The air in the Little Garden clearing grew thick with the scent of melting wax and desperation. Luffy stood frozen, one hand encased in a hardened wax gauntlet, staring blankly at the giant candle prison containing his crew.
"Luffy, please!" Nami's voice was muffled through the wax, but the panic cut through. "Destroy the candle! We're running out of air in here!"
Luffy tilted his head, his usual fiery determination replaced by a disturbing lethargy. "Hmm... nah. Don't feel like it."
Zoro strained against his wax bonds, veins bulging on his forehead. "What the hell's wrong with you, Captain?!"
A small figure stepped from behind the giant candle, paintbrush in hand. Miss Goldenweek's expression remained placid as she dipped her brush into a palette of vibrant colors. "Color Trap: Indigo Laziness," she said softly, as if commenting on the weather. "Once the color dries on his skin, the effect sets in. He'll do nothing unless he absolutely wants to."
Vivi's eyes widened in understanding. "So that's why he won't help us!"
Meanwhile, in the dense jungle foliage...
"Run, Carue, run!" Usopp screamed as an explosion tore through the bushes behind them.
Mr. 5 emerged from the smoke, brushing debris from his suit. "A pathetic explosive bullet," he said, opening his mouth to reveal no damage. "I consume gunpowder for breakfast."
Beside him, Miss Valentine floated gently on her parasol, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "They're like little mice, aren't they? So much scurrying."
Usopp's mind raced as he and Carue dodged between massive prehistoric ferns. "Okay, think, Usopp! If Luffy's acting weird, it must be that painter girl! We need to—"
BOOM!
Another explosion, closer this time. Carue squawked in terror as flaming debris rained down around them.
"Six bullets," Mr. 5 said calmly, producing a gleaming .44 revolver from his coat. "Six chances to turn you into Swiss cheese."
Back at the clearing, Vivi watched in horror as Miss Goldenweek approached Luffy with a fresh brush. "Luffy! Look at me!"
Luffy turned slowly, his eyes dull. "Huh?"
"Remember your promise!" Vivi shouted, her voice cracking. "You promised to take me to Alabasta! You promised to help my people!"
For a flicker, something sparked in Luffy's eyes. The indigo mark on his cheek seemed to pulse.
"That's it!" Vivi realized. "Strong emotions might break the trance! Luffy, think about meat! All the meat in the world being eaten by someone else!"
Luffy's brow furrowed. "My... meat..."
"All the banquet tables you'll never sit at! All the roasted beasts you'll never taste!"
A low growl rumbled in Luffy's throat. He took one step forward, then another—crossing the invisible boundary of the color trap. The indigo mark on his cheek flaked away like dried paint.
"I'M GONNA EAT ALL THE MEAT IN THE WORLD!" Luffy roared, his energy returning in a torrent.
But Miss Goldenweek was already moving, her brush a blur of motion. "Color Trap: Red Rage," she whispered, painting a crimson streak directly on Luffy's shirt.
The transformation was immediate and terrifying.
Luffy's eyes burned with uncontrolled fury. But not at their enemies—at everything. At the trees, at the sky, at his own trapped crew.
"LUFFY, NO!" Nami screamed as he turned toward the wax prison, his wax-encased fist raised.
In the jungle, Usopp skidded to a halt at the clearing's edge, Carue panting beside him. What he saw froze his blood: his friends encased in wax, Vivi standing defenseless before a rage-blinded Luffy, and Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine emerging from the foliage behind him.
"Usopp!" Vivi cried. "The painter! Stop the—"
CRACK!
Mr. 5's revolver fired, not at Usopp, but at the giant candle. Six bullets embedded themselves in the wax prison, their fuses hissing.
"Timed explosives," Mr. 5 said with a cold smile. "Your friends have exactly ten seconds before they're scattered across this island."
Usopp's eyes darted between the hissing fuses, the rage-driven Luffy now charging toward Vivi, and Miss Goldenweek raising her brush to paint her next masterpiece.
Nine seconds.
Luffy's wax hammer fist swung toward Vivi's head.
Eight.
Miss Goldenweek's brush descended toward Zoro's wax prison—a brush dripping with black paint.
Seven.
Mr. 5 leveled his revolver at Usopp's forehead.
Six.
And Usopp realized—he could only save one of them.
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