"So fast."
Using the recoil from kicking the lion's head, Luffy's body drifted backward as if weightless. Mid-air, he twisted his body impossibly, his legs kicking out in rapid succession like a gatling gun!
"Gomu Gomu no Plus: Storm!"
Countless Busoshoku-coated kicks rained down like a tempest, engulfing Shiki.
Crimson light flickered in Shiki's pupils as he pushed his Kenbunshoku Haki to its limit. Most of the kicks were dodged or blocked by the small lion heads he conjured.
The few that landed on his Busoshoku defense barely made him flinch. He ignored them entirely, his twin blades swinging wildly like a hurricane, aiming to cut off every possible trajectory Luffy might take.
Ssssh!
A blade of energy grazed past Luffy's nose, silently cleaving a massive boulder behind him in two.
He turned—only to find another slash right behind.
Its trajectory had perfectly predicted where Luffy would land after retreating!
Luffy's expression flickered. Still in mid-air with nowhere to brace, he had no choice but to punch forward with all his strength.
"Fivefold Release: Haki Impact!"
The invisible Haki shockwave collided with the pursuing slash. The resulting blast sent Luffy flying backward like a kite with a snapped string, landing on the ground in a stumbling crouch.
"You can see the future too?" Luffy asked, steadying himself.
That last attack wasn't just a simple Kenbunshoku prediction—it had truly seen a fragment of his immediate future and struck with precision.
When Kenbunshoku Haki was honed to a high level, it could indeed capture an opponent's intent and flow of presence, allowing one to react preemptively.
Like when he'd fought Aokiji—the admiral's Masterful Kenbunshoku, combined with his Logia elemental transformation, had rendered most of Luffy's attacks ineffective.
Aokiji had even told Luffy that his Haki application was too shallow. And back then, it had been true.
But time had passed.
Today's Luffy was not the same as that Luffy.
He knew.
To accurately predict an opponent's exact movements and positioning like that, one had to glimpse a corner of the future.
"Oh? So you know about seeing the future too? Looks like your Kenbunshoku Haki has touched this threshold as well, brat."
Shiki panted lightly, a hint of surprise in his voice, but more than that, a condescending air—so you know a thing or two.
He had to maintain his pride.
He had to uphold his dignity.
He couldn't lose face before this young challenger.
"Is it really that hard?" Luffy grinned.
"Show me, then!"
"Fine, watch this!"
Before the words faded, the red gleam in Luffy's eyes blazed. His Kenbunshoku Haki surged to its peak. His form vanished again, reappearing directly before Shiki. His arms blurred as they swung wildly.
"Gomu Gomu no Plus: Gatling Gun Barrage!"
A storm of fists poured down on Shiki like a metal tempest.
In the brief future Shiki glimpsed, most of those punches would miss. But a few, after missing, would curve unnaturally—striking from impossible angles, like his back!
"Cheap tricks!"
Shiki snorted, his twin blades spinning like wheels as he prepared to defend against attacks from both front and back.
But then—
Bam! Bam! Bam!
This time, every single punch came straight from the front!
The full force of that relentless barrage slammed into Shiki's crossed blades and the hastily formed Busoshoku coating over his body.
"What?!"
A flicker of shock crossed Shiki's face. The future he'd seen hadn't shown this at all!
This brat interfered with my foresight?!
"I told you—you're not the only one who can see the future!"
The crimson gleam in Luffy's eyes mirrored Shiki's own, burning so fiercely that twin trails of red light streaked from the corners of his eyes.
"And I might see a little further than you!"
CRASH!!!
Seizing the opening created by Shiki's momentary hesitation from the miscalculation, Luffy poured all his strength into a heavy punch. It shattered Shiki's defenses and slammed into his chest.
Pfft!
Shiki coughed up blood, his body flying backward like a torn sack. He tumbled across the ground a dozen times before finally coming to a halt.
"Cough...damn brat..."
Shiki forced himself up with his swords. Sharp pain shot through his ribs—clearly, he'd sustained serious internal injuries.
The fury and madness in his eyes were nearly overflowing, but alongside them was disbelief.
This kid's Kenbunshoku has reached this level too?
And it seemed even more flexible than his own.
He looks like such a straightforward brat, but he's good at deception and misdirection!
"This could drag on forever. I hate to admit it, but ending this quickly is my best option now."
Shiki raised a hand, grinning through gritted teeth. "I acknowledge you, boy."
"You're not bad yourself, old man."
"Keep running your mouth while you can. If you survive this attack, you can say whatever you want. You've never heard of Haoshoku Haki infusion before—but have you ever heard of Devil Fruit awakening
?!"
The air itself seemed to freeze.
Then, everything around them began to move. The entire island. Countless floating boulders. The wind howled as hundreds of meters' worth of islands fused and overlapped in the sky, forming a colossal lion's head.
HUM—
Awakening Technique!
"I haven't used this in a very long time. After those bastards Roger and Rocks died, no one's had the qualifications to push me this far."
Shiki stood before the massive lion's head, baring his teeth in a grin. "Feel honored!"
Devil Fruit awakening—not just anyone could achieve that!
Why was he called a legendary pirate?
Everything a top-tier fighter possessed—he had.
All three colors of Haki!
Haoshoku Haki infusion!
Devil Fruit awakening!
But there was no denying the toll of age. Before the attack was even unleashed, Shiki's face had already turned pale.
"I should be thanking you, Straw Hat! It's been ages since my blood burned like this!"
"Same here, old man don't you go dying on me!"
Luffy's voice was blunt. The steam around him suddenly turned pure white, swirling like luminous flame clouds. His hair became snow-white, and strange patterns emerged across his skin.
Gear Fifth: Nika Form!
"What is this? Didn't you eat the Gum-Gum Fruit?!"
Shiki's pupils contracted sharply as he stared at Luffy's transformed appearance. He wondered if the injury to his head was making him hallucinate!
He had never seen a form or presence like this before.
It wasn't simply advanced development of the Gum-Gum Fruit, nor did it resemble any known Zoan transformation.
If he didn't know better, he'd think this was a Mythical Zoan.
Weren't Zoans the only ones that could transform?
Shiki was called Golden Lion not because he could turn into a lion, but because all his techniques leaned in that direction.
The giant form earlier, the Haki patterns Shiki could still accept those. But the flame clouds surrounding Luffy were unmistakably the mark of a Zoan awakening.
Are you sure your Gum-Gum Fruit isn't actually a Mythical Zoan?
***
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