One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

"Rubber! Rubber! Storm!"

Hundreds of powerful punches, enough to make Rob Lucci cough up blood, landed squarely on Rorschach.

Blood was spilling from Luffy's mouth, his skin was cracking, and the bones in his arm were making cracking sounds as if they were about to break under the strain.

His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Luo Xia, who remained unscathed despite his relentless barrage of attacks.

That enormous and majestic body was like a city wall blocking his way, or a mountain.

Despite his own desperate attempts to move the tree, the other party remained completely unmoved.

Luffy was in despair.

How can I defeat such a formidable opponent?

Luffy roared, his body swelled and enlarged, becoming like a giant, and he slammed into Rorschach.

He wanted to defeat his enemy with the strongest moves he currently possessed, just as he had defeated Rob Lucci.

Luffy knew that this was almost impossible.

However, if he fails to do so, he will lose his companions.

Therefore, for the sake of his friends, and to continue his adventures, to realize his dream of becoming the Pirate King, he must defeat his enemies no matter how powerful they are!

"Rubber rubber! Third gear! Jet rocket launcher!"

"boom!"

The air exploded, and Luffy's enormous fist landed on Rorschach's face, causing his long silver hair to flutter in the wind.

Watching Luffy, who had given his all in a single attack, shrink rapidly like a deflated balloon, turning back into a human and falling to the top of the tower, Rorschach scratched his nose, which was itchy from Luffy's punches.

"I never imagined I'd actually become the main villain in this adventure story. Sigh."

Rorschach sighed and, under Luffy's despairing gaze, crashed down, landing in front of Nami, Usopp, and the others.

Its towering, mountain-like body blocked the perpetual midnight sun above Enies Lobby, casting large shadows on Nami, Usopp, Franky, and Robin.

Nami, Usopp, and the others froze, looking up at Rorschach who was so close to them.

Only when they were so close did they truly realize the terrifying pressure they would experience when facing Rorschach, this naval monster, up close.

His body, forged from steel and tempered through countless trials, was covered with countless scales that reflected the sunlight, and thick tendons bulged high, like giant pythons coiled together.

Its thick, curved hooves gripped the ground, as if they were rooted to the spot and could not be moved.

Now, not to mention the already timid Nami, Usopp, and Chopper.

Franky and Robin, who had only met Rorschach once, were completely overwhelmed by this terrifying pressure and unable to move.

"Monsters! Get away from them!"

Sanji roared and charged forward, ignoring the open wounds on his body, and kicked Rorschach.

Luo Xia looked at Nami and the others, who had stopped thinking due to excessive fear, and stroked his chin.

"Didn't I realize that I'm so scary in other people's eyes?"

The hand that Sanji kicked at was easily caught by his waist, as if he were grabbing a chick, with a palm as big as the tabletop.

"Monster! Let me go!"

Sanji struggled desperately, but it was no use.

Rorschach's large hand was like a welded iron pillar; no matter how much he hammered or kicked it, it showed no sign of loosening.

On the distant ice, Issho, who was fighting Aokiji, suddenly turned around and looked this way. He was about to slash with his staff sword, but it was blocked by the ice storm shot by Aokiji.

"Give me a little face, Mr. Issho. I am, after all, a naval admiral."

Aokiji also glanced deeply in the direction of Rorschach, but ultimately said nothing, delaying him with a smile, thus preventing him from rushing back to rescue Luffy and the others.

"Sanji..."

Lying atop the tower, Luffy watched everything through the massive hole, wanting to save Sanji, but he was already exhausted and could barely make a sound.

He could only watch helplessly as Sanji was grabbed and lifted up by Rorschach's large hand.

"Monster... Monster! Let Sanji go!"

Usopp mustered his courage with great difficulty, and with trembling hands, he took out gunpowder from his body and fired it wildly at Rorschach.

However, apart from the smoke and flames, Rorschach was unharmed.

Robin used her Flower Flower Fruit power to grow many arms on Rorschach's body, trying to pry open Rorschach's fingers that were gripping Sanji.

But it was completely useless.

"Rorschach! Lieutenant General Rorschach! It's me, Franky! Please don't hurt the Straw Hat Pirates! They're really not bad people."

Franky opened his arms and urged loudly.

Luo Xia ignored the people at his feet, only grabbing the dejected Sanji and looking at Luffy, whose eye was cracked.

"Now, Straw Hat Luffy, I want to know, if you had to choose between your dream of becoming the Pirate King and the lives of your crewmates, and you could only choose one, what would you choose?"

Chapter 587 Dreams or Partners: Which to Choose?

despair!

This is the most powerless and desperate situation Luffy has experienced since setting sail from Windmill Village.

His body was overloaded, and he couldn't even move a finger. He could only watch helplessly as Sanji was grabbed and held in the hands of the demon-like Rorschach.

The companions tried frantically to stop it, but they were completely helpless against the monster.

The attack that I unleashed by pushing my own limits was completely absorbed by the opponent without them even blinking, leaving me unscathed!

Such an opponent, such an enemy, is more than ten times stronger than Gecko Moria or Rob Lucci.

"Damn it! Let go of Sanji! Let him go!"

Luffy's eyes widened in fury, and a wild, mournful roar escaped his throat.

A chilling aura suddenly erupted from the blood-soaked, thin body, like a whirlwind sweeping across the shattered Tower of Justice.

Rorschach raised an eyebrow, looking at Chopper, Usopp, and Nami, whose eyes rolled back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed at his feet.

"Not bad, he awakened Conqueror's Haki so early. No wonder he's Garp's grandson."

As expected, Conqueror's Haki is not entirely a matter of personal talent or aptitude.

The accumulation and outburst of emotions is often the main reason for the awakening of Conqueror's Haki.

In this world, the talents of future generations are enhanced by the bloodline of powerful beings.

In other words, the offspring of the strong often grow up to be strong as well.

The offspring of the weak are often the weak themselves.

The strong always get stronger, and the weak never have a chance to rise up. This is the solidification of social classes, and it is also the main reason why ordinary people in this world have no chance to rise up and become masters of their own destiny.

After a slight surprise at Luffy's unexpected awakening of Conqueror's Haki, Rorschach returned to the main topic.

He waved Sanji, which he was holding, at Luffy again and said loudly, "Luffy, answer my question from earlier."

"If I asked you to choose between your dream of becoming the Pirate King and the lives of your crewmates, what would you choose?"

"Damn it! What do you want? Why are you making things difficult for Luffy like this? Come at me if you have a problem with that!"

Sanji glared at Rorschach and roared.

Rorschach ignored him and simply watched Luffy calmly.

Luffy's chapped lips moved, and he uttered each word with difficulty, his voice hoarse and strained.

"Comrade! As long as you can release Sanji and not hurt my crewmate, I can give up my dream, give up becoming the Pirate King."

His voice trembled, but was unusually firm. Luo Xia didn't even see him consider his question for a single second.

His answer was entirely subconscious, a thought that came from the bottom of his heart.

"Luffy!"

Sanji's struggling movements stopped, and large tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Luffy, I'm incompetent, I'm sorry."

"Straw Hat Boy~, your answer really moved me, waaaaah. To actually give up the dream you've pursued all your life for your friends, you've completely changed my impression of pirates, waaaaah, damn it, I can't stop the tears from flowing."

Franky broke down and stood at Rorschach's feet, wailing loudly.

Robin, who was still conscious, suddenly lost all the panic, fear, and confusion in her eyes after hearing Luffy's answer.

She suddenly calmed down and stopped attacking Rorschach. She simply knelt down and held the unconscious Nami and Chopper in her arms, quietly watching Luffy and the crew that Dragon had chosen for her.

The words Saul shouted to Robin before he was frozen by Aokiji on that fiery night more than ten years ago appeared with uncanny clarity in Robin's mind.

"Although you are alone now, you must believe that the sea is boundless, and one day companions will appear to protect you. No one born into this world is ever truly alone. So, don't look back. When you are in pain, face it with a smile, just as I taught you. In some sea, there are companions waiting for you. Go find them!"

Looking at his companions around him, Robin smiled, a very happy smile.

“Sauro, I think I’ve found it.”

Rorschach remained silent for a moment, then looked at Luffy again.

"Is this your answer, Straw Hat Luffy?"

"Yes, I'm willing to... give up..."

Before Luffy could finish speaking his resolute words, a low, angry voice, tinged with a hint of irritation, came from the ice beneath the Tower of Justice.

“To force someone to give up their lifelong dream in such a despicable way is not a fair and honorable thing to do.”

With a smile and a slash, a misty purple gravity field blasted towards Aokiji.

In an instant, an unparalleled force distorted the ice surface within a radius of several kilometers behind Aokiji in a fan shape.

Space and atmosphere seemed to shatter and deform under Yixiao's single strike. Aokiji sighed and his body exploded into a sky full of icy mist.

Immediately afterwards, Yixiao sheathed his sword, gripped the hilt of the staff sword with his right hand, and swung it towards the sky above his head with lightning speed.

"That's why my least favorite opponents are Golden Lion and people like you. Your map-wide attacks are the most troublesome."

Luo Xia looked up and saw the purple halos that erupted from the blade of the staff sword in Yi Xiao's hand. The halos spread rapidly into the air and quickly disappeared completely from Luo Xia's sight, leaving the limits of his Observation Haki perception and flying towards the outer space of this planet.