In the clearing at the center of Little Garden, a massive white Candle Cake stood abruptly, clashing with the surrounding primitive giant trees.
The distinctive scent of Wax Liquid mixed with the smell of burning permeated the air.
Beside the base of the cake, the two giants Dorry and Brogy lay collapsed on the ground, their century-long duel temporarily halted in such an unexpected manner.
On the wax cake itself, five figures were firmly immobilized - Baroque Works' Mr.1 and Miss Doublefinger, along with the Straw Hat Pirates' Giyu Tomioka, Nami, and Vivi.
The solidified wax perfectly preserved their postures from the moment they were restrained, leaving only their heads uncovered like a set of cruel artworks.
In front of the cake, Miss Goldenweek was painting while Ms. Valentine watched over her with a parasol for sun protection. Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all - Mr.3 - sat leisurely on a chair made of wax, adjusting his glasses as he admired his masterpiece.
Fine wax mist drifted down from the top of the cake, slowly settling on the five wax figures.
"Cough... cough!" Miss Doublefinger coughed violently as she inhaled wax dust, regaining consciousness.
She immediately realized something was wrong - her limbs were tightly encased in wax as hard as iron, leaving her unable to move. Her gaze swept over the similarly immobilized Mr.1 and the three Straw Hat Pirates members beside her before finally glaring at the smug Mr.3 below.
"What are you doing?!" Miss Doublefinger demanded sharply. She tried to struggle, but the wax layer didn't budge at all.
Mr.3 let out a soft chuckle, elegantly interlacing his fingers:
"Oh my, isn't this Miss Doublefinger? As you can see, I'm creating... eternal artworks." His tone rose, carrying obvious mockery.
"Artworks?"
Upon hearing this, Miss Doublefinger showed an angry expression, "Thorn Hair!!" Her hair instantly hardened into thorns, stabbing fiercely at the wax layer restraining her.
Clang!
The thorns collided with the wax layer, producing a metallic sound. Miss Doublefinger's thorns only left slight scratches on the wax surface.
"Useless."
Mr.3 leisurely adjusted his glasses before continuing:
"Once my Wax Liquid solidifies, its hardness rivals that of steel. Your attacks are nothing but futile efforts. Of course, you're welcome to continue your pointless attempts~"
Seeing her attack was ineffective, Miss Doublefinger panted heavily, forcing herself to calm down.
Hard as steel? If that's the case... She strained to move her eyes, looking toward the silent Mr.1 on her right.
If it's him, his Slicing-Slicing Fruit ability should be able to break through this situation!
"Hehehe..." Mr.3 keenly caught her gaze and let out a derisive laugh, as if Miss Doublefinger's every move was within his expectations.
"You think I didn't anticipate this? Miss Doublefinger, how low do you think my intelligence is?"
He stood up, using his Devil Fruit ability to create a staircase leading up to the cake, then stepped up onto the cake and stopped beside Mr.1.
He tapped on Mr.1's steel-hard wax encasement with his finger.
"While you were unconscious, our esteemed Mr.1 has been considerately fed Whiskey Peak's specialty Sleeping Pills."
Mr.3's voice dripped with malice as he turned to Miss Doublefinger. "The dosage is enough to keep him asleep until my masterpiece is complete. Counting on him? Save your breath."
"You..." Miss Doublefinger's face instantly paled, but she forced out a threat. "Do you really think... the boss will let you get away with this?!"
"Let me get away?" Mr.3 acted as if he'd heard the joke of the century.
He wagged his finger exaggeratedly before adopting a reporting posture, lost in his fantasy. "No no no, this is how it will go: Due to the exceptionally powerful swordsman among the Straw Hat Pirates, Mr.1 and Miss Doublefinger engaged in a fierce battle. Though they successfully subdued the enemy, both unfortunately sustained severe injuries and ultimately... died honorably in combat."
As he spoke, he strolled over to Giyu's wax statue, his fingers almost admiringly tracing the cold, hard wax surface.
"What a perfect story, isn't it?" He looked back at Miss Doublefinger, his eyes gleaming with madness behind his glasses.
"And this one here, who indeed severely wounded both of you in the recent battle... naturally refers to him."
Miss Doublefinger followed his gaze to the black-haired, blue-eyed swordsman on the left who remained expressionless as ever.
She recalled their recent two-against-one battle - how his sword techniques flowed like water yet remained razor-sharp, and that final astonishing strike that defeated Mr.1...
A chill of despair washed over her. The current situation seemed like an irreversible dead end.
"Pervert..." a faint curse came from nearby.
Mr.3 raised an eyebrow and looked over. It was Nami of the Straw Hat Pirates, struggling to lift her chin, her eyes burning with clear rage.
"Making wax figures of your own comrades and being so proud of it... Are you mentally ill?!"
Beside her, Vivi joined in the condemnation: "You lunatic! If you have any courage, untie us and fight properly! Do you think you could act so arrogantly if Giyu were awake?"
Hearing their angry shouts, Mr.3 seemed pleased as he smiled. "Thank you for the evaluation, my two future wax figures. Your current vitality will make your expressions of despair all the more perfect when you finally turn into wax."
Then Mr.3 muttered quietly to himself: "Awake... oh~ I see."
His gaze returned to Giyu's impassive face.
"Thanks for the reminder, our traitor princess. Now I understand."
"The most perfect collection piece still needs one final activation..." As if struck by an interesting thought, Mr.3 turned to Ms. Valentine below the platform. "Hey, you still have the antidote, right? Give it to me."
Though somewhat confused, Ms. Valentine below saw that Mr.3 had orchestrated everything so far. Thinking they'd all get promoted in a few days, she took out a small bottle from her bosom and tossed it up.
Mr.3 on the cake platform caught the bottle, pried open Giyu's mouth, and poured the antidote down his throat.
"How exciting."
Looking at Giyu before him, recalling his heroic figure in the jungle just moments ago—how he casually deflected all of Miss Doublefinger's thorn attacks and then shattered Mr.1's absolute defense with a single strike.
Mr.3's voice trembled slightly with inexplicable excitement as he nearly pressed his face against Giyu's.
"When an invincible swordsman awakens, only to find himself unable to move even a single finger—when his most prized swordsmanship becomes utterly useless... What expression would he make then?"
He spread his arms wide, intoxicated by his fantasy, and declared:
"This will be the most collectible artistic moment!!"