Chapter 237: I Am Me!

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: I Am Me!

......

Within the light screen, Luffy’s inconceivable fighting style continued.

His body twisted freely as if it had no bones—sometimes stretching, sometimes compressing, sometimes expanding like a balloon.

Every one of Kaido’s attacks was neutralized by him in that unrestrained manner...

Either by dodging, or by turning his body into various strange shapes so the attacks slid past, or simply "bouncing" Kaido’s attacks back.

That fighting style left people dumbfounded.

It also stirred greed in people’s hearts!

Among the pirate group in God Valley, whispers began to spread.

"Hey... That fruit..."

One pirate lowered his voice, greed flashing in his eyes.

"If I ate that fruit, wouldn’t that mean..." He did not finish, but everyone understood his meaning.

If one could possess that kind of power, what was there to fear?

Why hide from Marine pursuit? Why not do whatever one wanted!

"This fruit should currently be in some corner, or on some island..."

Another pirate licked his lips. "I really want to make it mine!"

"Even if I don’t eat it..."

A third pirate stroked his chin, a shrewd light flashing in his eyes. "Selling it to those big shots—at this rate, it definitely won’t go for less than 2 billion berries!"

"2 billion?"

Someone sneered. "Too little! I feel like 5 billion is possible!"

"5 billion? You’re underestimating the World Government too much!"

A slightly older pirate beside him shook his head. "A fruit of this level—8 billion is a conservative estimate!"

"8 billion..."

This number spread through the crowd like a curse. Many pirates’ eyes lit up.

8 billion berries.

That was an astronomical sum that ordinary pirates could never earn in several lifetimes.

That was wealth enough for them to wash their hands of piracy and live in comfort for the rest of their lives.

Not to mention eating it themselves and obtaining that inconceivable power.

"You bunch of idiots!"

A clear female voice poured over everyone like cold water.

Buckingham Stussy.

At this moment, she was sweeping her gaze over those pirates lost in fantasy with a look one would give to idiots.

"Use your brains, will you?" Her tone was full of helplessness.

"That Fifth Gear form only appears when a fruit ability awakens. And for a fruit to awaken..."

She paused, her gaze falling on the figure in the light screen who was currently entangled in battle with Kaido.

"One must achieve complete compatibility between body and mind with the fruit."

The pirates were stunned.

"You think just anyone who eats that fruit can become like that?"

Stussy sneered and shook her head. "Stop dreaming."

She raised her hand and pointed at Luffy in the light screen.

"His will was forged through being knocked down and getting back up countless times. His compatibility with that fruit was earned with his life."

Stussy withdrew her hand and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What about you people?"

No one answered.

Those pirates who had just been fantasizing about possessing Nika’s power fell silent.

They were indeed inferior to Luffy—not in strength, but in that pure, almost foolish conviction.

That resolve of "willing to risk one’s life for one’s companions."

That tenacity of "even if knocked down a hundred times, will get back up on the 101st."

They truly did not possess these things.

"All of this..."

A deep voice rang out.

Rocks!

The center of the storm in God Valley was now gazing at Luffy in the light screen with a profound look.

"This is all fated arrangement from the future."

He slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it made everyone fall silent.

"Opportunity and coincidence, combined with one’s own luck, plus the will of the fruit itself..."

He paused, then glanced at Kaido beside him. "These things are all indispensable."

Kaido noticed Rocks’ gaze and nodded slightly.

He recalled the scene when he had eaten the Azure Dragon fruit. Back then, he had indeed heard a voice. A call from the unknown. A kind of "resonance" from deep within the fruit that was hard to describe.

That feeling could not be put into words.

But he knew it was real.

"So then..."

Rocks’ gaze swept over the pirates. The corner of his mouth curled slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Stop daydreaming."

The pirates lowered their heads awkwardly, not daring to say anything more.

But Stussy’s words and Rocks’ words had already planted a seed in their hearts.

Not a seed of greed, but a seed of awe.

That youth, that fruit, that power was not something they could covet.

On the opposite side from the pirates, the five Five Elders slowly regained their composure.

The scene of Saint Saturn being suppressed by the light screen and struggling in pain earlier was still vivid in their minds.

That invisible force, that oppressive feeling that even the Five Elders could not resist, left them with lingering fear.

But they were, after all, the Five Elders—the world’s highest authority figures, and top-tier individuals who had seen all kinds of storms.

After a brief moment of panic, reason regained the upper hand.

"That group of pirates over there..."

Warcury Saint’s gaze fell upon the group of pirates in the distance who were chattering noisily. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"They’re actually still thinking of finding the Nika Fruit and making it their own... Foolish."

But he paused, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. "However, thinking about it carefully, it’s actually not a bad idea."

The other four looked at him.

"Now..."

Warcury Saint’s voice was low and calm. "We should dispatch more personnel and try to recover the Nika Fruit."

His gaze fell upon Luffy in the light screen. His expression was terribly grave.

From the moment Nika appeared until now, he had not smiled once.

Even if there had been brief moments of happiness—such as when Luffy fell into the sea—they had been fleeting.

Because of that fruit. Because of that form. Because of that name...

Joy Boy!

That was the greatest nightmare of the Five Elders, of the World Government, and of Lord Imu.

"But..."

Peter Saint spoke, a trace of helplessness in his voice. "Too many people have seen the light screen now."

He swept his gaze around, glancing at the pirates, at the Marines, at the civilians.

"The situation has already spiraled out of control to an irreversible degree. We can make a small portion of people shut up, make a portion of people disappear forever..."

He paused, then his face turned ugly. "But everyone?"

This question made the other four fall silent.

That’s right.

The light screen’s images had almost spread throughout the entire world. The people of God Valley were watching, the people of Mariejois were watching, the people of the Grand Line were watching...

The people of the Four Seas were watching. Even Lord Imu was probably watching.

They could make a portion of people "disappear," but could they make the entire world "disappear"?

"We still have to do it!" Saint Saturn’s voice rang out.

He had just climbed up from the ground. His face was still somewhat pale, but the ruthlessness in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

"Doing it is better than not doing it!"

Saint Saturn clenched his fists, his ten fingers gripping tightly. He was furious. Even after returning to human form, he felt no relief at all. "That fruit... absolutely cannot fall into anyone’s hands."

"Especially..."

His gaze once again fell upon Luffy in the light screen. "The future must not see another Nika."

Within the light screen.

The battle between Luffy and Kaido continued.

Kaido’s offensive grew increasingly fierce. Every swing of his kanabo carried world-destroying power.

But Luffy...

Luffy was like an eel.

No—like a lump of rubber clay. No matter how he was hit, he could not be hit. No matter how he was hit, he could not be subdued. No matter how he was hit, he was still laughing.

"Hehehehe!"

That laughter echoed across the dome, carrying an infuriating cheerfulness.

The corner of Kaido’s eye twitched.

What the hell was this brat laughing about?

What was so funny? Being beaten like this, and still laughing?

But Kaido had to admit that that laughter truly possessed some kind of magic—a magic that made people unable to help but want to laugh along.

"Straw Hat brat!"

He roared and charged forward once more.

Luffy smiled and met him head-on. The two once again clashed in battle.

Under the moonlight, the two figures intertwined, collided, separated, and intertwined again.

That scene was bizarre yet magnificent.

It was as if two completely different eras were fiercely colliding. As if two completely opposite ideals were locked in a desperate struggle.

As if the old era and the new era were intersecting at this moment.

Outside the light screen, ordinary people held their breath.

Watching this battle. Watching the confrontation between these two people. Watching this era that was about to be rewritten.

No one knew what the outcome would be, but everyone knew that this battle—regardless of who won or lost—would go down in history.

Because this was the showdown between the Sun God and the world’s strongest creature.

Kaido fell.

The man known as the "World’s Strongest Creature" was now kneeling on one knee. His body, covered in dragon scales, was covered in wounds. Blood flowed down from the wounds, pooling into a small puddle on the ground.

His breathing was heavy. Every gasp brought bloody foam overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

Exhaustion.

Unprecedented exhaustion!

This night, he had fought for too long.

He had fought the Nine Red Scabbards. He had fought Yamato. He had fought the Supernovas. He had fought Zoro. He had fought that eternally unyielding Straw Hat brat...

Again and again. Over and over!

He could no longer remember how many times he had sent Luffy flying, nor how many times he had been struck by Luffy.

He only felt tired. Truly tired!

And the culprit of all this was currently bouncing around on the ruins.

He had turned the ground into a rubber trampoline. Every time he jumped, his entire body was launched high into the air. He would flip once in midair, then fall back down and be launched up again.

He was like a child entering an amusement park for the first time, playing with great delight.

"Hehehe! So fun!"

His laughter echoed across the dome, crisp and cheerful—completely out of place on this battlefield filled with devastation.

Kaido watched him. Watched that face laughing like an idiot. Suddenly, he felt a strong sense of absurdity!

"Hehehe..."

Luffy jumped again.

He stayed in midair for a second, looking down at the blue figure kneeling on one knee below.

He was playing so forgetfully that he completely forgot this was a battlefield. Forgot that they had just been locked in a life-and-death struggle. Forgot that Kaido was still kneeling there watching him.

Finally, he had played enough. He stopped and tilted his head, as if thinking about something.

"That move just now..."

Luffy muttered to himself, brows slightly furrowed, as if recalling something important.

"What should I name it?"

The corner of Kaido’s eye twitched.

This brat was actually thinking about this?

At a time like this?

While fighting him, he was still thinking about naming his techniques?

"Hmm..."

Luffy continued talking to himself. "Gomu Gomu no... Gomu Gomu no... What would be a good name..."

He opened his mouth, just about to come up with a good name, when Kaido suddenly interrupted him...

"Who the hell are you?!"

There was a trace of confusion in his tone that even Kaido himself was unwilling to admit.

Luffy froze.

He tilted his head, looking at Kaido with a face full of question marks.

"Who are you!? Are you the Straw Hat brat or not?!"

Kaido roared once more, propping himself up with his kanabo as he stood up, staring fixedly at Luffy.

Those dragon pupils reflected that white figure.

That figure with white hair, white clothes, and a strange aura emanating from his entire body.

That figure who clearly had Luffy’s face, yet was completely different from before.

That figure who had used a fighting style he had never seen before to beat him until he was covered in wounds.

"You’re not the Straw Hat brat!" Kaido’s voice was hoarse and low.

"The Straw Hat brat isn’t like this! What the hell are you?!"

Luffy blinked.

He lowered his head to look at himself. Looked at his white clothes. Looked at his white hands. Looked at this brand-new body.

Then Luffy raised his head and looked at Kaido with certainty. "I am me!"

"I’m Luffy, the man who’s going to become the Pirate King!"

Hearing Luffy’s usual bold declaration, the corner of Kaido’s mouth twitched. However, his brows furrowed even tighter. "Then how did you turn into this?"

"Hmm..."

Luffy tilted his head and seriously began to think.

"I don’t know either."

Luffy was so honest that Kaido was speechless.

"After you hit me with that strike just now, I thought I was going to die, and then..."

Luffy touched his chest, then began recounting the situation of this form. To be honest, Luffy himself did not really know what was going on...

"And then I woke up... After waking up, I became like this."

Luffy spoke about it quite lightly, as if this was just a trivial matter.

The corner of Kaido’s eye twitched again. How could this brat not even know what was happening with his own body?

He had just vaguely awakened his fruit and inexplicably turned into this state?!

What kind of joke was this?!

Although Kaido was somewhat disbelieving, Luffy was telling the truth. He really did not know.

After being struck by that club from Kaido, he had indeed thought he was going to die.

His consciousness sank into darkness. His body lost all sensation. He thought everything was over. Then, in a state of complete despair, Luffy subconsciously heard the drumbeat!

"Thump thump!"

That drumbeat came from within his own chest cavity—growing louder, faster, more powerful.

And then, he woke up. After waking up, he had become like this.

As for why it happened, he did not know.

Luffy only knew...

Right now, he felt great.

His entire body was filled with power. It was as if he had endless strength. He could fight however he wanted, play however he wanted, laugh however he wanted.

That feeling was like something had been liberated. Like something had been broken free from.

Like he could finally, freely, do whatever he wanted to do!

"Hehehe..." Thinking this, Luffy laughed again.

That smile was pure and brilliant.

...