What's up everybody, thesaiyanjedi here with the latest chapter of "The Tezuka Tournament!"

For today's chapter, we have quite an exciting match up indeed: Monkey D. Luffy from "One Piece" versus Gon Freecss from "Hunter x Hunter." Both of these characters re well loved protagonists of their very popular manga series, but which one will win the day? You'll just have to read and find out.

With that said, let's get to reading!

Chapter 7: Luffy vs. Gon

"Wasn't that an exciting match folks?!" Tezuka's proclamation earned still more deafening applause from the mindless sheep that filled the audience and the poor souls that were distracted by the broadcast of the melee out in the city of Fanom.

"But we can't take a rest yet!" the Grand Daimyō yelled. "For it's time to begin the fourth battle of the tournament! And for this next bout we have two very interesting and energetic fighters indeed! These two fighters not only share a similar energy, drive for strength, friendship and adventure, but also, believe it or not, a birthday as well!"

Shonen rose from his seat to introduce the first of the fighters. "For our first combatant, this carefree yet extraordinarily driven young man was born the son of Monkey D. Dragon, an infamous revolutionary wanted by the totalitarian World Government, and the grandson of Marine hero Monkey D. Garp. At the age of seven, he encountered the pirate Red-Haired Shanks, wanting to join the captain's crew and even scarring himself to prove his toughness. Though he was rejected, he did gain an amazing gift as the boy accidentally consumed the Gomu Gomu no Mi, one the infamous Devil Fruits that bestow strange and unique abilities upon those who eat them. In the boy's case, it turned him into a rubber man that can stretch parts of his body...at the cost of no longer being able to swim, but that's getting off topic. Anyway, after an incident in which Shanks lost his arm saving the boy's life, the boy made up his mind what his life's goal was to be: to become a pirate with a loyal crew to seek out and find the One Piece, a fabled treasure of the deceased Pirate King Gol. D. Roger. And in so doing, he would fulfill his true dream of becoming the new Pirate King."

Naruto listened to the story being told with even more interest than normal. 'Hmm...this guy seems like he was just as narrow minded about fulfilling his dream of becoming King of the Pirates as I was of becoming the next Hokage...'

Shonen continued. "Raised on Dawn Island by his grandfather along with his two adoptive brothers, Portgas D. Ace and Sabo, this boy learned to master his Devil Fruit powers as he and his brothers swore to a pact to live life as free as possible, despite their Marine grandfather's objections. After the seeming death of Sabo and the eventual departure of Ace on his own pirate journey, the boy would do the same three years later wearing his greatest treasure, his signature straw hat that he received as a gift from Shanks. Setting out from the East Blue into the Grand Line in search of a crew to begin his pirate journey, he would assemble a bizarre but infamous crew known as the Straw Hat Pirates, consisting of the master swordsman Roronoa Zoro, the pirate-robbing navigator Nami, the lying long-nosed marksman Usopp, the fierce kicking chef Vinsmoke Sanji, the shapeshifting reindeer doctor Tony Tony Chopper, the wanted criminal archeologist Nico Robin, the cyborg shipwright Franky, the undead skeleton musician Brook, and the whale-shark fish-man helmsman Jinbe."

And at that point Naruto could feel a long sweat mark dangling from his head. 'Uhh...wow, his crew sound like a bunch of weirdoes.'

"To list all of the adventures of this man and his crew would take far too much time," Shonen pressed on, "but they were extensive to say the least. After enduring many hard-fought victories and even declaring open war on the World Government, enduring the tragic death of his brother Ace, training for two years on the island of Rusukaina with Gol. D. Roger's first mate to master the art of Haki, reunited with his now much stronger crew and they had more adventures in the mysterious New World, defeated warlords and world government leaders, reunited with his still alive brother Sabo, effectively became such an infamous captain as to become the Fifth of the "Pirate Emperors," and eventually, at the end of all that, he and his crew did indeed discover the truth of the One Piece, overthrew the World Government, and he did fulfill his dream of becoming the King of the Pirates! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Monkey D. Luffy!"

The King of the Pirates walked out into the ring to a tremendous, almost deafening applause from the audience. Apparently stories about heroic outlaws must have tha kind of effect on a planet like Fanom. Luffy barely noticed as the usual idiotic goofball captain was all business this time.

'Nami... Eddie... Sabo... Zoro... Usopp... Sanji... Chopper... Robin... Franky... Brook... Jinbe... Everybody, just hang in there, I'm coming home!'

Shota stood up next. "And now for the challenger! This young man with a determination to always become stronger and greatly optimistic outlook towards life hails from the realm of Whale Island. Left there as a toddler by his father, Gin, he was raised by his cousin Mito who lied to him out of spite for his father, instead telling him that his parents had died in an accident. However, when the boy was only nine years old he was saved by Gin's former student Kite, who told the boy the truth that his father was alive and living as a Hunter, a person proven through a rigorous examination process to be an elite member of humanity. It is a Hunter's job to not only to search for treasure and to hunt animals, but to dedicate oneself to the protection of knowledge, people, and nature. They are to preserve culturally precious items or animal and plant species that they discover, not to mention arrest criminals and sometimes even fellow Hunters who commit heinous crimes."

Naruto took not of something that Shota had just said. 'Sounds like these Hunters are kind of like pirates crossed with ninja...sort of. They hunt for treasure but also take jobs hunting criminals... And unlike me, this guy's dad just left him behind because he was a jerk.'

She continued. "It was upon learning this that the boy made it his mission to become a Hunter himself and to tone day find his missing father, with Kite even providing him with Gin's Hunter's license. Leaving home and joining the Hunter Association, he made three friends who became powerful allies, especially his best friend Killua Zoldyck. But upon entering the Hunter's Exam, he would also encounter his arch nemesis, the magician Hisoka Morow. But he would eventually win the exam and earn his own Hunter's license. But this was only the beginning for him, as after this he and Killua would receive training in art of Nen, a technique that allows a living being to use and manipulate their own life energy, or aura, which he learned to use to enhance the abilities of his own body or selected objects, hence his classification as an enhancer."

Naruto fond himself deep in thought again. 'These Hunter Exams sound a lot like the Chūnin Exams we took back when we were kids. And it's a shame that Sasuke and I couldn't have been friends the same way this guy was with this Killua person.'

"As he trained to become stronger," she continued, "the boy's determination often got the best of him as he strove even more to finally find his father and to defeat Hisoka. Under further training from the Double-Star Hunter Biscuit Krueger, the boy would learn even more advanced Nen techniques and ended up joining an invasion of the palace of the King of the dangerous Chimera Ants, Mereum, and he faced the guard Neferpitou who ultimately killed Kite, releasing his full power in a terrifying manner. But the boy recovered and eventually prevailed over his enemies and, finally, reunited with his father. But these experiences left the boy without the ability to use his aura any longer, resuming his life as a normal teenager and eventual man... But now, thanks to the unmatchable power of the grand Daimyō, that is no longer the case ladies and gentlemen, as like some of his opponents today, his aura has indeed been restored as fight here today for your amusement! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Gon Freecss!"

The hunter stepped out and onto the stage to another huge applause, all while draping his signature fishing rod over his shoulder. Gon did wave to the audience for a little bit before turning his attention to the ring and to his opponent. 'Old Man... Aunt Mito... Killua... Kuripika... Leorio... This one's for you guys!'

The pirate and the hunter stood on opposite end of the ring staring each other down, before each taking a fighting stance.

"Hey!" Gon shouted to his opponent. "Nothing personal no matter what happen, alright?"

Luffy just shut his eyes and smiles back with a big, dumb toothy grin. "Course not! But loser treats the winner to meat after we're done, 'kay?!"

Gon smiled. "Sure thing!"

Tezuka raised his hand in the air. "Combatants ready...Set! ...FIGHT!"

Up in the fighter's box, some of the other combatants were pondering this particular match up. But it was Ichigo who got in the first word. "I think Luffy has this one."

"Why do you think that?" Sakura asked.

"Gon has a lot going for him, but Luffy's endurance is just too high. He obviously has the range advantage with all the stretching he does."

"That may be true," Jotaru said, "but Gon does have an advantage if his Nen abilities are as strong as I've heard they are."

"I don't think so," Deku interrupted. "I've had the chance to talk to Gon while we had dinner yesterday. It sounds to me like most of his attacks rely on blunt force, and if that's the case, then Luffy could shake most of that off with his rubber form quirk."

"Quirk?" Astro asked in confusion. "I thought they were called Devil Fruit powers?"

Deku blushed and stretched his head in embarrassment. "I yeah, sorry about that!"

Naruto just stared on at the fight as it was about to start, and he noticed that Goku and Saitama were doing to same. 'I'm not sure why, but I think I'm going to root for Luffy on this one. Something about him reminds me a lot of me...'

"GOMU GOMU NO PISTOL!"

Luffy stretched his arm back and unleashed a devastating hard punch, which moved so fast that Gon almost didn't react to it in time! Luffy didn't let up though as he then did the same thing with his other fist, then his other fist, then the other, until Gon was forced to dodge an entire barrage of stretching fists like an endless barrage. "GOMU GOMU NO GATLING!"

'He's fast!' Gon thought to himself. 'I need to end this quick or I'm in serious trouble.'

Flicking his fishing rod, Gon hooked Luffy right in his mouth, dragging him directly towards him so the hunter could land a powerful uppercut straight to the jaw!

Luffy found himself knocked down to the ground in a thud as he rubbed his cheek. "OUCH! What the heck?! You're pretty strong!"

"I learned from the best!"

"Yeah! Well so have I!"

Luffy launched his gatling move again, even faster than last time, but this time Gon leaped directly over it and kicked the pirate king directly in the back. Luffy would have fallen to the ground but his hand landed palm flat and inflated allowing him to bounce into the air like, fittingly, a bouncing rubber ball.

Gon never took his enhanced eyes off of his opponent as he now landed on the other side of him and threw both of his arms out as once. "GOMU GOMU NO BAZOOKA!"

Gon easily dodged under the stretched out arm bullets and leaped high into the air while focusing his aura into his fist. "FIRST COMES ROCK!"

Gon fired is aura enhanced fist directly at Luffy, who was able to dodge it just barely, before then stretching his foot out and kicking Gon right in the ribs.

"AGH!" Gon fell to his knees and groaned. "You really are tough."

"What do ya expect? I'm the King of the Pirates after all!"

"We'll see about that! THEN COMES PAPER!"

Gon focused his aura again and fired a ball of it from his palm. Luffy inflated himself like a balloon through his mouth, dodging the projectile. Gon then leaped into the air at superhuman speed and kicked Luffy in the head, knocking him down to the ground, but Luffy was still in his inflated state and bounced it off like a basketball. While in the air, he curved out his outstretched leg and knocked the young hunter back to the ground again. Luffy twisted his body around tightly then blew the air out behind him while untwisting to fly in forward towards his opponent while spinning.

"GOMU GOMU NO STORM!" He then let out a furious barrage of powerful punches much like his gatling attack, but in this case their power was greatly increased by the momentum at which they were launched.

Gon reacted just a split second too late to avoid Luffy remarkably fast attacks. and was pummeled into the ground as earthquakes were felt all throughout the arena! The assault left an enormous crater in the center of the ring as Luffy exhaled and came back down to the arena floor.

"Got you!" Gon leaped out of the crater and up into the air almost as soon as his opponent touched back down "THEN COMES SCISSORS!"

Gon fired a transmuted blade of aura attached to his index and middle fingers. Luffy stretched out his own fingers with his other hand and held it in front of his face as a makeshift shield. It didn't do much at all and very nearly knocked him clear out of the ring, had his not done a quick spinning movie on his rubbery hands and leaped back in the other direction.

"GOMU GOMU NO RIFLE!"

Luffy twisted his arm around as he stretched it from behind him and hit Gon as he came into close range, which resulted in a massive increase in velocity of the punch as the twisting of the arm stretched it out even further without having to draw to back any longer.

Gon was starting to get bruised from all of the hits he was taking. 'This guy's no joke, his speed in tremendous and his endurance is just crazy! How are my attacks supposed to work if they just bounce off his body like his rubber?'

"What are you thinking kit? Still have your money on the rubber man?"

Naruto looked upon the battle intently. 'I don't know Kurama. Luffy's clearly got the endurance advantage and his speed is super impressive, but I'm starting to think Gon's using his head a lot more, and he's got the superior strength and some speed to match. Plus, his Nen shows he's got projectile moves while Luffy's just recklessly punching him really fast.'

"You saying you're changing your mind and giving your vote to the hunter instead?"

'I'm saying that I don't think we've seem either of them at the full power yet. I think they're both hiding what they can really do.'

"Like how you didn't go all out against Natsu?"

'Maybe...'

"I think Gon's going to need a lot more than Jajanken techniques to beat this Luffy guy."

Naruto turned to see the one who had just said that, Goku. "You're thinking the same thing?"

"Yeah. Gon may be smarter, but his range of attacks seem a lot more limited to me. Luffy on the other hand, he's used his weird rubber body to pull off a ton of crazy attacks, and I've got a feeling that he's got way more to show off during this fight. And there's something else too."

"What...?"

'I've got to buy myself some time to charge up my Nen again for another combo. I just hope he doesn't catch on to me.'

Gon leaped into the fray and started throwing punched and kicks in a dazzling display of martial arts. Luffy was able to dodge all of them with his quick speed and his malleable form. But then after enough time of this raw melee had passed, got himself close enough and decided it was time let loose!

"FIRST COMES ROCK!"

Gon unleashed a devastating blast of Nen right into Luffy's face! ...Or at least he would have had Luffy not reacted fast enough to duck under the blast and then curl his outstretched fist to clobber the young hunter with a punch that felt like he'd been hit by a wrecking ball!

"AAAGGHH!" Gon grabbed his head in pain as he backed off. "What the heck was that! HUH?!"

Gon got a good look at his opponent's now no longer elongated arm. The lower part of it, as well as his fist, were now turned black and shining, like it was all of a sudden made of metal.

"W-What is that? Some kind of magic? A Nen technique?"

"Na-uh," Luffy said, his eyes obscured by the brim of his signature straw hat. "This is my Bushoshoku, my Armament Haki. I trained for two years on Rusukaina to master it and the rest of my Haki to become stronger for myself and my crew."

In the fighter's box, Goku all of the sudden got a really confused look on his face. "Huh? Hockey? What's a ice game with sticks got to do with anything?"

"You idiot!" Ichigo yelled. "He said Haki not Hockey!"

"Yeah, but what is it though?" Sailor Moon questioned.

"Do you really want to know?"

Everyone was taken aback as Saitama all of a sudden addressed all of them. He didn't seem to be that alarmed at their surprise, apparently not aware of how much of a silent observer he had actually been this whole time.

"Saitama," Naruto said, "how do you about any of this?"

"Lord Tezuka gave me a brief rundown on some of you before I met you all today. He told me about Luffy and his Haki abilities."

"And?" Kenshiro asked simply.

Saitama sighed. "Apparently, on the world where Luffy comes from, Haki is a kind of natural ability that all humans possess, but only a select few who have trained to awaken it are able to use. There are three types of Haki, two that all people possess, and a third type that only a select group of chosen ones possess."

"What types of Haki are there?" Deku asked.

Saitama thought about it. "Uh, I'm trying to remember...Oh yeah! The first type is called Kenbunshoku, or Observation Haki. It allows the user to sense the presence of others, even if they're too far away or concealed. Most commonly, it allows the users to sense others from their aura."

"And it's Gon aura that he's mainly using to draw his power from," Yusuke managed to put together.

"Yep. It also allows the user to predict their opponent's moves shortly after they make them."

Naruto came to a realization immediately. "I get it. That's how Luffy was able to dodge so many of Gon's attacks earlier, isn't it?"

"That's right. Anyway, what you're looking at right now is the second form of Haki, Bushoshoku, or Armament Haki. It allows the user to use their spirit to create some kind of invisible armor around themselves, augment their own physical attacks, project it ahead of the user as pure brute force, or harden a weapon that one enhances with it."

Goku smiled. "I knew it."

"So, what about Luffy's arm then?" Sailor Moon questioned.

"Lord Tezuka said that this kind of Haki can also be used in heavy concentration on a part of one's body can cause it to harden and turn black, making it denser and more formidable, a lot like turning that part of your body into metal."

Naruto looked back out towards the ring, Luffy's arm was still black from his Haki concentration. 'That means Luffy might have the awareness advantage after all, and his durability is even greater than I thought it was already. If he's the one I end up fighting next, I could be in for some trouble.'

"Saitama," Sakura said. "You said that that Lord Tezuka told you there were three types of Haki? So what's the third kind?"

"I think you'll find out very soon." That was all the One Punch Man said before turning his attention back to the ring.

Goku was all smiles. "Well, whatever it is, I know one thing for sure: if Luffy's strong enough to use it, then it's going to make for an exciting fight!"

"Alright!" Gon shouted at his opponent. "I've had enough of this!"

With even greater speed than he'd shown throughout the entire fight, Gon rushed in fists and feet in a blaze of fury, determined to end this fight once and for all. Luffy, however, was hardly worried as he used his Observation Haki to predict where every blow was coming from and dodged each attack.

"Got you." Luffy found his opening and used his Armament Haki to harden his forehead as he stretched his neck out and struck him with a nearly concussive headbutt.

"AAAGGHH!" Gon grabbed his forehead and yelped in pain. He was getting irritated now, and he could feel his drive to end this fight and see his friends again consuming him, overwhelming him.

'I... No! No I can't loose here! They're all counting on me! Come on Gon! You managed to beat Meruem! How is this guy giving you so much trouble?! If I let him beat me...I'll never see any of the others ever again...'

Gon found himself resigning to what might be inevitable. 'I cant keep going like this. I may have no choice but to use—NO! I can't resort to that! I promised Killua and the others I would never resort to that again! Not after it almost killed me last time and cost me all of my Nen! ...Besides, this is only my first fight in this tournament, and I can't play my biggest card so early for all the others to see.'

"I'm ending this, now." Luffy said that as his stuck his blackened arm out and increased the size of his blood vessels within it, pumping more oxygen and nutrients into his arm. Steam omitted from his arm as he did so. "GEAR SECOND BUSŌ!"

Gon took a fighting stance, charging his Nen back into his hand for his most powerful

possible long distance attack. He charged the ball of energy in his hands as he got serious and finally launched it at his opponent. "PAPER!"

"GOMU GOMU NO RED HAWK!"

As the glowing ball of Nen energy launched itself towards the Pirate King, Luffy cocked back his blackened arm and ignited it, releasing a stream of fire directly at Gon. However, while the flaming fist did indeed make contact with Gon, so too did the hunter's Paper Attack!

Both fighters were nearly knocked out of the ring, had it not been for some very quick dodging and countering on both of their parts.

GOMU GOMU NO HAWK GATLING!"

Luffy hardened his other arm and unleashed another barrage of strikes that threatened to tear the entire ring apart. Gon needed to draw upon all of the dodging ability he had to stay away from all of it.

"PAPER! SCISSORS! ROCK!"

Gon summoned as much Nen as he could as fast and possible, changing up each one as he moved closer and closer to his opponent, knowing that the techniques would be less powerful if they did not have the proper time to charge them up all the way.

Luffy saw through this with his Observation Haki and slammed his metal hands only the ring floor to perform a gymnastic leap into the air before the Paper ball could land. The Scissors strike was another dodge, but only barely. As for the rock attack... Well...

"HAAA!"

Gon thrust the Nen-enhanced punch to the stomach as he inflated himself like a balloon once again, absorbing it. But this time Gon was ready for such a movie and leaped upwards and quickly thrust another Rock punch straight into Luffy's face!

"TAKE THI—AAAGGHH!"

Something was wrong...Very wrong! Some kind of invisible force was affecting his mind, like a shockwave, one of pure unbridled willpower!

The hunter stared helplessly at the pirate captain, who merely stared back coldly, in fact, quite intimidatingly. Gon did all he could to resist, but he found himself slowly lowering his body inch by inch to his knees.

"What the hell?!"

Ichigo's outburst was on everybody's mind as they saw this sudden turn of events. They too could feel a kind of immense pressure coming off of their straw hat-wearing companion, but none of them were prepared for it, much like Gon was. There was only one exception to this, and that was Saitama.

Naruto was sharp enough to catch onto this. "S-Saitama? T-This... Is this the third Haki you told us about?"

"Yes," he said like it was not big deal. "It's called Haoshoku, or Conqueror's Haki. Like I said before, it's an extremely rare form of Haki that only one in several million people possess. Lord Tezuka told me that it can't be obtained through training like the other two can, you have to be lucky enough to be born with it, and if you are, that means you have the quality of a king."

"What the hell does all that mean?!" Yusuke shouted, his brain still in pain.

"It means that this Haki allows the user to exert their willpower over others, in other words, to dominate the wills of others and knock them out cold."

"A doofus like Luffy can do THAT?!" Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Apparently," Saitama said casually. "I mean, in makes sense. How else do you expect to be king of all pirates, groups of people who by their very nature defy all laws and authority? The so-called 'King of the Pirates' maybe needs this Haki just to keep all the other pirates captains and their crews in line. The only catch is that it only works on weak-minded people, so those with a strong enough willpower could resist it."

"You think Gon's will is strong enough?" Astro asked.

"Guess we're about to find out..."

Gon was gritting his teeth so hard that he swore they were going to wear down from the force of it! He was summoning every drop of will he had to keep from lowering all the way down to knee level. Luffy was pouring on his Haki, his face cold and stern as the pulses of pressure emanated off of him.

The hunter's body was quaking, like his muscles were going to cave in on themselves. He absolutely refused to submit to the sheer power of this technique! It would be terrible enough to loose here, but Gon would never forgive himself if it happened like this!

"I... WILL... NOT... SUBMITTTTTTT!"

Gon burst upwards and flung his Rock fist straight into Luffy's face! The punch was so hard that it sent his head flinging backwards as his neck stretched out to absurd lengths. Gon stood back up but hunched over and breathing heavily. It wasn't for long though as Luffy hardened his forehead black and quickly flung his head back straight into Gon, knocking him down again.

Regaining his base shape, Luffy looked upon his opponent with blank concern. "I had a feeling my Haki wasn't going to last long on someone like you. You're really strong Gon, but I don't think you can keep this up much longer."

"Stop!" Gon shouted back. "I have too many counting on me back home to loose to you!"

"So do I..." Luffy raised his mouth up to his mouth, sticking his thumb inside. He blew into it, just as one would inflate a balloon, to pump air into his bones allowing his hand to inflate to gargantuan size! His fist was now several times larger than the rest of his body, like the fist of a kaiju beast!

Gon was astounded. "What?! What are you doing?!"

"Ending this! GEAR THIRD! GOMU GOMU NO GIGANT PISTOL!"

Luffy flung the colossal fist straight at Gon, but the hunter was able to use his Nen to enhance his own hands to increase his strength to hold the punch at bay, despite it huge size. Luffy didn't let up either and unleashed the Conqueror's Haki once again, thinking that it might be too much for Gon to handle both it and his third gear at once.

...And yet, this was when an ever more startling transformation occurred. Something had snapped within Gon, something huge!

A flickering aura that almost resembled black flame was emanating off of him. It was swirling around and engulfing his form like a sort of dark, demonic essence. Luffy, the other fighters, and the audience in attendance all looked upon the scene with a sense of horror and dread... All except for Tezuka and his children, they merely smiled in entertainment at what had finally occurred.

'So, he's finally let himself go once again...' The Grand Daimyō looked on, knowing that one way or another, this match was about to reach it's climax.

"I don't care anymore." Gon spoke coldly to his opponent, while now having a noticeably easier time hold the gigantic fist back. "I promised myself that wouldn't use this, that I would return those I love alive and well... But if that's what it takes to overcome you, then I'll do whatever it takes! I will come back to those I love! Even if I come back to them dead!"

The dark aura was morphing Gon's body. He was growing slightly taller than he was before, and his jacket and pants were tearing as his body became noticeably more muscular. His face had become leaner and more stern, and his hair had grown dramatically longer, standing up as his black aura had faded and was replaced with a dim golden one.

'What... What's going on?' Luffy looked wide-eyed at what was before him. 'What is he doing?'

Gon suddenly grabbed hold of one of Luffy's giant fingers and squeezed down upon it and he stretched his other hand back behind him. "FIRST COMES ROCK!"

BOOM! The colossal attack flung the fist backwards and Luffy along with it only catching himself at the last second before he fell out of the ring.

"THEN COMES PAPER!"

Gon charged an obscene amount of Nen into his fists as his fired easily his most powerful projectile yet. It happened so quickly that Luffy likely would have been a goner had it not been for his Observation Haki. Instead, the technique just barely zipped past him and went outside the ring towards the stands! The explosion likely would have obliterated the audience had it not been for the Daimyō's protective barrier.

"Are you nuts?! You know that killing me is against the rules!" Luffy shouted in irritation...maybe overlooking the point that he could have killed hundreds of people had this fight occurred under different circumstances.

"Shut up!" Gon's voice was cold, stern, but at the same time also pleading. "Just take your punishment and fall already!"

The almost demonic-feeling aura focused into his arm and down into his index and middle finger, forming a blade of Nen. "THEN COMES SCISSORS!"

Gon disappeared in a split second, reappearing seemingly instantaneously behind Luffy. The slashing motion would normally have cut an opponent to pieces, but the Straw Hat captain was spared this thanks to his rubbery form and an absolute last second use of Armament Haki on his entire form.

"Grr!" Gon growled in rage. "Why won't you fall?!"

He then went on the offensive melee brigade. Throwing punched and kicks as such inhuman speed and strength that even someone like Luffy was struggling against him... But then, finally, Gon made his big mistake.

He cut his melee assault off to leap back a short distance to give himself space for another scissors attack, one even ore powerful than the last. But this was the opening that Luffy needed. Wrapping his elongated arm around his opponent like a boa constrictor entangled it's prey, Luffy then rapidly used his Haki to harden his arm around him to entrap him in an iron grip.

Even for the idiot that he was, Luffy could tell that this was not going to hold someone that powerful for very long, so rapid blew air into his fist at the same time that he hardened it with his Haki. The front part to his arm inflated to take on a form resembling an full sized elephant.

"GOMU GOMU NO ELEPHANT GUN!" Luffy flung his fist straight at the imprisoned Gon, releasing his arm just milliseconds before the blow made contact. The blow was huge, but Gon's overwhelming endurance kept him from falling. But Luffy's determination would not be denied either. And he kept his fist in it's enlarged form while then doing the same thing to his other fist as well.

"GOMU GOMU NO ELEPHANT GATLING!" Luffy furiously flung both of his fists at Gon like a barrage of gigantic iron beasts at such force that even this newly superpowered Gon was having difficulty dodging them.

And in fact, it got so intense that Gon found he did get overwhelmed. The metallic blows striking large and hard and super fast.

Beaten and dazed, Luffy pulled back and flung his fists behind him, charging at his directly at full speed.

"GOT YOU!" Gon charged every spec of Nen he had into his next Rock attack as the foolish pirate was running directly into it. To ensure his victory, Gon even pushed his speed up to charge towards him as he was running. One punch and this fight would all be over...

...But then, just as the blow was going to land, Luffy caught Gon off guard by suddenly leaping up into the thrusting his fists down upon him from above!

"GOMU GOMU NO GRIZZLY MAGNUM!"

The double blow was the most destructive yet! The crushing power cracking the ring wide open as Gon took the brunt force of the strike! With the dust and debris in the air, Gon was struggling to stay up. But it wasn't just the force of Luffy's attacks that was causing this fatigue. No it was something else... Almost like all of that power...like it was hurting him, making him weaker...

Nevertheless, he would not back down, and so Gon charged a super powerful paper attack. But the Pirate King would have none of it!

As son as he touched down to the ground, deactivated his Haki for only a split second to uncurl his finger from their hardened state and point his palm flat out, before hardening it once again.

"GOMU GOMU NO GIGANT TSUPPARI!"

Luffy armored palm stretched and struck out at Gon like an colossal sumo slap! And in Gon's dazed and damaged state, this attack was finally enough! The force felt like a huge metal wall thrusting forward and striking the hunter right in the face and it was enough to push to empowered, though beaten warrior out of the remains of the ring and onto the ground between it and the audience.

Gon, aching and in an all-too familiar pain from the last time he had given in and unleashed this power, felt his breath slowing down as the last this he heard was the cheers of the audience as the voice of Shota called out the verdict.

Rising from her seat, the princess of Fanom addressed the crowd. "The victor had been decided! The winner is Monkey D. Luffy!"

The King of the Pirates normally would have been all smiles for securing a victory like this, but this time something just wasn't right. He looked towards has defeated opponent as he body shrunk down to it's original form but he remained unconscious.

"Hey!" Luffy called out to the Daimyō. "Is he gonna be okay?"

Tezuka didn't say anything, merely smiled, as Gon's fallen body flickered and disappeared like the three defeated fighters before him. Luffy frowned as he looked upon the spot where his opponent once lay before turning his attention up to the fighter's box where his next opponent was looking right back.

Naruto glared directly back at Luffy, somehow knowing that both of them were thinking the same thing...and also that both of them had yet to show their full potential in this tournament.

The Orange Hokage frowned for only a moment before putting on the barest of smiles to match the wider and more goofy one that the Pirate King was giving him.

'Well,' Naruto thought, 'looks like I'm going to have one heck of fight ahead of me after all.'

And with that we are now halfway through the opening match ups. Only four more fights to go before we finally move on to the quarter finals! We've come a l long way already, but we still have a long way to go!

That being said, I have to confess that this particular fight was a lot more difficult for me to write as there wasn't as much research previously done by others for me to use as reference, and what research there was seemed to go against how I wasn't the match ups of he later fights to go. Gon in particular was a harder character for me to write a fight scene for since I am honestly not a huge fan of "Hunter x Hunter" and I comparatively feel more familiar with the "One Piece" universe.

For this reason, I originally planned on not having Gon transform into his fully adult form here as it might turn the fight against Luffy and, remember, the last time Gon used that form it put him into a coma and seemingly left him unable to use his Nen ever again. But in the end, cooler head's prevailed and I knew that you "Hunter x Hunter" fans would never let me hear the end of it if Gon didn't use that form.

I knew, to my own understanding at least, that the key to Luffy's victory would have less to do with his Devil Fruit powers so much as his Haki abilities. His Conqueror's Haki in particular would normally guarantee him a victory oven many other foes, but in a tournament with fighters like Gon or Naruto or Goku, I just felt like their drive and fighting spirit, or "Will of Fire" to stay in line with "Naruto," would be able to overcome what would otherwise be an OP ability for Luffy.

Even so, I personally don't think this ended up being one of my best chapters as I can already predict that some of you are going to tell me that I got my facts wrong and that Luffy should have lost here. I did my best to make the turn around as convincing as possible, but I apologize to anybody who is disappointed. Fortunately, the next opponent our favorite rubbery pirate will go up against will be our boy Naruto, and I am certain that is a match up that a lot of you will be looking forward to!

That being said, this does bring me to a major elephant in the room. Unlike most of the other fighters in this tournament, Luffy's story is still ongoing even after nearly 1,000 chapters! This means that for all we have seen, we still do not know for sure if we have seen (and probably haven't) Luffy's maximum potential. I kind of have to limit to myself to what we have seen so far or just make up assumptions of new forms and abilities that Eiichiro Oda will undoubtedly prove me totally wrong about.

On a more optimistic note, I will tell you that I feel particularly proud of that joke of Goku mistaking Haki for Hockey. I've never heard anybody make that connection before and I hope it got a good laugh.

I think that's all I have to say for this time. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to seeing you again for the next one.

Next time, it's the ladies turn to enter the ring as we continue the Tezuka Tournament with match number five: Sakura Kinomoto from "Cardcaptor Sakura" versus Usagi Tsukino, aka Sailor Moon from...well, "Sailor Moon!"

Until next time, see ya!