"Yahahaha~! No wonder even Red warned me to be especially careful around you!"
"You really are strong!"
Watching Saint Garling slice apart the dragon tornado he had fused into the Glimmer Storm with a single strike, a flash of admiration immediately lit up Luffy's eyes.
At that moment, he finally understood why Red had said this guy was not an opponent to be underestimated.
Even with the power of Nika and the buffs granted by Pokémon-ization and his clones, Luffy hadn't fallen behind in the fight against Garling. In fact, relying on a variety of strange and unconventional abilities, he had even managed to suppress him slightly.
And yet—up until now, Garling had not revealed a single opening.
This was a perfectly even battle.
Of course, Luffy didn't dislike fights like this.
But right now, they had something far more urgent to deal with, so—
"Looks like I really have to enter that form, huh?!"
Luffy's gaze suddenly shifted downward, locking onto the blue planet beneath his feet, as if he were anticipating something.
"Hm?!"
Saint Garling, who noticed Luffy's subtle movement, froze for a moment and instinctively followed his line of sight downward.
Staring at the vast and magnificent blue world, even Garling couldn't help but feel ripples stirring in his heart.
Such a breathtaking view—one that couldn't be experienced even from the highest point of the Red Line.
And that only made him yearn even more for that position.
Just so happened that the seat vacated by Saint Saturn was the role of the Warrior God of Science and Defense, overseeing World Government technology.
As long as he could ascend to that position and receive the gift of eternal life from Lord Imu, he would gain far greater authority and resources—enough to launch true exploration into the stars.
He had to admit—
This Straw Hat brat's abilities were truly eye-opening.
Saint Garling was still reflecting when a strange glimmer suddenly appeared within his field of vision.
"Hm?!"
He froze again.
Immediately afterward, he unleashed his powerful Observation Haki, probing toward that unusual point.
Though it still fell slightly short compared to Issho's ability to detect meteors from the ground, as someone who had surpassed the level of the Four Emperors, Garling's Observation Haki was still vast in scale.
However—
That strange flash was simply too far away. For the moment, even he couldn't determine its nature.
By contrast, Luffy—who had also noticed the light—broke into a wide grin.
"It's finally here!!!"
He abruptly tossed away the meteor greatsword in his hand, his body suddenly transforming into something like a miniature rocket as he shot straight toward the glimmer, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Heeey—! Red!!!"
"I'm right here!!!"
At the same time.
Red, who had been using the faint signal from his personal terminal to guide himself toward Luffy's location, suddenly froze and looked up.
There, in the depths of space, a blazing meteor streaked straight toward him.
"Luffy!"
Red's face lit up with joy.
In the next instant, his figure flashed, and he too accelerated toward Luffy's position.
In the blink of an eye, the two figures racing toward each other reunited within the pitch-black starry sky.
"You finally made it, Red!!!"
Luffy grinned ear to ear upon seeing him.
Because that meant—
He could finally unleash that power.
That—
Incredibly mysterious and overwhelmingly powerful force!!!
"You're way too impatient…"Red shook his head helplessly after hearing Luffy's words.
After all, they had already dealt with the other members of the God's Knights at maximum speed.
Still, knowing Luffy was just joking, Red smiled faintly and shifted his gaze toward Saint Garling in the distance.
"Not far" was only relative to the vastness of space.
In reality, if measured in straight-line distance, Red and Garling were separated by at least the length of Whole Cake Island.
This was space.
Here, everything became infinitesimal—even concepts and thoughts themselves.
When Saint Garling noticed Red's arrival, his eyes flickered sharply.
"Trainer Red… the most mysterious member of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Though he lacks particularly dazzling battle records, he possesses formidable spatial abilities. And the Straw Hat crew's abnormal rate of growth also seems closely tied to him…"
Saint Garling silently recalled the intelligence gathered on Red.
Among the data compiled by the Five Elders, this man's threat level even surpassed that of his captain, Monkey D. Luffy.
Garling had once found that puzzling.
But now—seeing Red capable of entering space from the blue planet and choosing this moment to interfere in his battle with Straw Hat…
For some reason, Garling felt that he might soon understand why the Five Elders had classified Red—whose strength was merely at the level of a top Emperor's right-hand man—as an extremely dangerous individual.
Whoosh!
A space ripple shimmering with an otherworldly glow suddenly appeared not far in front of Saint Garling.
In the next moment, Luffy and Red stepped directly out of it.
"We're going in, Luffy!"
Red showed no intention of exchanging words with Saint Garling.
He sharply opened a strange device on his wrist, revealing a gemstone engraved with an unusual pattern.
"Bloom brilliantly in the sea of stars!"
"Luffy—MEGA Evolution!!!"
BOOM!!!
Blinding white evolutionary light instantly illuminated the chaotic darkness of space.
At that moment—
Saint Garling didn't know whether it was his imagination, but he felt an intense flare erupt from the surface of the distant sun, resonating with Luffy's figure.
"What are you pulling now?!"
Garling frowned deeply.
He immediately raised the Blade of Glory, unwilling to give Luffy and Red any chance to pull tricks.
But just as he condensed surging Conqueror's Haki onto the blade—
A hand, seemingly emerging from nothingness, suddenly appeared before him and slammed his poised blade downward.
"Gimme that!!!"
A teasing shout rang out from across from him.
In the next instant, the Supreme Grade Meito · Godslayer, which Garling wielded as naturally as his own arm, was suddenly enveloped in a strange energy.
Before he could even react, the sword slipped from his grasp and was stolen away.
"What?!"
Saint Garling's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his now-empty hand.
"What did you do?!"
Furious, he kicked off with Moonwalk, chasing after the arm that had snatched away Godslayer.
Unlike Big Mom, who had floundered when first arriving in space, Garling could rely on Moonwalk to maneuver.
But the thin atmosphere of space still prevented him from reaching the same speed he had on the blue planet.
"Looking for this?"
A mocking voice suddenly reached his ears.
Garling slowly raised his head—only to see a straw-hat-wearing youth appear before him without warning.
Flame-like, wildly dancing hair.A mischievous, almost monstrous grin.
His entire body seemed shrouded in a dense fog of fate—mysterious, unseen, unheard.
And this—
Was MEGA · Luffy's brand-new form!
A form not drastically different from his usual state, yet carrying something profoundly unnatural—
A strange appearance.
That's right.
After MEGA Evolution, Luffy no longer possessed the gigantic physique and mysterious clone abilities granted by Nika and Pokémon-ization.
Instead, he had completely broken free from the shackles of fate, becoming an unrestrained spirit of absolute freedom!
"It's you!"
Saint Garling's eyes flickered with doubt at Luffy's transformed appearance, but his focus quickly snapped to the Godslayer in Luffy's hand.
Even without a weapon, he could still unleash tremendous power…
But Godslayer was far more than just a blade!
It symbolized authority.It symbolized status!
With Godslayer, he was the Commander of the God's Knights—the one ranked directly beneath the Five Elders!!!
That sword meant everything to him.
And yet—
As if sensing Garling's desperation, Luffy casually twirled the blade and grinned mischievously, like a child about to pull a prank.
"Oh… so this weapon's really that important to you, huh?"
"In that case…"
As he spoke, Luffy suddenly extended his arm and offered the sword forward.
Garling reacted instantly, reaching out without hesitation.
But at that moment—
A flying hand-chop struck the flat of the blade.
Under the immense force, Godslayer spun away and flew precisely into Red's waiting hand.
Tap.
As expected, Red caught it firmly.
He glanced at Luffy, who was facing Saint Garling—whose eyes were practically spewing fire—and couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh.
"Such a terrible personality~"
"I just hope Luffy doesn't bring too much of this attitude back into daily life after overusing MEGA Evolution."
"If he does, the Straw Hat Pirates are in for some real chaos."
After muttering a few words, Red looked up again—just in time to see Luffy, prank completed, curl his lips into a shameless grin and point at Saint Garling.
"Idiot~ you're our enemy! Why would I ever give your weapon back to you~?!"
"If I did that, Red would totally yell at me again."
"You're way too easy to fool~ falling for something that obvious~"
"Hehehe…"
(End of Chapter)