The Straw Hat Pirates had only truly crossed swords with Werther that day.
What filled them with despair was that Werther, with nothing but a single sword, had nearly wiped them all out in less than a minute.
Without the strength to back it up, meddling in other people's affairs at sea was asking to die.
Justice always wins? That only happened in stories. Of course justice always won. The victors were the ones who got to call themselves just.
The defeated had only one fate: death. And corpses couldn't speak, so it didn't matter how noble their cause had been.
Werther looked around. Franky, Robin, and Sanji were all but unable to fight.
As for Nami and Pudding, Werther paid them no mind. In his eyes, neither posed a threat.
"You bastard! I won't let you hurt my friends again!"
Luffy raised an arm and coated it in Armament Haki, then prepared to blow air into it.
Werther had no habit of letting his enemies finish their moves. He kicked off the ground and charged at Luffy, sword in hand.
But just as Werther was about to reach him, more than a dozen arms appeared on Werther's body and restrained him.
It was Robin. Her face streaked with blood, she had sat up amid the rubble.
The arms on Werther's body pulled hard at his neck and limbs.
Werther glanced at Robin and gave his body a violent shake.
Robin grunted, her face twisting in pain.
The arms on Werther dissolved into petals.
That opening had given Luffy enough time to complete his move.
"Gear Fourth: Boundman!"
In Boundman form, Luffy's arms and legs were wrapped in deep-red Armament Haki. The springiness of his feet kept him from standing still, and he bounced in a steady rhythm.
**Thump, thump,