Blade-Splitting Dragon, All Sides Take the Stage

"Thank you, thank you!"

Using the numerous white doves released by Roman as carriers, his Observation Haki capable of penetrating matter to explore, and the convenience of the 'Door-Door Fruit,' he quickly and discreetly collected all the 'Kin'emon puzzle pieces,' and incidentally retrieved the last one from the lowest level of the abandoned area:

"No need to thank me, just take this little mudfish and leave quickly."

"Armored bastard! I'm not a mudfish!!"

The child, with his hair shaved off on top and only tied up in a bun at the back, wearing a pink kimono and wooden clogs, roared at Roman, making Kin'emon awkwardly touch his bun.

"Finally, here's a piece of advice,"

The White Knight looked at Kin'emon, who had black hair in a topknot, a goatee, and eyes of different sizes, with the left eye being narrower. He wore a light kimono with the left half black and white and the right half orange, and carried two samurai swords with flame-shaped patterns on their scabbards.

"Keep an eye on your son—you've probably noticed by now, haven't you? This ocean is dangerous, and not everyone will forgive a brat who speaks without thinking."

"...I'm sorry, thank you very much!"

Faced with the White Knight's words, Kin'emon simply bowed deeply in apology, causing Roman was controlling the White Knight, to sigh.

Educating children isn't something that can be achieved simply by 'reasoning' with them. Besides, Kin'emon is used to treating Kozuki Momonosuke a 'retainer,' allowing a little brat to do whatever he wants...

However, the rest of the world isn't Momonosuke's father, nor are they his die-hard fans. Why should they give in to him? This kind of temper is destined to cause him great harm on this vast ocean. If it weren't for the kind-hearted Straw Hat crew, this brat would have been killed dozens of times over.

Excessive pampering will only ruin a person.

It's fair to say that Momonosuke played a significant role in Kin'emon's current incompetent state.

A doting mother often spoils her son, while a strict father produces a filial son!

"Anyway, that's all I have to do to help you."

The White Knight waved his hand, rescuing Kin'emon and Momonosuke, and then finding them a ship was Roman's greatest act of 'goodwill.' Otherwise, with Roman's methods, he could have easily made them die quietly.

"This is a 'Log Pose.' Follow the pointer to reach the next island. This place is about to become a battlefield. If I still see you here by then—"

The White Knight Guotou, a chilling killing intent emanating from beneath his helmet.

"Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

·····

"Hey, Armored... Emon."

Just as the White Knight turned and walked a short distance away, the child on the ship with the samurai-style shaved head bit his lip.

"Thank you... thank you... for saving me!"

However, the White Knight continued walking away without stopping. Just as Momonosuke was feeling frustrated, a white arm waved behind their back.

Actually:

Roman doesn't dislike Momonosuke.

Ultimately, he was nothing more than a spoiled brat whose family had been destroyed and who had been overprotected.

But I definitely don't like it.

Roman didn't want him to have anything to do with the Straw Hat crew —not to mention that the Straw Hat crew inexplicably went up against Big Mom and Kaido at the same time because of this little brat, causing Luffy to get hit by Thunder Bagua to do manual labor, becoming the 'King Luffy' that everyone joked about.

That little lecher doesn't know what's good for him;

A person may not be strong or smart, but they cannot lack self-awareness and self-understanding.

If it were any other pirate crew, Momonosuke would have died dozens or even hundreds of times over! Is it really true that "a gentleman can be deceived by his principles," or to put it bluntly, that kind people are easy to bully?

Why should the Straw Hat crew tolerate that brat? It's utterly baffling!

Vivi fought alongside the Straw Hat crew, Shirahoshi did her best to help Luffy, and Rebecca, whom they would meet later, fought all the way to the end. Compared to these strong 'princess's', Momonosuke, the son of a shogun, was simply a complete failure in terms of both personality and ability!

But he was blessed with the qualities of a 'destined person,' 'a king's aptitude,' and 'the Voice of All Things,' leaving Roman speechless.

"In short, whether you live or die depends on your own fate."

Watching the ships gradually disappear into the distance, the White Knight Guotou to look at the research base hidden in the snow and ice before him, then transformed into white doves and scattered in all directions.

In stark contrast to the cold atmosphere on this side, the other side was bustling with activity!

"It's so hot! It's so hot!"

Faced with the 'dragon' spewing forth a torrent of flames, the four Straw Hat crew, who had come out to explore... no, to scout, immediately dodged. Unlike Usopp, who was frantically trying to extinguish the flames, Luffy and Zoro instantly became incredibly alert!

"Interesting,"

"Hahaha, now this is more like an adventure!!"

Luffy instantly entered Gear Second mode, leaping into the air and delivering a punch—

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol!"

"Why?"

With a single punch, Luffy, staring at him in surprise. Keep in mind that with his current power, a single punch could easily take down a pirate with a bounty of over a hundred million. However:

Bang!

With a deafening roar, the dragon let out a furious cry tinged with pain, the massive sound waves spreading outwards and creating a rumbling echo.

However, it did not suffer any serious damage. When Luffy Gear Second punch hit it, only a few dragon scales fell off or were slightly broken. A dozen or so dragon scales around it had slight cracks, and there was no blood.

"So hard—"

Just as Luffy feeling sentimental, a muffled thud came from behind him! It was a huge, ferocious Dragon tail, as big as a warship and covered in bone spikes, sweeping across and instantly blasting Luffy, who was in the air Luffy like a cannonball! With a loud bang, he crashed into a burning building.

"Luffy?"

While Usopp was worrying, Zoro had already pounced! With his two swords strapped to his back, he unleashed a powerful slash, the Big Saber, like a tiger's claw, tearing through the sky and sea—

"Three-Sword Style: Ultimate Tiger Hunt!"

Click!

However, the dragon opposite him suddenly bit down with an agility beyond its size, forcefully holding Zoro's three swords firmly in place with its huge fangs.

"Tsk, what kind of hardness and strength is this..."

Upon first encounter, Zoro realized that this 'dragon' was not an enemy to be easily dealt with. Keep in mind that with Zoro's current strength, ordinary steel wouldn't be as strong as butter, but this dragon was:

Boom!!!

"You bastard!"

Luffy, who had just emerged from the ruins Luffy, angrily kicked the dragon, sending its massive body flying dozens of meters to the side! Sensing danger, the dragon immediately flapped its wings and began to take off.

"Don't even think about running! Watch me take it down..."

"What kind of creature is this?"

Faced with this colossal dragon radiating intense heat, Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit was truly powerless. In response to her question, a white dove fluttering nearby answered:

"This is not a creature of nature, but an artificial creature created by 'Dr. Vegapunk' to protect this island... Never mind, you don't want to hear my information anyway."

Robin smiled as she looked at the white dove beside her, which was scattering ice crystals and tilting its head in a huff.

"Because what Luffy and his crew enjoy is the process of 'adventure,' not just the simple victory. — But I'm different, Mr. Roman, could you tell me more about this dragon?"

"Hmph, even if you say that, I have no other information. Besides—"

Meanwhile, Luffy, now serious, leaped into the air and tore off one of the dragon's wings, causing its massive body to fall! Zoro, having already sheathed his three swords, looked at Usopp beside him:

"Usopp!"

"Good,"

Upon receiving the signal, Usopp shot a seed directly at the ground in front of Zoro, which instantly formed a bouncy plant air sac.

"Ultimate Move - Trampoline Flower!"

Using the elastic plants for leverage, Zoro soared high into the air, facing the falling dragon. He slowly drew the Wado Ichimonji from his waist, but just as the long sword was fully drawn, it seemed to transcend the boundaries of time and space and vanished instantly.

Cut!!

When it reappeared, it was already behind the dragon. Its sword energy, which could even cleave the void in two, was as slender as a line that sliced through everything, leaving a 'black' mark in the eyes of Usopp and Robin.

"One-Sword Style: Iai: Death - Lion's Song!"

Sold out instantly!

"See? No matter how amazing this dragon is, it's nothing more than 'food' in front of Luffy and Zoro."

As the white dove spoke, Luffy and Zoro, who had just landed, adjusted their poses mid-air and landed gracefully, laughing and joking as they began preparing to make 'Giant Dragon Barbecue'.

"Don't waste it, this is a dragon with vigorous vitality—even though it's man-made."

A white dove flew over, and there was a square 'pocket' on his belly.

"Momo - Four-Dimensional Bag!"

With the 'sack ability', Roman no longer needed the 'swallowing ability' to carry things. With the addition of Momo ability, he could even fit this enormous dragon inside.

"This casual barbecue is such a waste. If we leave it to Sanji, we could eat like this for a month..."

No, with Luffy around, even this enormous dragon...

"A week's worth of dragon meat. Oh, and by the way:"

The white dove spat out a string of flames, roasted a small piece of 'dragon meat', and then brought it to Luffy.

"Try it."

Chew, chew~~

"Tasty!"

"Very good, non-toxic."

The white dove calmly nodded, causing Usopp's chin to drop to his chest.

Ah, this—

"Don't panic, Luffy has a high resistance to poison. He's perfect for testing poison."

If you say so, then so be it, as long as you're not using me as a guinea pig...

Usopp wiped the cold/hot sweat from his forehead.

On the other side,

On the Sunny Merry.

"Who are these guys?"

The few people who remained surrounded several men on the deck who had been knocked unconscious. These men were wearing biohazard suits, carrying oxygen tanks, and holding poison gas guns.

"If it weren't for Roman, we would have almost fallen into these guys' trap!"

Facing the group of still-frightened individuals, the White Knight turned to look at Franky.

"Franky, you'd better add something like an 'air composition detector' to your body. After all, your 'physical' part still needs to breathe and get oxygen."

"No problem,"

Having nearly been knocked unconscious by the other party's hypnotic gas, Franky nodded seriously. An 'air composition detector' was no problem at all for someone like him, a scientist in name only, and moreover:

Today's events also served as a wake-up call for him.

"I'll make a few gas masks in a bit—judging from these guys' standard equipment, there's clearly some bad organization here."

"Roman, this isn't..."

Nami knew, of course, that this Ice-Fire Island was the site of the battle for the Fleet Admiral two years ago, but she had no idea that there were still people there. —Judging from their appearance, could they be government or navy personnel...?

"No, these guys aren't from the Navy."

Caesar Courland,

Well, the Smoker has caught up with us too.

In Roman's "eyes," a Marine warship flying the "G-5" flag was sailing towards them.

Alright, all sorts of forces have entered the scene: experiments on Giantification, facilities for creating artificial Devil Fruits 'SMILE' and 'SAD', and even highly poisonous weapons... Roman begins to consider the 'advantageous' things on this island.

As for Luffy?

I can't be bothered with it!

If you want to take risks, then go ahead and take risks.

That being said—

"Roman, pear syrup! And some ice, please~~"

The white doves that were spewing cold air around Robin gave Luffy, who was sticking out his tongue, a disdainful look.

"Don't worry, it will cool down soon."

A huge lake was already in sight ahead of Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Robin, and the others.