Chapter 380: Clash in the Woods
by xennovel“Impressive! Looks like everyone has leveled up their game!”
Luffy had just reached the edge of the forest, still deciding which way to go, when he suddenly spotted Zoro unleashing an unbelievable sword strike.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
The sound of something slicing through the air from the left made Luffy’s eyes instantly sharpen.
“Rocket Launcher!”
In a flash, a massive fist came crashing down toward Luffy’s head.
Boom boom boom!!!
The sudden attack sent Luffy flying dozens of meters before he slammed hard into a giant tree.
“So this is the Straw Hat Pirates? Pathetic.”
Yobul, a towering figure over three meters tall, spat on the ground and sneered.
How could a pirate crew with a 50-million-berry bounty have such a weak captain?
Don’t tell me I hit the wrong guy?
He’d rather believe he got the wrong person than accept that this sorry Straw Hat Luffy was really the one everyone talked about.
Crash!!!
“Huh? What’s that sound?”
In the near-total darkness, he could only hear the crashing and rustling up ahead—no sign of anyone.
“What the… What the hell is that?!”
A gigantic fist, swollen to tens of meters high, smashed right into Yobul and sent him skidding nearly a hundred meters away.
The devastating blow finally made Yobul react. He dug his feet deep into the ground, straining both arms against the massive fist.
Boom boom boom!!!
Even then, he slid back several dozen meters before coming to a gradual stop.
As Yobul was still shoving against the giant fist, it suddenly retracted at lightning speed. Off balance, he stumbled forward and crashed to the ground.
“Smack!”
“Who the heck are you?”
Hearing a voice from afar, Yobul sprang to his feet and stared at the deep trench left behind by that attack.
He stood there, at a loss for words, as Luffy approached, each step bringing closer a boy in a red vest, blue shorts, and straw sandals—the unmistakable Luffy.
“Are you Luffy?”
After that blow, Yobul was pretty certain this was the real Straw Hat Luffy—the man with dreams of becoming Pirate King.
As Luffy’s soon-to-be opponent, he’d already memorized every scrap of info about him and his crew.
To make Luffy’s journey more interesting, Ye Fan had arranged for several pirate crews of equal or even greater strength to await him on the road.
This group standing before Luffy? Just the appetizer.
“That’s right. I’m Luffy.”
“Guess I underestimated you. Better late than never to realize it.”
Luffy’s out-of-nowhere punch hadn’t done any real damage, and Yobul charged at him, raising his darkened right fist.
Sensing the danger, Luffy didn’t hesitate. He spun to face Yobul, brought his right hand to his mouth, and blew air into it. In seconds, his fist expanded like a balloon, now covered in Armament Haki, and he smashed it toward Yobul.
Boom!
The two of them collided fists with explosive force. Maybe it was main character luck at play, but Luffy’s ferocious punch sent Yobul flying.
He didn’t stop until he’d crashed through dozens of trees.
But Yobul wasn’t one to stay down. He picked himself up and came charging at Luffy again.
Shing!!!
Just as Yobul closed in, a clear slicing sound rang out from the nearby woods—a surge of sword aura swept clean through the entire forest.
Crash—here it comes!!!
Where there used to be dense woods, only a few bare trunks were left, barely a couple meters high.
“Spurt!”
“Zoro, right?”
Clutching a long sword wound, Batonaal looked at Zoro in the distance.
Zoro was like an indestructible cockroach. Just a moment ago, their strength had been almost equal, but suddenly Zoro broke through, pushing his power way ahead and landing Batonaal in this sorry state.
It was the same with both Zoro and Luffy: their rapid power growth recently hadn’t caught up with their actual battle instincts yet, so they couldn’t fully harness their raw strength in a fight. But with help from their three companions, that was changing fast.
What he couldn’t figure out was, since they both survived Hawk Eyes’ training, why was there suddenly such a gap between them?
And to make matters worse, that sword wound was shrouded in black ghostly energy, keeping it from healing—one big reason his combat strength had been cut down.
“Yeah, that’s right. Name’s Roronoa Zoro.”
Zoro, seeing his gravely wounded and spent opponent, calmly sheathed his three swords.
The man facing him was worthy of respect. After all, if there weren’t a few comrades and rivals on the path to becoming the world’s greatest swordsman, wouldn’t that journey be way too lonely?
“Hey Zoro, Sanji!”
When Yobul stopped attacking, Luffy could already see Zoro and Sanji off in the distance.
Bartolomeo and Yobul looked unhappy when they saw Batonaal so badly hurt.
They knew their earlier three-on-three was going great, but with one of them taken out, the balance had collapsed.
If either tried to intervene now, they’d soon be next to fall.
During that brief skirmish, both sides had figured out each other’s strengths—they were evenly matched.
“Tch. You get a free pass today. Let’s go.”
With a few agile moves, Bartolomeo reached Batonaal’s side and propped him up.
He shot a look at Yobul, and the group quickly dashed deeper into the woods.
“Smack! Whew!”
“So what just happened? We started this mess for no reason and now it’s over just as suddenly. How annoying.”
Sanji cocked a brow, blowing a smoke ring to calm himself.
He’d been enjoying a good nap, and next thing he knew, he was in some random brawl—didn’t even know who the enemy was. That alone was enough to put him in a foul mood.
Ever since setting foot in the New World, they hadn’t found one thing to smile about. If that wasn’t weird, what was?
“Who knows? Still, he’s a swordsman to be respected.”
Zoro watched Batonaal’s silhouette fade into the distance, a gleam of sword light sparking in his eyes.
Somehow, he knew this plain-looking swordsman would be a major rival down the road.
But finding a worthy opponent along life’s road—how could that be anything but a good thing?
“Ugh, after a fight, I’m hungry again.”
Luffy stretched and yawned. This battle made him realize just how much stamina Third Gear drained. He had just eaten, but somehow fighting left him starving.
“Whatever, at least it was a good workout.”
Boom!!!
Just as they started chatting, a giant fireball rose up in the middle of town. The air filled instantly with screams and the sounds of fighting.
“This is bad!” x3