Chapter 996: Gin vs. Luffy

Chapter 996: Chapter 996: Gin vs. Luffy

THUD!

The black metal club clashed instantly with the Armament Haki-hardened fist, exploding with a heavy, bell-like toll. A visible ripple of distorted air shivered outward from the point of impact.

An instant later, a violent gale erupted, sweeping through the area like a hurricane.

Under the strain of such immense power, Gin and Luffy both cracked the floorboards beneath their feet. Fractures spread in all directions, webbing out across a dozens-of-meters radius in the blink of an eye like a massive spiderweb.

What crazy power!

Luffy stared at Gin in astonishment, feeling waves of sharp pain throbbing through his knuckles.

Gin, however, showed no signs of surprise. His expression remained cold and blank as his left hand swung his other club. Armament Haki cloaked the metal head in a dark sheen as he brought it down toward Luffy’s head, the whistling wind howling even louder than his previous strike.

"Uh oh!"

Luffy snapped out of it, diving to the side just in time. Gin’s club slammed violently into the ground.

BOOM!

The heavy impact shook the entire area.

The bluestone floor was blown open, leaving a crater as a shockwave kicked up a dense cloud of dust. Shrapnel-like stone shards shot outward, whistling through the air with enough force to match arrows shot from a heavy crossbow.

"Gear 2!!!"

Luffy’s expression turned utterly serious. His skin flushed a deep, vibrant red as wisps of white steam began to hiss from his body, and he vanished from the spot.

Swoosh—

A steaming red blur streaked through the air. Luffy threw a lightning-fast punch. Before Gin could even register the movement, he was struck with a heavy BANG and sent flying, leaving a jagged trail of blood droplets in midair.

"Gomu Gomu no... Jet Pistol!!!"

An instant later, Luffy materialized directly above Gin, his hands blurring into a relentless downward volley so fast the wind couldn’t even keep up.

This time, Gin, who was already down on one knee, reacted in time. He rolled desperately to the side, simultaneously swinging his Haki-clad club upward toward the sky.

BOOM!

Another thunderous blast erupted as rolling shockwaves tore through the corridor. A massive section of the bluestone floor was completely obliterated by Luffy’s fists, leaving a crater several meters wide.

But just as Luffy pulled his hands back, a dark blur filled his vision. A black metal club whistled straight toward his face. With no time left to dodge, the weapon smashed into him with a dull THUD, launching him dozens of meters back until he crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Incredible speed... So that’s the ’Gear 2’ mentioned in the reports." Gin flipped back up to his feet, wiping the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth before spitting out a crimson glob.

His club hit the ground with a heavy CLANG, cracking the stone underneath.

Luffy clutched his bleeding forehead as he gritted his teeth and stood up. "Man, that hurts! This guy’s reactions are way too fast!"

After just a brief exchange of blows, Luffy realized that the man before him possessed immense combat experience, lightning-fast reflexes, and terrifying physical strength. This wasn’t an opponent he could take down in three to five moves. If he wanted to win, he would have to pull out all the stops.

What he didn’t know was that ever since Gin left the East Blue and joined the Chris Pirates, he had endured over two years of hellish, brutal training. His combat capability was worlds apart from his past self.

Otherwise, Aeridar would never have assigned Gin to this search squad, after all, within the entire unit, only Betilla could definitively outmatch him.

"Luffy-san, if this is all the strength you have, you never should have come here," Gin said, keeping his eyes locked onto Luffy. "Because if you die, Sanji-san will be devastated. Let me give you one more piece of news: Sanji-san has gone home. Right now, he belongs to the Yonko Big Mom Pirates’ camp, and he will soon be marrying one of Big Mom’s daughters!"

Hearing this, Luffy’s eyes widened so far they practically popped out of his skull. He stood frozen, entirely blindsided and dazed by the barrage of shocking revelations.

"Gone home? The Yonko Big Mom Pirates? Getting married?! Are... are you kidding me?!"

"I’m only telling you this out of respect for Sanji-san. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

With that, Gin walked forward expressionlessly. He scooped his club off the ground, spinning it in a rapid blur as his pace quickened from a brisk walk into a full-on sprint.

"Meteor Crash!!!"

In a heartbeat, Gin closed the distance like a localized gale. With a fierce roar, he brought the high-speed spinning club down in a brutal arc aimed squarely at Luffy’s head.

The overwhelming pressure of the oncoming wind snapped Luffy back to reality. He stamped his foot hard against the ground, vanishing into thin air.

Gin’s strike hit nothing but empty air, but the sheer force traveling through the weapon formed a powerful shockwave that swept across the floor, tearing a long, jagged trench out of the stone made of a dozen fine fissures.

"You brat in the straw hat! Let’s see where you run now!"

Suddenly, a furious, melodic shout echoed through the corridor.

Smythe Betilla materialized, her beautiful face cold and rigid. She gripped a slender silver rapier, the sharp clack-clack-clack of her emerald-green high heels echoing clearly against the bluestone floor.

"Crap! The crazy woman’s here!"

Luffy gasped. With no time left to process Gin’s words, he veered left, trying to bolt toward an exit door.

However, before he could take more than two steps, a vicious gale rushed at him from behind.

His Observation Haki flared, sensing the imminent threat. Luffy whipped around, crossing his forearms in front of his chest as he hardened them with a glossy coat of Armament Haki.

BANG—

An instant later, Gin closed in with ferocious intensity, slamming his club violently against Luffy’s crossed arms. The sheer physical force exploded outward, creating a harsh shockwave that kicked up a storm of dust.

Even with his guard up, Luffy was driven backward by Gin’s monstrous strength. His feet plowed through the bluestone, tearing up the floor and leaving two long, deep trenches behind him.

"Silver... Moon!!!"

Betilla shouted, unleashing a midair slash with her rapier.

Brilliant, dazzling silver light erupted as a crescent moon of raw energy manifested in the vacuum. It sliced forward like a razor-sharp blade, slamming directly onto Luffy’s crossed arms.

CHIRP—

A piercing, metallic screech rang out. Luffy was blasted off his feet by the kinetic force, flying backward dozens of meters before crashing violently into a thick wall.

Dust ballooned into the air as Luffy was buried waist-deep into the reinforced wall, spiderweb cracks spreading outward across the masonry.

"Now you know what happens when you mess with us, you brat!" Betilla huffed, finally venting a bit of the pent-up rage burning in her chest.

A few seconds later, the swirling dust was abruptly torn apart by a sudden, violent updraft. A massive, looming silhouette exploded from the debris. In a microsecond, the dark shape crossed the dozens of meters separating them, throwing a devastating punch that caught Gin completely off guard.

RUMBLE!

Gin’s mind went entirely blank as the kinetic impact turned him into a flying projectile. He smashed through several half-meter-thick concrete walls in rapid succession, vanishing entirely from Betilla’s sight.

"Nani?!"

Betilla gasped, her eyes widening as she finally got a clear look at the massive silhouette.

Boing-ba-boing! Boing-ba-boing!

Enveloped in a thick shroud of turbulent, cloud-like steam, the balloon-like colossus bounced rhythmically on the ground, seemingly unable to stand completely still. It was Luffy in his Gear 4 form.

Pop~

Suddenly, the air trembled with a subtle ripple, and a figure materialized out of thin air right in the middle of the room.

"My, my... Monkey D. Luffy. Coming into someone else’s home just to smash up the place isn’t exactly a great way to make people happy, you know?"

Aeridar flashed a wide grin. His tone sounded casual and mocking, yet it carried an underlying, razor-sharp chill, one that caused the temperature in the corridor to plummet instantly.