"Gomu Gomu no Jet Bullet!"
"Slash!"
In mid-air, Luffy's fist in Gear Second and Roman's sword, combined with the White Knight, fell simultaneously!
Facing Rob Lucci, neither Roman nor Luffy had any intention of 'underestimating' him. With full force, Luffy's fist brought forth a blazing white shockwave, and Roman's sword unleashed a crescent-shaped sword energy, both aiming at Lucci. The sharp edge and piercing sonic boom intertwined instantly.
The combined attack of the two main forces of the Straw Hat crew was incredibly powerful! In an instant, the ruins where Lucci was smashed into pieces, revealing a tall figure.
The figure was three meters tall! His suit was bulging with muscle contours, the long sleeves had become short sleeves, and the long pants had turned into capris. His exposed skin had a metallic sheen, covered with spots and patterns. — Just looking at him, one could feel the wildness and power!
"Cat-Cat Fruit, Leopard Form!"
A pair of hands with claws as sharp as daggers met Luffy's fist and Roman's sword energy, and with the support of 'Tekkai', he forcibly blocked both attacks.
"Unlike you two flashy Paramecia types, Zoan types have pure strength!"
Soru,
In an instant, Lucci's speed was beyond description, faster than lightning! In a flash, he was beside Roman, as Roman's speed was much slower compared to Luffy in Gear Second.
In Roman's Observation Haki, a fierce crimson aura rushed towards him, filled with cold and resolute killing intent!
In the face of a serious Rob Lucci, ordinary steel wouldn't be stronger than paper! Even with Roman's Devil Fruit ability, he couldn't guarantee absolute defense. If his defense was breached, Lucci, who was proficient in Rokushiki, could tear apart a flesh-and-blood body in less than 0.1 seconds.
The opponent's fierce momentum and strong death aura instantly focused all of Roman's strength, spirit, and momentum into the armored 'White Knight'!
Armament Haki - Hardening.
The already heavy armor was instantly covered with an invisible layer of light, giving it an indestructible aura. At the same time, Roman gripped his eight-sided sword with both hands, swung his body, and slashed at Lucci with the sword and his body!
With the infusion of Armament Haki, the eight-sided sword became like a true famous sword, cutting a semi-circular golden torrent several meters long. The sword's edge brought up a roaring wave sound like thousands of waves crashing, meeting Lucci's fist head-on!
Boom,
In the dull and shocking explosion, Roman's long sword collided with Lucci's right claw, sending shockwaves from their clash! The ground around them was forcibly pressed into a semi-circular crater.
Although Roman found that Lucci's claw was as hard as gold and iron, comparable to a great sword, his paper sword was clearly lacking in strength. But don't forget, he wasn't fighting alone—"Gomu Gomu no Jet Whip!"
A whip-like leg, too fast to see, struck Rob Lucci. Even though he used 'Tekkai' instantly, he was still kicked away. Although he wasn't seriously injured, his plan to follow up on Roman was disrupted.
Tsk,
Since that's the case, I'll deal with this Straw Hat kid first!
Using the speed from his Zoan Devil Fruit and Soru, Lucci instantly turned and charged at Luffy. He intended to quickly take down the unarmored guy before dealing with the armored Roman! But he soon realized he was wrong.
Although Luffy wore nothing but a straw hat, a red vest, half-leg jeans, and sandals, which seemed defenseless, his rubber fruit gave him a resilient body. Combined with the resistance trained by Garp since childhood, it was hard to inflict effective damage on him unless it was a slashing attack.
Luffy's close combat skills were also impressive. His arms stretched and punched like cannonballs, like steel whips, with countless fist shadows that seemed random but were perfectly natural!
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!!!"
If Luffy's stretching attacks were once easy for 'experts' to counter, in Gear Second, his attacks were as fast as the wind, as fierce as thunder, powerful and unstoppable! Even Lucci's Zoan fruit combined with Tekkai couldn't withstand too many hits.
As the battle continued, Roman gradually adapted to Lucci's high-speed movements.
After all, he often sparred with Luffy. Although this kind of high-speed movement was currently beyond Roman's eyes to catch, his Observation Haki could clearly capture their figures.
Once in close combat, the speed disadvantage became less apparent.
Two against one, even the best fighter can't handle multiple opponents! Moreover, Roman and Luffy were already well-coordinated. Even the so-called 'genius of eight hundred years' was being suppressed, and the accumulating injuries quickly drained Rob Lucci's stamina.
No, I must break the stalemate—"Rankyaku 'Leopard Tail'!"
Maintaining his leopard form, Lucci spun suddenly, swinging his leg to unleash a spiral slash like a beast's tail! The sharp, rotating light wheel cut through the ground, buildings, and rocks! It was about to catch up with the pink-clad Luffy, but a tall white figure instantly blocked its path, and the long sword in his hand slashed down.
Slash!
Roman didn't care about the 'Rankyaku' slash, as he had sparred with Sanji many times after he learned it. The long sword left a golden trail in the air, easily splitting the vacuum slash like a skilled butcher cutting through meat.
However, what happened next was beyond Roman's expectations. The domineering slash didn't dissipate but continued to attack Roman like an endless wheel!
For a moment, Roman's face under the helmet changed!
The eight-sided sword in his hand flipped up and down, turning into countless flickering cold lights, appearing and disappearing in the rotating slashes. No matter how fierce the slashing light was, it couldn't suppress the resilient golden sword light.
In an instant, ten slashes had passed, accompanied by increasingly loud sounds of blades clashing, proving that Roman's long sword was becoming more difficult to cut through the slashes! By the last slash, a loud clang echoed, shaking the clouds.
Roman's entire body trembled, and a crack suddenly appeared on his long sword!
At that moment, Lucci, using his back to withstand Luffy's punch, transformed his leg into a finger, and with a sharp claw, he accurately struck the crack on Roman's long sword, creating a burst of flames!
"Shigan 'Guren'!"
The extreme temperature change and impact caused Roman's long sword to shatter into countless pieces, engulfed in flames that quickly spread, swallowing Roman whole.
"Roman!"
Amid Luffy's anxious shout, a calm voice came from the flames.
"I'm fine,"
Whoosh—With the outer layer covered in 'life paper' and Haki, Roman had long overcome the weakness of 'fire'. Although Lucci's two moves had destroyed his weapon, it was just a creation of his ability. So:Rustle~~With a flick of his wrist, a new eight-sided sword appeared in Roman's hand, and he charged forward again.
Damn it!
The more Lucci fought, the more shocked he became. He had thought they were just a scapegoat pirate crew, but there were actually two genuine experts!
And the most troublesome part was that both of them had developed their Devil Fruit abilities well: one had incredible defense with full-body Haki armor, and the other had lightning-fast speed. If they were separated, he might have a chance to find their weaknesses and defeat them one by one, but now—If this continued, he would be the one considering retreat.
No!
I can't have such weak thoughts!
No matter how arrogant evil becomes, justice will never back down—Crackle!!
As the three of them fought, creating piles of rubble like a demolition team, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the sky above the Galley-La Company headquarters, startling Lucci! But what surprised him even more was what followed:One bolt of lightning after another struck precisely, all targeting the top floor of the Galley-La Company headquarters, causing Lucci's heart to sink.
This unnatural lightning could only be the work of someone using a Devil Fruit ability!
And CP9 didn't have such 'flashy' skills; they were assassins, not a frontal assault team, so—"Rankyaku 'White Thunder'!"
A massive slash wave cut the entire building in half, causing the huge structure to slowly collapse to the side. Of course, such an attack was meaningless to the experts in battle, but it was enough to disrupt the rhythm and restrain the opponent.
After all, unlike CP9, who could take down everything without a care, the Straw Hat crew:
"Robin, watch out!"
"Chopper, get them out of here,"
Several small figures leaped out from the collapsing building, splitting into two groups. One group consisted of Kaku, with a knife wound staining half his shoulder red, a blood-covered Blueno, and a charred Kalifa being supported by Kaku. This once-sexy former secretary had turned into a 'burnt figure,' barely able to stand without her companion's help.
The other group included Zoro wielding two swords, Sanji with a cigarette in his mouth, Nami lifted by the wind with lightning flashing above her head, and Chopper carrying Mayor Iceburg and Foreman Paulie.
Just from their appearances, it was clear who was stronger.
"Is this the strength of the World Government's assassination unit?"
Sanji sighed.
"I didn't expect us to be this strong."
"Hmph,"
Zoro, only using two swords, snorted coldly.
"The opponents are just too weak."
????
The CP9 members, who were confident they could toy with the Straw Hat crew, all had dark expressions. Had they really fallen to the point of being called 'weak'?
"Whew~~~"
Luffy and Roman, having deactivated Gear Second, retreated to the Straw Hat crew's side. Although the situation wasn't entirely Gear Second settled, they had a significant advantage! As long as—
"What a disgrace,"
Rob Lucci, maintaining his leopard form, glanced at his injured colleagues.
"To think we have to rely on 'evil' power."
?
Before the Straw Hat crew could react, Lucci, wiping the blood from his mouth, ordered the figure who didn't belong to either group.
"Take them out! Nico Robin."
??
"Are you crazy?"
"Robin would never attack us—"
Ignoring the Straw Hat crew's incredulous words, Lucci looked at the struggling intellectual beauty and coldly uttered three words.
"Buster Call!"
Oh no—
—————— ----
You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu