"Meat!"
"Water!"
"Revival!"
Are you even human???
After a big meal, Luffy was full of energy, and even the 'hole' in his chest had almost completely healed. Roman, sitting in a spider wheelchair, was dumbfounded, and even the porridge Nami made didn't taste good anymore.
What kind of rubber fruit is this? It's clearly a regeneration fruit...
"Roman, why are you staring at me?"
Luffy was puzzled at first, then reluctantly handed over a piece of meat.
"I'll share half of my meat with you..."
Wow, this is comparable to Zoro lending his sword to someone. But:
"Thanks, but my intestines were just stitched up less than half an hour ago, I really can't enjoy it..."
"Hahaha, no matter what the injury, as long as you eat meat, you can recover!"
Meat: Not really, not really...
It seems that Luffy was really trained by his grandpa Garp to have 'Seimei Kikan - Eating Version', otherwise, there's no way to explain all this. But this is good, only with Luffy recovered can we have a chance against Crocodile.
What's the most important thing in fighting a boss?
Of course, it's the main tank. Without a strong tank, everything else is pointless! — What? The mage can kill it with strong firepower? Nonsense, if you can kill it with strong firepower, are you the boss or is the other side the boss?
"Wow, we're flying!"
"This is my first time on a 'plane'."
"If this thing becomes popular, won't ships be..."
"Impossible, this is just Roman's fruit creation."
No, quite the opposite. I'm using the fruit to mimic technological creations...
The reason everyone is so relaxed now is because: a giant white 'monster bird' roared through the sky, scaring a group of vultures into fleeing.
Paper Dance - Boeing 747
Of course, it's just a knockoff. — It's essentially still a 'paper plane'.
But even a 'paper plane' is much faster than crawling on the ground. What would have taken half a day to travel from Rainbase to Alubarna now takes just over ten minutes, allowing everyone to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"The essence of war is the strong bullying the weak!"
Roman began to seriously explain the battle plan to everyone.
"If you're on the weaker side, you must use factors like timing, terrain, and human harmony to strengthen yourself and weaken the enemy, creating a situation where you can outnumber the enemy in local areas, gradually accumulating small advantages into a big advantage..."
Blank, confused eyes, X6
"..."
I was so foolish, really!
I actually tried to analyze the situation and explain tactics to them...
"Alright, the current situation is:"
With a wave of Roman's hand, a stretch of white paper formed a 'sand table' with undulating terrain. On it were cities, mountains, sand dunes... and two armies!
"I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"
?
Everyone looked puzzled, but:
"Let's hear the bad news first,"
Luffy, who had recovered, decided.
"Just a while ago, the King of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, led an attack on Nanohana. He first admitted to using Dance Powder to cause the drought, then went on a killing and arson spree before leaving."
?!
"Impossible, my father would never—"
"You're slandering the king!"
Pell, the deputy commander of the Alabasta Royal Guard, instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. If it weren't for the fact that the other party was Princess Vivi's friend, he would have drawn his sword already!
"And the good news?"
Luffy calmly extended his hand, stopping the agitated Vivi and Bell.
"The good news is," Roman pointed to a high ground next to the capital of Alabasta, Alubarna.
"King Cobra is not in immediate danger."
?!
"You mean..." the clever Vivi was the first to react, "someone kidnapped my father and then impersonated him to attack Nanohana?"
"Exactly," Roman snapped his fingers, and a portrait quickly appeared on the floating white paper.
A man, or rather a drag queen, with a furry headdress, eyeshadow, and lipstick!
"Mr. Bon Clay?!"
"That's right," Roman spread his hands, "he ate the 'Clone-Clone Fruit' and can transform into anyone's appearance, even their voice. He's been using his fruit ability to sow discord, and this attack on Nanohana has completely ignited the rebels' fury."
With a wave of Roman's hand, the sand table in front of them showed the army gathering in Katorea, next to Nanohana. Little paper figures representing the rebels were ready to march, their anger and killing intent vividly depicted.
"Seven hundred thousand rebels have gathered and are marching north to Alubarna!"
!
Vivi gasped, stunned. Seven hundred thousand? That was a literal sea of people! And Alubarna's defending army was less than a hundred thousand. Moreover:
"Why must we fight each other? We're all citizens of Alabasta..."
"That's why we need to beat up that bastard Crocodile!"
Luffy patted Vivi's shoulder, "He's the one behind all this, whether it's the drought or the civil war!"
"Luffy is right, but before that—"
As Roman pointed to the city representing the capital Alubarna, the city's model quickly enlarged! The buildings, city walls, and long ladders were vividly detailed.
"See this?"
Roman pointed to the place one must pass to enter the city, where several little paper figures 'stood'.
Their attire was completely different from the grunts, clearly showing they were 'officers'!
A tall, muscular man in a monk-like outfit, with snake patterns on both sides of his chest and the character "壱" tattooed on his chest.
"Mr. 1, a senior officer of Baroque Works with a bounty of 75 million Berries, a Dice-Dice Fruit user who can turn his entire body into blades."
"By the way, although he doesn't admit to being a swordsman, he's a master who can unleash 'sword energy'!"
...75 million Berries!
Since Roman introduced him first, it means he's a strong opponent second only to Crocodile. So:
"I'll take him!"
Zoro, full of fighting spirit, held his three swords at his waist, and Roman glanced at him before deliberately adding.
"Due to his Devil Fruit ability, Mr. 1's entire body is like steel—no, to be precise, it's harder than ordinary steel, reaching the toughness of a 'sharp blade'. For someone like you who hasn't mastered 'cutting steel'..."
"No, I want this opponent!"
Roman's words made the veins on Zoro's hand bulge. This feeling of being underestimated...
"Alright."
Roman nodded without hesitation. Provoking Zoro was better than assigning him, and it also gave him some pressure. Next up:
"Mr. Bon Clay, you all know him. But what you don't know is—" Roman looked around, "he has a bounty of 32 million Berries, and his Devil Fruit ability doesn't help in combat at all. In other words:"
"He relies solely on his kicking skills to have a bounty over 30 million!"
"Kicking skills, huh?"
Sanji took the cigarette out of his mouth and seriously looked at the man who had supposedly gotten along well with Luffy and the others on the way.
"I'll take him. I haven't faced him yet."
"The task of rescuing the king will be given to Mr. Pell," Roman looked at the white desert warrior beside him. Seeing his expression of wanting to rush out immediately upon hearing that his king was captured, it was clear he would complete the task even if it cost him his life.
"Of course, I'll have Usopp help you."
"Huh? Huh! I... I..."
"Hahaha, I'm a brave warrior of the sea, of course... I will... definitely..."
Usopp, with tears streaming down his face, tried to hold on.
"Next is Miss Doublefinger, a Thorn-Thorn Fruit user..."
...
"And there's a giant bomb prepared by Crocodile in the clock tower in the city center." Roman didn't bother explaining his source of information, as Luffy and the others wouldn't care about that.
"Whoever finishes their opponent first, go and deal with that bomb..."
Although there were two officers, Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day, guarding it, those two weaklings... Vivi had defeated them single-handedly, so any member of the Straw Hat crew could handle it.
Usopp: ...
As each opponent was assigned, Nami, who hadn't been given a 'task', pointed at herself.
"What about me?"
"You have a more important task, one that concerns all our lives." Roman then looked at Luffy, "As for you, Luffy, just eat meat to build up your strength and wait to take down Crocodile."
"Alright, I'll listen to you!"
"Lastly, Vivi," Roman looked at the princess of Alabasta, "you and I will go stop the rebels."
"That's 700,000 armed men in a frenzy, are you afraid?"
"No!"
Good, Crocodile.
The stage is set, just waiting for your arrival.
----
You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu