"You're awake?"
When Roman opened his eyes, he saw a circle of..."What kind of look is that?"
Roman looked at the Straw Hat crew... with eager eyes? He frowned in confusion, then noticed something unusual about himself.
"These are... Sea Stone handcuffs?"
No wonder he felt this terrifying weakness! It was like the emptiness after being starved for days and then forced into intense physical activity, making him not want to move a single finger.
"What's going on? These handcuffs aren't your doing, are they?"
Facing Roman's question, the Straw Hat crew had strange expressions, as if they wanted to laugh but forced themselves to keep a serious face.
"So, Roman, you're clear-headed now?"
??
"When was I not clear-headed?"
Roman, struggling to stand, looked at the Sea Stone handcuffs on his wrist and nodded seriously.
"Good stuff,"
"The suppression on ability users is much stronger than the wristbands embedded with Sea Stone particles. It can be used for second-stage training..."
"Phew~~"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This way of thinking was definitely Roman himself!
Click,As Nami unlocked the handcuffs with a key, various detailed sensations returned to Roman's senses, not just strength, Devil Fruit abilities, and Haki, but also:
"Why do I feel like I've been repeatedly crushed by a dinosaur?"
Roman flexed his wrist and frowned, then raised his hand to touch his face.
"My face... this radius is 1.5 times larger than normal?"
He glanced around at the Straw Hat crew, who all avoided his gaze nonchalantly, except for Luffy, who still had a carefree smile.
"Do you know what happened to me, Luffy?"
"Yes, you were beaten into—"
Mmph, mmph~~Instantly, a group of hands covered Luffy's mouth and dragged him away. Nami stepped forward and patted Roman's shoulder generously.
"A real man doesn't care about those details~~"
"By the way, do you remember how long ago your last memory was?"
Nami waved the instruction manual in her hand, "You must have drunk that 'Cell Will Awakening Potion', right? How do you feel now? Any strong desires?"
"What desires?"
Roman gave Nami a suspicious look, feeling that the Straw Hat crew had become strange in the blink of an eye. But—"Thinking carefully, my memory stops at the moment I drank the potion and was hit by the cell will. It seems that the saying that this thing has some risks is not unfounded..."
???
'No, no, no, for you it's just a little risk. But for us, it's a 'huge' risk! We almost got wiped out!'
Everyone couldn't help but complain. How could you dare to drink something so mysterious? Do you think you're Luffy or something?Or maybe you're just that confident in your skills?
"Mm, very good!"
Roman closed his eyes and felt something for a moment. When he opened them, he had a look of joy on his face, making the rest of the Straw Hat crew have complicated expressions.
Did we hit him too hard and make him stupid? X7"Seimei—"
However, Roman had no idea that such 'dark' thoughts were running through the others' minds. He covered his face with his hands and then wiped downwards.
"Kikan!"
Swish,
Like a miracle, or perhaps a face-changing magic trick, Roman's entire face's skin and muscles started to wriggle on their own, quickly reducing the swelling, smoothing out, and returning to his usual handsome face. —Of course, his expression was still serious... or rather, looked like he had deep-seated grudges.
"Seimei Kikan is really useful."
Roman sighed, and the others nodded repeatedly.
They didn't know if it was useful, but at least now Roman finally looked like a 'human' again.
As for before? Let's not talk about it...
Feeling 'great,' Roman moved his body a bit, his gaze sweeping over the three people with splints on their legs, bandages wrapped around their chests, and using slingshots as crutches. He frowned in dissatisfaction.
"What happened to you guys? How did you end up like this after fighting CP9?"
It shouldn't be like this. Could it be that the training intensity wasn't enough?
'This is your doing!!'
Although Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp really wanted to complain out loud, they thought about how so many people fought 'Roman' and ended up like this, so they decided to let it go... After all, Roman was also beaten into a pig's head...
"It seems that training must be doubled in the future,"
Even with the intel leaked by himself, they still ended up heavily injured fighting CP9. It must be due to insufficient training, so the intensity must be increased! But before that—Rustle~~A few emerald green papers flew out and stuck to Sanji's right leg, Zoro's chest, and Usopp... Sogeking's lower back. In an instant, the three of them turned pale and trembled all over.
Then, like actors hired by street vendors selling fake medicine, they suddenly tore off the splints, ripped off the bandages, threw away... and switched the giant slingshot to one hand, starting to jump around performing 'medical miracles'!
"I'm... I'm healed?"
"The wounds are all gone—"
"That's amazing..."
!!
Anyone who didn't know would think the Straw Hat crew was selling fake medicine and performing rituals.
"Hmph hmph hmph,"
Facing everyone's astonishment, Roman raised his chin. Even someone as calm as him couldn't help but feel a bit pleased!
"Do you know why I care so much about the 'Seimei Kikan' skill? It's because it can work with my fruit ability to produce an effect greater than 1+1 equals 10!"
By using the 'Swallowing Pages' to quickly devour large amounts of food, and then using his fruit's transfer and carrying ability to create special paper containing vitality... it can heal during battles and restore energy during peacetime, with endless wonderful uses.
Actually, to be serious, Big Mom's family with their food-related fruits can also achieve this... even surpass the effect of Roman's 'healing paper,' but their backstabbing, fighting-to-the-death family environment forced a bunch of support types to train into attackers!
"In short, it's just a very magical piece of paper~~"
Faced with Luffy's summary, Roman was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to continue. Fortunately:"Sorry to interrupt everyone, but."
"Since everyone is fine, we should consider what to do next."
Robin, who had regained her calm and intellectual demeanor, stepped forward.
"That scoundrel Spandam has initiated a Buster Call. The Marines will soon arrive to destroy this place, so..."
"Don't even think about escaping!!"
Speak of the devil, Spandam's characteristic shrill voice suddenly echoed across the entire island through the broadcast system! Although the Straw Hat crew had taken down 'Roman' in just over ten minutes, it was enough time for Spandam to regroup.
"All units, converge on the Judicial Tower!"
The two giant warriors who had turned against the main island had already been captured by the agents of Enies Lobby. After all, the thousands of stationed troops here were worthy of the term 'elite'. Although the Straw Hat crew had swept through them like a storm, it was partly because the crew's strength far exceeded that of ordinary people, and partly because they had caught them off guard.
Once they had reacted, the remaining agents and soldiers gathered from all over the main island to the courthouse, then lowered the drawbridge and charged towards the now-ruined Judicial Tower.
"Conservatively estimated, there are still six thousand..."
"Six thousand!"
Sogeking shuddered and almost fell over, prompting Roman to pat him lightly on the shoulder.
"You should think of it this way: we've already taken down over three thousand, which means we've eliminated a third. If we push a bit harder, it'll be half, then two-thirds..."
It'll be over in no time!
However, at this moment—Boom, boom, boom~~~Amidst the thunderous, deep rumbling, the 'Gate of Justice', towering hundreds of meters high like a mountain, slowly opened behind Enies Lobby. A line of elite Marine warships from Marine Headquarters, carrying five Vice Admirals, emerged in single file.
Buster Call!
They had arrived.
Truly caught between a rock and a hard place..."Luffy, what do we do now?"
Faced with Roman's question, Luffy, who had regained his strength, rotated his arms a few times.
"Hehehe, we charge through!"
"We'll seize their transport ship and escape before the Buster Call arrives."
Since the captain had given the order, of course—"Charge!"
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