Hina's entire body tensed up. This time, she was going all in.
Her arms spread wide, forming a web-like iron lattice that shot outward, sealing Luffy completely inside.
Of course, Luffy had no intention of running. He bent his legs and sprang forward like a coiled spring released.
In that same instant, Hina's arms snapped shut, two fan-shaped barriers of iron converging hard on Luffy.
Boom!
When Hina pulled her arms back, Luffy had been flattened like a pancake. But for a rubber man like him, that wasn't much of a problem. He took a deep breath, and his squashed body quickly inflated back to normal.
He braced himself, Armament Haki coating his legs, then spun and whipped out a roundhouse kick like a snapping lash aimed at Hina.
Though Hina crossed her arms in front of her chest just in time, she was still sent flying backward by the impact.
When she finally got up from the rubble, Luffy was already charging at her again, slamming a fist toward her stomach.
Hina let out a sharp shout and threw a punch to meet it head-on.
Their fists collided—but Luffy's rubber arm absorbed the blow, bulging with circular ripples before bouncing the force back at Hina.
Feeling the pressure intensify, Hina quickly transformed her arms into iron bars again, coating them with Armament Haki just in time to block the strike.
They clashed once more, but this time, it was clear Hina was being overwhelmed.
Seeing this, Nami grew anxious. She wanted to rush in and help, but Nojiko stopped her with an outstretched arm.
Nojiko shook her head and said,
"This guy's too strong. Even Captain Hina's struggling—if you go in, you'll only get in the way."
Nami bit her lip and asked urgently,
"Then what should we do? Hina-san can't hold on much longer!"
Nojiko instinctively reached for the Flying Thunder God kunai hidden in her clothes—but suddenly, a furious shout echoed from afar.
"Stop it! Luffy! Are you really going to make yourself an enemy of the Marines?!"
At that voice, Luffy immediately froze. Hina also took the chance to pull back, standing still as she gasped for breath.
Luffy lifted his head, looking toward the sky. Two figures were descending rapidly—Ace and Sabo.
Apparently, after a Marine had been knocked out, they'd managed to call for reinforcements. Sabo and Ace had been in the East Blue looking for Luffy, so they were dispatched to handle the incident. But they never imagined the one causing the chaos was Luffy himself!
The moment Ace saw the Marines lying unconscious in the street, his anger flared. He dropped ahead of Sabo, his legs igniting as he shot down like a meteor toward Luffy.
"You idiot! Do you see what you've done?!"
Boom!
Ace's headbutt slammed Luffy into the ground, a cloud of dust erupting around them.
Sabo landed calmly, pressing down the brim of his black top hat as his serious gaze fixed on the swirling smoke.
Moments later, the sound of blows echoed from within, and shockwaves burst outward, scattering the dust to reveal Luffy and Ace locked in a fierce scuffle.
They were grappling, trading blows—but Luffy was clearly holding back, defending more than attacking.
Ace, on the other hand, looked furious, his voice sharp with frustration as he shouted between punches,
"I told you to give up this pirate nonsense! Why won't you listen?!"
Luffy caught Ace's fist, his expression darkening.
"Ace, I'll never give up on my dream!"
"Dream? Don't joke with me! I'm dragging you back to headquarters today and turning you over to Kaito-sama myself!"
At the mention of Kaito, Luffy's eyes wavered for a moment—then widened in fury. White steam began to rise off his body.
"Kaito again… Why do you always take his side?!"
He flung Ace's fist aside and drove a punch straight into Ace's stomach. Ace's back visibly distorted from the force, the rubbery imprint of Luffy's fist stretching out behind him.
Ace staggered backward, clutching his abdomen in shock as the skin around his stomach shimmered like rubber, then slowly returned to normal.
Sabo frowned deeply at the sight. In a flash, he appeared beside Ace and asked,
"Ace, are you okay?"
Ace shook his head, his tone grim.
"I'm fine… but what the hell was that just now? It felt like my body turned into rubber too."
"I felt it too," Sabo said. "Could it be… that Luffy's Gum-Gum Fruit has awakened?"
"But how could a Paramecia's awakening affect another person's body?"
"Maybe the Gum-Gum Fruit is… special?"
Luffy glanced at the pained expression on Ace's face, guilt flashing briefly in his eyes—but it was quickly replaced by coldness. He looked at Sabo and said flatly,
"Sabo… you came to stop me too, didn't you?"
Sabo met his gaze, that unsettling feeling of unfamiliarity creeping back. The person standing before him no longer looked like the brother he knew.
He sighed softly and said,
"Luffy, as your brother, I can't let you keep going down this path. But I'll admit—you're strong now. This place isn't fit for us to fight."
Among the three brothers, Sabo had always been the calmest. This was the king's homeland, and their battle had already devastated part of the city. If they kept going, they'd draw the king's wrath—and if that happened, Luffy would be done for.
Luffy glanced around. He didn't want to cause more destruction either, so he nodded, then kicked off the ground and shot away like a cannonball.
Ace and Sabo exchanged a quick look, then used Geppo to take off after him.
...
Nami and Nojiko supported Hina from both sides. Once the three brothers had disappeared from sight, Nami asked,
"Hina-san, who were those two just now?"
Hina pulled her arms off their shoulders, lit a cigarette, and took a long drag before exhaling a stream of smoke. Her voice lowered.
"They're Rear Admiral Sabo and Rear Admiral Ace from Marine Headquarters. I didn't expect that guy to be their little brother… No wonder he's so gifted…"
Nami's eyes widened. "Then, since they're his older brothers, they should be able to stop him, right?"
"Maybe," Hina muttered. "But if even the two of them fail… then we won't be seeing any reinforcements stronger than them anytime soon."
A shadow of worry crossed her face. There was something about Luffy that felt… off. She wasn't sure even those two could bring him down.
Seeing Hina's expression, Nojiko said softly,
"Don't worry, Captain Hina. Even if they fail… I can still call someone. If he comes, this whole thing will be settled for sure."
Hina froze. A figure instantly flashed through her mind. Her eyes widened in shock as she blurted out,
"You—you mean… the King?!"
"Mm." Nojiko nodded firmly.