"Damn it."
"Luffy."
Zoro and Sanji rushed out because Wilton was already walking toward the gradually settling dust. If he swung that dumbbell again, Luffy would probably be done for.
Whoosh—
Zoro unleashed Two Sword Style, while Sanji threw a fierce kick. The two attacks grazed past Wilton, who stopped and looked at the torn hoodie over his chest, his ruggedly handsome face filled with displeasure.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"I spent a whopping hundred thousand Beli on this. I've only worn it for ten days."
Turning around.
Wilton looked at Zoro and Sanji, his gaze gradually turning malicious. Zoro and Sanji both paled, while Sanji kept twisting his right foot back and forth, his expression making it obvious that he was in considerable pain.
"It didn't work."
Zoro's heart sank.
He had slashed the man twice just now, yet there was none of the expected torn flesh and spilling blood. He had merely ripped the man's hooded sweatshirt. He did not know whether it was an illusion, but when his blades struck the man, sparks had seemed to fly between the swords and his body.
What the hell?
Was this big guy's body made of steel?
"We've run into serious trouble."
Sanji lit a cigarette. His right foot seemed to be fractured. That kick earlier had felt like striking a steel plate. If he had not shed some of the force at the crucial moment, he would probably be standing on one leg now.
Wilton was straightforward. He ripped off his hoodie, revealing a red-and-white fitted tank top beneath it, stretched over a body with perfect muscular definition.
Those broad pectorals and neatly arranged eight-pack abs were impossible to hide.
In an instant.
A fierce, valiant aura spread across the entire area.
Bang—
The ground beneath his feet exploded.
The hard, thick ground shattered into a three-meter-wide crater. Wilton instantly appeared behind Zoro and Sanji, the enormous dumbbells in his hands raised high.
"Zoro."
"Sanji."
Time seemed to freeze.
Nami and Usopp looked terrified.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Zoro and Sanji's hairs stood on end as a chill shot straight to their scalps. Before they could even turn around, an incomparable force crashed down on them, like two heavy trucks smashing into them.
The ground within twenty meters exploded apart.
Visible to the naked eye.
Zoro and Sanji were like clowns caught in a raging storm. Their bodies flew high into the air as blood sprayed out, then turned into afterimages that blasted through weapon shops one after another before being buried at the end of the dust cloud.
"Zoro, Sanji."
At that moment, Luffy struggled to his feet from the shattered ground, one hand clutching his chest. Blood poured from his seven orifices, and his face was twisted in pain.
After only one blow, he knew this opponent was stronger than Arlong, not even on the same level. It clearly was not a bladed attack, yet it had still inflicted a potentially fatal injury on him immediately.
Cough, cough, cough.
Luffy's body swayed as he could not help coughing up a mouthful of blood. His face was pale, but his gaze remained firm. He had yet to reach the Grand Line, and he had yet to become the Pirate King.
He absolutely could not be captured here.
And this big guy had hurt his companions. Unforgivable.
"I'll send you flying."
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling."
With a roar.
Luffy gritted his teeth in fury, leaning back as he clenched both fists and rapidly launched them at Wilton, who was walking toward him. The speed created afterimages, his fists firing continuously like a machine gun.
Solid, powerful impacts.
Wilton held the dumbbells in both hands and did not dodge at all. He simply strolled toward Luffy at an unhurried pace, the countless punches striking his bulging chest without having any effect.
They could not even interrupt his walking rhythm.
What a joke.
His strongest assets were Iron Body and Armament Haki. To that end, he had focused all his attention on Iron Body and Haki.
By now, he had an inexplicable confidence in Iron Body. If he combined it with the Golden Finger's abilities, he could mess around on the seas until he vanished without a trace.
"Ahhh!"
Luffy kept roaring in anger, unable to believe his attacks were useless. He accelerated his assault, but it still changed nothing. Wilton eventually stood before him, looking down from above.
"Are you scratching an itch for me?"
Wilton's expression was serious. He was not trying to show off, because Luffy's attacks genuinely felt like scratching an itch. He had not even used Armament Haki yet.
Not to mention those abilities from the Golden Finger, Honor of Kings' Cheng Yaojin.
Luffy at this stage was truly weak as tofu. That earlier dumbbell strike had used only a tiny bit of strength, yet it had nearly sent him to meet God. If Wilton had swung with full force, Luffy might have sprayed blood across the world.
What a pity.
He was still too weak and had to be wary of Monkey D. Garp, as well as Monkey D. Dragon, who was likely already in Loguetown. Otherwise, he would not have minded strangling this group of second-generation brats who had come out to experience life in the Rookie Village.
These second-generation brats were too troublesome.
"Bastard."
"How can you be so hard?"
Luffy was stunned. His full-power attacks had done absolutely nothing. What kind of monster was this? Was his body made of steel? But giving up was not his style.
"Gomu Gomu no Rocket."
Luffy suddenly clenched his right fist and stretched it backward, then twisted his entire arm into a spiral before blasting it toward Wilton at extreme speed.
Unfortunately, no miracle happened.
Wilton lightly tossed the dumbbell in his right hand, then easily caught Luffy's fist. Without giving him time to react, Wilton drove a heavy kick into Luffy's abdomen.
Visible to the naked eye.
Luffy's face twisted as his body bent like a bow. His protruding eyes were filled with pain, veins bulging across his temples. As Wilton let go, Luffy instinctively clutched his stomach and staggered backward step by step, blood spraying from his mouth and nose.
With a thud.
His body finally gave out. Luffy dropped to his knees, his face slamming heavily into the ground as his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
Wilton happened to catch the dumbbell as it fell from the air.
"Luffy."
"This is impossible."
"Luffy's body is rubber. Other than sharp slashes, it should be impossible for him to get hurt."
Nami and Usopp looked horrified. The Marine had only kicked Luffy once, so how had he injured him so badly that he had even fallen unconscious?
Luffy's willpower was incredibly strong.
A complete wipeout.
Though Zoro and Sanji in the distant ruins had not yet passed out, they had completely lost their ability to fight and could not get back up. One strike alone had brought both of them down.
"Deadly Attack: Smoke Star."
"Nami."
At the critical moment, neither of them let the others down. Instead, they worked together seamlessly. Usopp pulled out his slingshot and fired a smoke bomb, trying to obscure Wilton's vision.
Nami rushed forward, grabbed Luffy by the hair, and dragged him like a dead dog. Who knew where she got the strength, but she ran incredibly fast. After firing the smoke bomb, Usopp did the same, dragging Zoro and Sanji away at high speed.
Pfft—
Blood sprayed three feet into the air.
Nami and Usopp had only run a few steps when they opened their mouths and vomited blood. Their backs felt as though they had been struck by speeding cruise ships, sending them flying before they crashed heavily onto the ground. Blood stained the earth red as they cried out in pain.
"Nami, Usopp."
The severely injured Zoro and Sanji struggled to their feet and used all their strength to run to Nami and Usopp. Not far away, two heavy dumbbells slammed into the ground, sinking directly into the hard earth.
One could imagine how heavy they were.
"Major General Wilton."
At that moment, Tashigi and a group of Marines came running over, panting heavily. They looked at the mess on the ground, at Luffy lying there, Nami and Usopp, along with Zoro and Sanji, who were clearly severely injured yet still prepared to resist stubbornly.
Wilton nodded in response.
"Don't move!"
Seven or eight Marines raised their flintlock rifles with practiced ease, aiming them at Zoro and Sanji with sharp gazes. If either man dared make a move, they would open fire.
"Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, this is the Straw Hat Pirates. They recently defeated the Arlong Pirates."
One Marine recognized Luffy and the others, his expression excited.
These were pirates with a bounty of thirty million Beli. Now that they had been captured, the Marines would get at least a little credit. It was no different from a pie falling from the sky.
But Major General Wilton was truly powerful. Even pirates worth thirty million Beli could be defeated so easily.
Before you continue