Pirates: Martial Arts Masters on the Straw Hat Ship

"You...you bastard..."

Buggy, his hand trembling, pointed at Luffy as if he'd seen a ghost: "Aren't you a rubber man?! How can rubber possibly withstand a sword's strike?!"

Luffy twisted his neck, making a cracking sound, and with a flurry of wood chips flying, he easily broke free from the wooden shackles that he had already cracked with his monstrous strength.

Luffy stood up, stretched his wrists, and wore a proud expression of accomplishment.

"Idiot! Rubber is obviously afraid of knives!"

"But I'm a rubber man with 'copper skin and iron bones'!!"

"A body of steel? Are you kidding me?!"

Bucky was furious; he couldn't accept that the kid he had once teased had become so powerful.

He threw away the broken sword, separated his hands, each gripping a dagger, and used the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit to launch them at Luffy!

"Go to hell!!"

Luffy didn't even dodge Buggy's attack.

Armament Haki—

Luffy's right fist instantly hardened like iron. Even though it hadn't completely turned black yet, the sheer power it exuded was already suffocating.

"--pistol!!!"

"Bang!!!"

A simple, brutal, and unreasonable punch.

Luffy's fist ignored Buggy's fancy daggers and slammed directly into Buggy's proud red nose.

"Waaaaaahh ...

Bucky let out a scream.

This time, he didn't even have time to split his body to dissipate the force.

The "power" and "dominance" contained in that punch instantly pierced through his defense.

Bucky was sent flying backwards from the towering execution platform like a baseball hit with a home run, tracing a tragic parabola in the air.

"Boom!"

Pakistan crashed heavily onto the edge of the fountain in the center of the square, creating a large crater several meters in diameter in the hard stone pavement, sending debris flying and dust billowing up.

This former crew member of the Pirate King, now the clown captain, rolled his eyes, foamed at the mouth, and instantly lost consciousness.

Not far from the square, atop a towering clock tower.

A silver-haired man wearing a coat of justice and with two cigars in his mouth was looking down at everything happening in the square.

The swirling smoke obscured most of his face, but it couldn't hide his sharp, hawk-like eyes.

Navy Headquarters Captain, "White Hunter" Smoker.

He witnessed Luffy snap his sword in two with his neck and then instantly kill Buggy with a single punch.

"That straw hat kid..."

Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke, his brows furrowed tightly, his expression more serious than ever before: "It's not just about being a Devil Fruit user."

As a naval elite who has guarded Loguetown for many years, Smoker has seen countless newcomers set sail from here.

But no one had ever given him this sense of danger.

"As expected of a tough character who got a bounty of 50 million Berries on his first try... Not only is his body impervious to blades and bullets, but his strength is also astonishing."

Smoker's gaze shifted, sweeping over the other two who were clearing out the henchmen in the square as if they were cutting melons and vegetables.

Zoro, wielding three swords and exuding a sinister aura.

Sanji's kicking skills are dazzling and every move is deadly.

Finally, his gaze settled on the edge of the square.

There stood a black-haired man holding a long black stick and carrying a bundle on his back.

The man didn't make a move; he just watched quietly. But the calm and composed aura emanating from him made Smoker instinctively feel a sense of apprehension.

"This pirate crew... is no ordinary one."

Smoker stubbed out his cigar and slowly pulled out the jigs from behind his back.

His body began to elementalize, turning into a wisp of white smoke, which looked particularly eerie on this gloomy, rainy day.

"It seems that we need to be careful not only about Straw Hat Luffy."

Smoker coldly gave the order to the naval soldiers behind him:

"Notify all personnel to surround the port! Block all sea routes!"

"It's our turn to step in."

As Smoker finished speaking, a thunderclap boomed in the sky, and a torrential downpour began.

"We must not let the Straw Hat crew enter the Grand Line! In the name of 'justice'!"

......

Central Square in Rogge Town.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, and muffled thunder rumbled from the depths of the thick clouds.

Fine rain began to fall, pattering on the ancient bluestone pavement and splashing up tiny droplets.

"Hehehehe—!!"

Luffy leaped off the towering execution platform, his red vest fluttering in the wind.

He landed steadily on the ground, looked at the Buggy Pirates members lying all over the place around him, adjusted his straw hat, and let out a wild, unrestrained laugh:

"How could I die so easily?! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"

The laughter pierced through the rain, filled with mockery of fate and absolute confidence in the future.

"Really..."

Ronan, carrying the heavy, black ebony staff, walked up to Luffy with an annoyed look: "You rascal, you always manage to cause a huge commotion."

"That scared me to death!!"

Nami rushed over, grabbed Luffy's cheeks and pulled them apart, tears still wet on her face.

"For a split second just now, I really thought your head was going to fall off! That red-nosed guy really did chop it off!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Usopp's legs were still weak, and he clung to Ronan's arm tightly. "My heart is about to stop!"

"snort."

Zoro sheathed his sword, a satisfied smile curving his lips as he looked at the faint white mark on Luffy's neck.

"Why worry about nothing? This guy has not only mastered the rudiments of Armament Haki, but he has also trained the 'Thirteen Bodyguards' to the point of having skin and bones of iron."

"How could that kind of knife possibly cut him?"

"That's right."

Sanji straightened his tie, exhaled a smoke ring, and his eyes radiated arrogance.

"We're no longer the rookies we were when we first set sail. Ordinary sword strikes are like tickling us."

The confidence of the crowd is not unfounded.

These past few weeks of grueling training have far surpassed the physical strength of ordinary people.

Ronan looked at his spirited companions, his gaze finally settling on Usopp, who was still trembling, and a kind smile appeared on his face:

"Hey, Usopp, did you see that?"

Ronan pointed to Luffy's neck, which didn't even have a knife mark: "This is the result of training. You can never have too many life-saving skills."

"So, what's wrong?" Usopp had a bad feeling.

"I bought a lot of complementary medicinal herbs at the pharmacy this time."

Ronan patted the bulging medicine bag behind him, his tone so gentle it was chilling:

"Starting tonight, we'll begin the medicinal baths. You'd better work hard; even if you're pushed to the limit, a quick throw in the tub will make you recover!"

"No!!!"

Usopp's screams echoed across the square: "I'm going to die! I'm definitely going to die!"

Just as the atmosphere was filled with "joy," a series of neat, heavy, and powerful footsteps came from all directions of the square.