81. Tom and Spike's Wild Ride

The legendary Adam Wood Tree stood tall above them.

Tom, with his chin held high, nudged Spike out of the way. Spike stood bewildered beneath the tree, unsure of where to begin.

Tom smoothly retrieved a toolbox from behind him, placing it delicately on the ground before opening it up.

As the lid lifted, a dazzling golden light burst forth, causing Spike to squint involuntarily. Simultaneously, a symphony of music filled his ears.

Caught up in the rhythm, Spike found his head swaying to the beat without his consent.

"Alright, you foolish mutt, watch me steal the show now."

Just as Spike was getting into his dance routine, Tom's haughty remark put him on edge.

Spike retrieve a baseball bat from behind his back, grasping it firmly in one paw while clutching a chicken leg in the other.

It was like watching a performance, but the message behind it was clear and menacing, as if to say:

"If you don't back off from this tree, you'll regret it!"

Observing Spike's stance, Tom let out a disdainful snort and shut his eyes once more.

As Tom closed his eyes,

His arms stretched out like rubber, swiftly maneuvering amongst various props like a sinister puppeteer.

When his pinky finger brushed against an incredibly sharp axe, Tom's eyes snapped open, a victorious grin spreading across his face.

Without a moment's hesitation, Tom plucked the tiny axe, less than ten centimeters in size, from the toolbox.

Then, to Spike's bewilderment, Tom casually used the axe to pick his teeth.

In the next instant, Tom gripped the axe's handle and swung it down with force!

With a deafening boom echoing across the island, the ground trembled. 

In an instant, the small axe in Tom's hand transformed into a colossal axe, nearly half the length of the island!

"Heh."

Tom chuckled with an air of enchantment, effortlessly lifting the giant axe with one hand.

Suddenly, the entire island plunged into darkness, as if someone had switched off the lights in a room.

Hearing the commotion, Nami and the others swiftly raised their heads.

Yet, upon witnessing the colossal axe, seemingly capable of cleaving the entire island in two, Nami and the others momentarily froze before returning to their banter with Muscles and Merlin.

Clearly, they were accustomed to such extraordinary occurrences. However, to avoid being disturbed by the antics of Tom and Spike, Carina decisively conjured a barrier above her head.

As Tom hoisted the giant axe, Spike, who had been flattened into a pancake by the massive blade before, also rose to his feet.

Just as Spike retrieved a pump from behind, preparing to reinflate his body back to its original shape...

Tom's eyes snapped open, his hands slick with saliva as he swung the enormous axe towards the revered Adam Wood Tree!

Witnessing this, Spike let out a horrified scream before desperately rallying himself.

It appeared he aimed to revert his body to its original form before the impending strike.

Regrettably, Spike had grossly overestimated his own speed.

With a resounding "clang," all objects in the path of the giant axe were cleaved in two, including Spike's own body!

After nonchalantly reattaching his upper and lower body, Spike couldn't help but tremble as he gazed at the still-spinning giant axe.

"Tom, you foolish cat, stop!" Spike's rage echoed through the air.

In response, the Treasure Tree Adam hurled itself straight at Tom!

Realizing he had exerted too much force, Tom struggled to halt the momentum of the giant axe in his grasp.

However, due to the overwhelming inertia, the axe slipped from Tom's grip and soared into the sky at a tremendous speed!

Watching the colossal axe vanish into the heavens, Tom and Spike both wiped their brows in relief, grateful that disaster had been averted.

But in the next moment!

Tom and Spike, sensing imminent danger, shook their heads frantically as they watched the Treasure Tree Adam hurtling straight toward them.

"You idiotic cat, look what you've done!" Spike shouted, his legs seemingly propelled by small motors as he dashed madly towards the edge of the island.

Tom, too preoccupied with the impending catastrophe to engage with Spike, propelled himself with sudden force, racing wildly towards the island's perimeter like a speeding bullet.

However, before they could reach safety, the Treasure Tree Adam crashed down upon their heads!

Surprisingly!

Each time the Treasure Tree struck Tom, his body would shrink, causing the tree to bounce back a certain distance.

And with each reduction in Tom's stature, Spike would also be struck, causing his body to shrink and likewise repel the approaching tree.

As Tom and Spike sprinted further and further, they neared a safe distance.

Now, Tom's stature was only a few centimeters shorter than Spike's.

As a result, both the cat and the dog were flung into the mud as the Treasure Tree Adam made its final descent.

Boom—

Upon its impact, a thunderous roar reverberated throughout the island.

Carina promptly dispelled the barrier and, along with Nami and the others, rushed to inspect Tom and Spike's condition.

Soon after, to the bewildered gazes of everyone present, two benches with legs emerged from the remains of the treasure tree.

"This...!"

Nami gaped in astonishment at the sight of Tom's bench and Spike's bench, their bodies reduced to nothing but legs.

Carina and Vivi's eyes widened further, their jaws hanging agape in disbelief.

Robin's eyes contracted sharply, and she stood frozen for a while, unable to process the sheer incredulity of the scene before her.

Meanwhile, Tom and Spike exchanged a glance, sensing the ominous glare in Spike's eyes.

"Gulp~"

As the sound of swallowing saliva echoed, Tom didn't hesitate for a moment and bolted away.

Witnessing this, Spike naturally couldn't allow Tom to escape, so he chased after him with haste.

Observing the two elongated "benches" whiz past, Nami and the others stood frozen in astonishment.

This surreal and bizarre sight shattered their recently formed understanding of reality.

Muscles and Merlin exchanged glances, sharing a helpless smile as they shook their heads.

It seemed they were no strangers to the peculiar antics of Tom and Spike.

"Let's go, Merlin. Those two have felled the tree; now it's our turn to finish the job."

Merlin nodded in agreement and flicked his wand lightly, causing a green light to shoot out from its tip.

In the next moment, the Treasure Tree Adam began to rise slowly from the ground, accompanied by a violent tremor.

As the Treasure Tree Adam ascended, Muscles flexed his muscles and joints, transforming into a yellow-white lightning bolt!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each thunderous impact, Big Cousin Muscles left behind a trail of afterimages on the surface of the Treasure Tree Adam.

In a matter of moments,

The towering Treasure Tree Adam was swiftly transformed by Muscles into rows of meticulously arranged planks.

"Stupid cat, stupid dog, I'll leave the rest to you!" declared Muscles, putting his thumb and index finger in his mouth to whistle.

As soon as the words left his lips, Tom and Spike, having regained their bodies, appeared in front of Muscles with a swift teleportation technique.

Upon their arrival, Merlin waved his wand once more, guiding the planks to assemble in midair, forming the outline of a ship.

Witnessing this, Muscles stormed over to Merlin, demanding to know why he didn't transform the planks into a set of fitness equipment for himself!

Merlin's response remained unchanged from before.

This infuriated Muscles, sparking an immediate argument with Merlin.

While Muscles and Merlin engaged in their verbal clash,

Tom quietly retrieved the toolbox from behind, preparing to select the appropriate tools.

However, before Tom could make his choice, Spike snatched a handful of nails from behind and shoved them into his mouth.

Observing this scene, Nami exclaimed in alarm,

"Hey, Spike, you can't eat those..."

Before Nami could finish her sentence, Spike puckered his mouth and spat out the nails like a Gatling gun.

Witnessing this, Tom's eyes widened in astonishment, his jaw dropping to the ground, creating a sizable hole.

With a sudden jerk of his head, a light bulb figuratively appeared above Tom's head.

In a flash of inspiration, Tom swiftly retrieved a plethora of peculiar items from behind without hesitation.

With a crackling sound, everyone's gaze instinctively shifted towards Tom.

As the clamor gradually died down,

A Spike, assembled from wooden boards and iron pieces, emerged in everyone's view.

However, compared to the original, Tom's version appeared remarkably rough around the edges.

Before anyone could react, Tom clambered atop the makeshift Spike with a grin on his face.

"Yahoo!" he shouted excitedly, seizing Spike's ears with both hands.

In the next instant, as Tom's tiny paws delicately manipulated "Spike's" ears, the makeshift creature suddenly shot upward.

With a resounding roar, it surged through the air at a speed dozens of times faster than the real Spike, leaving behind wisps of phantom images.

What astonished Nami and the others most was that the "Spike" Tom rode continued to emit blue flames from its mouth!

The original Spike froze in place, pointing at the "Spike" Tom was riding and then pointing at himself, confusion evident in its bewildered gaze.

As Spike ceased spewing nails from his mouth, he swiftly approached Tom's side, examining his other self with intense scrutiny.

Just as Spike became engrossed in his observation,

The eyes of the "Spike" Tom rode suddenly bulged out!

"What...!" Spike exclaimed in terror, vanishing in an instant.

When he reappeared before everyone's eyes, Spike trembled in Tom's arms.

After their playful antics, Tom, who was growing increasingly excited, couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss...

Tom slowly opened his eyes, locking gazes with Spike, a silent exchange passing between them.

"Tom, I have to tell you, something terrible happened to me just now..." Spike began, but before he could finish, Tom impulsively flung him away with sudden force.

Afterward, Tom resumed directing the construction of the ship with the makeshift "Spike."

As the rate of nail spewing from "Spike" increased, within a short span, the ship began to take shape.

Meanwhile, the original Spike, thrown aside by Tom, lay beneath a tree, observing his duplicate under Tom's feet with curiosity.

A bubble materialized above Spike's head, containing a cartoon depiction of Tom's head, a heap of planks and tin sheets, and finally, Spike's head transformed into a donkey's.

The notion had just struck him.

Simultaneously, the real Spike's head indeed morphed into that of a donkey's!

Realizing he'd been duped, Spike swiftly retrieved a mace from behind and charged towards Tom!

In the meantime,

Tom completed his task, and a dashing likeness of himself spun and descended from the body of the "Spike."

As Tom tumbled, Spike's mace descended swiftly, delivering a powerful blow.

"Clang—"

The metallic clash echoed through the air.

Tom, realizing he'd narrowly avoided injury, instinctively dug a hole in the ground and buried himself within it without a second thought.

Meanwhile, the real Spike found himself inexplicably buried beneath the soil displaced by Tom's digging.

Tom, lying in the pit, trembled for a moment. Seeing Spike's hesitation to act, curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't resist poking his head out.

However, the moment Tom emerged,

Due to the sudden violent shaking caused by the divine blow inflicted on "Spike," parts of the body began to dislodge and bounce out one after another!

Witnessing this scene, fear gripped Tom, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Quickly, Tom retreated back into the pit, covering himself with the soil he had dug out moments before.

Emerging from the soil, Spike shook off the mud coating his body with a grin. Placing a hand on his forehead, he squinted and scanned the surroundings for Tom.

Noticing Tom's absence, a thought bubble materialized above Spike's head once more.

However, before the bubble fully formed, a screw suddenly struck Spike's head.

Boom—

Before Spike could comprehend what had occurred, the "Spike" crafted by Tom abruptly exploded!

As the smoke and dust settled from the explosion, a completely blackened Spike emerged into everyone's view.

After blinking his eyes, Spike transformed into a ball of ashes, to Nami's horror.

Upon hearing the explosion, Tom popped his head out of the mud. Upon witnessing Spike's condition, Tom suddenly leaped out of the mud and dashed towards the pile of ashes that once was Spike, laughing.

Amidst his laughter, a hand suddenly extended from the ashes, seizing Tom by the neck.

In the next moment,

To Nami's incredulous gaze, Spike emerged from the ashes, fixing a stern glare on Tom.

"Stupid cat, I'm furious!"

Tom broke out into a sweat, hastily retrieving a bone from his back and waving it in front of Spike before tossing it away.

Instinctively, Spike released Tom and dashed off in pursuit of the bone.

Just as Tom was about to make his escape, he realized that the shipbuilding tools he had created were now in ruins!

Frowning deeply, he took a deep breath and transformed the devilish muscle cat!

Al, observing from a distance, couldn't help but furrow his brow.

He had just witnessed Tom's arm suddenly turning black, as if Armament Haki had been activated!

"Is this a hallucination?"

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