Luffy tilted his head in confusion. Having grown familiar with the overwhelming power of the Four Emperors, he found the King's aura lacking; a single punch would be useless if it didn't land. Though the move looked impressive, it lacked the refinement of Armament Haki and fell far short of a true Yonko-level strike.
"King's Punch!" Elizabello II roared, thrusting his right fist forward.
A massive explosion swept across the arena. The force was so immense that it blew away the fallen contestants and the brothers Sai and Baby 5. Giant cracks spiderwebbed across the stone floor, proving the terrifying raw power of the attack. High above, Sanji hovered in the air, his pupils shrinking as he watched the ring get cleared in an instant. He knew that unless someone was a true monster, a direct hit from that punch would leave them in pieces.
"That worked out perfectly," Sanji said with a smirk. "I was wondering how to deal with all those extra people. Now I don't have that—".
He stopped mid-sentence. Standing in the middle of the ruined arena was Perospero. A massive, thick wall of candy stood before the Minister, and though it was cracked, it had successfully blocked the King's Punch. Perospero himself was completely unharmed.
"How is this possible?" Elizabello II gasped, his confidence shattered. "My punch didn't hurt him at all?".
"Pero-pero-pero! It just proves you are too weak!" Perospero mocked. He waved his hand, and a flood of syrup swallowed Elizabello II and Dagama, turning them into candy statues instantly.
"What an upset!" Gatz shouted into the microphone. "The King's Punch failed to take down the Minister of Candy! This is the terrifying power of the Big Mom Pirates! But our Straw Hat chef, Sanji, used his Thunder Fruit powers to escape the blast. Now, it is a head-to-head duel between two powerhouse crews!".
The crowd erupted in cheers. Fans screamed for both Sanji and Perospero, thrilled to see a high-level battle between members of legendary crews. Sanji dropped back down to the arena and tossed his cigarette aside. He couldn't afford to be distracted; he knew his opponent's strength was a serious problem.
"Pero-pero! Sanji, you should just admit defeat," Perospero said, trying to get into Sanji's head. "You might have a powerful Logia fruit, but your Haki is far weaker than mine. Your lightning cannot get through my defense. You have zero chance of winning!".
"I'm not giving up," Sanji replied seriously. "That moss-head Zoro is already trying his best to win. If I run away because I'm weaker, I'll never hear the end of it from him, and I'd lose face in front of Tashigi-chan. I'm going to beat you right here!".
Sanji vanished into a flicker of lightning and reappeared instantly, his black shoe aimed at Perospero's temple.
"Useless! My Observation Haki is better than yours!" Perospero countered. He raised his candy cane to block the kick while commanding a wave of syrup to surround Sanji.
Sanji was too fast. He flickered away from the syrup and launched a rapid-fire series of kicks.
"Collier!" "Épaule!" "Gigot!"
The speed of the attacks was dizzying. Even though Perospero's Observation Haki allowed him to see the kicks coming, his body was struggling to keep up with the sheer velocity of the lightning-enhanced strikes. He was forced back step by step.
"Sanji is amazing!" Ace cheered from the stands. "He's actually pushing back Big Mom's eldest son! He really is a master of that fruit".
"Hee hee! My crew is the best!" Luffy said, standing with his hands on his hips. Ace just shook his head at his brother's lack of modesty.
Zoro, leaning against a railing, let out a small smirk. "He should be able to do this much," Zoro muttered. "If that perverted cook can't beat a guy with a long tongue, he's too weak for this crew".
Tashigi, who was helping support Zoro's weight, blushed at his bluntness. She had realized that Zoro was a very awkward person; he clearly cared about his friends, but he could never say it nicely.
Back in the ring, Sanji's fast break had pushed Perospero to the edge. However, Perospero suddenly leaped back to the center of the arena. Despite being pushed back, he wasn't actually injured yet. Sanji realized his kicks weren't doing enough deep damage through the candy defenses.
"He's tough," Sanji whispered to himself. "He's a member of a Yonko crew, so I shouldn't be surprised. But he isn't as scary as Katakuri. I still have a chance!".
Sanji stopped his rush and stared Perospero down. Perospero seized the moment and launched a counterattack, creating a storm of candy weapons—axes, swords, and spears—and hurling them at Sanji. Sanji dodged them with fluid grace. His own Observation Haki had grown stronger since he ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, making these projectiles as easy to avoid as taking a drink of water.
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