The massive rubber giant arm rapidly deflated like a punctured balloon the moment the sword of light pierced Luffy's chest.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji crashed heavily to the ground, blood pouring everywhere.
And yet, even so—
the three of them still struggled to force themselves back to their feet, glaring furiously at Yuuki.
"You still haven't fought a truly powerful opponent, have you?"
Yuuki looked at the three of them lazily.
He took a single step forward—
and his figure vanished from in front of them.
Because of his interference, the Straw Hat crew had never encountered Aokiji.
At the time, Aokiji had been busy carrying out the Buster Call operation in the New World.
Crocodile had been dealt with ahead of time by Yuuki.
As for Enel, the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he had been defeated by Marianne.
So up until now, the strongest enemy the Straw Hats had faced was none other than Gecko Moria.
"Ah!"
Nami let out a terrified scream.
Yuuki was already standing right in front of her.
In his hand was the Clima-Tact Nami had been gripping tightly just moments ago, which he casually twirled in his fingers.
"You fight with a toy like this?"
Yuuki lifted the tip of the Clima-Tact and tilted Nami's chin up with it.
Nami's entire body stiffened, fear filling her brown eyes.
"Let go of Nami!"
Luffy rushed forward at once.
"Honestly, don't interrupt when people are talking."
Yuuki spoke without even turning around.
Hum! Hum! Hum!
Streaks of golden light appeared.
Three floating swords of light materialized beside him once more.
In the blink of an eye, one of them pinned itself through Luffy's calf.
The charging Luffy instantly lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
"Luffy!"
"Luffy!"
Zoro and Sanji roared.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two more swords of light vanished from Yuuki's side.
A moment later, both Zoro and Sanji groaned in pain as another sword pierced each of them, sending them collapsing to the ground as well.
Blood continued to seep from their wounds.
"Not even able to block a single move."
"With strength like this, even killing you would bring me no enjoyment."
Yuuki casually tossed the Clima-Tact back into Nami's arms and turned to look at the three of them.
"Do you know why Robin left you?"
"Because you're too weak."
"With your current level, you can never help Robin fulfill her dream."
"And as for your former crewmate Usopp…"
"He's living in absolute luxury aboard my Gran Tesoro."
"He's long since forgotten all of you."
Yuuki said calmly.
"No… HE… HASN'T!"
A suppressed roar rang out.
Luffy slowly climbed back to his feet.
When he lifted his head, his eyes were filled with an almost frightening resolve as he stared at Yuuki.
"Usopp promised Kaya…"
"…that he'd become the bravest warrior of the seas!"
Huff— huff—
Luffy panted heavily.
He wiped the blood from his mouth with one hand, bent down, picked up the straw hat that had fallen to the ground, and shakily put it back on.
"Listen well!"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"
"The man who's going to become the Pirate King!!"
"I'm bringing Usopp back!"
Luffy clenched his fists and roared with all his might.
Yuuki's expression remained unchanged.
Only the slightest twitch appeared at the corner of his brow.
Even in this state—
that level of willpower surprised even him.
Only now—
did Yuuki truly feel that having someone like Luffy as an opponent might actually be interesting.
BOOM!
A cannon blast suddenly fired from behind and exploded into the ground beside Yuuki, sending smoke and debris everywhere.
Franky came sprinting out from a corner, scooping up Sanji and Zoro in one motion.
At the same time, Nami grabbed Luffy and turned to flee.
Meanwhile—
"ROOOAR!"
A beast-like roar echoed through the air.
A gigantic reindeer monster over thirty meters tall burst through the smoke cloud created by the explosion.
Its massive arms came together, fists clasped, and slammed down toward Yuuki.
This was Chopper in his Monster Point!
"Put me down…!"
"How can we let… Chopper face that guy… alone…"
Luffy weakly waved an arm, struggling to free himself from Nami's grip.
But—
Nami tightened her hold around his waist and ran even harder.
Yuuki raised his head and looked at the giant fist crashing down from above.
Just as he lifted a hand—
suddenly!
Kuma, who had been sent flying not long ago, appeared out of thin air beneath Chopper's fist.
With a backhanded slap—
Chopper vanished in an instant.
Immediately after—
Kuma descended from the sky and landed not far from Yuuki, his emotionless gaze sweeping over.
A gust of wind surged outward.
The surrounding smoke was instantly blown away.
Hummm—
Hummm—
White paw-shaped light began gathering in both of Kuma's hands.
Under the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit, enormous amounts of air were being continuously compressed.
Sensing the astonishing energy fluctuations—
Yuuki instead smiled with complete ease, utterly unconcerned by Kuma's apparent intent to go all out.
"Letting them see the level of the New World ahead of time…"
"Even if it's a little early."
Yuuki spoke casually with a smile.
"You know as well as I do—if I truly wanted to kill them, you wouldn't be able to stop me."
The white paw-shaped energy between Kuma's hands paused.
He silently looked at Yuuki.
After a long moment, he slowly dispersed the compressed air.
"Compared to the last time we met at Little Garden, your reactions have become much slower."
Yuuki shook his head as he looked at Kuma's expressionless face.
"It seems the modifications on your body have entered their final stage."
"So, before your consciousness completely disappears…"
"…you're trying to do as much as you can."
Kuma was silent for a moment.
Then suddenly—
"Where have you placed your bet, Kuma?"
"Or rather…"
"Who do you believe will become the hero that saves this world?"
The sudden question made Kuma freeze slightly.
He slowly raised his head and looked at the rising sun.
Golden light was beginning to disperse the dense mist of the Florian Triangle.
"I'm going to die soon."
Kuma placed one hand on his knee and sat cross-legged on the ground.
He looked directly at Yuuki.
His voice, rarely, carried a trace of gentleness.
Even when speaking of death, he showed not the slightest concern.
Seeing that Kuma actually wanted to talk for once, Yuuki was somewhat surprised, though not truly caught off guard.
The first time they met at Little Garden—
although Yuuki had displayed overwhelming strength, to Kuma he was still an unknown existence.
Something to be watched, and more importantly, feared.
But now—
the Magic Eye Pirates had already become a force of enormous renown across the seas.
Not only had they created the world-shaking Magic Eye Crosses—
they had also taken over Gran Tesoro and firmly established themselves in the New World.
Simply put—
they were no longer some insignificant pirate crew that had appeared from nowhere.
"In my homeland, there has always been a legend."
"One day, there will appear a warrior who walks to the rhythm of liberation's drums…"
"…bringing laughter and joy to the people."
"If one day a hero truly appears to change this world…"
"…then I believe it can only be him."
Kuma spoke softly and seriously.
Then—
Kuma bowed deeply toward Yuuki.
"Please…"
"…help them."
Looking at Kuma's earnest posture, Yuuki tilted his head back slightly.
"I told you before."
"No matter how hard one person tries, repairing this world alone is impossible."
"Red-Haired's straw hat."
"The son of Revolutionary Dragon."
"The grandson of Hero Garp."
"And now even a Warlord like you protecting him."
Yuuki's expression turned colder.
"You people really are hard to like."
"If you want to help Straw Hat…"
"…then help him yourself."
As he spoke, Yuuki flicked something toward Kuma.
It was a Magic Eye Cross.
Kuma instinctively caught it, confusion appearing on his face.
Yuuki had clearly understood what he had meant.
Kuma himself should not have much time left.
"Keep this Magic Eye Cross on you until your consciousness completely disappears."
Yuuki spoke casually.
Then continued,
"If you truly want to see that future…"
"…then go see it yourself."
"The World Government cured your daughter Bonney's Sapphire Scales disease."
"And in exchange, you were turned into this."
"When your consciousness finally vanishes…"
"…that debt will have been repaid."
"As for the Revolutionary Army, whether you owed them anything or not, I don't know."
"But the moment you appeared on this island…"
"…that debt should also be considered repaid."
At this point, Yuuki let out a cold laugh and looked at Kuma.
"If you hadn't shown up here…"
"…the Straw Hats would probably already be dead."
After hearing all of this—
Kuma looked down at the Magic Eye Cross in his hand.
He had already begun to realize something.
"As for the future…"
"…leave that to the future."
Yuuki walked up to Kuma, his tone now carrying a trace of impatience.
Even irritation.
"Where did you send Perona?"
"Send me there too."
Kuma fell silent once more.
Then he let out a sigh.
"…Alright."
The moment he finished speaking—
Kuma placed a palm lightly on Yuuki's shoulder.
Whoosh!
Yuuki vanished instantly.
Kuma remained standing there in silence for a long while.
Then he pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
"I arrived too late."
"Gecko Moria has already been defeated."
"According to the pirates remaining aboard Thriller Bark…"
"…the ones who defeated Gecko Moria were the Straw Hats."
"Capture them! Not a single one must escape!!"
"The Straw Hats have already left the Florian Triangle."
"Gecko Moria has also gone missing."
"This mission has failed."
"Kuma! What are you doing?! Not even a single report was—"
Before the furious voice from the Den Den Mushi could finish—
Kuma had already hung up.
The next moment—
he too vanished from the spot.
(End of Chapter)
(T/N: Man, Kuma is so goated. The only One-Piece character with no haters.)
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