Battle on the Molehill:
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Near the ruins outside the South-East Gate of the Capital City of Alubarna, Usopp was kneeling beside Chopper attempting to wake the reindeer after he'd been blown up by one of Mr. 4's baseball bombs.
"Chopper!" Usopp exclaimed. "Hey Chopper! Wake up! Open your eyes!"
Chopper, in Heavy Point, slowly opened his eyes and let out a groan, "Ugghh... Usopp... you're alright. That's great."
"Don't be ridiculous," Usopp scolded him, "You're the one we need to worry about."
"No, it isn't serious," Chopper reassured him as he sat up as stared out at the hole-filled desert in front of him.
"What happened?" Usopp asked with concern.
"Mr. 4 got me with one of his bombs while you were talking with Sanji," Chopper answered. The human-reindeer's eyes narrowed as he stared out at the sea of hole-filled sand. "Be careful. They're still out there waiting for us."
"WHAAT?" Usopp shrieked as he ducked behind Chopper. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?" THOOM! KRASH! Off in a distance something burrowed under a ruin and toppled it over. "AAAAAAHH! WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Quiet," Chopper warned him, "They're underground. Mr. 4 uses his bat to hit exploding time bombs that look like baseballs. Something's pitching the balls to him but I'm not sure what. At first I thought it was Ms. Merry Christmas but she's just responsible for digging all the holes."
ARF! Usopp and Chopper flinched at the sudden bark. They looked in front of them and saw the strangest... dog... that either of them had ever seen. It had the head and legs of a dog but the dog's long body was that of a high-tech cannon. The dog was simply known as Lassoo. And was Mr. 4's gun/dog. A small dribble of snot that was coming out of the dog's nose signified that it had a cold.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" Usopp demanded.
A-CHOO! The dog let out a sneeze and a baseball came flying out of its mouth.
"DODGE IT!" Chopper shouted in alarm. FWUMP! He and Usopp dove to the ground and the baseball flew over them.
SWISH! Mr. 4 popped out of a hole behind the two pirates and smacked his big baseball bat into the ball when it got in range. KRACK! The ball went flying back the way it came and the two pirates frantically dove out of the way just as the baseball time bomb exploded. KA-BOOOM!
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?" Usopp shrieked.
"That dog's the mysterious pitcher," Chopper realized. "He launches the bombs at Mr. 4 so he can hit them with his bat. Mr. 4 can time exactly when they're going to explode and where to hit them. And the bombs all weight a ton. Sanji tried kicking one back at him before but it was too heavy. Mr. 4's strength must be incredible if he can hit the bombs as accurately as he can."
"That's right!" Ms. Merry Christmas' voice called out from one of the nearby holes. "Mr. 4's a Number Four Batter! And Lassoo is a gun that ate the Dog Dog Fruit: Model Dachshund."
"A GUN CAN'T EAT A DEVIL FRUIT!" Usopp argued. "A GUN CAN'T EAT ANYTHING!"
"SHOWS WHAT YOU KNOW!" Ms. Merry Christmas snapped from within another hole. "It's a new technique developed here in the Grand Line! Devil Fruits can be infused with previously inanimate objects! I tell you this because YOU'RE GONNA DIE!"
"WAAAAAAHHH!" Chopper screamed in terror. "I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
"AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!" Ms. Merry Christmas barked. "I made all these wonderful holes because I ate the Mole Mole Fruit! I can move through this sand as easily as a swimmer through water!"
