Chapter 455: A Clash on the Shores of Enies Lobby

“You three sure look relaxed!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three fresh, steaming-hot packages slammed down. Nami’s eyes turned razor-sharp. “Get to work already! If Luffy and the others come back and this ship isn’t ready to leave at a moment’s notice, guess who’s explaining themselves?”

“S-sorry, Boss!”

The three scrambled to gather up their playing cards, darting back to their stations and listening for further orders.

“Honestly, not a single one of them gives me any peace.”

…

In this battle, everything hinged on Luffy. If he could win first, the whole tide would swing their way. That would mean the fight on Enies Lobby’s battlefield would finally end.

As the fighting dragged on, everyone realized just how difficult it was to battle atop the open sea with nowhere to stand. Struggling, both sides shifted their clash to the scorched shores of Enies Lobby.

Bastille and Luffy each planted their feet on the beach, facing off.

“Straw Hat, don’t tell me you really believe you lot can take down a Buster Call head-on?” That question had been bugging him. How could Luffy and his handful of friends truly believe they’d defeat the Buster Call in a frontal assault?

Where’d they even get that kind of courage? Some sort of miracle, or just plain recklessness?

Or maybe it’s just because he’s Vice Admiral Garp’s grandson?

If that’s really what they’re relying on, Bastille thought, he’d gladly escort Luffy straight to a cell in Impel Down.

“Buster Call or not, no one has the right to lay a hand on my friends.” Luffy spoke, voice low and firm.

His right fist swelled in size, crimson energy swirling around it in tight circles until it glowed with power.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind.” Bastille’s eyes narrowed. He’d only tried to reason with them so they’d back down, but if Luffy wanted a fight, Bastille wouldn’t hold back.

Luffy vanished in a blur, his form flickering from sight.

“Shave!”

Bastille’s shock deepened—he hadn’t expected such an uptick in Luffy’s speed. In the blink of an eye, Luffy appeared behind him. Bastille spun, swinging his right fist hard.

Black Armament Haki erupted in waves as they clashed head-on, the ground around them cracking deeper with every blow.

“Gum-Gum Kong Gun!”

Luffy launched himself into the air, then slammed his fist down, shattering the earth in a hundred-meter-wide crater.

Bastille barely dodged thanks to Shave, but even then, he couldn’t help but be rattled.

Luffy wasn’t just faster; somehow, his strength had jumped since the start too.

“Rokushiki Ultimate Move—Conqueror’s Spear!”

Bastille flashed in close, using Six Powers to strike at Luffy with sudden lethal force.

Bang!

Luffy had just finished throwing that juggernaut of a punch—he couldn’t dodge in time and was sent flying, his body carving a deep trench in the ground that ran on for dozens of meters.

Whoosh!

Bastille didn’t give him a moment’s rest—he was instantly at Luffy’s side, raining punches down with unrelenting force.

Luffy frowned, crossing his arms to shield his chest as Bastille’s attacks pushed him back, step after step.

“Gum-Gum Gatling!”

Luffy answered blow for blow—and honestly, his attacks packed even more punch than Bastille’s.

The sudden counterattack caught Bastille completely off guard, and the two were separated again as their blows clashed.

“Pah!”

Bastille spat out a mouthful of blood. “They seriously underestimated you on that wanted poster.”

“With the power you have now, you could be major players even in the New World.”

“But that’s exactly why I can’t let you go any further. For the sake of Navy justice, I’m putting an end to this—right here, right now.”

Luffy had only been out at sea for a few months and already was this strong. If he ever made it to the New World, wouldn’t he be on the level of Pirate King contenders?

The seas are chaotic enough—the world doesn’t need another Luffy stirring things up.

With a roar, Bastille sprang forward, dropping a hammer of a punch down onto Luffy.

Their black and crimson fists collided, the impact smashing Luffy deep into the ground and leaving a massive crater more than a dozen meters wide.

“I admit your strength—but that alone doesn’t give you the right to challenge the Navy.”

Bastille’s left fist came crashing down, adding even more weight to his relentless assault.

Boom!

Waves of air pulsed out from around Luffy, his body bending under the pressure as he looked moments away from dropping to his knees.

“I am going to be King of the Pirates!”

A surge of power burst up from deep inside him. Luffy snapped upright, shaking off Bastille’s attack and flinging all that crushing force away.

Bastille was knocked back, horror and disbelief written all over his face.

No matter how he looked at it, Bastille couldn’t wrap his head around Luffy’s sudden surge—it just made no sense.

Moments ago, Luffy had seemed at his limit. Where had that new strength come from?

“If I fall here today, I never deserved to be King of the Pirates in the first place.”

“Gum-Gum Giant Kong Gun!”

Luffy’s legs bounced like coiled springs as he shot into the air. His right fist swelled to the size of a small mountain, coming down on Bastille with all the force of a meteor strike.

“Haa!”

No way he could dodge a punch that size. Bastille braced himself, Arms covered in Armament Haki, ready to take it head-on.

Boom!

The ground shook and stones flew everywhere from the impact. Both Bastille’s knees hit the ground like he’d been struck by a giant’s hammer, the bones inside him cracking loudly.

When Luffy finally lifted his fist, Bastille had already collapsed, staring up at the sky, covered in blood. Bones pierced his skin in over a dozen places, yet still, with gritted teeth, he forced himself to stand up again.

“Pirate or not, the Navy will never yield its justice!”

Even like this, he refused to go down easy. Bastille’s drive to capture Luffy burned in his chest—he couldn’t let himself fall.

But Luffy’s brutal punch had nearly finished him off.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan—locked in battle with Vice Admiral Dalmatian—clearly noticed Bastille struggling.

He dropped the playful facade and launched a ferocious assault against Dalmatian.

“Eight-Level Fist—Collapse!”

Ye Fan roared and smashed his right fist into Dalmatian’s gut.

The force punched a hole clean through Dalmatian’s back and sent him skidding several hundred meters backward.

With that tough opponent forced back, Ye Fan finally had a chance to check on the others.

Elsewhere, Usopp kept launching attacks at the Navy warships in the distance, blowing up a few more along the way.

Sanji, meanwhile, was the one locked in a real struggle.

Vice Admiral Vergo enveloped himself in Armament Haki, turning into a walking fortress without a single weak spot.

No matter what Sanji tried, all he managed to do was land a few superficial injuries on Vergo’s arms and legs.

Even Ye Fan had to admit, “Vergo really did show up in the original as the first to use full-body Armament Haki. That guy’s got one hell of a defense!”