As Zoro's battle ended, Chouchou's fight was also wrapping up.
Under Krieg's "retreat and you die" order, the pirates had charged at the giant dog.
They quickly realized how naive they had been.
Their swords, guns, and axes couldn't even scratch Chouchou's hide.
With a single swipe of his claws, Chouchou would disembowel anyone who got too close.
Some of the smarter pirates quickly caught on.
They would pretend to get hit, deliberately letting Chouchou's attacks send them flying into the sea where they'd float, feigning serious injury.
A previously unthinkable thought started to spread through their ranks.
'Maybe we'd have a better chance of survival if we all just attacked Captain Krieg instead.'
Soon, most of the pirates were faking it, leaving only a few truly suicidal ones still charging at the giant dog.
From the bow of his ship, Krieg frowned.
Something felt off, but before he could investigate, Luffy's voice cut through the air.
…
"Hey, you ungrateful gorilla! It's your turn now!"
At Luffy's taunt, Krieg's attention snapped to him.
His vicious face was eerily calm. "I don't care what a dead man says. Because I, Don Krieg, will always win."
Luffy just grinned. "So you're saying you ran back to the East Blue from the Grand Line because you were scared, not because you got your butt kicked?"
That hit a nerve.
Losing to that man was the greatest shame of Krieg's life.
His composure shattered, and a vein bulged on his forehead.
"I'll kill you, you skinny monkey!"
Before Krieg could move, Luffy shot forward, his fist aimed right at the armored pirate.
So fast! Krieg thought, surprised by the burst of speed.
He immediately went on the defensive, pulling a massive, spiked iron shield from under his cape and wrapping it around his body.
The pirates floating in the sea grinned. "That's our Captain Krieg! He never takes any risks!"
"Hahaha, that Straw Hat kid won't dare punch that! He'll shred his own hands!"
Even Sanji, who was facing off with Gin, looked worried.
"With armor like that, how is he supposed to fight?"
Meanwhile, on the restaurant's rooftop, Ray just shook his head.
"Boring," he muttered.
By choosing to defend, Krieg had just given Luffy all the time in the world to prepare.
The old Luffy would have punched the armor anyway, not caring if his hands got mangled.
But this Luffy was different.
He'd still throw the punch—he just wouldn't get hurt.
"Armament Haki: Hardening!"
Luffy's right fist turned pitch-black as it slammed into the spiked armor.
CLANG!
A deafening metallic sound echoed across the sea.
A massive figure was sent flying backward, and everyone froze.
"What?! The Straw Hat kid is still standing!"
"That means… our Captain was the one who got sent flying!"
"But his hand isn't even hurt!"
"What was that black fist just now?!"
Ray and Zoro just smirked.
This version of Krieg never stood a chance.
Luffy stood on the ship's bow, looking disappointed.
"Your confidence doesn't match your strength at all."
A moment later, Krieg staggered to his feet, barely conscious.
"Are you made of metal?!" he roared, confused and furious. "How are you not hurt?!"
"You don't need to know," Luffy replied curtly. "Now, I'm sending you flying for real!"
He charged again.
Krieg, his spiked armor shattered, quickly detached two shields from his shoulders and combined them with a spear.
Luffy didn't even bother stretching.
He just swung a normal punch, which collided with Krieg's "Great Battle Spear."
BOOM!
An explosion erupted, and this time, Luffy was the one sent flying back.
"How's that, Straw Hat?" Krieg laughed. "My spear weighs a full ton! The harder you hit it, the bigger the explosion!"
Ray, who was preparing for his own fight, wasn't worried about Luffy at all.
In fact, another thought occurred to him.
'I wonder if I could give that spear to Chouchou.'
'He could probably swing it with his tail.'
Poor Krieg.
He was destined to be robbed.
…
As the smoke cleared, Luffy brushed the dust off his clothes, completely unharmed.
"Whoa, that was a big bang," he said cheerfully. "But it didn't even hurt as much as one of Ray's training clubs. You're giving me way too much time to prepare. Hehehe, it's over now, Krieg."
Before Krieg could even retort, he felt his hair stand on end.
In a flash, Luffy had appeared less than a meter in front of him, his rubbery arm already stretched far behind, fully charged with Haki.
The attack was so fast Krieg didn't have time to react.
"Gum-Gum… PISTOL!"
Luffy's Haki-coated fist smashed directly into Krieg's chest plate, shattering it instantly.
Krieg's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he was blasted off the ship and into the sea.
…
The watching pirates were so shocked they forgot they were supposed to be pretending to be injured.
Their mouths hung wide open.
"No way… Absolutely no way."
"Captain Krieg, the man who's never been injured, lost just like that?"
"Who the hell is this Straw Hat kid?!"
…
Ignoring them, Luffy rocketed back up to the rooftop and landed next to Ray.
"Aww, I was hoping he'd put up more of a fight," he complained. "I need a real enemy to get stronger faster."
"Take your time," Ray replied. "You'll master it eventually."
As he spoke, Ray's gaze fixed on the horizon.
A small, coffin-shaped boat was getting closer.
Hawkeye was coming.