Chapter 221: Rokushiki Paper Arts Pairs Well With The Rubber-rubber Fruit!
How can I run faster?
How can I make my fists stronger?
How can I defeat that Black Prince and rescue Nami?
He had been pondering these questions since leaving Loguetown. Along the way to Alabasta, he had fought all sorts of enemies and seen quite a few formidable guys, including Devil Fruit ability users, giants as tall as mountains, and he even encountered Ace······
He saw Ace using flames as thrusters to pilot the Assault Boat across the sea at an astonishing speed, even briefly flying into the sky using flames as propulsion.
Thus,
An rough idea formed in his mind.
An idea that could greatly boost his power, but unfortunately, there was no extra time for him to test it, or rather, real combat was the best testing ground.
“Bang!!!”
Distracted, Luffy was hit in the nose by Lucci’s fist, and his whole body flew out like a kite with its string cut.
A normal person hit by such a punch would be lucky to survive, and their nose would definitely be gone, but who let Luffy be a Rubber Human! His unique Rubber Physique made him extremely durable; such an attack was not even as good as that little knife cutting him once.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Lucci stood in place without moving, looking at Luffy sprawled amid the broken bricks and rubble, gazing down at him in an extremely relaxed posture. “If that’s all you’ve got, you won’t be able to take your partner back. You can’t even pass me······ you’d better give up early! Otherwise, you’ll die here······”
“I will absolutely not give up.”
Luffy’s fist smashed the stone block in front of him.
He held a rather strange pose, legs spread like a horse stance, but his waist bent very low. He declared resolutely: “Nami is waiting for me. I will absolutely not abandon my partner. Today, I will defeat you here and take Nami away!!”
A resolute declaration!
In the midst of speaking,
Luffy’s body became even stranger. His leg muscles moved up and down in an unscientific way, like turning into pumps inflating, his skin began to redden, and eventually white steam rose faintly.
“Gear Second!!”
Luffy slowly raised the fist propped on the ground.
“······Is that your trump card?”
Lucci raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. “Doesn’t look like much······ So fast!” His expression changed in an instant. A fist from the left slammed heavily into his face. Lucci felt like he’d been shot at close range by a large-caliber rifle; the powerful impact brought intense pain.
Facial muscles were indeed lacking; Iron Body’s defense was far inferior to the torso and limbs.
However,
What was with this speed and power?
The gap from before was too big. This movement speed······ could even outpace that big-mouthed Fukurou! He moved to his side in an instant and landed a simple straight punch that numbed half his face.
Speed and power had both undergone earth-shaking changes.
“I said, I will defeat you here.”
Luffy raised his fists. Without even clearly seeing his foot movements, he vanished from Lucci’s sight again, followed by a heavy fist striking straight from the right.
“Paper Arts!”
A defensive technique in Rokushiki, just like Iron Body.
But while Iron Body relied on a hardened body to tank, Paper Arts made the body soft, releasing all tension, controlling the body as freely as drawing on paper, yielding to the airflow created by the opponent’s movements, dodging all incoming attacks at the last possible moment!
Lucci’s body became like soft mud in that instant, swaying gently yet extremely quickly, deftly avoiding Luffy’s attack.
“This move!”
Luffy had seen Fukurou use it when fighting him.
He had stolen it too, but unfortunately Fukurou went down before he fully mastered it. But now it seemed there might be a chance to continue learning. Schemes immediately started clicking in his mind; this move paired with his Rubber-Rubber Fruit ability seemed very useful. He resolved to learn it.
The current Luffy was going all out, exhausting every possible way to grow stronger.
“Rubber Jet Pistol!”
Luffy kept attacking, maintaining a powerful but not overly aggressive momentum, forcing Lucci to use Paper Arts to dodge.
“·······Interesting!”
A cruel smile appeared on Lucci’s face.
Without much thought, he understood Luffy’s intention. He was eyeing Paper Arts? Quite bold! But······ recalling His Highness’s orders, he decided to see if Luffy could really learn Paper Arts.
He simply stopped using Iron Body altogether, pushing Paper Arts to the extreme, swaying like willow catkins dancing in the wind. Luffy’s attacks always missed by a hair’s breadth.
Instead, he occasionally countered with Finger Pistol and Tempest Kick, making Luffy bleed again.
Fortunately, the injuries weren’t serious, and with his endless stamina like a perpetual motion machine, Luffy didn’t care about the minor wounds at all. All his focus was on combat and learning, suppressing Lucci while constantly pondering the mysteries of Paper Arts.
“I got it!!!”
Suddenly,
Luffy let out an excited shout.
Just then, Lucci chose to counterattack, his Finger Pistol stabbing viciously at Luffy’s chest and abdomen. But this sure-hit strike missed. Luffy’s body displayed an unimaginable softness, caving inward incredibly, creating space to evade the Finger Pistol’s path.
That was something even Lucci couldn’t do.
The essence of Paper Arts was to move unpredictably, letting the soft body preemptively evade attacks, not distorting or changing the body. Even Fukurou’s Paper Arts derivative ‘Soft Mud’ only seemed to deform the body like clay; in reality, it only altered his excess fat—bones couldn’t be deformed no matter what.
Even Lucci’s mastered ultimate technique could only minimize and tighten the flesh as much as possible, without changing the skeleton’s size.
But Luffy was different,
As a Rubber Human, he could already perform many actions beyond human limits, his bones possessing rubber properties, that unimaginable flexibility.
Paired with Paper Arts, it maximized this trait.
Aside from lacking Elementalization, it was almost like a Logia Devil Fruit.
“Finger Pistol·Yellow Lotus!”
“Tempest Kick·Kite!”
The battlefield reversed in an instant. Luffy, the original attacker, slowed his storm-like assault, while Lucci, who had been dancing with Paper Arts, counterattacked fiercely. Without using basic Rokushiki techniques, he went straight for his self-developed derivatives.
However,
Every attack was dodged.
Luffy’s Paper Arts was unbelievably powerful; as the enemy, Lucci felt it most acutely.
“So awesome! This move is so awesome!” Luffy yelled excitedly. Continuously dodging Lucci’s attacks felt extremely fun. Because his body was so durable, he usually didn’t bother dodging enemies unless they had blades or extreme heat/cold—he just tanked head-on, since it didn’t even hurt.
Now, he was starting to experience the pleasure of dodging attacks.
It was really fun!
But Luffy hadn’t forgotten why he was here today. Saving Nami was most important. Since he’d learned this move, next he should go all out to defeat the man before him.
“Rubber Jet Beast Pistol.”
“Rubber Jet Whip.”
“Rubber······Jet Rocket Launcher.”
Going all out, Luffy’s onslaught was like a tsunami or collapsing mountain, ferociously breaking through Lucci’s Paper Arts.
“Pah!”
Bloody spit splattered into the yellow sand.
Lucci struggled to his feet, touching his face—it was a bit swollen. Multiple muscles ached all over, bones······ a few bones were probably cracked, but no full breaks or dislocations was good news.
“Did His Highness foresee this outcome?”
He licked his lips.
Recalling what Elus had said: only use Devil Fruit power if he thought he’d lose. At first, he didn’t believe he’d need it, but this Straw Hat kid was a freak beyond common sense.
Indeed,
His insight fell short of His Highness.
“I was careless!”
Lucci wiped the blood from his mouth, his expression turning deadly serious.
Getting beaten down like this would be too embarrassing. He’d just said all that, only to get floored moments later—it was······ still, he should go all out for the next round. Truth be told, he was getting excited now.
An opponent this interesting was a first!
Previous foes were either too weak or true monsters like His Highness, too strong to even resist. An opponent like Luffy, not too strong or weak······ was truly a first. A great training opportunity.
At this thought, a sudden realization dawned.
The Straw Hat kid stole Fukurou’s skills and some of his techniques, but they could likewise draw combat experience from Luffy.
This was also a good chance for him to hone himself.
Thus,
Zoan·Cat-Cat Fruit·Leopard Form—
Lucci’s body swelled and grew, his fitted black suit turning into tight clothing. He chose his most proficient Human-Beast Form, which maximized his combat power over pure Beast Form.
“Straw Hat kid, I admit you’re a worthy opponent, so······ let’s continue! Continue this fight!”
“Flying Finger Pistol·Pluck!!”
With a flick of his finger, an extremely sharp air bullet shot out at lightning speed. Even dodging with Paper Arts, Luffy’s right cheek was still grazed, fresh blood slowly seeping from the new wound, the faint sting reminding him the enemy’s tactics had changed.
“Rubber Jet Beast Pistol!”
Luffy charged forward fearlessly.
No matter how the enemy changed, what he had to do remained the same from start to finish: defeat all obstacles in his path, then save Nami. That was it.
Yes,
That was it.
————
“Luffy!!”
Watching Luffy spit blood from the beating, Nami’s face was tear-streaked, tears streaming down.
“He’s forced Lucci to use his Devil Fruit power······ Exceptional talent, solid foundation······ As expected of a youth favored by destiny.” Elus had also come to the window side, gazing at the battling Luffy and Lucci.
With the Gaze-Gaze Fruit’s power, standing at the window side or sitting on the sofa made no difference; the view in his eyes showed no significant change.
However,
The feeling was different.
Standing at the window side felt more like watching a spectacle.
“······Beating weaklings a thousand times can’t compare to fighting a superior enemy once. Lucci still lacks experience battling foes above him.” Elus commented while spectating.
“Your Highness, can the Straw Hat kid beat Lucci?”
Farrug came over too, asking like a straight man.
“Lucci will likely lose. He shouldn’t have let Luffy learn Paper Arts. Paper Arts and Rubber-Rubber Fruit······ this combo even I didn’t expect such interesting effects. Unlike conscious sensing with Observation Haki, Paper Arts relies more on the body’s instincts for evasion······ If he masters Observation Haki, perfectly mimicking Logia Elementalization might be unlikely, but this move has potential rivaling Elementalization.”
Elus stroked his chin, speaking slowly.
This wasn’t deliberate hype for the True Chosen One.
Paper Arts and Rubber-Rubber Fruit had ridiculously good synergy. Luffy clearly hadn’t fully fused them yet, but even now he could evade over eighty percent of Lucci’s attacks with minimal movement. In the long run, Lucci with faster stamina consumption would fall into an even worse situation.
Even as a Zoan Devil Fruit User, renowned for stamina and recovery.
But Luffy was trained from childhood by his monster grandfather at hellish difficulty. In terms of stamina, even a Zoan Devil Fruit User might not surpass him. Without eating the Rubber-Rubber Fruit, Luffy’s future would likely be another Garp.
This family’s bloodline was absurdly strong.
“But even if Luffy wins, it won’t be easy. Lucci······ has great potential, just wasted some time, and honestly CP9 isn’t a place for real training. Assassinating weaklings brings little growth; true, hard-hitting combat like this is the fastest way to improve.”
Elus continued: “Even if Lucci loses this time, it might not be bad for him. Failure is the mother of success. Lucci was too smooth-sailing before; his rare setbacks were against overwhelmingly superior foes.”
