"Bastard!!!"
Seeing the strange smile on Luffy's face, Figarland Garling Saint immediately roared in uncontrollable fury.
But when he realized that Red had directly used an unknown ability to make the Supreme Grade Meito · Zhan shen vanish completely, the flames of rage in his eyes nearly materialized, erupting across the vast starry sky.
"Damned insect!!!"
"I will make you experience a death worse than agony!!!"
"If you can do it, then try!?"
Red, who was being locked onto by Garling Saint's gaze, smiled faintly. However, under the control of Psychic, his body slowly drifted backward, distancing himself from the battlefield.
Since Luffy had successfully entered his MEGA form, Red's purpose in coming to the starry sky had already been achieved.
A streak of pitch-black light and shadow flashed past.
Red directly used Teleport, avoiding Garling Saint's cannibalistic glare.
The oppressive aura of someone surpassing the Four Emperors level still placed considerable pressure on him.
Next, it was best to leave this space to the two who were about to clash.
Besides, Red also wanted to witness...
After MEGA Evolution, Luffy had successfully awakened the Dark-type, replacing his original Normal-type. He wanted to see what kind of result Luffy's first battle in this state would produce.
That's right.
After MEGA Evolution, Luffy triggered the rare, low-probability event within MEGA Evolution, altering his own typing.
Perhaps due to his playful, childlike personality, after further unleashing his body's potential through MEGA Evolution, he successfully caused the Dark-type to appear as the second slot in his Pokémon attribute panel.
And this also meant that Luffy's combat style would become far more diverse.
Just moments ago, Red had already helped Luffy replace his moves with an entirely new set through the interface system.
He was very curious to see what kind of sparks would erupt between a mischievous Fairy-type and a prank-loving Dark-type.
…
…
"Where are you looking?!"
Meanwhile—
Seeing that Garling Saint still refused to stop searching for Red's figure, the MEGA-Evolved Luffy suddenly flickered, miraculously appearing right in front of Garling Saint.
In the next instant, Luffy's arm suddenly stretched backward.
"Gum-Gum… Dark Night Pistol!!!"
Whoosh!!!
At this moment, everything seemed to return to its most primitive origin.
No blood-pumping Gear Second.
No partial gigantification of Gear Third.
No full-body Armament Haki from Gear Fourth.
Nor the mysterious aura of Gear Fifth…
What existed was simply the move Luffy had been most proud of since the beginning of his training—
Gum-Gum Pistol!!!
The only difference...
Was that his fist was now not only coated in jet-black Armament Haki, but also wrapped in an eerie black mist.
And just then—
Whoosh!!!
Luffy's fist shot forward swiftly—and returned even faster!
In the blink of an eye, the shadow of the rebounding, elasticity-charged punch landed bizarrely on Garling Saint's face, drastically changing his expression.
"What!?"
Garling Saint cried out internally.
In his perception, Luffy's fist should still have needed time before rebounding…
So why, in just a moment of distraction, had he already been struck!?
Bang!!!
The seemingly ordinary punch carried weight even greater than a giant's blow. It smashed into Garling Saint's face, directly distorting the features of the Commander-in-Chief of the God's Knights.
Whoosh!!!
Under the tremendous impact, Garling Saint's body shot across the silent cosmos like a meteor, vanishing in a flash.
Immediately afterward, another equally rapid streak of light shot out, fiercely chasing after him.
"Where do you think you're going, Celestial Dragon!!!"
Boom!!!
A dull explosion echoed through the void.
Luffy still wore a teasing grin, yet his entire body slammed into Garling Saint's back using an arm wrapped in Armament Haki, completely canceling out the impact he had just delivered.
After MEGA Evolution, Luffy's own potential and strength had been enhanced, while the power and abilities granted by Pokémon-ization and the Nika form were all perfectly retained.
It could be said that Luffy now…
Had advanced beyond the Four Emperors.
Perhaps…
Only the word "King" could describe the level of power he currently stood at!
A level surpassing the Four Emperors—King-tier.
Of course, Garling Saint, who was fighting him now, possessed power of the same level.
Boom!!!
Having been struck twice without warning, Garling Saint's body suddenly erupted with overwhelming momentum, surging through the cosmic sea like a raging storm.
After the Azure Dragon Fruit he had personally designated was stolen, Garling Saint's pride prevented him from ever consuming another Devil Fruit.
It could be said that everything he possessed today was built purely upon his own efforts and the innate talent within his bloodline!
A supreme powerhouse who had climbed step by step to reach this position possessed resilience and battle instinct far beyond that of ordinary people.
"I understand now!!!"
Using the shockwave produced by his explosive aura, Garling Saint distanced himself from Luffy and quickly turned around.
His eyes shone brilliantly, as if seeing through everything—eyes that hardly resembled those of an elderly man past seventy.
"It's illusion techniques!"
"You used illusion techniques, didn't you!?"
"Although I don't know what exactly happened to your body… when you attacked me earlier, you used some unknown ability to influence my senses…"
"Which made me feel the illusion that 'I could dodge that punch.'"
"I'm right… am I not!?"
"How impressive~"
Luffy raised his head, revealing an indescribable smile.
"To figure out the effect of the Dark-type at a glance, you might even be more impressive than Sanji~"
"Though you're still a bit slower than Zoro. That guy noticed something was wrong from my very first strike."
"Of course, I wasn't using my full power back then either."
Luffy smiled as he raised his fist.
After MEGA Evolution, although his abilities leaned more toward trickery and mischief, his personality seemed to mature slightly alongside the evolution.
Even his tone of speech had become strangely sarcastic—yet no one could quite pinpoint what felt off about it.
A bizarre black mist once again enveloped Luffy's entire fist, radiating mystery.
On Garling Saint's side, having lost the Supreme Grade Meito · Zanshin, he raised his own fists, assuming a standard combat stance.
At this moment, both of them returned to the most primitive form of battle, like two street thugs facing off on opposite sides of a road.
Except…
The "street" had become a star-spanning cosmic domain.
And the terrifying pressure condensed around their bodies caused countless nearby meteors to scatter in retreat.
The final battle officially began at this moment!!!
(End of Chapter)