Lapahn were fiercely protective pack animals.
It was obvious that this group had come to avenge the one that Law had taken down earlier.
Law's expression grew serious as he stared at the aggressive Lapahns surrounding them, ready to tear them apart at any second.
"Lin Mo, I'll protect you," Law said, gripping his sword tightly.
He was confident he could handle a few Lapahns. But a whole pack? That would be much more difficult.
"Perfect chance to test the new ability I've been working on." Law freed one hand and called out, "ROOM!"
A transparent, hemispherical space instantly expanded, enveloping all the Lapahns—and Lin Mo too.
Inside the space, Law swiftly moved with near-teleportation speed, slicing toward the surrounding Lapahns.
They responded by adjusting their positions in unison.
Even though Law had the upper hand in speed within the ROOM, his strength was still inferior to the Lapahns'.
"Operating Table!" Law growled through gritted teeth and slashed at the nearest Lapahn. Its arm came off cleanly and dropped to the ground.
No blood spilled. The severed limb was clean-cut, and the Lapahn's body showed no sign of bleeding either.
The "Operating Table" technique allowed Law to cut objects or living beings into pieces within his ROOM and rearrange them at will. The separated parts wouldn't die, wouldn't bleed, and wouldn't feel pain.
It was a powerful ability.
The catch? He had to land the cut first.
The dismembered Lapahn, dazed for only a moment, howled and lunged at Law again.
Having seen Law's strange technique, the rest of the Lapahns grew smarter. Just as Law was about to sever the other arm of the first Lapahn, several others suddenly appeared behind him. With a flurry of swipes, they sent Law flying.
"Damn it!" Law spat out a mouthful of snow and struggled up from the ground, ready to keep fighting.
But then a few Lapahns turned their attention to Lin Mo, leaping from different directions and attacking him all at once.
"Watch out!" Law shouted.
Lin Mo, expressionless, looked at the Lapahns flying toward him. He drew the Sandai Kitetsu and vanished in a blur using Shunpo. In the blink of an eye, the attacking Lapahns were sent flying back.
The remaining Lapahns, seeing their companions downed instantly, bared their fangs and roared before charging at Lin Mo en masse.
Lin Mo snorted coldly. Right in front of Law, as the Lapahns closed in, he delivered a single clean slash. In an instant, all of them froze.
He slowly sheathed the Sandai Kitetsu. The moment the blade fully entered its scabbard—bam!—every last Lapahn collapsed simultaneously.
Law stood stunned. "I-Incredible…"
Lin Mo walked past the fallen beasts calmly and continued onward.
Gulping nervously, Law deactivated the ROOM and hurried after Lin Mo without a word.
From that moment, Law kept tailing him—but stopped pestering him.
He wanted to ask where Lin Mo was going, but he knew better. The guy clearly wasn't going to answer. It was easier to just follow and see for himself.
Walking through snowy wind already made travel difficult. Lin Mo didn't care whether Law kept up or not—just as long as he wasn't a nuisance.
Using Observation Haki, Lin Mo tracked various deer herds.
But after checking several groups, there was still no sign of Chopper. As night began to fall, Lin Mo turned around and headed back to Bighorn.
Law had followed him all day. Even though he still had no idea what Lin Mo was doing, he could at least guess—from his actions—that Lin Mo was searching for someone. No… for a reindeer.
Before heading back to the inn, Lin Mo grabbed dinner at a random restaurant, then stopped by a convenience store to buy a large stash of food and alcohol before returning.
Once in his room, he stored all the supplies in his system space.
For the next two months…
Every day, Lin Mo woke early to search for Chopper. Every evening, he came back and stockpiled food.
After two months of effort, the system space was finally full.
Then one morning, just as Lin Mo stepped outside the inn to resume his search, he spotted several men with hunting rifles running urgently down the street.
"Did you hear? That snow monster showed up again!"
"Snow monster? You mean that blue-nosed human-like freak?"
"Yeah! That thing. Ugh, it's disgusting. I heard it went to the next town a while ago and got injured. Guess it's back for revenge now that it's healed."
"What? Then it should take its revenge on them! What's it doing here in our town?"
The townspeople on the street were buzzing with chatter.
Lin Mo furrowed his brow and immediately changed direction, heading toward where the so-called "monster" had been sighted.
He was certain the "monster" they mentioned was none other than Chopper—the one he'd spent two months searching for.
As usual, Law stepped out of the inn right on time. He'd overheard the townspeople too but hadn't yet processed it.
Seeing Lin Mo chasing after the armed group, Law followed right away.
Soon, the two of them reached a pine forest behind the town.
The armed townsfolk were already there, rifles aimed at something hiding behind one of the trees.
"Get lost, you freak!"
"Go away, monster!"
"Scram!"
They yelled angrily at Chopper, who was cowering behind the tree.
Right now, Chopper had used the Human-Human Fruit to transform into a humanoid form—still covered in fur from the chest up, and with his distinct blue nose.
Even from several hundred meters away, despite the falling snow obscuring the view, Lin Mo could clearly see the countless wounds covering Chopper's body.
"That's the snow monster they were talking about?" Law asked. "I read about snow monsters once. They're supposed to be vicious ape-like creatures. But this guy… doesn't look threatening at all. He doesn't even match the description. Could the townsfolk be mistaken?"
Lin Mo gave Law a glance.
At that moment—
Bang!
One of the riflemen fired.
Chopper flinched and staggered backward in fear.
In a flash, Lin Mo appeared in front of him and caught the incoming bullet with his bare hand, crushing it to dust.