Chapter 452: Bond of the Straw Hat Crew: The Battle at Enies Lobby

Down below, Luffy heard Robin’s answer and broke into a wide grin. The others were all smiling too.

“Whoa!!”

“I freakin’ love you guys, damn it!” Franky, who’d been listening at the back, couldn’t hold back his tears of excitement any longer.

He’d never seen a crew like this, never felt an atmosphere this tight-knit.

“Big bro Franky, we’re moved too.” The dozen or so followers behind him were already sobbing in each other’s arms.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

Luffy pumped his fists, fired up for the fight.

Before he even finished speaking, he shifted into Gear Fourth. In a flash, he vaulted past the cliff and landed right in front of Spandam. His right fist clenched hard and drove straight for Spandam’s face.

“Gum-Gum—Kong Gun!”

But Spandam, who only got his post through connections, had zero real combat ability. He feebly raised his sidearm to block, but the flimsy sword shattered instantly under Luffy’s punch.

Luffy’s solid fist crashed into Spandam’s face, slamming him hard against the wall not far behind. The impact left a deep crater, and Spandam lost consciousness on the spot.

“Shwoop!”

Just then, Lucci seized the moment Spandam was sent flying and flashed in front of Luffy, whipping his right leg in a fierce kick.

But Luffy just tilted his head a bit and dodged with ease. “You dared to take my crew? That’s unforgivable.”

In an instant, Luffy’s left hand ballooned, grabbed Lucci from midair, and with a powerful swing, hurled him down to the ground below.

“Boom!”

Sanji and Zoro also arrived using Moonwalk, squaring off against Blueno and Bruno.

Fukuro tried to sneak away, but turned around to see Ye Fan standing right in front of the gateway, arms crossed. “Trying to run now? Don’t you think it’s a bit late?”

Crack! Crack! Crack!!!

A massive rumble echoed as Franky slowly lowered the giant drawbridge connecting the two castles.

“Alright! Robin, we’re here to rescue you!”

Chopper bit down on a Rumble Ball and instantly transformed into his adult form, sprinting across the leveling bridge toward them.

Bang!

Jabra, in his human-beast form, suddenly leaped down from above, landing on the bridge. “I’ll be your opponent,” he announced.

It didn’t take long for everyone to find their own matchups. Nami faced off against Kalifa, unleashing bolt after bolt of lightning, while Usopp used his sniper rifle to cover his teammates below.

On the main battlefield, Luffy and Lucci clashed fiercely, exchanging over a dozen attacks in the blink of an eye. It was clear Lucci was starting to falter.

Luffy’s massive fist landed heavy blows on Lucci, each punch sending waves of pain through him.

Lucci knew if he kept taking Luffy’s hits head-on, he’d lose for sure. He had to change tactics fast.

“Six Powers—Paper Art!”

Lucci tried to dodge Luffy’s attacks using Paper Art, hoping to wear him out. But what he didn’t know was that Luffy’s stamina now was on a whole new level—not something Lucci could drain so easily.

After another dozen exchanges, Luffy spotted the flaw in Lucci’s technique: when entering or exiting Paper Art, Lucci was immobilized for a split second, unable to attack or defend.

And that was the opening Luffy needed to finish him off.

Luffy fired out his left fist first. As Lucci used Paper Art, Luffy instantly shot out his right hand, forming it into a palm. The moment Lucci slipped out of Paper Art, Luffy caught him right in his grip.

“Wh-what? No way!”

“How did you spot that weakness so quickly?” Lucci was genuinely shocked.

But at the highest level, true masters would never give away such openings. In fights between real elites, victory often comes down to the tiniest edges. That’s why they seldom use moves with such fatal flaws.

After all, that split second of vulnerability is more than enough for fighters like them. Did this mean Luffy…?

The more Lucci thought about it, the more fear crept in. Why, of all people, did they have to mess with the Straw Hat Pirates?

Their plan was falling apart fast. At this rate, they might even be kicked out of the World Government entirely—a result no one wanted.

If they failed such a crucial mission, the World Government had all the time in the world to handpick and train new, loyal agents.

After all, agents with weak fighting ability were nothing but expendable. There’d always be more every few years.

Luffy wasn’t concerned with what Lucci was thinking. He stretched his neck, coated his forehead with Armament Haki, and snapped his head back—slamming it straight into Lucci.

With a loud ‘duang!!’, Lucci’s head made a sickening crack. A giant lump swelled up immediately on his forehead.

Just as Luffy was planning a follow-up headbutt, Spandam, bloodied and battered, managed to wrench himself out of the wall.

“Damn filthy pirates!”

“You forced me to do this!”

Seeing all his subordinates fall one after another, Spandam pulled out the Golden Den Den Mushi from inside his coat. “No! Don’t!”

Seeing this, Robin’s face turned pale. She screamed out in shock.

But nothing could sway Spandam’s resolve now. His right hand jabbed the button on the Golden Den Den Mushi.

“Yahahahaha!!”

“I’ve activated the Buster Call! Every last one of you is dead!”

“This is what you get for defying the World Government, for defying me! Yahahaha!!”

Duang!!

A rotund figure crashed right on top of Spandam, shoving him back into his crater in the wall.

“Talk about useless chatter.”

Ye Fan clapped his hands off to the side. The figure that had piledrived Spandam was none other than Fukuro, who’d just tried to run. With his size, smashing down on Spandam was almost enough to peel his skin off if it didn’t kill him outright.

Meanwhile, the five Navy fleets patrolling outside Marine Headquarters got the Buster Call and immediately sailed toward Enies Lobby. At their speed, they’d arrive in just ten minutes or so.

“Hey, everyone, it’s time to get out of here.” Ye Fan surveyed the battlefield—CP9 was wiped out and Enies Lobby was mostly in ruins. Now the focus was on helping Robin face her fears and stand up to the Buster Call.

But holing up and taking a beating on the island just wasn’t his style. If anything, he preferred a head-on fight.

“Enough messing around! Let’s move!”

Luffy tossed the thoroughly defeated Lucci aside with zero interest. As he passed Robin, he paused for a moment.

“We’re your best friends, Robin. Never forget that.”

The words hit Robin hard. She covered her face and burst into tears, realizing just how deeply she’d underestimated the Straw Hats’ bond.

They’d risked everything storming Enies Lobby to save her, even daring to confront the World Government itself. She knew now that she’d never have to worry about being betrayed again.

“I…I understand now, Luffy.”

“Super awesome!”

“Your friendship moves me to tears! Boohoo!”

“I’ve got the Thousand Sunny brought up and ready to go!”

The rest of the journey was straightforward. By the time they climbed down from the castle, Gin and the others had already taken care of the Navy below and were waiting for them aboard the Thousand Sunny.