Chapter 222: Rokushiki Secret Technique · Six King Gun
“I heard you’re best at Three Sword Style?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s really a shame! I didn’t get to see the wonders of Three Sword Style. If I’d known, I would’ve returned that sword to you before making my move. What a pity!!!”
“That way, you’d only lose even faster!”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing. Losing isn’t a big deal; it’s not my first time losing. On the contrary, not getting to see Three Sword Style… that’s what hurts! Hey, can you show me? Three Sword Style?”
Kaku leaned obliquely against the broken wall, struggling to maintain this half-sitting, half-lying posture.
“No way, my swordsmanship isn’t for show.”
Zoro cradled his beloved Wado Ichimonji, inspecting it inside and out, top to bottom, meticulously. This sword was one he had snatched back from Kaku after defeating him. More precisely, Kaku had hidden the sword box somewhere before stepping up to fight Zoro.
After losing, he had guided Zoro to retrieve Wado Ichimonji.
“Don’t worry! No one has touched your treasure. His Highness didn’t allow us to touch it casually.” Seeing Zoro’s stance as if he wanted to X-ray the beloved sword in his hand, Kaku chuckled lightly, which tugged at his wounds, causing fresh blood to spurt out again.
His current appearance could be called miserable.
There were nearly a hundred wounds all over his body. Swordsmen’s battles were this cruel. Unlike fist-to-flesh fights, real sword duels easily left the opponent covered in wounds. The loser aside, the victor, unless overwhelmingly powerful, would also bleed quite a bit.
There were even rumors that thirty percent of swordsmen on the Sea died from excessive blood loss.
As the victor, Zoro had also become a blood-soaked figure. Fortunately, compared to Kaku who was lying on the ground unable to move, Zoro could at least walk and move. After bandaging his own wounds, he could even run and jump, which made Kaku’s eyes nearly bulge out.
People really can’t be lumped together.
Where did this monster come from? His physical fitness was even better than his own, trained from childhood in the CP organization? Of course, he didn’t know that Zoro’s master who raised him, Koshiro, was a fierce person who could discuss the Way with the Revolutionary Army leader, a great swordsman who had reached the highest realm of swordsmanship. Even Zoro himself didn’t know.
Just like how Luffy previously had no idea how fierce his grandfather was, how strong his father was, or how awesome his own future would be…
“Hey, long-nose, thanks.”
Zoro sheathed his beloved sword back at his waist. The familiar heavy weight of the three swords hanging there lifted his spirits entirely, making even his enemy Kaku look somewhat pleasing for once.
“Cut the crap and go save your companions! But don’t think defeating me means everything’s fine. There are stronger people behind me.”
“Whoever it is, just slash them down and be done with it.”
Zoro declared resolutely, then—
He ran off in the opposite direction from the one Kaku had pointed to.
“Hey hey, wait, you ran the wrong way!!!” Kaku was so angry he spat out a mouthful of blood. Damn, that’s not just getting lost; that’s a lost god! Even with fingers and mouth pointing the way, he could still go wrong…
————
“Hahaha!!!”
Elus burst into laughter.
Zoro’s sense of direction was absolutely a heavenly disaster; it was beyond human recovery.
However,
He really hadn’t expected Kaku to be so infuriated as to spit blood.
“Farrug, prepare bandages and hemostatic medicine. Another wounded person needs treatment.” Elus ignored his subordinates’ puzzled looks, raised his hand to open an Air Door, and chains flew into it. In less than two seconds, Kaku, turned into a blood gourd, was dragged out.
“······”
Farrug opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he wasn’t a doctor or a nurse; he was a fighter.
But in the end, he didn’t dare. He directed Fukurou, who had regained some mobility, to help drag Kaku aside, then carried the medical kit forward and skillfully began treating Kaku’s wounds.
「Another one lost, sword wounds… Did Zoro win?」
Nami glanced at Kaku lying on the ground with the corner of her eye. Her clever brain quickly analyzed the actual situation based on the gathered information.
“Farrug, hurry up. This one has fractures.”
A new Air Door opened, and Jabura, looking more like a dead dog than a wolf, was dragged out by chains. He had multiple fractures all over his body. Sanji’s kicking techniques had astonishing destructive power. To kick a Zoan Devil Fruit User like Jabura into such a state showed Sanji’s strength had also improved greatly.
Elus’s gaze swept around everywhere,
This villain boss hadn’t worked in vain. Under the pressure he brought, the Straw Hat Pirates had grown stronger at a faster pace. Even Usopp and Chopper—mainly Usopp. Chopper had just joined the ship not long ago. Usopp had also come up with many interesting ammunition, and by taking two Blue Wave Balls, he defeated Kumadori without going berserk.
And Kalifa,
Well,
Robin, who had spent some time mixing with the Revolutionary Army, had a mindset different from before. Having sailed to Alabasta with Luffy and the others, she had fully integrated into the team… Moreover, Kalifa had left CP. With no psychological fear, Robin went all out and, after a battle that wasn’t too tough, achieved victory.
The Straw Hat Pirates were converging here.
“Farrug!”
Hearing His Highness’s call, Farrug shivered.
One Air Door after another opened, and the wounded were dragged out by chains. Farrug looked at the row of injured laid out before him, wanting to cry but without tears. He was clearly a fighter! He specialized in snapping enemies’ necks, not setting bones!
How had he quietly been forced to change jobs?
Of course, no matter what he thought, his hands didn’t dare slow down. He had to admit, treating them one by one, his skills were getting more and more proficient.
“Luffy!!!”
Seeing Elus’s subordinates defeated and brought back one after another, realizing her companions had achieved a great victory, Nami grew increasingly tense. These past few months had made her deeply aware of how terrifying Elus truly was!
Defeating Elus’s subordinates was certainly worth celebrating, but… as long as she saw Elus himself, Nami couldn’t help but worry.
Even if the Black Prince and Luffy’s father might have an agreement,
Even if the Black Prince’s series of actions seemed to show no killing intent toward Luffy and the others,
That overwhelmingly disparate power still made one uneasy. With the knife in someone else’s hand, even if they said they wouldn’t hurt you, you definitely couldn’t feel truly at ease.
————
Luffy and Lucci’s battle had entered a white-hot phase.
“Finger Pistol: Spot!!!”
Lucci had already used a secret technique called “Life Return,” boosting his combat power once more. His speed and power had significantly improved again, however… his attacks still showed little effect. Luffy combined Paper Arts and the Rubber-Rubber Fruit’s abilities, producing an unbelievably effective result.
That storm-like barrage of attacks was dodged,
Finger Pistol: Spot, in Life Return state, shot out countless Finger Pistols from both hands—an extremely hard-to-dodge attack.
Unfortunately, this move had minimal effect on Luffy.
On the contrary, Luffy continuously studied this variant Finger Pistol technique called Beast Strictness, blending it with the giants’ power exertion techniques learned in Little Garden and the Rubber-Rubber Fruit’s abilities. His fists’ attack power kept rising, constantly improving and optimizing through real combat feedback.
Even Lucci’s Iron Body was starting to falter.
“Damn Straw Hat.”
Lucci spat out a bloody glob.
He had tried almost all his combat techniques, with generally poor results against Luffy. Now, only his final move remained… Feeling the pain and fatigue signals from all over his body, he knew he couldn’t drag this out any longer.
If he kept dragging, he’d be worn down, and probably wouldn’t have the strength to use even this strongest ultimate move.
He hardened his body muscles with Iron Body once more, tilted his shoulder to tank Luffy’s punch, endured the dull pain from his shoulder, and used the movement technique called ‘Shave’ underfoot. In mid-air, he traced a curved, sharp trajectory, dodging the second fist and closing in on Luffy.
Both hands clenched into fists, held parallel and raised, pressed close to Luffy’s chest.
“Six Styles Secret Technique: Six King Gun!!!”
All his body’s power gathered together and blasted out in the form of a shockwave, heavily striking Luffy’s chest. This invisible shockwave came so fast, with an extraordinarily large attack area, that Luffy couldn’t fully dodge.
Nearly half the shockwave landed fully on Luffy.
That astonishing power made Luffy instantly spray out a mouthful of blood, his whole body shooting backward with a boom, crashing through a swath of buildings.
“Luffy!!!”
Nami worriedly gripped the window ledge.
Her body leaned forward out the window, feeling like a slightly stronger gust of wind could blow her away.
“He even used his final trump card. Lucci really got pushed to the brink!” Kaku struggled to crawl up and poked his head out the window side to look outside.
“Don’t move recklessly! Damn it, I just bandaged you up.”
Farrug jumped in anger.
Not one of these bastards stayed put. Wounds just bandaged, bones just reset, and they were already scrambling around. Fortunately, this building was the former Police Station with large windows, big enough to fit several heads.
“Lucci’s gotten weaker! Useless.”
Jabura mocked.
“Haha, Jabura, is your body okay? I hear your bones creaking,” Kaku said with a laugh.
“Damn it, whose bones are creaking? Kaku, you bastard, you’re bandaged up like a mummy.”
“Am I?”
Kaku looked down at the bandages on his body.
“Kaku, you bastard, don’t you have any self-awareness?”
Jabura and Kaku started bickering as usual. Precisely, Jabura shouted loudly, while Kaku remained nonchalant. Of course, this only stimulated Jabura more, making his yells even louder—a vicious cycle.
The commotion here was limited to this spot.
Both fighters in combat had no attention to spare. Luffy and Lucci focused entirely on their opponent. Luffy, climbing up, felt the pain from his body. He was a Rubber Human, but that shockwave penetrated skin and flesh, directly impacting his fragile internals.
His internals shaken, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“A few more hits like that might be bad!”
Luffy pressed his hand to the spot just hit; the pain was real.
“Tempest Kick: Leopard Tail.”
Lucci leaped into the air with a kick, a spiral slash like a beast’s tail shooting toward Luffy, forcing him to dive and dodge. The stone pile behind him shattered from the slash. Taking the opening, Lucci rushed forward again to close in.
Six King Gun required close range to unleash its full power.
This point,
Luffy had realized too.
However, Luffy didn’t retreat or pull distance. Pure evasion wasn’t his style, and honestly, he was quite interested in Lucci’s previous move. It had massive destructive power without close contact. If he could learn this move…
“Rubber Beast Strictness Gun.”
But thinking was thinking; Luffy had no intention of just taking hits without fighting back.
“Iron Body: Empty Wood.”
A derivative Iron Body technique Lucci mastered, one that returned the opponent’s attack power. If Luffy weren’t a Rubber Human, a normal person punching Lucci wouldn’t hurt him and would likely break their own arm instead.
“This move again? Too sneaky.”
Luffy pouted.
This move was also quite interesting, able to rebound enemy attacks… Unfortunately, he’d seen it several times but still hadn’t managed to steal it.
“Got you.”
Lucci ignored Luffy’s mumbling, closing in at top speed. His long leopard tail extended first, wrapping Luffy’s left leg. Luffy, who had lifted his right foot, wanted to move but couldn’t, losing balance and nearly falling.
“Six Styles Secret Technique: Six King Gun!!!”
Lucci’s fists turned into large-caliber cannons. The invisible shockwave this time hit Luffy’s stomach without missing a bit. The terrifying power stretched Luffy’s body backward, but with his left foot bound, he was pinned in place, unable to fly off.
Lucci knew not to let up when on top. After catching his breath, he immediately unleashed a second wave.
“Six Styles Secret Technique: Maximum Wheel: Six King Gun!!!”
Maximum firepower Six King Gun.
This was Lucci’s strongest technique, one he couldn’t use many times because it consumed too much stamina. To ensure it hit without wasting energy, he needed to lock the enemy first, like wrapping Luffy’s left foot with his leopard tail to avoid missing.
“Damn, that hurts.”
Luffy gasped for breath,
His shocked internals sent waves of intense cramping pain, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
