"Tsk tsk—!"
The trailing sound was light and drawn out,
carrying the carelessness unique to a young man, yet resounding clearly amidst the churning dust.
Facing the attack that carried the momentum of destruction, Luffy didn't even lift an eyelid.
His hands were shoved into his pockets, and a faint smile still lingered on his lips, as if what was approaching wasn't a killing blow capable of tearing the sky apart.
The leather shoe wrapped in blue lightning arcs and flames, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, slammed straight into his unguarded chest.
Boom—!!!
The deafening explosion instantly swallowed the entire sea area!
The lightning and fire suddenly flared out, and the powerful impact raised tsunamis several meters high, shattering even the distant clouds.
The massive impact force was like a runaway nuclear bomb exploding on the sea surface; the scorching heat wave burned the air, distorting sight, and even space seemed to tremble slightly before this ultimate power.
Luffy's body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.
The straw hat was slightly rocked by the airflow but remained firmly on his head.
The clothes on his chest were instantly ignited by the lightning and fire, then shredded by the airflow during his high-speed flight backward, revealing the solid lines of muscle underneath.
Luffy landed on both feet, plowing two deep grooves in the grass.
He reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
But the smile on his face didn't diminish; instead, it intensified, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
A cheerful low laugh escaped his throat:
"Ha—! That force, it's got punch!"
...The moment Luffy clenched his fist, the crisp sound of his knuckles colliding was torn apart by the suddenly compressed air.
"Bang!"
A roar, like dynamite exploding, burst forth. The surrounding airflow spun wildly, sweeping up fine gravel from the ground and forming a visible vortex at his feet.
Since he had already figured out the development direction of that guy Sanji,
the next thing to do was to push him hard!!
The smile in the young man's eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by extreme seriousness and fervor.
His figure instantly shot out from the spot; amidst flying debris, his body had turned into a blurred black shadow.
The moment he broke the sound barrier, a long white vapor trail was left in the air.
Sanji's pupils constricted; the black fist imprint, wrapped in an abyss-like aura, was rapidly expanding in his vision.
That was Armament Haki condensed to its extreme: purely black, oppressively black, as if even light would be swallowed by it.
Fast, too fast!
This burst speed had long surpassed the reaction limits of his Observation Haki.
Before his brain could even capture the full trajectory, the suffocating feeling carried by the punch wind had already seized his breath.
He didn't even have time to defend,
only subconsciously tensing his muscles, without even a shred of room for resistance.
Boom!!
There was no fancy technique, just a simple straight punch that condensed all his power and Haki.
But the moment the fist connected with Sanji's chest,
the space itself was stirred into shallow ripples by the extreme impact, spreading out in rings like a stone dropped into a lake, distorting the surrounding scenery.
The dull impact sound made the air hum; Sanji couldn't even manage a muffled groan.
All the bones in his body seemed to groan under the strain of that single punch.
The next second, his figure shot backward like a cannonball, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained.
Consecutive white circular air waves generated along his flight path,
like marks left by violently torn air, lingering in the sea breeze.
Accompanied by a massive roar that shook the entire small island,
the towering mountain peak was violently smashed through, sending gravel, dust, and broken vegetation flying everywhere.
A giant hole was instantly blasted through the previously intact mountainside, and sunlight streamed through the opening, casting an irregular light spot on the ground.
Sanji's figure was embedded in the rock deep inside the hole, and the aftershocks continued to send fragments rolling down the mountainside... "Sorry about that, Sanji—!"
Luffy retracted his fist, which still carried the residual heat of black Haki,
shouting toward the hole in the mountain, the trailing sound drawn out and deliberately soft.
He pulled the brim of his straw hat lower, concealing the excitement in his eyes that he could barely hide.
He intentionally put on a straight face and frowned in feigned sadness:
"I had to put extreme pressure on you! Otherwise, how could you grow rapidly?"
He paused, then solemnly raised a hand and rubbed his chest.
His tone was slow and drawn out, carrying a manufactured heaviness:
"As the Captain, watching my crewmate get hurt, my heart is super—pained!!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, the corner of his mouth hidden beneath the straw hat couldn't help but curl up, and his shoulders even twitched slightly.
In truth, at this moment, every pore on Luffy's body was screaming with exhilaration.
It was as if the stale air he had held for so long had finally been completely expelled, and every muscle felt the ease of being stretched.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes internally and silently complain:
What kind of annoying trash had he encountered these past few days?!
Those old fossils, the Gorosei, all had sinister eyes, and their moves were malicious and tricky;
The beams, ice, and magma of the Three Admirals were all lethal, making it difficult to fight freely;
And that monster, Kaido of the Four Emperors, was ridiculously tough, hitting him felt like punching a steel plate.
Although he hadn't suffered much loss, and had even punched back,
the opponent's strength was overwhelming, and every confrontation required him to use all his power.
He always held an indescribable frustration inside.
And now, he finally seized the opportunity to release that pressure!
Sanji's potential was undeniable, but he lacked the burst required in a desperate situation, making him the perfect target for stress relief.
Luffy couldn't help but grin, revealing two rows of neat white teeth, his eyes sparkling with cunning and delight, feeling blissfully happy inside:
While beating up weaker opponents doesn't increase battle experience or improve Haki, the feeling—it's exhilarating!!
This taste of freedom, of achieving ultimate satisfaction with a single punch, was even more gratifying than eating his favorite meat!
..."You bastard—!! Are you trying to kill me?!"
An angry roar, wrapped in blazing heat, burst forth from the hole in the mountain.
The next second, a dazzling blue electric arc suddenly sliced through the dust, accompanied by the sharp whistle of air being torn apart.
Sanji's figure shot out like an arrow released from a bow; his lightning-infused right leg carried immense force, kicking fiercely toward Luffy's face.
—Clang!!
The crisp sound, like metal colliding, was deafening.
Luffy's gaze sharpened, and his right hand was instantly covered in ink-black Armament Haki.
His five fingers shot out precisely like iron pincers, firmly gripping the lightning-infused ankle.
The current surged into his body through his palm, bringing a tingling numbness, but he endured it, his arm remaining completely steady.
"See? See that!"
Luffy grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, his eyes sparkling with excitement, his tone carrying justified joy.
"Haven't you gotten stronger?!"
His Observation Haki had already spread out, and Sanji's status was completely visible to him:
The soaring aura, the more condensed Devil Fruit ability, the physique subtly breaking through constraints,
and the Observation Haki that had previously stagnated,
was now subtly loosening and germinating, like a seed nourished by spring rain.
Sure enough, this method of extreme pressure works!!
Luffy was overjoyed, realizing his effort to "beat up" Sanji hadn't been wasted.
This guy's potential really needed a hard push to burst forth.
"So what?!"
Sanji's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead; anger had almost overwhelmed him.
"If I didn't get stronger, I'd be lying on the ground right now! You were literally beating me to death!"
Amidst the roar, the power within Sanji surged again, and the blue lightning became even more intense.
His other leg swept fiercely toward Luffy's waist with a sound that tore the air.
Luffy was "caught off guard" and violently struck by the immense force, his body sent flying backward as if hit by a heavy hammer.
The air whistled past his ears; Luffy forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, tracing a beautiful arc.
He landed steadily on the ground, the rocks beneath his feet cracking into fine lines from the impact.
"I wasn't trying to kill you, you know!"
He dusted off his clothes, his tone still relaxed, but his eyes held a hint of cunning understanding.
As someone who had also awakened the bloodline factor, he could easily perceive Sanji's physical limits.
This special physique inherently belongs to the type that grows stronger the more they are beaten.
The closer they get to their limit, the more their potential is stimulated, and before they truly break past that limit,
the recovery power is as monstrous as Marco's Phoenix, so there's no need to worry about him actually getting injured.
That punch earlier, he had precisely aimed it at the very edge of Sanji's limit. It looked vicious,
but in reality, he was granting the guy a huge benefit, helping him break through a long-standing bottleneck.
And the result?!
Luffy blinked, looking at Sanji, who was still furious and ready to charge again.
He couldn't help but mutter internally:
Monkey D. Luffy kindly helped his crewmate break through,
so why did he end up becoming a thankless scapegoat?!
This operation was even more frustrating than not getting to eat meat!