In the blink of an eye, everyone who had been scattered around gathered together, making the scene particularly conspicuous.
Naruto stood beside the crowd and couldn't help yawning. He had been ready to take action himself, but who would have thought that, even now, he still wouldn't have a chance to show what he could do?
"Luffy, stop wasting time on them." Naruto glanced around. "Hurry up and finish these guys off. We don't have much time to waste."
Luffy nodded and was about to charge forward, but Zoro and the others acted first.
Zoro swung his swords, slicing apart the blocks of wax hurtling toward him, while the others took advantage of the enemy's disarray to press in from both sides. The group that had been trying to flee couldn't reorganize their defenses at all, and almost everyone was knocked down in an instant.
"Finally, some peace and quiet." Naruto looked at the people sprawled across the ground, without the slightest sense of accomplishment in his voice. "I thought I'd at least get to stretch my muscles."
Luffy curled his lip and was about to say something when the path ahead suddenly changed.
They chased the retreating enemies into a clearing, where the surrounding wax walls silently closed in. The exit they had been able to see moments earlier was sealed off by a thick layer of wax. Tree shadows, candleholders, and walls overlapped, as though the place had become a massive maze in the blink of an eye.
Then a dense patter of footsteps sounded all around them.
A figure stepped out from behind a tree, followed by a second and a third. Soon, Number Threes filled every spot within sight. Their faces, clothes, and even movements were almost identical, making it impossible to tell which was the