For the sake of this core interest plan, Sage came here to fight Kaido to the death, but if it were simply to rob Wano Country... with Kaido around, he would be too lazy to come.
What for?
Is there no other place on the sea?
Do I have to fight with these Four Emperors to the point of mutual destruction to rob?
What treasures here must I obtain?
The seastone's place of origin isn't worth risking his life to battle Kaido.
Just like Luffy now, he doesn't understand, for such a trivial reason that doesn't involve his core interests, it's worth risking his life, even starting to burn his life force.
Risking one's life for others isn't something unspeakable, it's a matter of profession.
A pirate's goal is to become the Pirate King, yet now he's risking his life like some guardian spirit of Wano Country...
However you look at it, it's awkward.
"I have no interest in fighting you, but when faced with challengers, I can't lose my fighting spirit... Your stance, you cannot defeat me."
Sage twisted his neck and sneered, "Then I'll kill you!"
"Rubber Rubber!"
Luffy soared into the air, throwing a flurry of punches, creating countless afterimages in the sky.
"White Machine Gun!"
The punched fists suddenly enlarged, turning into a massive size like giant hammers, enveloping Sage's body.
Ordinary fists seemed easy to dodge, so using larger fists, you couldn't avoid them!
"You're not the only one who can get bigger..."
Sage's eyes widened, facing the incoming fists, he too struck out with both fists, hitting faster than the afterimages, creating even more afterimages, and among those, his fists also enlarged like giant hammers, clashing together.
"North Star Hundred Split Fist!"
Sage compressed his power fifty times, but he could also partially release it. Doing things thirty to forty times was possible, so there's no reason he couldn't do it now. His liberated fists could change size at will, from normal size to greatly enlarged.
The collision of fists sent shockwaves spreading out, and in the midst of these shockwaves, Luffy suddenly kicked, like a hook shooting from the side.
"Rubber Rubber · White Stamp!"
"Useless!"
Sage's legs bent outward, one kick landed on Luffy's ankle, bouncing his leg away, and then he shot upward into the sky. Just as Luffy looked up, a massive fist like a mountain came crushing down, flattening him with one punch.
Boom!!
The enormous fist fell like a giant mountain, creating a massive indentation on the ground.
Sage's body transformation was traceable; the Dragon Transformation Breathing Technique could make him three meters tall, and at 100%, he could become five meters tall. Compressing fifty times, his size reached a gigantic 250 meters.
To call him a giant, even ancient giants weren't as big as his true form.
Using size to crush people, of course, he could do that too.
After delivering a punch, the gigantic fist suddenly shrank back, transforming into Sage's normal shape, while in the indentation lay the flattened Straw Hat boy, fluttering in the wind like a pancake, drifting in the air.
The pancake blinked, grinned, and then its body shook, quickly rebounding like inflating, and a gust of air whooshed beneath his feet, shooting him upward like a cannonball.
"Here I come!"
Luffy yelled excitedly, a fist leading the way, carrying his own body crashing in.
Sage frowned, also clenching his fist. As they clashed again, Luffy's body flattened again, transforming into a giant pancake, as if to wrap Sage inside like a dumpling wrapper.
"Rubber Rubber · Dumpling Skin!"
But beneath the large pancake, a pair of legs suddenly extended, not approaching Sage, but extending behind him, wrapping around like ropes about to bind him.
"Looking to die!"
Sage clenched another fist, coiling around it with thunder, fire, and wind, and then struck at the center of the large pancake.
Fighting up close?
If he wanted to rely on close combat, he was mistaken...
"White Star Gun!"
Before Sage's fist could get close, Luffy's other hand, which hadn't moved all along, suddenly appeared, delivering a punch to Sage's waist on the side.
"Vajra Continent Splitting Slash!!"
Sage's eyes turned fierce, feeling the danger he didn't look back to block, but continued to throw his punch viciously.
Bang!!
The half-wrapped 'dumpling skin' was directly blown apart by his punch, and with Luffy's scream, he reverted to his original form and was sent flying upward, while his punch that hit Sage's side, extending from Sage's right side to the left, even leaving a fist mark, also rebounded back, shooting into the clouds with Luffy.
"Tsk!"
Sage spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire waist and abdomen billowing with dense white steam, repairing his body's injuries.
He raised his head, grinning, "You think only you have a unique physique? My body techniques are even more special!"
Trying to solve the fight by force, too naive!
That elastic body isn't just resistant to blows, it's likely resistant to slashes too. When fighting, his body does withstand hits, but Sage's body isn't weak, and he also has an incredibly strong recovery ability!
Going head-to-head with him?
Still too green!
As he spoke, the whole cloud suddenly turned red, like flames burning within, opening up the entire cloud.
A white figure, coiled with fiery clouds, descended from the clouds, with the right hand extending deep into the clouds, extending so far it couldn't be seen.
"I want to..."
Luffy grinned, "open up this country! Let the people here have enough to eat! Let them... be absolutely free! Ape God Gun!!!"
Boom!
The cloud was pierced, a giant fist fell from the cloud, surrounded by a red edge, like it was shrouded in an aura.
The power of that fist...
"Going all out, huh?"
Sage said, gaze sinking, "There is no absolute freedom in the world. Doing whatever you want will also be restricted by the world. Where there are people, there will be rules. Even if you kill everyone, dancing alone in the world comes at the cost of loneliness... Rather than so-called freedom, living under rule isn't so bad!"
He brought his hands together, facing the fist head-on.
Evade?
He's had enough of this ridiculous guy!
If the opponent still wants brute force confrontation, then completely crush him!
"I will bring them fulfillment of desires! Let them willingly be ruled by me! Absolute rule! Great Red Flame!!!"
With joined hands pushed forward, a mass of black-red light gathered from his hands, smashing toward that fist.
Boom!!!
A mushroom cloud bloomed over Flower Capital, shaking all of Wano Country again. The distant tenshukaku shattered under the impact, obliterated by the force, the people inside blown away one by one.
The moon in the sky also darkened in this mushroom cloud, plunging the entire sky into darkness, shrouding all of Wano Country.
From far away, Lily, who retreated, looked up at this darkened sky, murmuring, "Nika, is it..."
An ancient legend, a warrior of liberation, bringing joy to slaves, indeed quite nice, but he was mistaken about one thing.
"Under Sage's rule, there are no slaves."
Lily said resolutely, "The world doesn't need just a legend to be saved! People who believe only in legend and fate, how can they break free of their shackles! Even without light from above, it doesn't matter because..."
Within the blackened sky obscuring the moonlight, a silhouette emitting black-red light appeared inexplicably. Under this light, a head of blazing white hair was strikingly visible, like a new source of light illuminating the sky.
"We can become the light source! Sage is the guiding light!!"
In the sky, only Sage's figure stood there.
His hands and even his body emitted white mist, repairing his body crazily.
"Nika? Nothing more!"
He extended his hand, gripping it heavily, "It seems my rule is still stronger! Hohohoho!!"
Absolute rule suppresses freedom!