Paper Paper Fruit In One Piece

Holy Land, Mary Geoise. 

"Garp, do you even know what you're doing?" 

Sengoku's hand formed the Buddha's Palm as his entire body expanded into a towering golden figure, glowing with divine brilliance. He stood tall amidst the chaos of battle, exuding a sense of absolute power—an unshakable force of justice. 

With a thunderous roar, he slammed his hand down, sending a golden shockwave toward Garp. Heatwaves exploded outward, and before the attack even landed, the ground had already sunk into a massive crater, the earth bubbling like a sea of molten lava. 

Before the Buddha's palm could even make contact, the battlefield was already on fire! 

Garp stood firm in the scorching heat, his muscles tensed like steel cables. His fists, layered with compressed Haki, turned pitch black—so dark they seemed to swallow the surrounding light. 

With a single punch, anything standing in his way had only one fate— 

Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!! 

"That's my grandso— cough cough! My student! How could I just sit back and do nothing?" 

"You stubborn old fool—" 

Fists and palms clashed, shaking the entire Holy Land. The battle between these two titans was so intense that they looked like they could tear down Mary Geoise and still fight for another three hundred rounds. 

"Garp... you're still softhearted, huh?" 

Meanwhile, Akainu glanced at Garp, who was busy demolishing buildings with Sengoku, before turning his molten gaze toward his own opponent. 

"Step aside, Straw Hat! Roman is under Marine custody. We'll handle his treatment—" 

"Your 'treatment' means handing my friend over to that old woman Imu, doesn't it?! No way in hell am I letting that happen!!" 

Luffy's firm words made even Akainu hesitate—not because he was intimidated, but because— 

Did he just call her 'old woman' again?! That's the second time!! 

If that old... lady lost her temper, forget the people here—even the entire Holy Land, maybe even Marineford itself, would be caught in the blast! 

"Shut your mouth—" 

A fist of molten lava cut off Luffy's words. Akainu wasn't about to let this Garp-family troublemaker keep running his mouth and drag them all into a disaster. 

Clang!! 

Three swords clashed against Fujitora's cane blade. Even with the overwhelming force of Fujitora's gravity, Zoro stood firm, refusing to take a single step back. 

"You know, blind old man... I thought you'd be a worthy opponent. But it turns out—what a disappointment." 

"Oh? And why is that?" 

Hearing Fujitora's question, Zoro clenched Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, his voice filled with disdain. 

"Forcing someone into marriage—is that your so-called 'justice'?" 

Zoro's words left Fujitora momentarily speechless. 

Sure, the Marines worked for the World Government, but kidnapping a man for a forced wedding? That was... unbelievably low. 

Unfortunately— 

"Sorry, kid... I don't really have a choice." 

Even as he said that, Fujitora wasn't exactly fighting at full power. After all, he was just a blind man... not like he could see anyone's disapproving looks. 

Then, as Roman was one-shot unconscious, the battlefield instantly erupted into chaos! 

The Straw Hat crew and the Charlotte family fought to protect the unconscious Roman, retreating as they battled. Meanwhile, under orders from the Five Elders, the Marines surged forward. 

Only— 

"Ann... you're making this really hard for me, sis~~" 

Not to mention that Garp had completely thrown away his dignity and switched sides, now helping Sengoku tear everything apart—just the fact that both Roman and Nami were Marine rising stars made it hard for the Marines to take action. 

And besides— 

Like Zoro said, "Marines fighting to help someone *steal* a man? That's just embarrassing." 

"How's it going, Pudding?" 

With the Marines half-heartedly holding back, the Straw Hat Crew and the Charlotte family managed to hold off the so-called "siege." In the middle of it all, Pudding was sweating as she placed her hands on Roman's temples. She shook her head. 

"It's no good. Roman's consciousness is trapped by an incredibly strong force. I can tell that he's stuck in a dream, but with my power... I'm sorry, I can't help." 

"This is bad..." 

The Five Elders and Im hadn't stepped in yet, but just the Marines alone were enough to suppress the Straw Hats and the Charlottes. Even though the Charlotte family had their "Mirror Escape," there was no way they could pull it off in front of so many powerful fighters! 

Unless Roman woke up and used a large-scale interference ability to buy them some time... 

"Maybe I could give it a try?" 

Brook stepped back, holding his Soul-Slaying Sword. His newly developed "Judgment Eye" worked wonders against pirates, but against Marines... 

Well, most Marines had incredibly strong minds. And besides, the majority of them actually *deserved* the title of "justice." 

It wasn't completely useless against them, but it was definitely weaker. 

"So, I could send my soul into Roman's body and see if I can wake him up from the inside." 

Brook's Yellow Izumi Fruit allowed his soul to leave his body at will—meaning this skeleton body of his was more of a shell. Even if it was beheaded or damaged, as long as his soul remained intact, he could fully restore himself. 

After learning "Judgment Eye" from Captain Henry under Blackbeard, Brook had taken his Devil Fruit abilities even further— 

"Please, Brook!" 

At this point, they had no other options. Might as well try. 

And trusting your crew had always been the Straw Hat way. 

With a *thud*, Brook's soul left his body, and his skeleton collapsed to the ground. 

The moment he entered Roman's mind— 

A battlefield! 

The air was filled with monstrous screams, and everywhere he looked, weapons clashed violently. 

Everyone was fighting with everything they had—killing, or being killed. 

"Is this... Roman's memory?" 

Unlike the Straw Hats' adventures, which mostly involved powerful enemies or strange creatures, this was something else entirely— 

This was a battle between armies of ordinary people. 

It felt more real. And more... brutal. 

Swirling white paper swept across the battlefield like a storm. 

One side erupted in cheers. 

The other side? Desperate screams. 

"The White Demon is here!!" 

"Damn it, fight to the death!!" 

"If you kill one, it's worth it! Kill two, and you're ahead!" 

But no matter how fiercely they fought back, they couldn't change the outcome. 

Soon, the victorious soldiers stood in front of two figures, bowing with respect. 

"Lord Neo!" 

"Lord Neo, you've worked hard once again!" 

"As long as Lord Neo is with us, we will always win—" 

Wait... 

Was that Roman?! 

A young boy, looking exactly like Roman, stood among them as the soldiers respectfully made way for him. 

And behind him, there was a girl with blue hair. 

Unlike the boy, the soldiers didn't show her any respect. 

Most ignored her completely, as if she didn't exist. 

A few injured soldiers even scoffed coldly— 

"Tch, only alive because of Lord Neo and Lord Joy Boy's protection..." 

"Shut up! It's not our fault you weren't born a woman!" 

"Hahahaha!!" 

... 

"You want to become stronger?" 

The scene shifted. 

Now, a group of people sat around a campfire. 

Other than the young Roman—called "Neo" by the soldiers—and the blue-haired girl, there was also a blond boy with a bright smile, a swordsman carrying a blade, and a sniper holding a firearm. 

"Come on, Im," 

—— 

"Your Devil Fruit ability is complete nonsense," 

The sniper scoffed, hugging his gun. 

"The 'Domination Fruit'—sounds terrifying! But it can't control anything with a soul, not even an ant!" 

"And even when you control objects, you can't lift anything heavier than what you could carry yourself. The speed is about the same as if you were just moving it with your own hands… Honestly, you might as well just train your hand-to-hand combat instead. Pretend you never learned how to swim~~" 

Neo had even suggested she use it to manipulate fine materials like sand or dough to cause internal damage, but it was still so slow—slower than a snail. It was basically useless! 

"No, no, if you can get close enough to assassinate someone, it's actually pretty deadly. But…" 

Neo shook his head. In a peaceful era, an assassination ability like this would be unstoppable. But in this world? Right now, things were even more chaotic than the future 'Great Pirate Era'—it was a full-scale world war. Most battles started the second you met someone. Who had time for slow assassinations? 

"Don't worry," 

The blond, sunlit boy, known to others as 'Joy Boy,' reassured the blue-haired girl, who looked dejected. 

"We'll protect you." 

She nodded, but her downcast eyes were filled with frustration— 

"Imu, try thinking about it differently. If controlling normal objects is useless, what about controlling 'ability-created objects'?" 

The scene shifted again. Neo snapped his fingers, and a flurry of white paper wrapped around the blue-haired girl, forming a knight's armor. The next moment, the fully armored knight moved. Although it was clumsy and slow— 

"Mehahaha! I'm a genius!" 

"Now you have a way to protect yourself, Imu. And this armor, which was made with my ability, is completely outside of my control! Just as I thought—there's no such thing as a useless Devil Fruit, only those who haven't figured out how to use it yet." 

"Thank you, thank you~~ *sob sob sob*!" 

"Whoa, whoa, why are you crying?" 

Before long, the name 'The White Knight' became famous on the battlefield. 

Wearing the special armor Neo made, the girl was like a completely different person! Fighting, killing, basking in the cheers of the crowd! Though she still looked timid when she took off the helmet, the moment she put it on and swung her sword to cut down an enemy— 

She was laughing. Laughing under that helmet! 

Power. That intoxicating power. 

…Roman, did you once know this Imu? 

The ghostly Brook had seen it all. In the blue-haired girl's eyes, he could already see traces of the 'god' of the Celestial Dragons today. 

But compared to the high-and-mighty 'god,' the girl in front of him now looked more like someone who had been utterly terrified and forced to fight back. 

These memories… They must belong to Roman… no, to Neo. 

But what changed you all? 

The answer was: war and dreams. 

"Please, save my child!" 

"I don't care if I die, but my wife and kids… Please, I beg you!" 

Surrounded by desperate refugees on their knees, even the warm and cheerful Joy Boy hesitated. The voice of their sniper came through the Den Den Mushi in his hand. 

"Go, Joy Boy. Get the refugees to safety first. I can hold the line here!" 

"Be careful—" 

But reality was cruel. 

Caw, caw, caw… 

As the scavenger crows flew away, the sniper who had been nailed to a cross would never speak again. 

"Don't dwell on it, Joy Boy." 

The sword-wielding boy was surprisingly calm. 

"Everyone dies someday. Dying while chasing your dream is better than living a hundred years without purpose." 

But not everyone thought the same way— 

"Neo, I want power! Stronger power!!" 

Absolute power! 

Enough power to survive—even if it meant being abandoned by her comrades for the sake of a 'dream'! 

In the dead of night, Imu sneaked into Neo's tent. Sleepy-eyed, he groggily rolled over and pulled out a sheet of paper with flame-like patterns. 

"Alright, alright~~ Lately, I've been experimenting with a new ability. By using paper to record concepts, I can collect blood samples from ability users and create ability pages. That way, you can—" 

Whoosh! 

Imu snatched the paper from his hands before he could even finish. Activating her power, she seized control of the ability page. 

She opened her palm, and a small flame flickered, reflecting in her eyes, which sparkled with excitement. 

"This is amazing! Neo, you're an angel sent by the gods! The light of my life—" 

"Yeah, yeah, just let me sleep~~" 

The boy simply rolled over and drifted back into his dreams. 

Zzz(3[▓▓]————

(End of chapter)