Luffy stared intently at the great demon Sesshomaru, his brow furrowed tight.
He realized just how difficult it would be to retrieve Chouchou today.
'But I must do it.'
Luffy could never stand by and watch a comrade be taken away by outsiders.
Like in the original story when Robin was taken by CP9—even knowing the vast difference in power, he still chose to fight.
Ray naturally understood Luffy's character.
He would give him the respect he deserved.
He also wanted to see just how far Luffy would go for Chouchou—and whether he could achieve a breakthrough in this desperate fight.
As the Light whip forced Inuyasha back, Ray instantly closed the distance to Luffy.
His speed was like teleportation.
Even though Luffy sensed it, he couldn't formulate a countermeasure.
The demonic energy swirling around Ray was suffocating; merely approaching within thirty centimeters was enough to make Luffy dizzy and disoriented.
Ray threw a casual punch, sending Luffy flying hundreds of meters.
The attack, infused with Demonic Power, had the same debilitating effect on Devil Fruit users as Armament Haki.
Luffy collapsed, eyes rolled back, vomiting blood.
But the Straw Hat Pirates' coordination was truly impressive.
The moment Ray sent Luffy flying, Usopp's bombs exploded right in Ray's face.
'Did Usopp predict this in advance? Not bad.'
Although the explosion didn't harm Ray, it obstructed his vision.
Inuyasha seized the opportunity to press the attack, forcing Ray to retreat.
Unfortunately, the difference in power was simply too great.
Facing Ray, the current Straw Hat Pirates were like when they faced Kizaru on Sabaody Archipelago.
A world of difference.
More terrifying was that they couldn't even touch him.
The sinister invasion of perfect Demonic Power on their minds and bodies completely sealed their close-combat abilities.
Only Inuyasha could barely hold his own.
With a casual slap, Zoro lost his combat capability. With a light kick, Sanji vomited blood and collapsed.
Just as Ray had knocked out all the male members, leaving only Nami and Robin protected behind Inuyasha...
A miracle occurred.
Luffy struggled to his feet, his eyes fixed tightly on 'Sesshomaru.'
"Chouchou is our comrade. No matter who you are, no matter how strong you are, I'm going to beat you up!"
"First for Chouchou... and also to give Ray a better chance when he faces you later!"
Hearing Luffy's words, Ray struggled to conceal his turbulent emotions, desperately maintaining a calm expression.
So this was the kid's real objective.
He had probably deduced from Sesshomaru's interest in Chouchou that Sesshomaru would also come for Ray.
The crew must have agreed that even if they couldn't retrieve Chouchou, they would at least try to injure Sesshomaru to increase Ray's chances of survival.
Ray felt a pang of sympathy, wondering if he should just reveal his identity.
Training could be taken slowly—there was no need for such intense pressure.
But when he thought about the situation the Straw Hats would face after leaving this world, Ray hardened his heart.
They had rejected the Shichibukai invitation.
Once they left Sky Island, they would inevitably face a Marine siege.
They would confront Aokiji.
Even if Ray broke through the 60% template fusion and used all his enhancements, he estimated he could at best fight Aokiji to a standstill.
The likelihood of defeating a seasoned Admiral was low.
And the World Government's decision regarding the Straw Hats was annihilation.
It was highly unlikely that Aokiji would go easy on them like in the original story.
He had to train this group to cooperate well enough to briefly hold their own against an Admiral.
The benchmark for this was his current self.
Controlling Sesshomaru's body and holding back slightly, he was roughly on par with an Admiral.
Three months was too short.
The only way was to push them to their limits, forcing rapid growth.
Strength was the only guarantee of safety.
For now, Luffy and the others would have to endure.
He sighed silently in his heart.
Ray shoved away Inuyasha, who was clinging to him, and glanced at Luffy, who had just managed to steady himself.
"How dare an insect threaten me? After I kill you, I'll go deal with that guy who shares a similar aura to mine."
Ray played his part to the fullest, enveloping Luffy with killing intent.
Yet, Luffy remained unaffected by the chilling hostility.
He stared intently at Ray and shouted angrily.
"Ray risked his life to save all of us! Of course we'll fight with everything we have to help him too! How can we stand by and do nothing when we know he'll be killed by you?!"
Luffy might usually seem foolish, but his emotional intelligence was surprisingly sharp.
Noticing how similar Ray and Sesshomaru were, and knowing Ray wasn't Inuyasha's brother, combined with what Inuyasha had said about Sesshomaru's nature, Luffy had concluded that Sesshomaru would try to kill Ray.
How could a proud being like Sesshomaru allow another version of himself to exist?
Since they had only seen Chouchou today, Sesshomaru hadn't encountered Ray yet.
There was still a chance!
Luffy took a deep breath, his determined eyes revealing a newfound resolve.
"Ray is usually my teacher. But right now... I AM HIS CAPTAIN!"
With Luffy's roar, an immense aura erupted from him, spreading outward and pushing back the killing intent Ray had directed at him.
With a heart set on protecting others, the awakening of a king power within him was achieved.
For the first time, Luffy used Conqueror's Haki.
As a result, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper—who had been slowly getting to their feet, moved by Luffy's speech—were suddenly knocked unconscious by the burst of Haki.
Helpless, the group had already been beaten to near exhaustion by Ray.
Just as they mustered a bit of will to resist, their own captain shattered it.
Along with them, a cute little fox named Shippo also fainted, foaming at the mouth.
...
Inuyasha, Kagome, and the others stared at Luffy in astonishment.
This aura gave off the feeling of a great demon making an entrance.
Yet it differed from the erosion of demonic energy; it carried an aura of pure, kingly dominance.
When minor yokai faced a greater demon, their reactions were limited to weakened legs or paralysis.
But the strange ability Luffy unleashed directly stunned those with weak willpower.
Inuyasha cast a disdainful glance at Shippo.
'How could a yokai get frightened unconscious by a human's aura?'
Just as he was about to mock Shippo, Sesshomaru moved.
He wouldn't give Inuyasha any time for idle chatter.
Ray leaped forward, feigning an attack with his Poison Flower Claw.
Inuyasha immediately swung his sword to block.
Little did he know this was merely bait.
In a flash, Ray appeared behind Inuyasha and struck his back with a claw, sending him flying dozens of meters away and leaving a corroding claw mark on his back.
Ray felt helpless.
Even if Luffy had awakened his Conqueror's Haki, it couldn't block his attacks.
To make the performance convincing, he had no choice but to let Inuyasha take the hit.
After all, his younger brother's body was sturdy enough to handle it.
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