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At the sharp tip of the stone pillar, Sanji coughed up blood, his face contorted in pain. Even with his awakened exoskeleton and Haki defense, his abdomen was still pierced.
Blood continuously dripped down the stone pillar.
"Sanji!"
His Straw Hat crewmates rushed toward the stone pillar, filled with worry.
Sanji anxiously roared, "Don't mind me, watch out for the enemy!"
"But!"
The Straw Hat crewmates wanted to rescue Sanji, but the next moment their bodies stiffened, unable to move. A burly figure appeared among them.
Everyone turned their heads in horror.
It was Daichi!
Franky clenched his right fist, launching the first attack. Brook and Usopp also picked up their weapons.
"Strong Right!"
"Sure-Kill Green Star: Impact Wolf!"
"Revolutionary Dance: Rush!"
A dazzling array of attacks surrounded Daichi.
Daichi smiled faintly, stomping his right foot lightly on the ground, kicking up a dozen broken stones. Then, he extended his fingers and consecutively tapped the stones.
It seemed slow, but in the blink of an eye, this series of actions was completed. Before the Straw Hats' attacks arrived, a dozen stones tore through the air and shot out, leaving behind incredibly sharp vacuum trails in the atmosphere.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Wah ah ah ah!!!"
Unable to dodge in time, Franky and Usopp were pierced through their bodies by the stones, multiple bloody holes appearing on them. They screamed as they were sent flying.
Brook fared slightly better. He had no flesh to be torn, but his bones were shattered into pieces.
In just an instant, three of them were severely wounded and on the verge of death.
Daichi never showed mercy to worthless enemies.
"Mille Fleur: Gigantesco Mano!"
Robin crossed her hands, and from the ground behind her, two giant-like pale legs formed, seemingly about to launch a kick.
"Nice legs."
Daichi praised, then flashed in front of Robin, gazing at her.
Robin's movements abruptly ceased. Her vision was filled only by those captivating eyes, nothing else.
Her body was out of her control!
Robin's legs gave way, and she knelt, her eyes dim and lifeless.
She could feel Daichi's will suppressing her spirit in every way, stripping her of her body's control.
Observation Haki?!
"Aoo ao ao!!!"
A giant deer-like monster appeared.
It was Chopper!
"Don't hurt my crewmates!"
Gigantified Chopper furiously swung his right paw, striking at Daichi.
"Kokutei Roseo!"
"Boom!"
A wave of air exploded from the ground, and the deer's paw stopped.
Daichi held the deer's paw with one hand and looked up at the gigantified Chopper.
Compared to Usopp and the others, Chopper's unique medical skills had some value, but not as much as Nico Robin's irreplaceable abilities.
A beating would suffice.
Daichi leaped up, rapidly ascending Chopper's body, and in a blink of an eye, he was beside Chopper's head.
"Quiet down!"
"Boom!"
A fierce straight punch landed on Chopper's cheek.
"Pfft!"
Chopper's head tilted as he spat blood, his massive body listing significantly. Then, with a rumble, he crashed to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
In less than ten seconds, the Straw Hats' weaker members were almost completely wiped out.
Only then did Luffy and Zoro arrive, just in time. Seeing their crewmates fall one by one, their anger broke through its threshold.
Zoro bit down on his sword hilt, charging his power.
"Luffy, give me some time!"
"Gear Fourth: Snake-Man!"
Luffy immediately activated his Snake-Man form, his body much leaner. Compared to Bound-Man, his speed was greatly enhanced.
"Rubber Jet Culverin!"
His right fist shot out, and as his arm continuously extended forward, its power steadily increased, and it could endlessly pursue the enemy.
Based on past experience, the enemy would be exhausted trying to dodge, and finally be caught and sent flying by the Culverin!
However, Daichi was clearly different from previous enemies. Not only did he not dodge, but he raised his palm to directly face the Culverin.
"Clap!"
Fist met palm!
Under the powerful impact, Daichi slid backward for over ten meters before stopping his retreat, not being sent flying as Straw Hat had expected.
"Not enough power!"
Luffy instantly realized the problem.
The man before him possessed the strongest physique he'd ever encountered among his enemies. Ordinary attacks had no effect whatsoever. Even if he used Advanced Armament Haki, the opponent could similarly defend with Haki.
Throughout the battle so far, the initiative had always been with the opponent.
"Is this all you've got?"
Daichi closed his five fingers, grabbing Luffy's Snake-Man fist. Then, he pulled hard, and the powerful tug forced Luffy to fly toward him uncontrollably.
While an extended arm could increase attack power, it was inherently full of flaws, making it easy for enemies to grab after an attack.
This is bad!
Luffy sensed the danger.
However, being forcefully dragged, he found it difficult to change his position to dodge, and could only watch helplessly as he flew toward the enemy.
"It's time to end this, Straw Hat."
Daichi exerted force with his right arm, his muscles bulging and expanding. Flames and streaks of black lightning appeared on the surface of his fist.
"Million Ton: Flame Heavy Punch!"
"Boom!!!"
The fist embedded itself into Straw Hat's face, then scorching flames erupted, engulfing Straw Hat and devastating half the battlefield, extending all the way to the sea.
A fatal blow!
Daichi's fist smoked, and Straw Hat's figure was no longer in sight.
In the sky a hundred meters away, the completely charred Straw Hat fell from the sky, landing with a boom in the massive trench Daichi had created.
Daichi calmly retracted his fist, turning to leave, but his steps suddenly halted. Then, he turned around in surprise, looking at the nearby area.
"Conqueror's Haki?"
A ghostly figure emerged from the smoke and dust.
"Deep in hell, yet no greed. Facing life and death, yet no anger. Enduring all suffering, yet no weariness. This is the path of Asura!"
Zoro recited the poem, the demonic aura around him growing increasingly predatory, even manifesting three heads and six arms, and his three swords also became nine.
"Onigiri: Nine-Sword Style!"
"Asura: Ichibugin!"
As the poem ended, Zoro transformed into a black light and darted behind Daichi, maintaining his sword-swinging posture.
"Pfft!"
Blood spurted from Daichi's chest.
Feeling the pain in his chest, Daichi turned to look at Zoro.
"This sword, it's quite good!"
"Damn it."
Zoro reluctantly lowered his sword.
That last strike was his strongest attack, given with everything he had. He'd expected it to have some effect, but from the results, the opponent had only sustained a minor injury.
The gap was too vast, leaving him unable to even feel unwilling.
"Precipice Blades!"
The next moment, Zoro was also pierced through the abdomen by a rock pillar and sent flying, impaled just like Sanji, with all three of his swords falling to the ground.
At this point, the Straw Hat crew was completely wiped out.
"Clap!"
Daichi snapped his fingers, and several rock pillars shot up from the ground. Except for Robin, whom he intended to take as a translator for the Beast Pirates, all the other Straw Hat crewmates were pierced and impaled.
A family should always be together.
"This should be the end now."
Daichi nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.
The cleanup could be left to his subordinates.
"Hmm?!"
Daichi's brows suddenly furrowed tightly. He turned to look at Straw Hat's location.
The Straw Hat, who'd been unconscious and awaiting death, was now breaking free from the rock pillar, his aura gradually strengthening.
Daichi's brows furrowed even tighter.
The previous rock pillar was only meant to lift people into the air. He hadn't used much force, nor did he have a hobby of desecrating corpses.
As a result, Straw Hat was stimulated awake?
This isn't right.
Even if rubber was incredibly tough and could greatly reduce physical damage—no, even if Straw Hat had completely withstood his Conqueror's Haki-infused attack—
But he'd also attached flames!
From the charred, melted trench stretching for a thousand meters before him, one could see how scorching the flames he'd attached were.
Moreover, it was a zero-distance double strike.
Normally, Straw Hat shouldn't be able to regain consciousness so quickly.
Daichi's expression turned cold.
"Kid, how do you still have strength?"
"Because… because…"
Straw Hat Luffy gasped for air, then roared at the top of his lungs.
"Because I have perseverance!!!"
"…"
Daichi's expression was stunned.
Perseverance?
This… this fucking guy isn't even trying to act anymore, is he?!
Alright, alright!
Daichi extended his hand, and a great sword appeared out of thin air above him, falling into his hand. The blade reflected a chilling gleam.
"Straw Hat, I really want to know if you can still piece yourself back together with perseverance after I chop you into bits!"
"Then come and try it."
Luffy slowly clenched his fist, and tiny black lightning bolts flickered across its surface.
Although his entire body ached at that moment, he had a very strange feeling. His body felt more transparent than ever before, and his Haki flowed incredibly smoothly.
Luffy's smile widened. "After you beat me up just now, I realized that Conqueror's Haki can also be infused, right!"
"…"
Daichi's expression was peculiar.
Withstanding the flames was one thing—he'd just attribute it to true perseverance. But now, after only taking one Advanced Conqueror's Haki attack, he achieved enlightenment on the spot.
It'd taken him quite some time to master Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
"Jiehahahaha, how interesting!"
Daichi grinned widely.
Go ahead and awaken it, it doesn't matter.
He now somewhat wanted to see the form of "Nika"!