Luffy narrowed his eyes as he looked at the towering figure above—a man whose massive frame and quiet pressure made the air feel heavy. Despite the unfamiliar face, the feeling was undeniable.
This was no ordinary opponent. It was the first true monster he had encountered since completing his two years of rigorous training on Rusukaina under Rayleigh's guidance.
"I've already decided—I'm not going to lose again!" Luffy growled, steam hissing from his body as he activated Gear Second, blood flow accelerating, muscles tightening.
"Oh?" The man above—resembling Bartholomew Kuma but with subtle differences—responded flatly, without a shred of emotion. His voice carried no weight of concern, no acknowledgment of Luffy's determination.
His palm lifted slowly.
Air around it began to distort—compressed violently by the very pressure of his Devil Fruit ability.
"Ursus Shock!"
A compressed ball of air—dense, unstable, and crackling—blasted down toward Luffy, detonating with a concussive force that cracked the surrounding terrain.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka!"
Luffy's arms snapped back and then launched forward, striking the air sphere head-on.
BOOM!
The clash echoed like thunder. Luffy's face twisted in strain. Veins bulged across his temples and jaw, his feet skidding across the ground and gouging trenches as he held his ground against the shockwave.
"Urgh… resist…!"
Just as the air began to stabilize, another figure rocketed into the scene, flames trailing behind.
"Diable Jambe—Flambage Shot!"
A blur of black suit and burning leg streaked in. Sanji spun midair, his flaming heel aimed squarely at the giant's temple.
CLANG!
But the figure didn't budge. His arm moved, catching Sanji's kick with a palm that seemed to absorb the blow entirely. The same paw-shaped imprint that all Pacifistas bore—a symbol of the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, the Paw-Paw Fruit.
"Sanji!" Luffy shouted, eyes wide with a mix of relief and disbelief.
Hovering midair, Sanji grinned back. "Yo, Luffy. You've bulked up since we last met. Nice job."
But the monster didn't pause.
With a mere twist of his arm, the air shimmered again—Pressure Repel.
BOOM!
Even coated with Busoshoku Haki, Sanji was no match for the compressed force. He flew backward like a comet, aimed straight at Luffy.
"I got you!" Luffy stretched his arms wide to catch his crewmate.
But—
CRACK!
Sanji's head smacked into the dirt, face-first, cratering the ground. His legs twitched.
"Are you serious?!" he barked, face smeared with dust, glaring up at Luffy. "That's your idea of a catch?!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Luffy laughed sheepishly. "Look—Zoro's here too!"
"Huh?" Sanji whipped his head around.
Indeed, standing on the ruined pathway was a swordsman with moss-green hair, three blades glinting in the sunlight. The Sandai Kitetsu gripped in his right hand, the Shusui in his left, and the Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth.
"Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Oni Giri!"
Zoro's figure vanished and reappeared mid-strike. Purple sword aura wrapped around him, his blades tearing through the atmosphere like beasts unleashed.
The air split in his wake, the sheer force of the slash aimed directly at the hulking man's chest.
The giant finally moved—palms raised.
BAM!
Zoro's three-blade slash connected with the twin paw-shaped palms.
The blades—each honed by two years of relentless combat—clashed against the soft-looking flesh, but refused to cut through. Despite the shockwaves, despite the roaring wind, the blades remained locked.
Zoro's eyes widened. "What…?!"
He pushed harder, muscles bulging. The slash he'd used wasn't like the Oni Giri of old. This was refined, precise, packed with conqueror's will honed through his battles on the Grand Line.
Yet… nothing.
"Who the hell are you…?" Zoro growled, biting hard on Wado Ichimonji.
No ordinary person could block that technique—especially not with bare hands.
The man remained silent, unmoving, until suddenly—
BOOM!
An invisible force erupted from his palms. Repel.
Zoro's body shot backward, crashing into a distant building with enough force to shatter the walls.
This wasn't just the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi—it was the power of someone who had mastered it to the extreme, just as Bartholomew Kuma had in the past. This ability could repel anything: matter, pain, fatigue… even intangible forces like attacks or thoughts.
And now, someone else had inherited—or perhaps surpassed—that power.
The gap was clear.
This wasn't just a fight.
This was a reminder.
A warning.
There was still an abyss between them and the true monsters of the New World.
It was precisely because of this overpowered, almost "bug-like" ability that Carl was eager to "acquire" Bartholomew Kuma.
In the crater nearby, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji stood with grim faces as they observed the distant commotion.
Sanji took a slow drag from his cigarette and narrowed his eyes. "That guy… he's serious trouble."
"We need to fall back. Rayleigh is still waiting to pick us up," Zoro said solemnly, biting the hilt of his sword, Wado Ichimonji.
"Yeah," Sanji nodded coolly, exhaling smoke.
However, a familiar loud voice rang out beside them.
"Who cares who he is, just beat him up!"
Luffy's feet compressed into the ground as he activated Gear Second, steam curling around him as he bent low, fists chambered at his hips. "Gomu Gomu no…"
"Oi, you idiot!" Zoro's forehead pulsed with frustration.
"Wait, Luffy!" Sanji called, arm outstretched.
Too late.
"JET BAZOOKA!!"
Luffy launched forward like a rocket.
A thunderous sonic boom cracked the air as his fist surged toward the tall figure—cloaked and still.
But the man—'Nobita'—didn't even blink.
Boom!
There was no explosion. No impact. Luffy's fists landed, but the result was eerily quiet.
Nobita's right palm absorbed the attack effortlessly, as if swatting away air.
"Reckless," he said, head tilted slightly, tone as cold and mechanical as Kuma's. "Or perhaps… blind to the gulf between us."
Luffy's eyes widened. What?! Why didn't it work?!
He had definitely coated his fists in Busoshoku Haki, the very technique he trained for two grueling years on Rusukaina under Rayleigh's guidance.
But this was just like back then—when Sentomaru and Kuma had overwhelmed them at Sabaody Archipelago.
Still so powerless. Still… so weak.
"Did you think that would work?" Nobita's voice was laced with disdain. "Two years of basic Haki… and you think that's enough? You haven't even reached advanced Ryuo, let alone Internal Destruction."
Luffy's expression twisted, but before he could respond, Nobita's arm shifted.
BOOM!
A compressed shockwave exploded from his palm. Luffy's body crashed into the ground like a meteor.
Crack—crack—BOOM!
The stone plaza fractured. Luffy's frame was embedded several feet deep, only his trembling legs sticking out.
"LUFFY!"
"Oi! Luffy!"
Zoro and Sanji sprinted over, each grabbing a leg and hauling with all their might.
Ka-ka-ka—!
The ground cracked and splintered as they pulled him out like a lodged turnip.
"You good, dumbass?" Sanji asked, kneeling beside him.
Luffy's face was streaked with blood and dirt. But he stood slowly, fists clenched again. "That guy's… strong."
Zoro and Sanji both twitched, forehead veins bulging.
"We didn't need you to tell us that!" they snapped in unison.
They weren't rookies anymore. After two years, their strength had skyrocketed.
But against this man—it still felt like hitting a wall.
"Withdraw now!" Zoro commanded, teeth gritting around Wado Ichimonji's hilt.
"Fine!" Luffy didn't argue this time. He turned and bolted.
He'd learned the hard way—some enemies aren't meant to be fought head-on.
Even Silvers Rayleigh, who taught him everything, wasn't someone he could beat yet.
The trio sprinted away at top speed.
From beneath his hood, Nobita's gaze followed them. "Running? Surprising. They used to be more… impulsive."
His arms extended outward, and space in front of him warped subtly.
"Ursus Shock."
BOOM!!!
The very atmosphere collapsed.
A titanic shockwave surged forward, faster than a bullet, tearing across the street like a storm.
The trio glanced back—and their eyes widened.
"What the hell?!"
That speed—there was no time to dodge!
"You guys go!" Zoro barked, spinning to intercept the blast.
But then—
SHING!!
A pitch-black slash of pure Busoshoku erupted from afar.
BOOM!!!
The shockwave clashed mid-air with the slash, creating a concussive explosion that sent debris flying and split the street.
"GO!!" Zoro roared.
The three Straw Hats seized the moment and vanished into the smoke.
This time, Nobita didn't pursue.
His head turned toward the source of the slash. "Rayleigh…"
"I warned you not to interfere," he muttered, turning calmly away.
There was no point in exhausting his current strength. The bear's power hadn't reached its final stage yet.
From the distance, Coffey warped in via Bright Space.
"Nobita," he said calmly. "Are we not pursuing them?"
Bright, adjusting his glasses, studied the trio as they fled.
"No need," Nobita replied with robotic detachment. "Vice Admiral Carl is almost here."
"He'll handle it.
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