"Five thousand six hundred twenty-seven."
?
Hearing Kaido's offer, the vice commander of the Ruffians, his arms dripping with blood, simply uttered a number in a calm voice.
"That's the number of people in Flower Town who have died at the hands of the Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi in the past twenty years."
He had encountered the Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi's tyranny in Wano Country since he was very young. After taking over as the leader of the Ruffians from his mortally wounded father, he learned to deal with the Beasts Pirates with a calm mind. Whether it was the deaths of ordinary people or his own comrades, he forced himself to stay rational. But—
"Today, I finally get to fight for those who are gone…"
"They were just a bunch of weaklings!"
Facing the vice commander's overwhelming killing intent, Kaido simply waved his spiked club dismissively.
"No matter the era, the weak are always just 'numbers.' The ones who write history, change history, and are remembered in history—"
Are always the strong!!
"You're right—'just a bunch of weaklings.'"
But among those weaklings were the kind old lady who always gave him pancakes before he left, the big-hearted uncle with a booming laugh, and the friends who once talked with him about the future…
People aren't emotionless. But as the vice commander of the Ruffians, he had to stay rational. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived this long.
"Well then, today, let's see how you handle the weapons of a weakling like me!"
The vice commander raised his head, revealing a face—
"Roman?!"
Luffy was still in shock when Ace snapped out of it.
"That's not Roman, just someone who looks a lot like him..."
Sure enough, as the bandages unraveled, a face was revealed—one that bore a striking resemblance to Roman, at least by seventy percent. It almost looked like—
"Could he be Roman's son?"
Nami: ?!
BAM! "Can you be any dumber, Luffy?!"
Luffy clutched his head, looking hurt after taking a punch from Ace. Meanwhile, Ace rubbed his forehead in frustration as Yamato gave him a confused look.
"Obviously, that's impossible. Roman is from our generation... Maybe a brother or some other relative..."
In this world, siblings could be wildly different in size—one brother could be 1.3 meters tall while the other was over 3 meters, like Byrnndi World and Byrnndi Bin Jack. On the other hand, some siblings looked almost identical, like the Matryoshka Princesses of Elrosha Kingdom.
Besides, even Sanji's hand-drawn wanted posters had mistaken identities before. Someone looking like Roman popping up out of nowhere wasn't that surprising.
"Yeah, even I was shocked by how much I look like the commander."
Drawing the longsword from his waist, the deputy commander, now dual-wielding weapons, stood before Kaido. Behind him, the 'Unruly Ones' had arrived, ready for battle.
"But none of that matters. Since the commander has already given his orders—
Captain Luffy, Captain Ace, and you, miss...
Would you mind letting us handle this fight first?"
"No problem."
Not just Luffy and Ace, but even the Red Scabbards of Wano who had arrived chose to stand back. Charging in without coordination would only create chaos, and more importantly, this was a personal vendetta—outsiders had no reason to interfere.
"A battle of endurance, huh? Hahaha~~"
Kaido rested his spiked club on his shoulder, scanning the fighters around him.
"Come on, brats!!"
"Don't hold back—war is all about tricks and betrayal! Either defeat me, or be defeated by me—"
—————
No doubt about it—this guy really was the strongest creature alive. His endurance was terrifying.
As the 'Unruly Ones' took over the fight, a devastating spear strike wounded Kaido. Roman immediately noticed that Big Mom held back just a little more. After all, if that attack could hurt Kaido, it could definitely hurt her too!
That whole "never been wounded" rumor? Just talk. If Big Mom's defense was truly untouchable by Garp, Sengoku, or the three Admirals, the world would already be in the "Great Marine Era." People might see Big Mom as a greedy, reckless brute, but you don't become one of the Four Emperors without some serious cunning.
With Kaido now trapped in a battle against multiple forces, Big Mom had only two choices:
One, unleash her full power to take down the fused knight formed by Roman and Nami, then turn around and help Kaido crush these upstarts.
Two, hold back and wait, letting Kaido and the Straw Hat Grand Fleet wear each other out, then swoop in to claim the spoils.
It was obvious—Big Mom chose the second option.
Not only because she was a pirate through and through—self-sacrifice wasn't her style—but also because those two 'fused' brats in front of her were tricky to deal with. And beyond that, three distinct auras were locked onto her from the open sea.
Three elite agents from CP0.
Under normal circumstances, Big Mom wouldn't even glance at those guys. But in a battle this intense, if they suddenly struck from the shadows... Well, underestimating high-ranking operatives was never a good idea.
But why was CP0 making their hostility so obvious? Could the World Government, which had secretly struck deals with Kaido, also be looking to take advantage of the chaos?
The Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates had declared their ambition to take over the world, but Big Mom wasn't stupid. She knew full well that CP0 agents were currently in Wano as honored guests, negotiating arms deals. And despite her crew's so-called 'rebellious' declaration, the World Government hadn't reacted at all.
After all, hundreds of pirate crews shouted about storming Mary Geoise every day. Who actually cared? Business was business, alliances were alliances—words didn't mean much.
Of course, if the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom's crew started losing, the World Government wouldn't hesitate to swoop in and 'deliver justice'...
In the world of adults, there are no eternal enemies or friends—only eternal interests.
That's why Big Mom would never expect that her true opponents weren't political schemers or backstabbing opportunists... but a group of people fighting purely for their dreams.
And the scariest part? Their dreams were actually starting to become reality.
"Ugh..."
"Nami, are you still holding up?"
Even with constant healing from Roman's paper-based 'health potions,' the strain of controlling high-level weather techniques was making Nami's head throb. The mental exhaustion was setting in, and Roman, while blocking Big Mom's attacks with an invincible shield, turned to her with concern.
"I'm fine—if I can't even keep up with this level of protection, I'd be a laughingstock on this battlefield!"
"Ten minutes."
?
"Rest for ten minutes. I'll handle Big Mom."
Roman forcefully took control of the elemental abilities surrounding The White Knight, and a massive wave of pressure immediately crashed into his mind!
If he hadn't already trained himself to multitask with his countless paper doves, handling this many abilities at once would have left him completely exposed.
Even Big Mom hesitated for a moment.
These two brats...
Could they also be wary of CP0?
With the all-around knight suddenly losing some strength, BIG MOM made a wrong judgment, missing her one chance to quickly end the fight!
As a result, both sides pulled back at the same time, and the battle turned into a tug-of-war once again. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield—
——————
Clang! "Armor unit, advance!"
The Beasts Pirates weren't without organized combat units. Take Sasaki, one of the Tobi Roppo, for example—his armored squad was entirely made up of Zoan users in heavy armor. They were equipped with large shields and rocket launchers, marching across the battlefield like a wave of tanks.
And don't forget—Wano Country is the original source of Seastone. These shields were mixed with Seastone ore, making them much tougher than normal metal. Even a top swordsman could only cut through a few at a time, while an average swordsman would struggle to break them at all.
Rip—
General Franky swung his massive sword, the blade glowing like a Jedi's lightsaber. A thin, nearly invisible blue-white slash flashed through the air.
A heavy shield in front of him split down the middle with a crisp crack before tilting sideways and crashing to the ground.
"Whoa~~ Never underestimate the power of science!!"
In Franky's hand was a plasma blade—his own invention, based on Caesar's blue-flame sword and enhanced with theories provided by Roman.
Once activated, it released compressed gases like nitrogen, argon, or oxygen through a small nozzle, with a turbojet increasing the airflow's power.
Inside the pipeline, a negative electrode was placed. When powered up and brought close to the target, it completed the circuit, creating high-energy electric sparks between the electrode and the target.
As the inert gas flowed through the pipe, these sparks superheated it until it turned into plasma, forming a jet that could reach over 8,000 degrees Celsius and travel at more than ten times the speed of sound!
A strong magnetic field kept the plasma contained, maintaining a solid shape that could block and parry attacks while delivering both extreme heat and high-speed cutting power.
In short, it was a real-life Jedi lightsaber.
Unless it hit something nearly indestructible, like pure Seastone, normal metals would melt, burn, or shatter instantly. Even those with artificial Zoan Devil Fruits would struggle to withstand a direct hit. The only way to block it was with powerful Haki and an exceptionally strong body.
Compared to the terrifying power of the plasma blade, the two large-caliber cannons on Franky's shoulders seemed almost unimportant.
"I'll take care of this tin can!"
You've got science? Well, I've got Haki!
Sasaki, a tall, slightly chubby man with sharp fangs and long green hair, wore a horned military cap and a flame-patterned cape over his bare chest, which had wing-shaped tattoos. He also wore an orange double-breasted skirt with flame designs and wooden sandals.
With a slash of his sword, covered in Haki, his blade clashed violently against General Franky's plasma blade, sending sparks flying!
"Hey, a sword like this—"
Using his spinning sword technique, Sasaki twisted his blade against Franky's, knocking the plasma blade aside. At the same time, his other hand shot toward Franky's wrist, aiming to snatch the weapon.
"It's wasted in your hands! Hand it over!"
"Come and get it, then!"
In a split second, even though Franky's right hand was being overpowered, his left hand started to shift—transforming into a shield covered in knobby bumps.
Boom!!
A sudden explosion blasted Sasaki's hand away, making his fingers tremble uncontrollably.
"Super effective~~!"
Franky's left arm was equipped with a reactive armor shield—when hit with enough force, it triggered small explosions to counter the attack. A perfect mix of offense and defense, and even one of the Tobi Roppo like Sasaki had fallen for it.
Of course, this "tech" design also came from Roman.
"Hmph, let's see what else you've got—"
Transforming into his hybrid beast form, Sasaki activated his Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit: Triceratops. His Haki-infused sword swung through the air in violent arcs, creating wave after wave of bright, spinning slashes.
The spiraling blade tore through the space in front of him, stirring up a raging windstorm as it slashed toward General Franky.
Haki-powered spiral sword vs. high-tech plasma blade!
——————
End of chapter)
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