One Piece : Strongest Vice-Captain Mr. 3!

"You bastard! You're fighting me, Boa Marigold, and you think you can insult me with that pitiful excuse of Armament Haki?" 

Marigold's eyes flashed crimson with fury, veins bulging across her serpentine face as rage overtook her. 

Sizzle… 

A faint scent of something burning filled the air. Mr. 3 looked up, only to see Marigold's golden curls erupting into a blazing inferno. The strands danced wildly, transforming into fiery serpents, each writhing and flickering with intense heat. 

"Medusa Hair: Salamander!" 

In response to Mr. 3's perceived arrogance, Marigold didn't even bother to use her venom attacks. Instead, she unleashed the full power of her Snake-Snake Fruit: King Cobra Model—her most dangerous form! 

"Honestly… I wasn't underestimating you. That really was the best my Armament Haki could do…" 

As Marigold stood there, seething with rage, Mr. 3 briefly considered explaining himself. But in the end, he decided against it—fearing that being too honest might push her over the edge and cause her to explode in fury. 

"Second sister, let's finish this quickly!" 

In her fiery serpent form, Marigold called out to Sandersonia, whose body had been immobilized and encased in wax. 

Knowing her sister better than anyone else, Marigold was well aware that no mere wax trap could truly restrain Sandersonia's monstrous strength. 

Crack… crack… 

Sure enough, in response to Marigold's call, Sandersonia's wax statue began to tremble and shake violently. 

Under the pressure of her overwhelming strength, cracks spread rapidly across the seemingly indestructible wax, heralding its inevitable destruction. 

Suddenly, countless emerald-green serpent heads, formed from strands of hair, burst through the candle statue with the force of shattering ice. Wax fragments scattered in all directions, revealing terrifyingly sharp fangs.

"Mr. 3, you bastard! Are you ready to die?!"

With the snake heads writhing around her, Sandersonia's enormous serpentine face was filled with ferocity. 

This was her ultimate form: Medusa Hair: Eight-Headed Serpent! 

The two Serpent Sisters stood side by side once again. Their thick, powerful tails lifted their already towering bodies even higher, casting shadows that blocked the light of the hall. 

The sinister, oppressive aura spread as the snake-like hair slithered and swayed. In the shadow of this terrifying presence, Mr. 3's small frame could only crane upward to meet the gazes of the two sisters. 

In a way, this was the first time he had witnessed such terrifying "monsters" up close. Yet, oddly enough, he felt no fear or panic—just a strange calmness in his heart. 

Confronted with the fierce auras of Sandersonia and Marigold, Mr. 3 adjusted his protective goggles. His blood surged with excitement, burning hotter than ever. 

He knew that the Navy could launch their full assault at any moment, leaving him no time to hold back. It was the perfect chance to unleash the ultimate move he had honed during half an hour of grueling training on a nameless island. 

Now, he could finally see what kind of power it truly held! 

"Candle Wall!" 

With a loud shout, wax gushed from Mr. 3's feet, rapidly forming towering walls nearly two meters high, enclosing him and the Serpent Sisters inside. The rest of the Kuja Pirates, who had been watching from the sidelines, were sealed outside. 

The power of this technique was immense, and since he hadn't fully mastered it yet, Mr. 3 didn't want to risk hurting the Kuja members by accident. 

With no distractions left, Mr. 3 clenched his right fist and pushed the power of his Wax-Wax Fruit to its absolute limit. 

Fwoosh! 

The flame atop his head burned intensely, and in the next instant, liquid wax erupted from his fist like a flood, pouring out as if there was no end. 

The wax twisted and tumbled in mid-air, slowly gathering into a massive candle fist—one as large as the bodies of Sandersonia and Marigold. 

The sisters narrowed their eyes at the sight and shifted into combat stances, ready to take on Mr. 3's attack head-on. 

Their Zoan instincts warned them to dodge the incoming strike, but this fight was more than just a battle—it was a test of strength between the Kuja Pirates and the Buggy Pirates. 

On top of that, with two of them fighting against one, they already held the numerical advantage. 

For the proud Serpent Sisters, evading the attack out of fear would be nothing short of humiliation. 

Meanwhile, from her elevated position, Hancock's usual calm demeanor had vanished without a trace. 

As her line of sight remained unobstructed, she slowly set her teacup down and looked toward Mr. 3, who was holding aloft a massive fluid candle fist. 

Ignoring the exaggerated size of the wax structure, her sharp eyes detected something unusual embedded within the giant fist—tiny specks of deep black hidden inside. 

This wasn't the result of Armament Haki. It was more like... 

Miniature explosives! 

"And... am I imagining things, or... why does his stance..." 

Hancock rose to her feet, her gaze heavy with suspicion, locked onto Mr. 3 and his massive burning wax fist. Deep within her mind, a particular figure surfaced, unbidden. 

"Why does it resemble... that former Navy Admiral so much?!" 

Had Mr. 3 overheard the Pirate Empress's murmured words, he would have been completely stunned. 

Because the technique he'd devised was based on wax's ability to burn at extreme temperatures, augmented with the explosive powder from Buggy's custom-made Buggy Balls. 

Inspired by the signature moves of Akainu, the former Navy Admiral and now Fleet Admiral, Mr. 3 had developed a new high-powered offensive technique. 

"Get ready, everyone! It's time to celebrate... Birthday Bash!" 

With the two Gorgon sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold, watching in stunned horror, Mr. 3 gave a casual, confident smirk. Tilting his head, he let the flame atop his distinctive "3" hairstyle drop onto the massive wax fist. 

Whoom! 

The moment the flame made contact, the embedded micro-explosives ignited, unleashing a burst of searing fire. 

The initial explosion instantly set the wax ablaze, causing it to release waves of terrifyingly intense heat. 

As the outer layer burned, the internal wax ignited in turn, triggering further explosions from the embedded gunpowder. The wax and explosives continued to feed each other in a chain reaction, creating an incredible display— 

Mr. 3 held aloft a colossal, fluid-like molten fist, burning fiercely and erupting sporadically like a volcano! 

"This move..." 

He grinned wickedly. 

"...is called Grand Candle Eruption!" 

When the blazing wax fist reached its peak combustion and explosive state, Mr. 3 leapt high into the air and hurled it toward the Gorgon Sisters with all his might! 

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