Chapter 125: Luffy Challenges Rukia (Part 1)
"Luna, would you like to fight me?" Luffy suddenly asked.
"Pfft—" But as soon as he said that, those in the Straw Hat Pirates or Pink Hat Pirates who were drinking, like Kuina and Zoro who had just finished fighting and wanted to rehydrate, instantly widened their eyes and spat out the water they had in their mouths.
Everyone else also had a bewildered expression, staring at each other.
"Ah, this..." Even Luna was startled from the joy of acquiring the Necromancy skill. She blinked her pretty little eyes, looking stunned.
Seriously, is Luffy's brain circuit abnormal again?
"Luffy, are you crazy?" Nami was right next to Luffy, and she immediately punched him, seemingly wanting to make him sober up a bit.
"Ow, ow, ow... Nami, what are you doing?" Luffy, in pain, rubbed the large bump on his head and complained.
"Hiss—!"
"Gurgle—"
Upon seeing this scene, everyone, whether from the Straw Hat Pirates or the Pink Hat Pirates, either immediately gasped or forcibly swallowed their saliva.
"Is your sister that violent?" Carmen quietly asked Nojiko beside her. Her initial dissatisfaction with Sanji also disappeared, because, wow, Nami was even more violent and prone to temper tantrums than her. Even her fiery phoenix self was startled.
"She wasn't like this before. What exactly did she go through on this journey?" Nojiko first shook her head, then said with a bitter smile.
Was this still her original gentle, kind, somewhat mischievous yet resolute sister?
Luna heard their words and even wanted to say that it was because they didn't understand Nami's position as the crew boss within the Straw Hat Pirates. No matter how arrogant or unrestrained the other crew members were outside, they all had to fall under her sandbag-sized fist.
Thankfully, Nami wasn't her crew member, because Nami really seemed to have a super-enhanced trait of specifically attacking teammates. If she came aboard her ship, many girls would probably suffer, even including her, a gliza template user.
Of course, there were still people in the Straw Hat Pirates who could suppress Nami: Chopper, the crew's pet, and Robin, the big sister.
Especially the latter, Nami dared to collect money from anyone in the Straw Hat Pirates, but not Robin.
Of course, Luna was also very curious why Luffy wanted to fight her now.
One must know that the gap between Luffy and her now was even greater than the combined gap between Sanji and Carmen, and Zoro and Kuina.
To put it this way, Luffy probably couldn't even defeat Momousagi or Tokikake right now.
And Luna's own strength had already reached that of a top-tier expert, capable of contending with any top-tier expert today, and even with her Void Ability, she was in an unbeatable position.
Thinking of this, Luna directly asked.
"Luffy, why do you want to fight me?"
Hearing Luna, the person directly involved, ask this, everyone else stopped arguing and composed themselves. Moreover, as the captain of the Pink Hat Pirates, Luna was already the strongest here.
Even here, the usually arrogant and tsundere Tatsumaki had to admit that Luna's current strength even surpassed her peak in her previous life.
So everyone was willing to give her this respect. They also wanted to hear what Luffy would say, what kind of thoughts he had that made him want to fight Luna, or rather, challenge her.
"In Skypiea, without your help, we and Eneru would have been a tough battle. Even if we had won in the end and gotten away unscathed, everyone would have suffered considerable injuries."
"We were utterly defeated by Aokiji, even almost losing our lives, yet you weren't afraid of him at all and could even defeat him."
"And at Enies Lobby, if you hadn't come, we would have fled in a panic, and we wouldn't have been able to save Merry at all, only watching her soul and ship body be burned to ashes."
"But I understand that the most important thing is that the gap between me and you is too great, whether in strength, leadership ability, or wisdom. So, I want to challenge you once. I want to know where the gap between us lies? Of course, I'm also genuinely a bit unconvinced, after all, you started sailing later than me."
Luffy quickly said a lot, and after he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
After listening, they immediately understood. Indeed, the Straw Hat Pirates' recent experiences had been quite a blow, especially the latter two times Luffy mentioned, both the incident at Enies Lobby and the incident with Aokiji.
---------------------------------
Chapter 126 Luna, understanding, immediately smiled
Of course, that was because the Straw Hat Pirates didn't know that Aokiji was currently a captive of the Pink Hat Pirates. Otherwise, they would have been incredibly shocked, and even Robin would have jumped three feet high in fright.
But undoubtedly, if Luffy said he wasn't disheartened, that would be impossible. Luna knew this very well, especially with her existence. She started sailing even later than Luffy, and both came from the East Blue, at least in many people's eyes. Coupled with multiple encounters, it's no wonder Luffy would compare himself to her.
As she said, her own strength, wisdom, leadership ability, and the quantity and quality of her companions, among other factors, all surpassed Luffy's. This really did give him a bit of a blow, but Luffy's inner resolve was strong, and his never-give-up spirit quickly made him stand up again, even proposing to fight her.
Luna, understanding, immediately smiled. That's right, this is Luffy. Otherwise, how could he become the Child of Destiny, the chosen one of the nika fruit after more than 800 years, and eventually even surpass Joy Boy from 800 years ago?
This must also be related to Luffy's own talent and will.
Since that's the case, she'll grant his wish. Of course, she wouldn't say that she wanted to experience the pleasure of tormenting the protagonist, hehehe.
"Okay, I agree." Luna immediately agreed, a confident and gratified smile on her face.
"Thank you." Luffy said gratefully, a smile also appearing on his face.
Seeing that both agreed, neither the Straw Hat Pirates nor the Pink Hat Pirates had any objections, because they all knew that Luna would definitely handle it well.
Soon, Luffy and Luna stepped out and stood on opposite sides.
"You go first." Luna smiled and beckoned with her finger.
Although conventionally, Luffy should let her, a girl, go first, especially since she was a bit younger than Luffy.
But from the perspective of strength, she should indeed go easy on Luffy.
And for a bit of fun, she planned not to use any Void Ability this time.
For this friendly spar with Luffy, she only intended to use pure Haki and physical combat.
"Then I won't hold back, Gum-Gum Pistol." Luffy was also very aware of Luna's strength. He stretched his rubber arm back, then threw a punch, which looked very strong in both speed and power, like a cannonball fired from a barrel.
But unfortunately, with a "snap," Luna smiled faintly. Luffy's punch, which could completely send a bull flying, was easily caught by Luna.
She extended her palm and caught Luffy's fist.
"So fast." Luffy was shocked that Luna could catch his fist so quickly. He hadn't even seen when Luna made her move.
The other Straw Hat Pirates were also the same, their faces showing shock. But even within the Pink Hat Pirates, not many people saw the captain's speed and movements.
"Heh." Luna lightly flicked, sending Luffy's fist flying.
"It's not over yet, Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy shouted, again throwing out a flurry of stretching rubber fists. But he used his other hand to shake his arm, and the fists instantly produced countless afterimages, giving a somewhat illusory feeling.
However, in front of Luna, who possessed top-tier Observation Haki, this move was useless. Luna had already pinpointed the position of the fists.
Black substance immediately appeared on her fist. Luna this time simply used Armament Haki coating and hardening. She really held back a lot.
But when her punch hit Luffy's fist, sending it flying back.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow..." Luffy frantically shook his arm and fingers, yelling.
"What's going on? Why does it hurt as much as when my grandpa hits me?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
But as soon as he said that, the Pink Hat Pirates immediately looked at the Straw Hat Pirates with doubt, as if asking, don't they know about Haki?
Except for Kuina, since she had already told Zoro about the knowledge and training methods for the Three Types of Haki back in Skypiea.
But at this moment, Luna had an idea. Since that was the case, she would take advantage of this friendly spar with Luffy to teach Haki. Now that she had mastered three top-tier Haki, she was more than capable of being a teacher.
"It's simple, because I have this, Armament Haki."
Luna said with a smile, extending her hand. The black substance unique to Armament Haki immediately appeared on her hand.
"Armament Haki?" The entire Straw Hat Pirates exclaimed in surprise.
Luna quickly explained all the uses and abilities of Armament Haki, especially against Logia Type users, as this was the most effective way to counter Elementalization.
And through her explanation, the Straw Hat Pirates also understood the importance of Armament Haki.
Especially during the explanation, Luna directly used her fist, coated with Armament Haki, to hit Luffy a few times.
Luffy, being a rubber man, was immediately bruised and swollen, with several large bumps on his face. Luffy continuously used his Gear First and Gear Third techniques, but they inflicted no damage against Luna's Armament Haki coating and hardening.
The special properties, attack power, and defense displayed, as well as what the Pink Hat Pirates members said nearby, immediately made the Straw Hat Pirates realize that if they wanted to enter the New World, Haki was extremely important.
Especially Sanji, Usopp, and Nami. After seeing that Carmen, Kaya, and Nojiko all knew Armament Haki, these three, even two years later, had not learned Armament Haki, or at least had not shown it.
But now these three were disheartened and vowed to learn Armament Haki.
Especially through Luna's precise explanation, they also understood that learning Armament Haki would be of great use to them and bring many benefits.Chapter 125: Luffy Challenges Rukia (Part 1)
"Luna, would you like to fight me?" Luffy suddenly asked.
"Pfft—" But as soon as he said that, those in the Straw Hat Pirates or Pink Hat Pirates who were drinking, like Kuina and Zoro who had just finished fighting and wanted to rehydrate, instantly widened their eyes and spat out the water they had in their mouths.
Everyone else also had a bewildered expression, staring at each other.
"Ah, this..." Even Luna was startled from the joy of acquiring the Necromancy skill. She blinked her pretty little eyes, looking stunned.
Seriously, is Luffy's brain circuit abnormal again?
"Luffy, are you crazy?" Nami was right next to Luffy, and she immediately punched him, seemingly wanting to make him sober up a bit.
"Ow, ow, ow... Nami, what are you doing?" Luffy, in pain, rubbed the large bump on his head and complained.
"Hiss—!"
"Gurgle—"
Upon seeing this scene, everyone, whether from the Straw Hat Pirates or the Pink Hat Pirates, either immediately gasped or forcibly swallowed their saliva.
"Is your sister that violent?" Carmen quietly asked Nojiko beside her. Her initial dissatisfaction with Sanji also disappeared, because, wow, Nami was even more violent and prone to temper tantrums than her. Even her fiery phoenix self was startled.
"She wasn't like this before. What exactly did she go through on this journey?" Nojiko first shook her head, then said with a bitter smile.
Was this still her original gentle, kind, somewhat mischievous yet resolute sister?
Luna heard their words and even wanted to say that it was because they didn't understand Nami's position as the crew boss within the Straw Hat Pirates. No matter how arrogant or unrestrained the other crew members were outside, they all had to fall under her sandbag-sized fist.
Thankfully, Nami wasn't her crew member, because Nami really seemed to have a super-enhanced trait of specifically attacking teammates. If she came aboard her ship, many girls would probably suffer, even including her, a gliza template user.
Of course, there were still people in the Straw Hat Pirates who could suppress Nami: Chopper, the crew's pet, and Robin, the big sister.
Especially the latter, Nami dared to collect money from anyone in the Straw Hat Pirates, but not Robin.
Of course, Luna was also very curious why Luffy wanted to fight her now.
One must know that the gap between Luffy and her now was even greater than the combined gap between Sanji and Carmen, and Zoro and Kuina.
To put it this way, Luffy probably couldn't even defeat Momousagi or Tokikake right now.
And Luna's own strength had already reached that of a top-tier expert, capable of contending with any top-tier expert today, and even with her Void Ability, she was in an unbeatable position.
Thinking of this, Luna directly asked.
"Luffy, why do you want to fight me?"
Hearing Luna, the person directly involved, ask this, everyone else stopped arguing and composed themselves. Moreover, as the captain of the Pink Hat Pirates, Luna was already the strongest here.
Even here, the usually arrogant and tsundere Tatsumaki had to admit that Luna's current strength even surpassed her peak in her previous life.
So everyone was willing to give her this respect. They also wanted to hear what Luffy would say, what kind of thoughts he had that made him want to fight Luna, or rather, challenge her.
"In Skypiea, without your help, we and Eneru would have been a tough battle. Even if we had won in the end and gotten away unscathed, everyone would have suffered considerable injuries."
"We were utterly defeated by Aokiji, even almost losing our lives, yet you weren't afraid of him at all and could even defeat him."
"And at Enies Lobby, if you hadn't come, we would have fled in a panic, and we wouldn't have been able to save Merry at all, only watching her soul and ship body be burned to ashes."
"But I understand that the most important thing is that the gap between me and you is too great, whether in strength, leadership ability, or wisdom. So, I want to challenge you once. I want to know where the gap between us lies? Of course, I'm also genuinely a bit unconvinced, after all, you started sailing later than me."
Luffy quickly said a lot, and after he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
After listening, they immediately understood. Indeed, the Straw Hat Pirates' recent experiences had been quite a blow, especially the latter two times Luffy mentioned, both the incident at Enies Lobby and the incident with Aokiji.
---------------------------------
Chapter 126 Luna, understanding, immediately smiled
Of course, that was because the Straw Hat Pirates didn't know that Aokiji was currently a captive of the Pink Hat Pirates. Otherwise, they would have been incredibly shocked, and even Robin would have jumped three feet high in fright.
But undoubtedly, if Luffy said he wasn't disheartened, that would be impossible. Luna knew this very well, especially with her existence. She started sailing even later than Luffy, and both came from the East Blue, at least in many people's eyes. Coupled with multiple encounters, it's no wonder Luffy would compare himself to her.
As she said, her own strength, wisdom, leadership ability, and the quantity and quality of her companions, among other factors, all surpassed Luffy's. This really did give him a bit of a blow, but Luffy's inner resolve was strong, and his never-give-up spirit quickly made him stand up again, even proposing to fight her.
Luna, understanding, immediately smiled. That's right, this is Luffy. Otherwise, how could he become the Child of Destiny, the chosen one of the nika fruit after more than 800 years, and eventually even surpass Joy Boy from 800 years ago?
This must also be related to Luffy's own talent and will.
Since that's the case, she'll grant his wish. Of course, she wouldn't say that she wanted to experience the pleasure of tormenting the protagonist, hehehe.
"Okay, I agree." Luna immediately agreed, a confident and gratified smile on her face.
"Thank you." Luffy said gratefully, a smile also appearing on his face.
Seeing that both agreed, neither the Straw Hat Pirates nor the Pink Hat Pirates had any objections, because they all knew that Luna would definitely handle it well.
Soon, Luffy and Luna stepped out and stood on opposite sides.
"You go first." Luna smiled and beckoned with her finger.
Although conventionally, Luffy should let her, a girl, go first, especially since she was a bit younger than Luffy.
But from the perspective of strength, she should indeed go easy on Luffy.
And for a bit of fun, she planned not to use any Void Ability this time.
For this friendly spar with Luffy, she only intended to use pure Haki and physical combat.
"Then I won't hold back, Gum-Gum Pistol." Luffy was also very aware of Luna's strength. He stretched his rubber arm back, then threw a punch, which looked very strong in both speed and power, like a cannonball fired from a barrel.
But unfortunately, with a "snap," Luna smiled faintly. Luffy's punch, which could completely send a bull flying, was easily caught by Luna.
She extended her palm and caught Luffy's fist.
"So fast." Luffy was shocked that Luna could catch his fist so quickly. He hadn't even seen when Luna made her move.
The other Straw Hat Pirates were also the same, their faces showing shock. But even within the Pink Hat Pirates, not many people saw the captain's speed and movements.
"Heh." Luna lightly flicked, sending Luffy's fist flying.
"It's not over yet, Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy shouted, again throwing out a flurry of stretching rubber fists. But he used his other hand to shake his arm, and the fists instantly produced countless afterimages, giving a somewhat illusory feeling.
However, in front of Luna, who possessed top-tier Observation Haki, this move was useless. Luna had already pinpointed the position of the fists.
Black substance immediately appeared on her fist. Luna this time simply used Armament Haki coating and hardening. She really held back a lot.
But when her punch hit Luffy's fist, sending it flying back.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow..." Luffy frantically shook his arm and fingers, yelling.
"What's going on? Why does it hurt as much as when my grandpa hits me?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
But as soon as he said that, the Pink Hat Pirates immediately looked at the Straw Hat Pirates with doubt, as if asking, don't they know about Haki?
Except for Kuina, since she had already told Zoro about the knowledge and training methods for the Three Types of Haki back in Skypiea.
But at this moment, Luna had an idea. Since that was the case, she would take advantage of this friendly spar with Luffy to teach Haki. Now that she had mastered three top-tier Haki, she was more than capable of being a teacher.
"It's simple, because I have this, Armament Haki."
Luna said with a smile, extending her hand. The black substance unique to Armament Haki immediately appeared on her hand.
"Armament Haki?" The entire Straw Hat Pirates exclaimed in surprise.
Luna quickly explained all the uses and abilities of Armament Haki, especially against Logia Type users, as this was the most effective way to counter Elementalization.
And through her explanation, the Straw Hat Pirates also understood the importance of Armament Haki.
Especially during the explanation, Luna directly used her fist, coated with Armament Haki, to hit Luffy a few times.
Luffy, being a rubber man, was immediately bruised and swollen, with several large bumps on his face. Luffy continuously used his Gear First and Gear Third techniques, but they inflicted no damage against Luna's Armament Haki coating and hardening.
The special properties, attack power, and defense displayed, as well as what the Pink Hat Pirates members said nearby, immediately made the Straw Hat Pirates realize that if they wanted to enter the New World, Haki was extremely important.
Especially Sanji, Usopp, and Nami. After seeing that Carmen, Kaya, and Nojiko all knew Armament Haki, these three, even two years later, had not learned Armament Haki, or at least had not shown it.
But now these three were disheartened and vowed to learn Armament Haki.
Especially through Luna's precise explanation, they also understood that learning Armament Haki would be of great use to them and bring many benefits.