Rayleigh's expression shifted several times, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.
In the clash of Conqueror's Haki just now—
He had actually fallen into a disadvantage.
And the one who had physically shattered the entire auction house with sheer presence…
Was not him.
It was Luo Xing.
"So it's the same as Shanks… Conqueror's Haki capable of causing direct physical destruction…"
"Captain Roger… I've truly encountered an extraordinary young man."
Rayleigh sighed inwardly.
In truth—
If Kozuki Oden had not been killed by Kaido, and if Luo Xing were not Kaido's son-in-law who firmly stood with the Beasts Pirates…
Rayleigh would never have wished to become his enemy.
He was already old.
Luo Xing, meanwhile, was still a young man in the midst of growth.
Even if Rayleigh could overpower him now, it would mean nothing for the future.
But alas—
Their paths were different. Their ideals irreconcilable.
What Luo Xing intended to do next—
To kill the inheritor of Roger's straw hat,
The possessor of the Sun God Nika fruit,
The reincarnation of Joy Boy,
The child of destiny acknowledged by Dark King Rayleigh himself—
Monkey D. Luffy—
That was something Rayleigh would never allow!
"Hah!"
Rayleigh suddenly let out a low roar, releasing all of his Conqueror's Haki in an attempt to stop Luo Xing.
On the Straw Hat side—
Usopp, his legs already trembling, shouted:
"L-Luffy! Run! While that old man is still holding him back!"
Sanji gritted his teeth.
"With our current strength… we're no match for monsters like them!"
Luffy's face twisted with unwillingness.
He was a man who aimed to become Pirate King—
Why did he have to run every time he met someone strong?
Yet no matter how unwilling he felt, he didn't want to die meaninglessly.
Nor did he want his crew to get hurt.
Luffy clenched his fists and made his decision.
"We're leaving!"
"We'll go to the New World!"
"We'll get stronger—so strong that we'll never have to run away like this again!"
Hearing this, the Kid Pirates reacted as well.
Kid sneered.
"Heh, even the fearless Straw Hat brat is running now?"
"Then we might as well get out too!"
With that—
The Straw Hat crew and the Kid Pirates both turned to retreat.
But they hadn't taken more than two steps—
When two massive mechanical figures dropped in front of their respective paths.
"What the hell is that? Some kind of armor?!"
"Tch! Just a pile of scrap metal thinks it can block my way?!"
Kid grinned viciously.
Metal from the surroundings surged toward his right arm, assembling into a gigantic mechanical limb over ten meters long.
"Die!"
He swung it violently at the Cybertronian.
Clang!
Metal collided with metal, producing an ear-splitting crash.
Kid laughed smugly.
"Done. That thing's not so tough aft—"
Before he could finish—
His entire mechanical arm exploded.
A concentrated energy pulse fired straight toward his face!
Kid's expression changed drastically.
At the critical moment, Killer rushed forward, crossing his twin blades in front of Kid.
Boom!
The energy blast sent Killer flying backward!
"Killer!!"
Kid roared in fury.
But he had no time to check on him—
Because the Cybertronian instantly shifted from mech form into beast form and charged at him at terrifying speed.
Mech form was meant for ranged combat.
Beast form was built for slaughter in close quarters.
Back at Punk Hazard, just five Cybertronians had completely crushed ten Pacifistas.
At this point in time—
Kid and the Straw Hats couldn't even defeat a single Pacifista in canon.
Let alone these monsters.
Under the Cybertronian's merciless assault—
Both crews were immediately driven into desperate straits, blood soon spilling.
Their defeat was only a matter of time.
Rayleigh's face changed drastically.
His heart burned with anxiety.
Meanwhile, Luo Xing calmly continued clashing Conqueror's Haki with him, chuckling lightly.
"My apologies."
"I forgot to mention—I also brought three robots with me."
"From the looks of it, the child of destiny you believe in…"
"Can't even handle one of my inventions."
Not just unable to handle them.
Every strike from a Cybertronian carried lethal power.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats' attacks couldn't even scratch their armor.
"Diable Jambe!"
Sanji kicked fiercely at the Cybertronian's head—
Yet it didn't leave so much as a mark.
"What the hell is this thing?! It's way too hard!"
Franky shouted,
"That's a Cybertronian—a terrifying transforming robot!"
As a cyborg himself, Franky was deeply interested in inventions.
Especially since Luo Xing had stolen his Pluton blueprints—
He had paid close attention to every piece of news related to that man.
That was why he recognized them immediately.
"Damn it… no matter what, we can't break it!"
For the first time since setting sail—
Luffy felt overwhelming helplessness.
A crushing realization of his own weakness.
The enemy hadn't even moved personally.
Just one robot had already driven him into a corner.
At this rate—
What Pirate King?
Rayleigh saw that Luffy wouldn't last much longer.
He immediately stopped contesting Conqueror's Haki with Luo Xing and kicked off the ground, rushing toward the Straw Hats to deal with the Cybertronian himself.
"Hey, old man!"
A voice suddenly cut in.
"Since you're a swordsman too, come be my opponent!"
"Let me test the results of my training!"
Three blades flashed across Rayleigh's path.
The green-haired swordsman grinned fiercely.
"Three-Sword Style — Enma Demon Beauty: Sleepless Night — Oni Giri!"
Terrifying sword energy slashed forth.
Black currents surged like raging demons.
Rayleigh's pupils shrank slightly.
"Demonic sword aura… That's Nidai Kitetsu."
"Rare indeed."
Zoro's swordsmanship was fierce—but Rayleigh did not fear it.
"Young ghost swordsman," Rayleigh said gravely.
"I don't have time to waste on you right now!"
As he spoke, he drew his own blade.
Advanced Armament Haki—Ryuo—coated the sword.
With a single strike, he forced Zoro backward.
Zoro slid several steps back—
Then laughed.
"So strong…"
"No wonder you're called the Dark King."
"You're perfect as my opponent!"
Under normal circumstances—
Zoro would stand absolutely no chance against Rayleigh.
That single strike just now could have killed him.
But this Zoro was different.
He had consumed Dragon-level Monster Cells.
He had trained for days inside the gravity chamber.
And he had received direct guidance from Luo Xing regarding Haki.
Even if he still couldn't defeat Rayleigh—
The gap was no longer insurmountable.
"Demonic Aura—Nine-Sword Style!"
"Asura — Ninefold Demon Flash!"
Zoro's form transformed into three heads and six arms as he charged again.
Facing the overwhelming demonic aura and sword intent—
Rayleigh no longer dared to respond casually.
He halted his advance and gripped his sword with both hands, bracing himself.
On the other side—
Enel clicked his tongue irritably.
"That moss-head sure knows how to steal the spotlight."
"He's fighting so enthusiastically—how's a god supposed to join in now?"
With Zoro and Rayleigh locked in fierce combat, Enel's lightning had no opening at all.
Luo Xing glanced at him.
"Your turn is coming."
"Don't embarrass me."
Enel was momentarily confused—
Then his Mantra expanded outward.
He sensed powerful presences approaching the Sabaody shoreline.
His eyes lit up.
"Leave it to me, Young Master!"
At that moment—
Hancock stepped up beside Luo Xing, her beautiful eyes filled with devotion.
"It should be the Marines and the Government dogs."
"Let me handle them."
After watching Luo Xing calmly slaughter three Celestial Dragons for her—
The Pirate Empress had completely fallen.
Even if it meant turning against the World Government and abandoning her title as a Warlord—
She no longer cared.
Luo Xing gently took her hand.
"It's not time for you to openly oppose the Marines yet."
"Just stay here and watch."
With her hand held, Hancock felt dizzy with happiness.
She nodded obediently like a young girl.
"Yes… I'll listen to you."
—
At the Sabaody shoreline.
The arrivals were Admiral Kizaru, Tsuru, Kuma, and several CP0 members.
"My my… such powerful shockwaves."
"This battle looks troublesome indeed."
Kizaru drawled.
Tsuru shot him a glance.
"Borsalino, don't forget—Sengoku promised to raise your salary."
"You can't slack off like you did at Punk Hazard."
Kizaru straightened solemnly.
"Of course."
"This old man is the absolute guardian of justice."
Tsuru fell silent.
Absolute guardian of justice?
Everyone in the Marines knew his justice was vague at best.
He was clearly just motivated by the pay raise.
The CP0 leader spoke coldly:
"Marines, we must cooperate this time."
"Eliminate the Fifth Emperor, Luo Xing."
"This is the direct order of the Five Elders."
The group stepped onto Sabaody.
The top fighters moved ahead, while ordinary Marines formed ranks behind them.
And the first to move—
Was not Kizaru.
But Bartholomew Kuma.
He had sensed that Dragon's son was in danger.
Watching Kuma's retreating back, Kizaru muttered meaningfully:
"My, my… seems Kuma's itching for action too."
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