Usopp and Chopper collided in a narrow side passage like two panicked marbles rolling downhill.
Usopp skidded around a corner first, cape flapping, slingshot already drawn and trembling.
"Ch-Chopper! It's me! Don't shoot wait, don't turn into Monster Point yet!"
Chopper, in Heavy Point form, barreled after a swarm of smaller sand-scorpions each the size of a large dog, tails arched, stingers dripping venom that sizzled on stone.
He swatted one aside with a massive paw, sending it crashing into the wall in a burst of golden dust.
"Usopp! Behind you!"
Usopp yelped, spun, and fired a blind shot from his slingshot.
The Pop Green exploded into a net of thorny vines that tangled two of the creatures mid-lunge.
"I-I knew that was coming! My super-senses detected it from a mile away!"
Chopper shrank back to Brain Point, hooves clicking anxiously.
"They keep coming! The voices are making them angrier every time we fight!"
The whispers were indeed louder here hissing Usopp's name with mocking glee.
"Usopp… liar… fraud… your friends will die because of your cowardice…"
Usopp's knees knocked.
"Shut up! I'm not scared! I'm strategically… repositioning!"
Another scorpion burst from the sand floor, tail whipping toward Chopper.
The little reindeer shifted to Guard Point instantly, curling into a fluffy ball that absorbed the strike like a pillow.
The stinger bounced off harmlessly.
"Chopper! Now!" Usopp shouted, already backing away.
Chopper exploded into Monster Point with a roar that shook dust from the ceiling.
"Rumble Ball Monster Point!"
His massive form towered, fur bristling, claws extended.
He charged forward, slamming fists into the swarm.
One scorpion shattered under a haymaker.
Another was crushed between his jaws.
Sand flew in choking clouds.
Usopp watched from ten meters back, slingshot shaking.
"Y-You've got this, Chopper! I'll… provide covering fire!"
He fired another Pop Green this one blooming into a smokescreen of thick, acrid fog.
The scorpions hesitated, blinded.
Chopper used the moment to plow through them like a living avalanche, roaring and smashing until only twitching husks remained.
The last one lunged at Chopper's back.
Usopp's eyes went wide.
"Chopper!"
He didn't think.
His hand moved on instinct.
The slingshot twanged.
A special Pop Green the Impact Wolf rocketed forward, transforming mid-air into a snarling spectral wolf that clamped jaws around the scorpion's tail and detonated in a concussive blast.
The creature exploded into sand and silence.
Chopper panted, shrinking back to Brain Point, fur matted with grit.
"Usopp… you did it."
Usopp stared at his own hands like they belonged to someone else.
"I… I didn't run. I mean I was gonna, but then I… didn't."
The voices in the walls hissed one final time, then faded to nothing.
A hidden panel slid open in the far wall, revealing a glowing blue corridor deeper into the temple.
Chopper wiped sweat from his brow with a tiny hoof.
"We have to find the others. Luffy's probably laughing somewhere, but… the voices are getting meaner."
Usopp swallowed hard, forcing a shaky grin.
"R-Right! The great Captain Usopp never abandons his crew! Let's go strategically forward!"
They stepped through together, Usopp's legs still wobbling, Chopper's small form walking close beside him for comfort.
Behind them, the sand settled over the defeated scorpions.
The temple had tested the coward and the doctor.
The coward had fired the finishing blow.
And somewhere ahead, in the blue-lit depths, the fruit that bent sight waited its whispers now carrying a new name among the others.