Chapter 11: The Juggler Swordsman, Temporary Retreat.

"This..."

With one move, he had taken down the enemy's beast tamer vice-captain, intimidating most of the pirates and making their gazes involuntarily fall on their own leader.

Why are you looking at me?!

Although the clown Buggy still had a 'blank expression' on his face, he was already thinking of retreating in his heart.

The opponent was clearly a master of hand-to-hand combat, and once given the chance, it would be a flurry of punches and kicks. — This kind of opponent was the one he hated the most, whether it was raw strength or Devil Fruit abilities, they were all troublesome...

"Hmph, that useless Mohji."

Cabaji, riding a unicycle, snorted coldly, drew the sword from his waist, and slowly rode out.

"I've already seen through your tricks."

?

Buggy, sitting on the main seat, was stunned. Although he hadn't seen through anything, it didn't stop him from maintaining his 'dignity'.

"Hmph, not bad, Cabaji."

"You saw through the opponent's tricks so quickly, only a bit slower than me."

"Oh?"

Roman tilted his head, casually standing as he sized up the 'juggler' swordsman in front of him.

"Then tell me, what are my tricks?"

Cabaji, who was slowly approaching on his unicycle, suddenly accelerated! The sword in his hand left a trail of afterimages as it slashed towards Roman.

"Of course, it's—"

Clang, Roman raised his arm to block the sword, but:

Cabaji, the opponent, used his other hand to pull down the scarf around his neck, puffed up his cheeks, and spat forward.

"Acrobatics: Fire Breath!"

A burst of flames spewed from his mouth. Although it looked terrifying, this kind of flame, produced by alcohol, was more about startling than actual lethality to these 'small experts'. However:

Roman's face turned serious as he quickly retreated, even beyond the range of being 'startled'!

"As I thought, my guess was correct."

While twirling the sword, Cabaji pointed at the serious Roman.

"Your ability—"

"Is paper, right?"

...

"That's right, I ate the Paper-Paper Fruit and became a paper man."

Since he had been seen through, Roman admitted it openly. However:

"I'm curious, how did you figure it out? — You know, up until now, I haven't actively used my fruit ability."

After so many years as a pirate, Roman no longer underestimated anyone. But to be seen through so quickly...

"Hehehe, I'm not just a swordsman,"

Cabaji, riding the unicycle, pointed to his eyes.

"I'm also the lookout, and my eyesight is the sharpest in all of East Blue!"

"Your skin may look normal, but to my eyes, it appears very 'fake', with no pores, no texture. — Even the wrinkles and blood vessels are 'drawn'!"

"Combined with your invulnerability to blades and bullets, I boldly guessed that your body is covered with a layer of 'something'."

"And the answer is: paper!"

"Wow~~~"

"Amazing.."

"Long live Cabaji,"

"Since it's paper, it must be afraid of fire! No wonder..."

"So it's a Devil Fruit user."

That's right, this was the first 'skill' Roman developed.

It was also his frequently used ability, because as a time traveler from a peaceful era, Roman was actually:

Very afraid of death!

Paper Dance - Iron Armor

With the 'truth revealed,' even Nami behind Roman first had a sudden realization, then a look of despair.

"It's over, it's over..."

Everyone knows what paper is afraid of, even a three-year-old!

"Hehehe~~"

Sure enough, after learning about Roman's ability, the pirates on the opposite side immediately improvised, lighting various 'Molotov cocktails' and 'torches,' filling the air with the smell of alcohol.

"Since we know your weakness, just surrender~~"

Faced with the taunts of those small fry, Roman was not only not nervous, but even wanted to:

Laugh.

But before that:

"Although what you said seems to make some sense," Roman looked at Cabaji, the chief of staff of the Buggy Pirates, who was riding a unicycle, "that doesn't necessarily mean my ability is 'paper,' right?"

"It could also be a layer of 'iron,' 'glass,' or 'wax' covering my skin..."

Devil Fruits are full of surprises.

To accurately know that Roman's ability was 'paper,' it couldn't be determined by just a few words from the other side.

"Uh..."

Faced with Roman's question, Cabaji, who had just looked like 'Conan,' now had a wandering gaze and unconsciously looked at the ground beside him.

"I see,"

Roman already knew the answer.

"It was the napkin I used to wipe my mouth earlier,"

"You saw me create paper out of thin air, so you used the 'answer' to deduce the 'cause'..."

Even so, if the other side's captain wasn't a Devil Fruit user himself, Cabaji probably wouldn't have thought of Devil Fruits first, and thus deduced Roman's true ability.

"Hmph, with such an obvious weakness, as long as everyone rushes in—"

A pirate holding a torch hadn't finished his boast when he fell backward with a cry.

"Maybe the previous fight gave you the wrong idea..."

With a clatter, two white crossbows appeared in Roman's hands. They automatically loaded, generated arrows, and then fired!

Puff, puff!

"Ah—"

"Ah,"

With a wave of his hand, a pirate immediately fell backward. And this time, standing a bit further away wouldn't help.

"This... the other side has long-range means, we can't even get close..."

"This ability, this ability is simply invincible!"

????

Roman glanced around, wanting to see who was putting a debuff on him... Didn't they know that claiming an ability was invincible would stop all thinking?

"Don't panic, attack that cage!"

The clown Buggy waved his hand, instantly spotting Roman's 'weakness'.

"And that woman named Nami, take her down too!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why me too..."

Nami, who was trying to blend in and pretend she didn't exist, was stunned. You guys fight each other, why involve me—

"Roman, protect Nami!"

"She's our navigator!" ??

"Wait, I didn't agree to that..."

But seeing the Buggy Pirates surrounding them with swords, guns, and torches, Nami could only tearfully admit:

"Yes, I am the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates!"

Sorry, Nojiko...

Sorry, Aunt Bellemere...

I'm not doing this willingly, it's just the situation... By the way, are there really only three members in the Straw Hat Pirates...

"Hey, don't treat me like a do-it-all robot."

Facing the pirates closing in again—this time targeting not only himself but also the burdensome Luffy and Nami—Roman couldn't help but complain. But:

"Well, I should thank you."

??

Facing the Buggy Pirates armed with weapons and torches, the crossbow in Roman's hand disappeared with a clatter. He raised his empty hands, palms facing the enemy:

"The paper I create becomes harmless if there's too much of it..."

"Could it be—"

The first to react, Cabaji's face changed dramatically, retreating on his unicycle!

"Paper Dance - Sea of Fire!"

Whoosh—

Countless sheets of paper spewed from Roman's hands, flooding the entire rooftop like a 'wave'. The soft paper was harmless, but if everyone had a torch...

"Ahhh~~~

"Help!"

"Fire, fire..."

"Water! Water!!"

In an instant, the entire rooftop turned into a sea of flames! The Buggy Pirates danced frantically in the fire, a scene both funny and terrifying, leaving the girl named Nami stunned until:

"What are you spacing out for, run!"

With one hand carrying the cage holding Luffy and the other pulling the dazed orange-haired girl. They quickly left the burning area!

As the saying goes, 'A fire on the roof, the chief falls in love with me'...

After all, his Paper-Paper Fruit was truly countered by fire! If someone recklessly pounced on him...

"Sigh, water and fire are merciless."

Without obtaining 'that thing', this obvious weakness couldn't be remedied for now. By the way—

Roman turned to look at the despondent Nami he was pulling, thinking to himself.

Wait, in my previous life watching the anime, wasn't Nami clever and unbeatable?

Why is she like this now...

—Could she be a fake?

Roman instinctively didn't consider that the only ones who could remain calm when facing a ruthless 'real pirate' like him were people like Luffy and Zoro...