"Bro, big bro,"
"Have mercy, let us go~~~"
With bruised and swollen faces, Mr. 5 was crying and begging on his knees. If the ordinary members of Baroque Works saw their high-ranking 'officers' in such a state, they might reconsider and leave this dead-end secret assassin organization.
Beside him, Miss Valentine, also bruised and swollen, nodded frantically, crying internally! It was supposed to be a simple 'kill one to warn a hundred' mission, and they had easily dealt with the clueless Mr. 9 and Miss Monday.
They were about to capture the undercover Mr. 8—Igaram, the captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard; and Miss Wednesday—Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta, but then:
A three-sword style swordsman and a straw hat-wearing kid messed everything up!
With Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's bad tempers, they were ready to teach those two a lesson on the spot! After a few moves, they realized that the lesson was more comfortable for them to watch...
They barely escaped (Luffy and Zoro didn't even give them a second glance), only to run into this self-proclaimed 'enthusiastic citizen,' who 'cordially invited' them to participate in a Devil Fruit development experiment.
Originally, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine refused!
We are high-ranking officers of Baroque Works, you can't just invite us! At least offer more money...
But the other guy's fists were too big!
After the other guy generously said, 'Show me what you've got!' and a one-sided battle... or rather, a beating, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine eagerly cooperated with the experiment.
"You guys are too weak, aren't you?"
Roman looked at the two in front of him with an expression of 'pity for their misfortune and anger for their failure to improve.'
Such weak Devil Fruit users wouldn't even be found in East Blue, right? Mr. 5's Bomb-Bomb Fruit only made him throw boogers, was he trying to disgust the enemy to death? And the damage, even a point-blank explosion only left Luffy with a layer of dust, highly insulting but not damaging...
And Miss Valentine, the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit could keep dozens of islands floating thousands of meters in the air for years. Even if your Kilo-Kilo Fruit is a lower-tier version, it shouldn't just change your weight a little, right? And the upper limit is only ten thousand kilograms, which even brick movers in the One Piece world could easily lift...
"You really can't use your abilities on my paper?"
Frantic head shaking X2
"Sigh, so useless, might as well kill you..."
"No, big bro!" X2
"You're generous, please spare us~~~" X2
As expected of Baroque Works officers, their ability to adapt was impressive, and it explained how they survived until now.
"Devil Fruit users like you are just taking up space!"
The Bomb-Bomb Fruit and Kilo-Kilo Fruit weren't originally trash fruits, but these two turned them into trash... Facing Roman's words, the prostrated Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine dared not speak out. After being mercilessly beaten barehanded, they had completely lost the courage to resist, and:
The other guy hadn't even used his Devil Fruit ability in the fight!
What's the point of playing...
"It seems you both only have 'body transformation' type Paramecia Devil Fruits."
Devil Fruits are divided into three main categories: Zoan, Logia, and Paramecia.
Among Paramecia, if further divided, there are superpower types: like the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Barrier-Barrier Fruit, Slow-Slow Fruit... and so on, which don't change the user but grant a 'superpower.'
Next are the abilities based on body modification: for example, the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, the Weapon Fruit, the Scissors Fruit... These fruits obviously change the eater's physical appearance and also grant abilities based on those changes.
Then there are the body transformation types: the most typical examples are Luffy's Rubber Fruit, the Spring Fruit, the Diamond Fruit, and Buggy should also be considered in this category... Their appearance doesn't change, but their internal constitution transforms into a certain type of material.
The fourth type is the creation type: for example, the Biscuit Fruit, the String-String Fruit, the Wax-Wax Fruit... The eaters of these fruits are no different from normal people, but they can produce the corresponding substances of these fruits. — And these substances do not disappear because of seawater or Seastone.
The fifth type is the special category: like Roman's, which can both produce paper and transform himself into 'paper.' However, although it seems comprehensive, the fruit's potential still depends on personal development and individual strength.
By the way, Katakuri's Mochi-Mochi Fruit is also a special Paramecia type.
"Hey, you two losers, you're both body transformation type Paramecia..."
"Wait!"
Roman narrowed his eyes, making Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine shiver, feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"Think about it differently, since you're both body transformation type users, it means your flesh and blood have 'explosive' and 'weight-changing' functions..."
With Roman's expression suggesting he was ready to 'dissect' them, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine grew increasingly desperate!
They couldn't win, and they couldn't run away.
It's over...
Clang—
A thick piece of paper appeared in Roman's hand, which he then handed to Mr. 5. With a pale face, Mr. 5 heard Roman's calm voice.
"Come on, smear your blood on it."
"Spare me! Spare me..."
"Blood... just blood?"
Mr. 5, who had instinctively begged for mercy, looked up with an incredulous expression on his bruised face.
"What else? Do you want to smear your brains on it?"
"No, no, I'll do it—"
Taking out a small knife, Mr. 5 slashed his wrist, letting the blood gush onto the white paper, making Roman raise an eyebrow.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, blood is cheap, huh?
...Well, it really is cheap.
"Here,"
Roman produced another thick piece of white paper and handed it to Miss Valentine.
"I'm always fair, you smear your blood on it too."
...
Speechless, Miss Valentine took the white paper. She didn't have the courage to slash her wrist like Mr. 5, so she could only cut her finger and squeeze the blood onto the white paper bit by bit.
Boom—!
"Just as I thought,"
Facing the explosion caused by the 'Explosive Tags' he had just thrown, Roman first nodded in satisfaction, then frowned.
"Mr. 5,"
"Your explosion is too weak, only good for clearing small fry..."
We're just small fry, sorry about that!
Mr. 5, with a pale face, wanted to cry but couldn't. Damn it! If only he had focused on developing his fruit abilities earlier...
"Forget it, thinking about it carefully. Ten billion Explosive Tags... I can't afford that. Besides:"
Unlike the world of Naruto where high attack and low defense are common, in the world of pirates, there are tanks everywhere, and fighting for days and nights is no big deal. Broken bones, massive bleeding, losing limbs are just minor injuries. Wrap it with bandages and tape, and they can fight for another three hundred rounds!
Explosions? Cannonballs? What a joke, can those things kill anyone? Aren't they just for background effects...
"Alright, you can go."
Roman waved his hand, letting the pale-faced Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine get up and leave quickly, as if they had been granted amnesty.
——————
"Roman?"
Nami looked at the figure walking out of the shadows, tears of joy streaming down her face.
?!
"Why are you so emotional seeing me?"
"No, Roman."
Silent tears fell down Nami's face, unable to express her pain.
"Do you know, we just entered the Grand Line, and we're already being hunted by the 'Seven Warlords' you mentioned."
...
"I'm sorry,"
The blue-haired girl who had removed her disguise, Miss Wednesday... no, she should be called Nefertari Vivi, kept bowing and apologizing to Nami.
"It's all my fault..."
"If you don't mind, I personally have 500,000 Berries..."
Well, it seems Crocodile will soon receive the news.
With Roman's ability, he could have easily taken out the animal duo, the otter Mr. 13 and the vulture Miss Friday, who were reporting the news. But:
What's the point? As long as Luffy and Nami plan to help Vivi, they will inevitably face the enemy. In that case:
It's better to let the overconfident Crocodile send some officers over for 'training.'
"Well, let's talk about this later."
Regarding the issue of provoking the Seven Warlords, Luffy and Zoro didn't seem to care at all, even showing a hidden eagerness to fight! This made Roman fully understand what it means to be 'fearless like a newborn calf.'
This is really... forget it, it's exhausting...
"Here."
Roman handed a thick book to Nami, and seeing her confused expression, he taught her step by step.
"Do you see this picture?"
Opening the book, the first page depicted an 'explosion,' with a crimson center releasing a large amount of energy in 0.01 seconds, generating high temperatures and billowing black smoke! The red circles were expanding outward — vivid and lifelike.
"Then turn to the back, imagine the 'explosion' scene you just saw. Tear out a blank page and throw it out..."
Under the curious eyes of Luffy, Zoro, and Vivi, Nami followed Roman's instructions, tore out a blank page, and threw it out. Then:
Boom!!
A violent explosion erupted from the paper, blowing the hair of the onlookers backward.
"This... this..."
Thinking that if she had thrown the paper in front of her, she would have been... Nami burst into tears again.
I want to go home! I don't want to sail with these monsters...
"Not bad, this thing is useless to me."
"I'll give it to you for protection."
Roman rubbed his chin. Although the explosion's power was 'nothing' in the eyes of him, Luffy, and Zoro, it could still be used to deal with small fry.
"Let's call it, Paper Dance—"
"Thieves' Ultimate Skill!"
----
You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu