Chapter 96: Sanji And Zoro Want To Get Stronger!
The warship pursuing the Straw Hat crew was not one of those standard Eighth Branch vessels ahead.
This warship was larger, appearing more imposing and advanced.
"Naval Headquarters!"
Nami's expression changed, "They're coming for us!"
Almost as soon as her words fell, that headquarters warship had already closed within firing range.
The cannons at the bow swiveled, their muzzles emitting white smoke.
"BOOM—!!!"
A cannonball tore through the air, flying toward the Merry.
"Watch out!"
Zoro growled, his three swords instantly unsheathed.
He charged toward the stern, a flash of blade light—
"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
The three swords crossed in a slash, precisely cleaving the incoming cannonball.
"BANG!"
The cannonball exploded mid-air, turning into a ball of flame and fragments.
Almost simultaneously, another cannonball attacked from the side.
"Leave it to me!"
Sanji's figure appeared by the gunwale, his right leg raised high, lashing out like a whip.
"Collier!"
"THUD!"
The cannonball was kicked away, tracing an arc through the air before falling into the distant sea, erupting into a tall column of water.
Usopp's face paled, but he gritted his teeth and rushed to the small cannon at the stern.
"I-I am Captain Usopp, who will become a great warrior!"
He encouraged himself while loading the cannonball, "This level... is nothing at all!"
"BANG!"
The Merry's cannon fired, the projectile flying toward the warship chasing from behind.
At the bow of that headquarters warship, a mass of white smoke was slowly rising.
Usopp's cannonball struck the smoke and was instantly batted away.
Then the smoke coalesced, gradually forming a humanoid upper body.
White short hair, two cigars in his mouth, wearing a Navy uniform, holding a Seastone Jitte in hand.
White Hunter, Smoker.
"Straw Hat Girl..."
Smoker's voice came from the air, "We meet again."
His body was entirely composed of smoke, floating mid-air, looking down at the Merry from above.
"This time, I won't let you escape."
Both Nami and Usopp froze upon seeing this spectacle for the first time.
"Wh-what kind of monster is that?!"
Usopp's voice trembled, "How can a person turn into smoke?!"
"A Devil Fruit user."
Sanji explained briefly, "Logia type, can elementalize their body. Normal attacks are ineffective."
"We fought him in Loguetown. He's tough."
"Watch me! I can hit him using the Haki Ralph taught me!"
Lufia pushed off the ground with her feet, her rubber arms stretching backward to their limit.
"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"
Her fist shot out like a cannonball, striking directly at Smoker in mid-air.
But this time, Smoker did not take the hit head-on as he had in Loguetown.
He had witnessed Lufia's fist covered in Armament Haki.
Though still immature, it could indeed strike an elementalized body.
"White Spark."
Smoker's body suddenly dispersed, turning into a drifting cloud of smoke.
Lufia's fist passed through the smoke, hitting nothing.
The smoke coalesced again, and Smoker appeared in another position, thrusting his Seastone Jitte fiercely!
Lufia's fist was struck, and she quickly retracted her arm in pain!
She was surprised why the smoking man's strange rod could injure her rubber body.
Thus, the two fought back and forth—one in the air, the other on the deck.
This high-level battle made Zoro and Sanji burn with fervent admiration.
Sanji recalled the scene in Loguetown where Smoker had effortlessly subdued him.
Zoro thought about the countless powerful opponents they might encounter in future adventures.
Some might be Logia Devil Fruit users like Smoker, immune to ordinary sword attacks.
Others might be masters of Haki with astonishing defensive capabilities.
Could his Three Sword Style defeat them?
Both simultaneously solidified their determination to grow stronger as soon as possible.
Just then—
"Look over there!"
Nami suddenly cried out in alarm, her trembling finger pointing toward Warship Island.
Everyone, including Smoker hovering mid-air, instinctively turned to look.
Then, they saw it.
A figure.
Rising from among the scattered rocks around Warship Island, walking through the air.
Ralph.
"Walking... in mid-air?"
Usopp's jaw dropped so wide he could have fit a cannonball in his mouth.
"H-how is this possible?!"
Having first shown promise at the execution platform in Loguetown, then testing his skills against Sea Kings in the Calm Belt, Ralph's Geppo was finally being fully revealed before everyone today.
In a pirate world where naval battles and boarding actions were the primary combat methods, do you know how crucial a "flying" skill was?
It meant absolute mobility advantage.
It meant engaging or disengaging at will.
It meant ignoring terrain limitations, disregarding ship constraints, launching attacks from any angle, and retreating from any direction.
Almost... making one invincible.
"..."
Lufia stood at the ship's bow, looking up, her eyes beneath the straw hat shining like stars.
"So cool!"
Smoker was also stunned.
Hovering in mid-air, he watched the young man "walking" through the sky, countless pieces of information flashing through his mind.
The nameless swordsman Ralph... the genius swordsman who defeated Hawk Eye... the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates...
And now, he could use Geppo from the Six Powers?
"Damn..."
Smoker frowned deeply.
"Just what is his background?"
What happened next made everyone's eyes widen in astonishment.
After rising to sufficient height, Ralph suddenly changed direction.
Not flying toward the Merry.
But heading toward the Eighth Branch warships surrounding Warship Island.
His target was one particular warship.
The Navy soldiers on that ship had clearly spotted this aerial enemy.
Soldiers on the deck frantically adjusted formations to prepare for battle, gunners raising their weapons to aim.
But Ralph was much faster.
"Geppo: Successive Steps!"
He continuously stomped through the air, each step accelerating his body.
Like a fired cannonball, he dove straight down.
Then
Stomped down.
In that instant, his right foot became completely enveloped in jet-black Armament Haki.
At the tip of his foot, air compressed to its limit, emitting a sharp, eagle-like screech.
The moment his sole touched the deck—
"BOOM——!!!"
Centered around Ralph's right foot, the deck shattered like fragile crackers.
Cracks spread, instantly traversing the entire warship's hull.
Then came the sound of the keel breaking.
"CRACK——SNAP——!!"
The fifty-meter-long warship split in half.
From where Ralph had stomped down, the hull divided into two sections.
Seawater rushed in violently.
The warship began to sink.
Navy soldiers on the deck fell into the sea like dumplings dropping into a pot, their screams, cries for help, and splashing sounds all mixing together.
Meanwhile, Ralph, in the very next second after shattering the warship, had already kicked off the air once more.
He rose back into the sky, looking down at the rapidly sinking wreckage of the warship below. His expression was terrifyingly calm, yet his heart surged with emotion.
He, too, was now a man capable of sinking a warship with a single move!
[Ding!]
[System Notification: You have improved "Leap Stomp" through skills such as Shigan and Geppo, creating a new technique. Would you like to assign it a name?]
Ralph answered in his mind: "Eagle Stomp."
[New technique "Eagle Stomp" has been recorded. Effect: Dive from high altitude, concentrate Armament Haki in the feet, combine with the acceleration of Geppo and the penetrating power of Shigan to cause destruction.]
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