The clearing felt strangely calm after the giants finished another earth-shaking clash.
Dorry and Brogy stood apart, laughing loudly, wiping sweat and blood from their massive bodies.
"HAHAHAHA! ANOTHER DRAW!" Brogy boomed.
"One hundred years and still even!" Dorry laughed proudly.
Luffy jumped up and down excitedly. "You guys are incredible!"
Bartolomeo stared with shining eyes. "A hundred years of fighting… that's hardcore…"
Vivi smiled softly, admiration in her gaze.
Cassandra stood slightly apart, arms crossed, listening to the giants' stories of honor and pride.
Yet the strange sweetness in the air kept growing stronger.
It smelled like burning candles.
Her eyes drifted to the edges of the clearing.
The giant forest was way to quiet and still.
She couldn´t see or sense any movement in the vicinity.
Something wasn't right and she wasn´t sure, what exactly.
Before she could speak, she heard a soft swishing sound cutting through the air.
Miss Goldenweek stepped calmly from behind a tree, holding her paintbrush.
Her face showed no emotion.
She dipped the brush into bright yellow paint.
Without saying a word, she swiped it through the air in wide arcs.
Yellow streaks shimmered strangely, almost glowing.
The paint didn't hit anyone.
Instead it seemed like the color was floating, spreading like mist.
A strange warmth washed over the crew.
Luffy suddenly started laughing.
"Haha! This is fun!"
Bartolomeo blinked lazily. "Yeah… everything feels nice…"
Nami's grip on her staff loosened.
"This is kinda relaxing…"
Vivi felt her fear fade into hazy comfort.
Even Cassandra felt her sharp focus blur for a split second.
"What… is this feeling…?"
Miss Goldenweek calmly painted another symbol.
This time it was blue.
Cold sadness swept over Vivi's chest.
Tears welled in her eyes for no reason.
"I… I miss home…"
Nojiko staggered slightly, fighting the shifting emotions.
"This isn't normal…"
Cassandra clenched her jaw.
"Emotion manipulation…"
She couldn´t even react, before the ground beneath them burst open.
Thick white wax shot upward like erupting geysers.
It wrapped around Cassandra's legs instantly.
"Huh?!"
The substance hardened with a sharp crack.
Stone-solid.
"Cassandra!" Nami shouted, as wax surged around her own feet.
More streams of wax shot up, trapping Nojiko and Vivi as well.
In seconds, their lower bodies were locked in hardened white pillars.
A strange wax contraption formed with a spinning top.
Cassandra drew Yurei and slashed downward.
Sparks exploded.
"It's harder than steel…"
Her eyes widened.
She not only completly forgot the plot, but also this island's trap.
Damn it.
Brogy, the axe-wielding giant roared, as wax wrapped around his massive legs and hands too.
"What trickery is this?!"
He tried to move, but was pinned down on the ground.
The wax didn't budge.
Only then did a slow clap echo from above.
"Well done, Miss Goldenweek."
A smug voice rang through the clearing.
A man descended lazily from the trees, sliding down a wax rope.
Slicked-back hair.
Sharp grin.
His hair was fomed like a three with a burning candle atop his head.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
He bowed dramatically.
"I am Mr. 3. Executive officer of Baroque Works."
Miss Goldenweek stood beside him silently.
She was already painting again.
Mr. 3 spread his arms proudly.
"My mission here was simple."
"End the legendary duel of the giants and cash in their bounties."
"They've been troublesome little myths, that are still worth a pretty penny."
Cassandra glared.
"So we are just a bonus."
Mr. 3 laughed loudly.
"Indeed! Imagine my luck when the princess herself and the little pirate crew who helped her, walk into my garden!"
Vivi clenched her teeth. "You used us!"
"Of course," Mr. 3 said cheerfully. "You were perfect bait."
Brogy roared in rage.
"Release us human!"
Mr. 3 adjusted his glasses smugly.
"My wax is stronger than steel."
"Not even giants break free."
Dorry, the sword-wielding giant, snarled.
"You'll pay for this!"
He charged forward, spear raised.
"BROGY!"
Mr. 3 smirked.
"Good."
A massive wax spear formed instantly from his hand.
It shot forward with a terrifying speed.
THUD.
The spear pierced straight through Dorry's chest.
Blood sprayed across the clearing.
The giant froze with his eyes wide open.
Then he collapsed backward with a thunderous crash.
"DORRY!!!" Brogy screamed.
Silence.
Vivi gasped in horror.
Nami's eyes widened.
"No…"
Bartolomeo whispered shakily.
"He… he killed him…"
Cassandra's fists clenched against the wax.
Mr. 3 bowed dramatically.
"One giant sealed."
"One giant executed."
"Art at its finest!"
Miss Goldenweek painted calmly, as if nothing happened.
Luffy's earlier laughter had faded.
His face darkened.
"You hurt him…"
Mr. 3 looked amused.
"And now you're next."
But to his astonishment were two man still standing.
The wax trap hadn't caught everyone.
Luffy had jumped instinctively, when the ground burst.
Bartolomeo had stumbled backward just in time.
They stood free.
Facing Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek.
Mr. 3 grinned widely.
"Oh? Two little survivors."
"How delightful."
Miss Goldenweek dipped her brush again.
The air shimmered with color.
Cassandra struggled harder.
"Luffy! Don't let him control your emotions!"
Luffy clenched his fists, shaking his head.
"I feel weird…"
Bartolomeo swallowed.
"Luffy-senpai… I don't like this guy."
Mr. 3 laughed arrogantly.
"Come then."
"Try to save your friends."
Behind them, Brogy roared in grief.
Wax crept higher around Cassandra's legs.
Her mistake had cost them and Mr. 3 was enjoying every second of it.
The battlefield was set.
The beach was quiet. Way too quiet to be honest.
Sanji stood beside the Going Merry, hands in his pockets, cigarette glowing faintly in the warm air.
The jungle loomed behind him, thick and unmoving.
"…This island gives me the creeps," he muttered.
A soft crunch of footsteps reached his ears.
Sanji turned slowly.
Two figures emerged from between the trees.
One was a tall, dark-skinned man with black hair in short spiky dreadlocks. He wears a brown trench coat with a pink cravat and a pair of sunglasses.
The other was a tall young woman with short blond hair and green eyes.
She wears a yellow and orange hat, as well as a yellow dress with a lemon-like pattern, lemon earrings, and white high-heeled shoes.
Sanji knew, who these two were.
They were the agents, who were killed by Cassandra on Whiskey Peak, or so everyone thought.
They had bandages, where Cassandra wounded them.
"Well well," the man said casually. "Looks like we found the guard dog."
Sanji narrowed his eyes.
"Baroque Works."
The man grinned wider. "Bingo."
"I'm Mr. 5. The Bomb-Bomb Human."
The woman waved lazily. "Miss Valentine."
Sanji exhaled smoke.
"So you're the idiots sent to clean up."
Mr. 5 shrugged. "Orders are orders."
"Kill everyone."
Miss Valentine floated higher into the air.
"I'll go first."
Sanji barely had time to look up before, her body plummeted downward like a falling meteor.
"Ten thousand kilos."
"SHIT—!"
Sanji leapt away, just as she smashed into the sand.
BOOM!
The explosion of force sent debris flying everywhere.
The beach cratered.
The Merry rocked violently.
Sanji skidded across the ground, coughing.
"She's insane!"
Miss Valentine floated back up lightly, as if nothing happened.
"Missed."
Mr. 5 flicked one booger, he picked from his nose.
"Try this."
Sanji saw it too late.
The booger exploded midair.
BANG!
The blast ripped through the sand beside him, throwing him backward.
Sanji rolled and sprang up, barely avoiding another explosion.
"Disgusting bastard!"
He dashed forward, aiming a powerful kick straight at Mr. 5—
BOOM!
Mr. 5 detonated his own body, blasting Sanji away with a shockwave.
Sanji slammed into the side of the Merry.
"Gah!"
He slid down slowly, teeth clenched.
"These guys are dangerous…"
Miss Valentine drifted down closer.
"Five thousand kilos."
She dropped again.
Sanji barely rolled away in time, as the sand cratered again.
He jumped up, breathing harder now.
She hovered directly in front of him.
His enemy was right in front of him, impossible to miss.
His foot twitched, ready to strike, but he froze.
"I can't…"
He clenched his jaw.
Miss Valentine smiled.
"Then you lose."
She suddenly increased her weight again.
Sanji was crushed beneath the impact.
The air blasted from his lungs.
"Ghh—!"
He coughed violently, blood spraying onto the sand.
Mr. 5 laughed loudly.
"What's wrong, cook?"
"Scared of hitting a lady?"
Sanji struggled to push himself up.
His arms trembled.
"I don't hit women…"
Miss Valentine floated upward again, looking bored.
"Ten thousand kilos."
Sanji's eyes widened.
If that hit, he is toast.
He forced himself to roll away, just as she slammed down again.
The shockwave launched him through the air.
He crashed hard near the waterline.
Pain screamed through his body.
His ribs burned.
Mr. 5 walked closer calmly.
"You're tough, but not tough enough."
Sanji staggered upright.
His vision blurred.
Explosions rained around him.
Miss Valentine hovered above like a living bomb.
Sanji dodged again and again.
Each move slower.
Each breath heavier.
He saw an opening.
Mr. 5 was exposed.
His leg twitched, but Miss Valentine floated between them.
Again.
His body froze.
Damn it.
Miss Valentine crashed down once more.
Sanji barely shielded his head.
The impact slammed him into the sand.
He couldn't get up right away.
His muscles screamed.
Mr. 5 stood over him.
"Well, this is boring."
"Time to finish you."
He formed an explosive punch.
Miss Valentine hovered above.
"Crush him."
Sanji's fingers dug into the sand.
His mind raced.
I can't hit her…
But I can't lose…
Nami… Cassandra… Nojiko… Nami… Vivi... Luffy… Bartolomeo...
Everyone's counting on me.
He forced himself to stand, swaying.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
"I won't hit a woman…"
"But I won't let you win either."
Miss Valentine dropped again.
This time Sanji didn't dodge immidietly.
He waited and dashed sideways at the last second.
She slammed into the sand and a massive crater collapsed inward.
Her own weight trapped her legs deep in the hole.
She gasped.
"What—?!"
Sanji seized the moment.
He turned to Mr. 5, rage burning in his eyes.
"You're mine."
He spun fiercely.
"Concassé!"
His heel smashed into Mr. 5's face.
BOOM!
The explosive man was launched backward, crashing violently into a rock formation.
Mr. 5 detonated again.
The explosion knocked Sanji off his feet once more.
Sanji slammed into the sand, coughing hard.
Mr. 5 staggered but stayed standing.
"Not bad, cook…"
"But you're done."
Miss Valentine struggled in the crater, but was slowly freeing herself.
Sanji tried to stand again.
His legs gave out.
He dropped to one knee.
Breathing ragged.
Surrounded.
"This is bad…"
Back in the jungle, Cassandra strained against the wax.
Her heart pounded.
Sanji…
She could feel something was wrong, but she had confidence in Sanji.
On the beach.
Mr. 5 raised his fist.
Miss Valentine floated higher, ready to crash again.
Sanji looked up, blood in his eyes.
"…Guess I pushed myself too far."
The sky seemed to close in.
The Straw Hats were in real danger.