Chapter 177: The Per-- Clear Clear Fruit and the First Blood.

Next to the eerie island, on the Sunny Merry.

A group of people gathered around the paper model 'sandbox' as Roman explained the 'strategy.'

"The island in front of us is actually the giant ship 'Thriller Bark' from the West Blue."

Roman pointed at the white sandbox and began to explain to everyone. It wasn't just from memory; he had sent out dozens of black bats that had spread across the entire island, bringing back first-hand information.

With Roman's current strength, this 'small' raid was like having a full map hack!

"Unlike the wandering 'BOSS' we've faced before, this time we'll be dealing with one of the Seven Warlords: Gecko-Moria, who will stay here..."

As Roman spoke, he placed a small, round Moria paper figure on the main building of the island's castle.

Representing the final BOSS of the 'Florian Triangle Raid.'

A great swordsman and fighter master who could go toe-to-toe with Kaido had become a reclusive mage. One could only say:

Roman felt a deep sense of empathy!

Thinking about it, if the Straw Hat crew were wiped out and only Roman was left, it wouldn't be long before the 'Pure White Straw Hat Pirates' continued their journey to Raftel...

To avoid such an outcome, they must train even harder!

???

Seeing Roman's suddenly grim face, everyone was puzzled. But:

They were used to it.

"Then here, here, and here—"

Roman marked three buildings, and with a wave of his hand, three small paper figures appeared above them, representing three 'elite monsters.'

"These are the three officers of Moria's pirate crew, namely:"

"The genius surgeon: Hogback."

A chubby middle-aged doctor with purple hair, wearing a... fishnet outfit.

"The zombie commander: Absalom."

A beast-like man, wearing a round hat with Moria's emblem, ball-shaped earrings, a shirt and pants, a high-collared long coat, and boots. He had long blonde hair, cannons installed on his arms, and a lion's mouth!

"The ghost princess: Perona."

A gothic girl with pink twin-tails, a crown, a red short skirt and cape, black and white stockings, and a burgundy parasol.

"The other two are not worth mentioning, but Perona..."

Roman glanced at Zoro, making the three-sword style swordsman raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing," Roman looked away. Mentioning Perona reminded him of the famous meme from his previous life: —Perona pointing at a sweating Zoro, 'Without me, you would still be a...'

Ahem, not suitable for children!

"In short, this girl has the 'Negative-Negative Fruit'... ah, no," Perona's ability was so overpowered that Roman often subconsciously called her fruit the wrong name.

"She has the 'Ghost-Ghost Fruit' ability, so everyone be careful when you encounter her!"

She might pose a greater threat to the Straw Hat crew than Moria...

"Roman!"

Chopper excitedly pointed at the first little paper figure, his eyes sparkling.

"Is this really Dr. Hogback? The world-renowned surgeon? The legendary figure who saved countless lives?"

"That's him, but..."

Seeing Chopper's excitement, Roman had to give the little reindeer a 'warning.'

"He might be a bit different from what you know: in reality, he values money more than saving lives and mass-produces zombies, disrespecting the dead."

"The reason he's here is that ten years ago, the death of the famous actress Sindri left him devastated. Later, he became Gecko Moria's companion on the condition of reviving Sindri."

Another person entangled by the 'past.'

"How could it be? Dr. Hogback is actually..."

"Well, don't get too excited, Chopper. Maybe my information is wrong?"

Roman waved his hand, "When you meet him, use your own eyes and ears to see what kind of person he is."

"...Okay, Roman."

Although Roman comforted Chopper, everyone knew that Roman's information was always reliable. This doctor...

"So, what's next—?!"

Splash,

!!

"The anchor dropped by itself?"

"How could this happen, there's clearly no one..."

No one!?

Roman closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings. When he opened his eyes again, there was a hint of seriousness and understanding.

It's that guy, Absalom, the user of the Clear-Clear Fruit!

"Hey, hey, hey?"

Stretch—

Luffy's mouth stretched to both sides out of thin air, making a funny face, causing Roman to raise an eyebrow.

As expected, Observation Haki can't detect him!

Clang!

The next second, Zoro's sword unsheathed itself, leaving everyone stunned.

"Be careful..."

Snap!

A shadow flashed, and Roman caught the long sword flying towards Luffy out of thin air. In that instant, he felt something suddenly 'withdraw' and let go of the hilt. However, in the Observation Haki that could perceive enemies, there was still nothing.

As expected, the Clear-Clear Fruit is not just about 'invisibility'!

Otherwise, during the Summit War, Absalom wouldn't have been able to rescue Moria from Doflamingo and a group of Pacifistas. Later, Shiryuu, the second-in-command of the Blackbeard Pirates, wouldn't have eaten such a 'useless' fruit.

The reason is here,

The Clear-Clear Fruit can block the perception of Observation Haki!

Two years later, the revitalized Moria was almost killed by Shiryuu, who had eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit.

But:

"Don't panic—"

"Paper Dance - Paper Snow!"

Facing the Straw Hat crew's suspicion, Roman snapped his fingers! Instantly, white paper flew out from his body! These papers quickly split into tiny confetti in the air, like a snowstorm! Then:

Whoosh~~~

All the confetti started swirling around, making it feel like they were in a snowstorm! It filled every space on the Sunny. Because his companions were present, Roman didn't give these papers any lethality, but:

A white 'figure' was outlined by the paper scraps falling on it!

He was sneaking towards Robin, stretching out his hands with a drooling old pervert look, making everyone's eyebrows twitch!

Just as his claws were about to strike Robin's chest, the invisible Absalom froze! Because he saw his 'target' step back with a look of disgust, at the same time:

"Huh? So it's you causing trouble!"

"How dare you touch my sword! You're asking for it—"

"How dare you covet Miss Robin, I'll break all your bones!!"

"Beat him up!" X3

Surrounded by Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, Absalom didn't even have time to shout his classic line 'Let's talk this out,' before punches and kicks rained down on him like a storm!

"Ahhhhh~~~~"

"Help, help—"

The inhuman screams pierced through the fog, startling a flock of bats.

Soon, the sounds of punches and kicks subsided!

"So, this guy is one of the three commanders, the 'Zombie Commander'?"

Looking at the unconscious lion-man on the ground, Zoro had a 'that's it?' expression, making Roman have to remind them.

"Don't forget, when he was invisible, none of us could sense him."

"That's because he's weak as hell,—if it were a swordsman of a higher level, any one of us could be taken down instantly!"

This was absolutely true. Being ambushed by a high-damage swordsman without any defense, no one in the Straw Hat crew could say they'd be unscathed.—Except for Roman, who could 'elementalize.'

If the Straw Hat crew hadn't encountered top-tier opponents all the way, Roman's strength could have easily toyed with 99% of the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, earning a formidable 'BOSS' title...

"Good, although he's a bio-modified human, he's still a living being."

After drawing two tubes of blood from him to make 'transparent pages,' Roman nodded in satisfaction.—With this, as long as they didn't encounter large-scale AOE, their safety was guaranteed.

Although this guy would lose his fruit ability in two years, by then... the Straw Hat crew should have the strength to contend with other forces!

"Well, the opponent gave us a head start, we have a big advantage~~"

Roman waved his hand, and the paper figure representing Absalom disappeared instantly. "So we just need to follow this planned route and we can easily push through to Moria and reclaim Brook's shadow."

At the same time, Roman repeatedly reminded Luffy, "Don't run around and make things harder for us! I don't want to fight some zombie Oars..."

"Hehehe, got it!"

Seeing Luffy with a big smile, holding a net and a cage as if ready for an outing, Roman closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

You didn't listen at all, did you?

"Forget it, you can't leave my sight, or—I'll have Sanji cut your food rations in half!"

"Noooo~~~"

"I refuse," Sanji, on the other hand, lit a cigarette, "Feeding the hungry is my pride as a chef."

...Damn,

"As long as you're happy."

Roman gave up on reasoning!

"Roman, what's this?"

Nami pointed to a woman in the nearby forest with pink twin braids, a sturdy build, and full lips. There was a sense of 'familiarity' in the air.

"Oh, this is a side quest."

?

"Where you can get an item to enhance Luffy, —but I think we don't need it with our current strength."

??

"Alright, whatever makes you happy."

Anyway, the Straw Hat crew was used to Roman occasionally spouting some inexplicable lines. So:

"Adventure, adventure!!"

"I've got the bento ready," Robin said, carrying the food with a cheerful expression, "I also love adventures~."

"Adventuring on a mysterious island is super~~ exciting~~"

"Hey, hey, hey, we're going to fight the BOSS, can you be serious..."

Well, if they could be serious, they wouldn't be the Straw Hat crew.

"Then—"

Rustle~~

Sheets of white paper flew out, forming a long staircase connecting to the shore. Roman pointed forward.

"The Moria raid, let's go."

"Oh oh oh~~~"

Luffy charged ahead, but fortunately, he remembered Roman's words and only shouted at the shore!

"Hurry up, you guys!!"

With such a loud voice,

...Luffy, are you still the train king?

——————

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