"Luffy! It's him!! Punch him away!!"
Nami's shout pierced the temporary silence of the battlefield. She pointed her finger unceremoniously at Mr.3, who still had a constipated look on his face.
"Oh!"
Luffy responded, his eyes beneath his Mugiwara instantly becoming sharp and locking onto Mr.3.
Without any superfluous words, his rubber arm stretched back forcefully!
"Gum-Gum—Pistol!"
His fist shot out like a bullet, directly blasting towards Mr.3!
"It's useless!"
Although Mr.3 was a little flustered by the current situation, his counterattack was not slow at all.
He raised his arms in front of him, and a large amount of wax liquid gushed out, instantly solidifying into a thick wax wall in front of him!
Bang!
Luffy's fist was deeply embedded in the wax wall, unable to penetrate it. The immense impact only caused the wax wall to vibrate violently and crack in a few places.
"Hmph! The hardness of my candle wall after it solidifies is comparable to steel!" Mr.3 saw that Luffy's attack had no effect on the wax wall, so he felt a little relieved and immediately counterattacked.
"Take this!"
Luffy's arm, embedded in the wax wall, was immediately entangled by more gushing wax liquid, attempting to fix his entire arm within it.
"Luffy! Be careful, that guy's wax can immobilize you!"
Nami was surprised that Luffy's attack was also ineffective. Remembering Mr.3's Devil Fruit ability, she immediately shouted to Luffy.
"Damn it! This sticky stuff is so annoying!" Luffy pulled his arm back forcefully, but the wax liquid had already wrapped around his fist, forming a solidified wax block.
Seeing this, Brogy began to take giant strides forward, as he already hated Mr.3 to the bone. "I'll help you!"
"Giant Uncle!"
Seeing Brogy about to help, Luffy shouted to stop him. He pressed down on his Mugiwara with his other hand.
A characteristic smile appeared on his face as he said, "Leave this guy to me! I can take him down by myself!"
This was his battle, and his promise.
Anyone who hurt his comrades had to be beaten down by him personally!
Brogy looked at Luffy's determined eyes and knew it was a warrior's promise. "Good!! Beat him hard!!"
"Stubborn brat!" Mr.3 resumed his usual sinister grin and continued to churn out wax liquid. "Just wait until I turn you completely into a wax figure!"
He looked at the situation before him, knowing that his only hope was to defeat the Straw Hat boy in front of him, then take him hostage, and he would surely be able to leave this place safely.
However, just then, Luffy looked at his arm, which had become hard and covered in wax, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Hmm?… That's right!"
He suddenly raised his arm, which had become hard and massive from being covered in wax liquid, high into the air!
"Gum-Gum—!"
Then Luffy stretched his arm again, using this pulling force to smash the already hardened "Candle Giant Fist" fiercely against the wax wall with even more terrifying speed and power!
"Candle Pistol!… Idiot! Use your candle to hit your candle!"
Mr.3's smile froze on his face, his pupils constricting as if he had seen something incredible: "Wh…?!?"
Boom—!!!
Luffy's wax-covered fist once again slammed solidly into the wax wall!
Both were wax, colliding in the most violent way, producing a deafening explosion! The hard wax wall could no longer withstand this outrageous attack and shattered into countless wax blocks!
"How is that possible?!"
Mr.3 was sent flying by the shockwave, his glasses askew, his face filled with disbelief.
Luffy's arm broke free from the remaining wax blocks at this moment, landed on the ground, and then he twisted his wrist: "It really worked! Alright, next I'll punch you away!"
...On the other side, seeing that Luffy had completely suppressed Mr.3 and had a strange method of dealing with the wax man,
Tomioka, whose nerves had been tightly strung, finally felt that tension ease a little.
Luffy's words… there was no problem… With this relaxation, the wave-like markings on his cheeks quickly faded.
The immense burden of maintaining the mark state instantly surged through his entire body like a tide, and a strong sense of exhaustion immediately struck him. He grunted, his body went limp, and he only avoided falling by leaning on his Blade stuck in the ground.
But his breathing also became abnormally rapid and heavy, and beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
"Tomioka!"
Nami and Vivi, on the other side, immediately noticed Tomioka's abnormality and rushed over to support his somewhat swaying body.
Nami's hand recoiled sharply as soon as she touched Tomioka's arm, and she cried out in surprise, "So hot! Why is his body so warm?! It's like he's on fire!"
Tomioka tried to steady his breathing, his lips moved, and his voice was already somewhat weak:
"I'm… fine…"
Cough, cough, cough—
But at the same time, his somewhat pale complexion and uncontrollable coughing made his statement seem rather weak.
"How can you be fine!" Vivi cried anxiously, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead, which was again scorching hot. "His body temperature is too high! This won't do! Nami, quickly help him unbutton his clothes, see if we can help him cool down!"
The two girls didn't think too much of it and began fumbling to help him unbutton his already tattered haori, stained with dirt and wax, and then the black Demon Slayer Corps uniform underneath.
When his clothes were removed, revealing Tomioka's muscular upper body, Vivi couldn't help but gasp.
Every muscle seemed to contain explosive power, as if his body had been tempered a thousand times, but even more shocking were the numerous faint scars.
What… had he gone through… And how much arduous, or rather, cruel training was needed to forge such a body… Looking at Tomioka before her, Vivi's heart was filled with shock and a hint of respect.
Nami also had a complex look in her eyes, but she quickly snapped out of it.
She took out the water bottle she had brought when they landed on Small Garden, dipped her handkerchief in some of the water, and carefully wiped Tomioka's hot forehead and neck, trying to help him cool down… And as they were wholeheartedly caring for Tomioka, a sound of shifting broken wax came from the ruins of the cake-like wax blocks not far away.
A tall figure crawled out somewhat disheveled. Her clothes were burned and torn in several places, and her face was covered in ash, but her eyes were still fierce.
Behind her, an even taller figure stood silently; it was Mr.1, who had awakened at some point, and the wound on his chest had also healed somewhat.
But he merely stood there, making no movement.
His emotionless eyes passed over Ms. Doublefinger and landed on the somewhat weakened Tomioka, his gaze deep, contemplating who knew what.
Ms. Doublefinger's gaze fixed on Nami and Vivi, who had their backs to her and were defenseless, as well as the almost unconscious Tomioka. A hint of malice flashed in her eyes.
Her fingers had already quietly transformed into sharp thorns.
"Such touching camaraderie… Too bad, it ends here!"
She lunged forward, closing the distance, and the thorns on her arm sharply thrust out, aiming directly at Nami's back!