"I'll take this whole pile~~"
Women really were like the sea...
After receiving the clothes Roman had bought, Nami, whose mood had gone from cloudy to sunny, happily entered another commoners' clothing store and bought a huge pile of things:
Everyday clothes for men and women.
In Nami's words, if she did not prepare them, Luffy, Zoro, and the others could wear the same outfits for the rest of their lives... Roman had solemnly discussed with her whether clothes would be strengthened by their owner's "Haki" after being worn for a long time—and earned himself an eye roll.
"Come to think of it, Roman, do you want to pick out a few too?"
"I don't need any."
Roman directly shook his head. "I can make any clothes I want with my ability."
"So if your Devil Fruit ability ever stops working... no, strictly speaking, doesn't that mean you've basically been running around naked all this time?"
?
"When you put it that way, it does seem to make some sense..."
Roman stroked his chin, then seriously pointed out the flaw in her logic.
"But the paper I create with my ability won't disappear even if it encounters seawater or Seastone. So at most, it counts as clothing made from unusual materials. Your argument doesn't hold up."
"Whatever makes you happy."
?
Rendered speechless by Roman's steel-straight-man attitude, Nami waved a hand and motioned for him to follow.
"The air has changed... The pressure's dropping..."
"Looks like there'll be a storm soon."
Roman, who was also looking up at the sky like Nami, wore a baffled expression. Were they even looking at the same patch of sky? And did her body come equipped with a built-in barometer?
Forget it. He could just leave weather, navigation, and all that to Nami.
"Roman, find the others. We need to get back to the ship quickly."
"Okay."
Other than Luffy, who had been the first to run off and disappear, each of the others had one of Roman's paper cranes following them, in case they could not be found at a critical moment...
"No need," Roman said, opening his eyes with a strange expression as he pointed toward the intersection ahead.
"The others are about to—"
"Huh?"
"Ah!"
"Oh..."
Zoro, with three swords hanging at his waist; Usopp and Sanji, carrying a massive elephant-nose tuna; Nami walking in front; and Roman behind her, carrying a huge bundle—three groups happened to meet at the intersection.
"Where's that Luffy brat?"
Faced with Zoro's question, Usopp shrugged.
"Didn't he say he was going to see Gol D. Roger's execution platform?"
"This is the execution platform square..."
"Everyone,"
Roman set down the bundle of clothes in his hands, rubbed his temples, and pointed ahead.
"Please tell me that's just an illusion—"
"Hm?" X4
Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji all turned or raised their heads together, following Roman's finger. Then—
"What?!"
"No way, that can't be!"
"Wait a second—"
Why the hell was Luffy pinned down on the execution platform, about to be beheaded?!
Roman looked at the few paper cranes fluttering above Luffy, his vision going dark as his whole body nearly collapsed! Unless he deliberately focused his attention on them, his paper cranes could only rigidly carry out simple commands. But!
He had clearly given every paper crane the instruction to immediately alert him if the person they followed encountered battle, yet there had been no response at all—
Forget it. The urgent matter was:
"Save him!"
Without needing another word, Zoro and Sanji charged toward the execution platform in the center of the square! At the same time, Roman directed several paper cranes to swiftly fly toward the clown captain holding a Sailor's Knife over Luffy's head, intending to buy some time. White wings unfolded from his back as he shot into the sky!
"Roman? Zoro?"
As he rapidly drew closer, that unmistakable clown face with its red nose grew larger and larger.
It was Buggy!
"Too bad, you're one step too late!"
The sharp Sailor's Knife raised high above came slashing down toward Luffy's neck. With Buggy's strength, even Luffy's Rubber-Rubber Fruit could never withstand such a fatal attack!
Damn it! How could this happen here... As long as I reach the execution platform...
Compared to Zoro and Sanji, who were trapped among a crowd of pirates on the ground, the flying Roman was obviously much faster, but—
Damn it, I'm too late!
No matter how fast Roman flew, he could not match the speed at which the blade fell! Those paper cranes were only meant for scouting. Though they flew around Buggy and pecked at him wildly, they could not even delay him.
The blade flashed like snow!
Life and death would be decided in an instant!
As he faced the prospect of being separated from his head, before the eyes of the civilians and pirates filling the square, as well as Roman, Zoro, and Sanji rushing toward him, the boy named Luffy grinned, as bright and carefree as ever.
"Sorry,"
"If I die..."
"Don't—"
"Say something stupid..."
Are you kidding me?! How could you, the future King of the Pirates, die here—?!
Slash!
The blade fell, and blood splattered!
"Hm?"
Warm liquid fell onto Luffy's neck, making him turn his head belatedly. What entered his sight was the blade pressed against his neck, along with a pair of hands—a pair of hands gripping the Sailor's Knife tightly! Blood streamed continuously from the webbing between the thumbs and forefingers, while below the wrists were sheets of white paper drifting in the air.
What the hell? Did I just pull off Paramecia "Elementalization"?!
Roman was still some distance from the execution platform, suspended in midair. With his hands transformed into drifting sheets of white paper from the wrists down, his mind had gone completely blank. For a moment, he did not know whether to be happy or angry.
In that split second, driven by panic, he had instinctively thrust out both hands and reached through the air for the descending Sailor's Knife. Somehow, his hands had appeared on the execution platform through the paper cranes surrounding it!
"This—?!"
"Zoro! Sanji!"
Roman was the first to snap out of it, shouting at the top of his lungs. Simply maintaining this "Elementalization," which exceeded the limits of his ability, was rapidly draining his stamina and focus. And although Buggy was a joke, the force behind his downward swing was not something that could be easily caught barehanded!
If not for Roman's own strength and the "paper-iron armor" wrapped around his palms, it would not merely have been his hands dripping with blood. Both hands and Luffy's neck would have been split open together.
"Nicely done!"
"Good job, Roman—"
Although they did not know what method Roman had used to stop the blade, they could at least see that Luffy was still alive. While everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, Zoro and Sanji leaped over the crowd toward the execution platform. Then—
Three-Sword Style: Tornado!
Mutton Shot!
The whirling, slicing wind of blades and the fierce upward kick instantly destroyed the entire execution platform! In an instant, the place where two people had once faced death with bright smiles was reduced to countless fragments and pieces. And then—
"Hahaha, I survived."
Freed from his restraints, Luffy grinned as he patted his straw hat.
"I... I..."
Roman landed on the ground, not even knowing what to say. Following a captain like this, he felt certain that one day he would die young from a cerebral hemorrhage.
"Thanks, Roman, Zoro, Sanji!"
"Quit talking. With a disturbance this big, let's get out of here."
Roman looked at the two hands that had reattached themselves to his arms. He had immediately "bandaged" the wounds himself, but his feelings were a mess.
He had trained Elementalization for so long without getting even a clue, yet he had suddenly figured it out on his own at a time like this. Should he thank that idiot Luffy?
—No! Absolutely not. It just meant he had not trained hard enough, leaving him with the energy to fool around like this!
If it did not kill him, he would train himself until it did.
"Nobody move! Marines!!"
Hm?
Roman remembered that there was a Logia expert among the Marines here. So—
"Luffy, get back to the ship first!"
"Hehehe, let's go~~"
As the Marines surrounded them, panicked civilians and fiercely resisting pirates threw the area into chaos. Amid the confusion, Luffy, Roman, Zoro, and Sanji took the chance to run toward the harbor. At the same time, rain began to pour from the sky, while a gentle breeze blew the raindrops into slanted streaks.
Within the Marine force that had long been lying in wait nearby, a lieutenant saluted and reported to his superior.
"Captain Smoker, because of the rain, the muskets can't be used..."
"Is that so?"
He was a man with short silver hair, wearing a large coat with "Justice" written across the back. Goggles hung around his neck, and his open coat revealed sharply defined muscles. Two cigars were clenched between his teeth!
"Hmph, don't worry."
"On the honor of White Hunter Smoker, I won't let pirates like you leave this place!"
Before you continue