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Luffy's heart suddenly pounded like a drum, a loud thump-thump-thump echoing through his chest.
With the drums of liberation ringing out, the shriveled, seventy- or eighty-year-old-looking Luffy began to regain his color. His hair and skin turned white again, and the ground beneath him slowly started to rubberize.
He had entered his Nika form once more.
Luffy sprang up from the ground, his earlier wounds knitting back together in an instant.
He threw his head back and laughed, "Hahahahaha, that last move hurt so much! But I won't be knocked down by you before I send you flying."
Watching this, Gorum felt it was completely absurd.
He'd clearly been on the verge of death just a moment ago—so how were his injuries disappearing like this?
'What is he, Phoenix Marco?!'
Gorum sneered. "Then let this saint see how many times you can revive!"
With that, he rushed Luffy again—but this time, Luffy's speed had clearly gone up.
Every strike he threw was dodged—no, it was like Luffy had already predicted where each blow would land.
Gorum was shaken. This Straw Hat Luffy had suddenly gotten stronger.
Nika Luffy listened and laughed, "Hahahaha, thanks to fighting you, my Observation Haki range seems to have become larger, and I seem to be able to clearly see your attack trajectories now."
Hearing this, Gorum's expression grew dark.
In the distance, Saint Garling's face was the same; he could sense that after being gravely wounded and then reviving, Straw Hat Luffy had become even stronger than before.
He shouted at Nika Luffy, "Straw Hat Luffy, I will give you one last chance.
Surrender immediately, or your teacher Rayleigh will be decapitated instantly."
Nika Luffy glanced at the blade already pressed to Rayleigh's neck, still laughing loudly. "Hahahaha, I won't let you kill Rayleigh.
I'm going to send you flying."
Hearing this and seeing Luffy's movements, Saint Garling realized he had no intention of surrendering.
So he simply charged in head-on.
Abandoning the idea of using a hostage, he unleashed a sudden slash—and the head of the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, was severed in an instant.
Even as Rayleigh was cut down, Luffy kept laughing, loud and carefree, as if Rayleigh's life or death had nothing to do with him at all.
"Hahahahaha! Rayleigh… Rayleigh is dead! Hahahahaha! Since you guys killed Rayleigh… hahahahaha… I'm gonna send you flying!"
Laughing as he spoke, Nika Luffy lunged at Saint Garling again.
"This saint already said… your opponent is me!"
Gorum bellowed and rushed in, clashing with Nika Luffy once more.
They exchanged blows again, but after being gravely injured and then recovering, Nika Luffy's Observation Haki had sharpened dramatically.
Relying on his Devil Fruit's bizarre freedom, he continually slipped past Gorum's strikes, twisting and bending out of harm's way as he searched for openings to counterattack.
But his Armament Haki was still far too weak.
Even when his blows landed, even when he sent Gorum staggering and disheveled with his rubbery power, it was incredibly difficult to inflict any serious damage.
"Luffy…"
Watching him fight like this, Hancock felt a crushing sense of despair.
Luffy was undeniably stronger now, yet there was something disturbingly different about him.
Even when Rayleigh had been killed, he hadn't flinched—just kept laughing wildly. Hancock simply could not understand it.
The Marines felt the same unease.
"What's going on with this Straw Hat Luffy? He's been acting weird ever since he transformed like that!"
Saint Garling didn't rush in to assist. Instead, he hung back, eyes narrowed, almost looking dull-witted from the outside.
In truth, he was relaying everything in real time to Imu-sama, reporting on Nika Luffy's condition.
Ever since Luffy's Nika Fruit had awakened, its ability had been bizarre beyond measure. Even so, in Saint Garling's eyes, Gorum still clearly held the advantage, so there was no need to interfere in haste.
What truly bothered him was Straw Hat Luffy's current state—it felt like he was being controlled by the Sun God itself.
The legendary Sun God Nika was said to bring joy to the world, always laughing. And now, just like the myths, Luffy—having awakened the Nika Fruit—laughed without stopping.
Even with the death of the Dark King Rayleigh right before him, he hadn't shown a shred of sorrow, only endless, manic laughter.
"What a bizarre way of fighting..." Saint Garling muttered, face grave.
Nika Luffy's fighting style was unlike anything he had ever witnessed—utterly unprecedented.
At the same time, he continued to report every detail of the battle to Imu-sama.
Gorum, infuriated by Nika Luffy's ridiculous, unpredictable movements, finally snarled,
"You're just a lowly commoner. Don't get so full of yourself."
This time, Gorum did not dodge.
Luffy's fist smashed into him at the same time Gorum's attack landed. Blood sprayed from Nika Luffy's body as he was blasted backward through the air.
Gorum was also sent flying by Luffy's punch.
"Damn commoner…" Gorum growled as he pushed himself up from the ground, glaring at the fallen Straw Hat Luffy.
Luffy, grievously wounded again, lost his awakened form. His body shriveled, reverting to that of a frail old man in his seventies or eighties.
But then, from deep within his chest, the drums of liberation began to beat again. Thump… thump… thump… The sound echoed across Amazon Lily.
With each resounding beat, Luffy's form shifted once more. He transformed back into Nika Luffy, slowly rising from the ground before bursting into carefree laughter. "Hahahaha, what exactly is going on?!
It feels like I have an endless supply of power!
So strange!"
At that moment, Saint Garling's expression hardened. The carefree air vanished from his face as he grew solemn.
His opponent's presence had grown even more overwhelming.
Is this the power of the Nika Fruit?
Through telepathy, Imu's will reached the Gorosei, issuing a direct order: Use any means necessary to eliminate Straw Hat Luffy.
Receiving that command, Saint Garling gathered his strength. A massive black, five-pointed magic circle materialized in front of him.
Saint Garling barked, "Gorum, step back.
The rest is up to us!"
"Father…" Gorum's face twisted with displeasure at those words, but when he saw the enormous magic circle beside Saint Garling, he understood.
Father was going to summon the other four Gorosei.
Sure enough, the next instant, a white light flared from the enormous circle. Out of it stepped Saint Nusjuro, Saint Peter, Saint Warcury, and Saint Saturn—the remaining four Gorosei.
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