"Damn it! What's going on here!?"
The CP0 agent, who had just returned after taking a detour through an interdimensional hole, immediately removed his mask, revealing a face covered in scars and knife wounds.
He forcefully stomped his legs against the air, causing two thunderous sounds, like thunderclaps, before mysteriously halting his body in mid-air.
The next moment, the scarred man suddenly looked up, his face twisted in a grimace as he stared at Luffy, who was floating in mid-air in his Gear Fourth: Bounce-Man form. His eyes burned with both anger and fear.
What is this Akatsuki...
As a senior agent in the strongest department of the world's most powerful intelligence organization, he was 100% certain that this was a name fabricated by those cowardly individuals!
But...
With his advanced Observation Haki, he could clearly sense the voices of the Navy and other agents who had come with them to God's Island, one by one fading into nothingness.
What kind of force could deploy so many powerful individuals all at once, and without the CP organization having any knowledge of it!?
The CP0 agent had no answers.
However, he knew that if he didn't start taking this fight seriously...
The punishment awaiting him would be no less than losing his head!
This mission... they hadn't even saved the Celestial Dragon. If they were defeated in battle now...
Cruel as it was, CP0 didn't tolerate useless agents!
At that moment, Luffy leaped from the distant sky, and when he saw the broken mask of the CP0 agent, his expression immediately turned odd.
He instinctively mocked, "What? You look like that?"
"Ha!"
The scarred man, already injured, couldn't hold in his breath at the taunt and spat out a mouthful of blood.
But then he raised his head, his eyes filled with cold fury as he glared at Luffy.
"You damn brat! I'll admit, at first I underestimated you!"
"But... don't think that just because you got the upper hand once or twice by surprise attacks, that you're stronger than me!"
"You have no idea what it means to stand at the peak of the CP organization!!!"
As he spoke, the scarred man's body suddenly began to change.
His already hideous face became even more grotesque, his pointed ears lifted upward.
His hands sprouted into thin, bloody, flesh-like wings, covered with small hairs.
In an instant, he transformed into a gigantic, ugly bat-man.
"Brat, feel the fear!" The scarred man's face darkened, and as he shifted into his beast form, black flame clouds swirled around his body.
This transformation caused Luffy's previously jovial expression to suddenly become grave.
"A Zoan Awakener!" Luffy murmured in surprise, "No wonder I felt so relaxed before..."
"So this guy wasn't even using his full power?!"
"And as for his awakened Devil Fruit ability..."
Luffy spread his hands and looked at his massive arm, covered in Armament Haki, a sense of excitement beginning to rise.
After all, Red had promised him countless times—once he awakened his Devil Fruit power, he would join the ranks of the world's strongest!
With that, their pirate crew wouldn't have to fear any strong enemies anymore.
With that thought, excitement flashed in Luffy's dark eyes.
"True enough."
"If defeating this guy was that easy, Red wouldn't have left it to me!"
"Good thing... I wasn't using my full power earlier either!"
At this moment, realizing his enemy wasn't simple, Luffy's body suddenly surged with intense steam, his blood-colored Haki expanding around him.
He quickly took out a strange vial, thrusting it into his chest!
"Facade!!!"
In an instant, under the toxin's influence, Luffy's Pokémon energy erupted like magma from a volcano, flooding every cell in his body with power.
"Gear Fourth: God of War Form!!!"
Ssss—
Luffy's black hair, already fiery from Gear Fourth, grew longer and sharper, like a warrior's mane, falling back behind him.
Stimulated by the Pokémon energy, Luffy's body became even larger.
Whether it was the pain from the toxins or the influence of Armament Haki, Luffy now looked more imposing, his expression fierce and dignified, like a gatekeeper of the gods.
He spoke in a deep, commanding voice: "I haven't tested this on Ace yet!"
"Guess you'll be my sparring partner!"
"Don't get too cocky, brat!!!"
The scarred man, sensing Luffy's determination, immediately flapped his Haki-covered wings, soaring into the air.
His crimson eyes flickered as he left a trail of light in the white cloud sea.
The next moment, the scarred man condensed his body, making it harder than steel, spreading his wings like a killing black fighter jet, pointing the gun barrel at Luffy.
"Six Powers Secret Art: Iron Block: Night Sound Raid!!!"
Zzzz—!!!
A powerful sonic wave suddenly roared out from the bat-man's body, and with his incredible speed, it rushed towards Luffy!
Thanks to the amplifier effect of his bat-like body, the shrill sound waves hit Luffy like a tsunami, piercing through his body.
"This... this is..."
Even in his new God of War form, Luffy grimaced from the pain as the sound waves struck.
Quickly, he cupped his ears, and a blast of air surged beneath him, propelling him like a cannonball out of the shockwave's reach.
Boom!!!
The terrifying soundwave didn't disappear as Luffy escaped but continued toward the White Sea, carving a huge pit into it, sending waves of clouds into a frenzy.
"Heh heh~!"
"Not bad, you managed to escape!"
The scarred man mocked, then spun around to generate another sonic wave to attack Luffy.
But just then, Luffy shouted, "Isn't that a Pokémon move, Hyper Voice!!!?"
"Sssgay~!"
"Didn't expect anyone could bypass Red and use a Pokémon move themselves! Impressive!"
Due to the familiar sensation, Luffy instantly recognized the sonic attack as something he'd encountered in the Pokémon world.
Meanwhile, a spark of realization flashed in his mind.
As the second sonic wave from the scarred man descended, Luffy didn't dodge, not even covering his ears. Instead, he called out loudly:
"Glitzy Glow!!!"
In an instant, a mysterious, ethereal energy surged from Luffy's body, forming a pink storm around him.
As the sonic waves collided with the storm, they merely caused a mild earache, failing to harm Luffy.
"Just as I thought!"
Luffy grinned.
In the Pokémon world, Glitzy Glow could counter Hyper Voice, and it could do the same here in the Pirate World.
Without dispersing the Glitzy Glow, he infused it with Fairy-type energy, solidifying it into a wind-like shield around him.
"Now, your attack can't hurt me!"
Maybe due to using Glitzy Glow, or perhaps from the overwhelming effect of his Conqueror's Haki, Luffy's body suddenly glowed with a faint pink light.
This was a sign that his control over Fairy-type energy had increased even further!
In the blink of an eye, Luffy vanished from his position.
"Huh!?"
The scarred man, who didn't realize his sonic wave had been completely ineffective, was stunned.
Just then, a hot, chaotic aura appeared beside him.
"Gum-Gum—God's Fire!"
Boom!!!
Hearing the noise, the scarred man immediately abandoned his sonic wave and quickly turned his gaze.
What he saw was...
A pale pink flame swirling in the wind, forming a terrifying and strange fire vortex, with a huge black fist rushing toward him.
"What!?"
Sensing the overwhelming threat from the flames, the scarred man hastily folded his bat wings into shields, attempting to block the attack.
"Iron Block!!!"
His body condensed rapidly, turning into a solid mass of iron!
But no matter how hard he tried, he could never have predicted...
With the Fairy-type energy's influence, Luffy's attack was already beyond what raw physical defense could block!
Boom!!!
Luffy's fist slammed into the scarred man's body, ringing like a metal bell.
Immediately, the pale pink flames wrapped around Luffy's arm, engulfing the scarred man.
Whoosh!!!
With the overwhelming force, the scarred man was sent flying, turning into a streak of light toward the cloud sea below.
Luckily, as a CP0 senior agent, he wasn't a weakling.
He did a flip in mid-air, using his wings and the wind to cushion most of the impact.
However, just as he was about to grin and mock his opponent, he was stunned to hear an unfamiliar laughter echoing in his head.
"Hahahahaha~..."
"What's going on!?"
Turning around, the scarred man saw nothing but an empty White Sea.
Then, his eyes swept around, but the only person he saw was Luffy, standing within a Fairy-type shield, no one else.
"What's happening!? Is this his Devil Fruit power!?"
The scarred man stared at Luffy, bewildered.
Little did he know...
This was just the result of Luffy's Fairy-type energy transferring his happy emotions to him.
At this moment, the confusion wasn't just on the scarred man's face.
Even Luffy, having just landed the punch, was staring oddly at his own fist.
"What was that just now...?"
He muttered as he waved his fist, not feeling anything unusual.
No...
It wasn't that there was no anomaly.
It was just that, under the influence of Fairy-type energy, Luffy felt like he was in the carefree, joyful state typical of a Fairy-type Pokémon...
Mysterious, happy, and free...
But aside from that, he felt no further change.
"Somehow... this feels... so happy!?"
"Is it because I'm facing such a strong opponent!?"
Luffy mumbled in confusion.
But he quickly snapped out of it, focusing all his attention back on the scarred man.
Any strange feelings could be addressed later by asking Red.
Right now, the only thing that mattered was the battle ahead!
The testing phase was over...
Now, it was time for the real fight!!!
(End of Chapter)