Imu gave him no chance to catch his breath.
After Luffy finally regained his footing, Imu caught up again.
He pressed a palm against Luffy's chest, and black ripples spread out again, stirring up the Haki within Luffy's body into chaos.
Luffy suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood from the air.
The feeling was as if something had crawled into his body from his chest, traveled through his veins, taken root in his bone marrow, and swallowed up his strength bit by bit.
"You think you can compare to Joy Boy back in the day with your skills?"
Imu's voice fell into my ear, as light as a feather, yet chilling me to the bone.
Luffy wanted to retort, but all he could feel was blood rising in his throat.
Imu released his grip.
Luffy's body plummeted towards the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
He crashed to the ground, bounced, rolled a few times, and finally lay on his back on the scorched earth, his chest heaving violently, his vision blurred into a red mist.
All the bones in my body were creaking.
"Damn it... what kind of monster are you...?"
Luffy's voice was hoarse, but the fire in his eyes still burned.
Despite the pain, Luffy sprang into the air.
His body stretched out, and his arms lashed out like whips, striking Imu simultaneously from five different angles.
This is a technique he used in his fight with Bullet; there's no fixed trajectory, and every strike changes direction.
Imu moved among the five afterimages.
Each step he took was timed to coincide with an opening in Luffy's attacks, with the degree of his body shifting so small as to be almost negligible.
But every strike was just a tiny bit off; he could never reach him.
"Too slow."
Imu dodged Luffy's attack, raised his long sword, and appeared in front of Luffy in a flash.
At that moment, Luffy's Observation Haki emitted a roaring alarm, but it was too late.
The blade pierced through his body, like a black Inazuma splitting through the clouds, going straight from his chest to his abdomen.
No blood spurted out.
Because the slash was so fast, the blood didn't even have time to flow from the wound; all that could be seen was a black line appearing on Luffy's body.
Then the line began to widen, like a riverbed that had been carved out, and blood gushed out from it, covering the sky and the earth.
Luffy's body was pierced by the sword, or rather, pinned down by the sword.
Imu flicked his wrist upwards.
The Black Blade pierced the ancient tree behind Luffy.
Luffy was pinned to the tree.
His body was pierced through, and black flames filled the wound, burning every nerve in his body and making him scream.
The Gear Fifth form began to fade under the erosion of the black flames, and its body slowly returned to its original color from white.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
His eyes were still open, and black flames burned within his body, like a wild beast nailed to a taxidermied pedestal.
" Luffy --!!!"
Nami and Chopper's screams came from afar.
Chopper transformed into his reindeer form and charged desperately towards Luffy.
Black flames fell around him, but he didn't even flinch, his fur being scorched in patches.
" Luffy! Don't move! I'm coming!" Chopper's voice was trembling with tears.
But before he could get close, a Black Turn giant slammed into him and sent him flying.
Chopper's small body rolled dozens of times on the ground before Nami caught him.
Zoro and Sanji moved at the same time.
" Luffy--!"
Zoro unleashed his full Demonic Aura, and the phantom of Giddens' Sword appeared behind him. Green flames and Conqueror's Haki's Inazuma intertwined, enveloping him as he charged towards Imu.
But Saint Nusjuro stepped forward, his half- Kitetsu with black and red energy, blocking his path. The two became entangled in combat, and Zoro was unable to break free.
Sanji's black flames blasted a large crater in the ground, and he flew towards Imu using the recoil.
The massive body of Saint Warcury slammed into Sanji from the side like a speeding train, sending him flying and crashing into a burning house.
Robin's demonic hand emerged from the ground behind Imu, its white hand unfolding like flower petals, attempting to entangle the body beneath the black robe.
But those hands, just half a meter away from Imu, seemed to melt away as if by some force, breaking apart inch by inch.
Brook's frost sword energy flew from afar, like a slender ice snake, and was also vaporized into gas by the black flames in mid-air.
Franky's cannon fired a golden beam, his most powerful attack after the modification.
The beam of light pierced through the black flames and struck Imu on the back.
After the smoke cleared, Imu stood there, not even a tear in the hem of his clothes.
His gaze slowly shifted to Franky, and with just one glance, Franky felt as if he had been struck in the chest by an invisible hammer, flying backward with countless fine cracks appearing on his metal shell.
"Don't come any closer--!" Luffy's voice finally rang out.
The voice sounded like it was squeezed from the deepest part of a throat, each word dripping with blood.
"Don't... don't come any closer! This guy... he's too strong..."
Luffy's consciousness was beginning to fade.
He was still struggling, still trying to move, but the black flames were like a net, binding his body and soul.
Just when the Straw Hat Pirates was about to be scattered, Gaban stepped forward once again.
He emerged step by step from the chaotic battlefield, from the cracks in the black flames.
"You brats, step back!"
His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried undeniable weight.
"That guy is beyond your capabilities."
Gaban stood between Imu and the Straw Hat Pirates.
With his arms crossed in front of his chest, he stood like a silent wall.
His clothes were tattered and his body was covered in wounds, but his straight back and firmly planted legs were like an old tree that refused to fall in a storm.
Imu's gaze fell on Gaban.
Beneath the black robe, that perpetually expressionless face seemed to show a faint ripple.
Gaban.
Imu said, his tone was like reciting a name that should have died long ago.
" The Nezumi from God Valley back then have actually survived to this day."
"If I had known you would become this powerful, I should have taken care of you back then."
Gaban was not angry.
A smile even appeared on his face.
"In that case, I should thank you for sparing my life."
Gaban struck the handles of his two axes together, producing a crisp "clink" sound.
A dark purple- Conqueror's Haki Inazuma erupted from the axe blade, creeping up the handle and across his arms.
Gaban's eyes changed.
That was an expression Luffy and his crew had never seen before.
Roger is gone. Whitebeard is gone.
Gaban's voice was so calm, as if he were talking about someone else's business.
Someone has to stand in front of you.
"It's today."
He raised his double axes, and dark purple Inazuma enveloped his entire body, making him look like a war god emerging from ancient times.
"I've lived long enough; it's time to reunite with my old friends."
Gaban exerted force with both legs.
He suddenly charged into the black flames.
Black flames burned on his skin, and black mist swirled around him, all blocked by the purplish-black Conqueror's Haki.
The Inazuma acted like a wall, keeping all evil at bay from the axe's edge.
The double axes slammed down on Imu's head.
Imu raised his Black Blade to parry.