"He is the Doru Doru no Mi user. He can create and control wax freely. Once solidified, it is indeed very hard. The weakness is probably that it's susceptible to heat. The little girl over there is his partner, Miss Goldenweek. She's not a Devil Fruit user, but her Color Trap hypnosis is very troublesome. It's best not to let her paint..." Robin explained.
Mr. 3 trembled with rage. "Miss All Sunday! You actually revealed my abilities! You are a traitor!"
Luffy had no interest in their internal squabble. His gaze locked onto Mr. 3, demanding he release Dorry and the others immediately.
Mr. 3 took a step back under Luffy's intense, oppressive stare. But seeing Miss Goldenweek beside him, he forced himself to stay calm.
With a wave of his hands, a large amount of white wax surged out, quickly solidifying into a thick candle wall in front of him. Simultaneously, waves of wax surged towards Luffy, attempting to trap him.
"Candle Wall! Candle Shackles!"
"My wax is invincible! You won't break through!"
Luffy looked at the incoming wax waves and wall, his expression completely unchanged.
He'd seen all sorts of bizarre Devil Fruit powers by now.
Anyway, with Haki, even the so-called 'most noble' Logia types could be hit, let alone this goopy white stuff.
Luffy stretched his fist back to its limit, pitch-black Busoshoku Haki covering it.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Cannon!"
BOOM!
The Haki-wrapped fist smashed into the candle wall like a true siege ram.
Walls in this world?
That word didn't exist in front of Luffy.
The wax, which claimed to be harder than steel, shattered like paper, wax chunks flying everywhere.
"N-No! Impossible!"
Mr. 3, seeing his strongest defense shattered by a single punch, completely lost his composure.
He desperately looked at Miss Goldenweek beside him and shouted, "Goldenweek! Use your Color Trap!"
"Don't rush me!"
Goldenweek was the type of worker who didn't want to work, procrastinating on everything she could, so her efficiency was notoriously slow. The current situation forced her to act.
She finally managed to speed up a bit and pick up her paintbrush, only for Luffy to glare at her.
It was a sharp, piercing glare, honed through countless life-and-death battles and carrying the latent potential of Haoshoku Haki.
How could a little girl withstand that kind of pressure? She let out a startled "Eek!", her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
"Goldenweek?!"
Mr. 3 panicked completely. Watching Luffy step closer, he screamed hysterically, mobilizing all his remaining wax. "I'll fight you to the death! Candle Champion!"
A massive amount of wax enveloped him, forming a giant wax statue that swung a wax fist down at Luffy.
This was a final, desperate struggle born of panic.
No one had told him a rookie just entering the Grand Line could be this strong.
Mr. 3's original plan was to capture the two giants and then collect the bounty. The Straw Hat kid was just a side objective in his scheme.
The first part of the plan went too smoothly, only to fall apart completely at Luffy.
[WARNING: It is now ability development time...]
Ability development, huh?
I'll develop it for you.
A red glint flashed in Luffy's eyes. He dodged Mr. 3's wax fist and inflated his right arm.
"Gomu Gomu no... Hakkoku!"
Brogy, who still retained a sliver of consciousness nearby, watched this scene, his expression crumbling instantly.
"Is he... a giant too?"
Though it didn't possess the world-obliterating power of the true Elbaf Spear, this imitation of the Giant Warrior technique, condensing Luffy's full strength into one blow, far exceeded his normal attacks.
The fist, like a giant cannonball, slammed violently into Mr. 3's wax statue.
The wax statue instantly cracked all over, then exploded completely. Mr. 3, hidden inside, let out a shriek as he was sent flying like a broken kite into the distant sky, becoming a twinkling star.
The fight ended very quickly.
Luffy walked over to Dorry and tried to break the wax shell by hand, finding it truly very hard.
After a moment's thought, he had Sanji light a fire and carefully used the heat to melt the wax shell, finally freeing Dorry.
Once free, Dorry immediately went to check on Brogy.
Though Brogy had internal injuries, the vitality of the Giant Warrior tribe was incredibly tenacious. With some basic treatment, he was out of immediate danger for now.
The two giants sat on the ground, looking at the messy battlefield, the unconscious Baroque Works agents, and then at Luffy and his crew, complex expressions on their faces.
They had been here for a hundred years. Little Garden was a mandatory stop on one of the Grand Line routes; countless pirates had come and gone.
After all, the Log Pose here took a full year to charge.
Many pirates had tried to take their heads, only to be defeated by them.
Perhaps because of this, not all visiting pirates were like Luffy and his crew.
Dorry spoke in a low voice, "GYAGYAGYAGYA! We really owe you one this time, little Straw Hat. To think after fighting all these years, we nearly fell to such underhanded tricks."
Brogy also sighed. "Yes. We've truly shamed the warriors of Elbaf."
Vivi stepped forward and gave a deep bow. "I'm sorry. It's all because of me that you were targeted by Baroque Works."
Ultimately, it was because of her.
"In that case, it's our responsibility too."
Luffy took the initiative to shoulder the blame. Vivi was on the ship now, so she was his nakama. A nakama's trouble was the captain's trouble.
So, he took all the responsibility upon himself.
His words were simple and direct. He even stepped directly in front of Vivi.
A warrior will die for one who appreciates him. Even as pirates, with a captain like this, how could they not be willing to give their all?
Sometimes, the so-called 'charisma' manifests in moments like this.
Vivi was deeply moved. Her life's creed had always been self-reliance. Why else would a princess willingly give up a life of privilege to infiltrate a dangerous enemy organization as a spy?
But Luffy's appearance told her that when something was beyond one person's power, they could rely on their nakama.
Dorry and Brogy looked at each other, then let out deafening, hearty laughter. "GYAGYAGYAGYAGYA! KABABABABABA!"
"Well said, little Straw Hat! You're a fine captain!"
After laughing, Dorry's expression grew somewhat emotional. "After this incident, we also feel... this duel that started over a little girl's question might be time to end."
"A little girl's question?"
Usopp immediately became interested, leaning in. "What question made you fight for a hundred years?"
Looking at Dorry and Brogy, they seemed like friends, genuinely caring for each other. But they fought mercilessly, and for a hundred years.
Who would believe there wasn't some deep-seated hatred?
Brogy scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. "KABABABABA! That's a long story. A hundred years ago, a little girl from Elbaf asked us which of us had caught bigger prey. I said my dinosaur, Dorry said his Sea King... and we started arguing. In the end, we decided to settle it with a duel."
Everyone: "..."
***
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