Chapter 235: Rubber Giant

Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Rubber Giant

...

Luffy’s enormous body that blocked out the sky and sun slowly descended from the air. It was not falling—it was descending!

He was like a massive cloud, like a god descending from the heavens, like a child who had played until he was tired and was finally about to land.

His giant foot was aimed straight at Kaido’s face.

Kaido just stood there, dragon mouth wide open, eyes bulging round. His entire body... his entire dragon form was frozen in place, as if he had been acupunctured.

It was not that he did not want to move. He simply did not know how to react.

The Straw Hat brat who had just been jumping around lively had suddenly turned into a giant.

The little brat who had just been running inside his stomach could now stomp him into the ground with one foot.

This transformation was too fast—fast enough that even the battle-hardened Kaido experienced a brief moment of stupefaction.

Outside the light screen, someone could not help but laugh out loud.

"Kaido’s expression..."

"Like he’s seen a ghost!"

"The great Yonko, actually scared silly!"

Laughter rose and fell, but no one dared to laugh too loudly.

Because the next second, Kaido moved.

"Damn brat!!!"

His dragon mouth suddenly snapped shut, then, with lightning speed, he bit down hard on Luffy’s chest!

"Waaahhh!!!"

Luffy’s miserable scream resounded through the sky. That voice was so loud, so wretched, so heart-wrenching that even everyone on Onigashima could not help but cover their ears.

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!"

Luffy struggled desperately, trying to shake Kaido off. But Kaido was biting too tightly. His dragon fangs were deeply embedded in the rubber giant’s chest, so painful that tears were about to come out of Luffy’s eyes.

"Hehehe..."

A smug laugh came from Kaido’s throat. You ran around inside my stomach, you treated me like a balloon to play with.

You turned into a giant in front of me to scare me...

Now it’s my turn to bite you. At this moment, Kaido seemed to have been infected by Luffy as well, beginning to attack Luffy like a child taking revenge.

"Guahhh!"

Luffy’s miserable screams continued.

Yamato watched this scene, completely stunned. She wanted to go help, but did not know how.

Two massive beings were entangled together—she could not intervene at all.

Momonosuke was equally dazed.

He looked at the giant who was being bitten and screaming, then at the Azure Dragon who refused to let go. He wanted to rush up and help, but he was also afraid of failing the task Luffy had given him...

Just as he was caught in this dilemma, even while screaming in pain, Luffy had not lost his reason.

His hands suddenly grabbed Kaido’s neck. At the same time, he grabbed his tail and swung him around!

"Hm?!"

Kaido’s pupils suddenly contracted.

His body was treated by Luffy like an enormous jump rope, wildly swung through the air. Up, down, left, right.

"You!"

Kaido wanted to say something, but the whistling wind rushed into his mouth, and he could not get a single word out.

"You bit me! You bit me!"

Luffy shouted while swinging. Kaido’s dragon body drew arc after arc through the air.

"You’ve gone way too far with this nonsense!!!"

Kaido finally could not endure it anymore. He suddenly raised his dragon head and aimed it at Luffy’s face...

"BOOM!!!"

Point-blank Heat Breath struck head-on!

"Guahhh!!!"

Luffy was blasted by this strike and let go of his hands. His massive body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, directly flying out of Onigashima and toward the distant sea surface.

His body tumbled through the air, burned pitch black by the flames, like a huge piece of charred rubber.

Smoke billowed. Everyone outside the light screen held their breath.

"Luffy!!!"

Yamato’s scream tore through the night sky. She almost rushed out...

But in the end she stopped.

Because that blasted-away figure suddenly stabilized.

Luffy’s body came to a halt in midair. His entire body was burned black, smoke rising from his hair. He looked utterly miserable.

But his eyes—those eyes were still astonishingly bright.

"Unforgivable!!!"

He roared. His legs kicked fiercely in the air.

The air exploded beneath his feet, forming ripples. His body shot forward like an arrow from a bow, sprinting wildly through the air.

The path he ran left behind a trail of flames!

That was a flame runway created by the air being rubbed to the extreme and igniting.

Just like that, stepping on flames, he sprinted back toward Onigashima!

"What?!"

Kaido was quite surprised to see Luffy pull off this move. What surprised him even more was that after taking his Heat Breath, Luffy could still run?!

And running like this?!

Luffy’s figure grew closer and closer. He swung his fist, his arm spinning wildly in the air, accumulating power.

"Gomu Gomu no...!"

Seeing that Luffy was about to use one of those bizarre techniques again, Kaido did not hesitate. His body rapidly shrank, returning to his human-beast form!

This was the most suitable form for battle.

At this moment, Kaido tightly gripped the kanabo in his hand. Conqueror’s Haki wrapped around it, purple-black lightning crackling and hissing.

He leaped into the air.

"Kojinsei · Ininara!"

The spiked club, carrying world-destroying power, smashed down toward Luffy with a thunderous roar!

Luffy wanted to dodge but it was too late. This strike was too fast, too fierce, too sudden.

"Bang!!!"

Amid the massive impact, Luffy’s head was directly smashed into the ground. The entire Onigashima trembled three times. Rubble flew, and smoke and dust billowed.

When the smoke cleared, everyone saw the scene.

Luffy’s entire head had been smashed into the ground.

Only his body and limbs remained exposed, like a carrot stuck into the earth.

His legs were still twitching. His arms hung powerlessly. His entire person was presented before everyone in an extremely miserable posture.

Inside and outside the light screen, there was dead silence.

Even the arrogant Kid was now standing with his mouth wide open, eyes bulging round, completely motionless.

"This... This is..."

His voice trembled, but it was obvious he knew the other party’s identity!

"Luffy?!"

Inside the banquet hall, everyone was looking at the ceiling...

No—at the figure stuck in the ground beneath the ceiling.

That figure’s features were too obvious. It was clearly Luffy.

But that posture...

"Straw Hat brat?!"

Marco’s voice carried disbelief: "What the hell is that posture!!"

Hyogoro’s eyeballs were about to pop out. Kawamatsu’s sword nearly fell to the ground. The samurai also took a step back, unsure what this meant...

Everyone stared blankly at the Luffy stuck in the ground, their minds blank.

"Straw Hat brat?!"

"That’s the Straw Hat brat?!"

Nami looked up and just happened to see that familiar figure beneath the ceiling.

Her expression went from blank, to confused, to disbelief, to...

"What!"

Her voice was so sharp it nearly pierced eardrums: "Who are you! Is this guy Luffy?!"

She pointed at the figure stuck in the ground, completely beside herself.

She had known Luffy for three years and had seen him in countless miserable states, but never—never like this.

His entire body looked like a carrot.

Was that Luffy? Nami could hardly believe it. Sanji’s cigarette slipped from the corner of his mouth. Zoro’s eye twitched.

Chopper’s jaw was about to fall off, followed immediately by a burst of wild joy!

Franky’s mechanical body’s gears jammed. Robin covered her mouth with her hand, yet her eyes curved into crescents.

Although Brook was only bones, at this moment he also made an expression of utter shock.

Law was silent for a long time.

Then he let out a soft sigh: "...The Straw Hat captain always manages to surprise us."

This "surprise" was truly well said.

Outside the light screen, the children’s laughter erupted once more.

"Hahahaha!"

"Straw Hat big brother turned into a carrot!"

"His head is stuck in the ground!"

"Kaido treated him like ginseng..."

"So funny! So funny!"

...

Seeing the children’s innocent words, their parents gave them a symbolic scolding. However, in truth, they were also quite happy...

God Valley.

Shiki was already laughing so hard he could not straighten his back.

"Guhahaha! That brat! Head stuck in the ground! Hahaha!"

He laughed so hard tears flew. The people around him could not help but take a few steps back.

Everything Luffy did tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.

Silver Axe held his forehead with an "I don’t know this person" expression.

Scopper Gaban shook his head, yet there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

Roger also smiled.

That smile contained helplessness, appreciation, and a certain complex emotion.

"Sun God..."

He murmured: "So this is what he’s like."

Captain John had sobered up by now, but he started drinking again. Although he was drinking, his eyes were clearly flickering with some kind of light.

Rayleigh pushed up his glasses, the corner of his mouth slightly raised: "Interesting."

Just these three words, and everyone understood his meaning.

That youth, even after being beaten until his head was stuck in the ground, even after being reduced to such a miserable state, still made people unable to help but laugh.

This was not mockery. It was that kind of "this kid really is..." smile, carrying affection.

So this is Nika~

This is the liberation warrior who brings smiles to people?

Big Mom’s laughter rang out once more, but this time there was no mockery, no contempt.

Only complexity, only emotion, only...

"Mam-ma-ma-ma... The free Sun God truly lives up to his name."

She rarely spoke such words.

Within the light screen, Luffy’s legs twitched again, then he forcefully pulled his head out. After his head was pulled out, Luffy’s pure white body instantly began to "lose color."

"Gu..."

His voice came from underground, muffled, yet still carrying that infuriating vitality.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

His hands pressed against the ground and began to push with force. At this moment, Kaido looked at the weakened Luffy and shouted, asking who he was.

However, right after saying this, he also coughed up a mouthful of old blood. The entire Onigashima shook once more...

Seeing that both of them had suffered considerable damage, it was clear that both Luffy and Kaido had already used up all their strength in this battle!

"I’m about to die. I’ve consumed too much, huh..."

Having lost the drumbeat that brought him joy, Luffy had lost the fighting spirit he had earlier. Meanwhile, Kaido began his preaching mode once more!

"You can die in peace! The fact that you fought for this country will definitely be passed down by later generations. At that time..."

Kaido was still going on with his speech, but at this moment Luffy directly interrupted him: "Who cares about that stuff!"

Luffy felt that after everyone died they were all just rotting wood and withered bones. As he said this, he started laughing again with that "hehehe"!

...