Almost simultaneously, a right foot in a flip-flop came whistling toward him, stirring up a fierce gust.
Koby clenched his right fist, dodged the kick, and stepped forward, throwing a vicious punch.
Luffy reacted quickly, twisting in midair to evade the punch by a hair before landing on both feet and sliding backward.
"So fast!"
His eyes widened as he looked up at the friend before him, so familiar yet so unfamiliar.
Koby had completely transformed. There was no connecting him to the short, pudgy boy he had once been.
"Hahahaha!"
"Koby, you're working hard to make your dream come true, too!"
Luffy burst out laughing.
"I'm going to become an outstanding Marine, just like Teacher Garp and Fleet Admiral Xia Le!"
Koby drew a deep breath and shouted the words.
Before his old friend and all the Marines and revolutionaries present, he shouted the dream he had kept buried in his heart.
Inside the Palace, Kizaru raised his eyebrows and looked at Xia Le.
A smile visibly spread across the latter's face.
"Human potential is limitless!"
Kizaru narrowed his eyes and nodded with feeling.
From weakness to strength, from an anonymous rank-and-file soldier to an unrivaled commander.
The man before him was the perfect proof of that principle.
Atop the City Wall, the two friends kept their eyes fixed on each other.
"Koby!"
"I'll show you the respect you deserve!"
Luffy's expression turned serious, his voice utterly solemn.
"And I'll do the same!!"
Koby shouted.
At that moment, both their gazes turned deadly serious, their earlier smiles disappearing.
Clearly, both of them would take the coming fight seriously.
Meanwhile.
A flock of pitch-black crows suddenly appeared in the sky before the gate tower, racing toward Kuma.
"Karasu!"
"You won't break through here that easily!"
Kuma said in a deep