One Piece - Lionheart of the Sea 25 (Patreon)

Hey everyone, and welcome to my One Piece fanfiction. This chapter will cover a lot of dialogue, and while mostly going in the direction of the canon, there'll be key moments where events deviate in different directions. Hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. One Piece is owned by Funimation, Eiichiro Oda, Shueisha, Toei Animation, and Fuji TV. Please support the official release.

"Pirate" Regular speech.

"Pirate" Thoughts.

Finger Pistol Attack names.

(Pirate) Words said previously.

"PIRATE!" Shouting speech.

[Pirate!] people talking at the same time.

"Pirate" people talking over communication.

The Honor Of Elbaf

—…

Brogy and Dorry were locked in a clash until they shoved each other back. Brogy leaped up to avoid an incoming thrust by leaping in the air, causing the blade to lodge into a rock. Brogy came down with his ax above his head to bring down an attack, but the other giant blocked it with his own helmet.

"He blocked that hit with his helmet?!" Usopp exclaimed. "That's incredible! A couple of inches left or right, and it would've killed him!"

Brogy swung his ax with Dorry leaning away to avoid the strike. His long beard was the only thing the ax managed to reach. Dorry went for a slash with his Sword, Brogy brought up his shield to block it and followed up with his ax but Dorry countered with his own shield and was soon back into another clash.

"What an incredible fight, huh…?" Usopp said, impressed by the great battle. "Every one of those attacks is hitting some vital spot! Just one slip from either of them and that's it; they're dead!"

"The experience is showing." Gin pointed out, calmer than Usopp. "It looks reckless, but given how long they've been fighting, they know how the other fights right down to their breathing pattern, and every move one of them makes is an instinctive response to the others. They're so in sync they might as well be fighting their own reflections."

"That's amazing…" Usopp was in awe just thinking about it.

"These guys have really been fighting to the death for a hundred years…" Nami commented. "That's gotta get old." Then she smiled.

"This is a good thing. This is our chance to get away." She started on her way in the other direction. "Let's go."

"Fine." Gin was about to follow the navigator but found Usopp not leaving from his spot. His attention was still on the giant's fighting. "Hey? You coming?"

"Yeah, what are you doing?" Nami wondered. Usopp ignored them and continued watching the battle.

"Amazing…" Usopp repeated as he breathed. "They fight so seriously. And they don't even know why."

"This fight's getting really annoying!" Nami groaned with her hands on her hips.

"Annoying isn't the word I'd use." Gin argued as he watched as well. "Overwhelming comes to mind."

"Don't you see!?" Usopp pointed. "This is an example! A fight between real men!"

"Say what?" Nami questioned, not understanding it all.

"Maybe an analogy will help…" Usopp began his explanation. "It's as if they had each planted a flag in their hearts that says: "'I am a warrior! This flag is more important than anything!' More than their lives even! They can never allow the flag to be destroyed by someone else. That's why they both continue the fight for a hundred years!"

Gin never knew Usopp felt so strongly about a duel between real men. At this point, if Gin didn't respect their sniper that much before, then he definitely gained more of his esteem for how strongly he felt about a battle like this.

"Do you see it now…?" Usopp said to Nami." This is a proud duel! A legendary fight! Between two dedicated warriors!"

"Yeah, whatever." Nami said, walking away. "That warrior stuff doesn't really interest me in the slightest!"

"It doesn't have to." Gin informed her, causing Nami to stop. "I won't say his analogy explained it all that well, but the bottom line is that it's important to him and the giants."

"Are you saying you get this whole warrior stuff?" Nami asked.

"I don't feel as serious about it as he does, but then again, I don't have to." Gin reasoned before he explained. "Listen, everyone has things that are important to them and things that they believe in, even though not everyone gets why. Think about it: you love maps and sea charts more than anything, even though I barely know anything about them and don't care much either way."

"That's different!" Nami argued. "My maps are important, and they actually make sense."

"To you, maybe, but hardly anyone on the crew even looks at them." Gin reminded her. "That's not the point. Even if your thing doesn't make sense to others, as long as it makes sense to you, that's all that's important. This fight means something to Usopp and the giants; even if we don't see it the same way, that doesn't mean it's not important."

"Thanks, Gin." Usopp was grateful for his understanding.

"All right, fine, I won't say anything else about it." Nami sighed before turning around. "Anyway, let's go already. Are you guys coming?"

"No, I'm still watching this." Usopp decided with a proud smile on his face. "This is my ultimate goal. This, right here. To be a brave warrior like each of these Titans. Really though, someday… I'll be a proud warrior of the sea."

While the fight between the warriors continued, Nami went to seat herself on a nearby tree.

"So, what you're saying then is that you want to be a giant?" Nami wondered.

Usopp turned to give Nami a look. "Moron! Did you even listen to a word I said!" He exclaimed.

"Hey, you're missing the duel." Gin reminded him.

Usopp nodded and returned to watching the fight while Gin stood beside the navigator.

Usopp's attention was still engulfed in the fight.

"If there's a village full of warriors like these two…" Usopp said proudly. "Then I really wanna go there someday!"

Gin kept watching them and smiled a bit. "They kind of remind me of the Captain."

-O-

As the giants continued with their dual, Miss Valentine used her powers to become weightless and floated in the air to get a bird's-eye view of the dual.

"Ahahaha! I've got a great view from up here!" Miss Valentine cackled.

"They're gonna see you, Miss Valentine!" Mr. 5 warned her from the ground. "Now get down here!"

"Oh, don't be so jittery, Mr 5. You see, they're completely absorbed in the fight down there." Miss Valentine pointed out with no concern. "They won't notice me."

"Just come down already!" Mr. 5 insisted.

"Okay, Okay." Miss Valentine gave in and floated back down.

Now that she was beside him, Mr. 5 whispered. "Now, behave yourself. This is a 200 million job here."

"Of course, though, I'm not really crazy about this; what Mr. 3 wants us to do." Miss Valentine confessed despite her usual smile.

"I know. Come on now." Mr. 5 agreed that he didn't care for his orders but was willing to follow them regardless.

"OK." Miss Valentine followed him as they got started on their objective.

-O-

Brogy and Dorry each fell on their backs as Brogy's ax flew out of his hand.

"It's safe to say…" Brogy breathed. "That we're both a bit homesick, huh, Dorry?"

"That's why I intend to end this duel of ours." Dorry stated. "I'm going to beat you and go home to Elbaf. Got that, Brogy?" Brogy's ax lodged into the ground next to Dorry's Sword.

Both men roared as they took their shields and slammed them into each other's faces.

"73,466 duels." Brogy managed.

"73,466 draws." Dorry added. The Giant's crashed to the ground with heavy thuds that shook the island. They each smiled where they lay on the ground and each belted out in laughter. Despite how many times they have fought, the two were good friends.

"Hey, Dorry?" Brogy said. "A few guests of mine gave me some alcohol!"

"Drinks!" Dorry grinned. "It's been a long while! Eh, Brogy! YUGYUGYUGYUG!"

"YABABABABA!"

Dorry stopped by to get the alcohol from Brogy, even briefly meeting Gin, Nami, and Usopp. Brogy sat while mending his ax and talking to Usopp, Gin, and Nami. Well, it was more like Usopp was talking to him.

-O-

Meanwhile, in the dense jungle, Zoro and Silk looked up as they heard the laughter of the giants in the distance.

"What was that? Laughing?" Zoro wondered in confusion. "First, that long strange earthquake, and now this creepy laughing sound. What's going on in this place? What kind of creatures live here?"

"You'd think dinosaurs would be strange enough." Silk added as she looked around. "What kind of creatures can laugh like that?"

"Well, that damn cook's still hunting out there. Maybe he'll run into one of those monsters?" Zoro smiled as he voiced his thoughts.

"You really have a one-track mind, don't you?" Silk noted with a huff.

In another part of the jungle, Sanji was walking around and also felt confused by all the noises he heard.

"Were those bird cries?" Sanji wondered to himself. "'Cause the birds here don't look appetizing, I'll find something else. We may be competing for big prey, but a chef has to have standards. Doesn't matter how big it is. It still has to taste good." He resolved before smiling to himself. "Something I'm sure that lousy Swordsman doesn't understand

-O-

Dorry rejoined Light, Vivi, and Carue and explained that he had seen Usopp, Gin, and Nami with Brogy and thanked them for the drinks.

"That's interesting. So, Brogy's guests' are friends of yours, then?" Dorry realized. "I saw a goofy-looking guy with a long nose, a rough-looking guy with a tired face, and a woman there."

"That's them." Light confirmed it. "I don't know why they're over there, but I can always ask them about it later."

"If they're your friends, then I guess I can thank you too for these yummy refreshments." Dorry laughed as he held three barrels of alcohol between his fingertips.

So Dorry, tell us, does it really take a year for the log to reset on this island?" Vivi asked curiously.

"Yes, didn't you notice all the mounds of human skeletons that are lying around here? I guess it's hard not to." Dorry answered as though it wasn't anything to be concerned about. "The people who come to this island tend to die before their logs are reset. Some become dinosaur food; some die from heat or thirst, or starvation; others are killed because they stupidly attack us. Whatever the case, they all die here somehow. An entire year on this island just seems to be too long. So far, no humans have been able to survive here for the full year."

Vivi looked down as she pondered their situation. "Then we have no choice but to use the Eternal Pose. I still don't like having to do what that woman wants, but there's no other way if we want to get to my country in time."

"You're right." Light added as he leaned back. "I have to admit, though, trying to survive on this island for a year might make for good training; I wouldn't mind being the first human to ever survive the whole year." He smirked, thinking of the challenge. "On the other hand, how exactly do you plan on getting to the next island? Do giants even carry a Log Pose?"

Dorry put the barrels down and admitted. "Well, the truth is there is an Eternal Pose on the island, but its magnetic link is to our home village, Elbaf… Basically, that Eternal Pose is what Brogy and I have been fighting for with our duels this whole time."

"Makes sense; a dead man has no need for an Eternal Pose, so the winners use it to sail home." Light summarized the main point.

"That's right. As is the custom of Elbaf, a duel only ends when one of us is slane." Dorry agreed. "But Elbaf is very far away from here, so without that Eternal Pose, even if I win, I doubt I could find my way back home."

"Huh, wouldn't it be terrible if one of you won the duel but somehow ended up losing the pose?" Light brought up a possible scenario. "What would you do then?"

"Hmm?" Dorry thought it over. "I suppose I'd have no choice but to try sailing forward randomly… If I'm lucky, I might get somewhere sooner or later."

They all thought about it before Light burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahaha! As if it were that easy!" He laughed. "You'd have to be crazy lucky!"

Dorry began laughing with him. For some reason, the whole thing did seem funny now that they mentioned it.

"YUGYUGYUGYU! Now that I think about it, someone did leave the island once before his log was reset!" Dorry confessed as he roared with laughter.

"Really?! Did he make it to the next island!" Light asked through his mirth.

"How should I know that?!" Dorry stated and soon, they both threw their heads back in laughter.

"Who knows, maybe he was the first to make it!" He guessed though it was clear that he didn't believe it as Dorry agreed just the same as they enjoyed themselves.

"Hey, what's wrong with Vivi?" Chopper asked, wiping away the tears of laughter in his eyes. Soon enough, Carue couldn't hold back his laughter and started laughing with the other two, but Vivi just had a melancholy expression and let out a sigh.

"Just what is so funny?" Vivi muttered.

-O-

At the other camp, after Brogy had returned, he looked down at Usopp as the sniper told him of his aspirations.

"A 'Brave Warrior of the Seas, ' you said?" Brogy wondered. "What is that exactly?"

"I'm talking about you guys!" Usopp smiled. "What I really want is to be like the two of you someday."

"Huh?" Brogy raised an eyebrow. "You wanna be a giant?" This caused Nami to laugh.

"You hear that…?" Nami snickered.

"That's not what I mean!" Usopp screamed in frustration.

"Calm down already." Gin told him, already knowing where Usopp was going with this.

"I wanna be a great warrior!" Usopp nodded, his eyes shining with admiration. "I wanna be a brave and proud warrior like you and the others from Elbaf!"

Brogy's lips curled into a smile.

"YABABABABA!" Brogy laughed. "I see. You know, in Elbaf, even though our lifespans are longer than yours are, we still think about how we will die. We know everything we have and everything we are will one day cease to exist like everything else, but it is worth it to die like a true warrior of Elbaf without sacrificing your pride. That is what we call dying with honor." Brogy grinned at the three. "To die such a great death would be an everlasting treasure. It's what we seek in Elbaf."

Usopp peered at Brogy with a gleam in his eyes that showed great respect toward the giant warrior.

"So pride is your treasure." Usopp beamed. "That's great! I've decided to learn from you! From now on, I'll call you 'Master'!"

"Huh?" Brogy said in confusion toward the sniper.

-O-

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

But just then, what sounded like an explosion came from within Light's stomach. He let out a strangled yell, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and smoke began to billow out of his mouth like a volcano. Everyone around him freaked, first from the suddenness of the explosion then the horror at seeing Light hit by it Vivi let out a horrified scream.

"What happened?!" Dorry yelled in dismay as Light collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

"Light!" Vivi cradled his head on her lap as she tearfully checked to see if he was still breathing. "Please, tell me you're alright! I don't understand. Where did that explosion come from?!"

"It happened after we drank some of that alcohol." Dorry realized as he looked at the empty barrels. "But, why only him?" He wondered as no explosion set off in the giant.

"That makes no sense; those barrels came from our ship." Vivi exclaimed, on the verge of losing her composure.

"Gah…V…Vivi…" Light coughed out the smoke in his lungs and some blood as he breathed out some words.

"Ah, you're awake!" Vivi wrapped her arms around him, relieved he was still alive. "Thank goodness!"

"T…The guy… From Whiskey Peak…" Light coughed out, already guessing the culprit. "With the…Urg… Boom fruit."

"You mean Mr. 5?!" A flash of realization went through Vivi's mind. "Of course, with his powers, it makes perfect sense."

"What? Do you know who's responsible for this?" Dorry asked, not in the loop.

"There are some people chasing us—Enemies." Vivi started to explain. "They're called Baroque Works; they're an organization of Bounty Hunters who are trying to kill us. One of them has a Devil Fruit power that creates explosions."

"Bounty Hunters?" Dorry was surprised to hear that. "Now that I think about it, Brogy and I had some pretty high bounties on our heads back in the day. Could it be possible that these people you're talking about could also be after us?"

"I wouldn't put it past them." Vivi informed him. "They must have booby-trapped the alcohol from our ship so that it would explode inside of whoever drank it."

"That could have been me." Dorry noted while looking at the damaged state that Light was in as his face became twisted with anger. "Disgraceful! Not only did they try to interfere with our duel, but they also resorted to dishonorable tactics like this!"

-O-

Back in Mr. 3 teahouse, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine had returned from their assignment and were standing in front of Mr. 3 as he explained the nature of his plan.

"The key to winning any game is to know your opponent's state of mind." Mr. 3 started a new pot of tea while he explained his plan to go after the giants. "And now we have succeeded in confusing our enemy; they're no doubt wondering about the mysterious bomb we delivered and about the idea of their invisible enemy."

He finished pouring as Mr. 5 took two cups himself and handed one to Miss Valentine. Although Miss Goldenweek was left staring at the remaining cup that was left.

"Our first target was the long-bearded Dorry." Mr. 3 mentioned while resting his chin on his hands and smirking. "I knew, of course, that it'd be near impossible to finish him off. The damage done to his stomach by the bomb must've been considerable." While Mr. 3 kept talking, Miss Goldenweek continued staring at the cup of tea. "Now, we can sit here enjoying our tea while relaxing and wait for the next duel to start."

"So we stay in the background and let the giant kill off the injured one?" Mr. 5 questioned.

"Yes, that's exactly right." Mr. 3 chuckled.

"That's certainly an indirect method," Mr. 5 said, drinking his tea.

"Again, you have to consider the enemy." Mr. 3 stated. "Warriors like these two are berated much the same as wild boars. They can be intimidating in a head-on fight, but they don't have the brains to think beyond their immediate circumstance. So why bother going after them directly when you have the intelligence to destroy them indirectly." Mr. 3 laughed and stared at Miss Goldenweek. He seemed to have noticed her eyes focused on the cup of tea.

.

.

.

.

"Why can't you just get the tea yourself, Miss Goldenweek." He let out a sigh and finally gave her the tea.

"And just what are we supposed to do with the Lion Heart gang?" Mr. 5 wondered.

"Lion Heart gang?" Mr. 3 repeated as his hair, in the shape of a 3, for some reason, turned into the shape of a question mark. "Oh, you're talking about the little brats who found out the boss' secrets?" He deduced as his question mark-shaped hair again changed into an exclamation mark.

The drawings of the 6 crew members were set on the table, as well as the photograph of Princess Vivi.

"We can start by luring them out one by one. The order doesn't matter, really. Let's start with the one closest to my tea set. I have a personal motto, you know, and that is 'big crimes via cheap tricks.' There are plenty of good ways to defeat any enemy with or without fighting."

Mr. 3 seemed relatively confident and not at all worried about dealing with the Lion Hearts. Sure, two of them managed to easily beat Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, but that didn't mean they could defeat Mr. 3, who happened to be more robust thanks to his Devil Fruit power. So, Miss Goldenweek wasn't concerned at all since Mr. 3's plans always worked out.

Miss Goldenweek sipped through the rest of her tea and held it out. "Hey, Mr. 3? Refill?"

"Yeah, while you're up!" Mr. 5 said, holding up his cup.

"CAN'T YOU SAVAGES TAKE SOME TIME TO ACTUALLY SAVOR YOUR TEA?!" Mr. 3 snapped at them in frustration.

-O-

Suddenly, the volcano in the distance exploded once more, signaling that it was time for the giants to begin their next duel.

Vivi and Dorry gazed off at the volcano while Light remained motionless.

"That's their signal, isn't it?" Vivi muttered in dismay.

Dorry's anger now became silent. He had a duty to answer the signal whenever it came, but this whole situation was new for him, so he was torn about what his next move should be.

"…You better go…"

Dorry and Vivi looked down and saw that Light spoke while looking at the giant. Light could see the inner turmoil in his eyes and decided that he had to say something in response.

"You've been fighting this… battle for 100 years… Every day on the signal… Without fail." Light said in a hoarse and dry voice. "Don't stop on my account… We have our battle and… You have yours. Just worry about… Facing Brogy… We can handle the rest… Ourselves." He finished with a smirk.

Dorry was almost taken aback. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen a human express such pride and strength beyond just physical strength. It was almost like looking at another warrior from Elbaf.

"Light, please stop talking." Vivi pleaded with concern. "Who knows how bad your injuries are."

Dorry lifted his weapon off the ground.

"You are right, human." Dorry's eyes were now filled with determination. "I am Dorry, a warrior of Elbaf." He declared with both pride and resolve. "A true warrior must never turn away from a duel." He looked at Light once more. "I now know why I wasn't the one who exploded. We both drank the alcohol, but I was spared; it was a judgment from Elbaf, the God of War. I had the divine protection from Elbaf and that is why I was the one who was left unharmed. That also means I cannot lose this duel. Now I know this for sure."

Light let out a soft chuckle. "In that case…Ha… I'll be waiting to hear… The news of your victory."

Dorry placed his shield over his arm and his Sword over his shoulder as he prepared to leave.

"Rest well, friend." Dorry spoke while walking away. "Though you are a human, you are truly a warrior, I pray that you survive. You deserve a much more honorable end than this."

Light let out a soft sigh. "Don't worry… This won't be… Enough to kill me…Gugh!"

With that last word, Light shot up from Vivi's lap and coughed out a bit of blood that splattered on the ground and turned the grass red.

"LIGHT!" Vivi screamed in horror. "Oh no!"

Light fell back down as the light started to fade from his eyes, and his consciousness began to fade.

"Light? Wake up, please! Open your eyes!" Vivi cried out as she held him. "LIGHT!"

-O-

On the other side of the island, the other members of the crew were still conversing with Brogy. Usopp was still more than happy to talk to Brogy about whatever he could think of—Learning about being a warrior. Before the sniper could ask another question, the volcano exploded once more.

"Well, there's the signal." Brogy noticed, placing his ax on the ground. "It's really been active today."

"Huh!? You're really going?" Usopp wondered. "But your wounds from the last battle haven't fully healed?"

"Please!" Brogy grinned. "Dorry can't be doing any better than me. Yababababa! A few scratches won't take me out of a duel! That would sure make me a poor excuse for a brave warrior!" Brogy's expression turned severe while grabbing his ax and shield. "Alright then!"

"Now, Master Brogy, go and show this guy!" Usopp cheered.

"YABABABABA!" The sniper and giant laughed.

"You bet, Usopp!" Broggy nodded. "I'll beat him for sure this time! He hasn't got a chance!"

"Go get him, you great warrior of Elbaf!" Usopp cheered as the giant walked away while laughing. "The mighty Brogy always defeats his opponent! You can do it, Brogy! You're the mightiest warrior in the world! You can destroy him any day! You're gonna crush him! Go, warrior Brogy!"

Throughout Usopp's shouting, the other two just watched him leave.

"Hmm?" Nami hummed. Her attention went to Usopp, who was still shouting praises to Brogy. "Why do they continue this pointless fight?"

"How can you say pointless?!" Usopp shouted as he snapped at her. "Didn't you hear a word Gin said?! Brogy is a brave warrior! Just like I'm gonna be someday! You have no right to say anything, you idiot!" Nami ignored him whilst standing and looking at her Log Pose.

"Well, I now think we should be getting back to the ship." Nami decided. "Waiting for a year? It's completely unacceptable."

"You're right." Gin agreed, standing up himself. "We don't have time to wait. Looks like we'll be using that Eternal Pose after all."

"Exactly." Nami nodded. "We need to get everyone back on the ship and prepare to set sail."

"Now, hold on a second!" Usopp exclaimed, jabbing a thumb at himself. "I, for one, think we don't stand a chance in a fight against dinosaurs! Cutting through the jungle in order to get back to the Merry won't do us much good if we get killed on the way, will it? Even if we have Gin with us, Who's to say protecting us both while fighting dinosaurs isn't too much for him?"

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Gin remarked sarcastically while frowning at him. "Nice to know you have such faith in me."

"I'm just being cautious, even if the chances are slim, you never know, right?" Usopp tried to convince them.

"Yeah, and what happened to all that 'Brave Warrior of the Sea' stuff you've been going on about?" Nami questioned.

"I said that someday I'd be a Brave Warrior of the Sea," Usopp smiled, folding his arms. "Besides, even a brave warrior has to have enough sense not to get himself killed."

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" Gin shook his head. "I know you want to stay because you like Brogy and feel that you're safer with him, but we have to get back to the ship at some point. I see we just cut through the forest and hope for the best."

"First things first, Brogy said the Captain is over at the other giant's place; I say we head there." Nami suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Gin was onboard.

"Gin, Nami, listen…" Usopp got their attention before he started a serious speech. "Even if I lose everything someday, and I must face a horribly tragic death…" Gin and Nami stared at Usopp and then at each other, and Nami only sighed at the sniper. "Alone on a deserted island! I will proudly say this about how I have lived! I am Captain Usopp! And know that I have been a great, Brave Warrior of the Sea!" After his exclamation, the sniper fell on his back.

"Yeah, yeah…" Nami stated while grabbing Usopp by the bag and dragging him by it. "But for now, do you think you could just try to be a dependable warrior?"

"Right." Usopp croaked out a response, not at all resisting Nami. "Let's go."

"Alright." Gin followed. "I'll take care of anything that moves."

With that, the three of them were on their way to where Light and Vivi were on the island.

-O-

Deep in the woods, Carue ran off right after the explosion in Light's stomach went off, and now he was dashing through the deep greenery. His departure was so sudden that none of them even noticed he had left.

After running for a while, the large duck stopped to catch his breath and then drank some of the water in the small water barrel tied around his neck by sucking on the straw. While he was drinking, Carue didn't notice the people who came up behind him.

"Hey, isn't this the ugly bird that the princess is always hanging around with?"

"Yeah."

The suddenness of their voices caused Carue to spit out his drink in surprise before he started to sweat. As he turned around to look at who was behind him, Carue's worst fears came true as he recognized them—It was Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

"Waaaaccckkk!" Carue quacked in terror before he desperately tried to back away.

"Don't leave." Mr. 5 warned him, scaring the duck even more. "Well, now, we're happy we ran into you. In fact, there's a little something we'd like to ask you to do for us."

"Oh yeah." Miss Valentine added as she stood beside her partner.

-O-

Meanwhile, Zoro and Silk were still treading through the forest while Zoro was pulling the body of a Tricerotops that he had killed for the hunting contest.

After walking for a while, Zoro stopped and scratched his head. "This isn't good, we're lost."

"Why do you say we're lost?" Silk asked in annoyance. "I told you I knew which way to go, but you insisted on following your instincts."

"I thought we just had to take a left at the tree wrapped in vines." Zoro reasoned as he tapped the tree next to them. "This tree looks familiar, but it's hard to tell."

"All trees look the same; that's the first thing you learn about forests." Silk told him before she sighed. "I was supposed to stop this from happening."

"Hmm?" Zoro spotted something to the side before he smiled as he saw a familiar face. "Oh, hey, Nami, it's you."

"Nami?" Silk looked as well and was surprised to see their navigator leaning against a nearby tree. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, it seems we got lost." Zoro laughed as he approached her. "Looks like you got some pretty good timing; I wasn't sure what we were gonna do."

"Why are you here by yourself?" Silk asked as she also approached. "Where are the others?"

Suddenly, Zoro stopped as he noticed something strange was going on. The whole time they were talking to her, Nami hadn't responded, she hadn't moved, and she wasn't even looking at them.

"Nami? What's wrong?" Silk asked, now confused.

"Get back!" Zoro rushed in and grabbed Silk by the arm.

Suddenly, a white liquid fired from the jungle and covered Zoro. Just before it fully coated his body, Zoro grabbed hold of Silk and threw her as hard as he could, sending her flying through the trees and away from him as the white liquid consumed him.

-O-

Brogy stepped up to meet Dorry for their next duel. Dorry didn't let it show on his face, but he was more determined to beat Brogy now than he had been in decades.

"YABABABABA! Dorry, how was your drink?" Brogy grinned. "Hit the spot, did it?"

"Yes! It tasted almost godly!" Dorry replied with a wide smile.

"YABABABABA!" Brody threw his head back and laughed. "Well! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Let's go!"

"YUGYUGYUGYUGYU!" Dorry replied with a laugh. "Yes! I have a feeling this one will be special!"

Dorry struck first as he raised his Sword to slice into Brogy.

CLASH!

Brogy responded by raising his ax as their weapons clashed. Dorry continued with his forward assault as Brogy continued to meet his attacks but was struugling to resist being pushed back.

Dorry evaded another ax swing and stopped another with a raise of his shield.

"Hey! What's! Up!" Brogy proclaimed in between a few swings, which Dorry managed to fend off, not used to this quick pace. "You seem more motivated than usual!"

"Are you surprised!" Dorry bolstered. "I just really feel like winning today!"

They clashed their shields, and their fight continued.

Meanwhile, somewhere else on the island. Gin, Nami, and Usopp continued their trek through the forest. Both Navigator and Sniper made sure to stay close to the Man-demon at Gin's request. The walk was peaceful until, eventually, it found them.

"Oh no…" Nami squeaked.

"D-D-Dinosaur…" Usopp chattered through his teeth. A dinosaur, a T-Rex, had stepped in front of their path. Nami and Usopp quickly went behind Gin, their eyes like dinner plates, staring up in fear at the creature, ready to make them into a snack. Gin held both tonfas in his hands, staring up at the creature. There was no way it was going to leave them alone, and it wasn't going to take long.

"Looks like you wanna die." Gin threatened the towering lizard. "If you think I'm afraid of an oversized pile of scales, think again." The T-Rex roared as it charged toward him.

Nami and Usopp left Gin to fight the dinosaur. Gin ran at the dinosaur himself, spinning his tonfas, and leaped off the ground to meet it. The dinosaur's mouth opened wide in an attempt to make the human into its prey.

"Drop dead!" Gin swung his weapon at the dinosaur, avoiding the creature's teeth. He landed on the ground as the dinosaur fell unmoving with a significant dent in the side of its face. Gin let out a breath and lowered his tonfas around his wrist. "Okay, guys, let's—"

.

.

.

Gin noticed he was suddenly alone as his two crewmates were nowhere to be seen. Apparently, while he was focused on the T-rex, Nami and Usopp ran off for dear life and fled deeper into the words. Gin gritted his teeth in frustration at their actions.

"Those idiots." Gin struggled to maintain his composure. "What was the point of begging me to protect them if they were just gonna run off?"

Gin started to walk forward in hopes of finding the two of them, but he soon stopped when he thought he saw something nearby.

"Hmm?" Gin approached to get a closer look. "Huh? Zoro?" He recognized the First Mate standing by some trees a few feet away. "What are you doing here? Have you seen Nami or Usopp?"

Gin stopped in front of him when he got no response, and Zoro just stood there in silence. Gin planned to ask him again, but before he could, a white liquid fired from the jungle and covered his whole body.

"What the!" Gin exclaimed.

While that was happening, Nami and Usopp were sprinting through the jungle. Usopp, in his own terror, gained a burst of speed, making him go much faster than Nami.

"Usopp, wait up!" Nami shouted after him. It was no use as the sniper was already gone. Nami put her hands on her knees while she caught her breath. She thought about turning back the other to Gin until she saw another familiar face and smiled.

"Captain!" Nami called and ran over to the figure of Light standing nearby. "Boy, is it a relief to see you!" She went up to him. "So, what're you doing here anyway?" Light didn't utter a word. He stood still with his arm up in a wave. Before Nami could realize what she was looking at was not Light. A white liquid fired from the jungle and covered Nami.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Nami gave out a shrill cry.

-O-

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Usopp shrieked at the top of his lungs.

Usopp kept running through the words, hoping to outrun the T-rex he had left behind. After running for a little while, he finally noticed he didn't hear anyone behind him, including the person he was with. That, plus the fact that he heard her scream echo in the distance, made him sweat.

"Uh, Nami?" Usopp's whole body started to shiver as he kept looking around for his missing crew mate. "Nami? Nami? Nami? Nami? Where did she go?"

Unable to keep his composure, Usopp started to freak out and screamed at the top of his lungs while running around the island in every direction. You'd think he was on fire because of how wildly he was sprinting through the woods; he ran so fast that there was a trail of dirt always behind him.

Usopp eventually showed up at the other giant's camp, where Light and Vivi were located, and ran up to them.

"I have terrible news: a dinosaur…Huh?" Usopp froze when he saw Light in his wounded state. "Captain, what's wrong? What happened?" He asked. He was shocked, considering that was the first time he had ever even Light looking hurt.

"He was injured in a horrible explosion." Vivi answered, still resting his head on her lap. "He's unconscious but seriously hurt."

"Explosion?" Usopp repeated in concern. "This awful, things were already bad with Nami—!" Suddenly, he remembered he had something to tell them. "That's right, I have terrible news: a dinosaur ate Nami!"

"What?" Vivi looked up at him in disbelief.

We were running for the jungle to get away from the dinosaur, then suddenly I turned around, and she was gone!" Usopp frantically explained while tears were streaming down his face. "It must have gotten her! Aaaahhhh! I got my friend killed! How can I live with myself?!" He freaked out and kept screaming.

"Hey, calm down." Vivi tried to talk through his screaming. "Just listen to me for a second, will you!" She raised her voice, which got him to stop before she assessed the situation. "If she was there one moment and gone the next, then you can't know for sure what happened."

"Well, no! It's not like I could stop and check. I would have been eaten, too!" Usopp snapped while yelling at her. "It was either a dinosaur or some other wild beast! What else could it possibly be?!"

I don't know for sure, but if Baroque Works followed us from Whiskey Peak, it would make sense for them to capture Nami and not you." Vivi rationalized. "I think we may be in great danger. We should go

Usopp gasped. "You mean the Baroque Works is here on the island with us? Wait… But why capture Nami and not me?"

"Because you haven't gotten in their way." Vivi pointed out. "Most likely, you aren't on their assassination list."

"Oh, okay." Usopp accepted that explanation.

"Honestly, I believe Light was right in assuming that booby-trapped alcohol was meant to get us." Vivi added.

"Huh? What did you say about alcohol?" Usopp asked in confusion.

"Brogy gave Dorry some of your alcohol that must have been tampered with because when Light drank from one of the barrels, they exploded." Vivi explained. "That's why he's injured like this."

"No way they actually exploded inside of him?!" Usopp looked at him in shock and dismay. "Now I get it; only an explosion from the inside could hurt someone as strong as the Captain."

"He believed it was also likely that Dorry might have been their target." Vivi informed him. "Both the giants have large bounties on their heads, so Baroque Works would target them if given the opportunity,"

"What, they were gonna interfere with their deal? That's awful!" Usopp was appalled at the very idea. "Those who have been fighting as hard as they can for 100 years and they always ended in a draw, plus their duels are fought with the most honor and pride in the whole world, there's no way they accept someone else just coming in and wrecking it like that."

Usopp clenched his fists as he watched both giants still battling it out from afar.

-O-

CLASH!

As the battle raged on, Dorry and Brogy's weapons kept crashing into each other. Dorry kept swinging his Sword and Brogy, and Brogy answered back with his ax. In spite of both their best efforts, neither one could take control. The harder one of them pushed, the more the other responded; even the fire roaring in Dorry's spirit could turn the tide as his increase in motivation only further motivated Brogy in response.

While they were locked in a deadlock, Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek were nearby and watching them. Miss Goldenweek even put out a picnic blanket and sat there while eating rice crackers.

"Wow, he keeps fighting." Miss Goldenweek noticed in her usual emotionless delivery.

"He certainly is stubborn, that Dorry the Blue Ogre." Mr. 3 noted with mild irritation from the fact that his plan wasn't coming to fruition. "Well, I should lend some assistance."

Mr. 3 used his powers to create a stream of liquidated wax that flowed across the ground and made its way beneath the spot Dorry was about to step on. As Dorry's foot landed on the wax-covered ground, the slipperiness of the wax caused him to lose his footing and fall backward.

With his balance broken and his defense left vulnerable, Brogy saw the perfect opportunity to move in for the kill as he raised his ax above his head and brought it down to slice into Dorry's chest.

Dorry's eyes were wide open as he saw the death blow closing in on him, but just before Brogy could claim his life, Dorry felt something go off in his mind. It was a combination of his pride as a warrior and what he told Light about how he believed the God of Elbaf wanted him to live by sparing him from the explosives. Those thoughts are what moved his body, and he raised his arm in time to block Brogy's ax with his shield.

CLANG!

The sound of metal beating against metal reverberated throughout the battleground as Dorry caught himself with his back foot and saved himself from Brogy's finishing blow. With that, Brogy moved back and smiled.

"That was a close one." Brogy admitted with a smile. "I really thought I had you that time, Dorry."

But Dorry was anything but happy. In fact, he looked to be on the verge of losing himself to his outrage as his face twisted in anger. This anger wasn't directed at Brogy, though; it was at the person responsible for what he felt had just happened.

"YOU THERE!" Dorry roared while pointing his Sword in the direction of the trees. "COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Before Brogy could ask what was going on, he heard the haughty laughter of Mr. 3, who made no effort to hide now that he had been spotted.

"Well, color me impressed." Mr. 3 boasted while holding a teacup. "I thought I had you but leave to a giant to be stubborn to the bitter end."

"Do you have any idea what you've just done!?" Dorry was seething with anger. "Interfering with a duel between two Elbaf warriors is punishable by death!"

"What?! He tried to interfere with our duel!?" Now, Brogy was outraged at what he had just heard. "Unacceptable! Who are you, little man?"

"I am Mr. 3." He answered, not the least bit intimidated by their anger directed at him. "That's a code name, you see, which is necessary in my line of work. I am an artist of sorts, and this is my assistant. All the best artists require assistance, you see. Her name is Miss Goldenweek." He gestured while she continued eating her rice crackers. "I tell you all this because I've already caught you two in one of my artworks."

"What?" Dorry looked down in shock and dismay. "What happened?!"

"What have you done to us?!" Brogy yelled in anger.

Both of the giants looked down to see that Mr. 3 wax had now covered the entire ground around them and went up to cover their legs in wax up to their knees. Now they were trapped, and despite their struggles and best efforts to break free, they found themselves unable to move at all in the trap.

"Curse you, human!" Dorry bellowed at him. "Are you also the one who was responsible for the explosive trap that greatly injured the Pirate with the straw hat?!"

"What's that? The explosion detonated inside of one of those Pirates and not you?" Mr. 3 was reasonably surprised to hear this information. "Well, I suppose it makes sense now why you were able to hold out for so long." He shook his head. "Oh well, we naturalized one of our targets regardless, so this is also an acceptable outcome."

"So it was you!" Dorry became even angrier. "How do you!"

-O-

Back at the camp, Usopp and Vivi had just finished discussing their situation.

"Right, okay!" Usopp agreed. "I don't know what we're dealing with here, but I'm gonna take care of them myself!" Despite the sniper's proclamation, his legs were shaking, and his face was drenched in sweat.

"I'll come too, Usopp." Vivi decided while still cradling Light. "Our first job should be getting Light back to the ship where it's safe."

"Good!" Usopp agreed. "Making sure the Captain's out of danger is important."

"You're not going anywhere!"

The two looked and saw Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine from the greenery. He was holding up Carue with one hand. Vivi gasped when she saw Carue's hurt state.

"You can have him back." Mr. 5 remarked, tossing the duck on the ground. "We don't need him."

"Kahahaha!" Miss Valentine cackled.

"Carue!" Vivi shouted worriedly before she carefully laid down Light and went over to check on her duck companion.

"Why you…!" Usopp growled and turned to Vivi. "Wait, who are these guys?"

"They're Officer agents from Baroque Works!" Vivi glared hatefully at them. "Carue never did anything to you!" She exclaimed. "Why did you have to do this to him!?"

"You're right." Mr. 5 nonchalantly replied. "We had no need to retaliate against your ugly bird. But, we needed to get our hands on that little straw hat friend of yours, ya see? The plan was simple. We wanted to lure ya both into the jungle by having your dear birdy here squawk pitifully for help. But the idiot refused to cooperate. But then we realized that the Captain of your little group was already conveniently taken out of commission and here waiting for us. In which case, we didn't need that thing anymore."

"Carue…" Vivi said, caressing her friend's face. Carue let out a faint quack.

"Kahahaha! What a dumb bird!" Miss Valentine chortled. Vivi's eyes narrowed, and she ground her teeth.

"I'll kill you!" Vivi seethed vengefully.

"And were you the ones who planted the bomb that injured the Captain?!" Usopp accused them. "Just like how you tried to injure the giant Dorry?"

"Hmm? Yeah, that's us!" Mr. 5 answered him with a bit of confusion. "Who is this new guy? Is he on the list?"

"No, but he's clearly a friend of theirs." Miss Valentine figured. "Let's just get rid of him."

"Well, I don't see any of the others from Whiskey Peak." Mr. 5 was confident. "And with their Captain practically dead already, this shouldn't take more than a second."

"How dare you try to interfere with a proud warrior duel!" Usopp shouted while glaring daggers. "Not only that, you'll pay for what you did to the Captain!"

"How about I get rid of you instead!" Vivi announced, taking out her Peacock Slashers.

"Aww, it's cute when you fight, Miss Wednesday," Mr. 5 mocked.

"Hahaha!" Miss Valentine chuckled. "What's more? She really thinks she stands a chance!"

Vivi twirled her slashers as she leaped toward two Baroque Works agents.

She wasn't going to go down without a fight, especially after what they did to Carue. "Taste my Peacock Slashers!" Vivi cried.

"I'll get you, too!" Usopp ran beside Vivi, aiming his slingshot.

"Exploding Star!"

BOOM!

He fired his shot at Mr. 5, the blast creating a smoke cloud. "Yeah, gotcha!" Miss Valentine rose from the cloud, laughing at their attempts to attack them.

"Nose Fancy Cannon!"

BOOOOOOOM!

Mr. 5 let loose his projectile straight at Usopp. The shot burnt Usopp and stopped him in place.

"Kahahaha! Did you get burned?" Miss Valentine questioned, floating in the air.

"10,000 Kilogram Press!"

BANG!

Miss Valentine landed on the sniper. Usopp laid on his back, completely broken. Vivi gave out a war cry as she ran at Mr. 5. He easily dodged her attack, letting her get close. He pressed his foot onto her, which ignited an explosion that sent her into the air.

"Calm down!" Mr. 5 exclaimed, gripping Vivi by the throat. "There's no need to get upset right now, princess. We aren't planning to kill you yet." The explosion man's grip was too firm on Vivi's throat, so it was no use clawing at it. "We only came to abduct you. Those were Mr. 3's explicit orders. Hold her, Miss Valentine!"

"Got it, Mr. 5!" Miss Valentine said giddily.

"Mr. 3?!" Vivi repeated in shock and dismay. "The Wax-Wax fruit man? He's here on the island with us?!"

"That's right, Mr. 5 confirmed. "Mr. 3, the candle man. His body creates wax, which means he can control it as much as he likes."

"Oh no." Vivi lamented their predicament.

"I'll finish off, Lion Heart." Mr. 5 said as he let go of Vivi and ran a full sprint. Since Light was still unconscious and lying on the ground, he couldn't defend himself against the attack. Mr. 5 kicked Light, causing an explosion to go off in his face.

BOOOOOM!

"LIGHT!" Vivi shouted but couldn't get to him. Miss Valentine held her firmly on her arm in a vice-like grip. She couldn't do anything but look at all three of Light, Usopp, and Carue in their current hurt states.

"Kahahaha! Stand still like a good little girl. Did you actually think someone like you could escape an organization like Baroque Works?" Miss Valentine mocked her while Vivi glared hatefully at her. "After all, your friend over there has a big bounty on his head, and look what happened to him."

"Consider this our thank you for what happened at Whiskey Peak," Mr. 5 grinned. "You should learn to mind your own business, you pathetic group of wannabe pirates. It would be quite beneficial to your health. By the way, we have your Swordsman friend, and we've captured the other girl you brought along with you. We even caught that pale-looking friend of yours."

Light didn't say anything and just lay there unresponsive like a smoking carcass.

"Oh, that's right. I doubt you can hear me or even that you're still alive." Mr. 5 noted while looking over him. "Mr. 3 might be disappointed to find out that his plan to injure the giant didn't exactly go as planned, but personally, I like this outcome even more."

"Stop, he's not a threat to you anymore! Just leave him alone!" Vivi pleaded, desperately hoping that Light could still pull through.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Mr. 5 stated. "From what I can tell, he's still breathing. Though I'm impressed he survived an explosion from the inside, I can't let him live while I have this golden opportunity to finish him off. Let's see if he can survive after one of my 'Kick-it' bombs blows up that little face a' his."

"This should be fun." Miss Valentine smiled.

Mr. 5 kicked Light across the face, causing another explosion.

BOOOOOM!

"LIGHT NO!" Vivi cried out in horror at the onslaught of explosions.

BOOOOOM!

"DIE!" Mr. 5 screamed as he continued landing explosive kicks into the Captain's face.

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

The continuous blasts caused smoke to billow around them. The smoke cleared to reveal Mr. 5 breathing and standing over a beaten Light, who was so damaged from the attacks unleashed on him that his whole body was burned black and charred. The ground around him was so scorched that all the grass was ground and replaced with a barren bit of ground covered with ashes.

"You weak little fool." Mr. 5 sneered, walking away.

"Light!" Vivi shouted over Miss Valentine's laughter. "No! Please! Light! Get up! Say something! Anything!"

"Let's go, Miss Valentine." Mr. 5 ushered his partner to follow him. The kilo-fruit woman laughed while pulling Vivi along with them.

"Usopp! Carue!" Vivi shouted as she was being taken away.

-O-

Back at the clearing, Dorry and Brogy were now face-down on the ground while their bodies were wrapped up by Mr. 3's wax as though they were shackles. The two giants struggled with all their might to break free, but it was no use. Mr. 3 watched them with a victorious grin.

"Struggling is pointless; once my candle jacket solidifies around you, it becomes as hard as iron and is impossible to break through." Mr. 3 told them with a laugh. "There's no denying that you giants are strong, but once you've been captured, that strength doesn't do you any good at all—None; all that I had to do was use my brain." He had up his hand and created a small wax figure of Brogy. "There would be no sense in trying to defeat you in a physical fight. You were so busy focusing on your great fight that capturing you was easy."

"Damn you!" Brogy cursed with a glare.

"How dare you!" Dorry looked angrier than Brogy.

"Don't glare at me like that. It's positively terrifying." Mr. 3 reprimanded them. "I did you both a favor. At long last, the battle between Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre has come to an end. You fought on this island for 100 years for your precious pride. I know you would have preferred to have a single victor, but unfortunately, I wasn't patient enough to wait that long, so I decided that a little outside help would speed things along."

"Shut up! What would you know about this?!" Brogy growled at him.

Mr. 3 continued to laugh. "Of course, the real victor in all of this is me. The bounties placed on your head long ago remain placed to this day. Today, it was 200 million beri, quite a handsome sum."

"Bounties?" Brogy caused, barely remembering that he had a bounty.

"Big bounties, I feel as if I've uncovered a long-lost treasure." Mr. 3 bragged.

"So the young man was right." Dorry realized in dismay, remembering Light's theory. "They came here for our bounties."

"So it's true, that's what you're after here, Mr. 3."

Mr. 3 turned to see Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine appear with Vivi in tow.

Vivi was silenced when Miss Valentine twisted her arm. "Here's the girl."

"Alabasta's sneaky spy." Mr. 5 added.

"It's about time I was positively sick of waiting." Mr. 3 scolded them.

"You're full of nothing but dirty tricks!" Vivi accused him. "I can't believe you! Putting a bomb in those barrels of alcohol is low even for you!"

"What?" Brogy's eyes widened in horror at those words as he remembered giving those barrels to Dorry. "The barrels… You did something to the drinks that I gave Dorry?"

Mr. 3 frowned at her. "You're an annoying little girl, princess, giving away our secrets like that, but that's all right. There isn't anything you can do about it now, anyway."

"Dorry, the barrels had bombs in them?" Brogy looked at his fellow giant in concern. "Don't tell me you…?"

"No, it's not what you're thinking." Dorry placated his worries. "I'm fine; I wasn't the one who drank the tampered alcohol."

"You weren't…" Brogy seemed relieved, but Dorry still looked upset; if he could move his head, he'd turn away in shame.

"It was my guest, the young Pirate who was with me earlier." Dorry confessed with bitterness and regret. "The explosion that was meant for me got him instead."

"What?" Brogy looked horrified by that revelation before he muttered to himself. "Usopp's Captain? This is terrible."

"I see, so you never actually drank the exploding alcohol." Mr. 3 heard their conversation and didn't sound upset. "I figured something like that was the case, considering you hadn't slowed down during your duel, but luckily, as a master at planning for contingencies, I had ways of capturing even if things didn't go according to plan. And this also means I've neutralized the man with the highest bounty in the East Blue so I can collect his head at my leisure. For now, I'll focus on you." He decided before facing the others.

"Candle Lock!"

Mr. 3 held out his arm and shot a burst of wax at Vivi. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine jumped out of the way as the wax hit Vivi and wrapped around her legs before they solidified and formed a candle-shaped restraint over her ankles that immobilized her and caused her to fall.

"Mr. 5, bring the Swordsman and the other two." Mr. 3 ordered as he smirked dangerously. "Time to begin."

Mr. 3 roared and held out both of his arms as the flame burning at the tip of his hair scorched even brighter, unleashing waves of wax from his body.

"Candle Service Set!"

Mr. 3 created a massive mountain of wax that formed in the center of the clearing as wax started to take on a specific shape until, before long, it formed a giant three-layered birthday cake-shaped wax arrangement with a pillar on top of the lower "floors" of the cake, then made a spinning half-dome on top of that, with burning candles.

"So this is what Mr. 3 is capable of." Vivi gasped in astonishment at the creation.

"Here are the others," Mr. 5 said. He and Miss Valentine dropped Zoro, Gin, and Nami on the ground.

Vivi noticed them and found they had binds similar to hers. Their wrists and ankles bonded in hard wax similar to her own.

"It's just sad." Mr. 5 remarked, placing a foot on Gin's head. "Idiots like these should've been a lot easier for me to catch. Should have caught them the first time. How embarrassing."

"No need to be ashamed." Mr. 3 in a hushed tone. "You can't help the fact that you're weak after all."

"What was that?!" Mr. 5 questioned, not having heard him.

"It's nothing." Mr. 3 dismissed. "Now, please just hurry and get the candles set up."

"Candles?!" Nami repeated, noticing the giant wax cake. "What is that thing?!

"Huh?" Gin looked up and saw it as well. "Is that a cake?"

It did resemble a cake. It was a three-layered monstrosity made with excruciating detail with the very top lit with candles and a face etched on the side of it.

"It's nothing good, I'm sorry, you guys." Vivi frowned.

"But, Vivi…?!" Nami now noticed the princess was there too. "What happened?! I thought you were with the Captain!"

"I was." Vivi replied, looking at the ground. "But now…"

"If you're wondering about Lion Heart…?" Mr. 5 mentioned. "I saw to that little runt myself. He didn't put up much of a fight either."

"No... it can't be…" Nami murmured and shook her head. "I don't believe you." Nami seemed like she didn't want to believe that they managed to take out someone as strong as Light.

"Yeah, right." Zoro smirked. He also refused to believe their captain could be taken down so easily.

"As if some small-fry like you could challenge our Captain." Gin spat at him, refusing to believe it as well.

"Think whatever you wish; it won't change the dire situation you're all already in." Mr. 3 mocked them as he prepared the finishing touch to his art piece. "Mr. 5, put them in place."

At his instruction, two of the two Pirates and princess are placed on the cake, and each of them is placed on the bottom layer with Mr. 3 laughing maniacally. However, he chose to leave Gin on the ground instead of placing him on the cake with the rest of them.

"Welcome, one and all!" Mr. 3 bowed. "To my famous Candle Service Set!"

"I guess this is what it feels like…" Zoro spoke while looking around. "To be a candle stuck on a birthday cake."

"Guys…?" Nami wondered, looking up. "What's that spinning up there?" The very top of the cake was rotating. For what reason, the trio didn't know why. Nami tried moving her leg, but it was of no use. "I can't move. Great."

"It's not surprising to me that they don't want us moving around." Zoro commented. "That's what captured means." Zoro took out his sword and glided the tip across the hard wax. He could only make a small scratch. "Damn. This stuff's hard. And I can't put much strength behind my swing from this angle."

"Something's falling!?" Vivi shouted frantically and looked around, noticing the white flakes falling around her and the others.

"Hahahaha!" Mr. 3 laughed. "I do hope you enjoy my candle service! You may have noticed the wax flakes that are falling from above! You'll eventually be covered and turned into wax figures! You'll become perfectly lifelike statues for my collection! Something that even I couldn't achieve on my own! I will literally capture your spirits and encase them forever in wax shells! It will be a true masterpiece! You will die for my art!"

"I don't think so, you freak!" Nami yelled. "I have no interest in dying for whatever it is you consider art! Hey, Giants!" She called to Dorry and Brogy. "Why are you laying there doing nothing?! When you could be beating the crap out of this candle guy!"

"Now they are gonna make one huge statue…" Zoro commented, looking at Brogy.

"You can try to convince him, but your efforts will be useless!" Mr. 3 informed them. "Unfortunately, they're just as trapped by my wax as you three are, so they won't be in any position to aid you in your attempts at escaping!"

"Hey, freak." Gin got his attention. "How come you kept me out of it? Don't feel like turning me into a statue?"

"Unlike your friends, you happen to have a bounty on your head, if I'm not mistaken." Mr. 3 reminded him with a smirk. "Unlike the giants, who I have no choice but to turn into statues in order to transport them safely, you are worth more to me alive so I can fully cash in your bounty. The same is true for your Captain, who I intend on collecting after I'm through with all of you."

Gin gave him a hateful glare. "Stop talking crap."

"Hahahaha! You honestly have no idea, do you?!" Mr. 3 laughed at their lack of knowledge. "Why don't you ask the princess of the Giants about what happened to Lion Heart!?"

"Vivi, what's he talking about?" Nami asked Vivi with a look of concern.

Vivi didn't know how to put it into words, so she could only look down.

"Why don't I tell you." Mr. 3 offered sinisterly before he explained. "I originally set up a plan to kill one of the giants. My plan was to tamper with the barrels of alcohol on your ship while you were distracted so that when one of them drank it, it would explode in their stomach! Dorry was supposed to drink it and be badly injured so that when he Brogy, he'd kill his dear friend with whom he had fought for one hundred years! Dorry would be injured, but he wouldn't notice! Just imagine how much pain an explosion would cause. He wouldn't have stood a chance! But you were lucky, or in this case, Lion Heart was unlucky because he ended up drinking the alcohol instead and thus falling victim to the explosion!" Mr. 3 grinned while laughing as he told them the truth. "If it was meant for a giant, imagine how much damage it did to a human! If he's not dead by now, he will be soon, and I'll have another bounty to claim! I'm usually upset when my plans don't work out, but this is an exception!"

Zoro's eyebrows twitched as they glared at the man for mocking Light, the giants, and for what he had done.

"No way…" Nami looked horrified by this news.

Gin was angered by all this and was seething with rage at Mr. 3. "You bastard…"

"It was unforgivable." Dorry spoke as everyone turned to him. "It's been so long since I had seen someone like that." The giant clenched his fist. "Your Captain, I could tell right away that he was strong, but I learned that he was more than that. He was a warrior who knew the true worth of pride. His honor and convictions were, not unlike those of a warrior of Elbaf, deserving of respect." He gritted his teeth in frustration. "I hate more than anything that he fell victim to such a cowardly and dishonorable action, especially to a trap that was meant for me!"

"Dorry…" Brogy has known him for over a century, so he could understand his turmoil.

"Hmm?" Mr. 3 kept his smile. "Cowardly, you say? I'd prefer you think of it as intelligent. After all, I'm the one standing here in victory while he's a smoking corpse, and all of you are captured and at my mercy! As the saying goes, those who are called cowards are the ones who live the longest. If I had done things your way, I'd be the one who would end up dead. What good is honor when all it does is get you killed!? Hahahaha!"

"You know nothing about honorable duels!" This time, Brogy roared. "Someone like you could never understand our pride! What do you know about the ways of Elbaf!? To a warrior, honor is everything; we value that far more than our lives! WHAT GOOD IS THERE IN LIVING IN DISGRACE!"

"What good is honor!? Only someone like you could say something like that!" Dorry roared as well. "ONLY A TRULY GREAT WARRIOR WOULD UNDERSTAND IT'S WORTH! OUR PRIDE AND OUR HONOR ARE SOMETHING YOU'RE NOT FIT TO EVEN SPEAK OF!

"Huh!?" Mr. 3 gasped in shock.

"I bear responsibility for the way things turned out…" Dorry uttered. "So, I must do something about it. I'm going to defend his honor and fight!" Dorry flexed and busted one of his wrists from the restraints. One by one, he broke out of the solid wax that restricted him. "You will face the consequences for interfering with our duel and for harming my friend!"

"I'm with your Dorry. If he is your friend, then he is mine too!" Brogy flexed as well and started to break free from his restraints. "I already can't forgive them for insulting our pride, but I won't let them insult the pride of another warrior! Especially a friend!" Mr. 3 backed away from Dorry and Brogy in fear.

BOOOOOM!

Before Dorry or Brogy could escape, an explosion erupted in their faces. The attack came from Mr. 5, who'd used his Nose Fancy Cannon. One wasn't enough, so he let loose a barrage of explosions.

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

The sight caused Nami and Vivi to gasp in concern for the giants.

"Brogy!" Nami screamed.

"Dorry!" Vivi screamed.

"Their chattering was getting on my nerves." Mr. 5 claimed with his arm held out.

"Hahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed. "Big fool!"

It seems that I miscalculated." Mr. 3 stated. "I forgot how freakishly strong these dumb giants can be! It looks like you're going to require more complete restraints!" Wet wax covered Mr. 3's arms.

"Wax-Wax: Handcuffs!"

Wax handcuffs appeared and were big enough for both of their wrists. "STILL GOING!" Wax completely covered Dorry and Brogy's hands and feet. "And now for the finishing touch! Take this!" Mr. 3 threw four sharp wax spikes down at Brogy. The spikes entirely pinned the giants' hands and feet. Nami turned her head and shut her eyes as she heard the horrible sound as the spikes impacted.

[AAAAAAAAAAGH]" Dorry and Brogy shouted in pain.

"It'll be tough for you to move now, won't it?" Mr. 3 laughed. Brogy's head collapsed to the ground. Zoro and Vivi glared at Mr.3.

"You really are despicable!" Vivi shouted.

"Haha!" Mr. 3 chuckled in response. "Now! Let's get these candles going faster! It's time to turn these people into beautiful, artistic wax statues! Hahahaha!"

Particles began to pour down onto the trio on the cake and the giants. Neither of them was able to do anything about it. The wax wasn't just covering their bodies but also getting inside them, making it impossible to breathe.

"My chest is starting to hurt..." Nami coughed. "The wax is starting to get into our lungs. At this rate, he's gonna turn us into wax from the inside out."

"That's it…" Mr. 3 said. "Let it look like you are in as much pain as possible! That's perfect! Expressions of agony are what I seek to achieve in my art! The finished product will be simply splendid! You must die filled with terror!"

"This is what you call art, you creepy weird-haired freak!" Nami shouted. "You guys are gonna regret this! You're gonna pay for what you did to Brogy and Dorry! And for what you're trying to do to us!"

"Yell and scream all you want to, Little girl…" Mr. 3 smiled. "No one can help you now!" Brogy lay down on the ground as he thought about his last duel with Dorry.

"A century…" Brogy thought, remembering the countless times he and Dorry fought. "For 100 years, Dorry and I dueled day in and day out. Fighting endlessly. We battled for our pride. As is the way of the warriors of Elbaf. We fought with honor! And with strength! And still, we are subjected to this! Why has this happened to us!? Must we be forced to meet our end in such a way!? Must we!? It isn't fair for a warrior to die such a dishonorable death!" Brogy had tears pouring down his face. "Why couldn't I not die in battle!?

"Was I wrong before…?" Dorry thought as he lamented the situation he was in. "I thought that I had the divine protection of Elbaf; that was why I was saved from that explosion, and that's what had me believe I was destined to win this duel. Was that just me being presumptuous? In the end, has the God of War abandoned me? I fought with pride as a warrior for over 100 years, never forgetting my honor or the ways of Elbaf, so how could this have happened? How can this be where it all ends?" Dorry had tears pouring down his face. "I refuse to accept this outcome! This cannot be how I meet my death!"

"Hold that look!" Mr. 3 noticed Brogy's expression. "Yes! Such grief! Such sorrow! And just the right amount of anger! How marvelous! Hahahaha!"

[Elbaf, please…?] Dorry and Brogy thought in desperation.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped and looked at the source of that yell. To the shook of the Baroque Works agents and the relief of some of the crew, the one who had appeared was Silk. She drew her Sword and confronted the officer agents with an expression that showed she meant business.

[Silk!] Vivi and Nami called out in, both surprised but happy to see her.

"So she made it." Zoro smiled.

"You again." Mr. 5 was displeased to see her.

"Who do we have here?" Mr. 3 asked, unconcerned.

"She's a member of their crew who we had to deal with before." Miss Valentine answered with a frown.

"Ah, yes, I recall her face from the list." Mr. 3 remembered with a grin. "Looks like I'll have another statue for my collection."

"I take from your stupid hair that you're Mr. 3?" Silk questioned him.

"You just shut up!" Mr. 3 snapped at her with shark teeth, losing his cool for once.

"Let my friends go." Silk threatened them. "Or you'll have to answer to me."

"Haha! Is that supposed to scare me?" Mr. 3 was unintimidated. "You're facing four officer agents from Baroque Works, in case you haven't noticed. You're the one who is cornered."

"Silk, hurry and help us!" Nami called out. "If we stay here too long, we're gonna turn into wax statues!"

"I figured there was some reason you guys were up there." Silk spoke as she looked over the situation.

"We got caught off guard." Gin admitted not making excuses. "How'd you avoid getting caught?"

"I almost didn't." Silk confessed before she looked over at Gin. "At the least second, Zoro pulled me out to safety."

"I figured you get me out of whatever I'd end up in." Zoro replied without worry.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Silk nodded at him. "Hang tight, you guys. I'll take care of this."

"Oh, how do you plan on doing that?" Mr. 5 stepped forward. "Save yourself and surrender if you want to live."

"Did you get hit so hard you lost your memory, Mr. 5?" Silk taunted him with a smirk. "Or have you forgotten what happened the last time we tried this?"

Mr. 5 sneered, but before he could reply, Mr. 3 stepped forward. "In that case, why don't I give it a try?"

"Candle Lock!"

Mr. 3 swung his arm and fired some wax at her, but Silk waived to the side and avoided being caught like the others.

"She dodged?" Mr. 3 muttered in annoyance.

"Nose Fancy Cannon!"

BOOOOOM!

Mr. 5 shot a projectile at her which exploded when it hit the ground, but once again, Silk was faster and dodged it.

"I'm sick of that move." Silk complained through the aftershock.

"Well, maybe you'll remember this one, too!" Miss Valentine called out as Silk looked up and saw she was already in the air.

"10,000 Kilogram Press!"

BAAAAAM!

Miss Valentine came crashing down once her weight increased but since that was nothing new to her, Silk had no trouble getting out of the way. A cloud of dust was created from the impact of her hitting the ground.

Silk didn't move back too far, and after Miss Valentine landed, she rushed forward and prepared to slash at her while she was vulnerable. At the last second, Miss Valentine decreased her weight again and leaped back into the air to escape, just barely avoiding the blade of Silk's slice. Miss Valentine landed back beside her allies as Silk fixed her stance.

"Let me make this clear!" Silk pointed the tip of her blade at them. "There's no chance in hell you'll ever beat me!"

Silk dashed forward like an arrow aimed at the Baroque Works agents and closed the distance right away while she prepared her thrust.

"Edge Slicer!"

"Candle Shield!"

CLANG!

Before she reached them, Mr. 3 created a crude-looking wax shield to defend himself and his allies from her attack. As her blade collided with his shield, there was an audible clang when the two forces met, but Silk was unable to break through it.

"Ah, he blocked it." Nami complained.

"Hahahaha! It was a nice try, but sadly, you can't break my wax no matter how fast you are!" Mr. 3 taunted with confidence while behind his shield.

"Maybe, but now none of you are in the spot you were before." Silk pointed out before she smirked. "And that's just what I was waiting for!"

Silk pressed forward and used the shield as a foothold to leap into the air and past the officer agents. Before anyone could question what she was up to, Silk was on a course toward Gin, who was still on the ground and bound by wax shackles.

"Whistling Wind!"

She swung her Sword with precision only she was capable of and sliced at the wax that confined Gin's wrists and ankles. Since they weren't as durable as the shield, the wax shackles used to restrain Gin cracked before they broke apart, setting Gin free from his confinement.

"She freed him!" Vivi cheered in relief.

"That's good. Now they handle those guys." Zoro was pleased as well.

Gin stood up and rubbed his wrists while Mr. 3 looked dismayed at this turn of events. "Damn it!"

"You good?" Silk asked him.

"Yeah." Gin nodded with confidence. "Thanks for busting me out."

Silk nodded before facing Mr. 3 again. "Looks like I saved one of my friends, and now we're going to take you down and free the rest."

Gin reached his hands into the back of his jacket and pulled at the tonfas he had strapped to his back. "You're gonna wish you put me on that cake with the rest of them 'cause now I'm gonna break you like those shackles."

"Don't get carried away." Mr. 3 warned them as he held out his arms and started to gather wax. "Now, I'm going to take things seriously."

ZIIIN!

Just before they could go any further, everyone felt a powerful chill flow through them as the atmosphere changed. Even those who weren't experienced warriors could feel the oppressive aura go through them as something menacing and dangerous was approaching. It was like they were being weighed down by an invisible force that filled them with fear.

"This feeling, I recognize it." Dorry thought.

"There's no mistake; I've felt this countless times in Elbaf." Brogy thought.

"What is this?" Vivi felt herself shaking uncontrollably. "It's like my instincts are warning me to run away."

"Is this Haki?" Nami wondered, feeling a strong sense of intimidation. "No, it feels different."

"It's killing intent." Zoro said, knowingly, completely unaffected. "Unlike Haki, which is fuelled by willpower, this is pure, overwhelming wrath."

"W-What's going on?" Mr. 3 sounded confused and daunted by what he was feeling. "Why am I shaking?"

"Because you unconsciously realized it's all over for you guys." Silk informed him confidently. "Any hope you had of getting away has vanished."

"What?" Mr. 3 still didn't understand.

"You guys managed to piss off the scariest monster on this whole island." Gin told them with a smirk.

Hearing footsteps, the Baroque Works agents turned toward the trees and saw someone coming out into the clearing. The figure revealed himself to be Light, to the shock of the officer agents and the joy of the Pirates.

He still looked worse for wear. Light's body was badly damaged and burned by the continuous explosions both inside and out, but while his body looked half-dead, his eyes didn't reflect a hint of pain. His eyes were bloodshot red and filled with a seething rage that promised death, like a predatory beast that had set its eyes on its prey and was ready to make the kill.

Light twitched his fingers before closing his fists and spoke.

"Baroque Works?" Light raised his fists and was ready for a fight. "The only ones who will be filled with terror are you."

—…

And that's the chapter.

First of all, what did you think? I had the idea of Light being the one hit by the exploding alcohol instead of Dorry because I thought that would take the rest of this arc in a more interesting direction. Plus, it'll carry over to events even after the arc. Also, Dorry and Brody don't really do much in this arc aside from fighting each other, so there's no real point in having Dorry injured.

Light will fight Mr. 3 despite his injuries, but his injuries aren't just going to be brushed aside, so keep in mind he'll be in bad shape. The rest of this arc will be wrapped up in the next chapter.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you like the story, click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.