Shuma, the intelligence chief within Aaron's faction and his most trusted brother finally revealed to the world for the first time that he was a Devil Fruit user.
"Logia-type Devil Fruit user!"
Winters exclaimed in shock when he saw Shuma's body transform into countless sheets of paper swirling in the sky.
Beside him, Yashika was equally stunned. She, too, thought Shuma had eaten a Logia-type fruit. Though paper wasn't an element, the way he dispersed and reformed from it looked almost identical to Logia elementalization.
Around them, countless onlookers gasped in astonishment. Many recognized the man, a well-known information broker in the city and, more importantly, Aaron's sworn brother.
No one had ever expected that this notorious informant would turn out to be a Devil Fruit user, and a possible Logia at that.
Regardless, it was now undeniable, Aaron's forces had gained a second Devil Fruit user, and a formidable one at that.
But was Shuma's Paper-Paper Fruit a Logia? Of course not. Strictly speaking, it was a special Paramecia. Shuma could temporarily turn his body into sheets of paper but these weren't ordinary sheets he created. They were parts of his actual body, meaning any damage to them hurt him directly and couldn't be repaired by ordinary paper.
As a master of intelligence, Shuma understood the value of information. He ignored Winters' question, remaining high above in his paper-angel form, coldly watching from the sky buying as much time as possible until Aaron arrived.
Sheets of paper detached from his body, folding rapidly into origami cranes that joined others already circling him.
Paper Angel, a technique Shuma had developed following Aaron's advice. By manipulating the density, hardness, and flexibility of his paper body, he could make himself lightweight enough to glide in the air and use extremely resilient paper to form wings for short bursts of flight.
Another of his refined techniques, also born of Aaron's suggestion, was the Explosive Paper Crane, the same weapon he had used earlier to bomb Winters.
Ordinary paper cranes made from his produced sheets couldn't explode. To create the explosive ones, he soaked his specially reinforced paper hard as steel yet light as air i oil, dried it, then folded it into cranes with sealed gunpowder inside. Once ignited, these cranes exploded instantly.
The cranes' surfaces were coated with the same flammable compound used on match heads, a single spark or friction was enough to ignite them.
Because of their complexity, they had to be prepared beforehand. To ensure readiness, Shuma had stockpiled thousands, tens of thousands of Explosive Paper Cranes. But at his current level, he could control no more than twenty at once.
"Rrraaaahhh!"
Furious that Shuma ignored him, Winters roared like a maddened boar. He transformed into his hybrid form a hulking, three-meter-tall boar-man and yanked out a handful of coarse bristles, hurling them toward Shuma.
The next moment, those bristles hardened into metallic spikes, shooting upward like a rain of steel needles.
Paper Shield!
Reacting instantly, Shuma commanded the falling sheets around him to merge into a massive barrier. Each page had the strength of steel yet retained the flexibility of paper. They fused into a thick, gleaming wall that blocked the deadly projectiles completely.
Seizing the chance, Winters leapt high, coating his right arm in Armament Haki. He aimed to strike Shuma still believing him to be a Logia-type user.
But before he could reach him, a flurry of explosive paper cranes intercepted his path. The instant he made contact...
BOOM!
The explosions blasted Winters back to the ground.
Every origami creature on the battlefield was Shuma's eyes and ears. With so many paper cranes scattered about, neither Winters nor Yashika could make a move without him noticing. That awareness allowed him to react instantly to every assault.
Still, Winters was indeed a Zoan user and a seasoned one at that. His endurance was monstrous. After being hit by over a dozen explosions, he was torn and bleeding, but far from dead.
"Monster... anyone else would've been blown to bits by now. The durability of Zoan users is absurd," Shuma muttered grimly, seeing Winters rise again through the smoke, enraged but unfazed.
The Paper-Paper Fruit wasn't weak far from it. Its potential for scouting and offense was considerable. But Shuma himself still lacked sufficient combat strength. Against common gang bosses, he could win easily even without his Paper Angel or Explosive Cranes. But against a veteran powerhouse like Winters, direct confrontation was difficult. All he could do was stall.
Fortunately, neither Winters nor Yashika could fly, nor did they possess techniques like Moonwalk. That gave Shuma a tactical advantage, he could keep his distance and harass them from the air.
Grounded fighters like them hated aerial enemies. Both Yashika and Winters could only glare helplessly upward all their power lay in close combat, useless against a foe that could fly.
They had ranged attacks, yes but weak ones. And judging from how Shuma's Paper Shield had easily blocked Winters' earlier bristle barrage, long-range attacks would do little unless they used Armament Haki.
But Haki drained stamina, and both knew they'd need to conserve it for the real fight against Aaron himself. There was no way they'd waste that precious energy on a "minor" opponent like Shuma.
Destroying Aaron's base wasn't the end, they both knew it. It was just the beginning. Until Aaron himself was defeated, nothing was finished.
"Forget him, Winters!" Yashika shouted, her sharp instincts cutting through his fury. "That coward can't hurt us, and we can't reach him. Our goal is the base, remember why we're here!"
With that, she charged toward Aaron's stronghold, her massive spiked club swinging.
Snapping out of his rage, Winters followed suit, morphing back into his full boar form and barreling toward the base like a living battering ram.
Shuma, of course, wasn't about to let them through. He sent wave after wave of explosive cranes toward the pair, but Yashika was ready. She suddenly halted, swung her spiked club in a wild spin, and generated a small tornado that sucked in the paper cranes, keeping them from interfering with Winters' advance.
"STOP!"
Shuma screamed, eyes wide with panic. He dove from the sky, desperate to stop Winters but he was too high, hundreds of meters up. He'd never reach him in time.
Winters, in his massive boar form, thundered forward. Just before he struck the base, two battered figures leapt into his path, Els and Gabdon, both gravely wounded but unwilling to retreat.
They crashed against him with everything they had and were instantly sent flying, their fates uncertain.
"You bastards! I won't let you destroy our base!"
Their desperate act slowed Winters just enough for others. Aaron's wounded men and even nearby civilians to rise and stand in defiance, shielding the base with their own bodies.
To them, the base wasn't just a fortress. It was hope. As long as it stood, they could live and work in safety. It was their sanctuary, their symbol of peace.
"A bunch of pathetic insects... You want to die? Fine, DIE!" Winters snarled, his massive boar head curling into a vicious grin. He coated his head in Armament Haki, preparing a killing blow.
"You won't kill anyone, you fat swine!"
A chilling voice echoed from above.
Before Winters could react, an Armament-coated fist came crashing down on his head.
BOOM!!!
The impact roared like thunder. A shockwave blasted outward, flinging people off their feet as Winters' massive body slammed into the ground, carving a deep crater.
At that exact moment, snow began to fall from the sky.
Thick, heavy flakes: a blizzard's herald.
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