As Zoro's battle ended, Chouchou's battle also came to an end.
Two minutes earlier, under Krieg's death threat of "retreat and die," the Krieg Pirates' cannon fodder charged at Chouchou, whom they had assumed was an easy target.
But when those pirates truly faced Chouchou, they realized just how naive they had been.
They gave it everything they had, using swords, spears, axes, and blades in turn, yet they could not break through Chouchou's defenses.
Chouchou merely swung its claws, and the pirates directly facing it were disemboweled, blood flowing everywhere.
Still, some of the Krieg Pirates were clever. With a quick thought, they pretended to be like their companions who had been sent flying and hurled themselves into the sea.
The pirates attacking Chouchou had all calmed down by now. Thoughts they had never entertained before emerged in their minds.
Maybe our chances of surviving would be higher if we teamed up to attack Captain Krieg.
No, how could that be? Captain Krieg is the strongest. It can only mean we're too weak.
The later waves of Krieg Pirates became increasingly clever as well. Aside from the suicidal fools who genuinely charged at Chouchou, most pretended to be knocked into the sea, floating there as if badly injured.
Krieg, watching from the bow of the giant ship, frowned. Something felt wrong. Just as he was about to uncover the truth, Luffy's taunting voice reached him.
"Ungrateful gorilla, you're up!"
Hearing Luffy's mockery, Krieg shifted his attention to him. There was no anger on his savage face, only calm.
"I don't care about a dead man's taunts, because I—Admiral Krieg—will definitely win!"
Luffy adjusted his straw hat and grinned. "So you're saying you ran back to the East Blue because you were afraid of the Grand Line, not because you got beaten back?"
Krieg could no longer remain calm after hearing that. Losing to that man was the shame of his life, and coupled with Luffy's taunt, his blood pressure shot through the roof. Veins bulged across his forehead.
"I'll kill you, you skinny monkey!"
Before Krieg could attack, Luffy launched himself into the air with a powerful push of his legs. Moving at incredible speed, he swung his fist at Krieg on the bow of the giant ship.
So fast.
The speed Luffy unleashed in that instant made Krieg calm down slightly, and he assumed a defensive stance.
He pulled out a Thorn Iron Armor covered in iron spikes from beneath his cape and wrapped it around his entire body. He looked like a porcupine with its defenses fully raised, leaving predators nowhere to bite.
The cannon fodder pirates floating in the sea and pretending to be badly injured all smiled confidently at the sight.
"This is our Captain Krieg! Battle-hardened and never injured!"
"He'll do whatever it takes to win. Even if he can beat you, he won't fight you head-on!"
"Hahaha, that Straw Hat Kid definitely won't dare keep punching, or his hand will be ruined!"
Even Sanji, who was confronting Gin, became worried about Luffy.
"With armor like that, he can't punch through it." Sanji frowned slightly.
Can Yue, watching from the restaurant rooftop, shook his head slightly and muttered, "Boring."
Luffy had yet to fully master Armament Haki, but with Krieg choosing to defend and leaving Luffy so much time to prepare, he would definitely manage to coat his fist with Armament Haki.
By doing this, Krieg had made himself Luffy's test subject.
If this had been the old Luffy, he would have thrown a punch even if it meant getting hurt.
But Luffy was different now. He would still throw that punch, but he would not get hurt.
Armament Haki—Hardening!
The part of Luffy's right arm from the wrist forward was completely covered in black, and then he drove his fist solidly into the Thorn Iron Armor.
With a loud "duang," a sound like clashing metal rang in everyone's ears.
Blood sprayed into the air above the two combatants, and a massive figure was sent flying behind the giant ship.
When they looked closely, everyone froze.
"What? The one still standing is that Straw Hat Kid."
"That means our captain was sent flying."
"How strange. Straw Hat Kid's hand isn't injured."
"What was that black fist just now?"
The cannon fodder pirates all wore baffled expressions.
Can Yue and Zoro both understood that Krieg could no longer pose much of a threat to Luffy.
Luffy stood at the bow of the giant ship, looking at Krieg with disappointment.
"Your confidence and strength are far too mismatched."
A moment later, Krieg, who had nearly been knocked unconscious by that punch, slowly got to his feet.
He shook his head and looked at Luffy, anger mixed with confusion in his voice. "Are you made of metal? How are you not hurt?"
"You don't need to know." Luffy had no interest in talking to people he disliked.
"Next, I'll send you flying for good!"
With that, Luffy charged forward again.
Since the Thorn Iron Armor had been damaged in the previous clash, Krieg instantly tore off the two shields on his shoulders and combined them with a spear to form a special weapon.
Without using his power, Luffy swung his fist and collided with Krieg's Great War Spear.
An explosion erupted in an instant. This time, Luffy was blasted away.
Krieg burst into laughter. "How was that, Straw Hat Kid? The force of that explosion isn't pleasant, is it?"
The cannon fodder pirates joined in. "Our captain's spear weighs a full ton! The harder he swings it, the stronger the explosion!"
Can Yue, whose fighting spirit was stirring, was naturally not worried about Luffy being blown away. Instead, another thought occurred to him.
What if I gave that spear to Chouchou? It should work pretty well if it wrapped its tail around it and swung it.
Poor Krieg was destined to be robbed no matter what.
As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Luffy shook the dust from his body and spoke in a strong, energetic voice.
"Wow, that scared me. But it still didn't hurt as much as one hit from Can Yue's staff. You always give me so much time to prepare that I almost feel embarrassed. Hehehe, it's time to end this, Krieg."
Before Krieg could spit out the curse he had been about to use against Luffy, the hairs on his body suddenly stood on end, and cold sweat poured down his face.
Luffy had instantly appeared less than a meter in front of Krieg. At the same time, his rubbery arm had stretched behind him, fully charged.
The attack came so quickly that Krieg could not react. Only when Luffy's fist was about to hit him did he begin to swing his spear.
Gomu Gomu, Pistol!
With Luffy's shout, the rubber pistol coated in Armament Haki struck Krieg's alloy breastplate head-on.
The breastplate shattered instantly. Krieg's eyes rolled back as he flew away, smashing straight through the giant ship's railing and falling into the sea.
The watching pirates were so shocked that they no longer bothered pretending to be badly injured. Their mouths hung wide open.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
"Captain Krieg, who has never been injured, lost just like that?"
"Just who is this Straw Hat Kid?"
Luffy ignored their comments and used a Rocket Punch to leap beside Can Yue. Spreading his hands, he complained, "I was hoping he could put some pressure on me and help me improve faster in a crisis, but he was completely useless."
Can Yue nodded. "Take it slow. You'll master it sooner or later."
Then Can Yue stared straight into the distance.
That small boat was getting closer and closer.
Hawk Eyes had arrived!
Before you continue