Chapter 97

Chapter 97: This Body Technique Is Even Weaker Than Adrian's

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Faced with the tall candle wall, Artoria didn't choose to detour. Instead, she swung her two swords, creating a triangular hole that people could pass through.

"My wax wall is as hard as steel after solidifying. How could it be so easily cut!" Mr. 3 was astonished, looking at Artoria's empty hands. "I see, you're a Devil Fruit user. Looks like I'll need to put in a bit more effort."

Forgive his lack of knowledge; he didn't know there were swordsmen capable of easily cutting through steel. After all, he was just a criminal from the South Blue who engaged in loan sharking and hadn't encountered true powerhouses.

"Hehehe... It doesn't matter. Even if you come over, what can you do? My plan has already succeeded!" Mr. 3 quickly adjusted his mindset and kicked away the candleball containing Tom and Camie.

While the bar's side was battling the fishmen, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's  made a surprise attack. Even if they couldn't take out their opponents, they would divert their attention.

Mr. 3 himself focused on creating wax walls, blocking others and protecting the merfolk and the cat from explosion damage. Afterwards, he would capture them and have the Unlucky Duo receive the candleball from afar.

After completing these steps, whether he calmly retreated or destroyed the bar was up to his discretion. This was the battle plan devised by the cunning Mr. 3 in a short amount of time.

Now, as expected, most things were going according to his plan. Mr. 3 felt triumphant and wanted to burst into laughter.

"Aren't you going to chase after the candleball? Are you trying to defeat me instead? By the time my companions take it away, it will be too late to catch up!" Mr. 3 employed psychological tactics, hoping to provoke a reaction. If the opponent did chase, he could launch a surprise attack; if not, he could use their impatience to his advantage.

Mr. 3's strategy was all about stability.

Unfortunately, Artoria remained unfazed. "When Tom decides to come out of that ball, he'll naturally find a way out. I just need to deal with you."

"Come out? Are you joking? My wax is as solid as..." Mr. 3's eyes widened as he saw a thin sword pierce through the candleball.

The rolling candleball suddenly embedded itself in the ground like a lollipop stick and swayed a few times. Tom's sword was incredibly flexible.

Then the thin sword retracted and stabbed out from another direction, gradually sawing the candleball in half.

Tom and Camie rolled out, both lying on the ground not because their limbs were locked by the wax, but because they were dizzy from spinning inside the ball. Their eyes still displayed spiral patterns.

Mr. 3's mindset wavered slightly. Wasn't his wax supposed to be as hard as steel when solidified?

If he could block the bar's defenders, that was understandable, since they seemed to have Devil Fruit abilities. But why could a mere cat also use a sword to split the wax?

"It was originally to minimize unnecessary battles. Since that's the case, I'll deal with you first before cleaning up that cat!" Mr. 3's 3-shaped hairstyle burst into flames. He swung his right hand, and a significant amount of wax sprayed out, solidifying into a sword taller than two people. He aimed it diagonally at Artoria:

"Wax Sculpting: Melting Engraving Sword!"

"Is your ability to produce wax-like liquid from your body and shape it at will?" Artoria evaded without flinching, using her sword to shatter the wax sword Mr. 3 created.

Mr. 3 jumped backward and simultaneously waved his left hand. A spear formed and shot toward Artoria:

"Wax Sculpting: Melting Engraving Spear!"

Artoria easily evaded the attack and counterattacked by slashing her sword toward Mr. 3. She had now understood the enemy's tactics quite well.

Although the ability was interesting, Mr. 3's combat skills were even worse than Adrian's. His speed and strength were subpar as well. It was about time to end this.

...

At this moment, Adrian, who had poor combat skills, encountered a minor issue.

Mr. 5 was like a hedgehog; he couldn't be touched anywhere because he could explode from head to toe.

Adrian dodged the snot Mr. 5 shot out, then swung his sword toward his head. However, Mr. 5 preemptively detonated himself before the sword made contact:

"Explosion Fist!"

BOOM! A deafening explosion erupted. Oddly enough, the explosion's smoke enveloped only the small space around Mr. 5, leaving the ground charred but not extensively damaged.

Once the smoke cleared, Mr. 5's trench coat was in tatters. His entire body was blackened, except for his lips, which were swollen and sausage-like.

"Burp~~" Mr. 5 swayed, spewing out a plume of black smoke. "I... I have... the Explosion Fruit ability... explosion... explosion... doesn't work on me..."

Thud. Mr. 5 collapsed.

It felt like Mr. 5 was an exemplary example of a wasted ability. If he were developed well, he could have taken down one or two of the Four Emperors during the Wano Arc.

Speaking of which, there was also a Pamu Pamu no mi user among Donquixote Doflamingo's subordinates.

Additionally, Crocodile's subordinate had an elderly woman who could dig through the ground, while Doflamingo's crew had a pervert who could swim in the ground.

Crocodile's crew had a member with a weight limit of 10,000 kilograms, while Doflamingo's crew had one with a weight limit of 10,000 tons.

Crocodile's crew had a member who could transform into a knife, while Doflamingo's crew had one who could transform any part of their body, including weapons.

Crocodile's crew had Mr. 3, an art enthusiast, and Doflamingo's crew had Giolla, with the Art-Art Fruit.

Comparing the strengths of the two sides, Crocodile's crew was really at a disadvantage...

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Be sure to check out my latest fanfic novel! This time, I'm taking my writing to a whole new level of seriousness compared to my previous fanfics. I've dedicated a lot of effort to this one, and it's called 'Tycoon of Video Games.' Each chapter averages around 1,000 words or so.