Paper Paper Fruit In One Piece

"Looks like things just got serious—" 

The headless 'Doflamingo' faced Luffy, Law, and Kyros, who had just freed King Riku. None of them were easy opponents, and there were even more coming. 

After almost getting one-shot by Nami, Doflamingo wasn't about to underestimate the Straw Hats again. Still, he smirked. 

"Your navigator and that weird ship are still out at sea, right? Hehehe..." 

Another Doflamingo walked in from the next room, and the headless one stood up again. 

"I am Donquixote Doflamingo!" 

"My ambitions aren't fulfilled yet. No way am I going down to a bunch of brats like you! Time to get serious!" 

As the palace shook violently, Doflamingo's platform started rising rapidly. Luffy tried to charge, but Pica's ability caused stone walls to rise and block their path layer by layer. 

With gritted teeth, the real Doflamingo unleashed his ultimate move using the strings stored by his 'shadow knight.' 

"Birdcage!" 

Countless thin, transparent strings shot into the air like a volcanic eruption. As soon as they reached a certain height, they fell like a rain of shooting stars in all directions. Once they hit the ground, the strings stretched out, forming a massive dome-like cage of threads surrounding the entire area from sky to earth. 

"It's started," Roman said, handing Usopp over to Chopper for treatment. He looked at the descending strings with satisfaction. 

"Now they're trapped like rats. No way out... Perfect." 

"Luffy, Roman!" 

A crisp voice suddenly came through their wrist communicators, making both of them pause in surprise. 

"Nami!" 

"What's going on?" 

Nami wouldn't contact them during a critical fight unless it was something urgent. Interrupting in battle could easily lead to a fatal mistake. 

"There's a ship attacking us," Nami said, her voice mixed with the sound of cannon fire. Roman's expression changed as he immediately realized what he'd forgotten. 

"Judging by the flag, it's the Big Mom Pirates. Should we retreat or—" 

"Who cares what pirate crew it is? Fight back!"

Luffy's voice rang out immediately. Roman frowned slightly before explaining.

"BIG MOM Pirates—one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin."

"I don't care who they are; no one's allowed to hurt my crew!"

Luffy answered without hesitation, and at the same time:

"Roman, you're already heading over, right?"

"...Exactly."

With a rustling sound, Roman's figure in the arena began to break apart into floating white paper. Meanwhile, on the deck of the Sunny nearby in the sea by Dressrosa, the scattered sheets of paper started forming Roman's body again. 

This was his real self!

"Alright then, leave that 'BIG MOM' crew to you, Roman!"

Luffy's voice was steady and firm.

"Give them a good beating!"

"This is a direct order from your captain."

It was also a responsibility the captain had to bear. The moment he gave this order, Luffy himself became the prime target for the entire BIG MOM Pirates. While other crew members might still have a chance to flee or betray, the captain would undoubtedly be hunted as an example.

"Got it."

Roman glanced at the nearby birdcage, which was now closing in. This thing blocked all entry and exit, even interfering with the transmission of messages through Den Den Mushi. Originally meant to be Doflamingo's trap for them, Roman had intended to watch the chaos unfold. But now:

"Nami."

Roman turned to the orange-haired girl beside him, who nodded in response.

"Let's finish the fight here quickly. Maybe we can still catch Luffy's 'main event' over there."

As the birdcage closed further, even the paper phone Roman had created with his 'Flower-Flower Ability' began to suffer serious interference. But Roman wasn't worried. Besides the fact that their crew was almost fully equipped, Luffy's Gear Fourth alone was more than enough to knock Doflamingo around. No way a bunch of experts would just stand around pushing the birdcage instead of fighting again, right?

As for the BIG MOM Pirates—

Amid the rumbling of cannons, a giant pirate ship—its figurehead alone dwarfing the Sunny—was closing in fast.

"Pa-la-la~~ Pa-la-la~~"

The figurehead bore a crown-wearing cartoonish smiling face, singing cheerfully as its eyes spun around, keeping its gaze fixed on the Sunny ahead. The ship's keel was decorated with giant biscuits, its sides coated with cream, and its cabins made of massive cakes. The whole ship had a 'dessert' theme that made Roman feel sick just looking at it.

"I don't hate sweets, but hotpot isn't bad either."

"It's just that everything should be taken in moderation. So—"

Still in his magician outfit, Roman turned toward the massive ship behind them, named the Queen Mama Chanter, and the two figures—one tall, one short—standing on its deck.

"Baron Tamago, Pekoms, what brings you here?"

"Impressive. You remembered our names. Looks like we've finally met someone with some brains."

Baron Tamago, standing like a human compass, gracefully removed his top hat and took a sip of his tea.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. Hand over Caesar. He still owes 'Mama' a promise. Otherwise, we'll have to settle things the pirate way."

"...What a pity."

Roman, dressed as a magician, shook his head.

"Our captain just gave the order to 'give you a good beating,' so—"

As Nami's book rose from her waist and began flipping its pages, the sky grew dark with heavy clouds, the sea churned with violent waves, and fierce winds howled all around. The violent forces of nature gathered around the Sunny, making it seem small yet overwhelming in presence compared to the massive aircraft carrier-like Queen Mama Chanter. Baron Tamago's expression darkened as he stood by the rail.

"This isn't a smart move..."

"Sorry."

Roman pressed the brim of his hat down slightly.

"Our captain's goal is to become the Pirate King, so from the start, we were destined to be enemies, weren't we? Besides—"

"Let go of me! I'm a genius—?!"

"Oh no! It's the Big Mom Pirates!" 

Caesar, dragged out by Brook, looked up and froze on the spot. What's it like when a debt collector shows up? Especially one you can't fight back against—Big Mom's crew, who control the world's greatest intelligence network. 

"Don't hand me over! You can use me for deals with Joker or even Kaido..." 

"Relax. I won't let you fall into Big Mom's hands alive." 

Roman's words made Caesar breathe a sigh of relief—until he suddenly realized what was just said! 

"Wait, wait, what do you mean by—" 

"Armament Haki!" 

In an instant, Roman's hands glowed with a metallic sheen. Grabbing Caesar by the neck and spine, he lifted him high above his head. At the same time, a chilling frost quickly spread across Caesar's body, freezing him solid like a block of ancient ice, both clear and unbreakable. 

"If you want him, you can have him!" 

With a mighty throw, Roman hurled the frozen Caesar like a cannonball toward the deck of the Queen Mama Chanter, sending him flying hundreds of meters. 

"Retreat!!" 

Baron Tamago's face changed drastically. He quickly leapt back, grabbing Pekoms along the way. 

Boom!! 

The frozen Caesar hit the deck of the Queen Mama Chanter with a thunderous crash, exploding like a bomb! Shards of ice and flame shot out in all directions like a raging storm of metal. A nearby section of the ship and dozens of Homies were shredded like paper in the blast. 

"Damn lunatic!" 

Baron Tamago cursed as he retreated, abandoning his usual composure. Thick, purple smoke with a foul stench spread rapidly over the ship, causing the crew members of the Big Mom Pirates to panic and flee the smoky area as fast as they could. 

One unlucky man in dark blue clothing, yellow shoulder guards, and a metal helmet stood too close. Though his tough skin saved him from serious injury, countless shallow cuts from the explosion covered his body. However, every drop of blood that flowed turned purple. After staggering back a few dozen meters, he collapsed onto the deck, his skin turning a dark shade of purple. Around him, the once-lively Homies—plants, flowers, and trees with faces—withered and died on the spot. Leaves and petals fell like rain, and a large number of Homies lost their "lives" instantly. 

"Damn it, Haifat is poisoned!" 

"Where's the ship doctor?!" 

"We need the antidote—now!" 

Crew members shouted in panic. The armored man's name was Charlotte Haifat, the 20th son of the Charlotte family. Despite his large, intimidating build, his strength wasn't impressive—he had been knocked out by Jinbe with a single move during an earlier fight. 

"You Straw Hat lunatics! Are you asking for death?!" 

"In Big Mom's name, we'll destroy you!" 

While the Big Mom Pirates' officers on the deck used their various abilities to disperse the poisonous gas, Roman remained calm and waved a hand. 

"You were the ones who fired first. Are we not allowed to fight back?" 

"So, the Big Mom Pirates aren't that impressive after all. You're so arrogant that you thought your enemies wouldn't dare resist?" 

Caesar is a gas fruit user, not someone with a bomb fruit. The reason he turned into a poison bomb was, of course... 

The moment he was caught by Armament Haki, Roman immediately used both his "ice power" and "magma power." Freezing cold coated Caesar's body on the outside, forming a layer harder than metal, while the inside was filled with extreme heat and violent magma, ready to explode at any second.

Since Caesar had absorbed the deadly poison of the "Land of the Dead," every cell in his body was already toxic. If his heart hadn't been taken by Law, he would still be an extremely dangerous person. In this situation, he became a high-explosive poison bomb—every piece of shrapnel from his flesh carried a deadly poison, and every drop of evaporated blood turned into a purple toxic gas, killing anything in its path.

Roman's copied abilities might not be that powerful on their own, but when combined, they created a power far greater than the sum of their parts. Not only were they strong and flexible, but they also had no weaknesses.

"Not bad," Roman said as he glanced at the two people on the ship. Normally, he wouldn't use such brutal tactics out of consideration for others, but now: 

"Make sure to keep this a secret from Luffy and the others. This kind of scene might ruin their appetite."

"Alright, but you could call it waste recycling," Nami nodded calmly. Caesar, who experimented on children and poisoned people to control them, deserved to be executed countless times in her eyes.

"Yohoho, I understand, Roman," Brook added, without objection. After all, his former crew had died from poison, so he felt no sympathy for Caesar, a heartless, mad scientist.

"Well then," Roman said, knowing they would soon face a fierce counterattack.

(End of chapter)

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