Chapter 403: Blazing Strength and Hidden Schemes

“What the…?!” Ace was stunned by the searing heat at the center of that powerful explosion.

Even though Ye Fan’s moves happened in the blink of an eye, Ace—using his Observation Haki—caught every detail.

At first he just thought it was ordinary fire and didn’t pay much attention, but the moment the blast erupted he felt heat so intense at the core that it dwarfed anything he could create now—several times hotter, in fact.

If he could learn to control flames like that, his strength would multiply. Ace’s gaze toward Ye Fan was filled with longing.

If he could boost his own fire’s temperature by several folds, catching Blackbeard would be a piece of cake.

Ye Fan’s words from earlier definitely made an impact. Now, Ace felt a new wariness toward Blackbeard—before this, he had no clue Blackbeard had ever left so many scars on Shanks’ face.

He might be arrogant but he wasn’t an idiot. Knowing Blackbeard could seriously harm Shanks, he wasn’t about to charge in unprepared to take him down.

“Ahahaha! That was awesome!” Luffy hugged a giant wooden post, grinning at the explosion Ye Fan had caused and laughing without a care—even though Crocodile was dodging right next to him.

Crocodile felt a vein bulge on his forehead. Did this kid not respect his opponents at all?

Could someone like that really be a good captain?

“I’ve gotta put in more effort! Special Attack—Exploding Star!” Usopp was farther away, so when the explosion thundered out, he barely felt the impact.

But as Bebe sensed the overwhelming force and instinctively glanced over, Usopp saw his opening.

“Not bad, Ye Fan!”

“Whew, still not enough! Let’s keep going!”

Zoro and Sanji—the usual rivals—watched Ye Fan, who rarely showed his true strength, unleash such terrifying power. Suddenly, both felt their pride and positions threatened.

They were the only two Straw Hats obsessed with bounty rankings, always trying to outdo each other. If Ye Fan overtook them, they wouldn’t be able to sleep for days.

Determined to prove themselves, they charged even harder at their opponents—each desperate to show they were the strongest.

“What’s this?” Crocodile’s eyes widened as he sensed something familiar in Ye Fan’s aura.

In that instant, he finally understood why Jiang Yifei had traveled all the way from the New World to find him.

If that was the case, then he definitely couldn’t afford to mess up his plan.

Crocodile’s thoughts whirred in a flash. His face grew cold and cruel. Then, suddenly, he lunged at Luffy—though this time, without noticing, he held back, using only about a third of his usual strength.

“Gum-Gum Rocket—Headbutt!”

But the others didn’t notice that subtle shift. Luffy stretched his neck back and shot his head forward like a missile.

Instead of dodging with his Elementalization, Crocodile met Luffy’s attack head-on with his Iron Fist.

If he kept relying on Elementalization to evade Luffy’s attacks, Luffy would never beat him.

Boom!

As they clashed, a shockwave blasted out and Crocodile was sent sliding dozens of meters backward.

Crack!

There was a sharp snap as the bones in Crocodile’s arm fractured. Because he’d let down his Armament Haki, Luffy’s headbutt caused a minor break.

But for Crocodile, wounds like these were nothing. He’d survived carnage before—he only pretended to be badly hurt for the sake of the plan.

With a body as tough as his, even a break like this would heal up in seconds.

Seeing this, Luffy brightened and—without a moment’s thought—unleashed a barrage of Gum-Gum Gatling punches toward Crocodile’s retreating figure.

“I’m sending you flying!” Luffy roared as he chased after Crocodile, fists whipping through the air.

Crocodile dodged left and right, blocking where he had to, and took a few punches on purpose—just to sell the act even more.

As he got close, Luffy’s breath quickened, eyes sharpening. In a split second he entered Fourth Gear: Bouncing Man. “Kong Gun!”

His Iron Fist swelled to several times its size, big enough to engulf Crocodile, then smashed toward his face.

“If I lose, I’m not going down easy.”

Crocodile let out a guttural growl. In the next instant he moved like a beast unleashed. His left hand’s golden hook was instantly coated in Armament Haki. He swung it to meet Luffy’s fist.

Clang!

The violent collision sent dust soaring everywhere, shrouding everyone’s vision.

But it didn’t slow down Zoro, Sanji, and the rest—they kept fighting. Only Usopp and Bebe’s battle was affected.

Both were snipers. With the air full of dust it was impossible to lock onto a target.

But Usopp’s Observation Haki was on another level. In just a heartbeat, he locked back onto the confused Bebe.

“Steady breaths! You can do this. You’re Usopp the Great!” He pumped himself up, egging himself on inside his own head.

Bang!

His Observation Haki locked in on the intersection of shifting silhouettes. Instinctively, his finger squeezed the trigger—firing a bullet packed with gunpowder straight for Bebe’s chest.

What Usopp didn’t realize was that this was his true talent. Like the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—though nowhere near as powerful—it let him pinpoint a critical weak spot and strike where it hurt most.

He could spot a foe’s vital weakness in an instant, turning the tide of battle.

That’s why he’d earned the nickname Desperate Usopp.

“Woof woof!!”

While Bebe was spinning in circles, unable to spot his enemy—

the sausage dog at his feet sensed danger first. But the haze of dust was so thick, even when Bebe looked toward the barking dog, he couldn’t spot the incoming bullet.

By the time he finally saw it racing his way, it was already too late. The bullet, as big as a man’s finger, was reflected in Bebe’s wide eyes—just as a muffled, wet pop sounded.

A thick, three-centimeter fountain of blood sprayed from his chest.

As the bullet tore clean through him, it left a fist-sized hole in Bebe’s back.

Thud!

Bebe leaned heavy on his massive kanabo, barely managing to kneel. He stared toward where the shot had come from as footsteps echoed faintly in the desert.