One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

With a dull thud, Blackbeard's massive body was thrown backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through several layers of ship cabin walls before finally slamming into the ruins of a stone tower, kicking up clouds of dust and rubble.

Luffy retracted his fist, and dark red Haki slowly circulated around his body, while a steam-like heat wave repelled the surrounding thick fog.

He stood at the edge of the ruins, his brow furrowed slightly beneath his straw hat.

"This guy..."

He felt the impact of that punch squarely.

"How could such a weak guy possibly beat Ace?"

Luffy's mind flashed back to Ace's image, wreathed in flames and exuding Haki, resembling a god of war.

After V's modifications and special training, Ace had witnessed firsthand just how strong he was—he wielded both Devil Fruit abilities with unparalleled skill, and his Haki far surpassed that of the Straw Hat crew.

Blackbeard's displayed strength seems completely unworthy of his achievement of cornering Ace and ultimately capturing him alive.

However, just as this thought of underestimating his opponent arose, V's voice seemed to ring in his ears again, cold and serious:

"Luffy, remember, you must never let your guard down when facing Blackbeard."

"His strength may not be directly reflected in his power and speed."

"What makes that guy so terrifying is his patience, his scheming, and... the strange properties of that fruit."

Luffy's eyes sharpened, instantly dispelling any doubts he might have had.

V's repeated and solemn warnings are by no means unfounded.

The image of Ace in his miserable state when he was rescued is still vivid in my mind—multiple fractures throughout his body, internal organ damage, and wax poison penetrating deep into his bone marrow.

If they hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

That bastard Teach is definitely hiding something!

"No matter what tricks you have..."

Luffy took a deep breath, his fighting spirit rekindled in his eyes, becoming even sharper and more serious.

I'll blow you away completely!

Before he finished speaking, his arms surged again, and a dark red, domineering aura rose wildly.

"Rubber, rubber—"

This time, it was no longer a single attack.

"A chaotic attack by a swarm of snakes!"

In an instant, it seemed as if dozens, even hundreds, of "snake shadows" formed from rubber and Haki erupted from behind Luffy!

They are not physical entities, yet they possess an impact and unpredictable trajectories that are no less powerful than those of physical entities.

Each snake shadow was like a living creature with its own independent life, coming from above, below, left, right, and all directions, covering the ruins where Blackbeard had fallen in a completely disordered and dense manner, like a torrential rain!

Boom boom boom boom boom boom—!!!

The continuous explosions instantly engulfed the area.

Splinters of wood, stones, and dust were blasted into the sky, and the entire "island" trembled violently, as if it had been subjected to a carpet bombing.

Luffy hovered in mid-air, surrounded by a steam-like aura of dominance.

He no longer pursued a one-hit kill, but instead used this wide-ranging, completely unpredictable bombardment to force Blackbeard to reveal a weakness, or... force him to reveal his hidden trump card.

Amidst the smoke and dust, dark energy surged violently, like a ferocious beast provoked.

A voice, suppressed with pain and rage, accompanied by violent coughing, came from the depths of the ruins:

"Cough... Zhehahaha..."

"As expected of Captain Ace's younger brother... his strength is just as formidable..."

"but……"

Darkness, like a flood bursting its banks, suddenly erupted!

"The game... is only just beginning!"

……

……

"What is that!?"

A dense darkness, like a living thing, surged and rose from the center of the ruins, instantly attracting the attention of the Straw Hat crew who were engaged in fierce battle.

Zoro had just repelled Enel's lightning spear with "Asura: Demon Slash" when he suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking sharply—

The entire sky was swallowed by rolling darkness, which was not nothingness, but a heavy, tangible swamp that was spreading in all directions at an alarming speed.

The sunlight was completely blocked, the thick fog was absorbed by the darkness, and even the spires of the distant castle seemed to be slowly devoured by an invisible giant mouth.

"What a joke..." Zoro gritted his teeth and held the three swords in his hands, which trembled slightly.

He remembered V's serious warning before the battle: the Dark-Dark Fruit could devour everything, including matter, energy, and even light.

But look at this world-destroying spectacle—

Blackbeard wasn't actually trying to devour or attack.

This was clearly an attempt to swallow most of the terrifying three-masted ship whole into the bottomless darkness!

"Is this the power of a true strongman!?"

Zoro couldn't help but grip his twin swords tightly.

The slight pride that had arisen from rapidly becoming stronger vanished in an instant.

The world is so big, he is far from qualified to stop and stay.

Hey! You green-haired guy! What are you spacing out for?!

Sanji kicked away the heavy punch that Burgess was throwing.

Although the difference in strength between the two was not drastic, for Sanji, such an opponent was hardly a challenge.

It even prevented him from having the idea of ​​using his full strength.

However, Zoro then spoke up:

"Stop playing around, you lecherous cook."

"That Blackbeard's strength is probably just as V said, far surpassing Luffy and us."

"Let's quickly defeat our opponent and see if we can help Luffy in any way."

"it is good!"

Seeing Zoro's unprecedentedly serious expression, Sanji's previously casual gaze instantly sharpened.

"Green algae head is right... I don't have time to play house with you guys."

Before the words were even finished, the two of them simultaneously unleashed their true power!

Zoro crossed his three swords in front of him and gave a low shout:

"Demon Aura: Nine Swords Style - Gara? Breaking Boundaries!"

Sanji also leaped into the air, his right foot drawing a fiery red arc as he shouted:

"Devil's Kick: Elastic All-You-Can-Eat Buffet!"

Chapter 123 A Second—! (Seeking monthly votes~)

Their shouts exploded against the churning darkness of the sky.

Although it is still very small compared to the overwhelming darkness, it is still enough to unleash an aura that makes people sigh.

The moment the words left his mouth, Sanji's body suddenly tilted backward with incredible flexibility, almost parallel to the ground.

"This is ridiculous, it's time to stop!"

With a low growl, Sanji's legs deformed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Click, click-click-click—

Amidst a teeth-grinding compression sound, his two long, slender legs twisted into the shape of springs in the blink of an eye, rapidly compressing and turning red.

The spring was covered with fiery light patterns, each spiral seemed to be burning, and its surface was covered with a layer of black Armament Haki, yet a magma-like red light shone through the gaps.

"almost……"

Sanji bit down hard on the cigarette filter, sparks flying between his teeth.

His body pressed down further, his legs, which acted as springs, were compressed to their limit.

The circles were almost touching, and the entire spiral structure was compressed into an extremely taut energy body, with a low hum emanating from inside, as if it might explode at any moment.

boom!

Just as the compression reaches its critical point—

A burst of blazing white flames erupted from Sanji's feet, spiraling wildly upwards along the spring's spiral pattern!

That wasn't an ordinary flame, but boiling blood that burned from the extreme compression of a special power within Sanji's blood.

Guided by the spiral, the flames form a perfect vortex. With each rotation, the temperature doubles and the kinetic energy accumulates tenfold!

The trajectory of the flame perfectly matches the physical model of the spring's force.

Energy accumulates layer by layer along the spiral path, reaching its terrifying limit of compression!

In the blink of an eye, Sanji's entire body was engulfed in flames, transforming into a red and white fireball suspended in mid-air.

He looked up at Bages, who had just escaped from the ruins not far away.

The muscular man was clutching his left abdomen.

There was a clear, charred kick mark there, a "greeting gift" left by Sanji's casual kick earlier.

Bages spat out a mouthful of blood, his single eye filled with astonishment and uncertainty:

"Damn it! How can this guy be so strong?! He's just a nobody in the Straw Hat crew!"

The intelligence was seriously flawed!