I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"It seems that the 'borrow and never return' ability of the Fat Tiger Card is more useful than I thought..."

"So...so that's how it is, this was Mr. Higuma's plan..." The bald businessman had just exclaimed in surprise when he sensed something was amiss.

Pep, who was shot twice through the chest, did not bleed from the wounds.

To everyone's surprise, Pep suddenly raised his hand, and a sharp blade in his hand slashed through the air with a hiss, heading straight for Sieg.

Sizzle!

With this single strike, the wooden deck was ripped open, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Sigur had already activated his Observation Haki, but the strike was too sudden. The blade barely grazed the back of Sigur's hand, leaving a bloody mark.

"Such a sharp knife, and...it seems quite thin?"

Sieg's expression darkened slightly. He took a large step back, creating distance between himself and Pepla, and then fired another shot.

boom!

This time, the bullet struck Pep squarely between the eyebrows, creating a hole that went right through his body.

Strangely, Pep didn't collapse; instead, his mouth gradually widened into a grin that almost reached his ears. Coupled with his paper-pale complexion, the smile appeared particularly eerie in the night.

“Tezzolo..…”

Pep whispered:

"Where is Tezzolo? Make him hand over that thing!"

Sig's expression darkened slightly.

"You're mistaken, Tezzolo isn't on this ship."

Sieg pointed to another large ship nearby in the night:

"That's Tesoro's ship. We're just ordinary merchant ships that temporarily partnered with Tesoro!"

Upon hearing this, the bald merchant suddenly realized what Sieg had warned him, felt remorse, and quickly said:

"That's right, we have absolutely no connection with Tesoro..."

"is it?"

Pep scratched his head and turned to look at Tezzolo's ship.

"Tesoro!"

"Hand over that thing!"

In the darkness, Pep's low growls echoed.

Sieg looked up at Pep's figure, pondering Pep's strange behavior earlier.

Even if bullets pierce through his body or hit him between the eyebrows, they only leave a few holes and he is completely unaffected.

This must be a Devil Fruit user... It almost made Sigurd think of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user who could transform into an element.

But considering the Origami Pirates' reputation, and Pep's behavior just now... Sig's questioning gaze fell on Pep.

"This person is like a piece of paper..."

"Is he probably a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user, with a body that possesses the properties of paper?"

"Paramecia-type Paper-Paper Fruit?"

Sig narrowed his eyes, having probably come up with a solution.

This ruthless pirate with a bounty of 90 million is clearly after something belonging to Tesoro.

But Sieg wasn't naive enough to think that Pep would spare their lives once he got Tezzolo's things.

After glancing at the back of Pep's head a few times, Sieg had a sudden thought, and a short sword appeared in his hand.

It is the sword of self-destruction.

With his self-destructive sword in hand, Sieg stabbed himself in the abdomen as Pep turned to face the Tesoro merchant ship.

puff!

Fresh blood gushed from Sieg's abdomen like a spring.

That wasn't all. Sieg threw down his short sword, cupped his abdomen with both hands, aimed at Pep, and squeezed hard.

Instantly, as Sieg squeezed, a stream of blood gushed out, spraying directly onto Pep's head.

Faced with this sudden change, Pep turned around and glared fiercely at Sieg, but his body suddenly went limp and he collapsed to the ground, soaked in blood.

"It seems this paper really isn't waterproof... and probably not fireproof either."

Sig breathed a sigh of relief, pulled a lighter from his pocket, and threw it at Pep, igniting his limp body.

"That's it?"

Sig remained somewhat wary, glancing a few times at the bloodstains on the back of his hand.

He was careless just now and almost got slashed by Pep.

The knife in the other person's hand was also very sharp; it merely grazed the back of his hand, leaving a bloody mark.

And at that very moment.

A sinister voice rang out again.

"Oh dear, it seems you've discovered the weakness of my paper doll clones. This is troublesome..."

Thin, paper-thin figures floated in the air and landed on the deck.

There were four or three identical-looking Pep standing side by side, coldly staring at Sieg.

at the same time.

On Tesoro's ship, the situation was slightly better, as his guards were able to hold their own against the pirates.

Tezzolo himself leaned against the railing, looking down at the situation on the deck of the merchant ship next to him.

Seeing Sig and Pep of the Origami Pirates facing off from afar, Tesoro looked surprised.

"Hmm? That bounty hunter isn't with these pirates? Or am I wrong?"

Chapter 348 Fake Fruit

Tesoro frowned as he saw Higuma and the Origami Pirates facing off.

"It seems... they are two different forces."

Tezzolo stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Tesoro! Hand over that thing!"

At that moment, Piper, who was still on the deck of the merchant ship, let out a low growl.

He opened his palm, and white pieces of paper emerged from his hand, which he then quickly began to fold.

In no time, a large white paper bird was folded out. With a flap of its wings, the bird took flight and flew towards Tesoro's ship.

hiss--

The large white paper bird let out a harsh screech, spread its two white paper wings, and slammed them down on Tesoro.

The bird's wings were made of paper, but the edges were extremely thin, like sharp blades cutting through the air. With two hissing sounds, it cut two deep gashes into the deck.

Tesoro raised his hands to his chest, and gold surged from his hands like water, eventually solidifying into two golden gauntlets that completely enveloped his arms.

With a clang, the sharp wings of the white paper bird struck Tesoro's golden armor, leaving only a shallow scratch.

However, Tezzolo's expression did not improve at all.

More and more large white paper birds were folded in Pep's hands, flapped their wings in the air, and landed on the deck one after another, completely surrounding their people.

Tesoro's men seemed unable to stop the attacks of these paper birds, and within moments, some had already been injured, making the situation increasingly critical.

Upon seeing this, Tesoro's expression darkened slightly, and before anyone knew it, a small box had appeared in his hand.

"Damn it! We've been caught up again?" he growled in a low voice, his voice revealing a hint of resentment and panic.

"Here you go! All of it is yours!"

Tesoro threw the box in his hand forcefully toward the merchant ship where Sig was.

Tezzolo's throw seemed to have caught Pep off guard, as he was still folding paper and hadn't fully reacted yet.

When he looked up, he saw the box that Tesoro had thrown falling from the sky, and then Sig caught it steadily in his hand.

"You! Hand it over!"

Pep's face darkened, and he took a step closer to Sieg.

In his view, it was Sieg who interfered and stole the Angel Fruit that rightfully belonged to him.

Sig's heart sank, and he looked up in Tesoro's direction, only to see that the other person also had a panicked expression.

"Damn it, Tesoro is another acting master. Is he deliberately trying to drag me into this mess?"

Sieg chuckled coldly to himself.

"The cargo involving a pirate with a bounty of nearly 100 million, and the future Golden Emperor Tesoro, must be extremely valuable..."

"Heh, another fool who overestimated my courage."

Sieg didn't even open the box. He simply placed it on the ground as if it contained a hot potato, and quickly took seven or eight steps back to indicate that he had no intention of fighting over it.

Sig's sudden action caused Tesoro, who was still observing the area, to darken his expression and pay even more attention to Sig.

"It seems this bounty hunter is no fool; he appears to have seen through me... He's a tough one to deal with."

Pep, who was just about to attack, paused for a moment before picking up the box from the ground and opening it.

A silvery-white fruit covered with strange wing-like patterns appeared in his eyes.

He held the fruit in his hand and examined it carefully, a smile gradually spreading across his face.

"Finally got this... fruit. Tesoro, you're smart to be sensible this time."

Pep seemed quite pleased with himself, letting out a sinister smile as he looked up at the sky.

However, just as he was about to put the fruit back into the box, he suddenly stopped and stared at his palm with a suspicious look.