"No! My ace seven-star monster, The Plunderer Shirogai, was actually defeated!"
A dramatic cry echoed over the deck of the Going Merry, carried by the ocean breeze on a perfect sunny day. The sky was blue, the waves calm, and the air filled with tension as an intense card battle unfolded on the Straw Hats' ship.
At one end of the table sat Luffy, puffing his cheeks in frustration. On the other side, Robin, calm and unreadable as ever. Above their heads hovered smoke-formed numbers—'1000' over Luffy and '2000' over Robin—an imaginative scoreboard crafted from Devil Fruit-powered effects.
In the center, Shirogai stood with a sign reading 'Referee' around his neck. He solemnly moved one of Luffy's monster cards to the graveyard zone.
"Robin's turn ends, Luffy's turn begins," Shirogai declared in a composed tone.
Luffy watched helplessly as his prized card, The Plunderer Shirogai, boasting 5000 attack and defense points, was taken away.
"Ahh, darn it!" Luffy groaned, scratching his head. "Robin's trap card, Mirror Reflection, actually took down The Plunderer! I worked so hard to summon him too!"
"I warned you!" Usopp stood behind Luffy with his arms crossed, speaking with exaggerated seriousness. "That face-down card looked suspicious! But nooo, you didn't listen!"
Luffy nodded gravely. "Don't worry, Usopp. I'll fight with all I've got—for you!"
Chopper leaned eagerly over the table, tiny hooves propped on the edge. "Who's going to win?! I can't take the suspense!"
"Heh, I'm bouncing back!" Luffy's eyes lit up as he drew his next card. He slapped it down with gusto. "I summon the one-star monster, Stranded Traveler, in defense position! Turn end!"
He grinned. "Stranded Traveler's effect activates. If it survives this turn, I recover 500 life points!"
A ragged figure emerged from the smoke, drifting on a makeshift wooden plank through a smoky sea—Shirogai's special effects handiwork, courtesy of the [Munch-Munch Fruit].
"Your move, Robin!" Luffy shouted. "I'm gonna be the Game King! Just you wait!"
Shirogai smirked quietly.
So, not Pirate King anymore, huh? Game King now?
He hadn't expected it, but his impromptu creation of One Piece: Duel Monsters—a card game fusion of Devil Fruit power and nostalgia—had become an instant hit among the crew. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper... even Nami and Robin had become obsessed.
Zoro and Sanji had been into it at first, too. But after a few evenly-matched duels, their competitive spirit exploded into a full-blown rivalry—now they were battling in real time out on the ocean, swords clashing instead of cards.
Meanwhile, Nami sulked in her tangerine grove, irritated that all the cards Shirogai gave her were low-star draws.
"Then it's my turn," Robin said calmly. "I summon the two-star monster, Feigning Death Usopp, in defense position."
Smoke shimmered and formed into a tiny Usopp-like figure, sprawled on the deck with exaggerated peacefulness. One eye peeked open nervously, and the creature scribbled "SOS" next to it.
"Activate special effect," Robin added, placing her card gently. "When Feigning Death Usopp is the only monster on the field and in defense position, I can randomly summon a companion monster."
Shirogai offered her a shuffled deck of companion cards. "Please draw one."
Robin selected a card at random and flipped it over.
"Who is it?!" Chopper bounced with excitement.
The card revealed a fluffy reindeer in his roundest form.
Two-star monster: Chestnut Ball Chopper.
Attack: 500, Defense: 1000.
The smoke formed the cartoonish reindeer monster beside Usopp's card. It puffed into a ball and rolled around clumsily.
Real Chopper gasped and pointed. "Look! It's me! I'm on the card!"
Robin smiled, placing her final card face-down. "Chestnut Ball Chopper enters in defense position. I end my turn."
Luffy immediately drew his next card. His eyes widened.
"Five-star monster... Smoker!" he shouted, grinning ear to ear.
Smoker
Attack: 2500, Defense: 3000.
He glanced at Usopp and nodded. Usopp nodded back like it was a moment of destiny.
"This is it!" Luffy beamed. "I tribute Stranded Traveler and summon Smoker! Activate his group attack effect—target Feigning Death Usopp and Chestnut Ball Chopper!"
The traveler vanished into a smoky explosion. From it emerged a towering card-formed Smoker, lower body composed of smoke, upper body solid and muscular. He held a cigar in one hand and a Jitte in the other, eyes locked on the enemy field.
The monster Usopp, trembling, shut his eyes tightly in feigned death mode.
"Yes! That's right!" Usopp shouted proudly. "Take out Feigning Death Uso—"
He stopped. Blinked.
"...Wait."
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