Protecting Our Companions, Even unto Death

"Pfft!"

Faced with a full Straw Hat crew, Luffy, who was being trained and strengthened by Roman every day,

And Roman, who 'shouldn't have existed.' Moria's defeat was already destined!

If it were the former captain of the Moonlight Pirates, who dared to challenge Kaido the Four Emperors, the ending would certainly be different. But this Moria, who has been decadent for over twenty years—

"Straw Hat... a Gang..."

The massive body fell backward, spewing out shadows from its mouth, and Moria, his eyes white, uttered his final 'curse':

"Go ahead and try if you dare... It's a real 'nightmare',"

"We'll be waiting for you in the New World!!"

Thump!

The enormous body collapsed to the ground, and as Moria fell unconscious and the shadow disappeared, his body shrank rapidly.

"You won?"

"We won!!"

"Hahaha, what a great adventure!"

Snap,

As Luffy lay down on his back and quickly fell asleep, Roman snapped his fingers, and the fluttering white paper wrapped him up like a sleeping bag.

Unlike Roman's shameless 'Elementalization' evasion, Luffy took the full brunt of the damage with his body! He absorbed the vast majority of the damage from Moria while also dealing top-tier damage, making him the undisputed MVP.

To be able to hold on until victory before collapsing is already a testament to an incredibly strong will.

"So, next—"

"... After Crocodile, has another Shichibukai been defeated?"

?!

The sudden sound startled everyone who had just relaxed! Except for Luffy, who had completely fallen asleep, everyone else turned around at the same time and reached for their weapons.

Behind them, a man as tall as a bear stood! He wore a hat with bear paw patterns and ears, a black shirt with white circles, and trousers with bear paw patterns.

It should have been a cute outfit, but on him it just exuded Haki!

The man is holding a book in one hand and a Den Den Den Mushi) that is in use in the other.

Is he still breathing?

When asked by the Den Den Mushi, the bear-like man answered without hesitation.

"Have no idea."

"... As long as he's still breathing, let him hold onto the Shichibukai position for now!"

"But if word gets out that the Shichibukai have been defeated, your reputations will be ruined. So—do you understand what I mean?"

"Easy as pie!"

'Very well, then I'll await good news. Click

!!

In an instant, most of the Straw Hat crew drew their weapons and aimed them at the newly appeared, unusually tall man!

It's very simple; the conversation on the Den Den Mushi just now clearly revealed two pieces of information:

First, this man who appeared on the battlefield without a sound is also one of the 'Shichibukai'!

Secondly, the Straw Hat crew's actions of "specifically targeting" the Shichibukai prompted the Navy to issue an order to eliminate them!

This is troublesome—

After their fierce battle with Moria, most of the Straw Hat crew are completely exhausted! Luffy, in particular, has passed out! With only Roman, Zoro, Sanji, and the others...

Of all the people, only Roman remained completely calm!

This was, of course, because of his understanding of the man in front of him:

Solomi Kuma, one of the Shichibukai, was the former king of the Sorbeth Kingdom. Nicknamed "Tyrant," he was rumored to have been a ruthless and domineering pirate with a bounty of 296 million Beli.

He has mastered the Paramecia 'Paw -Paw-Paw Fruit' to an unparalleled level! His strength is definitely among the top tier of the Shichibukai, incomparable to a weakling like Moria. Of course, that's not the main point! The main point is:

He was a cadre in the Revolutionary Army!

That's right, this Navy "lackey" is actually an undercover agent, Luffy's father's right-hand man! A true "one of our own".

"Don't panic,"

Roman waved his hand.

"This is Mr. Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Shichibukai."

"Don't underestimate him. He's not some weakling like Moria. Even if we were all tied together, he wouldn't be able to take us down with one hand."

How can we not panic when you say that?!

Roman, have you forgotten about the character design of us pirates again?

The Straw Hat crew was stunned. Roman's information had always been reliable, but now they just hoped that Roman would be 'unreliable'!

Without a doubt, even if Kuma isn't among the world's top fighters, he's definitely a second-tier powerhouse. With the Straw Hat crew's current strength, there's absolutely no chance of them defeating him... or even escaping from him.

"Straw Hat's accomplice..."

The tall Bartholomew Bear glanced at Roman.

"Is it true that Monkey D. Luffy has an older brother?"

You mean Ace, right?

Roman nodded.

"We've heard Luffy mention that he's his sworn brother."

His sworn second brother is now Chief of Staff in your Revolutionary Army. — In a way, he holds the same 'position' as Roman.

"Just as I expected..."

"Hey, Roman!" Nami looked at Roman, who was earnestly 'communicating' with the other person, puzzled. She couldn't understand why, despite the kill order for the Straw Hat crew being issued in the Den Den Mushi earlier, Roman was still acting like this...

"Oh, this one~~"

Roman looked around to make sure there was no one else besides the Straw Hat crew and Lola (Brook was assumed to be on the ship), then calmly pointed to Bartholomew Kuma behind him.

"Actually, this Kuma is me—"

Wave,

Bartholomew Kuma, having put away his Den Den Mushi, waved his hand lightly, and Roman was only halfway through his sentence, disappeared.

!?!

What happened?

"Where's Roman—?"

"What kind of ability is this...?"

"By order of the World Government," Bartholomew Kuma, who had sent Roman with a single blow, looked expressionlessly at the rest of the Straw Hat crew, "We will eliminate you here."

!??

"My God, Roman was instantly..."

"Are we going to fight Shichibukai?"

"This is impossible..."

"You all step back," Zoro stood in front of the group. Luffy had just finished fighting Moria and was already unconscious, while Roman had been instantly 'killed' by him! Now, only he could step forward—

"Then let's start with you, 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro."

??

Roman was stunned by the rapidly receding mist before his eyes. Before he could react, the mist disappeared! All that remained in his sight was a rapidly moving 'black dot'.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing...?

!!

No! Roman shook his head vigorously, snapping back to reality. A quick glance revealed he was inside a giant bear paw-shaped bubble, rapidly moving through the night sky, and could even see the rising sun behind him! Without a doubt:

"Brother Xiong, are you crazy?!"

They slapped me upon meeting me and were planning to send me somewhere? The Revolutionary Army Headquarters...?

"Armed,"

Thump!

He punched the bubble next to him hard, but Roman's full-force attack couldn't even break the thin 'bubble'.

"Never mind, Brother Xiong's move can send someone flying for days and nights, which shows how sturdy it is..."

But it doesn't matter, Roman is an ability user.

"Invisible wall!"

Thump,

Activating the ability of 'Door-Door Page', Roman's figure flashed as he broke free from the bear-paw-shaped bubble and appeared out of thin air, with the boundless sea beneath his feet.

"What is Kuma up to?"

After closing his eyes and sensing the distance, Roman's face darkened—in such a short time, he had flown dozens of kilometers! Was he on a rocket?

Never mind,

Perhaps appearing suddenly and alone in the sky above the sea would be a death sentence for other ability users, but it wouldn't matter to Roman at all:

"Paper Dance - J-20 - Mighty Dragon!"

The white paper quickly took the shape of a fighter jet—unlike the previous makeshift models, Roman's paper airplanes were now much stronger! Two high-powered Spray Wind Shell were even added to the back, so:

Speeding up!!

The pure white fighter jet flew towards the direction of "The Art of the Thief".

Meanwhile, not long after Roman 'disappeared':

Franky collapsed in the ruins; Sanji clutched his leg; Brook's shattered ribs were splintering off again; Usopp was charred black all over; even Zoro was kneeling on the ground, holding his twin swords.

"You are exhausted,"

The towering Bartholomew Bear was simply stating the 'facts'.

"Killing you wouldn't be meaningful. How about this, I can let you go—"

Before joy could even spread across the faces of the Straw Hat crew, the other party abruptly changed the subject.

"But I'm going to take Straw Hat Luffy's head."

!!

"Come on, hand over Straw Hat Luffy."

Faced with the other party's 'conditions', Chopper, Nami, and Robin, who were protecting Luffy in his paper sleeping bag behind them, as well as Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Franky, Brook, who had fought alongside them—and even Lola, whom they had just met—all spoke in unison:

"We refuse!!" X9

That's such a shame—

As the man named Bartholomew Bear released his hands, the bear paw-shaped bubble that he had just compressed in his palms exploded!

"Ursus Shock!"

With a deafening explosion, a terrifying shockwave, centered on Bartholomew Kuma's two paws, swept across the entire island! It was like a Category 12 hurricane suddenly exploding.

A series of deafening explosions echoed outwards. The ground shook violently, as if a magnitude 7 earthquake had struck, and scorching, expanding invisible gas spread in all directions like ocean waves, destroying everything that dared to stand in its way.

A violent shockwave spread from the island, instantly clearing the fog from the sea! Even the surrounding ocean was whipped up by towering waves! And this:

Or it was the result of Bartholomew Kuma releasing the impact into the sky!

With one move, the area was easily cleared.

Everyone collapsed unconscious in the ruins, but Bartholomew Kuma calmly Luffy past the unconscious Straw Hat crew members, reaching Luffy, who was protected by a paper sleeping bag, and slowly extended his hand:

Snap,

With a flash, Zoro, wielding the Wado Ichimonji, lunged forward. His sword seemed to transcend the boundaries of time and space, vanishing in an instant. When he reappeared, he was behind Bartholomew Kuma, his sword aura, sharp as light, determined to sever everything.

"Lion's Song!!!"

Pfft

However, Zoro's all-out attack only managed to tear his opponent's clothes, revealing what was underneath:

Metal body!

"Cyborgs...?"

What kind of metal is this? With Zoro's current strength, he could cut steel in two with a single stroke, let alone iron! But:

Boom!

With a casual strike, the opponent sent Zoro flying through the air and crashing into the ruins. Then, calmly, they walked over to the unconscious Luffy and reached out their hand again.

"Wait... wait a minute!"

"If you absolutely must take Luffy's head—please use mine instead!"

I'm no match for them at all, it's so frustrating...

Even when kneeling before his enemies and begging for mercy, Zoro did not hesitate for a moment.

"Although I am not famous now, one day I will become the World's Greatest Swordsman! I won't lose out by exchanging my head."

·······

"What astonishing ambition, but," Bartholomew Kuma looked at the man kneeling before him, begging for mercy—not for his own sake, but for...

"Are you really willing to die for your captain?"

"If I can't even protect my captain, what's the point of talking about my ambitions?" Even with his head bowed, Zoro remained as indomitable as ever!

"Luffy is going to be the King of the Pirates!!"

He shouldn't have fallen here—

"Etc!"

"If you die, how will you realize your dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman?"

Sanji got up. Although he didn't have Zoro's freakish physique, his physical abilities were still among the best in the Straw Hat crew.

"Kill me if you want. Although the Navy doesn't know my value right now, I'm definitely the most troublesome member of the Straw Hat crew!"

Thump!

Unfortunately, the next second, a sword hilt struck Sanji in the waist, and the intense pain instantly knocked him unconscious and he collapsed to the ground.

"I'm begging you..."

Bartholomew Kuma nodded expressionlessly at Zoro, who looked determined to die.

"It seems that if I don't agree, I'll become a laughing stock."

"Then I'll show you what 'hell' really looks like!"

After saying that, Bartholomew Kuma grabbed Luffy from the ground and gently pressed him down, and a huge white bear paw bubble floated out.

"This is fatigue, pain, and hidden injuries emanating from his body!"

"Since you've volunteered to die in my place, then you should have a good taste of this."

As he spoke, Bartholomew Kuma separated a small bubble from the giant white bear paw bubble and floated towards Zoro.

"Let's start with a small one to try."

The moment the tiny bubbles entered Zoro's body, an indescribable, excruciating pain overwhelmed Zoro senses!

It felt like all two hundred-plus bones in my body were experiencing pain as if they were cracking! All the hundreds of muscles in my body were uncontrollably spasming and tearing in agony.

"Cough cough cough, waaaaaaahh..."

Amidst the intense screams, Zoro, who hadn't even flinched when swords were aimed at him, collapsed to his knees in agony.

"How?"

In response to Bartholomew Kuma's words, Zoro simply scrambled to his feet and lunged at the giant bear paw bubble!

Luffy, you will definitely become the King of the Pirates!

Roman, I'm sorry to have dashed your dreams;

Friends... see you in the next life!

Pfft!

"Luffy, your friends are really loyal."

Standing outside Thriller Bark, a man named Bartholomew Kuma looked up at a white fighter jet flying in a straight line across the sky!

"Like father, like son, Dragon!"

·······

That guy Kuma...

Roman, who flew back at high speed, Observation Haki to the fullest and looked at the battlefield on the island from afar. Although the Straw Hat crew members were all unconscious on the ground, they looked—?!

Call out,

As the fighter jet rapidly disintegrated in mid-air, Roman jumped out and quickly ran towards a figure.

That was Zoro, the only one of the Straw Hat crew still standing. —But unlike usual, Zoro was now covered in a layer of blood, making him look like a blood-soaked figure! Even more terrifying, there were rings of radiating bloodstains on the ground around him!

Holy crap! Kuma, you went way too far...

You're not even human!

If it weren't for Roman's Observation Haki's built-in 'X-ray vision' effect, he could have seen Zoro's slowly beating heart. No one would believe it if you said it was a corpse.

"Zoro... are you alright...?"

For a moment, Roman didn't know what to say.

"What is it?" Zoro asked slowly, his expression as imposing as a statue. "Nothing much!"

P. S.: Great Swordsman true man, I don't admit this chapter is filler!!