"Gear Fourth: Snakeman!!!"
Ryokugyu looked at Luffy calmly.
Unlike Boundman, the earlier Gear Fourth form, Snakeman made Luffy's body slimmer and more compact.
But the Armament Haki covering him had become even denser.
Especially the dark patterns flowing across his body, giving off an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Of course, that kind of pressure only worked on ordinary opponents.
And Ryokugyu was anything but ordinary.
"Oh? Another form?"
Ryokugyu raised a brow, muttering with interest.
Luffy, however, had no intention of wasting words.
WHOOSH!
With a burst of speed, Luffy instantly appeared in front of him!
"Gum-Gum Jet Culverin!!!"
Luffy's fist blasted toward Ryokugyu at terrifying speed.
"Good!"
A sharp light flashed through Ryokugyu's eyes.
He clenched his right fist and slammed it forward.
"First Star: Greedy Wolf!"
A faint green glow wrapped around Ryokugyu's fist.
BOOM!!!
The two wildly disproportionate fists collided violently in midair.
"HAAAAAH!!!"
Luffy roared as the elastic force in his body surged once again into his arm.
CRACK! BOOOOM!!!
This time, Ryokugyu's body was finally blasted backward!
He crashed hard into the ground.
Luffy panted heavily, but his eyes never left the cloud of dust ahead.
A breeze swept through the battlefield.
The smoke slowly cleared.
Ryokugyu stood there once more.
Completely fine.
He casually rolled his neck, then looked at Luffy with a mocking expression that practically said: Is that all?
Luffy clicked his tongue in frustration.
Then he charged again.
"That's enough. I'm bored now."
Ryokugyu spoke softly, but his expression finally turned serious.
As Luffy rushed toward him, he suddenly felt an overwhelming killing intent.
His body froze instinctively.
Without hesitation, he pulled back and widened the distance between them.
Ryokugyu tilted his head slightly.
"What's wrong? Why'd you stop coming at me?"
Cold sweat rolled down Luffy's forehead.
For a moment, he had felt it clearly.
Death.
Ryokugyu raised a brow.
"Straw Hat… you should know by now. Running away is useless."
The instant his words ended, Ryokugyu launched his first real attack.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly before Luffy, fist raised high.
"Second Star: Giant Gate!!"
Green light wrapped around Ryokugyu's punch as it smashed straight into Luffy's head.
BOOOOM!!!
Luffy's mind instantly went blank.
His body crashed violently into the ground below.
KRAAAASH!!!
The entire area shook violently.
Rocks exploded everywhere as Luffy's body vanished beneath the rubble.
The enormous disturbance immediately caught the attention of both Sabo and Doflamingo.
Sabo looked toward Ryokugyu, who still stood high above the battlefield, and instantly understood what had happened.
"LUFFY!!!"
Sabo shouted in panic.
At that moment, he no longer wanted to waste time fighting Doflamingo.
He had already realized Doflamingo's goal from the start was simply to stall him.
Meanwhile, Doflamingo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"What terrifying strength… As expected of Ryokugyu from the Zero Division…"
He muttered under his breath.
Thankfully, that monster was on Shuu's side.
For the first time in a long while, Doflamingo felt grateful that he no longer needed to continue living as a pirate.
Otherwise, if he ever became Ryokugyu's enemy…
He probably would not even know how he died.
But right now, his mission was simple.
Stop Sabo.
"Overheat White Wave!!!"
Doflamingo roared as countless transparent strings transformed into razor-sharp blades and surged toward Sabo.
Sabo's expression darkened.
"Damn you, Doflamingo!"
He cursed angrily, but his advance was still halted.
Forced back, Sabo could only refocus on the attack in front of him.
"Flame Dragon Claw Fist!!!"
His right hand formed a claw shape, blazing with scorching fire.
Then he swung it down fiercely.
Instantly, endless flames erupted forward!
BOOM!!!
The massive wave of strings was burned apart in an instant.
Doflamingo clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Damn Flame-Flame Fruit…"
The fire was an absolute nightmare for his strings.
But Doflamingo understood something clearly.
Even if the Devil Fruit matchup was against him, he still had to stop Sabo from reaching Luffy.
"Thousand Arrows: Piercing Feather String!!!"
Doflamingo roared.
Thousands of strings burst upward from the ground.
And this time, every single string was coated in Armament Haki.
The blackened strings spread out like the wings of a flamingo, surrounding Sabo from every direction.
"Die, Sabo!!!"
Looking at the sea of black strings closing in on him, Sabo's pupils shrank.
"Damn you, Doflamingo!!!"
Flames exploded from Sabo's body.
The entire battlefield around him ignited instantly.
Then Sabo raised both hands.
The surrounding fire rapidly condensed into them.
In moments, a gigantic fireball formed above his head.
"Great Flame Commandment… Flame Emperor!!!"
With a furious roar, Sabo hurled the enormous fireball forward.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The fireball collided head-on with the sea of strings.
An enormous explosion erupted instantly.
Endless flames swallowed the battlefield.
The force of the impact blasted both men away.
CRASH!!!
In the blink of an eye, both bodies smashed into the ground.
"Cough… cough…"
Moments later, rubble scattered aside as Doflamingo dragged himself out from the debris.
The arrogant Heavenly Demon looked utterly miserable now.
His pink feather coat had nearly burned away completely.
One lens of his sunglasses was shattered.
His clothes were torn and charred beyond recognition.
But Sabo was not in much better condition.
Having only recently obtained the Flame-Flame Fruit, he still lacked full control over its stamina consumption.
That massive Flame Emperor attack had drained him severely.
His body was also covered in wounds left by the Haki-coated strings.
Both men looked utterly battered.
But in the end…
Doflamingo had successfully stopped Sabo.
At the same time, the battle between Ryokugyu and Luffy was finally reaching its conclusion.
Because Luffy had completely lost consciousness.
Ryokugyu calmly walked over to him.
Luffy had already reverted back to normal.
The instant he passed out, Gear Fourth had automatically deactivated.
Looking down at the unconscious pirate, Ryokugyu slowly shook his head.
"Tch… this is the fate of pirates."
Then he turned toward the nearby Marines.
"Put Seastone cuffs on him."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Ryokugyu!!"
-----------------------------
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