Chapter 65: Alabasta .

(We're about to enter the Crocodile arc, so I'll say it in advance, Roman is going to get beaten up! This is a major turning point in this fanfiction. —By the way, there will be a lot of Straw Hat crew scenes coming up, and it's possible that Roman won't appear for an entire chapter...)

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On the Going Merry.

"Luffy, it's your fault for eating all the bait!"

"You ate it too, didn't you?"

In the midst of Luffy and Usopp's noisy quarrel, Vivi walked over and asked:

"Did you catch anything—?"

"Ahhhh, why did you use 'Run Fast' as bait!?"

"Quack, quack,"

The poor running duck cried out for help.

"We wanted to catch a shark,"

"Sea Kings would be fine too,"

Bang! x2

With a punch each, Luffy and Usopp were knocked onto the deck. Vivi, who was becoming more 'Straw Hat-like', held her forehead in frustration. However, the unusual situation ahead caught her attention.

"What's that?"

Hmm?

The 'White Knight' steering on the deck's eyes moved, switching from AI to Roman control.

"That thing..."

"Nami, take a look outside and see what it is."

In the cabin of the Going Merry, Roman tapped the 'book' in front of him. Nami, with her eyes closed, had a card with an eye drawn on it stuck to her forehead.

"Hmm... it's just ordinary water vapor."

Although she was sitting in the cabin, Nami spoke as if she had witnessed everything happening outside. —This was because she was using Roman's scouting paper cranes flying around to 'observe'.

"It's a natural phenomenon caused by an underwater volcano erupting with magma. In a few thousand or tens of thousands of years, this place might form a new island..."

Roman relayed Nami's words to Luffy and the others outside through the 'White Knight', immediately sparking a discussion about whether they could live that long. However—

The poor yellow duck was still being used as bait by Luffy and Usopp, while Vivi:

It turned out she just wanted to beat up these two idiots.

"Roman, bring out some food."

In the cabin, facing Sanji's request, Roman nodded and opened the 'Thief's Ultimate Art' on the table. On the third page was a mouth like an iron barrel.

Poof,

As the 'mouth' on the screen spat out, a package of ingredients flew out from the book.

"Such a useful ability~~" Sanji casually remarked, "Especially for a chef."

"Yeah, it's also good as a storage cabinet and refrigerator."

Roman replied casually. The pages made with Wapol's swallowing ability were surprisingly useful for storing supplies, not to mention their combat functions. Otherwise:

"We should be able to hold out until Alabasta, right?"

On the Going Merry, the food that would normally last dozens of people for half a month was consumed by the Straw Hat crew in just a few days. The reason being:

"Ahhh, I'm so hungry~~~"

"Training 'Observation Haki' with Roman every day has made my stomach shrink..."

Luffy's wails came from outside the cabin. Although Roman's face was expressionless, his heart was not calm.

Genius.

Maybe Luffy himself hadn't realized it, but he had already begun to grasp 'Observation Haki'!

In the 'training ground' at the back, Roman had already signaled Marianne to secretly reduce the 'colors' on the puppets sparring with Luffy, even changing the 'anger red' to 'leisure green', but Luffy still managed to dodge nine out of ten attacks.

In other words, as long as someone fought Luffy with hostility, he would instinctively dodge their attacks. This put pressure on Roman, who had mastered 'clairvoyance' and 'x-ray vision'!

Everyone's 'Observation Haki' has different focuses. Some focus on long-distance sensing, some on combat intuition, and some on fine discrimination... Roman's 'Observation Haki' was more suited for reconnaissance rather than combat. If this continued, it might—

"Roman?"

Nami frowned at the boy who only responded after she called him several times. She clearly felt that the closer they got to Alabasta, the more tense Roman became! Like a fully drawn bow, like a sword out of its sheath, the killing intent on him was becoming harder to conceal.

Like a beast being cornered by a hunter!

That's right, Roman now felt more like prey to Nami than a hunter.

"Huh?"

Roman waved his hand as he came back to his senses.

"I'm fine."

Liar!

Nami lowered her eyelids, her eyelashes covering her bright eyes.

Roman, the paper in your hand that you've unconsciously crumpled into a ball has nothing to do with 'fine'...

"Ah, such thick fog!"

"Ugh, I can't see anything..."

A commotion came from outside, followed by:

"How did we catch a person?"

Splash,

"Ahhh, he fell into the water! I'll save him—"

Splash,

"Ahhh, I fell into the water! Someone save me—"

...

"What's going on outside..." Nami stood up to go check, but Roman waved his hand to stop her.

"Let them be. You should take this time to familiarize yourself with the use of this book."

"Alright."

"By the way."

Nami, who had sat back down, looked at the "Thief's Extreme Art" spread out on the table and sighed.

"Since I got this book, I haven't really used it properly."

"You should indeed practice with it."

——————

"I'm really sorry,"

A man dressed in a swan costume, wearing a cloak with the words "盆暮れ" on the back, with fluffy headgear, lipstick, and eyeshadow on his face... no, a drag queen, thanked Luffy and the others.

"You pirates who are strangers saved me, I will never forget this kindness."

It's him,

In the cabin, Nami was seriously controlling the paper in her hand through "The Art of Thieves". Roman sat opposite her, looking like he was resting with his eyes closed, but his 'spirit' had quietly fallen into the 'White Knight' who was steering the ship.

Mr. 2 Bon Clay.

A mimicry fruit user, he considers himself both male and female, so his title in the Baroque Works includes both the male officer's number "2" and the female officer's festival name Bon Festival. He is the only high-ranking officer under Crocodile without a partner.

Simply put, he is a combination of Mr. 2 and Miss Bon.

He is also a key player behind all the turmoil in Alabasta. Without his mimicry fruit causing trouble everywhere, Vivi's country wouldn't be in its current state. So:

Act now! Capture him, and we can immediately expose the conspiracy in Alabasta and solve Vivi's predicament. But:

It's useless.

In this world where power belongs to oneself, the strong are everything!

Even if we clear up the misunderstanding now and unite the royal army and the rebels, what use is it? An enraged Crocodile can easily crush all of Alabasta by himself!

In the desert, he is invincible, no amount of soldiers can harm him. Don't even mention seastone, a giant sandstorm can defeat thousands of troops without him lifting a finger. — Not to mention that Alabasta's technology is still in the Age of Exploration, even in Roman's previous 21st century, the army could only stare helplessly at a large sandstorm.

"Hahaha, did you see that~~~"

'Luffy's' laughter came from outside, "Exactly the same! Scared, right? Scared, right~~"

"Oh, amazing!"

"As long as I touch someone with my right hand, I can become them, no matter their shape or voice. Even their inner self—"

Thud, thud, thud!

"Enough already!" Vivi's angry voice came from outside, making Roman's eyebrows twitch.

How did a good princess become so violent?

"Amazing, do it again!"

"Continue, continue—"

On the deck, the goofy trio: Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, were already having a great time with the swan-clad Bon Clay, laughing and playing happily, making Roman in the cabin rub his temples.

Bon Clay is manageable, the real headache is Crocodile and the 'cutting fruit' user Mr. 1.

Mr. 1, with a bounty of 75 Million, is no weakling. Even with Zoro's current strength, he can barely scratch him... no, he can't even break his defense, which shows how formidable he is. Moreover:

Roman is unsure if the opponent's fruit ability will suppress his own, after all, one is 'paper' and the other is 'cutting'. ... Speaking of which, if we encounter the 'scissors fruit' in the future, there's a high chance of being overpowered...

In the world of One Piece, once a fruit counters another, it becomes extremely overpowering. For example: Enel with billions of strength was beaten up by Luffy!

"Hahaha, my ship has come to pick me up."

"Although our time together was short, friendship has nothing to do with time! Set sail—"

The unfamiliar cheerful laughter outside gradually faded away, along with:

"Yes, Mr. 2."

Mr. 2,

In this sea, only one person would use such a strange title:

"Mr. 2!?"

Luffy and the others, who had just been partying and fighting with the enemy, suddenly snapped back to reality, dumbfounded and stunned on the spot. And most importantly:

"Oh no, his ability..."

He can transform into any one of them!

"And just now..." Vivi clutched the ship's railing tightly, wishing she could fly over and grab that pervert back.

"I saw my father's 'face' in his performance!"

"So that means..."

"It means he did a lot of 'good deeds' under your father's identity."

Roman, Nami, and Sanji, who was carrying food, looked puzzled.

"Did I miss something just now?"

Ah, well... someone performed Vivi's nude scene just now, you missed out...

"Ahem, anyway, he's not a troublesome enemy for us."

"After all, it's just a 'similar appearance'."

A devil fruit that can be easily countered with a simple code word is only powerful when no one knows about it. Otherwise, it's just a useless ability.

Many devil fruits have such flaws, hopefully:

Roman pressed his chest.

Crocodile's 'Suna Suna no Mi' is just as he knew....

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