"Since that's the case, then I won't hold back anymore. It'll be a good time to test your current strength and see if you're qualified to step onto that stage... Shave!!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Chen gave Luffy a deep look before speaking.
Having said that, he One Flash, stepping to Luffy's Luffy. He raised his right hand and extended his index finger, a wisp of purplish-black Armament Haki swirling around it, and Extreme Speed thrust it towards Luffy's throat.
" Shigan... Ink Gun!!"
call out...
Luo Chen's arm swung out at Extreme Speed, leaving only a black afterimage in everyone's eyes. It drew a trace in the air and pierced towards Luffy with a violent hiss.
"..."
At that moment, Luffy's hair stood on end. Before his sensory nerves could transmit the commands to his brain, his body's reflexes kicked in first, and he narrowly dodged to the side.
laugh...
Luo Chen's Shigan grazed his face, drawing a smear of blood, before embedding itself in the ground behind him.
boom...
The Shigan that was dodged landed on the ground, creating a crater the size of a basketball.
Swoosh...
Swoosh...
Swoosh...
Luffy tumbled backward several times, Extreme Speed moving away from Luo Chen. He then stood up, looking at the crater Luo Chen had blasted behind him. Cold sweat broke out on his face, and he let out a deep sigh.
"That was close! Thank goodness I dodged it, otherwise my neck would be a bloody mess!!"
"Heh, not bad. Looks like you've all improved a bit during this month apart. Very good, that's what makes me a little excited. Next time, I won't hold back like I did before. Luffy, take this..."
call out...
No sooner had he finished speaking than Luo Chen darted past with a light step, arriving in front of him in the blink of an eye.
" Tekkai... Shattered Jade!!"
Luo Chen's entire arm was Hardening and wrapped in Armament Haki. His jet-black fist, accompanied by a Hurricane- like thud, shattered the sound barrier and slammed into him.
" Gum-Gum... Cross Shield!!"
Luffy realized that Luo Chen was serious. He stomped his feet, and pale red steam surged out again. His speed increased several times over, barely keeping up with Luo Chen's hand speed. He put his hands together in front of him to block, but the next second, Luo Chen's fist imprint had already hit him.
Bang...
Even though Luffy blocked Luo Chen's fist with his arm, the immense force was still unstoppable. The overflowing energy burst out of his body, making Luffy's clothes Luffy as if blown by a strong wind. As the one who bore the brunt of the impact, Luffy finally couldn't withstand it after a few seconds and was blasted backward.
boom...
Luffy's body slammed into the trunk of the red-roofed tree behind him like a cannonball, and then slid down.
" Luffy..."
Even Zoro and Sanji, who were with Luffy in the distance, couldn't help but shout out in concern when they saw Luffy being blasted away by Luo Chen in the very first exchange.
Bang...
"Don't come any closer... huff... huff... I'll handle this guy, none of you get involved!!"
Luo Chen stood up unsteadily, dismissing Zoro and Sanji who were rushing over to help, and looked at him with an extremely serious and solemn expression.
"Hahaha, you think you can stop me by yourself? Fine, Luffy, I'll give you that chance. Let's see if you can really stop me... Shave!!"
Swoosh...
" Rankyaku... Great Wind Cut!!"
Luo Chen used Shave to rush in front of him again, raising his right leg to hook the airflow into a huge wind blade that slashed at him, seemingly trying to cut Luffy in half at the waist.
clatter...
" Gum-Gum... Gatling!!"
Luffy pushed off the ground with his left foot, leaping into the air to dodge Luo Chen's slash, and then threw a punch at him from above.
brush...
brush...
brush...
"..."
Faced with Luffy's machine gun-like speed and attacks, Luo Chen didn't take it to heart. He closed his eyes, didn't use his Observation Haki, and relied solely on his body's perception of the surrounding airflow to gracefully move through the rain of punches, avoiding all attacks.
Swoosh...
"Damn it... Gum-Gum... Battle Axe!!"
Seeing that his punch had no effect, Luffy withdrew his fist and raised his right leg, extending it out and bringing it down heavily.
"Shave!!"
boom...
Luo Chen dodged in time, and his Battle Axe- like foot slammed down, crashing into the ground. The earthen ground instantly cracked, spreading out like a spider web.
call out
"Too slow, Luffy! The real Battle Axe should look like this... Rankyaku... Super Heavyweight Slash!!"
Before Luffy could retract his foot, Luo Chen flashed again, his right foot swiftly striking out, drawing in a dense, heavy stream of air that transformed into a giant axe that cleaved down from above Luffy's head.
"Um..."
Swoosh...
Luffy activated Gear Second and dodged in an instant with a speed comparable to Shave, while the giant axe still fell towards Zoro and the others below.
"Oh no... Get out of the way!!"
"I know that without you reminding me, you should take care of yourself, you Moss Head..."
Even when facing danger, the two continued arguing and simultaneously dodged to opposite sides.
boom...
The giant axe cleaved the ground, sending dust flying, scattering sand and stones, and filling the air with smoke. Everyone instinctively covered their mouths to avoid inhaling the smoke. Soon the dust settled, leaving only a crack or ravine about fifteen or sixteen meters long, two or three meters wide, and more than five meters deep.
"Cough cough... Damn it, Luo Chen, you can fight all you want, but don't make a mess of this place, or the homeowners will come looking for trouble with our navy..."
Sentomaru coughed a few times to clear the smoke from his mouth, then glared at Luo Chen and shouted a warning.
"Hahaha, the cleanup after this will still have to be handled by your navy. I can't manage all that. I'll deal with Straw Hat Luffy; you can handle the rest..."
Upon hearing this, Luo Chen burst into laughter. After laughing, he spoke to him and then continued fighting Luffy.
"Don't get distracted in the middle of the battle, Gum-Gum... Bazooka!!"
Luffy gave him a reminder, and then, without giving him any chance to react, he swung his hands behind his back, his body shot out at Extreme Speed, and then his palms slammed down.
"Thanks for the reminder... Armament!!"
Upon hearing Luffy's reminder, Luo Chen smiled and replied, while simultaneously raising his arm to Hardening it with Tekkai in front of him.
Bang...
Swoosh... Swoosh... Swoosh
Luffy's palm slammed heavily into Luo Chen's Hardening, steel-like arm, causing Luo Chen to stumble back several steps with a loud bang. The force of the impact dispersed the air currents, sending pebbles flying in the air before scattering in all directions.
"Not bad, that was a decent attack, but nothing special... Now it's my turn..."
boom...
boom...
boom...
As Luo Chen spoke, he reached out with his left hand and grabbed Luffy's arm, holding him tightly. Then he swung Luffy's entire body around and spun around. Each time he landed, his head made deep contact with the ground, leaving craters on the ground that were even larger than those left by cannon fire.
"Let this battle end with this strike... Kneel... Armament Critical Strike!!"
Bang...
When Luo Chen lifted him up again, he bent his right knee and raised it, his knee stained with ink as he pressed his elbow against Luo Chen's abdomen. A powerful burst of energy instantly emanated from Luo Chen's back, condensing the air into a white sonic boom cloud.
"Cough cough..."
Faced with this severe blow, Luffy couldn't help but cough up blood, and his body fell to the ground like a rag doll, unable to move.