Hey everyone ! This is the part 5 for the Haki training story arc. This time we'll get on with Luffy"s training. I said that the chapters were getting even longer but this might be the longest one yet as I added things every time... I hope you will appreciate this chapter !
Like with Zoro and Sanji I tried to respect the fighting styles and power scaling and imagine strategies that could be interesting. I hope you will see the battles and bonding interactions as entertaining as I imagined it !
Also thank you a lot for the likes, follows and reviews ! I will try to answer all of them every time I post.
Yogaratw607 : Well you might have your answers in the following chapters... But I agree that Nami's abilities and potential with Haki is very interesting !
Merendinoemiliano : Thank you for your review ! If you liked the cute and wholesome moments there will be more of them in the following chapters and stories, I hope you'll like it !
TheVelvetPen : Thank you for your interest in my story ! This could be a very interesting option, I'll contact you if needed !
Haki Training Part 5 : Luffy's training
"So Luffy what do you have in mind ?" asked Nami unsure of if her captain had truly prepared a training for them or not.
"This is called 'Survival Game' !" answered the captain while still chewing on a piece of meat even though the lunch ended.
"Survival game ?"
"Yeah ! All of you will be in a battle against me and you need to try and survive the best you can !"
"Isn't that Zoro's training in worse ?! Jinbei, you said that they had to put some rules at least otherwise it would not be training, wouldn't it ?!"
"Yeah about that… When I tried to tell him that he called 'Captain's orders' and was not able to find anything else so we had to go with that… but he said that he would hold back and that he prepared a surprise at the end so it would not be a mindless training like Zoro."
"Hey !"
"Ah sorry the mindless part was added by Sanji, Luffy just said that he had a surprise for them that would probably make them stronger."
While Zoro and Sanji were fighting in the background, Luffy stood before them and looked at them with a serious grin.
"You will all come at me during this training. I'll let you prepare the area in advance as much as you want. The only rule is that you are out when all of you are knocked out or unable to continue the fight. You can even get patched up during the fight, I don't mind. If you manage to beat me up, knock me out, make me give up or just incapacitate me, it's your win. At the end of the training, when I'll have beaten up all of you, there will be another part waiting for you."
This was very well explained, especially considering the nature of their captain. However…
"Oi, aren't you underestimating us too much ?" said Franky smiling at the conditions given by his captain. "Even you might get in trouble if we all gang up on you and if we can even rejoin the fight once beaten."
"This does not matter. This is just enough of an handicap."
Rather than sounding cocky, the captain sounded excited. They knew that of all people, he was the least likely to underestimate someone. Therefore, they knew that he was serious and that he was going to be a formidable foe.
"Alright, we heard you. We'll take you full on."
Luffy went back to Zoro and the others while the trainees were grouped together while forming a strategy.
Usopp began speaking after the others sit down in a circle for their strategic meeting.
"So what do we do ? Even I think that this could be very hard if all of us are together, even Luffy will be in trouble."
"Yohohoho, I am not so sure Usopp-san. While we all got a lot stronger from the previous fight, Luffy-san alone seems like he made leaps and bounds."
"What do you mean Brook ?" asked the reindeer.
"Call it a warrior's experience but when I look at him, his aura seems much more stronger, like he is almost untouchable. It is on the scale of Kaido and Big Mom when I first saw them. He is truly befitting of his title as Emperor of the sea. I think taking him on with all of us is a testament to that."
"So you mean that Luffy is so SUPER strong right now, that we could get kicked out of the fight in one blow ? That's exciting !"
"I tend to forget, but you are much more experienced than all of us…" remarked Nami. "If you can tell these kind of things, aren't you already halfway there to use Haki ?"
"Yohohoho, maybe I don't know. Call it a sixth sense of an experienced fighter but yes this feeling might not be so different from Haki as Jinbei-san explained to us."
While they were conversing, Usopp began drawing some plans on a piece of paper.
"I see… so we need to be even more aggressive than before while remembering that a single mistake could signify our loss. So, how about this strategy for the start of the fight ?"
They all looked upon Usopp's (uselessly good) drawing and thought for a few seconds.
"I don't have a problem, but I think this will not be enough," commented Robin. "I think the key would be changing formation throughout the fight."
"Hmm, I see… do you have any recommendations ?"
"I propose that…"
While Robin used additional hands to add some details to Ussop's sketchs, the others listened on, interjected and added their own ideas to the mix.
"Hold on," said Nami. "I understand that my abilities are the poorest match up against Luffy, but I think I can use a few strategies that work against him."
While she took the pen and explained her strategy, the others either smirked or thought about the odds of it working.
"This could be a gamble. All of this hinges on the fact that we are all available. Even one mistake could cost us the fight." said Usopp while considering the idea.
"Heh I don't see the problem. This is SUPER hard boiled, I'm in !"
"I was sure you would agreed, Franky !"
"If we do that then, I think we could also…" added the reindeer while taking the pen.
Rather than being intimidated by the challenge, the trainees ideas fused as they tried to take on their biggest challenge yet.
"So are you all ready ?"
Luffy said after joining up Nami and the others in the initial open area.
"Yeah, don't take us lightly Luffy, Emperor or not, you might get really hurt !"
After the words of the sniper, Luffy looked at them and smiled.
"Let's see if you can stand the heat !"
And suddenly, the air seemed to grew thicker, almost suffocating and all the trainees felt an immense pressure and took a step back as a reflex. Some of them even felt that if they let up they would be pushed to the ground or pass out from the sheer aura.
It was the aura of someone standing on the top of the sea.
"Is this his Conqueror's haki !?" asked Nami.
Luffy took a few steps but the aura seemed to exponentially increase.
Zoro and the others looked at their captain and even they got a chill.
"So this is where he stands after defeating that beast… Heh, he is on the same level as these monsters, this bastard !" said Zoro remembering his fight against the two calamities that were Kaido and Big Mom.
"This sheer pressure… It's even greater than when I saw him on the rooftop !" remarked Yamato, impressed by the progress made in such a short time.
"Heh, so this is like a primary test to see if they can even hope to fight him, this cheeky bastard became smug," said Sanji while smiling.
"I think they are just fine" remarked Jinbei while smiling and looking at the trainees.
After a few seconds, all of them stood straight up and as a sign of determination planted a feet forward. Seeing this, Luffy let up his conqueror's Haki and used one of his trademarks goofy smile.
"Shishishi, it seems you are up for a fight ! Now come at me !'
Usopp was the first to act. He prepared some munitions and fired them around Luffy.
"Midori Boshi : Platanus Shuriken !"
Several plant based shurikens came at Luffy but he evaded them with ease, without moving more than 1 meter from his initial spot. He also caught a few shurikens and shoot them back at Usopp.
"Hey they're not supposed to be shot back !" said the sniper as he ran away, disrupting their formation.
Chopper in Heavy form and Franky came next from the sides and tried to sandwich him while he was distracted.
"Super Frapper Gong !"
They tried to give him a simultaneous punch from his two sides but Luffy jumped above them, caught their arms and threw them several meters away.
"What's next ? You'll need more than this to beat me !"
Then he felt a sudden chill and zapping sensation and saw Brook and Carrot dashing towards him at incredible speed.
"Kasuriuta : Fubuki Giri !"
"Eleclaw !"
Brook and Carrot crossed their trajectories so that their attack would intersect where Luffy is and design a X shape.
However just before the attack launched, Luffy moved out of the way and kicked Carrot to disrupt her balance. Being launched at full speed, Carrot was sent against Brook and both fell down without making contact with their attack.
"Woo ! You guys are really fast ! But your attacks are too obvious so I sensed them from far away !"
Following their attacks, Luffy sensed two hands grabbing his feet.
"Robin, huh ?" said the captain while grinning and looking towards the archeologist who was far away.
Robin with her strength could not hope to pin down her captain. However, she only needed to slow him down a little bit so that the next attack could land.
A huge attack was coming above him in the form of a dark club with spikes on it. Looking closely, Luffy could see that the club was very disproportionate as the end was bigger than himself, but the tip vas very tiny. He could trace back the origin of the attack from this and looked towards Nami.
"Awesome, I didn't know you could do that !"
"It's going to hurt a little even for you Luffy !"
Rather than trying to get out of the attack, Luffy simply shrugged Robin's hands by kicking his feet, overextending Robin's arms on the ground and making them disappear and went into a punching motion towards Nami's attack.
"Gomu gomu no : Pistol !"
With just an extended punch, Luffy punched back the club (which made a painful face because it was Zeus) and was totally unhurt from the attack.
Luffy then crossed his arms and looked towards all the trainees whose attempts at attacking him failed.
"What's wrong ? Is that all you've got ?" he lightly sneered at them knowing full well that was not the extent of their attacks.
"I knew he was strong, but his smug face is pissing me off !" said Nami still frustrated that her attacks did not land.
"Yeah we knew it was not going to be easy… but he did not even try to attack us once !" added Carrot, feeling unusually stressed because of the difficulty of the fight. "But he does not have a single opening !"
Chopper went back into his brain point and scanned their opponent.
"Brain point : Scope !"
The scan lasted a few seconds before the doctor announced.
"Carrot's right. While he is still injured like Zoro, at the moment I can't find a weak spot worth exploiting."
"It it does not exist, let's find one !" said Franky who was gearing up to go again.
With that said, the seven opponents charged towards Luffy again who did not move from his spot.
But this time, the seven straw hats were coordinating their attacks and formation.
"Franky Rocket Launcher !"
"Midori Boshi : Take Jave Rin !"
Franky launched multiples missiles towards Luffy while Usopp launched some plants towards Luffy's feet that grew like bamboos and attacked him.
What was most impressive was that the other Straw hats were navigating without taking any damage between the missiles and plants while actively approaching Luffy.
Or more than them navigating it was more like they managed to run while believing than Franky and Usopp would not hit them.
After reaching the mid range spot, Robin and Nami stopped while the close ranged fighters got near.
However, Nami held her staff behind Chopper and Carrot and unleashed an attack.
"Gust wind !"
A very powerful wind similar to a condensed tornardo blew behind them and accelerated their course towards Luffy.
"Kokutei Roseo !"
"Moon Rabbit !"
The two flew like arrows towards Luffy who ducked by jumping to the side.
However not expecting the speed of the attack, he was late noticing that Brook also jumped at him with a sword ice ready to strike.
"Swallow Banderole !"
Brook performed a vertical slash, but Luffy even if late was able to barely react by rolling to the side.
However before Brook could get to the ground, his body unnaturally twisted to the side where Luffy dodged and moved in midair just above Luffy's head.
"Huh ?!" gasped Luffy not expecting Brook's body to twist that way.
"Swallow bond en avant !"
Luffy could not dodge this strike so instead he was forced to counterattack as he kicked Brook away. However, even if the target was off mark, the sword tip managed to lightly cut his shoulder along with an ice mark.
After kicking Brook away he noticed some flowers petals disappearing behind his back, understanding the reason behind Brook's unnatural twisting in midair. He looked towards Robin who merely smiled at him, happy to have surprised her captain if ever slightly.
This only made the captain grin.
"You guys are awesome ! You really became strong hahaha ! I knew I could count on you !"
Not far from here Zoro, Sanji, Jinbei and Yamato commented the fight.
"They are really improving by the minute, they are already way better than when they were against me," commented Sanji.
"Even if they are seven against one, they did not make the mistake of underestimating him and even got a hit in, albeit a small one, impressive," continued the swordsman.
"If they had just rushed in like before, they could not have done that, I guess taking the two of you on managed to better they understanding and tactics during a fight," said Jinbei
"You guys really are awesome ! But the most impressive one was Robin ! Only the most skilled people are able to use their devil fruit with such versatility ! Even the timing in which she redirected Brook's attack was perfect, even Luffy was surprised !"
"Brook also did a good job," continued Zoro following her analysis. "He is probably the one with the most experience but the way he hides his presence and attacks at the last second could throw off even the strongest fighters."
"Oh, it seems Luffy is getting warmed up as well."
"You guys are awesome ! You really became strong hahaha! I have nothing to fear with you by my side !"
"… !"
After the unexpected compliment the straw hats began smiling and acting all smug.
"Don't expect us to lower our guard because you complimented us, you bastard !" said Chopper while dancing and smiling like a child on Christmas.
"Don't worry Luffy, if another emperor comes for you, I'll protect the crew and beat the hell out of them !" affirmed a certain sniper while doing pointing his thumb at himself.
"Now…"
After this brief interruption, Luffy took a more serious expression again and the straw hats feeling the tension, took up their weapons and fighting stance again.
"… It's my turn to attack !"
Luffy suddenly disappeared from their field of vision and appeared behind Usopp.
"Gomu gomu no : Jet Pistol !"
Unable to react to the lightning fast punch, Usopp did not try to evade the attack, instead he immediately fired some plants between Luffy and him to have them receive the hit. As the plants were destroyed after the attack, Luffy just attacked the defenseless sniper again.
"Gomu gomu no : Jet Pistol !"
"Good job Usopp ! Guard point !"
Chopper who was launched by Franky to reach Luffy's location endured the punch with his guard point. He absorbed most of the impact but Luffy noticing Chopper's intervention, changed the direction of his punch and directed it downward so that he could slam Chopper to the ground with great force.
Even with Chopper softening the impact, the ground was still shaken and destroyed below him, indicating how much force Chopper must have taken even if it was only a residual force.
While Usopp ran towards Brook, Luffy changed his target and focused his attention towards Robin and Carrot.
"Gomu gomu no : Jet Gatling gun !"
He delivered a series of punches towards Carrot and Robin who did not move from their position. Franky went in front of them and crossed his arms to protect the two of them while Robin used her hands to make wings for Carrot to escape the barrage of attacks from the sky.
"Comet Rabbit !"
Luffy noticed Carrot above him who tried to summersault kick him so he stopped his attack and jumped to intercept Carrot.
"Midori Boshi : Baku Bokkuri !"
Usopp launched a series of plants grenade towards Luffy that were meant to explode near him.
"Hahaha ! Now choose Luffy : it will be either my grenades or Carrot's hit !"
"Oh nice ! Here you can have them back !"
"Huh ?"
Before the explosion, Luffy kicked back the grenade towards Usopp and then launched a twisted punch towards Carrot.
"Gomu gomu no : Jet rifle !"
"Gasp !"
Carrot took the full brunt of the hit and was sent flying. As Luffy was still in mid air, he was enveloped in a Milky and soft cloud that swallowed him up.
"What's this !?" said the captain, half surprised but enjoying the soft sensation with a dumb face.
"Milky Ball ! Now Brook !"
"Phrases d'armes : Orchestra !"
Brook emerged from the smoke created by the grenades near Usopp and swung his swords towards Luffy in the form of a G-clef who was still enveloped in the fluffy cloud.
As he had no other way to attack or evade, Luffy coated his arms wuth Armament Haki and received the vertical slash that left some ice residue on his coated arms.
"Don't let up ! Attack him now !"
As soon as the others all ganged up on him, Luffy managed to get out of the way and kicked Brook away. Brook managed to parry the hit but was still sent backwards due to the sheer force of the impact.
"Radical Beam !"
"Midori Boshi : Impact Wolf !"
"Kokutei Roseo !"
"Moon Rabbit !"
As Franky, Usopp, Chopper and Carrot unleashed a series of attacks on Luffy, the captain decided in an instant to evade Franky's beam as it was the fastest.
As that put him in an awkward position, he received Carrot's attack but tanked it by coating his abdominal muscles with Armament Haki.
As the two greatest threats were dealt with, he just jumped on Chopper's head with the right timing to evade his attack and face Usopp's attack.
"Gomu gomu no : Bazooka !"
The captain destroyed the plant wolf which disappeared into thin air.
"Incredible… In a matter of a few seconds he managed to find a way out of this situation…" said Carrot as she was all the more amazed his the new emperor.
"Shishishi ! Not bad ! But still not enough !"
"Yohohoho, Luffy-san you might want to be careful of the slippery ground."
"Hm ? Ah !"
While Luffy was distracted with fending off the previous attacks, he noticed that the ground below him had turned into ice, due to Brook planting his sword on the ground and using his powers accompanied by a lot cold bubbles of air.
(Is it Nami ?)
Having noticed that the navigator helped cooling the ground to make it easier for Brook to ice it and make it even more slippery, the captain tried his best to land on a good position but he still slipped.
"Zeus !"
Without warning, Nami unleashed an horizontal strike with Zeus in the form of a bat with spikes.
Having trouble to adjust his footing, Luffy jumped again to evade the blow but then he saw a giant hand in the form of a palm in front of him.
"Mil fleur : Spank !"
A giant hand which seemed slightly coated in Armament Haki, rushed towards him.
In mid air and in an awkward position, Luffy could have decided to strike back but after seeing the other Straw hats ready to attack when he will let his guard down, he decided to tank the attack by coating his own arms in Armament and received the attack which made him crash on the ground but but prepared himself to retaliate.
As soon as he crashed on the ground, he quickly got up, blew into his thumb and turned his arm giant and coated it in Haki again.
"Gomu gomu no : Elephant gun !"
The giant arm strikes towards where Franky, Usopp, Brook, Carrot and Chopper were which in face of the destructive attack had no choice but to break the formation and fall back, letting time for Luffy to recover.
"This is working ! Even if he is fending our attacks, we forced him on the defensive !" yelled Nami to her teammates. "Don't let up now !"
"They are holding their ground ! This crew is amazing !" commented Yamato.
"Indeed, despite the huge difference in skills and power, their strategy, formation and teamwork are all impressive," added Jinbei.
"Robin impressed me during our fight, but Brook is really doing a great job. I could learn a thing or two from him," said Zoro impressed by the fellow swordsman.
"You noticed too huh ? He managed to conceal his intent to attack until the last second and always strike at the right time. But he is even able support the others with his ice but never do too much so as not to put himself or the others are risks. I tend to forget that he is much more experienced than us," finished Sanji.
"But Nami is also impressive ! She is doing a fine job supporting everyone as her thunder techniques don't affect Luffy," said Jinbei noticing the work of the navigator.
Suddenly as the four were talking, an immense pressure filled the air. Zoro, Sanji and Jinbei instinctively took a fighting stance while Yamato smiled nervously while watching the source of this power.
"Oh that's right, this must be your first time seeing him get serious after the fight with Kaido right ?" said Yamato looking at her three crewmates.
"What the hell !? How much stronger did he grow ?!"
"So this is the power of an emperor… Heh what a monster !"
"So this is how far his fight with Kaido has taken him…"
The four crewmates were watching silently as Straw Hat Luffy began his counter attack.
"What the hell !? I almost feel like suffocating… This is much more intense than earlier !" yelled Usopp as he strengthened his legs just to avoid flinching out.
"He is getting SUPER serious now, be careful guys !"
Luffy then took a step and smiled at them.
"Now you guys, let's see if you can take this !"
Once again, Luffy upped his speed which almost made it seem like he had disappeared from their eyes.
However, the boost of confidence from their earlier tactics allowed them to not lose focus and they managed to somewhat react in time.
Usopp knew he would be a target so he quickly went behind Franky while both of them shot their munitions.
"Midori Boshi : Shuriken !"
"Franky Rocket Launcher !"
Having sensed the plants shurikens and missiles, Luffy went straight towards them confident he would be able to evade them.
However, he predicted something else coming and grinned thinking of another measure.
While running towards them, he caught with his bare hands two of the missiles Franky launched and threw one towards the ground and one above him.
Then all of a sudden, hands alongside flower petals spurted on the ground in anticipation to catch Luffy's feet. However, as soon as they appeared they only met the missile that exploded in front of them.
"… !"
Robin's hands disappeared and she let out a grunt in pain having received the full brunt of the missile.
In the same way, the missile above hit an incoming Zeus in the form of a spiky hammer trying to deal a hit from above as Luffy should have been distracted by the attacks from Usopp and Franky and ultimately Robin's hands.
"Ouch !"
Zeus cried out in pain as he took his original form again, his attack being stopped.
"What the hell !? He did not merely sensed the attack, he literally used them !" yelled Usopp.
"That's not all… He redirected my missiles and launched them before Robin and Nami used their attacks. As if he knew where the hands and hammer would appear. That's on another SUPER level of sensing."
Having fenced off all the attacks Luffy appeared in front of them.
"Yeah that's Observation Haki ! If you develop it further, you can even see the future that way !"
Franky then tried to punch him to get out of the way.
"Strong right !"
However instead of counterattacking, Luffy just prepared his coated arm and uppercut Franky's own arm from under which made him shout in pain and stop his own attack !
" Argh … !"
Luffy then turned into a punching stance and punch Franky's stomach.
Franky whose body was made of steel and was one of the most durable member of the crew, fell down after the attack.
"What the hell ?... I super sensed the attack all the way to my insides…"
"This is an improvement of Armament Haki ! This is what the samurai call Ryou where you diffuse your energy. It can be used as a defensive or offensive means and can let you attack without making contact ! You can let the flow of Haki into the body's target or the object you want to destroy and you can damage it from the inside ! Cool, isn't it ?"
"Hehe, you are a SUPER monster… !"
As the cyborg fell down, the sniper was left alone with Luffy who merely smiled.
(Don't panic, don't panic ! I need to regroup with someone, if I can just…)
"Midori Boshi : Rafflesia !"
A green and thick smokescreen covered the area where Luffy and Usopp were and Usopp used this opportunity to try and make his escape.
However, Luffy kicked him with just enough force to make him fly and crawl on the ground, on the verge of being knocked out.
"Man, you tried to keep your calm but you were still panicking once Franky was down and that made it even easier for me to sense you. If you were more calm, you could have sensed me coming and maybe counter attack."
"It's not like it would have worked anyway…"
"That's right shishishi ! But you could have tried ! Now…"
He turned his attention towards the rest of the crew. Because they were scared of how quickly he took down Franky and Usopp and even used their own attacks against them, they changed formation and regrouped together.
"Show me what you can do next !"
He began running towards the group and the first to react was Carrot who jumped straight at him.
Luffy could also see that Brook was waiting in the shadows to follow just after Carrot's attack.
He thus came to a halt and prepared for the incoming attacks.
He prepared his coated arms and when Carrot arrived in front of him he punched the air in front of her and released an invisible aura that pushed her back and made her fall because of her earlier momentum.
Then when Brook arrived, he gave a kick in the air just in front of him. Even if the attack did not make direct contact, the energy wave was enough to push Brook back.
"What was that !?" said Nami still not understanding. "He did not even touch them !"
"Shishishi, pretty cool right ? This is also an improvement of Armament Haki ! You saw what I did to Franky right ? This is actually easier. Instead of using your energy onto a target, you can just let it flow out in the air like this and you get an invisible armor !"
"Incredible…"
As Brook and Carrot were downed and staggered, they got up quickly and tried to attack the captain.
"Phrases d'armes : Orchestra !"
"Comet Rabbit!"
As they both jumped to get the better of Luffy, he picked up a wood baton from the ground and imbued it with Haki. He then jumped and fended Brook's attack with his baton and pushed him away to do the same thing with Carrot.
After that, he waited until his feet touch the ground to quickly jump at them and hit them to the side with his baton with two powerful hits.
"… !"
From the sheer strength of the strike, Carrot and Brook were pushed away. Especially Brook who felt pain in the very inside of their bones. As they were gasping on the ground, they battled to stay conscious.
"If you two learn to imbue your Haki into your weapons, you could become very powerful ! You could probably ask Zoro or Yamato about that part… and I am still not very used to project my aura through things but it seems that works too shishishi !"
As Zoro and the others watched the fight enfold, he was impressed with the mastery of the Armament Haki by his captain.
"Oh I did not know that you could do his thing even with weapons. Can you do it Yamato ?"
"No I can't do this… I've seen my father do it but this is trickier than I thought so I still did not master it… but I've also seen Luffy destroy my handcuffs that way !
"Oh, this is just like Rayleigh did on Sabaody. So this is what Armament Haki on the next level looks like huh ?" said Sanji understanding the principles behind the attack.
"Luffy probably understood this from his training with Rayleigh or by observing the samurai in Wano and figured this was the best way to harm Kaido. His instincts are as sharp as ever," complimented Jinbei.
Now they watched back the fight where only Nami, Robin and Chopper remained.
Now Luffy took a glance towards Nami.
"This is also true for you Nami !"
"Huh ? What do you mean ?"
"Your whole battle style relies on your clima tact. Either make sure you never lose it or be able to cope without it. It's not like Zeus can control the staff without you right ?"
"Well yeah but that's why..."
As she said that, she swung her Clima Tact down as Zeus came out of it and tried to hurt Luffy in the form of a spiked hammer.
"… I'll never let anyone near me before the fight is over !"
Luffy sensing this evaded the attack and closed the distance between Nami and him.
Just as he was about to strike, what appeared to be Nami became fuzzy and disappeared like a mirage.
"Mirage Tempo ! And from there…"
On a closer look, Zeus strike faded away, having been an illusion.
(Now from there I can attack without him noticing…)
But as she prepared the same type of strike as the illusion did before, Luffy's hand stretched to what appeared to be empty air.
His hand then caught a physical form as the mirage dissipated and it was revealed that Luffy's hand caught Nami's Clima Tact.
Nami was speechless but not surprised, even if she thought she could fool her captain like this.
"Is this your whole seeing the future thing that allowed you to sense me ? I already fooled people with Observation Haki with my illusions before."
"Hum yes there is that but… maybe it is because Rayleigh said I was more sensitive to sensing people's emotions than other people but when you attack, you let your feelings burst out. That's not bad but if you try to conceal your presence, it makes you stand out I guess. Oh and also, Zeus might be great but I can also sense his presence and emotions so it makes it even easier to detect you."
"I see… I guess even an idiot like you can do some thinking eh ?" smirked Nami knowing that she had no way out. "I give up, I'm out of plans."
"Shishishi, you became stronger Nami !"
"Of course, I'm the best after all !" she answered with a satisfied smile and falling on the ground releasing the tension of the fight.
"Now then, it's just you guys left huh ?"
He looked towards Robin and Chopper who were walking towards him.
"Yeah it's only the two of us left… no more tricks or strategy, we'll just come straight to you !" said Chopper while holding a Rumble ball.
"it's not bad once in a while to let your feelings talk and go all out," added Robin while smiling and crossing her arms.
"Nice… give me your best shot guys !"
As Chopper ate his rumble ball, he transformed into his Monster Point form and Robin used her powers to create a gigantic version of herself… or rather an unusual black version of herself with bat-like wings, shaded skin, fangs, horns and a very creepy smile almost reminiscing of a devil.
This did not scare Luffy the slightest, on the contrary.
"Then I'll show you guys how to use Haki and your Devil Fruit together !"
As Luffy bit on his arm, he said :
"Gear Fourth ! Bound Man"
Luffy's body grew and became a lot buffer and disproportionate as it became clouded in Armament Haki.
Luffy waited, arms crossed while jumping in place as this form did not have feet, for the two monsters in front of him to take action.
Robin acted first and sprouted multiple giant black arms coming towards Luffy which he evaded by flying into the air.
However Robin's aim was actually to make Luffy fly as she already prepared multiple additional arms to squash him like a fly.
However, as Luffy prepared to take on the arms, instead of squashing him, one of them came at an earlier timing and grabbed hold of him.
"I see, nice plan you got there !" said the captain while being hold.
The following arms then came to support the one that was grabbing hold. Even with all these, Robin knew she could not hold him for more than a few seconds. But it was just enough time for…
"Kokutei : Palme !"
Chopper's open palm came at full speed towards Luffy as Robin deactivated her powers, leaving him open.
As Chopper's attack reached the target and enveloped Luffy, the hand came to a stop despite his earlier momentum.
"What !?"
On Closer Inspection, Chopper's palm did strike Luffy but his position would not budge despite his palm pushing onto his body in the air.
"He's hard… but also rubbery !? And despite him being in the air with no footing I can't budge him off ?"
"Shishishi… Doesn't work !"
Luffy's pushed side retracted like normal as he ejected Chopper's palm with great force making the giant budge a little.
"This is my turn now !"
Luffy flew really fast towards Chopper and then prepared his arm.
"Gomu gomu no : Kong gun !"
Luffy compressed his right arm like a spring then releases the accumulated force into a punch that made the monster fly away and fall down.
"Incredible…"
Now without transition, Luffy then bit on his forearm again and seemed to grew thinner, especially on the torso side and looked much more toned than before.
"Gear Fourth : Snake man !"
As Luffy finished transforming into his new form, he threw a punch into thin air quickly.
"What is he… ?"
Robin's eyes did not understand his action as his arm was very fast and almost invisible to the eye however…
"Gomu gomu no : Jet Culverin !"
Without understanding how, Robin's demonio form was struck down by a punch of Luffy. She did not even understand when and how it punched her as it was too fast.
As the form disappeared in flower petals, Robin weakened by the blow took a knee and looked at the arm that just struck her down.
"It changes direction in mid air !?"
Luffy then took on his normal form again and approached her.
"That's right ! And it also accelerates even while changing directions, pretty cool right ?"
"Even if you know about it, this rhythm and timing will thrown off anyone… this is my loss, Luffy."
"Shishishi, you weren't half bad !"
"NOW, IT'S NOT OVER YET LUFFY !"
"What the… WOUAAAAAH !"
Luffy with stars in his eyes could see Franky… or rather a gigantic robot version of Franky.
"You might have beaten us all, but this Franky Shogun will be able to deal some damage !"
Inside Franky Shogun were Franky, Usopp, and Chopper who had slipped out after being beaten by Luffy to join his peers.
Inside the robot, Franky held the main controller while Usopp seemed to hold controllers and remotes for the firepower. Chopper having reverted to his hybrid form seemed to have just join for the fun of it.
"I only gave you first aids so if the robot is destroyed, there is no way we can fight back remember !"
"Yeah I'm not going to try another round with this monster. I just want to stuff an attack whatever the means !"
"Let's SUPER do this !"
Looking outside was Luffy with stars in his eyes. But having understood their intentions, he then smiled and relaxed his body.
"Yosh, for your determination I'll show you a super strong attack !"
After inhaling and exhaling once, Luffy took a more serious gaze and the aura around him changed completely. Black lightning were generated all over giving the seemingly innocent boy, a very powerful presence.
"Let's go !"
Luffy coated his arm in Armament Haki but black lightning were emitted around his fist then jumped towards the robot.
They could tell that the next strike would be devastating.
"Gomu gomu no : Pistol !"
Luffy then extended his arm and punched the robot.
Without even making contact, the robot did not even crack as he was destroyed in a single hit both from the outside and the inside as he was sent flying. The arms and legs were tore apart from what was left of the body and even the limbs were in a disastrous state.
The damage was such that the hit and shockwave hit the three persons inside who received a part of the damage and were knocked out.
Luffy then jumped on top of the robot and gently slapped Franky, Chopper and Usopp to wake them up.
"Oi, oi wake up ! Hummm that's strange I made sure to hold back so you would still be barely conscious."
Then as if the magic words were spoken, the three reacted instantly.
"HOW IS THAT HOLDING BACK YOU BASTARD ?!"
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TREAT THE INJURIES IF YOU BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF US LIKE THIS, YOU BASTARD ?"
"MY SUUUPER FRANKY SHOGUN ! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO REPAIR ?!"
As the three voiced their complaints, Luffy laughed.
"Hahahaha ! I guess you've still got energy to spare ! Then it's all fine ! Let's go eat a bite !"
"NO IT'S NOT !"
As Luffy and the trainees made their way back, Zoro and the others were commenting on what just happened.
"So this is the level that he reached huh ? He is really becoming more and more of a monster," said Sanji while contemplating the strength of his captain.
"I can do the thing he does with the conqueror's haki but only thanks to Enma… and I am nowhere near his level. What insane attack power… Heh so this is what it takes to be an Emperor of the sea," said Zoro while smirking. "Yamato can you do the thing he did ?"
"You mean the infusion of Conqueror's Haki ? I can do it, yes but nowhere near the level of Luffy ! He has just learnt how to use it and yet his mastery already is in the same league as my father, he really is incredible !"
"I did not know that conqueror's Haki could be used in such a way… Nothing too amazing for the future king of pirates, hahaha !"
As they finished commenting, Luffy and the others made their way back as they were all pretty much beat up.
"Yosh Sanji I'm hungry !"
"You bastard, you hurt Nami-san, Robin-chan and Carrot-chan and the first thing you think about is food ?!"
"But I did hold back !"
"Tch… I will put vegetables in your sandwich so eat it all you bastard !"
"Bleh !"
The others were too tired to comment but all thought the same thing.
(So he agreed on the holding back part ?!)
"Everyone, I'll treat all your injuries so stay in place while Sanji brings the food !"
As Chopper was treating the injuries of everyone, Yamato and Jinbei came towards Luffy.
"Luffy, you were incredible !"
"Indeed, an impressive display of skills. You also turned this into something very educational for them."
"Shishishi, it was fun too ! They really became strong !"
"Luffyyyyyyy !"
As they turned towards the voice, they could see a running Carrot jumping on Luffy.
"You were mega super strong ! You were almost untouchable earlier ! Like a super hero !"
"You were amazing too Carrot ! You became way stronger since our last fight shishishi !"
"Thanks, Garuchu !"
"Ouch Carrot, there is plenty to eat so you don't need to chew my ear !"
As Luffy tried to get the mink off him, Yamato joined and jumped on him too making the three of them fall on the ground.
"Ace was truly right about you ! You became the Hero of the Wano Country ! You should be more proud of yourself."
"Hahahaha ! For someone who does not want to be a hero, you sure saved a lot of countries and people Luffy !"
"Heh ? What's wrong with becoming a hero ?"
"Well, heroes have to be nice and share all their meat right ? I want all the meat to myself !" answered the captain having giving up on throwing the two women away from him.
"You said that back then at the Fishman Island but I still don't understand your logic…"
"But well… it's not like I wanted to become a hero or anything but… Seeing Tama, Momo and all the people in Want Country starved and robbed of their life, freedom and joy just because some people decided it, I could not stand it. So I truly wanted to fight for them and free them by kicking Kaido's but. And seeing how the country turned out, I am truly happy shishishi !"
Yamato and Carrot looked at the smiling captain, inspired. This man was driven by his ideals and empathy towards people. He said that he did not want to become a hero but for most people he might have been the greatest hero ever.
Carrot then reminisced Pedro's words.
Luffy and the others might be the ones we and the Kozuki clan have been waiting for the past several hundred years. The ones that will bring a new dawn on this world !
"Luffy ! I decided ! I want to become someone Pedro will be proud of. I want to become a boss like you !"
"Oh, I'll wait for you then !"
As Carrot began her chewing again, Luffy looked towards Yamato who seemed to be thinking.
"What's wrong Yamato ?"
"Huh ? Oh, no I was just thinking about what you said. I am truly thankful to you because not only you freed the people of Wano but my life was also given back thanks to you."
"You were also a great help out there ! Now eat, Sanji's cooking is delicious ! And also…"
He took a rice ball and handed it over to her.
"… The secret to eating delicious food is to eat it with everyone, partying or just having fun like this ! Try it, it's delicious."
As Yamato took the rice ball some images from the past flashed back through her mind.
I'm hungry…
As she took a bit of the rice, tears began to fall down as she gulped down on the entire thing.
"Yeah, you're right, this is delicious !"
"Isn't it ? We've got plenty shishishishi ! I'll take some for you."
Luffy then stretched his arm towards where the group was and took some food while disturbing the others who were still eating and recuperating.
"Hey damn it Luffy, that was my food !"
"Oi Luffy don't stretch your arm like that you spilled the sauce all over me !"
"Luffy, if you steal my mikan I will beat your ass !"
As the captain disturbed the whole crew with his antics they all came towards him because he disturbed them or just because of the agitation. Jinbei watched the scene and closed his eyes reminiscing about some events.
I'm no pirate king ! I'm… weak !
As he opened his eyes, the light of the sun highlighted the scene in front of him of a captain and his whole crew arguing and laughing.
(I'm really glad Luffy. You became really strong.)
"Hey come Jinbei ! I picked some food for you too !"
"Yeah, I'm coming !"
"Hey Luffy, bastard this was my meat I was reserving for after Chopper treated me !"
"Shishishi, sorry guys ! Now let's all eat together !"
"Now the training is over right ? I can't wait to take a bath after all that !"
"Heh ? But it's not over yet."
"What ?"
"I just stopped to let you get first aids and because I wanted a snack but the real training is just coming ?"
"What ?"
"I wanted to eat more but Sanji is being a stingy so we might as well get on with it !"
"What !?"
Luffy then took a breath, then closed his eyes. It was subtle but a distinctive sound seemed to resonate. His heartbeats seemed to beat louder to form a song.
Then…
"I feel it, I feel it, I feel it ! It's getting fun !"
A surge of Haki even stronger than before sent a blast of wind akin to a tornardo that almost blew up everyone near him.
Even the trainees who began to relax due to being treated put themselves on their guard again. Even Zoro, Sanji, Jinbei and Yamato watched in awe at the sheer display of power and began taking their weapons instinctively before…
"What the hell is this !?"
"This is it ! This is the form he took on when he beat my father !"
A Luffy with white hair and white clothes was in front of them. But the aura he was giving off was very disconcerting. While he looked like an idiot cartoon character who was laughing all the time, he seemed even more formidable than before. Even more so than Zoro and the others were smiling but slightly shaking.
"Let's have fun guys ! Gomu gomu no : Fusen !
All of a sudden, Luffy inhaled a lot of air and grew absurdly in size… or more specifically his stomach grew absurdly in size. Then he twisted his body and yelled.
"Gomu gomu no : Tornado !
Luffy then blew all the air he had in his stomach but the force added to the centrifugal force from the twisting was so absurd that a tornado was created… and made his way towards the trainees.
"EHHHHH !?"
"Now guys, let's begin this survival game ! You just need to survive for as long as you can while I chase you !"
"THIS IS JUST YOU BULLYING US !"
"Hahahahaha ! I'm coming !"
"STOP, YOU FREAKING IDIOT !"
And just like that, the trainees run towards the forest while a laughing idiot pursued them.
That's it for this chapter ! As you might have guessed Luffy vs training is not over and now we made a full loop with the beginning of Chapter 1. I really wanted Luffy to mess around with his gear 5 but it would have been too overkill for a serious training so that's why I divided in two parts !
Next part will be more centered about humor and wholesome moments, hope you'll like it !