals?!" Queen hollered. "You're sorely mistaken!"

The beachball of a man pulled the trigger on the gatling gun in his hands, the firearm roaring louder than any of Merry's little soldiers. Queen's cruel laugh somehow still carried over the cacophonous cracks of gunpowder.

The once mighty pack-herd of mutant animals was laid low by weapon of war. The Beast pirates cheered, even as those in the line of fire threw themselves to the ground to avoid getting hit as well.

Only the animals didn't stay down.

It was not bullets that burrowed into their thick hides. In fact, normal bullets would have been all but useless, pinging off of most of their bodies harmlessly.

Needles fired at the speed of bullets, though, could puncture with far more ease.

The animals, who had once been quite noisy in their quest to tear apart anyone dressed like a Beast pirate, quieted down considerably as they slumped to the floor. The Beast pirates thought they were saved, but they were wrong.

"""ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!"""

With newly increased vigor, the creatures sprang to their feet, paws, and hooves. They foamed at the mouth and steam poured off of their overheating bodies like a fog of war.

"What's wrong with them?" Jinbe asked with a grimace.

"Well, they're attacking the enemy again, so I guess that didn't do anything to them?" Sanji posited.

When they caught up, however, it became clear that that was far too optimistic.

"Woah! Hey, watch it! We're on your side!" Luffy reprimanded some kind of lion lizard creature that tried to chomp down on his head.

This was not a unique occurance. Upon hearing his alarmed shout, several others turned and attacked them.

"BaAaH!" Merry bleated, trying to warn them back into their placing, but they carried on without heeding her.

"Oh no... He couldn't have!" Chopper, standing next to Merry, looked to be filled with horrified realization.

"He couldn't have what, Chopper?! What did that bastard do?!" Sanji kicked a crane with a serrated neck away as it tried to wrap around him.

"All these animals are showing symptoms of rabies, only so much worse! It's like he made-" Chopper began to explain.

"Super Rabies!" Queen cackled. "These bad boys have gone completely insane, but that's the trade off for enhanced strength and speed, isn't it? Too bad they'll all be dead in a matter of minutes, Hahahahaha!"

Chopper grit his teeth.

"Can't you do something about them?" Luffy, as ever, had faith in his crew's capabilities.

"I- I don't think so. Rabies is notoriously near impossible to treat once it's advanced to this point. A bio-engineered version... I'm not sure I even know where to start..." Chopper admitted, feeling no small amount of shame for disappointing his captain, and even more so for letting these animals who have helped them die.

If only Cherry were here. She could simply dance around the room, curing these poor creatures with a single touch everywhere she went. What good was he, if even a world class doctor couldn't compare to such a miracle worker?

And he wanted to count himself among those people? That dream just didn't hold any water...

Water...

"WATER!" Chopper shouted. "Douse them in water!"

Queen visibly flinched at the shout, even from across the room.

Luffy smirked at the sight, knowing that Chopper had figured something out. He put all his faith in his doctor and stretched his rubber arms over to an enormous fluid tank labeled "If you're hydrated, you can drink more booze before you black out!"

"Stop!" Queen demanded, aiming his gatling gun their way and firing.

Sanji leapt up between them, lashing his feet out as fast as lightning. Hypodermic needles went careening away from him just as fast, embedding themselves ineffectively into the floor, walls, and ceiling.

The water tanks finally broke free from its many supports and crashed to the ground. A veritable wave of water flowed freely into the room.

As the water drenched the first of the mutant beasts, they first began to writhe and twitch. Only seconds afterwards did they stop, get up, and look around as if they were confused about what happened.

The animals not immediately struck by the wave began to flee in terror.

Jinbe didn't let them. He stepped forward and grabbed the spreading water like a curtain and launched it even farther and faster. Every animal afflicted with Super Rabies was thoroughly doused, and subsequently calmed down.

"Baah!" Merry ordered.

The animals stiffened at the bleat of their fearless leader, before resuming their assault upon the enemy pirates.

"Tsk, annoying little tanuki..." Queen grunted. "That's not the only virus I have up my sleeve, though."

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"You don't have any sleeves!" Luffy pointed at him in accusation.

"You sure?" Queen peeled back the skin of his left arm, revealing hundreds of glass vials.

When he lifted the arm into the air with a smile, it started to spin.

"Take cover!" Chopper shouted, diving behind a barrel.

The others scrambled to heed him, trusting Chopper to know what he was talking about.

Chopper was proven correct in his assessment, as only seconds after his warning had the spinning arm reached a crescendo and the vials started whipping out at high speeds. The glass shattered against everything not behind complete cover, including the vast majority of his own men and Merry's army.

Screams of surprise, screams of pain, screams of terror. Screams of all kinds sounded out in the room as a multitude of viral, bacterial, and fungal horrors were unleashed upon the unsuspecting crowd.

"You can't cure everything, tanuki! Have a little taste of my experimental work! Even I don't know how to cure all of these yet! Hahahaha!" Queen guffawed. "This will make for some excellent data!"

The Beast pirates cried and wailed and whined at the betrayal. How they didn't know that they were, at best, expendable pawns in the eyes of their leaders until now was a mystery.

"Oh shut it, my ungrateful little lab rats! If any one of you survive, you'll be at the top of the waiting list for a S.M.I.L.E. for your sheer resilience if nothing else!" Queen barked another laugh. "You might as well try to take the enemy out with you, if you think you won't make the cut!"

Such casual disregard for the lives of his crewmates didn't sit well with the Straw Hats.