Chapter 136: Tower of Justice – Luffy vs. Lucci: Jet Gatling Decides the Match
"Rubber Jet Pistol!"
Luffy's Armament-coated fist shot out like a cannonball, smashing brutally into Lucci's blocking arm. The tremendous force sent Lucci sliding backward. Luffy didn't pause for even a second—he immediately used "Shave" to vanish from his spot, swiftly dodging Lucci's ferocious counter Tempest Kick.
"Huff… huff…" Lucci's arm trembled slightly. He quickly used "Iron Body" to forcibly stabilize the injury, his eyes extremely grave: "Armament Haki really is formidable—even Iron Body can't fully defend against it… And in that completely red state of his, both speed and power have risen to an astonishing level."
I can't afford to clash head-on anymore—Lucci made the judgment instantly.
"Life Return – Paper Drawing Martial Body!"
His body visibly contracted and became more compact and refined. He sacrificed some power in exchange for extreme speed and flexibility, pushing the evasion ability of Paper Art to its limit. He planned to use this form to first exhaust Luffy's stamina while in Second Gear.
"Shave!"
In his "Paper Drawing Martial Body" state, Lucci's speed was beyond imagination—even Luffy in Second Gear had difficulty tracking him with his dynamic vision!
"Finger Pistol – Yellow Lotus!"
Luffy's Observation Haki had just sensed Lucci's movement when, the next instant, the opponent appeared right in front of him. Countless finger shadows rained down like a storm!
At the critical moment, Luffy coated his chest with Armament Haki—
Clang! A series of metallic impacts rang out. Luffy endured the barrage head-on. Almost simultaneously, he counterattacked with a fierce "Rubber Jet Bullet!"
However, Lucci struck and immediately retreated, showing no attachment to the fight. His figure vanished like a phantom again, easily dodging Luffy's counter. Like the most patient hunter, he began circling Luffy at high speed, searching for the next opening.
"Damn it—this guy keeps darting around. He's not planning to fight seriously at all; he wants to drain my stamina?" Luffy's battle intuition was extremely sharp—he instantly saw through Lucci's tactic.
"Then how about this—Rubber Fireworks!" Luffy suddenly leaped into the air, spinning his body at high speed. His hands and feet unleashed a storm of continuous, indiscriminate strikes, instantly covering the entire battlefield!
"Iron Body – Hollow Wood!" Lucci first relied on "Paper Art" to dodge nimbly, but soon realized there was nowhere to run. He immediately switched to a defensive stance, using Iron Body to endure and even reflect some of the attacks. It was this brief pause that allowed Luffy to successfully lock onto his position.
"Rubber Jet Whip!"
Luffy seized the opportunity. A fierce leg whip tore through the air and slammed into Lucci! Lucci was struck as if hit by a heavy cannon—he flew backward violently, crashing into a pile of cargo crates in the distance with a loud rumble.
"Your techniques… aren't anything special, Straw Hat kid." Not long after, Lucci's mocking voice came from within the crates. With a loud bang, he blasted the debris away and stepped out, having exited his "Paper Drawing Martial Body" state.
Though he looked somewhat disheveled, his momentum hadn't diminished in the slightest. He refused to lose face—trash talk had to come first. Besides, he still firmly believed he had a chance to defeat this troublesome opponent.
"You pigeon guy are pretty strong too! In that case—" Luffy said, exiting Second Gear. He then bit down on his right thumb and blew hard into it.
His right arm rapidly swelled and enlarged, becoming as massive as a giant's fist!
"Let me show you what a move with real backbone looks like! Rubber Giant Pistol!" Luffy roared, swinging the giant-arm-like fist straight toward Lucci!
Lucci saw that the fist had only expanded in size without Armament Haki coating it. Misjudging its power as insufficient, he chose not to dodge and activated "Iron Body" again to take it head-on.
BOOM!!!
The instant the fist connected, Lucci's expression changed drastically—the power far exceeded his expectations! The overwhelming impact nearly knocked him unconscious on the spot. His body flew backward like a broken kite, smashing through several walls before finally crashing heavily onto the deck of a distant warship.
Luffy panted, looking through the wall he had just punched apart. His pupils suddenly shrank—he realized with horror that the distant Gates of Justice were now fully open. The entire Enies Lobby… had been completely surrounded by numerous massive warships!
Only then did Luffy notice the fierce battle on the distant bridge. Sol was fighting six opponents alone, yet he wasn't falling behind at all—the fight was incredibly intense. His heart tightened with urgency. He immediately released Third Gear, his body shrinking back to doll size, and began running on his tiny legs to provide support.
"Where do you think you're going, Straw Hat kid!" Lucci's cold voice rang out. He was seen rushing back from the distant warship using Moon Step. While on the deck earlier, he had learned of the situation on the bridge—Sol was single-handedly fighting five Vice Admirals and one CP0 chief. He knew he absolutely could not let Luffy go over to interfere; he had to pin him down here.
"Out of my way! Rubber Jet Pistol!" Luffy quickly returned to normal size, then re-entered Second Gear. His steaming red fist shot straight toward Lucci. Lucci sidestepped and immediately fired a sharp slash with his leg.
"Tempest Kick – Kestrel!"
The bird-shaped vacuum slash whistled out, but Luffy easily dodged it with a backward jump.
"Razor!"
Lucci seized the instant Luffy was distracted. His figure flashed and folded at high speed in the air, instantly closing in on Luffy. Both fists gathered power and erupted forward in the form of a shockwave, slamming brutally into Luffy's abdomen: "Six Powers Secret Technique – Six King Gun!"
BOOM!!!
"Urgh!" Luffy—slightly distracted by worry for Sol's fight—took the heavy blow head-on. His body flew backward like a broken kite, tumbling several times before he barely managed to stabilize himself on one knee.
"Cough… I got careless." He coughed up a mouthful of blood, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and slowly stood up. His eyes became razor-sharp.
"Looks like… I have to finish you off first!"
"You'll have to be able to do it first… Straw Hat kid." Lucci responded with a sinister gaze, his figure moving like a phantom.
"Rubber Jet Axe!"
Luffy roared. His right leg suddenly stretched and lifted high, swinging down like a battle-axe toward Lucci's previous position! The stone tiles on the ground shattered instantly; dust and debris flew everywhere. But Lucci had already vanished from the spot.
The next second, he appeared in front of Luffy as if teleporting. His cold voice rang out: "You left an opening!"
Lucci's tough tail suddenly wrapped around Luffy's body, locking him tightly in place. Immediately after, Lucci's arms gathered power—his entire strength surging madly.
"Six Powers Secret Technique – Maximum Wheel – Six King Gun!"
His fists thrust forward violently, releasing an unprecedentedly massive shockwave that slammed solidly into Luffy's abdomen! The overwhelming energy even pierced straight through, blasting a huge hole in the wall behind him.
"It's over, Straw Hat kid." Lucci released his tail with heavy breaths, his tone ice-cold, as though announcing the end.
However, what no one expected was—
"Hehe… yeah, it's over, pigeon man."
Luffy—who should have been completely unconscious—lifted his head, flashing his signature grin. He had already decided to trade injury for injury. At the critical moment, he had coated his abdomen with full Armament Haki, enduring the fatal blow head-on. The price was dragging Lucci completely into his counterattack range!
Luffy's fists were already coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, like unbreakable iron hammers.
"Rubber Jet Gatling!"
In an instant, countless black fist shadows poured down like a raging storm, completely swallowing the nearby Lucci!
"Iron Body – Hollow Wood!" Lucci's pupils shrank. At such close range there was nowhere to dodge—he could only activate Iron Body at full power to try and endure.
However, every Armament-coated heavy punch carried armor-breaking power. Lucci's Iron Body rapidly crumbled under the relentless barrage. He was pushed back step by step by the furious wave of attacks. Finally, under Luffy's last heavy punch, he lost consciousness completely and collapsed with a heavy thud.
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