BAM! BAM! BAM!
Luffy's massive body slammed heavily into the ground from mid-air like a giant rubber ball. The earth shuddered under the impact as he bounced high into the air, falling and rebounding three times in rapid succession. In an instant, several craters, each meters wide, gouged the earth. Intense shockwaves erupted outward, kicking up massive veils of dust.
"Aeridar!"
Protected by the hardening of his Armament Haki, Luffy was largely unharmed by the fall. With an angry roar, his legs snapped outward, propelling him back into the fray like a rocket.
"Heh... Straw Hat, you're far outclassed! Impact Wave!"
Aeridar let out a sinister laugh. He swung a fist downward into empty air, releasing a concentrated burst of shock-force against the atmosphere.
"Shockwave?!" Luffy's eyes widened in realization.
Whoosh—!
RUMBLE!
A shockwave, visible to the naked eye, erupted with a blinding halo of light. Striking from the heavens to the earth, it engulfed the charging Luffy. The ground shattered inch by inch, trees were uprooted, and massive boulders were sent tumbling. A thick smog of dust and splintered wood instantly saturated the forest.
Pinned by the sheer pressure of the Impact Wave, Luffy's rubber body was crushed against the dirt, only finding liberation once the shockwave finally dissipated.
"Huff... huff... D-Dammit... Gear 4... time's almost up!"
Luffy panted heavily, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. While Gear 4 granted him a massive surge in power, it was a technique he had only recently developed. The drain was immense; with his current stamina and Haki reserves, he could barely sustain it for more than a few minutes.
"Impact Gun!"
Aeridar crooked his thumb against his forefinger and began snapping them repeatedly toward Luffy below.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
The air rippled slightly as near-invisible air bullets were flicked forth in rapid succession.
Though Luffy couldn't see the air bullets, he could sense their trajectory through Haki. He didn't dare take them head-on; instead, his feet kicked rapidly against the air, dodging the projectiles one by one.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Sharp cracks echoed as the air bullets bored palm-sized holes into the ground, rocks, and trees, as if they had been struck by high-caliber gunfire.
"Good thing I didn't try to tank that!"
Luffy was secretly alarmed as he saw a rock nearby get pierced clean through. Even with Armament Haki defense, taking a direct hit would not be pleasant. Because Gear 4 relied on a massive amount of compressed air within his body, receiving too many powerful hits would cause the air to leak out.
"Ngh?! Ah—!"
Just as Luffy prepared to launch another counterattack, his body suddenly stiffened, and his mouth fell wide open.
Fwoooosh—
The next moment, a torrent of air erupted from Luffy's mouth. His entire body became like a leaking balloon, zig-zagging wildly through the air as he rapidly shrank. After a few breaths, the air seemed to run out completely. Luffy's body finally reverted to its original size, drifting limply to the ground, his skin still radiating wisps of steam.
Exhaustion.
Luffy lay sprawled on the grass, his eyes and expression etched with total fatigue. He looked completely drained, as if every ounce of his spirit and energy had been sucked dry. He couldn't even lift a finger.
The inevitable side effect of Gear 4 had arrived.
"Arara... All out of strength? Gear 4 has reached its limit! Heh heh heh…" Aeridar looked down at the reverted, defenseless Luffy and let out a cold, eerie laugh.
"D-Dammit..."
Luffy struggled to push himself up, but his limbs were like jelly. He lacked even the strength to support his own weight.
Aeridar descended slowly from the sky, landing in front of Luffy with a sneer. "Straw Hat kid..."
Just as Aeridar was about to deliver a mocking retort, Rayleigh, who had been watching from the shore, stood up.
"Hahaha! It's been a while, and your strength has grown truly formidable!" Rayleigh walked over with a laugh, shaking his head with a touch of lamentation. "No wonder Shiki, Redfield, and World all fell at your hands. Time is a fickle thing, isn't it?"
Aeridar narrowed his eyes, glanced at Luffy, and then his cold expression shifted into a bright, cheerful smile. He laughed in turn. "I just have the advantage of youth. Not one of those legendary figures was easy to deal with, right, Rayleigh-san?"
"Heh heh... I'm old! Just an old man now!" Rayleigh stroked his beard, shaking his head with a smile.
Seeing Rayleigh intervene, Aeridar chose not to pursue the matter further. Giving the protagonist a thrashing had satisfied his darker sense of amusement. Moreover, he didn't actually want Luffy dead yet, who knew how badly the timeline would collapse if the protagonist died here?
Luffy reached out a trembling hand, grabbing the hem of Rayleigh's trousers. He looked up at his mentor. "Ray... Rayleigh... I... I can still..."
"That's enough, Luffy. He is still beyond your reach," Rayleigh said with a sigh, shaking his head. He was often at a loss when it came to Luffy's stubborn streak.
Furthermore, the man standing before them was one of the few pirates truly at the pinnacle of the world. Even Rayleigh himself, in his youthful prime, could not guarantee a victory against him.
"D-Dammit!" Hearing Rayleigh's words, Luffy let go and slumped back onto the ground in frustration.
"Tch. What are you so discouraged for, Straw Hat?" Aeridar looked at Luffy's dejected state with annoyance. "I've been at sea for years, through hundreds of battles and countless brushes with death, just to barely stand at the top. You've only been out for a few years. How many battles have you actually fought? And you expect to leapfrog over our heads just like that?"
"There are countless pirates on the sea, and those who want to be Pirate King are beyond reckoning. But since the Great Pirate Era began, who has actually achieved it? You think being Pirate King is that easy? Ridiculous!"
Aeridar gave Luffy a piece of his mind, his words sharp and biting.
"I don't care... the one who's going to be the Pirate King is me!"
Having rested for a moment, Luffy seemed to regain a sliver of strength. He glared at Aeridar, his voice trembling with a resolve so firm it was moving.
Aeridar stared at Luffy for a few seconds. Then, the corners of his mouth curled into a wicked arc. "Heh heh... Then I shall wait and see! If you want to take me down, then come to the New World, Monkey D. Luffy!"
"I definitely will!" Luffy clenched his fist, his voice low and determined.
"I'll be waiting."
Leaving those words behind, Aeridar turned and headed back toward the coast.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, Rayleigh called out to him. "That Road Poneglyph of yours... where did you get it?"
"I stumbled upon 'Zou' a while back. I took it from the Minks," Aeridar replied, looking back with a playful glint in his eyes.
"Zou! The Mink Tribe!"
Rayleigh froze, his expression instantly turning cold. "What did you do to them?"
"You mean those two stubborn ones? The big dog and the big cat?" Aeridar gave a cruel grin. "I leveled the entire Mokomo Dukedom. Although quite a few were killed, I showed some restraint for the sake of your face."