The battlefield had changed.
What had once been chaos, was now a tense standstill.
Broken wax littered the ground like shattered porcelain.
Mr. 3 stood several paces back, breathing harder than he liked to admit, candle flame wavering.
Miss Goldenweek remained at his side. Her brush was idle and her eyes were half-lidded, as if bored by the delay.
Across from them, Luffy and Bartolomeo stood their ground.
The wax was still rising, covering their trapped friends behind them.
The wax bindings creaked.
Cassandra exhaled slowly.
She had waited long enough.
The wax had climbed to her ribs. It was hard and heavy, restricting her breathing, but not her focus.
Heat gathered at the edge of her senses. It was subtle at first, then building, answering her call like a loyal hound.
She tilted her head slightly.
"Alright," she murmured. "That's enough."
The air around her sword shimmered.
Flame erupted.
A precise, controlled surge of fire wrapped around her blade and swept outward in a crescent arc.
"Hono no Hishō."
The wax hissed from the heat.
It didn't melt, but Cassandra cut it cleanly. It split apart, cracked and collapsed in chunks, as the heat severed its structure. Cassandra stepped forward, as the prison shattered, boots hitting solid ground again.
Nami's jaw dropped.
"…You could do that?"
Cassandra didn't look back. "Yes."
Vivi's voice cracked between relief and fury. "Then why didn't you do it earlier?!"
Cassandra turned just enough to glance over her shoulder. "Because I wanted to give the boys some motivation."
She moved again, blade flashing.
Four more arcs of flame cut cleanly through the remaining wax pillars. Nami, Vivi, and Nojiko stumbled free, coughing, shaking, alive.
Nami rounded on Cassandra immediately, grabbing her collar and shaking her. "I was terrified, you idiot!"
"I know," Cassandra replied calmly. "That means my deception worked."
"That is not comforting!"
Brogy roared as the slash cut his own bindings. With a violent wrench, he tore free, wax exploding outward, as his massive frame surged upright.
"I AM STANDING AGAIN!" the giant thundered.
Mr. 3 stumbled back.
"N-no, this wasn't supposed to happen!"
Luffy grinned.
"Hey," he said lightly. "Looks like it's our turn."
Miss Goldenweek finally lifted her brush.
She flicked it toward Bartolomeo.
A streak of color surged forward and stopped.
A translucent barrier flared into existence just inches from Bartolomeo's face.
He heard a childlike voice in his head saying, "Attack the straw hat boy."
With the prisoners free Mrs Goldenweek only chance was to make them fight eachother and escape.
So she tried to manipulate the clearly weaker one.
Bartolomeo´s hands were shaking.
"No," he growled. "Not again."
Goldenweek blinked.
Bartolomeo snarled, teeth bared. "You're not turning me against Luffy-senpai."
He surged forward, purge rage aimed at this little girl and slammed his fist into Goldenweek's face.
The impact echoed.
She fly several meters away and collapsed with a dull thud on the ground.
Mr. 3's composure shattered.
"MRS. GOLDENWEEK?!"
Luffy didn't wait.
He launched himself forward, fists flying. A relentless pressure was pushing down on Mr. 3.
Mr. 3 backpedaled, panic creeping in, as he realized, that his control was gone.
"T-this isn't over!" he shouted. "You can't win like this!"
He turned and ran.
"Hey!" Luffy called. "Get back here!"
Mr. 3 fled into the jungle, wax bubbling behind him, as he prepared his final trick.
Luffy followed without hesitation.
Cassandra watched him go, eyes sharp.
Behind her, Nami and Vivi caught their breath.
Nojiko stared at Bartolomeo, who was panting heavily.
"You did good," she said quietly.
Bartolomeo swallowed, then nodded. "I won't let anyone mess with my head again."
The jungle swallowed Luffy and Mr. 3.
Mr. 3 ran as hard, as his legs would carry him.
Branches whipped past his face. His breath was ragged and his candle flame flickered wildly atop his head.
"Damn it… damn it… DAMN IT!" he hissed.
This wasn't, how it was supposed to go.
He had planned every angle, every motion and every escape route.
But the moment Goldenweek fell, the battlefield had turned hostile in a way, no wax sculpture could control.
Behind him came an angry voice.
"HEY!" Luffy's voice rang out. "Don't run!"
Mr. 3 skidded to a halt in a clearing thick with roots and low-hanging branches. He spun around, hands already moving.
"Fine!" he snarled. "If you won't die beautifully… then die guessing!"
Wax erupted from the ground.
Many figures sprouted from the ground like weeds.
White shapes burst upward, rapidly molding themselves into copies of Mr. 3. Each held a long, gleaming wax blade. They formed a wide circle, blades angled inward, candle flames flickering in unison.
Luffy stopped running.
He looked around, eyes darting from one figure to the next.
"Huh," he said. "That's a lotta you."
The Mr. 3s laughed together.
"Only one of us is real," they said in chorus. "Pick wrong and you die."
Each wax sword lifted slightly, points aligned with Luffy's chest.
"This time," the real Mr. 3 sneered from somewhere among them, "you don't get a second chance."
Luffy scratched his cheek.
"…Okay."
The clones shifted subtly.
Tiny movements. Small differences. A flicker here. A drip of wax there.
There were just too many, to figure out, who the real one was.
Luffy frowned.
He closed his eyes.
The jungle sounds rushed in.
Wind howling through leaves. Insects buzzing. His own breathing.
He remembered Cassandra's lessons. Not the words, but the feeling behind them.
Don't think. Feel the intent of your opponent.
The wax figures lunged.
Luffy didn't open his eyes.
He stepped forward.
The ground cracked beneath his foot.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
He foot shot forward locked on it´s target.
"Stamp!"
His sole smashed into Mr. 3's face.
The wax sword he held shattered.
The real one screamed.
The remaining clones collapsed instantly, melting into useless sludge.
Mr. 3 flew backward, crashed through underbrush and slammed into a tree trunk with a sickening crack.
He slid down, unconscious, candle extinguished.
Luffy landed awkwardly, arms flailing as he caught himself.
He blinked.
"…Huh. That worked."
Back at the clearing, Cassandra felt it.
She exhaled slowly.
"So that's how he does it," she murmured. "No thought. No doubt."
Luffy emerged from the jungle moments later, dragging Mr. 3 by the collar.
"He stopped moving," Luffy said cheerfully. "So I think I won."
Cassandra nodded. "You did."
Mr. 3 groaned weakly.
"H-how…?"
Luffy tilted his head. "Instinct."
Mr. 3 passed out again.
"I think we are done here," Cassandra said flatly.
"Let's not make a habit of visiting islands, where someone tries to kill us."
"Oh but this is the spice of life," Cassandra said with a light giggle.
Nojiko chimed in also with a giggle adding, "It was exilerating."
Nami laughed despite herself and Vivi still wondered, what is wrong with these people.
Bartolomeo collapsed onto the ground, exhausted but grinning. "We… we won…"
The jungle grew quiet.
Little Garden had tested them and they had passed.
The jungle settled into an uneasy quiet.
Smoke from scorched wax drifted lazily between the ancient trees and the echoes of battle faded into distant bird calls. For a moment, no one spoke.
"Sorry for your loss," Vivi said looking at Brogy with pity in her eyes.
"GYAGYAGYAGYA! Who is dead?"
Dorry's booming laughter shattered the silence.
The massive giant straightened his posture, rolling his shoulders, as if shaking off dust rather than having nearly been skewered. The thick slab of hardened wax that had pierced his torso lay cracked and broken at his feet.
Nami stared wide eyed.
"…You're alive."
Brogy barked a laugh of his own. "GABABABABABA! OF COURSE HE IS! HE IS A GIANT WARRIOR!"
Vivi's eyes widened. "But… he was stabbed straight through!"
Dorry thumped his chest proudly. "A clever trick, but not enough. The wax hardened before reaching anything vital. It was painful yes, but not fatal."
Bartolomeo let out a long breath and collapsed backward onto the ground. "Thank goodness…"
Cassandra studied the broken wax carefully, her eyes narrowing.
"So it really didn't kill," she said quietly. "His fall was just convincing enough."
She clicked her tongue.
"How annoying."
She would never admit, that she forgot to check him with her Observation Haki earlier.
Footsteps approached from the treeline.
Sanji emerged, cigarette dangling loosely from his lips, looking exhausted, but satisfied.
"Well," he said casually, "that takes care of the loud ones."
Nami spun toward him. "Sanji! You also were in a fight?"
"Yes I even defeated the two Cassandra failed to kill on Whisky Peak." he smirked.
"What? How were they still alive?" Cassandra asked shocked.
Sanji chuckled, when his eyes flicked to Cassandra, who was wiping wax residue from her blade.
"Seems like they fooled you" he added, "even now they're still breathing."
Cassandra frowned slightly, genuinely puzzled.
"…Strange. I didn't pull my strikes. Seems like I underestimated their vitality. People on the Grand Line are no joke," she muttered to herself.
She aslo forgot to check on them with Observation Haki, after striking them.
She really had to make this a habit from now on.
Brogy burst into laughter again. "YOUR BLADE IS TERRIFYING, LITTLE HUMAN! NOT MANY CAN HARNESS FLAMES IN THEIR SWORDSMANSHIP."
Dorry leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "But your restraint honors you."
Cassandra huffed. "Thank you very much."
The mood lightened.
Victory had settled in and the group was preparing to sail to the next island.
Then Dorry's expression shifted.
"There is something you must know," he said gravely.
The crew turned toward him.
"This island… Little Garden… follows ancient time."
Nami's stomach dropped. "What does that mean?"
Brogy raised a finger. "It takes one year."
Silence.
"…One year?" Vivi repeated faintly.
"For the Log Pose to adjust," Dorry finished.
The words hit like a hammer.
Nami's shoulders slumped. "A year… here?"
Bartolomeo's jaw fell open. "A year without civilization?!"
Luffy blinked. "That's a long time."
The mood sank instantly.
Then Sanji coughed.
"Oh. Right. Almost forgot."
He reached into his jacket and pulled something out.
A compass-like device.
The needle didn't spin.
It´s needle pointed steadily.
Cassandra's eyes widened first.
"…That's..."
"An Eternal Pose," Sanji said, grinning. "Points straight to Alabasta."
No one moved for a heartbeat.
Then.
"WHAT?!" Nami shouted.
Vivi rushed forward, hands trembling. "Alabasta…? Really?"
Sanji nodded. "Found it on Mr. 5."
Bartolomeo stared at him in awe. "Sanji-senpai… you're incredible."
Luffy beamed. "Nice!"
Cassandra stepped forward and placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder.
"Well done," she said, genuinely. "You didn't just win a fight. You saved us a year."
Sanji flushed slightly, turning away. "H-hey, it was nothing."
Dorry and Brogy laughed thunderously once more.
"GYAGYAGYAGYA!"
"GABABABABA!"
"THE PATH OPENS AGAIN!"
As the sun dipped low over the prehistoric horizon, the Straw Hats prepared to leave the island behind.
Alabasta awaited.