Chapter 187: Protecting Companions, Unwavering Until Death.

"Splurt!"

Facing the full Straw Hat crew, Luffy, who had been strengthened by Roman's daily training,and the 'shouldn't exist' Roman, Moria's defeat was already certain!

If it were the former captain of the Gecko Pirates who dared to challenge the Four Emperors Kaido, it would be a different outcome. But the Moria who had been in decline for over twenty years—"Straw Hat... crew..."

The massive body fell backward, shadows spewing from his mouth, and the white-eyed Moria uttered his final 'curse':"If you have the guts, go ahead... the real 'nightmare',"

"Is waiting for you in the New World!!"

Thud!

The giant body fell to the ground. As Moria lost consciousness and the shadows left, his body rapidly shrank.

"Did we win?"

"We won!!"

"Hahaha, what an adventure~~"

Thud,Facing Luffy, who had fallen backward and quickly entered dreamland, Roman snapped his fingers, and the flying white paper wrapped him into a sleeping bag.

Unlike Roman's shameless 'elemental' evasion, Luffy had endured the entire battle with his body! He took most of the damage caused by Moria and was also one of the top contributors in terms of output, making him the MVP.

Being able to hold on until victory before collapsing showed his willpower was as strong as steel.

"So, next—"

'...Another Warlord of the Sea has been defeated after Crocodile?'?!

The sudden voice startled everyone who had just relaxed! Except for Luffy, who was already completely asleep, everyone else turned around simultaneously, hands reaching for their weapons.

Behind them stood a tall, bear-like man, wearing a hat with bear paw patterns and ears, a black top with a white circle, and pants with bear paw patterns.

It should have been a 'cute' outfit, but on him, it only exuded Haki!

This man was holding a book in one hand and a Den Den Mushi in the other, engaged in a conversation.

'Is he still breathing?'Facing the question from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, the bear-like man answered without hesitation.

"I don't know."

'...As long as he's still breathing, he can keep his position as a Warlord of the Sea for now!'

'But if the news of another Warlord of the Sea being defeated gets out, your reputation will be ruined. So—you understand what I mean, right?'"Piece of cake!"

'Good, then I'll be waiting for the good news. Click,'!!

In an instant, most of the Straw Hat crew drew their weapons and aimed at the newly appeared, exceptionally tall man!

It was simple; the conversation on the Den Den Mushi had clearly revealed two pieces of information:First, this man who had silently appeared on the battlefield was also one of the Warlords of the Sea!

Second, the Straw Hat crew's behavior of 'specializing in defeating Warlords of the Sea' had led the Marines to issue a kill order!

It's troublesome now—After the battle with Moria, most of the Straw Hat crew was exhausted and spent! Especially their captain, Luffy, who had fallen asleep! They could only rely on Roman, Zoro, and Sanji...

Among them, only Roman remained completely calm!

This was because he knew the man in front of him:Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Warlords of the Sea, former king of the Sorbet Kingdom. Nicknamed "Tyrant," he was rumored to have been a ruthless pirate with a bounty of 296 million Berries.

He had mastered the Paramecia-type 'Paw-Paw Fruit' to perfection! His strength was definitely among the top of the Warlords of the Sea, incomparable to the weakling Moria. But that's not the point! The point is:He was a cadre of the Revolutionary Army!

That's right, this Marine 'lapdog' was actually an undercover agent, the right-hand man of Luffy's father! A true 'ally.'

"Don't panic,"

Roman waved his hand.

"This is Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Warlords of the Sea."

"Don't underestimate him; he's not a weakling like Moria,—even if we were all tied together, we wouldn't be enough for him to handle with one hand."

How can we not panic when you say that!?

Roman, have you forgotten our pirate personas again??

The Straw Hat crew was stunned. Roman's information had always been reliable, but now they hoped Roman was 'unreliable'!

But there was no doubt that even if Kuma wasn't among the top tier in the world, he was definitely a strong contender in the second tier. With the current strength of the Straw Hat crew, there was no chance of defeating... or even escaping from him.

"Straw Hat's crews..."

The tall Bartholomew Kuma glanced at Roman.

"Is it true that Monkey D. Luffy has a brother?"

"Are you talking about Ace?"

Roman nodded.

"We heard from Luffy that Ace is his sworn brother."

And his second sworn brother is now the Chief of Staff in your Revolutionary Army. — Speaking of which, Roman holds the same 'position.'

"So it's true..."

"Hey, Roman!" Nami looked at Roman, who was seriously 'communicating' with the other party, puzzled as to why, despite the kill order for the Straw Hat crew in the previous call, Roman was still so..."Oh, this~~"

Roman looked around, making sure there was no one else besides the Straw Hat crew and Lola, then calmly pointed to Bartholomew Kuma behind him.

"Actually, Kuma is my—"

Pop,Bartholomew Kuma put away the Den Den Mushi and lightly waved his hand, and Roman, who was halfway through his sentence, disappeared.

!?!

"What happened?"

"Where's Roman—"

"What kind of ability is this..."

"By the order of the World Government," Bartholomew Kuma, who had just sent Roman flying with a single palm, looked expressionlessly at the rest of the Straw Hat crew, "I am here to eliminate you."

!!??

"Oh my, Roman was instantly..."

"Do we have to fight another Warlord of the Sea?"

"This is impossible..."

"Step back," Zoro stood in front of everyone. Luffy had just finished fighting Moria and was already asleep, and Roman had been 'instantly killed' by the opponent! Now he had to step forward—"Then I'll start with you, 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro."

——————

??

The rapidly retreating mist in front of him left Roman stunned. Before he could react, the mist disappeared! In his vision, there was only a rapidly receding 'black dot.'

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing...!!

No! Roman shook his head vigorously and came to his senses. A quick glance revealed that he was inside a giant 'bear paw'-shaped bubble. He was moving rapidly through the night sky and could even see the sunrise slowly rising behind him! There was no doubt:

"Kuma, are you crazy?!"

Where are you planning to send me with that slap? To the Revolutionary Army headquarters..."Armament,"

Thud!!

Roman punched the bubble beside him with all his might, but even with his full strength, he couldn't break through this thin 'bubble'?

"Forget it, Brother Kuma's move can make people fly for days and nights, its strength is evident..."

But it doesn't matter, Roman is an ability user.

"Air Wall!"

Boom,Using the 'Door-Door Page' ability, Roman created a round hole in front of him, and with a flash, he escaped from the bear paw-shaped bubble, appearing in mid-air with the vast ocean below him.

"What is Kuma up to?"

After sensing for a moment, Roman's face darkened—he had flown dozens of kilometers in such a short time! Was he on a rocket?

Forget it,Maybe suddenly appearing alone in the sky over the ocean would be a death trap for other ability users, but for Roman, it didn't matter at all:"Paper Dance - J-20 - Mighty Dragon!"

The sound of rustling paper quickly formed the shape of a fighter jet,—unlike the previous models, Roman's paper airplane had greatly improved in strength! It was also equipped with two high-power wind shells at the back, so:Zoom!!

The pure white fighter jet flew towards the direction of the 'Thieves' Ultimate Skill'.

---Meanwhile, shortly after Roman 'disappeared':

Franky lay in the rubble; Sanji clutched his leg; Brook's shattered ribs were losing bone fragments; Usopp was charred all over; even Zoro was half-kneeling on the ground with his two swords.

"You are all exhausted,"

The tall Bartholomew Kuma was merely stating a 'fact'.

"Killing you is meaningless. How about this, I can spare you—"

Before joy could appear on the faces of the Straw Hat crew, Kuma changed his tone.

"But I want Straw Hat Luffy's head."

!!

"Come on, hand over Straw Hat Luffy."

Facing Kuma's 'condition', Chopper, Nami, Robin, who were protecting Luffy in the paper sleeping bag, and the battle-worn Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Franky, Brook,—even the newly acquainted Lola all spoke in unison:"We refuse!!" X9

"That's really unfortunate—"

As the man named Bartholomew Kuma released his hands, the bear paw-shaped bubble he had compressed in his palms exploded with a bang!

"Bear Paw Impact!"

With an earth-shattering explosion, a terrifying shockwave swept across the entire island from Kuma's palms! It was like a sudden category twelve hurricane.

A series of deafening explosions rippled out. For a moment, the ground shook as if a magnitude seven earthquake had erupted, and the hot, expanding invisible gas spread in all directions like a tsunami, destroying everything in its path.

The violent shockwave spread from the island, instantly clearing the fog in the sea area! Even the nearby ocean was stirred up with huge waves! And this:Was the result of Bartholomew Kuma directing the impact towards the sky!

After one move, the area was cleared with ease.

Everyone lost consciousness and fell into the rubble, while Bartholomew Kuma calmly stepped over the unconscious Straw Hat crew members, arriving in front of Luffy, who was protected by the paper sleeping bag, and slowly reached out his hand:Thud,

With a flash, Zoro, holding the Wado Ichimonji, suddenly lunged. His sword seemed to cross the boundaries of time and space, disappearing in an instant, and reappearing behind Bartholomew Kuma, with a blade intent to cut through everything, condensed like light.

"Lion's Song!!!"

Slash,

However, Zoro's full-force attack only managed to tear Kuma's clothes, revealing the:Metal body!

"Modified human..."

What kind of metal is this? With Zoro's current strength, he could cut through steel, let alone iron! But:Boom!

With just a casual strike, the opponent sent Zoro flying into the rubble. Then he calmly walked towards the sleeping Luffy and reached out his hand.

"Wait... wait a minute!"

"If you must take Luffy's head, —please take mine instead!"

Completely outmatched, it's really frustrating...But even kneeling and begging the enemy, Zoro didn't hesitate for a moment.

"Although I'm not famous now, one day I will become the world's greatest swordsman! Trading my head won't be a loss."

...

"What an astonishing ambition, but," Bartholomew Kuma looked at the man kneeling and begging before him, —he wasn't begging for himself, but for..."Are you really willing to die for your captain?"

"If I can't even protect my captain, what good is my ambition?" Even with his head bowed, Zoro remained steadfast!

"Luffy is the man who will become the Pirate King!!"

He shouldn't fall here—

"Wait!"

"If you die, how will you achieve your dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman?"

Sanji got up, and although he didn't have Zoro's monstrous physique, his physical fitness was still top-notch among the Straw Hat crew.

"Kill me instead. Although the Marines don't know my value yet, I'm definitely the most troublesome member in the Straw Hat crew!"

Thud!

Unfortunately, the next second, a sword hilt struck Sanji's waist, and the intense pain instantly knocked him unconscious.

"I'm begging you..."

Facing Zoro's determined expression, Bartholomew Kuma nodded expressionlessly.

"It seems if I don't agree, I'll become a laughingstock."

"Then let me show you what 'hell' is!"

With that, Bartholomew Kuma picked up the unconscious Luffy and gently pressed him, causing a huge white bear paw bubble to float out.

"This is the fatigue, pain, and hidden injuries expelled from his body!"

"Since you volunteered to die, you should taste this."

Bartholomew Kuma separated a small bubble from the huge white bear paw bubble and sent it towards Zoro.

"Try a small one first."

As soon as the small bubble entered Zoro's body, indescribable pain instantly overwhelmed his nerves!

It felt like all two hundred-plus bones in his body were experiencing the pain of fractures! Hundreds of muscles throughout his body were uncontrollably spasming in tearing agony.

"Cough, cough, cough, ahhhhh~~!!"

Amidst the intense screams, Zoro, who wouldn't even frown when cut by swords, fell to his knees in pain.

"How is it?"

Facing Bartholomew Kuma's question, Zoro just got up and lunged at the huge bear paw bubble!!

Luffy, you will definitely become the Pirate King;Roman, sorry for shattering your dream;Comrades... see you in the next life!

Splat—!

————————"Luffy, your friends are really loyal."

Standing outside the terrifying three-masted island, the man named Bartholomew Kuma looked up, watching a white fighter jet flying in a straight line in the sky!

"Like father, like son, Dragon!"

...

That guy Kuma...Roman, flying back at high speed with his Observation Haki fully activated, looked at the battlefield on the island from afar. Although the Straw Hat crew was unconscious, they seemed to be—?!

Whoosh,

As the fighter jet disassembled rapidly in mid-air, Roman leaped down and quickly ran towards a figure.

It was Zoro, the only one standing among the Straw Hat crew. — But unlike usual, Zoro was now covered in a layer of blood, making him look like a blood-soaked figure! Even more terrifying were the circles of radiating bloodstains on the ground around him!

Damn! Kuma, you hit too hard...You're not even human!!

If it weren't for Roman's Observation Haki with its 'X-ray vision' effect, seeing Zoro's heart slowly beating, no one would believe that the figure in front of them was alive.

"Zoro... are you okay..."

For a moment, Roman didn't know what to say.

"What's the matter," Zoro, like a blood-soaked statue, slowly spoke, "Nothing happened!"

——————PS: Zoro is a real man, I don't consider this chapter filler!!

—————— ----

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