Chapter 103: I Am Still Too Weak
> "Armament Haki!"
Gambi didn't dodge. Instead, he coated his body in Armament Haki, allowing the incoming stone tendrils to pierce his skin. The sharp rocky spikes slammed into him, gouging deep concave wounds across his muscular frame.
But Gambi was no longer the same as he was a year ago.
Through intense training in the New World, he had learned to control the Madness Qi within his body. Now, not only could he suppress the berserk urges while retaining his sanity, but he could also convert damage into strength.
> "Hah…!"
With glowing red eyes and a sharp exhale, Gambi's bloodied wounds began to close, muscles bulging with restored power.
> "Mad Qi Style: Hidden Crescent!"
With a wild swing of his sword, Gambi sent a crescent-shaped slash that cracked the ground and surged toward Pica, who was merging with the rocky terrain.
But Pica, the Stone-Stone Fruit user, was slippery in his element. He evaded the slash, melding deeper into the ground, and conjured an enormous stone giant, towering over 30 meters.
> "Mad Qi Style: King Crescent!"
Gambi's next slash was brutal—its sheer force shattered the arm of the stone giant as it came down upon him. But Pica, hidden within the arm, leapt into the torso before it regenerated.
> "Stone Embrace!"
The titanic stone giant hugged the terrain, pulling Gambi and a large portion of the battlefield into its grasp. Then, countless stone pillars erupted like spikes, hammering down on Gambi's trapped figure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even with Armament Haki, Gambi's body was wracked with damage. But Pica wasn't finished.
> "Stone Guillotine!"
The shattered pillars reformed into two colossal stone walls, bristling with spikes, which began to slam shut on Gambi like a vice.
> CRACK!
Bone-snapping sounds echoed as Gambi was crushed within.
But then, through the silence…
> "Madness… returns."
A terrifying burst of aura and killing intent exploded from between the walls. With a primal roar, Gambi broke free, bursting from the rubble like a demon.
> "Mad Qi Style: New Moon!"
A glowing slash like a crescent moon streaked across the battlefield, bisecting the stone giant from shoulder to hip.
Pica, still controlling the upper body, made it rear up and launch a final attack—the statue's mouth opening wide.
> "Stone Bite!"
The mouth of the statue lunged at Gambi, but he stood firm.
> "Mad Qi Style: Full Moon!"
A shimmering ring of concentrated slashes swept through the air, cleaving the upper half of the stone giant into hundreds of uniform stones. Within them, Pica's real body, riddled with cuts, fell limply to the earth.
> Thud.
> "Pffft…!"
Blood gushed from Gambi's wounds. His madness-powered state receded as he staggered, exhaustion catching up to him.
> "Even now… against someone like Pica…"
"This much damage…"
He clenched his fists, frustration simmering.
> "A year ago, I fought Vergo—and even though he was stronger than Pica, the price I paid then was almost the same as now."
"What good is all this training… if I'm still not strong enough?"
He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and limped toward the SMILE Factory.
---
Meanwhile, near the SMILE Factory gates, Seba and Barry, Gambi's twin brothers, were intercepted by a strange-looking man with long curly hair, a black cap, and a spandex outfit exposing his chest.
> "I am Machvise of the Donquixote Family," he said, raising his arms.
"You two won't be getting any further, nah~."
Seba and Barry exchanged a quick glance—and disappeared in a blur.
> "Twin Impact!"
BOOM!
Their synchronized fists struck Machvise dead center in the gut, sending his hefty frame flying into the factory wall.
> "Ow ow ow…!" Machvise crawled out of the rubble, grumbling.
"So rude. Attacking without introducing yourselves…"
Despite the direct hit, he floated up, hovering in midair like a balloon.
> "Superhuman Weight-Weight Fruit user," Seba muttered.
"He can change his weight at will. That explains why our hit didn't do much."
Machvise grinned.
> "That's right. When I'm light, I float… and when I'm heavy—"
> "Ton Crash: Ten-Ton Press!"
Machvise dropped from the sky like a boulder, his body suddenly weighing 10,000 kilograms as it descended on Barry.
> CRASH!
The ground caved in. Barry, caught off-guard, was flattened beneath the crushing blow.
> "Barry!!"
Enraged, Seba darted forward, fists charged with Haki.
> "You're gonna pay for that!"
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