Straw Hat Crew vs. Red-Haired Crew

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The moment they reappeared, their figures were already before each other.

Clang!

A flash of light accompanied the drawing of a sword. Shanks drew his blade and slashed diagonally upwards from below, his cold edge fully revealed!

Luffy raised his right foot high, black Haki rapidly coiling around his calf. His eyes darkened, and he brought his leg down with a swift chop against the incoming sword!

Clang!!

The collision instantly sparked black lightning. A fierce ring of shockwaves emanated outwards, and the blade groaned and vibrated as Luffy stalemated him.

"Your Haki training is quite good."

Shanks chuckled in a deep voice, twisting his wrist. Power and Haki surged once more into Gryphon!

Luffy's pupils constricted. He used the blade as leverage, quickly flipping backward and leaping away. The next moment.

Clang!

The red crescent slash passed by his body at an incredibly close distance, soaring into the sky and cleanly slicing off the spire of a castle tower. The spire slid from the air along the angled cut.

Luffy hugged his knees, somersaulting several times before landing. The moment his feet touched the ground, a crimson shadow approached with ghostly speed.

"What's going on?! I can't see him at all?!"

Luffy frowned, genuinely shocked. A strong premonition in his heart gave him a long-lost sense of primal danger. He immediately stomped on the ground and leaped high into the air.

The "invisibility" he referred to wasn't about being unseen by the naked eye, but rather his Observation Haki failing, making him unable to see Shanks's future.

As expected, the moment Luffy leaped, a sharp blade wind instantly swept across the ground, leaving several slashes on the stone slabs.

Then Shanks appeared, his black cloak billowing. He looked up, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Quick reflexes, but it'll be hard to dodge in mid-air."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Cold light flashed! Shanks swung his sword rapidly, unleashing a torrent of flying slashes like red scythes into the sky!

Facing this overwhelming barrage of powerful slashes, Luffy took a deep breath, raised his hand, bit his thumb, and blew forcefully into his body to inflate.

With no leverage to dodge, it was clearly unrealistic. He could only try to blast them away as much as possible.

"Fourth Gear! Snake Man Form!"

His Haki-covered body and limbs inflated, further strengthening his rubber elasticity. Luffy stretched his arms behind him.

"Gum-Gum... Python!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Powerful and rapid punches rained down like a storm, smashing into the dense slashes and causing explosions in the air!

Luffy gritted his teeth and punched with all his might, his arms a blur. However, some slashes still slipped through, cutting open bloody gashes on his resilient skin.

The burning pain gradually spread from all over his body. Luffy clenched his teeth, knowing that if this continued, he would eventually be suppressed.

Just as he was contemplating a strategy to find an opportunity to return to the ground, the slashes from below abruptly stopped.

Luffy's eyes widened in surprise. A streak of crimson light pierced through the storm of fists and, in an instant, appeared before him!

Shanks's eyes were as sharp as blades. Holding Gryphon, he loomed over Luffy, Haki transforming into dark red lightning that coiled around the blade. He slashed down with lightning speed!

Facing this sudden flash attack, Luffy had no time to counter. He could only hastily bring his arms together in front of him to block.

Clang!!

Sparks flew. His wrists, covered in Haki, had a defense comparable to tempered steel, yet the blade still cut through his flesh, drawing out a few drops of blood from the incision.

Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief.

Shanks smoothly turned and delivered a spinning kick to Luffy's abdomen, sending him plummeting from the sky like a meteor.

Bang!!

The ground trembled, kicking up thick smoke. Luffy landed on his back in a deep crater, sprawled out.

Before he could get up, Shanks descended from the sky, dragging his long sword, and swooped down directly at him.

"What's wrong, Luffy? This level isn't enough to get the last Poneglyph from me. You need to show me something stronger."

"The last Poneglyph? Is that so? So that's how it is."

A smile spread across Luffy's lips. He sprang up with a flip, his movements agile as he backflipped several times. Upon landing, he circulated air within his body to his arm, clenching his fist, which had inflated once more.

"Gum-Gum... King Cobra!!"

Luffy roared, anticipating Shanks's landing spot and unleashing a powerful blow!

Whoosh--

The flying fist tore through the air, like a venomous snake baring its fangs, poised to strike its prey with a fatal blow.

Shanks's gaze locked on. The moment he landed, he twisted his foot and immediately side-stepped to dodge the attack. He rapidly stomped on the ground, his ghostly figure closing in with incredible speed.

However, Luffy's lips curled into a smug grin. His lunging fist, with an unnatural trajectory, turned 180 degrees and, with explosive speed, pursued Shanks from behind!

As if he hadn't noticed the attack from behind, Shanks continued charging forward with his long sword drawn until he was close to Luffy. The moment his feet hit the ground, he flashed to the side.

"Eh!!"

Under Luffy's panicked gaze, the fist, accelerated to its absolute limit, blasted towards him!

Bang!!

The immense power from the acceleration sent Luffy flying, tumbling over a dozen times on the ground before crashing heavily against the base of a castle wall.

The already dilapidated ruins crumbled under the heavy impact, and giant stones rolled down, burying Luffy.

"Aren't you going to get serious, Luffy? That form from the newspaper."

Sword winds surged, clearing away the smoke. Shanks flicked his long sword and slowly stepped out.

"If you don't show me your full strength now, you won't get another chance later. I'm being very serious. .?x-q^k-s¨w?.\c^o′m′"

Bang!

Countless碎石 (suì shí -碎石) burst from the ruins, and Luffy's figure leaped out. Staring at the sword-wielding Shanks before him, a smile spread across his face.

"I know without you telling me. After all, Shanks is incredibly strong. I'll show you now, my ultimate power!"

Luffy spread his legs, squatted down, and punched the ground with his arm outstretched. A white hue began to dye the edges of his clothes and the tips of his hair, while flame-like clouds, white as streamers, wrapped around his shoulders.

"Fifth Gear · Nika Form!!"

"Be careful, Shanks, here I come!"

Luffy's face was split into a wide grin, but his eyes were incredibly serious. His feet blurred into afterimages as he charged forward, spinning like a whirlwind.

"Stop being so conceited, Luffy. You're still a long way from talking big like that to me."

Seeing Luffy's appearance, Shanks' lips curled slightly. He bent his knees and stomped on the ground, launching himself forward with Griffin in tow!

The two clashed fiercely once more. Meanwhile, the other members of the Straw Hat crew had also found their respective opponents.

Several pirates formed a circle, surrounding a target in the middle, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Hey, this guy is tougher than we thought."

"Isn't that the Straw Hat crew's doctor?"

"Huh? Isn't that a pet? Their doctor is a talking tanuki?"

"Not a tanuki, a reindeer! A reindeer, you idiot!"

Chopper roared, transforming into his large human form, and elbowed a pirate away.

"Such power! What form is this now!"

"Be careful! He's Tony Tony Chopper, with a bounty of 300 million Belly! Don't be fooled by his cute appearance!"

A man with light yellow hair, slicked back and tied into a short tail, jumped out holding a long staff.

Seeing him, the pirates' faces lit up with joy.

"Mr. Hongo!"

"That's great, a captain has arrived!"

"I'll take care of this guy."

Hongo's handsome face held a smile as he looked at Chopper. The long staff in his hand began to spin by his side.

"I happen to be a doctor too, so let's have a sparring match."

"Doctor...?"

Chopper murmured, looking at the man before him.

Since setting sail, this was the first time he had fought someone who was also a doctor. The Red-Haired Pirates' doctor, and a captain at that, his medical skills must be incredible.

Thinking this, Chopper felt inexplicably a little embarrassed and excited.

Meanwhile.

Boom!! Boom!!

In an open space within the ruins, two violent explosions sounded simultaneously, sending rubble and dust flying.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Franky rolled out of the thick smoke, crouching on the ground and covering his face with his hand. He looked with a grave expression at the burly man opposite him, whose long brown hair was as wild as a lion's.

"What is this, a laser beam? Or something else? Is this guy a cyborg?"

Thinking of the energy shockwave the other man had unleashed from his mouth earlier, Franky's gaze became intrigued.

"No wonder they specifically targeted me. This is interesting. Let's see who has the better modifications!"

"Weapon, left arm!"

Click—Click—Click!

Franky raised his left arm, his fingers curled and aimed forward. The cover on his fingertips flipped open, revealing a black gun barrel, and his entire palm began to rotate!

"Franky Fire God Gatling!!"

Drip, drip, drip!

Having acquired various high-tech weapon blueprints from Vegapunk's laboratory, Franky began to upgrade himself. Although the time was short and there wasn't enough time for a complete overhaul, the weapons mounted on his body had their firepower enhanced.

Flames erupted from the muzzle, and a terrifying rate of fire of eighty rounds per second unleashed a torrent of bullets denser than a rainstorm. Their power was even more exaggerated; even stone bricks over a meter thick were pulverized.

The wall behind him was riddled with holes under the hail of bullets. Roaring Gab crossed his arms to block his head, maintaining full-body Armament Haki coverage at a tremendous cost.

Sparks continuously flew from various parts of his body, accompanied by the crisp sound of "ding, ding, ding."

Despite blocking with all his might, Gab was still pushed back by the powerful inertia of the bullets. His feet scraped scorched marks on the ground until his back slammed into the wall with a "bang."

Crack—crack—crack—

The barrage of bullets abruptly stopped, and the rotating hand slowly came to a halt.

"Huh?"

Franky was confused for a second, then tried pulling the trigger again.

Click—click!

The wind blew, and everything remained still.

"You're out of bullets already!!"

Franky screamed, his face turning pale with shock. He finally realized that his internal reserve of over a thousand bullets had been depleted in just over ten seconds!

This is a rip-off!

At this speed, tens of thousands of bullets wouldn't be enough!

Franky grumbled inwardly.

The time had been too short; he had stayed in Egghead for less than three days in total, and the newly installed weapons hadn't even been tested yet.

Setting aside the bullet issue, his left hand seemed to have overheated, and the cannons couldn't be used temporarily. Although the rate of fire and power were truly exaggerated, this new weapon, named "Fire God Gatling," clearly still had flaws.

But even more important than these.

This guy's defense is too exaggerated!

Franky looked at the burly man opposite him, who was emitting white smoke and whose dark Haki was gradually fading. His eyes couldn't help but reveal a look of apprehension.

Rumor had it that the Red-Haired Pirates were a "wall of iron" with the most balanced bounties among all crews, and their core executives had all mastered formidable Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Now, it seemed this rumor had no exaggeration whatsoever.

"That hurt, you bastard. It's my turn next!"

Gab's eyes flared with anger. He stomped his right foot heavily on the ground, bent his knees slightly, and then pushed off explosively, charging forward with his burly physique.

"Ogre Power Arm!!"

Gab roared, arching his arm. His elbow, partially wrapped in Haki, struck fiercely!

"Strong Right!"

Franky gritted his teeth and clenched his right fist. Cola energy was compressed and delivered to his thick mechanical arm. Steam erupted from behind his arm, and his iron fist shot out rapidly!

"Smash Short!!"

Bang!!

The hard iron fist and the elbow strike with full penetration collided fiercely, and a circular shockwave erupted from the two of them as the center.

Crack—crack—

This guy... actually—

Under Franky's disbelieving gaze, fine cracks appeared on the surface of his iron fist. Although they were minor, his fist wasn't made of scrap metal used carelessly.

The two were locked in a stalemate. Gab opened his large mouth, and energy began to gather.

"This is bad! Franky Radical Beam!!"

To force the opponent back, Franky opened a hatch on his shoulder, revealing two heavy cannons, which he aimed at Gab and fired directly!

Boom!! Boom!!

Flames mingled with smoke, rising in billowing clouds. Two figures flew out from the center, each sent flying backward.

At this distance, Franky was also affected by the explosion. He rolled a couple of times on the ground before stopping, his entire front body scorched black.

"You're really strong, I'd love to know where you rank on the ship."

Franky asked with a smile, his mind drifting to his crewmates. He figured the others' fights wouldn't be easy either.

Gab stared at Franky, lost in thought. After two seconds of silence, he said in a low voice:

"There are no executives on the ship weaker than me."

"Huh? Is that supposed to be modesty? You're already incredibly strong, you know."

Franky's expression didn't change much, but his heart grew heavy.

If what this guy said was true, the others might be in danger.

In fact, Gab's words were not an exaggeration at all.

At this moment, in the hall of the castle ruins.

"Too slow, too slow! What's going on, Usopp? This kind of weak attack is useless for anything other than clearing out small fry."

Yasopp squatted on the giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, looking down mockingly. He extended his black, Haki-covered palm and caught the leafy shuriken flying his way, crushing it instantly.

"As a sniper, your attacks are meaningless if they can't pose a threat to your enemy."

With that, Yasopp lowered the muzzle of his gun resting on his shoulder and slowly aimed it at Usopp below.

"This is how a gun should be used."