The kick, wrapped in powerful Armament Haki, sent Luffy flying instantly.
"Ow ow ow! Why does everyone here hit so hard?!" Luffy looked utterly despairing.
He had thought only his grandpa could counter him… but now it felt like everyone could!
"Vice Admiral Garp's grandson doesn't seem very worldly," Chaton chuckled.
He had already held back with that kick.
Otherwise, with an Admiral candidate's strength, even if it didn't kill Luffy outright, it would have crippled him.
Honestly, if not for Garp, Luffy would have died in Marine hands more times than he could count by now.
"Fire Fist!"
Seeing his little brother get hurt, Ace immediately blasted a punch toward Chaton.
A massive wave of flames instantly engulfed Chaton's figure.
Boom!
Chaton kicked out, Armament Haki bursting outward like a violent storm, shattering Ace's flames in the blink of an eye.
Shave!
Using the scattered flames as cover, Chaton silently appeared behind Ace.
"Not bad strength… but still not enough!"
A razor-sharp whip kick tore through the air, slamming straight down toward Ace's head.
Ace barely managed to raise his arms in time, hastily blocking the blow.
Like many Logia users, Ace's Armament Haki training was extremely lacking.
The moment Chaton's heavily Haki-coated kick landed, Ace let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
A ruthless glint flashed through Chaton's eyes.
"If I let you escape, the Navy's reputation will be dragged through the mud. You'd better die right here!"
With that, Chaton casually raised his gun and fired straight at Ace's head!
"As if I'd let you!"
Luffy pushed Second Gear to its limit, his body shooting toward Chaton like a cannonball.
"Gum-Gum Jet Bazooka!"
With the forward momentum combined with the rebound force of rubber, this attack was powerful enough to smash through steel!
"Three Sword Style: Three Thousand Worlds!"
"Diable Jambe!"
Zoro and Sanji moved in perfect coordination, attacking from both sides and completely sealing off Chaton's escape routes.
Chaton's expression turned icy as he snapped,
"A bunch of overconfident flies… buzzing nonstop, annoying as hell!"
He spun and kicked first, meeting Sanji's Diable Jambe head-on.
Boom!
The flames around Sanji's leg were crushed instantly by Armament Haki, and Sanji was sent flying.
Sanji's face went pale. He could clearly feel it… his leg bone had fractured.
Next came Zoro's rapidly spinning Three Sword Style.
Chaton merely glanced at it, a look of disdain appearing on his face.
"Compared to Gion, your swordsmanship is as crude as a child's scribbles."
Chaton raised his gun and fired.
The bullet struck with perfect precision at the exact point where Zoro's three blades overlapped!
Zoro's Three Thousand Worlds froze instantly, his body wide open with fatal openings!
"Get out of my sight too!"
Chaton kicked Zoro square in the chest, sending him flying away.
Finally… Luffy.
Facing this reckless idiot charging straight at him, Chaton let out a helpless sigh.
He couldn't kill him, but letting him go wasn't an option either.
Why did he have to deal with such a troublesome kid?
Watching Luffy's attack, Chaton coated his entire body in Armament Haki.
His pitch-black form looked like it was clad in thick armor.
"Iron Body."
He even added an extra layer of insurance.
Thud!
With a dull impact, Chaton didn't move an inch.
Instead, Luffy was sent reeling by the powerful rebound, his arms going numb.
"Kid, you'd better be handed over to Vice Admiral Garp to deal with personally."
Chaton reached out, intending to completely subdue Luffy!
"Fish-Man Karate: Five Thousand Tile True Punch!"
At the critical moment, Jinbe launched an attack from behind Chaton.
As a former Warlord of the Sea, Jinbe's strength was something even Chaton couldn't ignore.
Forced to abandon Luffy for now, Chaton turned and threw a punch to meet Jinbe's attack.
Boom!
Chaton was pushed back two steps, while Jinbe slid several meters across the ground.
"Luffy! Take Ace and go!"
Jinbe didn't hesitate for a second, charging straight at Chaton again.
"Fish-Man Karate: Shark Tile True Punch!"
Chaton had no choice but to clash with Jinbe once more.
And in that brief window, Luffy grabbed Ace and the others and fled at full speed.
Only now did Luffy truly understand that on this battlefield, his strength was nothing more than a joke.
From afar, Tsuru, who was commanding the overall situation, saw everything clearly.
She coldly shouted at the nearby Warlords,
"Anyone who doesn't want to keep their Warlord title is welcome to keep slacking off."
Then she added pointedly,
"Just be careful you don't die here."
Don't think that just because you were recruited by the World Government, the Navy can't deal with you.
This war will end sooner or later.
And when it does, facing the Navy's hundred thousand elite troops… how many of you will truly be able to walk away unscathed?
Doflamingo immediately let out a sinister laugh.
"Fufufufu… letting them slip through would be pretty embarrassing for us too."
"I'll go play with those brats for a bit."
That was the excuse.
In reality, Doflamingo wanted to use Luffy to provoke Garp.
If he could push Garp into losing control, the direction of this war would descend into unprecedented chaos!
Just thinking about it made Doflamingo tremble with excitement.
However, before Doflamingo could make a move—
A massive figure suddenly shot forward, cutting in ahead of him and blocking Luffy's path.
"Not good!"
Ace's face changed.
"It's the Warlord of the Sea… Bartholomew Kuma!"
The nearly seven-meter-tall giant stood there, his mere presence radiating overwhelming pressure.
Unfortunately, Luffy didn't care at all. He bent forward and launched straight into an attack!
"Second Gear! Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Luffy's fists rained down like a storm.
Kuma didn't move an inch.
He calmly raised his left hand, revealing the paw pads on his palm.
"Pressure Cannon."
Boom!
The air was violently drawn in by Kuma's palm, compressing into a massive paw-shaped shockwave that tore straight through Luffy's Gum-Gum Gatling and slammed into his chest!
"Pff—!"
Luffy's eyes rolled back as a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
"Seriously… you don't even know Armament Haki, and you dare charge Kuma head-on?"
Doflamingo sneered disdainfully.
"Luffy!"
The Straw Hat Pirates' hearts clenched as they rushed forward, supporting Luffy.
After a quick examination, Chopper confirmed that Luffy wasn't in immediate danger, and only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
"Get Luffy out of here first! If he doesn't receive proper treatment, his injuries will get worse!" Chopper ordered Zoro to carry Luffy and move.
"No… I can still fight…" Luffy forced his eyes open, weakly trying to stop them.
"Enough. Don't talk anymore! Leave this place to us. You focus on getting treated!" Zoro didn't hesitate, immediately moving to carry him.
At that moment, a cold, emotionless voice rang out.
"You have… nowhere left to run."
***
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