"Argh! That rubber freak—what's his deal?!"
"Run! That pirate hunter is a monster!"
"Captain, help! We're no match for those two!"
The Buggy Pirates cried out in panic as they struggled to dodge Luffy and Zoro's fierce attacks.
In just a few minutes, more than half of the crew had already been taken down—
And that was with Luffy and Zoro not even going all out.
While his crewmates screamed for help, Buggy, using his Bara Bara no Mi (Chop-Chop Fruit) to hover in the air, made no move to assist. Instead, his eyes flicked between Genrou and Nami's fading silhouettes and Luffy and Zoro below.
Damn that Shanks! What's with this rubber idiot he likes so much? I thought he had the Gomu Gomu no Mi… but why does it feel like he has two Devil Fruit powers?!
And that Roronoa… since when did East Blue have someone who can launch flying slashes?
And then there's that Genrou… that disappearing ship probably isn't from the Float-Float Fruit. Could it be a Ship-Ship Fruit user or something?
And he said he wanted my Devil Fruit power? What a joke.
As he pondered, Buggy instinctively dodged a wave of flying slashes launched by Zoro.
"This guy… what kind of weird ability is this? My slashes don't do anything!"
Zoro clicked his tongue, silently staring at the floating Buggy.
"Hehehe, our captain Buggy is invincible! He ate the Chop-Chop Fruit—slashes don't work on him!"
The badly bruised vice-captain Mohji managed to lift his head from where he lay and sneered at Zoro.
In response, Zoro casually sent another blade of flying energy his way, forcing Mohji to scramble away in terror.
"Hehehe… if slashing doesn't work, then I'll just use fists."
"Zoro, leave this one to me."
"I just thought of a new way to use 'Toriko's' power."
Luffy rolled up his sleeves with a grin, clearly ready to throw down.
"Tch. Fine, he's yours."
Zoro glanced at Luffy's serious expression and decided to leave Buggy—troublesome for a swordsman like himself—to Luffy instead.
"Thanks!"
Luffy lowered his stance, waves of air starting to surge around him.
A deep crimson glow began radiating from his chest, spreading rapidly across his entire body.
"What's that…?"
Zoro's eyes widened, and his mind instantly flashed back to when Genrou entered the mimic state of Zaraki Kenpachi.
Could it be… that Luffy really managed to grasp that level of power in such a short time?
Zoro murmured, a strange pressure building up in his chest.
"What the hell is that guy doing now?!"
Buggy frowned, sensing that something wasn't right. He began floating further away from Luffy.
Seconds later, the glow around Luffy suddenly contracted.
When he reappeared before everyone's eyes, his body had noticeably expanded—especially the muscles in his arms and legs.
"Huh?! Did he… inflate himself with rubber?"
"Wait, never mind the size—when did he change clothes? And dye his hair blue?!"
Buggy's frown deepened, more confused than ever by Luffy's appearance.
Though Buggy had seen many strange things on the Grand Line, the first thought in his mind was: Awakening?
But based on Luffy's performance so far, Buggy quickly dismissed that.
"Mimic Heroic Spirit State… Luffy, you really did pull it off!"
Zoro exclaimed in awe.
"Hehe! After seeing Genrou use it, I wanted to try it myself."
"I had a good feeling about the Heroic Spirit I got, and it looks like I wasn't wrong."
Luffy clenched his fist, feeling like his physical strength had doubled.
"Awesome power. It's a bit draining, though... and weirdly, a bunch of attack names just popped into my head."
"Hehehe, let me try this one—Flying Knife!"
Luffy laughed, swung his right hand in a chopping motion toward the sky, and launched his attack.
This time, he didn't even use his Devil Fruit powers.
Judging by the distance, his attack shouldn't have reached Buggy at all.
But at the exact moment his hand was about to land—
A blade of blue-white energy suddenly shot from his hand and soared toward Buggy.
"What the—THAT THING CAN FLY?!"
Buggy's eyes went wide in horror, momentarily forgetting to move.
…
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]