Juggling Swordsman Temporarily Retreats

"What the..."

After instantly killing the opposing Beast Tamer First Mate, while intimidating most of the pirates, it also drew their gazes to their own leader.

Why are they looking at me?!

Clown Buggy, despite his face remaining 'expressionless', was already considering retreating internally.

This opponent is clearly an expert in close combat. As soon as they get an opening, it's all fists and kicks. This is the type of opponent he hates the most. Whether it's raw strength or Devil Fruit abilities, against this kind of...

"Hmph, that useless Mohji."

Kabaji, riding his unicycle, snorted coldly, drew the cutlass from his waist, and slowly advanced on the unicycle.

"Your tricks have already been seen through by me."

?

Buggy, sitting in the main seat, was startled. Although he hadn't seen anything himself, it didn't stop him from maintaining his 'dignity'.

"Hehehe, not bad, Kabaji."

"To see through the opponent's true nature so quickly, you're only slightly inferior to me."

"Oh?"

Roman tilted his head, appraising the 'juggling' swordsman before him. He stood casually, his posture loose.

"Then tell me, what is my true nature?"

As Kabaji, pedaling his unicycle, slowly approached, his eyebrows shot up. His unicycle, which had been moving slowly, suddenly accelerated! The cutlass in his hand flashed with afterimages as it swung towards Roman.

"That is, of course—"

Clang. Roman raised an arm to block Kabaji's cutlass, but:

The opponent named Kabaji pulled the scarf from his neck with his other hand, puffed out his cheeks, and spat forward.

"Skill: Fire Breath!"

A torrent of flames gushed from his mouth. While it looked terrifying, flames produced by alcohol like this were more about 'startling' the 'little experts' than actual damage. However:

Roman, with a serious expression, rapidly retreated, going far beyond the scope of just being 'startled'!

"As expected, my guess was correct."

While twirling his cutlass with practiced flourishes, the man named Kabaji pointed at the serious Roman.

"Your ability—"

"Is paper, isn't it?"

"That's right, I ate the Paper-Paper Fruit and became a paper person."

Since he had been figured out, Roman frankly admitted it. However:

"I'm very curious how you made that connection. After all, up to this point, I haven't actively used my Devil Fruit ability."

Having been a pirate for so many years, Roman no longer underestimated heroes. But to be figured out so quickly by the opponent...

"Hehehe, I'm not just a swordsman,"

Kabaji, still on his unicycle, pointed to his eyes.

"I also serve as a lookout. My eyesight is definitely the sharpest in the entire East Blue!"

"Your skin looks normal, but in my eyes, it appears very 'fake'. It has no pores, no texture. Even the wrinkles and veins are 'drawn'!"

"Combined with your invulnerability to blades and bullets, I boldly guessed that your body surface is covered with a layer of 'something'."

"And the answer is: Paper!"

"Wow~~~"

"Amazing, just as expected of the Chief of Staff..."

"Long live Lord Kabaji,"

"If it's paper, it must be afraid of fire! No wonder..."

"So he's a Devil Fruit user."

That's right, this was the first 'skill' Roman had developed.

It was also his most frequently used ability. After all, as a transmigrator from a peaceful era's Celestial Dynasty, Roman himself was:

Extremely afraid of death!

Paper Dance - Iron Armor

As the 'truth was revealed', even Nami behind Roman first looked enlightened, then utterly despairing.

"It's over, it's over..."

What is paper afraid of? Even a three-year-old knows!

"Hehehe~~"

As expected, once the enemy pirates learned of Roman's abilities, they immediately improvised. Various "Molotov cocktails" and "torches" were lit, filling the air with a strong smell of alcohol.

"Since we know your weakness, you might as well surrender obediently~~"

Facing the taunts of the minor henchmen, Roman, speechless, wasn't nervous at all. Instead, he thought:

Laughable.

But before that:

"While what you say seems to have some logic," Roman looked at Kabaji, the Chief of Staff of the Buggy Pirates, who was riding his unicycle, "that doesn't make it the deciding factor in deducing that my ability is 'paper', does it?"

"It's also possible that the skin is covered with a layer of 'iron', 'glass', or 'wax'..."

Devil Fruits, there's no end to the wonders.

To accurately know that Roman's Devil Fruit ability was 'paper' was definitely not something the other party could determine with just a few words.

"Uh..."

Facing Roman's question, Kabaji, who had been acting like 'Conan' moments ago, his gaze flickered, and he unconsciously looked towards the ground beside him.

"So that's how it is,"

Roman already knew the answer.

"It was the paper napkin I used to wipe my mouth earlier."

"You saw my ability to conjure paper out of thin air long ago, so you were using the 'answer' to deduce the 'reason'..."

Even so, if the other party's captain wasn't a Devil Fruit user, Kabaji probably wouldn't have thought of Devil Fruits in the first place—and then inferred the truth of Roman's abilities.

"Hmph, an ability with such an obvious weakness, as long as everyone rushes forward—"

A pirate henchman holding a torch hadn't finished his trash talk before he fell backward to the ground with a cry of "Ah!".

"Perhaps the previous battle caused you to misunderstand..."

With a rustling sound, two pure white crossbows appeared in Roman's hands. They automatically loaded, generated bolts, and then fired!

Thwip, thwip!

"Ah—"

"Ah,"

With a wave of his hand, a pirate immediately fell backward, head tilted. And this time, it wasn't something that could be avoided by simply standing further away.

"This... the opponent has ranged attacks too, we can't even get close..."

"This ability, this ability is simply invincible!"

???

Roman's gaze swept around, wanting to see who was giving him a debuff... Don't all those who claim their abilities are invincible stop thinking?

"What are you panicking about? Attack that cage!"

Clown Buggy waved his hand, and as expected, he instantly grasped Roman's 'weakness'.

"And that woman named Nami, get rid of her too!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why me too..."

Nami, who was trying her best to eliminate her 'presence' and pretend she didn't exist, was stunned. You guys fight your fight, why are you attacking me—

"Roman, protect Nami!"

"She's our Navigator!" ???

"Wait a minute, I didn't agree to..."

However, looking at the Buggy Pirates surrounding them, each holding swords, muskets, and torches, Nami could only admit tearfully:

"That's right, I am the Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates!"

I'm sorry, sister Nojiko...

I'm sorry, Aunt Bellemere...

It wasn't voluntary, it was just forced by circumstances... By the way, is the Straw Hat Pirates only these three people...

"Hey, hey, hey, don't treat me like a versatile Doraemon."

Facing the numerous pirates surrounding him again—and this time, their target wasn't just himself, but also the troublesome Luffy and Nami—Roman couldn't help but feel the urge to complain. However:

"Well, I should thank you."

???

Facing the Buggy Pirates, who held weapons in one hand and torches in the other, the crossbows in Roman's hands disappeared with a rustling sound. With empty hands, he held his palms forward towards the opposite side:

"Originally, if the amount of paper I created was too large, it would become completely harmless..."

"Could it be—"

Kabaji, the first to react, his face changed drastically, and he retreated rapidly on his unicycle!

"Paper Dance - Sea of Fire!"

Rustle, rustle—

Dense paper surged from Roman's hands! Like a 'tidal wave,' it engulfed the entire rooftop. The soft paper naturally possessed no destructive power, but if the opponents had torches in hand...

"Ahhhhhh~~~"

"Help!"

"It's on fire, it's on fire..."

"Water! Water!!"

In an instant, the entire rooftop transformed into a sea of flames! The Buggy Pirates were still 'dancing' madly in the fire. The comical yet terrifying scene stunned the girl named Nami, who stood frozen until:

"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and run!"

Carrying the iron cage containing Luffy in one hand and pulling the dazed, orange-haired girl with the other, Roman used 'You Give Road Oil.' He quickly fled the arson-stricken area!

As the saying goes, 'A fire on the roof makes the director fall in love with me'...

After all, his Paper-Paper Fruit was truly countered by fire! If an opponent desperately lunged at him...

"Sigh, water and fire are merciless."

Before obtaining 'that thing,' this obvious flaw seemed unfixable for the time being. Right—

Roman turned to look at Nami, who he was pulling along, looking utterly dejected, and thought to himself.

Wait a minute, I remember from watching the anime in my past life, wasn't Nami full of wit and overwhelmingly strong?

Why does she look like this now...

—Could it be fake?

Roman subconsciously didn't consider that the only people who could face his decisive and ruthless 'true pirate' persona for the first time and remain unfazed were Luffy and Zoro