Paper Paper Fruit In One Piece

At the Corrida Colosseum: 

"Aren't you going to come over?" 

Within just a few minutes, only two figures remained standing in the ring. 

One was Roman, dressed as a magician, and the other was Rebecca, standing at the edge of the arena! As for everyone else, aside from a few who jumped off the stage on their own, they all lay defeated on the ground. 

Facing the fighting fish in the water around the arena seemed far easier than dealing with this devilish opponent and his bizarre methods. 

"You won't defeat me unless you come closer." 

Rebecca tightened her grip on her sword, unable to respond to Roman's words. She was in the most "advantageous" position for herself right now—perhaps she still had a chance. If she made the first move... 

"So that's your strategy. Avoiding the opponent's attacks to lure them to the edge of the arena, then using their unguarded position to knock them out of bounds." 

"Using the arena's 'out-of-bounds' rule to win. No wonder it's called the 'Backwater Sword Dance.' A clever tactic, but..." 

Roman stood still as Rebecca hesitated. He reached out, and a whip appeared in his hand. With a casual swing, a shadow streaked across to Rebecca's position, splitting the arena with a clean crack. Rebecca barely escaped in time—or rather, Roman deliberately missed. 

"You see, if it were Admiral Orlumbus, he could easily suppress you with a mid-to-long-range whip." 

With a flick of his wrist, Roman's whip transformed into a longsword. He swung it through the air, sending a crescent-shaped wave of energy across the arena. 

*Swish!* 

Rebecca ducked low to avoid it just in time. The attack grazed past her nose, embedding itself into the seating area behind her. The next second, Roman's sword was already pointed downward at her throat, forcing her to roll to the side in a desperate escape. 

"Unlike the gladiators here, who rely on brute force, swordsmen from the sea often use ranged attacks like 'sword energy.' Though it's weaker than physical strikes, with your level of defense, it's still fatal." 

"...What is this guy taking gladiators for?" 

Cavendish, the strongest fighter in the arena, propped himself up with his famous sword Durandal, watching Roman's relentless "teaching" of Rebecca. His expression twitched in disbelief. 

"I heard The White Knight from the Straw Hat Crew likes to 'train people,' but I didn't expect him to do it during a match." 

Teaching on the spot? Seriously? 

"Relying solely on defense and counterattacks is very limiting, especially in a world with all kinds of strange powers. Stand up!" 

"Yes." 

Rebecca nodded obediently as Roman patted his mask, looking satisfied, as if he were a mentor pleased with his student. Just then, Luffy's loud crying echoed from the nearby gladiator rest area, pulling Roman back to reality. 

Ah, his bad habit struck again! He couldn't resist improving someone's combat skills when he encountered a potential ally. And besides... 

"Sorry, Rebecca." 

? 

"I'm going to end this match now." 

Rebecca froze at Roman's words, then immediately braced herself for a full defense. But in the next moment: 

*Whoosh!* 

Her vision blurred, and the scene before her transformed into the entrance tunnel for gladiators. 

The gladiator entrance tunnel! 

"What... could it be?!" 

Rebecca spun around to look back. On the arena, now littered with "fallen bodies," stood a figure spotless in his suit, hat, and mask. 

"Finally, when facing someone with strange powers," 

Roman turned his gaze toward Rebecca, who had lost due to being knocked out of bounds, her face a mix of confusion and helplessness. 

"If you don't have strong Armament Haki, you won't even know how you lost." 

"Ohhhh! The winner of Block D is the mysterious 'Magician' Neo! He's delivered an incredible 'magic show'—though it would've been even better if it hadn't affected the audience!" 

*Clap clap clap!* Thunderous applause erupted like a storm. Even though Roman had taken the spotlight first, his fight was undeniably a combination of mystery, grace, and power. And in the New World, strength is the most admired quality of all. 

It's like how Big Mom claims to be the most beautiful woman in the world—who in Totto Land or even the entire New World would dare argue with her? No one! 

Or take Chinjao's fiancée, Huo Lisha, the current pillar of the Happo Navy. Her looks? Let's just say she has a "matching vibe" with Chinjao. But considering Chinjao's appearance… well, that says enough. Oh, and this "lady" already has 25 husbands, ranging from young pretty boys to rugged men. That's the privilege of the strong. 

"That was amazing, Neo!" 

"Such incredible magic! I didn't understand a thing, though…" 

"Of course, it's not something you're meant to understand." 

"It's a shame he didn't throw that crazy king's granddaughter to the fish… that would've been fun to watch." 

Rebecca, realizing what had just happened, sat down on the ground in defeat. She'd lost—and completely so. That mysterious magician named Neo hadn't even treated their fight as a real battle; it felt more like a lesson. 

If he had been serious, Rebecca thought, she probably wouldn't have lasted a single move. 

"You don't have enough stamina." 

A calm voice rang out in front of her, prompting Rebecca to look up. Although the man wore a mask, she could almost imagine the disapproving look hidden behind it. 

"Your legs gave out after such a short fight? A strong fighter needs endurance." 

"Yes!" 

Rebecca quickly stood up, unwilling to explain that she had sat down out of frustration rather than exhaustion. Still, she had lost—utterly and completely. Without the power of a Devil Fruit, how could she ever hope to defeat Doflamingo? 

"All right, don't look like you're about to cry." 

Roman patted Rebecca's shoulder in a comforting manner. 

"You're only 16. When Lucy and I were your age, we'd have been no match for you. You're already strong—just don't slack off in your training from now on." 

"…Yes." 

Rebecca, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. What kind of man was this? 

When she tried to seduce him, he remained unmoved. When she plotted against him, he didn't care. Then, when they faced off in the ring, he acted like a drill instructor scolding a student. And now that he'd won, he still had so many earnest words of advice. 

It didn't match his mysterious aura at all. 

"Neo, you're such a good man." 

"Huh?" 

"What are you saying? I hate being called a 'good man,'" Roman replied, waving his hand dismissively at the sudden compliment. 

"I'm leaving now. Don't feel too down." 

"Doflamingo might not even survive the day." 

Rebecca's eyes widened as she looked back sharply, but all she saw was the retreating figure of the mysterious magician. 

"Shame he's not a knight." 

She whispered to herself, then shook her head with a wry smile. 

No, you can't think like that anymore, Rebecca! 

Pull yourself together. Even as you are— 

You must fight! 

--- 

"Waaah! I… I thought… I'd never…" 

Sobs and cries echoed as Roman finally found Luffy, who was hugging another man with wavy blonde hair and dressed in elegant but casual noble clothes. 

"Hey, isn't that Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army?" 

As someone who had secretly funded the Revolutionary Army as a behind-the-scenes "benefactor," Roman naturally recognized Sabo—though at the time, it was under the guise of the Marine "White Dove." 

*Click.* 

The mask split down the middle, sliding apart and vanishing, revealing Roman's face. After all, everyone present was— 

"Ohhhhh! The White Knight's real face! It's so dazzling!" 

Nearby, Bartolomeo was so overwhelmed that he leaned back until he was practically a human bridge, prompting Roman to nod approvingly. 

"Good flexibility." 

"Roman, this is my brother, Sabo!" 

"Waaaah! I always thought he was dead…" 

"Sabo, this is my crewmate, Roman!" 

Sabo wiped his face and gave Roman a serious bow. 

"Luffy has been under your care for a long time. As his unworthy older brother, I feel deeply ashamed—thank you!" 

"It's no big deal. I'm used to it," 

Roman waved it off, then stroked his chin as if in surprise. 

"But the fact that the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army is Luffy's brother..." 

"I also didn't expect that you'd be one of Luffy's crewmates—no wonder 'The White Knight' bounty poster shows armor." 

Turns out you're like me, a 'rebel' against the old, corrupt classes. 

"We can catch up later," 

Roman pulled out a piece of paper, and from the mouth drawn on it came Law's weak voice. 

"Straw Hat, I'm sorry." 

"Our plan failed. Doflamingo didn't—" 

"Tra-guy, is your voice injured?" 

"I... yes." 

In an instant, Luffy wiped away his tears and snot, looking serious. 

"What about the others?" 

"We're fine, Luffy," Nami's voice came through. "At the same time, I received a plea for help from the Tontatta Kingdom. Over 500 of their people have been enslaved by Doflamingo and forced to work in the factory. They're asking for our help." 

"The SMILE factory, right? We're preparing to head there. But if we do, Doflamingo will definitely find out... and my combat abilities will be greatly reduced underground, so—" 

"Okay, I'll go beat up Doflamingo!" 

Luffy weighed the pros and cons in a flash: while the Mera Mera no Mi was important, his friends were more important. 

"Roman, I'll leave the arena to you." 

"No problem," 

Roman didn't think much of dealing with Diamante, one of Doflamingo's top officers. 

Even adding Burgess wouldn't change the outcome. That guy's right hand had clashed with Garp during the Summit War, and now he relied on equipment to perform his "Shockwave Elbow." Whether his strength had improved or declined was hard to say. Besides— 

"Luffy, let me take your place in the tournament." 

Although Sabo was about ten centimeters taller than Luffy, in the New World, where people's heights often reached several meters, this difference was hardly noticeable. Moreover, Luffy was already in full disguise with a helmet, cape, and beard. 

"Don't worry, I won't let the Mera Mera no Mi fall into anyone else's hands!" 

Ace's will can only be carried on by me. 

"Alright, then I'll go beat—" 

"Wait," Roman raised a hand to calm Luffy down. "I'll send you out. This arena isn't exactly a 'safe' place. Haven't you noticed that many of the participants are missing?" 

?! 

"Even one of your Revolutionary Army officers, Hack, has disappeared, hasn't he?" 

! 

"Sorry," Sabo's face turned serious as he thought for a moment. "We don't have anyone named 'Hack' in the Revolutionary Army." 

"As expected," 

Roman flipped his hand, and a stack of white paper appeared. 

"These are the records I made earlier of the participants, including their names and details. There should be many strong fighters here. But—" 

The "Hobby-Hobby Fruit" truly is a broken ability. Even Roman had lost his memory of these people. Of course, this only applied to his memories in this world. Roman still retained his knowledge of figures like Chinjao and Hack from his previous life, but any memory of encountering them in the arena had vanished! 

"There are records, but I have no memory of these strong participants. If you think carefully, you'll notice blank spots in your own memories." 

!!! 

"That's right," 

Luffy's face turned serious. 

"I clearly remember fighting a big guy in the arena earlier, but now I have no memory of it." 

"Exactly," 

Sabo frowned. 

"We received a phone call that led us to infiltrate this place, but I can't recall anything about the call or the person who made it." 

"This is probably the power of one of Doflamingo's crew members with a Devil Fruit ability. We should regroup with the others first and come up with a plan." 

"Alright then! Roman, take me to everyone else!" 

"Got it." 

With a snap of Roman's fingers, a flurry of white paper formed wings on Luffy's back. Luffy, used to such things, was ready to take off when— 

"Leave the helmet, cape, and disguise behind." 

"Huh? Oh, uh—fine." 

--- 

(End of Chapter) 

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