"Indeed. The lesson… continues." Reina's voice, now a silken snarl that promised untold pain, slithered through the damp, charged air. The remnants of her predatory smile were gone, replaced by a visage of glacial fury. The ground at her feet, already cracked from Nami's augmented Tempest Knuckle, began to frost over, tendrils of white ice spreading outwards like skeletal fingers despite the rain. The temperature in the immediate vicinity plummeted, Nami's ragged breaths misting heavily before her.
This was no longer a test, no longer a measured response. This was wrath.
Nami, despite the divine power coursing through her, felt a primal chill that had nothing to do with the sudden drop in temperature. The System's warnings screamed at her, a chorus of impending doom, but Umarekwa's borrowed strength was a roaring fire in her veins, demanding action, demanding defiance. Her broken bones still ached beneath the divine patch-up, a grim reminder of her own fragility, yet the power… oh, the power was intoxicating.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Nami lied, her voice surprisingly steady, amplified by the strange resonance Umarekwa's intervention had granted her. She launched herself forward again, a blur of motion that defied her visible injuries. Her mind, sharpened to a razor's edge, processed Reina's stance, the subtle shift in her weight, the almost imperceptible tightening of the muscles around her eyes.
Left side exposed for a fraction of a second after her last movement. Exploit it!
"Koku Arashi Sai!"
Her left fist, the one that had connected so devastatingly before, shot out, aimed not directly at Reina, but at the space just beyond her left shoulder, intending to force a reaction, to create an opening. The technique, now elevated to "Master" proficiency by Umarekwa's boon, was flawless in its execution – a deceptive feint followed by an explosive burst of focused power.
Reina's reaction was instantaneous. Her right hand, moving with a speed that seemed to bend light, met Nami's fist. Not to block, but to catch. Her fingers, slender yet possessing the unyielding strength of tempered steel, closed around Nami's wrist.
This time, Nami was ready for the grip. Or so she thought.
The pressure was immense, far beyond what she had experienced before. It wasn't just strength; it felt like Reina was actively crushing the very essence of the divine power flowing through Nami's arm. Sparks, not of impact, but of raw, conflicting energies, flew from the point of contact. Nami gritted her teeth, pouring more of Umarekwa's boon into her limb, trying to break free.
"Such… predictable… patterns," Reina hissed, her voice tight with controlled fury. With a grunt of effort that spoke of Nami's augmented resistance, Reina twisted.
Nami cried out as her augmented wrist, despite the divine reinforcement, buckled with a sickening CRUNCH. The sound was louder this time, more final. The divine energy fought against the crushing force, but Reina's power was a relentless tide.
But Nami wasn't done. Even as agony shot up her arm, her other, "broken" right arm, still empowered, lashed out. "Tasogare Kiba!" Her elbow, aimed like a spearhead, drove towards Reina's throat.
Reina, still holding Nami's shattered left wrist, released it with a contemptuous flick and tilted her head back a mere inch. Nami's elbow whistled past, missing by a hair's breadth, the wind of its passage ruffling Reina's silver-white hair.
"You rely too much on borrowed strength, child," Reina said, her voice a low snarl. Her own fist, moving with none of Nami's flashy technique but with an overwhelming, brutal directness, slammed into Nami's exposed abdomen.
It was like being hit by a meteor.
The divine energy Umarekwa had granted her, which had felt so boundless moments before, seemed to shatter, to dissipate like mist before a hurricane. The air was driven from Nami's lungs in a single, explosive gasp. Her vision exploded into a universe of white-hot stars. The temporary pain nullification vanished, and the full, unadulterated agony of her previous injuries, now compounded by this new, devastating blow, crashed down on her with the force of a tidal wave.
She was flung backwards, not just a few meters, but a good ten, tumbling through the air, before crashing onto the rain-slicked cobblestones with a force that should have pulped her. She lay there, a broken doll, coughing up blood, her body spasming, the divine augmentation flickering, failing.
[HOST AUGMENTATION FIELD COMPROMISED! SIGNIFICANT POWER DRAIN! VITAL SIGNS PLUMMETING! DIVINE INTERVENTION FADING RAPIDLY! TWENTY-MINUTE DURATION… REDUCED DUE TO EXTREME ENERGY EXPENDITURE AND COUNTER-FORCE TRAUMA!]
Zoro, who had managed to drag himself into a seated position, his legs useless but his swords still in hand, roared in fury. "NAMI!" He tried to push himself forward, to do anything, but his body betrayed him.
Sanji, his ankle a shattered ruin, could only watch in horror, tears of rage and helplessness carving paths through the grime on his face. "Nami-swan… no…"
Usopp, his Catalyst Dart-fueled courage deserting him in the face of this new, terrifying display, could only whimper, his slingshot falling from nerveless fingers.
Reina stood over Nami, her breath misting in the cold air, her pristine white coat now bearing a few more smudges of dirt and a single, stark crimson stain where Nami's blood had spattered. Her expression was cold, implacable.
"The lesson, it seems, is a harsh one," Reina stated, her voice devoid of any emotion save a chilling finality. "There are levels to power, girl. And you are far, far beneath."
She raised her hand, palm open, to deliver the finishing blow. The air around it began to shimmer again.
But then, she paused. Her head tilted slightly, not towards Nami, but towards the surrounding Marines, who were watching the brutal, one-sided beatdown with a mixture of awe and growing unease. Even they, hardened as they were, seemed disturbed by the sheer, overwhelming force being brought to bear on a single, clearly outmatched young woman. The Vice Admiral, in particular, looked like he was about to be sick.
Reina's ice-blue eyes swept over them, and for the first time, a flicker of genuine, unrestrained anger blazed within their depths. It wasn't directed at Nami, or even the Straw Hats. It was directed at the weakness, the fear, the ordinariness she saw in the faces of the Marines.
"Such… noise," she murmured, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Such… distractions."
And then, she unleashed it.
It wasn't a physical attack. It wasn't a visible wave of force. It was… pressure. An immense, suffocating, invisible weight that slammed down on the entire plaza. The very air seemed to thicken, to become heavy, unbreathable. A wave of pure, unadulterated willpower, so potent, so overwhelming, that it crushed the spirits of lesser men.
Haoshoku Haki. Conqueror's Haki.
The effect on the rank-and-file Marines was instantaneous and devastating. Those closest to Reina simply collapsed, their eyes rolling back in their heads, foam flecking their lips. Others stumbled, clutching their chests, gasping for air, before succumbing to the overwhelming pressure and falling like dominoes. Further out, Marines dropped their weapons, their faces pale with terror, before they too crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Within seconds, every Marine in the immediate vicinity, from the newest recruit to seasoned veterans, lay sprawled on the cobblestones, out cold. Only the Vice Admiral, his face ashen, his knees trembling, remained standing, though he looked like he was about to faint.
Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp, even in their battered, chemically-stimulated states, felt the pressure wave wash over them. It was like being plunged into the deepest ocean depths, their wills assaulted, their spirits battered.
Zoro gritted his teeth, Wado Ichimonji shaking in his grip, his vision blurring. A red haze filled his mind. No… I won't… fall… He was a swordsman. His will was his greatest weapon. He fought against it, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
Sanji, his body already broken, swayed dangerously. His eyes unfocused. Nami-swan… Zeff… Images flashed through his mind. He collapsed onto his good knee, but he didn't go down completely. His chivalry, his devotion, was a shield, however battered.
Usopp simply screamed, a high-pitched, terrified shriek, and then promptly fainted, his eyes rolling back in his head. The Catalyst Dart had given him courage, but it couldn't fortify a will not yet truly forged in the fires of genuine conviction.
Nami, lying broken on the ground, the last vestiges of Umarekwa's power flickering out like a dying star, felt the Haoshoku Haki wash over her. It was terrifying, crushing, but… strangely, it didn't affect her as profoundly as it did the Marines. Perhaps it was the lingering remnants of the divine boon, or perhaps her own will, battered and bruised as it was, had been tempered by her "year" of training and her desperate defiance. She remained conscious, though every nerve ending screamed in agony.
The plaza was suddenly, eerily silent, save for the soft patter of the rain and the ragged breathing of the few who still stood, or knelt.
Reina surveyed the scene of unconscious Marines, her expression unreadable. She seemed almost… disappointed. "So few… with the will to even remain standing. The Marines of this era are… wanting."
She then turned her gaze back to Nami, who was pushing herself up onto her one good elbow, her eyes blazing with a desperate, dying defiance.
"Still… conscious?" Reina murmured, a hint of something almost like surprise in her voice. "You are… remarkably resilient, child. Or perhaps, merely stubborn." She took a step towards Nami. "But your borrowed time is at an end."
The last spark of Umarekwa's power winked out. Nami felt it go, like a candle being snuffed, leaving her in the cold, agonizing reality of her shattered body. The pain returned with a vengeance, a roaring inferno that threatened to consume her. Her vision blurred. Darkness clawed at the edges of her consciousness.
This was it. She had nothing left.
Fifteen kilometers away, in the dilapidated shipyard district, the localized storm still raged, though with less intensity than it had in the plaza. Rain lashed down, turning the grimy ground into a muddy quagmire. The air was thick with the smell of salt, rotting wood, and Smoker's acrid cigar smoke.
Monkey D. Luffy, soot-stained and singed, was not having a good time.
"Damn it!" he yelled, leaping back as a tendril of dense white smoke, tipped with Smoker's Seastone Jitte, whipped past his face. "Your smoke body is so annoying, Smokey! How am I supposed to hit you?!"
Smoker, his upper body a swirling vortex of smoke, his eyes narrowed and grim, didn't bother to reply. He was relentless, pressing his advantage. "White Snake!" Another tendril of smoke shot out, this one wrapping around Luffy's ankle.
"Whoa!" Luffy yelped as he was yanked off his feet, crashing into a pile of discarded fishing nets. He quickly untangled himself, his rubbery body absorbing most of the impact, but the frustration was clear on his face. "I gotta get out of here! I gotta find Nami and Zoro and the others! They're probably worried! And hungry!" He patted his stomach, which rumbled loudly despite the dire situation. "Man, I really hope Sanji bought lots of meat!"
"You're not going anywhere, Straw Hat," Smoker growled, reforming his solid upper body. Two cigars were now clamped in his teeth, smoke billowing from them like miniature chimneys. "Loguetown is where your pathetic pirate dream ends." He lunged forward, his Jitte aimed at Luffy's chest. "White Blow!" His fist, wreathed in smoke, shot towards Luffy.
Luffy, anticipating the attack, stretched his own arm back. "Gomu Gomu no…"
But Smoker was too fast, too experienced. He feinted with the punch, then shifted his Jitte, the Seastone tip glinting menacingly in the dim light. He brought it down in a sweeping arc, not aimed to impale, but to trap.
Luffy, mid-Pistol, tried to retract his arm, but the Jitte's tip brushed against his outstretched rubbery limb.
A jolt, unlike anything he'd ever felt, shot through Luffy. It wasn't pain, not exactly, but a profound, sickening weakness, as if all the strength, all the rubbery vitality, was being sucked out of him. His arm went limp, retracting slowly, uselessly. His knees buckled.
"Wha… what's this…?" Luffy gasped, his usual boundless energy draining away like water from a sieve. He felt… heavy. Weak. Like he was made of lead instead of rubber. He looked down at his hands, which were trembling.
"Seastone," Smoker said, his voice flat. He pressed his advantage, stalking Luffy as the young pirate stumbled backwards, trying to regain his strength, his composure. "The bane of Devil Fruit users like you, Straw Hat. It negates your powers. Makes you as weak as a newborn kitten." He jabbed with the Jitte again.
Luffy yelped and scrambled back, narrowly avoiding the Seastone tip. He tripped over a loose anchor chain and fell heavily, landing on his back in the mud. The weakness was overwhelming. He tried to push himself up, but his arms felt like noodles.
"It's over, Straw Hat," Smoker said, standing over him, the Jitte poised. "You pirates come to this town, thinking you can spit on the law, thinking you can follow in Gold Roger's footsteps. But Loguetown is where dreams die. It's where scum like you are brought to justice."
Luffy glared up at him, his eyes blazing with a desperate, defiant light despite the debilitating weakness. "I… I'm gonna be… King of the Pirates!" he gasped, his voice strained. "You can't… stop me…!"
"Can't I?" Smoker said, a grim satisfaction in his voice. He raised the Jitte, its Seastone tip aimed directly at Luffy's chest. "This town is my jurisdiction. And you… you are under arrest."
He brought the Jitte down.
Not in a killing blow. Smoker wasn't an executioner. But in a pinning strike, designed to incapacitate, to crush.
The Seastone tip pressed hard against Luffy's sternum.
An unimaginable agony, mixed with that horrifying, power-draining weakness, ripped through Luffy. It wasn't just physical pain; it was like his very soul was being crushed. His rubbery body, usually so resilient, offered no defense against this. He felt his strength, his will, his very essence being extinguished.
A raw, guttural scream, torn from the depths of his being, echoed across the desolate shipyard, lost amidst the mournful howl of the dying storm.
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
"Indeed. The lesson… continues." Reina's voice, now a silken snarl that promised untold pain, slithered through the damp, charged air. The remnants of her predatory smile were gone, replaced by a visage of glacial fury. The ground at her feet, already cracked from Nami's augmented Tempest Knuckle, began to frost over, tendrils of white ice spreading outwards like skeletal fingers despite the rain. The temperature in the immediate vicinity plummeted, Nami's ragged breaths misting heavily before her.
This was no longer a test, no longer a measured response. This was wrath.
Nami, despite the divine power coursing through her, felt a primal chill that had nothing to do with the sudden drop in temperature. The System's warnings screamed at her, a chorus of impending doom, but Umarekwa's borrowed strength was a roaring fire in her veins, demanding action, demanding defiance. Her broken bones still ached beneath the divine patch-up, a grim reminder of her own fragility, yet the power… oh, the power was intoxicating.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Nami lied, her voice surprisingly steady, amplified by the strange resonance Umarekwa's intervention had granted her. She launched herself forward again, a blur of motion that defied her visible injuries. Her mind, sharpened to a razor's edge, processed Reina's stance, the subtle shift in her weight, the almost imperceptible tightening of the muscles around her eyes.
Left side exposed for a fraction of a second after her last movement. Exploit it!
"Koku Arashi Sai!"
Her left fist, the one that had connected so devastatingly before, shot out, aimed not directly at Reina, but at the space just beyond her left shoulder, intending to force a reaction, to create an opening. The technique, now elevated to "Master" proficiency by Umarekwa's boon, was flawless in its execution – a deceptive feint followed by an explosive burst of focused power.
Reina's reaction was instantaneous. Her right hand, moving with a speed that seemed to bend light, met Nami's fist. Not to block, but to catch. Her fingers, slender yet possessing the unyielding strength of tempered steel, closed around Nami's wrist.
This time, Nami was ready for the grip. Or so she thought.
The pressure was immense, far beyond what she had experienced before. It wasn't just strength; it felt like Reina was actively crushing the very essence of the divine power flowing through Nami's arm. Sparks, not of impact, but of raw, conflicting energies, flew from the point of contact. Nami gritted her teeth, pouring more of Umarekwa's boon into her limb, trying to break free.
"Such… predictable… patterns," Reina hissed, her voice tight with controlled fury. With a grunt of effort that spoke of Nami's augmented resistance, Reina twisted.
Nami cried out as her augmented wrist, despite the divine reinforcement, buckled with a sickening CRUNCH. The sound was louder this time, more final. The divine energy fought against the crushing force, but Reina's power was a relentless tide.
But Nami wasn't done. Even as agony shot up her arm, her other, "broken" right arm, still empowered, lashed out. "Tasogare Kiba!" Her elbow, aimed like a spearhead, drove towards Reina's throat.
Reina, still holding Nami's shattered left wrist, released it with a contemptuous flick and tilted her head back a mere inch. Nami's elbow whistled past, missing by a hair's breadth, the wind of its passage ruffling Reina's silver-white hair.
"You rely too much on borrowed strength, child," Reina said, her voice a low snarl. Her own fist, moving with none of Nami's flashy technique but with an overwhelming, brutal directness, slammed into Nami's exposed abdomen.
It was like being hit by a meteor.
The divine energy Umarekwa had granted her, which had felt so boundless moments before, seemed to shatter, to dissipate like mist before a hurricane. The air was driven from Nami's lungs in a single, explosive gasp. Her vision exploded into a universe of white-hot stars. The temporary pain nullification vanished, and the full, unadulterated agony of her previous injuries, now compounded by this new, devastating blow, crashed down on her with the force of a tidal wave.
She was flung backwards, not just a few meters, but a good ten, tumbling through the air, before crashing onto the rain-slicked cobblestones with a force that should have pulped her. She lay there, a broken doll, coughing up blood, her body spasming, the divine augmentation flickering, failing.
[HOST AUGMENTATION FIELD COMPROMISED! SIGNIFICANT POWER DRAIN! VITAL SIGNS PLUMMETING! DIVINE INTERVENTION FADING RAPIDLY! TWENTY-MINUTE DURATION… REDUCED DUE TO EXTREME ENERGY EXPENDITURE AND COUNTER-FORCE TRAUMA!]
Zoro, who had managed to drag himself into a seated position, his legs useless but his swords still in hand, roared in fury. "NAMI!" He tried to push himself forward, to do anything, but his body betrayed him.
Sanji, his ankle a shattered ruin, could only watch in horror, tears of rage and helplessness carving paths through the grime on his face. "Nami-swan… no…"
Usopp, his Catalyst Dart-fueled courage deserting him in the face of this new, terrifying display, could only whimper, his slingshot falling from nerveless fingers.
Reina stood over Nami, her breath misting in the cold air, her pristine white coat now bearing a few more smudges of dirt and a single, stark crimson stain where Nami's blood had spattered. Her expression was cold, implacable.
"The lesson, it seems, is a harsh one," Reina stated, her voice devoid of any emotion save a chilling finality. "There are levels to power, girl. And you are far, far beneath."
She raised her hand, palm open, to deliver the finishing blow. The air around it began to shimmer again.
But then, she paused. Her head tilted slightly, not towards Nami, but towards the surrounding Marines, who were watching the brutal, one-sided beatdown with a mixture of awe and growing unease. Even they, hardened as they were, seemed disturbed by the sheer, overwhelming force being brought to bear on a single, clearly outmatched young woman. The Vice Admiral, in particular, looked like he was about to be sick.
Reina's ice-blue eyes swept over them, and for the first time, a flicker of genuine, unrestrained anger blazed within their depths. It wasn't directed at Nami, or even the Straw Hats. It was directed at the weakness, the fear, the ordinariness she saw in the faces of the Marines.
"Such… noise," she murmured, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Such… distractions."
And then, she unleashed it.
It wasn't a physical attack. It wasn't a visible wave of force. It was… pressure. An immense, suffocating, invisible weight that slammed down on the entire plaza. The very air seemed to thicken, to become heavy, unbreathable. A wave of pure, unadulterated willpower, so potent, so overwhelming, that it crushed the spirits of lesser men.
Haoshoku Haki. Conqueror's Haki.
The effect on the rank-and-file Marines was instantaneous and devastating. Those closest to Reina simply collapsed, their eyes rolling back in their heads, foam flecking their lips. Others stumbled, clutching their chests, gasping for air, before succumbing to the overwhelming pressure and falling like dominoes. Further out, Marines dropped their weapons, their faces pale with terror, before they too crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Within seconds, every Marine in the immediate vicinity, from the newest recruit to seasoned veterans, lay sprawled on the cobblestones, out cold. Only the Vice Admiral, his face ashen, his knees trembling, remained standing, though he looked like he was about to faint.
Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp, even in their battered, chemically-stimulated states, felt the pressure wave wash over them. It was like being plunged into the deepest ocean depths, their wills assaulted, their spirits battered.
Zoro gritted his teeth, Wado Ichimonji shaking in his grip, his vision blurring. A red haze filled his mind. No… I won't… fall… He was a swordsman. His will was his greatest weapon. He fought against it, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
Sanji, his body already broken, swayed dangerously. His eyes unfocused. Nami-swan… Robin-chwan… Zeff… Images flashed through his mind. He collapsed onto his good knee, but he didn't go down completely. His chivalry, his devotion, was a shield, however battered.
Usopp simply screamed, a high-pitched, terrified shriek, and then promptly fainted, his eyes rolling back in his head. The Catalyst Dart had given him courage, but it couldn't fortify a will not yet truly forged in the fires of genuine conviction.
Nami, lying broken on the ground, the last vestiges of Umarekwa's power flickering out like a dying star, felt the Haoshoku Haki wash over her. It was terrifying, crushing, but… strangely, it didn't affect her as profoundly as it did the Marines. Perhaps it was the lingering remnants of the divine boon, or perhaps her own will, battered and bruised as it was, had been tempered by her "year" of training and her desperate defiance. She remained conscious, though every nerve ending screamed in agony.
The plaza was suddenly, eerily silent, save for the soft patter of the rain and the ragged breathing of the few who still stood, or knelt.
Reina surveyed the scene of unconscious Marines, her expression unreadable. She seemed almost… disappointed. "So few… with the will to even remain standing. The Marines of this era are… wanting."
She then turned her gaze back to Nami, who was pushing herself up onto her one good elbow, her eyes blazing with a desperate, dying defiance.
"Still… conscious?" Reina murmured, a hint of something almost like surprise in her voice. "You are… remarkably resilient, child. Or perhaps, merely stubborn." She took a step towards Nami. "But your borrowed time is at an end."
The last spark of Umarekwa's power winked out. Nami felt it go, like a candle being snuffed, leaving her in the cold, agonizing reality of her shattered body. The pain returned with a vengeance, a roaring inferno that threatened to consume her. Her vision blurred. Darkness clawed at the edges of her consciousness.
This was it. She had nothing left.
Fifteen kilometers away, in the dilapidated shipyard district, the localized storm still raged, though with less intensity than it had in the plaza. Rain lashed down, turning the grimy ground into a muddy quagmire. The air was thick with the smell of salt, rotting wood, and Smoker's acrid cigar smoke.
Monkey D. Luffy, soot-stained and singed, was not having a good time.
"Damn it!" he yelled, leaping back as a tendril of dense white smoke, tipped with Smoker's Seastone Jitte, whipped past his face. "Your smoke body is so annoying, Smokey! How am I supposed to hit you?!"
Smoker, his upper body a swirling vortex of smoke, his eyes narrowed and grim, didn't bother to reply. He was relentless, pressing his advantage. "White Snake!" Another tendril of smoke shot out, this one wrapping around Luffy's ankle.
"Whoa!" Luffy yelped as he was yanked off his feet, crashing into a pile of discarded fishing nets. He quickly untangled himself, his rubbery body absorbing most of the impact, but the frustration was clear on his face. "I gotta get out of here! I gotta find Nami and Zoro and the others! They're probably worried! And hungry!" He patted his stomach, which rumbled loudly despite the dire situation. "Man, I really hope Sanji bought lots of meat!"
"You're not going anywhere, Straw Hat," Smoker growled, reforming his solid upper body. Two cigars were now clamped in his teeth, smoke billowing from them like miniature chimneys. "Loguetown is where your pathetic pirate dream ends." He lunged forward, his Jitte aimed at Luffy's chest. "White Blow!" His fist, wreathed in smoke, shot towards Luffy.
Luffy, anticipating the attack, stretched his own arm back. "Gomu Gomu no…"
But Smoker was too fast, too experienced. He feinted with the punch, then shifted his Jitte, the Seastone tip glinting menacingly in the dim light. He brought it down in a sweeping arc, not aimed to impale, but to trap.
Luffy, mid-Pistol, tried to retract his arm, but the Jitte's tip brushed against his outstretched rubbery limb.
A jolt, unlike anything he'd ever felt, shot through Luffy. It wasn't pain, not exactly, but a profound, sickening weakness, as if all the strength, all the rubbery vitality, was being sucked out of him. His arm went limp, retracting slowly, uselessly. His knees buckled.
"Wha… what's this…?" Luffy gasped, his usual boundless energy draining away like water from a sieve. He felt… heavy. Weak. Like he was made of lead instead of rubber. He looked down at his hands, which were trembling.
"Seastone," Smoker said, his voice flat. He pressed his advantage, stalking Luffy as the young pirate stumbled backwards, trying to regain his strength, his composure. "The bane of Devil Fruit users like you, Straw Hat. It negates your powers. Makes you as weak as a newborn kitten." He jabbed with the Jitte again.
Luffy yelped and scrambled back, narrowly avoiding the Seastone tip. He tripped over a loose anchor chain and fell heavily, landing on his back in the mud. The weakness was overwhelming. He tried to push himself up, but his arms felt like noodles.
"It's over, Straw Hat," Smoker said, standing over him, the Jitte poised. "You pirates come to this town, thinking you can spit on the law, thinking you can follow in Gold Roger's footsteps. But Loguetown is where dreams die. It's where scum like you are brought to justice."
Luffy glared up at him, his eyes blazing with a desperate, defiant light despite the debilitating weakness. "I… I'm gonna be… King of the Pirates!" he gasped, his voice strained. "You can't… stop me…!"
"Can't I?" Smoker said, a grim satisfaction in his voice. He raised the Jitte, its Seastone tip aimed directly at Luffy's chest. "This town is my jurisdiction. And you… you are under arrest."
He brought the Jitte down.
Not in a killing blow. Smoker wasn't an executioner. But in a pinning strike, designed to incapacitate, to crush.
The Seastone tip pressed hard against Luffy's sternum.
An unimaginable agony, mixed with that horrifying, power-draining weakness, ripped through Luffy. It wasn't just physical pain; it was like his very soul was being crushed. His rubbery body, usually so resilient, offered no defense against this. He felt his strength, his will, his very essence being extinguished.
A raw, guttural scream, torn from the depths of his being, echoed across the desolate shipyard, lost amidst the mournful howl of the dying storm.
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"