The atmosphere in the arena was heavy. Kid, Hawkins, and Apoo looked grim as they stood their ground. All three were proud captains who had led their crews into the New World with high hopes, but reality had dealt them a series of bitter blows. Eustass Kid felt the weight of his losses more than anyone; his left arm had been taken from him when he dared to challenge the Red-Haired Yonko.
After being crushed by the overwhelming power of the New World, the three captains finally understood the truth. Without mastering Haki, it was impossible to become a king in these dangerous seas. In fact, even sailing from one island to the next was a gamble. When they heard that the Multiply-Multiply Fruit was the prize for the Dressrosa martial arts tournament, they arrived without hesitation. They needed that power to strengthen their crews and survive.
They had not expected the competition to be so fierce. The Blackbeard Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and the Whitebeard Pirates had all sent representatives. Even the Straw Hat Pirates were here. Seeing themselves on the same stage as Straw Hat Luffy felt like a cruel joke. Their pride, however, would not let them run away. They bit their bullets and stepped onto the fighting platform.
Once the battle began, they realized the gap was even wider than they feared. Other members of the Worst Generation were also struggling. Urouge, however, had managed to make a name for himself. He had recently defeated one of Big Mom's Four Sweet Commanders and had even been invited to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The stage was crowded with monsters. Katakuri, the strongest of Big Mom's children, glanced at Urouge with murderous intent. Originally, there were four Sweet Commanders, but after Snack was defeated by Urouge, the rank was reduced to three. Katakuri felt it was his duty to avenge his fallen brother, but he knew this was not the right time.
"We need to deal with Straw Hat Luffy first," Katakuri thought, his eyes narrowing. "If we don't work together, none of us have a chance of winning."
Burgess, the champion of the Blackbeard Pirates, moved closer to Katakuri. "Hey, Katakuri! How about we cooperate?" he shouted over the noise of the crowd. "The Fifth Emperor is too much to handle alone. Let's team up to take him down first. Once he's gone, we can fight each other for the prize!"
Katakuri nodded immediately. "I agree. I have fought Luffy before. Even with both of us, it might not be enough. We need more help."
"The old man is in, too!" Chinjao bellowed, stepping forward. He didn't care about the fruit as much as he cared about a grudge. "Garp the Fist ruined my life. Since I can't hit the grandfather, I will take my revenge on the grandson!"
"Haha! Joining forces to fight an Emperor? Count me in!" Urouge laughed, hefting his massive hexagonal stone pillar.
"You can't have a party like this without us!" Kid, Hawkins, and Apoo shouted, joining the group.
In less than a minute, a massive alliance had formed against Luffy. It wasn't just the famous powerhouses; even the lesser-known fighters joined in, creating a dense circle around the Straw Hat captain.
Luffy tilted his head to the side, looking confused. "Huh? What's wrong with everyone?" He quickly brushed the thought aside, put his hands on his hips, and let out a bold laugh. "You guys are crazy! You're the ones who are surrounded by me!"
The fighters nearby almost tripped over their own feet. They couldn't believe his arrogance. One man claiming to surround dozens of elite pirates was a ridiculous thought. However, experts like Katakuri and Burgess didn't laugh. They could feel the pressure coming from Luffy. In the world of the strong, numbers didn't always matter. If a man was fast and powerful enough, there was truly no escape from him.
"Begin!" the announcer screamed as the gong rang out.
Luffy didn't wait. He blurred into motion instantly.
"Gum-Gum Whip!" "Gum-Gum Gatling!" "Gum-Gum Bazooka!"
With three simple moves, Luffy sent a wave of regular fighters flying out of the ring. With the distractions gone, the real masters charged in.
"Assign!" Kid shouted. He used his magnetic powers to gather a mountain of scrap metal, forming a colossal mechanical arm. He swung the massive fist directly at Luffy's head.
"Haha! That looks cool, but it won't work!" Luffy yelled. He coated his fist in black Armament Haki and punched straight into the center of the metal limb. The mechanical arm shattered into thousands of pieces. The force of the impact was so great that Kid was sent skidding backward across the stone floor.
Kid gritted his teeth in frustration. He was a rookie just like Luffy, and he was even older than the Straw Hat. He couldn't understand why Luffy had become the Fifth Emperor while he had been beaten so badly by the New World that he lost an arm. The gap between them felt like an ocean.
"Second Gear!" Luffy's skin turned pink and began to emit steam. "Gum-Gum Jet Pistol!"
His fist moved like a bullet, slamming into Hawkins' chest. The blow should have crushed him, but Hawkins simply stood back up and dusted off his clothes as if nothing had happened. Somewhere else in the city of Dressrosa, a random citizen suddenly collapsed in pain.
A small voodoo doll made of straw fell from Hawkins' sleeve, charred and broken. This was the power of his Straw-Straw Fruit. He could transfer any damage he received to another person using these dolls. However, he only had a limited number of lives. If he ran out, he would have to face the damage himself.
Luffy paused for a second, looking impressed. "Wow! You're really tough!" Excited by the challenge, he rushed toward Hawkins again.
Hawkins turned pale. If he took a few more hits like that, his dolls would vanish in seconds, and he would be killed.
"Tsk! You rookies are useless!" Chinjao complained, stepping in front of Hawkins. "Move aside! I'll break his spirit with my own head!"
"Oh! It's the pointy-head guy!" Luffy recognized him and got angry. "I told you, if you have a problem, go talk to my grandpa! Why are you bothering me? If you're going to be like that, I'm not holding back!"
Luffy leaped into the air and slammed a Haki-infused fist directly onto the top of Chinjao's head. The force drove the old pirate deep into the floor of the arena. Even though Chinjao was a legendary pirate, the blow was so powerful that his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness immediately.
As Luffy landed, Urouge swung his massive stone pillar in a wide arc. Luffy used Moonwalk to kick the air, jumping higher to dodge the swing. He noticed the white wings on Urouge's back. "Wings? Are you from Sky Island too?"
Urouge grinned, though he was sweating. "Hahaha! Indeed, I am from the clouds! But your excellency, the Fifth Emperor, this is no time for a chat. If you get distracted, you'll lose!"
As Urouge spoke, a massive elbow dropped toward the back of Luffy's head. It was Jesus Burgess, attacking from a blind spot. Luffy sensed the movement with Observation Haki and tilted his head just enough to let the elbow graze past him. He spun his body in mid-air, delivering a powerful whip-kick toward Burgess's ribs.
Burgess was quick. He pulled his arms back and ducked low, feeling the wind of the kick pass over him. "Weihahaha! As expected of Straw Hat Luffy! You actually dodged my sneak attack!" Burgess wasn't disappointed. He knew he was fighting a monster. He could tell Luffy was still relaxed and hadn't even used his Fourth Gear yet.
Suddenly, a mace made of hardened mochi appeared from the side. It was Katakuri. He had waited for the perfect moment when Luffy was distracted by Burgess and Urouge. The mace slammed into Luffy's back with a deafening boom.
Luffy was sent flying across the arena, crashing through the stone railings.
"Unbelievable!" Gatz, the announcer, screamed into his microphone. "The Fifth Emperor has been blown away! It was a direct hit from Katakuri, the leader of the Three Sweet Commanders!"
The crowd gasped in shock, watching the dust cloud where Luffy had landed.
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