Chapter 284: [284] : Nika Luffy VS. Akainu!!

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“STRAW HAT!”

“WHAT IS THAT WHITE FORM??”

“HE’S HUGE! BIGGER THAN A GIANT!”

Countless Marines screamed in terror, staring at Luffy’s form—larger than any giant, a pure white warrior.

The Marines who had seen Luffy’s Nika form during the war against the Big Mom and Beast Pirates had all been wiped out. The current batch of Marines had never seen it before. Many had even assumed the photos on his wanted poster were a misprint.

But seeing it in person—they finally understood just how monstrous the new Emperor’s white warrior form truly was.

Not only had he turned the entire environment into rubber, completely neutralizing all their heavy cannons, but his sheer size dwarfed even the Giant Vice Admirals of the Marines.

The more knowledgeable Marine officers broke out in a cold sweat.

A body this massive… it was the size of an Ancient Giant!

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“STRAW HAT!”

Gion, Chaton, Momonga, and the numerous other Marine HQ Vice Admirals were drenched in countless beads of cold sweat.

THIS HAKI IS TOO STRONG.

Just by standing there, he robbed them of all courage to even attack.

This new Emperor’s combat power and Haki were even more monstrous than they had imagined. Putting aside Sky Sovereign Rowen… Straw Hat Luffy was arguably the fastest-rising, most terrifying pirate of this generation.

In just two years since setting out to sea, he had become an Emperor, his combat power and Haki reaching this horrifying level.

The one who felt this most deeply was Gion.

She still remembered back in Alabasta, when Straw Hat was just an insignificant little character compared to Sky Sovereign Rowen. Back then, he hadn’t even learned Haki—she could have captured him with ease.

But in less than two years, everything had changed.

Before Straw Hat’s Haki, she couldn’t even muster the courage to attack, to even draw her sword.

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“Stand down. You are no match for Straw Hat.”

A voice of iron-blooded justice rang out.

“FLEET ADMIRAL!”

Gion and the others looked over to see Akainu slowly walking over from the rear.

A look of shame crossed their faces.

During the Summit War, even with super-pirates like Whitebeard, Silvers Rayleigh, and Rowen appearing one after another, Former Fleet Admiral Sengoku had remained in the rear, commanding the battle.

He had only stepped in at the very end when Rowen’s power grew abnormally, Admiral Aokiji was killed, and their forces were insufficient.

But now, the Marines didn’t even have a single fighter who could face Straw Hat. They had to rely on their supreme commander, Fleet Admiral Akainu, to confront him.

For them, this was a true disgrace.

“Shishishi! Akainu!” Luffy grinned, laughing cheerfully as he saw Akainu appear.

“That form of yours is a complete mess, Straw Hat.”

GURGLE! GURGLE! SIZZLE!

Akainu’s arm had already completely transformed into violent magma, which dripped to the ground, scorching the earth and assimilating it into magma.

“What is that form?” Akainu’s eyes were cold.

“Shishishi! You’ll find out after we fight!” Luffy laughed.

“HMPH! JUST A DEFEATED FOE!” Akainu’s expression was icy, his magma fist beginning to boil.

He had fought Straw Hat during the Summit War.

Back then, Straw Hat had to use his so-called Gear Fourth, stacked with an initial mastery of Haōshoku Coating—just to barely fight him. And his stamina and Haki drained so quickly that he couldn’t maintain that form for long.

Straw Hat was no match for him then—and Akainu would make him understand, that he was still no match for him now!

This wasn’t arrogance. It was a necessity.

As the supreme commander of the Marines, the Fleet Admiral, with all three of his Admirals lost—

HE HAD TO WIN THIS FIGHT AGAINST STRAW HAT.

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“OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Akainu roared, pushing his Magma-Magma Fruit’s ability and his Armament Haki to their absolute limits.

With a single punch, the terrifying energy made the surrounding atmosphere seem to distort.

After becoming Fleet Admiral, Akainu’s combat strength had increased slightly. Becoming the supreme commander of the entire Marine had given his ’Disposition’ a new boost.

Akainu’s Armament Haki, already formidable due to his extreme sense of justice and his peak physical condition, had become a contender for the strongest Armament Haki of the era, second only to Rowen.

Now, benefiting from the spiritual strength that came with his new position, his Armament Haki had grown even stronger.

However, Armament Haki was still just Armament Haki. It wasn’t Conqueror’s Haki. No matter how strong it became, it only demonstrated immense ’solidity’, not the explosive, tyrannical power of a Conqueror.

This was reflected in a lack of attack power.

Though Akainu had the Magma-Magma Fruit to compensate—the fruit with the highest attack power of all…

BUT—

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“Shishishi! Gum-Gum… White Pistol——!”

Luffy laughed cheerfully, his right fist shooting out.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Luffy’s fist and Akainu’s magma fist collided in mid-air.

The next moment…

CRACK!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A terrifying, violent, tyrannical energy erupted from the point of impact.

Gion and Chaton struggled to coat their bodies in Armament Haki, but they were still pushed back relentlessly by the storm of energy.

The Vice Admirals further back couldn’t even fully withstand the aftershock of the clash. Cold sweat poured down their foreheads, and some of the weaker ones were forced to one knee.

“THIS ISN’T A BATTLE WE CAN PARTICIPATE IN! GET OUT OF THIS BATTLEFIELD, GION, NOW!”

Chaton roared at Gion.

Just the aftershock was draining his Armament Haki at an alarming rate. If this continued, his stamina and Haki would be completely depleted before he even had to fight any of the other Sky Sovereign commanders.

They no longer had the right to stand on this battlefield.

Gion and the others, though reluctant, knew it was the truth. They could only grit their teeth and retreat from the battlefield.

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“WHAT THE HELL???”

Akainu, who was trading blows with Luffy, was in utter disbelief.

HIS ATTACK WAS BEING OVERPOWERED!

His Magma-Magma Fruit, the ability with the highest attack power, was being faintly overpowered in a head-on clash!

STRAW HAT’S ATTACK POWER HAD SURPASSED HIS!

Only a year had passed since the Summit War… how could things have changed so drastically???

“IMPOSSIBLE!!”

Akainu’s eyes turned bloodshot.

He was no match for Rowen. That had been made crystal clear during the Summit War.

Even he and Former Fleet Admiral Sengoku combined had been completely suppressed by Rowen at the time, nearly defeated.

It was only Garp’s intervention that had stabilized the situation. The three of them together against Rowen hadn’t gained any significant advantage in the short term. That man’s combat power had completely transcended this era, becoming a supreme force that stood above it.

And now, although his own power had increased slightly, he was still no match for that monster, Rowen.

But at the very least… as the current supreme commander of the Marines, he had to capture the other Emperor—Straw Hat—who also carried the cursed bloodline of the Revolutionary Army’s leader, Monkey D. Dragon.

Only then could he restore the morale of the Marines, which was on the verge of collapse after successive defeats and the loss of all three of this generation’s Admirals.

But he never expected that his proudest asset, his frontal attack power from the Magma-Magma Fruit, would be surpassed by Straw Hat—

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“STRAW HAT!!!”

Akainu roared, both his arms turning to magma.

His incredibly dense Armament Haki wrapped around both fists as he rained down a furious barrage on Luffy.

“Shishishi! Gum-Gum… White Gatling——!”

Luffy laughed cheerfully.

His fists flew in a relentless, airtight flurry, blocking every single one of Akainu’s attacks.

And every punch was imbued with terrifying Haōshoku Coating, rapidly draining Akainu’s stamina and Armament Haki.

The current Luffy, thanks to Rowen, was even stronger than his canon counterpart on Egghead who fought both Kizaru and Saturn. Both his Nika form and his Haki had reached a new level of strength.

With this, stacked with his Armament Haki, his attack power was now a notch higher than Akainu’s magma attacks, which were coated in his own super-strong Armament Haki.

Though it was only a slight advantage, a battle of this level couldn’t be decided in a short time.

Akainu’s combat power ceiling relied mainly on his Magma-Magma Fruit. Because he lacked Conqueror’s Haki, even with his incredibly strong Armament Haki, his Haki was still holding back his overall combat power.

But while Armament Haki lacked in attack power, its defensive properties grew stronger with the user’s physique and spirit. It was stronger in defense than in offense.

And Akainu was a Logia user—he could elementalize.

At this moment, magma was constantly erupting from behind him, using elementalization to dissipate the energy from Luffy’s punches.

A Logia user’s elementalization wasn’t just for avoiding attacks—even in a direct clash like this, they could use it to dissipate the force of the impact. Just like when Kuzan was hit by Garp’s Haōshoku Coating on Hachinosu, he used elementalization to dissipate the damage and was able to fight again immediately.

This was also related to why Kizaru was known for having the strongest defense. The Glint-Glint Fruit allowed him to become a man of light, and the elementalization of light was the fastest.

He could use it to quickly and efficiently dissipate the energy from an enemy’s attack, preventing himself from taking damage. Combined with the defensive properties of Armament Haki, it made his defense astonishingly strong.

And now, Akainu was using this same principle. He was using the advantages of his Logia and his Armament Haki to wear down Luffy’s Haki and stamina.

Though Akainu was unwilling to admit that Luffy had surpassed him in frontal attack power, he knew that victory was what mattered most right now. If he had to win by relying on the endurance of his Haki and stamina, he would do it.

THE MARINES COULD NOT AFFORD ANOTHER LOSS.

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“HEY, HEY. YOU THINK WE’LL LET YOU JUST WEAR DOWN OUR CAPTAIN’S STAMINA AND HAKI SO EASILY, AKAINU??”

WHOOSH!

BAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

A blue flame ignited.

A right leg, wreathed in crimson-black lightning and engulfed in terrifying blue flames, slammed directly into Akainu’s left fist.

“From now on, we’re your opponents, Akainu!”

CLANG!

Three swords, wrapped in violent, tyrannical crimson-black lightning, swung down.

The man wielding them had the horrifying aura of a true beast in his eyes. The three swords slashed directly onto Akainu’s right fist.

The combined attack from the two of them instantly broke Akainu’s relentless barrage, and a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

“BLACK LEG!”

“RORONOA!”

Gion and the others watched the two newcomers appear, their eyes wide with horror.

HOW… IS THIS POSSIBLE??

Black Leg and Roronoa… both of them could block Fleet Admiral Akainu’s attacks??

Without a doubt, this display of combat power proved that both of them possessed Admiral-level strength!

Add to that the Desert Princess, who had mastered her Sand-Sand Fruit and possessed formidable Haki.

Rowen’s four closest combatants…

Straw Hat, Pirate Hunter, Black Leg, Desert Princess…

ALL OF THEM POSSESSED ADMIRAL-LEVEL OR HIGHER COMBAT POWER??

And don’t forget Fire Fist Ace, who undoubtedly had Admiral-level strength as well.

Just from those who had already appeared, Sky Sovereign Rowen’s forces had…

FIVE ADMIRAL-LEVEL OR HIGHER FIGHTERS??

WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS??

This was even more monstrous than the Marines at their peak during the Summit War!

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“BASTARD!”

Cold sweat covered Akainu’s forehead.

Haōshoku Coating!

Black Leg and Roronoa—both of them could use Haōshoku Coating!

“Sanji. Zoro. Step aside.”

“FIRE FIST!”

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