The Flower Capital, once a lively and bustling city, had now become a complete ruin.
The air was filled with the smell of smoke and dust. The once-beautiful buildings had collapsed, and the streets were covered in broken bricks and shattered walls.
Here, the three major pirate crews, along with the remnants of the Kozuki clan, had launched a fierce battle against the Beasts Pirates and Orochi's forces.
But in the end, they were no match for the powerful enemy and were all defeated.
These groups, seen as the new generation of power, had stepped into the New World full of ambition and dreams—yet in such a short time, they were crushed twice in a row by the Four Emperors.
Even though this battle inside the Flower Capital wasn't as large-scale as the one outside the city, the sheer number of people involved still made the destruction overwhelming.
The fierce fighting threw the whole city into chaos. Innocent civilians ran in panic, calling out for their loved ones.
Right now, cries and shouts filled the city, blending into a heartbreaking symphony.
In the middle of the wreckage, Gifters member Sheepshead was rushing to find Mr. .
Finally, he spotted at a ruined street corner.
"Mr. , the battle outside the city seems to have stopped. I guess Admiral Kaido must've won big! What should we do next?" Sheepshead asked, gasping for breath.
"Hmm..." paused to think.
Just then, a loud laugh came from outside the city. Everyone still awake inside instantly turned to look in that direction.
Especially the Straw Hat crew.
Their hearts, which had been crushed with despair, suddenly felt a breeze of spring as they heard the laugh. A surge of hope lit up in their eyes.
They couldn't be more familiar with that laugh—it was Luffy's!
And the next second, what did they see?
A figure, bouncing around like a monkey, was leaping through the air. Even the clouds in the sky looked like they'd come to life, bouncing the figure around like a pinball.
"It's Luffy!"
"Why is his hair pure white? And what's with those weird moves—what happened to him?" Sanji forced himself to stand up despite his pain, eyes sharp like a hawk, locked onto Luffy in the sky.
The Straw Hat crew stared at Luffy, their faces filled with shock and confusion at his strange new form.
At the same time, both the Kid Pirates and the Heart Pirates pinned all their hopes on Luffy now. They had noticed the fight sounds from Kid and Law had long since stopped.
They could only guess—both of their captains had once again lost to Kaido. Luffy was now the only one left with the strength to fight.
But the newly arrived Red Hair Pirates, just out from the underground city, were also staring at Luffy's form—some shocked, some confused, some surprised. They hadn't expected Luffy to push the fight this far against the so-called strongest creature of land, sea, and sky.
"Shanks, that guy Luffy… did he awaken?" Beckman asked in a serious tone as he watched the white figure bouncing in the sky.
"Yeah."
"This should be the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan type—Nika form," Shanks answered with the same serious tone.
"But something about it feels off," Beckman said, eyes narrowed. Something about Luffy's form didn't sit right with him—it felt like a creature from a whole other world.
This time, Shanks didn't answer. His sharp eyes stayed locked on Luffy in the sky, like a hawk watching its prey.
The other Red Hair Pirates stood frozen, staring straight up at Luffy like statues.
Outside the Flower Capital—
Kaido watched Luffy bouncing around again, showing off that bizarre form. It fired him up instantly.
This rubber brat was like an unkillable cockroach!
He wanted to capture this rubber man and use him as a punching bag—something to beat on whenever he was in a bad mood!
"Worororororo!"
"This is too fun. What is that form of yours?" Kaido didn't look worried at all. In fact, he thought Luffy looked kind of cute bouncing around like that.
"Hahahahaha~"
Luffy laughed loudly in the sky. He didn't answer Kaido, just raised one hand to shade his eyes, leaving a small gap between his fingers. Through it, he stared straight at Kaido with a strange look.
The moment Kaido met Luffy's eyes, his face turned serious.
He seemed to notice something in Luffy's eyes.
"Bring it on!" Kaido roared.
In the blink of an eye, before Kaido could even get ready, Luffy shot down from the sky like a bolt of lightning. His rubbery fist, like a cannonball, blasted straight toward Kaido!
Kaido's eyes went wide with shock.
That speed…
He had a bad feeling and quickly covered his body with Conqueror's Haki, forming a shield as tough as steel to block the attack.
But just as the Haki wrapped around Kaido's body, Luffy's punch had already landed. With a loud "boom," the hit connected—yet there was no sign of a Haki clash, no energy waves, no shock.
Kaido's huge body bent like rubber hit by a hammer and was sent flying backward.
"Hehehehe\~"
"It's been a while since I felt this strong!" Luffy let out a weird little laugh, then dashed after Kaido like a hungry beast chasing its prey.
As Kaido flew through the air, he could feel how terrifying that punch really was.
That soft, rubbery fist had broken through his Haki and hit his body directly—and even turned his body rubbery?
Something's wrong with this guy!
"Thunder Bagua!"
After slamming into the ground, Kaido got up fast, swinging his club straight into Luffy's next attack.
This time, there was finally a proper Haki clash!
Luffy noticed that his punch couldn't turn Kaido's weapon rubbery. That made him a little annoyed, and his eyebrows tightened slightly.
The two of them were knocked back again.
"Mwororororo!"
"You're not him. Your attacks feel totally different. But whatever—because I can feel how strong you are!" Kaido was thrilled. This fight, he was going all in!
Luffy didn't reply. He just opened his mouth and gave a strange smile.
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