Chapter 84: Even if It's in Vain, You Must Give Your All!
She showed no awareness of "facing imminent death," her tone as casual as inviting friends to a meal.
Buggy's blade halted mid-air.
He turned his head toward the source of the voice.
"You're too late."
Buggy's voice echoed across the square.
"Now, no one can save her! I said so!"
As his words faded, members of the Buggy Pirates and Alvida Pirates swarmed forward, blocking Zoro and Sanji's charge toward the execution platform.
Mohji and Richie, Cabaji, and dozens of underlings surrounded the two.
"Get out of my way!"
Zoro growled, all three swords already drawn.
"Don't block the path!"
Sanji lit a cigarette, slightly raising his right foot.
But there were too many of them.
They couldn't break through in such a short time.
Buggy laughed maniacally, his voice filled with triumph.
"See?!"
He shouted at Lufia, and at Zoro and Sanji below the platform.
"Just watch! Watch your captain—die!"
The blade descended once more.
This time, without any hesitation.
The edge sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
Aimed at Lufia's neck.
Closer and closer.
Then, Lufia smiled.
It was the same radiant smile that always seemed to chase away all shadows.
Her lips curved, revealing pearly white teeth.
Her eyes crinkled into crescents, shining like pure, untainted sunlight.
"Sorry," she said softly, yet clearly audible to everyone. "I'm going to die."
The square fell silent.
All eyes were fixed on that smile.
A smile so full of vitality even in the face of death.
They had only seen such a fearless, accepting smile once before—22 years ago, on Pirate King Roger.
The same execution platform, the same confrontation with death, the same smile at the final moment.
History seemed to overlap in that instant.
Buggy's hand trembled almost imperceptibly.
But the blade could no longer be stopped.
However—
A figure was already in motion.
Leaping down from the roof of the tallest building on the east side of the square.
It was Ralph.
The moment he jumped, Ralph activated his skill, "Leap Stomp."
The move wasn't powerful enough to destroy the execution platform, but it accelerated his descent.
Yet it still wasn't enough.
He wasn't fast enough to intercept the executioner's blade.
In desperation, Ralph changed tactics.
He adjusted his posture mid-air, leaning forward, his feet no longer stomping straight down but instead kicking backward at an angle.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosive sounds rang through the air, as if an invisible hammer were striking the sky.
Ralph's speed increased once more.
And he was no longer falling straight down but diving in a curved arc, as if running through the air.
[Ding!]
[System Prompt: Through continuous practice and pushing your physical limits, you have broken through the constraints of the Six Powers "Soru" and comprehended "Geppo (Beginner)."]
[You can now walk briefly in the air or alter your trajectory.]
Perfect!
Now, his speed was sufficient!
Ralph had no time to ponder the implications of his new skill.
All his focus was on the execution platform, on the descending blade, on the girl whose smile shone as brightly as the sun.
The distance closed rapidly.
Forty meters.
Thirty meters.
Twenty meters.
Buggy's blade was about to touch Lufia's skin.
Ralph's pupils contracted to their limit.
He could have drawn his sword and used a slash to intercept Buggy's execution.
But his right hand couldn't exert any strength.
When he had forcibly broken free from the hand pressing on his right shoulder earlier, Dragon had dislocated his shoulder.
The dislocated shoulder made it impossible for him to smoothly draw and swing his sword.
But it didn't matter!
He still had his left hand!
Drawing a sword with the left hand was inconvenient!
Then he simply wouldn't use a sword!
Armament Haki, activate.
A pitch-black, metallic sheen spread from Ralph's left shoulder, quickly covering his entire arm, and finally converging into his palm and fingers.
His five fingers pressed together, his palm straightened.
The technique of Shigan surfaced in his mind.
But now, instead of stabbing with his fingers, he transformed his entire palm into a "blade."
Ten meters.
The blade pressed into Lufia's skin, and a faint blood trail was already visible.
Five meters.
Ralph could clearly see the smile on Lufia's face.
Three meters.
Ralph and Lufia's gazes met in the air.
At that moment, time seemed to truly stand still.
Ralph saw Lufia's eyes.
No fear, no despair, only pure trust.
She believed he would come, just as she believed the sun would rise the next day.
And Lufia saw Ralph's eyes.
It was a determination to save her, no matter what.
"Lufia, I'm here to save you!"
"Hehe! Ralph, I knew you would come to save me!"
No words were needed.
Their unspoken trust conveyed their feelings through their eyes.
The moment their words fell, Ralph descended to the same height as the execution platform.
His body spun in the air, his left arm swinging out.
Not a punch, not a palm strike.
But a "slashing" motion.
His arm moved like a blade, cutting through the air.
"No Sword Style—"
"Geppo Iaijutsu!"
A crescent-shaped slash shot out from Ralph's left arm.
It swept past the execution platform, past Buggy who was raising his sword, past the blade about to strike Lufia's neck.
Then—
A sound so faint it was almost inaudible.
Buggy's body was severed at the chest.
The sword was cut in half at the blade.
The break was clean and smooth as a mirror.
Buggy's expression froze.
He looked down at his severed lower body, at the sword broken in two on the ground, at the smooth cut on his chest.
How was this possible...
A slash fired from a hand?!
Is this really someone who could appear in the East Blue?!
But the next second, Buggy's expression shifted from shock to mockery.
"It's useless!"
He laughed loudly, no blood flowing from the severed surface, "I'm a user of the Bara Bara no Mi! I'm immune to slashes! No matter how many times you cut me—"
"BOOM—!!!"
Deafening thunder roared overhead.
Immediately after, a blinding, blazing white lightning bolt split through the lead-gray clouds and struck fiercely toward the execution platform!
The lightning engulfed the execution platform.
Engulfed Ralph and Lufia.
Engulfed Buggy.
Engulfed everything around them.
The blazing white light was too bright to keep their eyes open, the thunderclap painful to their eardrums.
The lightning lasted only an instant.
Then, it abruptly ceased.
The execution platform had turned directly into charred wood and debris.
And in the center of the ruins—
Ralph stood firm, holding Lufia horizontally in his arms.
Lufia, protected in his embrace, was completely unharmed.
"Lufia—"
Ralph looked down at the girl in his arms, his tone gentle,
"Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay!"
Lufia jumped out of his arms, dusting off her clothes, "I'm made of rubber, I'm not afraid of lightning! I should be asking you, Ralph, are you okay?"
Ralph opened his mouth, wanting to say "I'm fine."
But before he could speak, everything went black before his eyes.
His body fell forward uncontrollably.
"Ralph?!" Lufia exclaimed in surprise.
With quick reflexes, she caught him, only to discover the person in her arms had already lost consciousness.
Lufia froze for a moment, then without hesitation adjusted her position.
She picked up Ralph horizontally in her arms.
A princess carry.
"Hehe," Lufia looked at the unconscious Ralph in her arms, smiling somewhat slyly, "This time it's my turn to carry you."
By this time, Zoro and Sanji had finished dealing with all the minor enemies and came before Lufia.
Seeing Lufia holding Ralph, both recalled Ralph's heroic rescue and the lightning that struck from the sky.
"Hey," Sanji lit a new cigarette, looking at Zoro with a subtle tone, "Do you believe in the existence of gods?"
Zoro sheathed his sword, glanced at the execution platform reduced to ruins, then at the unconscious Ralph, his mouth twitching slightly.
"You mean," Zoro's voice remained flat, "Our captain has divine assistance, while some bootlicker overestimated himself and deserved to be struck by lightning—is that it?"
Sanji remained silent for two seconds.
Then, he extended his hand.
Zoro also extended his hand.
The two high-fived in the air.
Clap!
A crisp sound.
"Great minds think alike." Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled.
"Obviously."
Zoro turned around, "Let's go, if we don't leave now the Navy will arrive."
"Wait for me!" Lufia called out, holding Ralph as she quickly caught up.
Her steps were light, her smile radiant, as if she hadn't just been on the brink of life and death.
The straw hat sat firmly on her head, swaying gently with her movements.
Meanwhile, high up in the building.
Dragon still stood there, his dark green cloak flapping loudly in the strengthening wind.
He watched as Lufia carried Ralph, followed by her companions Zoro and Sanji, running laughing toward the outskirts of town and toward their ship.
Their retreating figures were completely untroubled.
As if the recent death threats and heavenly lightning strikes were merely interesting episodes in an adventure.
"Dreams..."
Dragon murmured to himself, his voice almost swallowed by the wind, "Are what make people forget life and death in the pursuit."
"Even if one dies on the path of chasing dreams, there would be no regrets."
"Even knowing that some efforts may be in vain, one must still give their all."
"Because the process of doing it is the meaning itself."
"Because—"
He paused, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into an almost imperceptible, gentle smile.
"It's what one wants to do."
The wind grew stronger.
"The tides of the era, people's dreams, the inherited will..."
Dragon turned, his cloak billowing in the wind.
"As long as people continue to seek freedom, these things can never be stopped."
-Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan