OP: AMP Ch. 226

Luffy had become a walking stat sheet, a bundle of game mechanics wrapped in rubber flesh. Every aspect of him screamed "video game bullshit" so loudly that even someone as powerful as Shiki was getting a migraine.

It wasn't that he couldn't win. The problem was that even when he landed a full-power strike enhanced with Advanced Armament, all he managed was leaving a white mark on the kid's body.

Five consecutive hits to the exact same spot. Perfect judgment, perfect speed and power. He'd pushed everything to the limit, taking advantage of the rubber's stretching properties to maintain precision.

And the result? The soft arm just bounced back like nothing happened.

After finally wearing Luffy down to the point where the transformation should've ended, the brat pulled a golden apple out of nowhere, ate it, and instantly revived at full status like he'd just respawned at a checkpoint.

If swearing could solve this problem, Shiki would've been cursing nonstop for three days straight.

In all his decades as a pirate, this was the first time he'd felt frustrated by an opponent.

Even when he was young and fought Sengoku and Garp together, he'd felt no fear. Hell, he'd destroyed half of Marineford in that battle. If those two bastards hadn't ganged up on him, he could've taken them both. Against any enemy, no matter how strong, he could always find an opening to land a decisive blow.

But now... facing a rookie who'd barely learned basic Haki, whose Devil Fruit hadn't even awakened yet, he was at a loss.

Run away? Retreat and regroup?

He was the Golden Lion, dammit!

He watched as another barrage of punches came raining down on him. Should he keep dodging using Future Sight?

It wasn't impossible. But the whole situation reminded him of some yappy dog barking at his ankles. He could easily kick it away, but it'd just run right back like it was attached to him with glue. No matter how good his composure usually was, it was starting to crack.

And Observation Haki required calmness to use effectively. Against an opponent at his level, he could stay calm even if the sky was falling. But this? This was just embarrassing.

Whoosh!

After dodging another flurry of punches, he made a split-second decision and grabbed the arm that was about to retract.

Luffy's Observation Haki had "seen" the grab coming, but he hadn't bothered resisting. If anything, he welcomed it. Instead of pulling Shiki closer, he accelerated forward himself. His Armament-coated fist quietly began to compress, winding up for a devastating punch.

Ever since transforming, not a single one of his attacks had connected. This showed his current offensive was working, Shiki was taking him seriously enough to dodge everything.

As long as he could land hits, he could grind this out. With his current stamina reserves, even if he couldn't fight for a full day, he'd battle until the very end. This was what it meant to fight above your weight class.

"I'm not just a swordsman." Shiki's voice went cold as he raised his own fist. "My punches hit plenty hard too."

Dense Armament Haki flowed over his knuckles, but then something else layered on top.

BOOM!

Two fists collided in midair.

Except Luffy's fist never touched Shiki's. They stopped a few centimeters apart, separated by an invisible barrier that crackled with black lightning.

The air itself seemed to freeze.

Shiki stared at the scene in silence.

Luffy looked just as bewildered. He could clearly feel his fist had hit something solid, there was resistance preventing him from moving forward, like he'd slammed into an invisible wall.

The complete lack of understanding on his face made it abundantly clear he had no idea what Conqueror's Coating even was.

Under normal circumstances, an enemy struck by Conqueror's infusion would suffer blurred consciousness, loss of physical strength, and in some cases, have their Devil Fruit abilities forcibly suppressed. Especially someone like Luffy, whose transformation relied entirely on his rubber powers.

There was a high probability such an attack would've knocked him straight out of Gear Second. But Luffy just looked confused. Shiki's Conqueror's Coating hadn't caused any of those negative effects.

Black lightning exploded between their fists, crackling and hissing as it dispersed into the air.

"So this really isn't your power!" Shiki roared.

He suddenly erupted with tremendous force and sent Luffy flying backward with a single punch.

Luffy tumbled through the air, but quickly used Geppo to right himself. Hearing Shiki's accusation, he didn't deny it. In fact, he agreed immediately.

"That's right! It's not!"

He said it with pride, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The response left Shiki so irritated he didn't even know how to continue the argument. Shouldn't the brat feel at least a little ashamed? Fighting with borrowed power instead of his own strength?

Luffy looked at his fist, rubbing where Shiki's invisible force had stopped him. The pain felt similar to when those flying slashes had hit him earlier. This was clearly something beyond his current understanding, maybe even beyond his ability to counter right now.

But instead of looking discouraged, his mouth curved into a grin.

"This power comes from Marcus."

Shiki's expression wasn't surprised. He'd already suspected as much.

While fighting Luffy, he'd been watching what was happening below. Every member of the Straw Hat crew possessed an unnatural durability that defied normal logic. Attacks that should've broken bones just didn't. Like the damage simply didn't register.

One or two people, you could explain away. But the entire crew? That was obviously some kind of ability at work.

As for which Straw Hat could grant such protection, Shiki didn't know for certain. But he could guess. Now that he'd heard the answer straight from Luffy's mouth, it all made perfect sense.

"Relying on external power will only prevent you from making real progress. You'll never grow stronger living under someone else's protection."

"So what!" Luffy shot back without hesitation. "This is my friend's power! Using this strength to defeat you... that's OUR victory! All of us together!"

The conviction in his voice was absolute. He clearly saw nothing wrong with accepting help from his crew.

Looking at that complete trust in his companions, Shiki felt a moment of disorientation, like he'd been transported back in time.

"Friend..." The word felt foreign on his tongue.

His mind drifted to more than thirty years ago, during the Rocks Pirates era. There had been people around him called "crewmates" back then, but those relationships had been nothing like what Luffy described. Everyone had been in it for themselves, forming temporary alliances based purely on mutual benefit.

Then he thought about Whitebeard, the man now called the "Strongest in the World."

Old, sick, needing constant medical treatment just to stay alive. On any other pirate ship, those would be fatal weaknesses. But his sons remained fiercely loyal despite knowing he was dying.

And then there was himself...

After hiding and scheming for so many years, how many people around him could he truly trust? In his world, self-interest was the only currency that mattered. Loyalty was just another word for "hasn't found a better offer yet."

"Piracy isn't some children's game! Sooner or later, you'll learn the truth. Friends betray each other. That's just how the world works."

A gentle breeze suddenly tugged at his coat. Raindrops began striking his face.

"What?"

---

Several minutes earlier...

Inside a cave in Upper Yard, the Shandians and Skypieans had gathered, working together for the first time in four hundred years.

Wyper and McKinley stood before the massive golden ship.

"So this is what we're after?" McKinley had heard about the Ark Maxim, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.

The vessel was enormous. Strange mechanisms and conductor rods covered its surface.

"Leave this part to me!" Mighty struck a dramatic pose, flexing his muscles. "Time to show off these guns!"

Then his body transformed into crackling electricity and vanished from sight.

The instant he disappeared, both Wyper and McKinley let out simultaneous sighs of relief.

"Now I understand how Gan Fall feels," McKinley muttered.

"And the Shandia Chief," Wyper agreed with a grimace.

They'd finally experienced firsthand what it was like dealing with the overly enthusiastic copper golem on a regular basis. The man was exhausting.

"By the way," Wyper said, turning his attention back to the ship, "The Straw Hats told us to find this thing. Do they really think we can use it?"

McKinley shrugged. "I assume we're not supposed to just ram it into that pirate and hope for the best."

"That would be one hell of a way to go out though," Wyper said with dark humor. "Death by golden ship collision. He would probably appreciate it."

---

Rain poured down in sheets, hammering against Shiki's body. The downpour itself didn't bother him much, he'd weathered far worse storms in his decades at sea.

But his expression had turned ugly. Dark clouds choked the sky above. Lightning flickered through them.

Following the storm's origin point, his gaze traced upward until he spotted a massive column of clouds. The whole thing looked unnatural.

"So this is your backup plan?" He waved his hand dismissively. Raindrops began gathering in front of him. What started as a fist-sized sphere of water rapidly expanded, growing to the size of a car tire in seconds.

"I don't know where you heard that rumor. Heavy rain isn't my weakness."

Luffy grinned as the rain intensified, water streaming down his face. "Maybe not... but a storm like this? That's our home turf!"

Shiki didn't understand what the brat was talking about. Sure, his abilities were supposedly countered by severe weather. His Float-Float Fruit was incredibly powerful, there was nowhere in the world he couldn't go, and he could manipulate countless objects simultaneously.

The way it worked, he'd grant objects the property of floating by removing their gravitational pull. Initially that required massive stamina expenditure, but after awakening his Devil Fruit, he could permanently alter an object's nature. What used to be a continuous drain became a one-time cost.

That's how he could keep multiple islands suspended in the sky indefinitely.

Actually controlling those floating islands, though? That ate through his stamina like crazy. In calm weather with gentle winds, the drain was minimal, barely noticeable given his strength and experience. But storms were different. Rain and violent winds dramatically accelerated his stamina consumption when manipulating large objects.

That's why the rumor "Shiki's weakness is storms" had spread throughout various organizations over the years.

But he wasn't stupid. He'd prepared for this exact scenario. By fusing his floating islands with Upper Yard, he'd eliminated the stamina drain from keeping them aloft. Now the only consumption came from controlling his own body, and that was nothing compared to moving massive landmasses.

He'd come to Skypiea specifically to guard against storm-based tactics, merging his floating territory with the natural landscape to further reduce his energy expenditure.

Storms weren't his weakness anymore.

In fact, if he played this right, the storm could become an unlimited ammunition supply. By granting water the floating property, every raindrop in this downpour became a potential weapon. Even if his water constructs got dispersed, the endless rain would provide instant replacements. He wouldn't need to gather water resources, they'd just keep falling from the sky.

This wasn't a debuff. This was a straight upgrade to his combat potential.

Still, looking at that confident smirk on the Straw Hat's face, he couldn't quite figure out the angle. Was this just youthful arrogance?

No, that didn't fit. When Luffy said "our home turf," he'd meant it literally. The kid was straightforward to a fault, he wouldn't bluff.

Shiki was still trying to puzzle it out when Luffy vanished.

A powerful sense of danger exploded above his head. He jerked his gaze upward and his eyes widened.

Luffy had appeared less than five meters away, suspended in midair.

"Man, this is really hard to control," Luffy muttered, wobbling slightly. His Geppo had slowed to a crawl, he was barely using one foot to maintain altitude.

"What did you do?"

The kid's speed had more than doubled. Hell, he was moving faster in the air than he had been on the ground.

That made no sense.

Geppo could theoretically achieve near-instantaneous movement through the air, but that required overwhelming leg strength combined with at least ten years of dedicated practice and development of the technique.

Luffy might meet the first requirement thanks to whatever bullshit transformation he was using, but the second? A few days ago, this rookie couldn't even perform basic Geppo.

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

Countless sonic booms erupted across the sky as Luffy became a blur, ricocheting through the air like a hyperactive pinball. Even with Observation Haki, Shiki could barely track the movement. He could "see" where Luffy was, but locking onto him for an attack? That was another story entirely.

"WOOHOO!"

Luffy's excited shout came from everywhere at once.

Shiki's expression hardened. He'd thought the environmental advantage was his. But apparently the Straw Hat brat had taken that advantage and cranked it up to eleven.

He maintained constant vigilance, pushing his Observation Haki to maximum precision to guard against incoming attacks.

But Luffy seemed to have forgotten Shiki was even there. He was just playing around, zigzagging through the sky. If Shiki didn't have his enhanced perception and reaction speed, he would've thought there were four different Luffy's flying around.

The kid was moving so fast he was leaving afterimages hanging in the air.

"Ah, sorry, sorry... first time messing around in the rain like this," Luffy suddenly stopped mid-air, though it wasn't clear who he was apologizing to.

Shiki stared at him grimly. "Is this the power he gave you?"

"That's right!" Luffy puffed out his chest proudly.

But in the next instant, his proud posture deflated. He covered his ears and scrunched up his neck, looking sheepish.

Shiki frowned in confusion.

"Alright, alright, I won't say it anymore," Luffy grumbled to himself, then looked at Shiki.

Shiki's expression turned serious. Through Observation Haki, he "saw" Luffy charging from the left.

He raised his guard immediately, Armament Haki coating his arms.

CLANG!

Fist met elbow. Black lightning crackled and sparked in the gap between them.

BOOM!

The dark clouds themselves seemed to roar from the force of their collision.

WHAM!

Shiki got blasted backward.

He'd successfully blocked Luffy's strike, but the sheer impact still sent him flying. Even without taking damage, he'd lost control of his positioning in midair.

But when Luffy saw his attack connect, his confidence surged.

Creak creak creak...

His Armament Haki-coated fist began compressing, slowly winding up power. At the same time, the fist itself started growing larger.

Obviously, bigger fist meant bigger damage. Before, using this technique would've guaranteed a miss, his attack speed couldn't keep up with the wind-up time.

Now things were different.

BAM BAM BAM.

Rapid-fire punches hammered into Shiki's body. Each impact forced him to harden his entire torso with Armament Haki just to avoid getting pulverized. He'd even started deliberately yielding to the strikes, letting himself get pushed back to dissipate the kinetic energy.

But Luffy's speed was just too damn fast. And worse, his strength seemed to be increasing with every exchange.

High-intensity neural reactions required to predict each attack. The mental strain was exhausting.

This was the first time since escaping Impel Down that he had felt cornered. When had he ever been this pathetic? And the worst part? He had no answer for this situation.

Counterattack?

He'd tried. Those oversized fists just plowed straight through his swords. No matter what technique he used, the result was always the same... nothing. And he was pretty sure it wasn't his imagination. He couldn't even leave white scuff marks on those damn fists anymore.

What about using his swords to deflect the trajectory? Cut open the rubber and attack the vulnerable flesh inside?

Not impossible, but the moment he committed to one defensive maneuver, another fist would already be rocketing toward his face.

Fighting back wasn't working. Running away wasn't an option.

Frustrating didn't even begin to cover it.

Rather than waste excessive stamina trying to deflect every attack, he had made the decision to stall for time using the most energy-efficient defensive methods available.

The Straw Hat had been completely exhausted earlier, barely maintaining his transformation. His current burst of energy clearly came from eating that gold apple. And consumables like that always had time limits.

They couldn't last forever.

All he needed to do was wait. Wait for the drug effect to wear off.

Plus, items that could instantly restore stamina and boost power output always came at the cost of burning through the user's life force. Even if this kid's body was stupidly durable, there was no way he could eat two of those things consecutively.

If he tried? The side effects from the second dose would probably kill him outright.

That's what Shiki told himself. It was solid reasoning based on decades of combat experience and medical knowledge.

Five minutes passed.

The drug effect ended right on schedule.

Luffy's inflated Gear Second form visibly deflated, his movements slowing as his enhanced state began to fade.

Now!

Shiki unleashed a barrage of air slashes, hundreds of crescent-shaped projectiles filling the sky. This wasn't just taking advantage of Luffy's weakened state, it was insurance. If the brat really did pull out another one of those enchanted apples, he needed to interrupt him before he could eat it.

Five minutes might not sound like much, but in a fight between powerhouses, every second stretched into an eternity. After five solid minutes of getting pummeled, he was far from unscathed.

Blocking and dissipating force hadn't just consumed stamina, it had drained his Haki reserves too. Under sustained high-intensity combat like this, he wasn't sure how much longer he could maintain peak condition.

Especially his Observation Haki.

His mind had been stretched to breaking point, maintaining awareness to predict and block every incoming strike. If this continued much longer, his precognition would start failing. And once that happened, once Luffy found an opening...

The follow-up barrage would be something Shiki couldn't defend against.

At that point, it was possible he'd be defeated by some rookie who'd only just learned basic Haki.

His expression turned grim at the thought.

Meanwhile, Luffy exhaled a puff of white steam, his body shrinking back to normal proportions as Gear Second deactivated.

He stared up at Shiki.

The legendary pirate really lived up to his reputation as a contemporary of the Pirate King. Even with all the borrowed power from his crewmates, even with Gear Second and all its advantages, he had landed countless consecutive hits, and his opponent had taken every single one without showing the slightest opening.

Clink clink clink.

The sharp sound of metal scraping against metal rang in his ears.

Luffy, if you can't finish this fight soon, the diamond armor is going to break, Vivi's voice came through. When that happens, you'll start taking damage from his blades. You could get cut. Or worse... run through like last time.

The only reason Luffy could trade blows with Shiki so recklessly was the diamond armor set.

The enchantments were:
Protection VIII
Unbreaking VI
Riptide VI
Luck of the Sea VI

Pretty straightforward buffs, all things considered.

As for why Marcus hadn't added Thorns to the armor, that was a strategic decision. With Thorns' damage reflection active, even someone as powerful as Shiki would struggle, because the reflection mechanic was incredibly special. Thorns followed pure game mechanics. Even when the enchantment exceeded level six, it only had a 90% chance to trigger. The reflected damage was random between 1-4 points, with higher levels increasing the probability of rolling maximum damage. Only after Thorns exceeded level ten did it break the damage cap entirely.

Four points of damage might not sound like much. Against weak opponents or ordinary people, one Thorns proc dealing 4 damage could take half their health bar.

But against strong fighters, especially those coated in Armament Haki, the effect would be significantly reduced.

Still, it would cause injury. Damage from a true damage source that bypassed conventional defenses. A powerful opponent might tank dozens of procs, but given enough repetitions, even an iron rod could be ground into a needle. Chip damage added up.

However, Thorns had another hidden mechanic: every successful reflection consumed 2-3 durability points from the armor. Even with Unbreaking enchantments, armor degradation couldn't be completely negated. And Luffy didn't want to rely on something like Thorns to win his fights.

He couldn't depend on these methods forever. He needed to grow beyond borrowed power.

"This is my last one," he said, pulling out another golden apple and shoving it in his mouth before Shiki could react.

The sight made Shiki's eyes nearly bulge out of his skull.

Stop him?

The brat was too fast. A single Geppo kick and the kid had created enough distance that he couldn't intercept. Use the water lion constructs to block him?

He'd already tried that.

He wanted to scream. This was bullshit! This had to be against the rules!

The universe was screwing with him.

He genuinely couldn't tell if Luffy might pull out yet another apple after this one. And judging by how the drug's duration had ended with zero visible weakness, at most the kid's raw strength had dropped slightly, but his overall condition remained perfect.

What kind of broken mechanic was this?

Impossible to defeat, infinite stamina regeneration. Was he getting the Celestial Dragon treatment here?

Meanwhile, Luffy stared grimly at Shiki's increasingly ugly expression, feeling the endless surge of power flooding through his body once again.

He looked at his left hand. Then he blew hard into his arm.

The fist began swelling even further. Haki poured into the expanding limb.

Shiki sensed what was coming and fired crescent-shaped blade waves from the swords strapped to his legs. But when those slashes struck Luffy's body, they didn't even leave scratches. Just as expected, after eating that fruit, not only had his stamina recovered completely, but his body's defensive hardness and Haki coating had been enhanced even further.

He felt his fighting spirit beginning to waver.

Screw it.

He fired off a few more sword waves as token resistance, barely putting effort into the attacks.

But right at that moment... CRACK.

The transparent barrier protecting Luffy's body shattered.

Even in his dejected state, Shiki immediately noticed. His air slashes had broken through.

A streak of blood appeared on that enormous inflating arm.

This was a major breakthrough! But before he could feel any relief, he looked at the fist, now comparable in size to a Sea King. His expression turned bitter.

He should've realized this sooner. There was no way the armor could defend indefinitely against his attacks. If he'd launched an all-out offensive from the very beginning instead of playing it safe and stalling for time, maybe he would've discovered this weakness earlier. Perhaps he could've won before Luffy ate that second apple.

But there were no "maybes" in combat.

The massive fist continued expanding, blotting out a section of the sky.

"KING KONG GUN!"