Paper Paper Fruit In One Piece

Punk Hazard, an island belonging to the World Government, 

is where the mad scientist... or rather, the Caesar conducts weapon research.

Four years ago, Caesar caused an explosion of scientific weapons and was captured, but he escaped from the prison ship, returned to Punk Hazard, and secretly resumed developing SAD, the material for artificial Devil Fruits, SMILE, and kidnapped children for giantification experiments, collaborating with Donquixote Doflamingo. He's a Logia-type Gas Devil Fruit user with a bounty of 300 million Berries.

Two years ago, Aokiji and Akainu fought for the position of Marine Fleet Admiral here, causing a drastic climate shift on the island, turning it into an island of ice and fire.

Now, it welcomes new visitors.

"The lottery's happening, the lottery's happening!"

No doubt, Luffy would be going on the island adventure, and the others would draw lots to decide who would accompany him. —After all, with Luffy's tendency to create problems even when there's nothing going on...

"Who will replace me~~"

Seeing Usopp trembling, holding a lottery slip as if he had drawn the short straw, Nami nodded.

"With Zoro and Robin, it should be fine."

"—Am I just the backup?!"

······

"By the way, what was that 'urgent signal' about the 'samurai'?"

Facing Nami's question, Roman, now in his 'The White Knight' armor, thought for a moment before giving everyone some information.

"The so-called 'samurai' refers to a special title for sword fighters from a country called 'Wano Country.' —That country once claimed to have the second strongest military in the world. Although a member of the World Government, it managed to maintain its independence on the sea. Unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately what?"

Such a powerful country immediately grabbed the interest of the Straw Hat crew.

"Unfortunately, their general... or rather, the 'king,' is an idiot."

?!

"Why is everyone looking at me?"

In response to the crew's sudden attention, Luffy wore a confused expression, while The White Knight waved his hand dismissively.

"If that guy had even half of Luffy's emotional intelligence and IQ, Wano Country wouldn't have fallen to this point."

"Now, 'Wano Country' is ruled by one of the Four Emperors, 'Beast' Kaido!"

The Four Emperors!!

At the mention of this, everyone went quiet.

And since a country has fallen to the control of pirates, you can't expect things to be going well.

"Twenty years ago, Kaido took control of Wano Country with military force, teaming up with local powers and using hostages to force that 'idiot king' to retreat step by step, eventually causing him to lose the support of everyone."

"Even though he had power comparable to Whitebeard, he cowardly died in a pot of oil. He's one of the most disgraceful powerful figures to die in this world."

Nox had ambitions to overthrow the Celestial Dragons, Roger started the Great Pirate Era, and Whitebeard fought to the end for his sons...

You could say their lives truly deserved the title of hero or strongman!

But that hesitant, cautious, stubborn Oden, the one who caused Wano Country to suffer for twenty years, how can he even be mentioned alongside these heroes?!

Hmph, Wano Country.

Roman, in the armor of The White Knight, lowered his gaze. He had his own plans for Wano Country. — Even if it meant getting into a fight with Luffy, he was prepared.

"Roman, looks like you have a strong opinion about the 'king' of that country?"

In response to Luffy, Roman let out a long sigh.

"Those in power should manage their own affairs."

"Let me give an example:"

"I'm the strategist of the Straw Hat crew. Even if it affects our 'adventures,' if it's for the good of our crew, I'll do whatever planning is needed."

"So I really hate that 'idiot king.' As a 'king,' he abandoned his country to go on an adventure, letting others take advantage and kill his father in his place..."

"After he came back, he was scared to act because of a few hundred hostages, ignoring the millions of people in his country facing danger. In the end, he ended up with everyone turning against him and his family destroyed. As a 'king,' 'son,' 'father,' and 'husband,' he failed in every way!"

Unlike Vivi's father Cobra, the 'God' Gan Fall of Skypiea, Neptune of Fish-Man Island, and even the future king Riku, these 'kings' fought with everything they had for their people and families, even when their strength was far less than their enemies'.

Though their strength was lacking, they deserved the title of 'king.'

But Kozuki Oden... World-class fighting power, nine top-tier commanders under him, and Wano Country, known for its warriors, even the World Government and Marines didn't dare provoke them. Yet with all these advantages, he managed to ruin everything and caused the downfall of his country. How could he not be called a fool?

"Someone like that, no matter how strong they are, is garbage in my eyes!"

—Silence—

"Ah, sorry, I think I said some strange things."

Roman apologized, and Luffy chuckled.

"I get it!"

"It's like when Nami leads us into a storm."

"Hey, that's not possible!"

"Sanji makes the worst food."

"I'd rather die."

"Usopp throws bombs at our own feet."

"Who are you underestimating?!"

"Chopper can't even cure the lightest illness."

"Then should I leave?"

...

"People like that being blamed, criticized, and abandoned is normal. Weakness isn't scary, but a weak heart is. So—"

Luffy pressed his hat down, grinning seriously at Roman in The White Knight's armor.

"What do you think of me as your captain?"

Silence—

"Heh, someone with no sense of money, spending 100 million berries treating everyone in Water 7!"

Nami was the first to complain.

"Has no sense of direction, always getting lost!"

Zoro, what gives you the confidence to say that?

"The food you make is terrible! You can't even eat it yourself, and you're always stealing food from my fridge."

Sanji took a puff from his cigarette and sighed.

"You can't hide your true feelings at all. You're so straightforward and your acting when you lie is terrible!"

Usopp analyzed from a professional point of view.

"And you have a child's temper, always throwing tantrums and getting easily hypnotized..."

Roman took over to sum things up.

"But—"

"Your king-like aura as captain, your absolute confidence, clear sense of right and wrong, and how much you value your crew—these are top-notch across the whole sea. The 'idiot general' from Wano isn't even worthy of carrying your shoes!"

"Hehe, I didn't even know I had so many great qualities!"

Luffy smiled, scratching his head.

"Roman is amazing, he can just say so much off the cuff!"

"…Get lost!"

————

"Roman, let's just forget about that samurai."

As Luffy and the others sailed the small boat from the Sunny along the "ice road" Nami created in the sea of fire, Nami glanced at the White Knight nearby. It was surprising that someone who could make Roman feel this strongly had not been encountered on their adventures so far.

Even when facing tough enemies like the Sand Crocodile, Enel, and even Kuma, Roman hadn't shown such intense disgust.

"Like I said, everyone has their own responsibilities. Take Luffy, for example. If he was always second-guessing himself, stubborn, never consulting us, and not relying on the strength of his crew, do you think the Straw Hat crew would even exist?"

Impossible. Not even Zoro would stay if that were the case!

How could someone like that be their 'captain'?

And that Kozuki Oden was exactly like that! Sure, he had qualities like being generous and brave, but his personality flaws ended up causing the deaths of countless civilians in Wano Country, people who trusted him, and even his own family.

A man like that was, in Roman's eyes, absolute trash!

So:

The paper disguised as a snowflake floated lightly toward the other side of Punk Hazard. Roman had to plan ahead to make sure the Straw Hat crew wouldn't encounter certain people! After all:

A mere clueless, cowardly child—Roman couldn't be bothered to kill him, nor would he use the child's power.

As for Wano Country, it was time for Ace to fulfill his promise.

——————

"Punk Hazard?"

The four adventurers had arrived at the massive fence with the sign saying "Punk Hazard" hanging on it, with Marine and World Government symbols clearly visible.

"Everything is burning."

"It doesn't look like it's natural."

As they stepped into this obvious "military base," flames were burning everywhere! It was as if everything—the buildings, the land, even the steel—had turned into something flammable. Yet, these flames were actually "burning out of nowhere."

As Zoro and Robin started to look around, Usopp decided to "ask Roman when in doubt."

"Roman, it's way too hot here!"

"Why did the 'emergency signal' say it was cold earlier?"

"Hmph, you all figure it out yourselves!"

A white pigeon, perched on Usopp's head, flapped its wings and flew over to Robin. Although it could only create a cold breeze using the "Frozen Pages" ability, in this fiery place, it was like a miracle.

"Thanks, Roman."

With layers of ice crystals and cold air falling from the pigeon's wings, Robin immediately felt refreshed, cool, and comfortable. As for the others:

"It's so hot!! Roman, send some ice..."

"Sorry, I only sent over this one pigeon. You'll have to figure it out yourselves."

"Ahhh, I'm melting!"

"Hmph, that's because you haven't trained enough."

As for their clothes, Zoro definitely had the thickest! He wore a long coat, a green belly band around his waist, dark green pants, and black boots.

The clothing was tightly wrapped, and in this terrain:

Sweat was pouring like syrup!

"So, this is the government's territory, right?"

Usopp, trying to stay close to Robin, continued to persuade.

"That 'emergency signal' earlier must have been a trap by the government! We—?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, is this for real?"

"Wow, is this really happening...?"

"Incredible!"

In front of them was a giant creature, its body covered in bright red scales that shone like metal, stretching over tens of meters in length!

On its back were huge, muscular wings, fierce but with an air of authority, and a crocodile-like head with enormous eyes that exuded a sense of looking down on all life.

"A giant dragon!?"

And not just any dragon, but a Western-style dragon. While Luffy and the others were amazed, several white doves flew by, carrying a person's 'lower body' in the air.

"Thank you so much..."

"Shut up!!"

The voice came from the white dove flying next to them, and the way it was speaking as though farting was really testing Roman's patience.

"Shut your... butt. I'll help you find your body."

"If you keep 'talking,' I'll throw your lower half into the sea!"

——————

PS: I'm not writing about Momonosuke. Considering he's just a kid, I'll have Kin'emon take him away. With the current setup and connections of the Straw Hat crew, by the time they reach Wano Country, if they haven't faced off with the Beast Pirates, I'm not writing any more fanfiction.

 ----You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu