"You bastard!"
An angry shout echoed through the forest. Atlas was devouring the barbecue he had just received, and upon hearing the shout, he raised his head in confusion.
How disheveled!
This is the first impression of Atlas.
His clothes are in tatters, a mixture of blood and mud coats his body, his hair is disheveled, and he's holding only half of the water pipe in his hand. This is the current appearance of Ace.
Sabo isn't faring much better. He also has only half of the water pipe remaining, and the once-decent outfit is now incomplete. His top hat is missing, revealing his golden hair to the air. His face is bruised, a smudge of dirt adorns one side, and he's panting with hands on his knees.
"Ah, Luffy is injured?"
Luffy was in a worse condition. Due to his age, he was the weakest among the three, and lacking the Rubber-Rubber Fruit ability, he naturally became a liability in the recent battle.
"Why are you still standing there, you scoundrel! Come on, help Luffy!"
Ace yelled loudly upon realizing that Atlas wasn't moving to assist Luffy.
"Meat! Barbecue..."
...
Ten minutes ago.
"Hey, Ace, it looks like this guy is targeting us."
Sabo stared at the King of Mt. Colubo in front of him, poised and ready. The moment this giant creature made the slightest move, he would react as swiftly as possible.
"We have no choice but to fight; there's no way around it!"
Ace also looked serious. Dealing with this guy was still a bit challenging for them at the moment. They could only attempt to handle the situation and then seize the opportunity to escape. They weren't as single-minded as Luffy.
Luffy had little foresight. Having lived in Windmill Village before, he had no idea about the strength of the King of Mt. Colubo in front of him. Combined with his natural carefree demeanor, he didn't quite grasp what he was about to face.
"Hey! Big tiger? I wonder if the meat is delicious..."
Gazing at the majestic tiger before him, Luffy had already started contemplating how to cook it on the spot, and his saliva was dripping down the corner of his mouth.
"Take my bullet fist!"
"Stop..."
Before Ace could stop him, Luffy waved his fist and rushed forward.
"....."
The King of Mt. Colubo looked at the little guy rushing towards him in confusion.
'This guy... seems to have just mentioned that he wanted to eat him?'
"Roar!!!"
As a king, the provoked anger surged out, and violent airwaves, accompanied by sound waves, rushed towards the three of them!
"This idiot!"
Ace was rendered speechless, but he didn't bother to complain about Luffy at the moment because... the big guy appeared to be quite irritated!
Luffy only felt a gust of fishy wind blowing towards his face. The King of Mt. Colubo, who was still dozens of meters away, rushed towards him in an instant. His open mouth could almost swallow Luffy whole.
"Help! Ace, Sabo..."
Luffy subconsciously called for help, but his body couldn't react at all.
Boom!
As soon as the King of Mt. Colubo set off, Ace and Sabo had already rushed towards Luffy. The two water pipes inadvertently landed on the big guy's two gleaming eyes!
"Roar!"
The King of Mt. Colubo appeared even more frenzied as he writhed in pain.
Although Luffy was temporarily out of the tiger's mouth, what they were about to face was a berserk beast!
"Run quickly! Split into three and head to the top of the mountain!"
The initial encounter made the three of them realize they were no match for this guy, so they could only split into three to divert his attention.
The King of Mt. Colubo, having roamed the mountain for so many years, had never suffered such a setback. Ignoring his sore eyes, he charged in the direction of Luffy!
"It's coming for me! Ace, Sabo..."
Feeling the fishy wind behind him, Luffy couldn't help but let out a miserable scream.
"Who told you to start provoking this guy?"
Ace and Sabo had already covered a significant distance. If the tiger was targeting them, with their proficient skills and sharp sense of smell from wandering in the mountains and forests all year round, they stood a good chance of evading the creature and reaching the finish line.
However, they hadn't anticipated the king's vindictiveness. He had fixed his eyes on Luffy, the one who had provoked him in the first place.
"Sabo! Come on, let's hold this guy down first!"
Ace was extremely frustrated now. If Atlas hadn't insisted that all three people must reach the top of the mountain, he might have seriously considered leaving Luffy behind.
"Luffy, run to the top of the mountain and find Atlas first. The three of us can't take on this guy!"
'Even though I know that that scoundrel Atlas must have placed the tiger here, the primary goal now is to get Luffy out of danger swiftly. Keeping him here will not only make me helpless in the battle but also separate me from Sabo. '
"I won't! I won't leave my good friends and run away..."
"Idiot, what can you do by staying? Instead, you'll drag us down!"
"I won't!"
Luffy remained stubborn.
Ace is tired, 'Forget it...'
While he was speaking, the King of Mt. Colubo had already positioned himself to attack the three of them. His sharp claws were unsheathed, and his massive body bore down directly toward Luffy!
The claws swung down!
Luffy, who had closed his eyes, felt no pain at all. He felt a bit lucky in his heart and then cautiously opened a small gap to assess the situation.
Ace was standing in front of him at some point, and the water pipe in his hand had been broken into two pieces!
"Lie down!"
Ace shouted, and Luffy, who was still dazed, subconsciously threw himself to the ground.
Bang!
There was a burst of flying sand and rocks as the two of them rolled around, attempting to escape the attack range of the King of Mt. Colubo. However, the king had a thorough understanding of human nature. He wasn't so foolish as to easily let the two people get away from his mouth.
Sabo, however, wasn't just watching from the sidelines. He had already sneaked around to the back and attempted to stab the King of Mt. Colubo in the back!
Boom!
The tiger's tail, like a steel whip, lashed out and struck Sabo hard from behind!
Fortunately, he managed to block it in time, but the water pipe in his hand also broke. Sabo felt a numbness in his arm, and a trace of blood seeped out from the tiger's mouth.
'Shit!'
Although the attack failed, Sabo was unwilling to give in. If he didn't divert this guy's attention, Ace and Luffy would be in danger.
At that moment, determination filled his heart. Holding half of the water pipe in his hand, he maneuvered from left to right to avoid the King of Mt.Colubo's sweeping attacks. Then, he thrust forward with the water pipe in his hand!
Poof!
Blood splattered!
The King of Mt.Colubo experiences a hardcore 'Thousand years of death'. (T/N: Those who watched Naruto will understand)
The King of Mt.Colubo shivered instantly as a strong sense of pain struck him. His whole body had an unconscious tendency to curl up.
"Chance..."
Seeing this, Ace advanced with a swift kick and used the sharp point of the broken water pipe in his hand to stab forcefully into the soft abdomen!
Stab!
In the blink of an eye, the situation took a turn for the better, and two bloody wounds appeared on the body of the King of Mt.Colubo. Ace and Sabo's fighting talents and coordination were proving effective!
"Roar!"'
Although the big guy looked quite battered, beasts in the One piece world were just like humans, possessing bodies as resilient as monsters. Even with these injuries, its combat ability wouldn't be significantly diminished. Instead, the pain seemed to stimulate its fierceness!
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