"You really have some nerve saying that!" Kid was completely triggered. He felt utterly looked down upon.
And in that moment—Luffy moved!
His figure vanished from the spot as if teleporting. The next instant, he was already in front of Killer, who had been charging at him.
Killer couldn't even process what had happened. He only felt an irresistible, overwhelming force slam into his chest. His vision went dark, and he flew backward even faster than he had come, like he had been hit by a Sea Train at full speed.
His figure flew past Kid and crashed into a pile of debris in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Killer!"
Kid's eyes were about to burst.
After sending Killer flying, Luffy didn't stop. He appeared directly in front of Kid like a ghost.
By now, his skin had turned snow-white, and his hair danced like flames.
Gear Fifth: Nika Form!
"Oh, right. What's your name?"
Luffy seemed to remember something and asked.
"EUSTASS KID!"
Kid's veins bulged at the corners of his mouth. He roared, feeling unprecedentedly insulted. "Remember that name! Jiki: Gen!!"
In his rage, Kid unleashed the power of his Jiki Jiki no Mi. The scattered metal debris around him was pulled again, turning into countless blades that shot at Luffy from all directions!
But Luffy just casually twisted his body, as if he had no bones, easily dodging all the attacks from all kinds of incredible angles. The metal blades all missed, embedding themselves in the ground or walls.
"Gomu Gomu no White: Kyojin Stamp!"
Luffy laughed. One foot instantly became huge.
Blotting out the sky and sun.
With an unmatched momentum, he stomped down toward Kid!
Kid hurriedly blocked with his huge mechanical arm.
BOOM!
The moment it touched Luffy's foot, the ground turned into elastic rubber. Then a terrifying burst of impact.
Kid felt an indescribable immense force transmit through his mechanical arm. He was hammered into the ground like a nail, leaving only half his body above ground. The carefully condensed mechanical arm shattered inch by inch.
"Gah!"
Kid spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with unwillingness and horror.
Meanwhile, a terrified pirate beside Hawkins—perhaps out of fear, perhaps wanting to prove himself—tremblingly fired a gun at Luffy!
"Idiot! Don't!"
Hawkins's face changed drastically. He cursed inwardly, but it was too late to stop.
He activates his ability instantly. His body expands and transforms into a giant scarecrow form—the demon-slaying form—trying to block the incoming attack.
"Hm?"
Luffy noticed the commotion. He tilted his head to dodge the bullet, grinned, and his body rapidly expanded like a balloon, becoming even larger than Hawkins's scarecrow form!
"Gomu Gomu no: Kyojin no Ken!"
A giant white fist, wrapped with black and red arcs of electricity.
Hawkins's scarecrow form couldn't even put up effective resistance. The giant scarecrow body was punched straight through. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, only stopping after collapsing half a wall. A stand-in straw doll fell from him, instantly turning black and charred.
He struggled to get up, then fell feebly, obviously badly injured.
All this happened too fast.
From Luffy making his move to defeating Killer, Kid, and Hawkins—only a few dozen seconds had passed!
Drake's and Law's pupils contracted violently. They instinctively broke out in a cold sweat.
They could clearly feel the chasm-like gap in strength between them.
This was not the same level of fight at all.
"Looks like everyone has calmed down,"
Luffy returned to normal. The white, steam-like hair slowly settled. He grinned at the Supernovas. "As long as you don't cause me trouble, I'll give you a chance to leave."
He had no intention of attacking further. The deterrent effect had been achieved.
Aside from Apoo, who had provocation with his mouth, and Kid and Killer, who had been the loudest and proactive, and Hawkins, who had been passively involved, the remaining Supernovas very rationally chose silence. None of them showed any sign of fighting.
The many Supernovas gathered on the Sabaody Archipelago had been fighting to begin with. Occasional conflicts were just testing each other. Without conflicting interests, they wouldn't fight to the death.
They all knew deep down that before entering the New World, they were not mortal enemies. Their true targets should be the Overlords on that vast sea.
For now, Luffy's strength clearly dominates them. Starting a conflict now was extremely unwise.
And judging by Luffy's demeanor, he seemed to have more important things to do and had no intention of entangled with them.
So they stopped fighting.
The commotion of the battle among the Supernovas had already been considerable. It might have already drawn the attention of Marine Headquarters. This place was not safe to stay.
But just as this brief silence was about to continue—
"WAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream came from the human-shaped crater where Kid had been hammered. It wasn't from pain—it was from extreme anger and humiliation!
Then, an even stronger magnetic wave erupted from him.
Luffy felt Magi shake violently at his waist, emitting a hum.
Not only that. All the metal weapons in the hands of the surrounding pirates—swords, guns, everything—were suddenly pulled out of their hands, as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand.
All the metal objects around were summoned, frantically converging toward one direction.
Countless metal fragments, weapons, and debris collided, compressed, and merged in the air, the sounds of twisting echoing continuously.
Finally, they condensed into a colossal mechanical arm formed from countless pieces of metal!
"I don't accept your charity,"
Kid struggled out of the crater, half his face covered in blood and grime, his eyes bloodshot, looking like a madman. "This fight isn't over!"
The giant mechanical arm, blotting out the sky, carrying a breath of destruction, swung down toward Luffy.
Kid's pride would not allow him to accept any charity.
Whether it was Straw Hat Luffy or even a real Emperor his attitude was the same!
Now, he didn't care about anything anymore.
The Navy. The consequences. He was Eustass Kid!
Right now, he just wanted to crush the man who had brought him endless humiliation.
"A Jiki Jiki no Mi user?"
Law took a deep look at that giant robotic arm.
A bounty over 300 million—surely not undeserved.
Kid's strength was definitely among the top of the Supernovas.
But could it truly threaten Straw Hat?
BOOM!
A sharp roar echoed through the sky!
But the scene everyone expected—Luffy being sent flying—did not happen.
Before the mechanical giant arm could reach Luffy, it seemed to be dissected by another precision force. It collapsed from within. First, a huge cavity appeared in its center. Then, cracks spread like spider webs to the entire arm instantly!
"Luffy's swordsmanship is getting more and more terrifying."
Zoro watched this and grinned.
The next moment, amid the flying metal fragments and smoke, Luffy's figure appeared in front of Kid again as if teleporting.
This time, he didn't even use his fruit ability. He simply clenched his fist, wrapped in pitch-black Busoshoku Haki, and punched Kid hard in the abdomen.
PFFT!
Kid's eyes bulged. He spat out a liquid mixture of gastric juices and blood. The giant robotic arm instantly dispersed into countless metal raindrops, falling. He curled up like a shrimp, slowly sinking to his knees, eventually losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.
The metal objects in the air, no longer under magnetic control, finally fell like a heavy rain of metal, clattering and partially blocking the view.
In the falling metal rain, everyone saw Luffy slowly sheathe Magi, which he had somehow drawn, the movement was smooth and natural.
Kid couldn't even master basic Haki. His threat level—among the enemies Luffy had fought—probably didn't even match Crocodile.
Luffy's opponents—from Aokiji to Shiki, from Zephyr to Garp—were all strong men who had developed Haki and Devil Fruit abilities to the extreme.
As a rookie pirate, Kid seemed so immature before a true top player.
So-called Worst Generation.
So-called Supernovas.
This generation has only one "worst."
In the pirate world, winners are kings, losers are bandits.
Seeing Kid lose consciousness completely, Luffy did not continue fighting.
Except for enemies like Arlong who had crossed the line, Luffy's killing intent was not strong.
Besides, there was something far more important right now than teaching a few new pirates.
The most important prop for his plan—had arrived!
At the end of the street, which had been emptied by the conflict, a bizarre scene appeared.
The residents of the Lawless Zone had retreated the moment the conflict started, but they hadn't retreated too far.
They retreated, yet didn't retreat.
Conflicts on this island were too normal.
You could say they were commonplace.
But today, the daring residents of the Lawless Zone fell to their knees like a tide, their heads bowed deeply, not daring to lift them.
A suffocating silence replaced the previous noise.
A fat, bloated figure wearing the signature clear bubble hood and an outfit resembling a spacesuit—a Celestial Dragon—was sitting on the back of a burly slave.
The slave wore a collar around his neck, crawling on all fours like a beast of burden.
The Celestial Dragon held a chain in one hand and an ice cream in the other, leisurely licking it.
He seemed completely unconcerned with what had happened here.
"Tch. A Celestial Dragon?"
Urouge was the first to react. He spoke in a low voice. "What a troublesome race. Even in the Lawless Zone, they dare to parade around like this. Looks like this conflict is over. I'll just have to kneel and let him pass."
Though he said he would kneel, he only lowered his body slightly, not prostrating himself like the surrounding civilians.
The other Supernovas who were still around had already hidden themselves.
The Celestial Dragon seemed to be in a bad mood. He kicked his slave while complaining, "Where did Father and Shalria run off to without me?! It's all your fault for being as slow as a turtle. And you're so shaky—riding you is making me sick!"
The black-suited bodyguard beside him respectfully replied, "Charlos-sama, I know their final destination, so please rest assured."
Just then, several doctors and nurses pushed a patient on a stretcher, looking anxious as they rushed out of a side alley, apparently trying to get somewhere quickly.
They clearly hadn't noticed the Celestial Dragon's arrival—or perhaps they had, but the patient's condition was critical.
"Hey, you!"
Charlos was enraged. He immediately got off his slave. Ignoring the doctors' pleas, he kicked the lead doctor to the ground. "Which is more important the etiquette toward me, or the lives of these pariahs?!"
His gaze then fell on one of the young, pretty nurses. His eyes lit up behind his bubble headgear. He pointed at her and ordered his bodyguard, "Take that woman. I want her to be my new wife!"
The surrounding Supernovas watched this scene. Most of them were expressionless, their eyes cold.
The Celestial Dragons were like Plague to them.
They had no use for them, and getting involved would only bring trouble.
Provoking these guys would summon a Marine Admiral—extremely troublesome, not at all worth it.
At least for now, the Supernovas didn't think they had the strength to survive an Admiral.
"Having too much of a stereotype is also bad. Hatchan was absolutely right."
Luffy pressed down his straw hat. The shadow under the brim hid his eyes. They only heard him chuckle quietly, with a hint of mockery. "Using these guys to trade with the World Government to get Ace out. Ace would probably be pretty pissed."
These people were the absolute scum of scum.
Then, in front of everyone's disbelieving eyes, Luffy stepped forward and walked directly toward the Celestial Dragon named Charlos.
"Hey, pariah! How dare you walk around in front of me?!"
Charlos saw that Luffy not only refused to kneel but was walking toward him. He felt deeply offended. He clumsily pulled out a jewel-encrusted pistol, aimed it at Luffy, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Luffy just casually tilted his head. The bullet whizzed past his hair.
The next second, he was already in front of Charlos.
"Huh?"
Before Charlos could react, a fist wrapped with black and red arcs of electricity rapidly enlarged before his eyes.
THUD!
With a dull impact, the bubble headgear on Charlos's face shattered. He was punched clean off the ground, his fat body tracing an arc through the air. Blood sprayed from his nose. He probably lost a few teeth. Then, like a bag of trash, he landed precisely at Zoro's feet.
"He's yours, Zoro." Luffy shook his hand.
"Got it."
Zoro grinned—a dangerous, excited grin—and stepped on Charlos's back to keep him from struggling. "If the World Government doesn't want to deal, I'll kill him."
Seeing this earth-shattering scene, the Supernovas, who had just barely recovered from Luffy's horrific prowess, were struck dumb again.
Even Kid, who had just been barely shaken awake by Killer, forgot his anger and injuries for a moment. His eyes wide, he exclaimed, "Have you lost your mind?!!"
Hitting a Celestial Dragon directly?
Even someone as lawless and arrogant as Kid had never thought of it.
Or rather, he hadn't dared to think of it!
This wasn't provocation anymore. This was punching a hole in the sky!
***
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