Treatment, Rest, and Three Matters
"It's impossible not to find it!"
"Search carefully! The culprits are four ability users."
"Bring Seastone weapons, and fire immediately upon spotting any suspicious targets!"
The entire Impel Down was in an uproar, with armed guards, jailers, and military dogs searching everywhere, causing much discussion among the prisoners in the cells.
Those who dared to cause trouble and escape from Impel Down weren't useless, but those unlucky souls were quickly reduced to corpses under Impel Down's suppression. Even if there were some powerful figures, could they possibly be stronger than the invincible Magellan?
But this time—judging from the guards' fragmented conversations, the escapee actually evaded capture and vanished without a trace? Could it be...?
Many prisoners' despairing hearts began to burn with passion.
While Impel Down was in chaos, the escaped quartet was:
"Ouch, it hurts so much!"
"Waaaah, why?"
"Hehehe, it's alright~~~"
The three figures strapped to the hospital beds slowly stopped struggling. On one hand, their bodies' immune systems had overcome the toxins; on the other hand, the bright green paper attached to their bodies continuously provided them with vitality.
"Heh heh! Kid, what kind of ability user are you?"
Faced with the Okama King's question, the White Knight shrugged.
"It's just an ordinary 'Paper-Paper Fruit'."
·······
"To be able to come up with so many variations, it's not something that can be described as 'ordinary'. However—"
The Okama King glanced at Luffy, who was lying on the hospital bed, laughing and joking despite being heavily poisoned. Luffy was the one most severely poisoned, yet he appeared the most nonchalant, still in the mood to play around with Bon Clay and Mr. 3.
So similar, that captivating quality. And a dragon...
"Anyway, we're safe for now."
Buggy, true to his reputation as a user of "Conqueror's Haki's Haki," was the only one in the group who wasn't poisoned. Even Mr. 3 got splashed with venom, and Bon Clay even took a direct hit. As for Luffy —needless to say, he went all out and punched Magellan!
It's hard to say whether the other party was injured, but Luffy's own hands were covered in poison.
"In short, fortunately the poisoning was not severe and the toxicity was singular."
After all, Luffy Awakening Armament Haki, giving him a certain resistance to all Devil Fruit abilities. Unlike in the original story, he didn't have to try every kind of poison, making his treatment much easier.
"The paralysis should subside after a few hours of rest."
After examining her, Ivankov, the Okama King, nodded. Despite her androgynous and strangely dressed appearance, she was actually a highly skilled physician, one of the world's top doctors.
Just like how Blackbeard, that rough-around-the-edges guy, is actually an archaeologist... You really can't judge a book by its cover!
"Waaaah, after this I'll definitely train hard and get stronger~~"
Ever since encountering the Straw Hat crew, Mr. 3 feels that all his previous opponents were trash! His worldview is being rapidly challenged every day, finally giving him the urgency to become stronger.
"Hahaha, this grandpa doesn't need it!"
Buggy pointed to his Red-Nose, "I've always been strong."
Where do you get your confidence from?!
"Mr. 2 Bon Clay, Xiao San, thank you so much~~hehehe."
In response to Luffy's thanks, Bon Clay gave him a thumbs up, saying, "That's only natural, we're friends!"
"Don't thank me," Mr. 3 tilted his head to the side, "I don't want to be friends with idiots like you. I'm a cold-blooded killer..."
Tsk tsk tsk, you're anything but cold-hearted.
The White Knight, arms crossed, was about to complain when he suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu about the scene before him. But whatever, none of that matters.
"I'll go out first,"
The White Knight walked to the door, glanced back at the big-faced Okama King with a purple afro, and a meaningful voice sounded from the doorway.
"You must have a lot of things you need to verify with my captain, right?"
"Saint Roman, the Navy hopes you can..."
"Go back and tell the Navy that I want to stay here and watch the execution of the King of the Pirates's son."
Roman leaned back in his chair, one hand pressed against his temple, while the other hand swung casually.
"I'll just watch the show from the rear, I won't go to the front lines. What's the Navy afraid of!—If they can't even protect a single Celestial Dragons at headquarters, what use are they?"
"·····yes,"
The man in the black suit and sunglasses at the door was speechless. The Celestial Dragons who had returned to the room was already infamous among their group of 'servants'. Not only had he caused the Saint Rosward family a great loss upon his arrival, but his subsequent actions had also been extremely arbitrary:
He refused female slaves to serve him, entered the Impel Down alone, and now he wants to witness an execution...
Thinking about the upcoming battle, the man in the black suit could only sigh helplessly.
If this lord suffers even the slightest injury, all of them can only—hope for a swift death!
As the man in the black suit outside sighed, Roman snapped his fingers inside the room. The fluttering white paper formed another 'White Knight,' and taking advantage of the 'White Knight' in Impel Down state, this new White Knight pushed open the window and leaped out lightly.
Whoosh!
After a splash of water, the seaside mansion returned to tranquility.
Super Creation are immune to seawater. Whether it's Mr. 3's candle, Magellan's venom, or Big Mom's crew of food-type surfers, seawater only suppresses the user's abilities; it doesn't interfere with the released powers. Otherwise, wouldn't the Marines, with water guns in hand, immediately dominate the New World?
As for Moria, that weak zombie, he's only afraid of salt...
Whoosh!
The pure white submarine descends steadily, and many schemes and conspiracies work wonders without the submarine's knowledge. However, if intelligence is obtained beforehand, it becomes a very boring joke.
Just like the filial son sword instigated by the 'wise general' of the Sengoku; just like—
This giant ship is hidden at the bottom of the sea!
!!
As the pure white submarine approached, all sorts of imposing auras surged from the coated behemoth! Like an inextinguishable blue flame burning fiercely, like an eternal diamond standing still as a mountain, like a sea of flowers dancing while murderous intent lurked... If Roman hadn't felt the pressure from Garp, Roman 'paper submarine' would have almost collapsed.
Even so, the paper submarine instantly lost its ability to move independently and could only fall straight towards the largest ship. After passing through a thin membrane, it landed with a thud on the wide deck.
"Dad, what is this...?"
"Come out," a voice, aged yet undeniably Haki, rang out. "Whom do you represent, boy?"
Splash splash~~~
The pure white submarine disintegrated, revealing the White Knight inside.
"I?"
Faced with a group of experts who could easily kill him, and a burly old man in front of him who, even sitting down, appeared tall and imposing with a white beard that curved upwards in the shape of a crescent moon, the White Knight sighed silently.
"I only speak for myself—first of all:"
As he answered, the pure white puppet knight waved his hand, and the disassembled white paper of the 'submarine' on the deck flew up and formed a sand table in front of him.
"This is?"
Upon seeing the sand table, everyone on the ship was taken aback! Because of the towering fortress and the circular walls on either side...
"Marine Headquarters 'Marineford'".
After speaking, the White Knight reached into the air and grabbed at the pure white sand table. One by one, small Paper Person stood up, their distinct images immediately allowing everyone to recognize their identities.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Three Admirals, Elite Vice Admiral... and a few others whose style is distinctly different from the Navy: the World's Greatest Swordsman Hawk Eyes, Kuma holding a book, Boa Hancock sitting on an Empress, Doflamingo in a pink coat, and Moria with a bandage tied around his head.
"These are the publicly known deployments of the Navy's combat capabilities, and—"
The White Knight pointed again, and a circle of 'Kuma' appeared outside the battlefield! Their number was a terrifying dozens.
"These are the Navy's ambush troops, war machines called 'Pacifista'. Each one has the physical defense of Kuma without Haki, and a weakened version of Kizaru's beam attack combination. Their overall strength is no less than that of an ordinary Rear Admiral."
!!
The people opposite the White Knight remained silent. What did it mean to have dozens, nearly a hundred, fearless Rear Admiral...?
"As well as,"
With a wave of his hand, the White Knight erected a ring of steel walls in the 'sea area' of the Marine Headquarters.
"The moment you break into the harbor will be the moment this trap is set. At that time—your Whitebeard Pirates will be trapped like turtles in a jar!"
He was turned into a hot pot by Akainu...
After saying that, the White Knight extended a finger and shook it.
"Don't expect to break through with the 'Tremor-Tremor Fruit.' This steel is specially made and mixed with Seastone. Although it won't suppress Devil Fruit users, it will greatly resist Devil Fruit ability."
???
Silence--
"Kid," the tall old man leaning back in his chair was unfazed by the news. Instead, he glanced at the pure white puppet in front of him. His gaze seemed to pierce through the White Knight and land on Roman at the Marine Headquarters.
"Your information is interesting, but what interests me more is—"
"Who are you?"
In an instant, an overwhelming aura, as majestic as a mountain, as deep as the sea, and seemingly capable of overturning the world, descended upon Roman in the distance. But Roman remained completely unfazed:
"Mr. Whitebeard, you'd better not put any more pressure on me."
The White Knight waved his hand.
"I'm in Marineford right now. If anything goes wrong, you'll be facing more than just Marine Admiral."
?!
"In short, this is the navy's plan, believe it or not. — That's the first thing."
In reality, even without any elaborate strategies, the Navy's strength is such that the Whitebeard Pirates are still beyond their ability to defeat.
Facing a group of experts, top experts, and super experts, the White Knight spoke eloquently.
"And then—"
Splash splash~~
Sheets of emerald green paper flew out from the White Knight's chest and toward a middle-aged man with a Whitebeard Pirates on his chest.
"This is?"
As he reached out and took the papers, the other person's pupils contracted.
"Blood vial paper, a creation of my power."
The White Knight pointed to the stack of emerald green and white paper that had fallen into the other's hands. —These things contained the concentrated life force of a thousand portions of high-grade ingredients.
"Your Phoenix Fruit should make it easy for you to discern the effects of these things, Mr. Marco."
"That's right, this is something that can quickly replenish life force! It's practically the most rudimentary panacea..."
"But so much vibrant life force—"
Marco looked up at the White Knight. Although he could also use flames to replenish his life force, that actually only consumed his own stamina. But the immense life force in his hand was simply...
"It's just Sea King food,"
Without him saying anything, Roman, being 'well-informed', first controlled the White Knight to dispel the other party's doubts.
"It's not something refined by humans, so you can rest assured."
"Of course, whether you use it or not is also your prerogative. — That's the second thing."
How useful this thing is to Whitebeard now is anyone's guess; Roman is just doing his best and leaving the rest to fate.
Next,
The White Knight looked around. On this ship named 'Moby Dick', the one sitting high in the main seat was, of course, the Whitebeard who was known as the 'World's Strongest Man'! Surrounding him were his fourteen captains.
These were the White Knight ... or rather, faces Roman recognized. As for the others? Whether they were lowly fodder or captains of their own pirate crews, it didn't matter to Roman. Unfortunately, what he was about to say concerned these very people.
"The third thing I want to talk about— Ace's identity:"
?
"You shouldn't mind, Mr. Whitebeard, right?"
Faced with the silent Whitebeard, the White Knight glanced around and then spoke.
"Ace, the Whitebeard's Second Division Captain, whose full name is Gol D. Ace."
!!
"His father's name is 'Gol D. Roger'." Amidst the shocked gazes of most people, the White Knight nodded. "That's right, the first person you all thought of: the King of the Pirates."
"By the way, 'Portgas' is Ace's mother's surname."
!!
"You," the Whitebeard lowered his gaze slightly, "What exactly do you want to say, kid?"
"It's very simple, I think this kind of thing should be said sooner rather than later."
"You know, many members of your Whitebeard Pirates had their families destroyed by Roger. If you were used by someone, you might just get stabbed through the chest—"
Click!
In an instant, cracks appeared on the White Knight's body! He was almost killed by a single glance, but Roman had already temporarily withdrawn his attention, so:
"Ara ara,"
A few seconds later, the White Knight, now 'alive' again, touched the crack in his chest with one hand.
"Am I not finished yet?"
"Kid, I don't know who you are."
Whitebeard looked at the creation before him, realizing that both the puppet and its master were nothing more than objects he could easily kill. Although it was a very impolite little fellow, the fact that it had come to 'help' his side was undeniable, so:
"In my name, the Whitebeard Pirates owe you a favor."
"If you ever need anything in the future, you can come to me Whitebeard!"
Faced with the promise from one of the Four Emperors of the Great Sea, the White Knight simply shook his head calmly.
"Actually, I have no grudges or ties with your Whitebeard Pirates. I don't care whether Ace lives or dies, but—"
"Well, my captain... Anyway, I'm here today not for anything else, but rather:"
The next second, the White Knight's words instantly enraged the Whitebeard Pirates, who had just felt a slight liking for him!
"I'll make sure you lose in a pretty way."
Click click click!!
In an instant, the poor White Knight was as if he had been crushed by an invisible mountain. His tall armor twisted and deformed, and then he was pressed down on the deck by the enormous force, turning into a solidified paper 'block'.
"Oh no..."
"It happened by accident—"
The captains finally realized that although the other side had been rude, they had genuinely come to deliver intelligence and... but their Armament Haki had suppressed them...
"Next are the comments:"
The voice continued to emanate from the White Knight had already become a piece of 'waste paper'.
"Don't blame me for being pessimistic, but the chances of you rescuing Ace... Oda said that no one can face two Admiral at the same time... Forget it, Oda doesn't know anything about One Piece!"
"In short, I wish you all the best in getting out unscathed."
—Unless a miracle happens.
·······
"A miracle?"
Sitting by the seaside window, Roman gazed thoughtfully at the ocean.