Chapter 136 Luffy's Icebound Bear Cracking Program"Pressure Cannon!"
A transparent shockwave shaped like a bear's paw slammed into Luffy's face.
Kizaru frowned, raising his finger to aim at Kuma, a dazzling cross-shaped light emanating from his fingertip.
Luffy, however, stopped him. "Don't hurt him, let me handle this."
"Hey! Don't be so arrogant, kid! That's Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!" Sentomaru warned loudly. As the captain of the Science Unit, he knew Kuma's terrifying strength all too well.
He also knew Kuma's true identity. Although he didn't know what dirty deal Kuma had made with Vegapunk to willingly become a guinea pig, the experiment was nearing its end, and Kuma's sanity was clearly on the verge of collapse.
Kizaru withdrew the light from his fingertip. Although Kuma's Haki had been greatly diminished after the modifications, the level of his Devil Fruit development was indeed comparable to any Admiral. He watched Luffy with interest, wanting to see how the kid would handle this.
"Binding Spell #39: Round Gate."
Luffy waved one hand, and a circular spiritual energy shield appeared out of thin air.
Bang!
The pressure cannon slammed into the shield, shattering it after only half a second. Luffy used the recoil to easily retreat to a safe distance.
"Push the pressure cannon!"
Without pausing, Kuma's hands blurred into afterimages, unleashing countless bear-paw-shaped air cannons that rained down on Luffy like Gatling gun fire.
"Sit upon the Frosty Heavens, Hyōrinmaru! Bankai! Daigure Hyōrinmaru!"
Luffy drew his sword, instantly activating his strongest form. Frosty dragon wings and a massive ice tail unfurled behind him.
Kizaru stared, dumbfounded, inwardly cursing, "Isn't this the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit? Didn't the scouts say this kid was a rubber man? Now the Nika Fruit can control ice? That's too overpowered!"
"Ice Dragon Whirlwind Tail!"
Luffy swung his sword, and layers upon layers of thick ice walls rose from the ground, blocking the dense pressure cannon fire.
BOOM!
The violent explosion shattered the ice walls, sending ice shards flying everywhere.
Taking advantage of the obstructed view, Luffy flashed to an open field.
Kumaru, like a persistent leech, instantly reappeared behind Luffy.
"Hey! Straw Hat! Behind us!"
Sentomaru shouted anxiously.
However, Luffy seemed deaf, standing motionless.
"Grandpa! Someone's going to die!"
Sentomaru frantically pleaded with Kizaru for help.
"What's the rush? Can't you tell it's a fake?" Kizaru said leisurely.
"Huh?" Sentomaru was dumbfounded.
Luffy, struck by Kuma's paw, first showed an exaggerated expression of terror, then shattered into ice shards with a "crash."
Ice Doll! A substitute made of ice, specifically used to bait attacks.
The real Luffy appeared ghost-like behind Kuma, gently placing his hand on Kuma's broad back: "Sorry, buddy, let me calm you down first! Four Realms Freeze!"
This move was originally the ultimate finishing move of Daiguren Hyōrinmaru after its full release. Although weakened countless times by the current Luffy, its power was still astonishing.
The space within a four-step radius of Luffy instantly froze, along with Kuma's massive body, instantly freezing him into a giant ice sculpture.
At the same time, Luffy's hacking abilities were in full swing, relentlessly infiltrating along the contact points and wresting control of the tampered program within the bear's body.
Within the ice block, the red light in the bear's eyes flickered wildly. Finally, due to the extremely low temperature causing the processor to throttle and Luffy's powerful hacking, the forced command was shattered.
The red light faded, and the bear's eyes regained their human-like clarity and depth.
Crack!
The ice block that had frozen the bear shattered.
The bear, now free, stood there, falling into a brief silence.
"Wow, impressive!" Kizaru clapped his hands as he watched Kuma return to normal. "No wonder you're a rising star vice admiral; your methods are endless."
Luffy rolled his eyes at Kizaru and chuckled dryly. "Oh, not at all. Compared to you, this seasoned veteran who 'takes down the Yonko if he gets paid enough,' I'm still a greenhorn."
Kizaru's smile instantly froze. He cursed inwardly: Who spread this rumor? How am I supposed to slack off at work with a clear conscience now?
Sentomaru looked at Kuma, frowning, and asked, "What exactly happened, Kuma?"
Kuma, regaining his composure, shook his head, ignoring Sentomaru, and turned to Luffy, saying in a deep voice, "Are you sure you want to do this? The training locations I chose before should be more suitable for your crew's growth."
Luffy nodded: "I'm not a wanted criminal. This was just an unexpected incident. After getting past the Marineford War, even if the World Government wants to touch me, they'll have to think twice. I've already cleaned up the restrictive programs and backdoors in your brain; there's no need to go back for that final, suicidal modification."
Kuma nodded slightly. Originally, although he retained consciousness, many of his actions were forcibly restrained by the implanted chip in his brain, which was why the World Government dared to use him with confidence.
Once on the operating table, he was completely out of control. But now, that invisible shackle had been brutally removed by Luffy.
He was originally under Dragon's secret orders to provide Luffy's Straw Hat crew with a "free travel and training package," but the World Government betrayed him, forcibly activating "bounty elimination mode."
While Luffy was deciphering the plan, he also subtly adjusted the travel itinerary his father had designed for his crew.
Kizaru, listening to the two casually discussing how to trick the World Government right in front of him, was furious.
"Can't you guys at least show some respect for me, an Admiral?! I'm the head of the Pacifista project, for goodness sake!"
Luffy's audacity in front of Kizaru wasn't based on believing Kizaru was a spy after reading a few random online analyses.
It was based on his accurate assessment of the situation.
Garp had told Luffy and Ace when they were children that they must become powerful Marines.
Because only by donning the Marine coat could Garp have the confidence and privilege to protect the lives of these two "evil bloodlines."
Judging from Garp's adoption of Ace, the son of the Pirate King, and his repeated acts of letting Luffy escape, this old man is not the kind of person who blindly adheres to the rules.
The reason he didn't intervene in the Marineford War was purely due to his stance—he was a Marine Vice Admiral, while Ace was a pirate, and the concept of "justice" weighed heavily on him, preventing him from acting.
Even so, after Ace's death, Garp nearly went berserk and killed Akainu, proving that in his heart, family was no less important than justice.
As for Kizaru, he's a notorious opportunist, believing in "ambiguous justice."