One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 809: Straw Hat Luffy vs. Orc Otto

"Gomu Gomu no... Jet Gatling!!!"

Luffy let out a guttural roar, his fists blurring into a frenzied storm. Driven by the sheer elasticity of rubber, his hands multiplied into countless afterimages, raining down upon Otto in an all-encompassing barrage.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...

A dense succession of heavy impacts echoed through the air. The atmosphere vibrated as shockwaves rippled outward, and the solid ground beneath them began to web with fine cracks as the wind pressure swept over it.

Otto crossed his massive arms before his chest, bracing against Luffy’s tempestuous assault. His body was forced back inch by inch, his heavy footsteps shattering the reinforced floor beneath him into a spiderweb of deep fissures under the relentless force.

"So... so strong!"

"He’s actually suppressing Orc Otto!"

"As expected of the Straw Hat kid who made such a scene at the Paramount War!"

"A Great Pirate with a bounty of 400 million... he’s the real deal!"

Witnessing Otto being driven back by Luffy’s torrential offense, the surrounding onlookers were filled with awe, their exclamations of shock constant.

"ROOOAARRR—!"

Suddenly, Otto let out a thunderous bellow. He swung his arms outward with a violent heave, the sheer force displacing the air to create a terrifying gale. The shockwave physically blasted away the swarm of fist afterimages.

"What?!"

Luffy gasped, sent skidding back over a dozen meters by the sheer magnitude of the counter-force.

Seeing his initial flurry neutralized, Luffy didn’t hesitate. He immediately deactivated Gear 2, bit down on his thumb, and blew air forcefully into the gaps of his bones. In an instant, his hands expanded to a colossal size, casting a shadow that blotted out the light.

"Gear 3!!!"

"Gomu Gomu no... Elephant Gun!!!"

Luffy shouted, channeling his Armament Haki. His gargantuan arms hardened into two shimmering black iron spheres as he hurled them forward with everything he had, the displacement of air creating a howling, razor-sharp wind.

"Orc: Dual Hammers!!!"

Otto let out a low, guttural snarl. Clenching his fists, they instantly turned pitch-black with a metallic sheen. He broke into a heavy sprint, charging head-on to meet the attack.

KABOOM—!

Fist met fist, detonating a terrifying explosion of power. The ground beneath them disintegrated instantly.

In the next breath, a violent shockwave erupted, turning into a localized hurricane that sent everything within a dozens-of-meters radius flying. The gale swept through the entire front section of Building B, leaving countless people struggling just to stay on their feet.

The exchange ended in a stalemate. Luffy retracted his arms, exhaling the air from his body.

BOOM—!

At that moment, Otto’s massive frame lurched forward. He stomped his right foot down, causing a localized tremor that gouged a crater into the floor. The explosive propulsion launched his six-meter-plus body at an astonishing speed. The air seemed to compress around him, creating a terrifying whistling sound as he appeared before Luffy in a heartbeat.

"Orc: Sledgehammer!!!"

A fist the size of a giant cauldron swung down, wrapped in a suffocating pressure. Like a vanguard general wielding a war hammer on the battlefield, he intended to crush his enemy into the earth.

"Gear 2!!!"

Luffy’s expression tightened. His skin flushed pink as steam began to hiss from his pores.

CRASH—!

The floor shattered and collapsed into a hollow pit. Violent tremors rippled through the surrounding area as a turbulent airwave, choked with rubble and dust, swept in every direction.

Zip—!

Moving at high speed, Luffy evaded the heavy blow and repositioned himself in mid-air to Otto’s side. He stretched his right leg, coating it in Armament Haki until it resembled a ten-meter-long black whip, and lashed it toward Otto’s back.

"Gomu Gomu no... Hawk Whip!!!"

"Grrr..."

Otto let out a low growl. His massive body proved exceptionally agile as he leaped upward. Not only did he dodge Luffy’s strike, but he vaulted directly in front of him.

Luffy’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the monster. "A body that big... and he’s still this flexible?!"

WHAM—!

In mid-air, Otto’s face twisted into a snarl. He clasped both hands together and brought them down in a devastating overhead smash, striking Luffy squarely and slamming him out of the air.

SHREEE—!

With a piercing whistle as he cut through the air, Luffy plummeted like a meteor. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, the impact pulverizing the solid floor.

The earth groaned. A howling shockwave swept across the battlefield like a gale, kicking up a towering shroud of dust. Countless stone fragments were propelled outward like bullets by the sheer force of the air.

THUD—!

Otto landed heavily, the wind from his descent clearing the lingering haze.

Luffy was buried waist-deep in the floor, surrounded by upturned stone slabs and a network of cracks stretching nearly eight meters wide.

"Pah—!"

Luffy spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. He braced his arms to push himself up, causing several chunks of rubble to clatter off his back.

"Shurorororo! You damn Straw Hat kid, finally feeling the sting, aren’t you? You bastard! You bastard!" Seeing Luffy take a direct hit, Caesar was ecstatic, cackling and hurling insults.

"He truly is an officer of the Chris Pirates. Even if Orc Otto is the one with the least ’fame,’ his strength is truly that of a monster," Monet remarked. She raised a wing to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, her tone laced with a hint of genuine shock.

Because Otto spent most of his years guarding Alvis Island, he rarely appeared in the outside world, and his combat records were sparse. Among the many officers of the Chris Pirates, he was easily the least known.

However, Otto was a powerful warrior modified with biological genes, one of Switch Dalt’s most outstanding masterpieces. After every experimental procedure, he was sent out to verify his combat effectiveness by eliminating enemies of the Chris Pirates.

While his recorded battles were few, every appearance left a harrowing impression on those who witnessed them.

"Damn it... such high defense and insane agility..." Luffy stared at Otto with a grim expression. Among the enemies he had faced in the New World, aside from Golden Ring Aeridar and the former Marine Admiral Zephyr, this guy was the strongest.

"No... way?!"

"Luffy is actually on the back foot?"

"Terrifying! He’s a monster! That guy is a complete monster!"

Seeing Luffy struggle against Otto, the Straw Hat crew was shaken to their core. They hadn’t expected a single officer of the Chris Pirates to push Luffy to such an extreme.

I can’t do it. Gear 2 and Gear 3 aren’t enough. I need to get stronger!

Luffy glared at Otto and slowly raised his arm before his face.

"Gear 4!!!"

Instantly, Armament Haki dyed his arm a deep, ink-black. Luffy bit down hard on his forearm and blew air into it with everything he had.

FROOOO—!

His entire right arm began to swell, expanding like a metallic balloon being filled with high-pressure gas.

Moments later, a massive amount of air was compressed into Luffy’s body, causing his physique to swell rapidly. Thick white steam billowed out, shrouding his entire form.

Boing, boing, boing...

From within the white steam, a massive figure began to bounce rhythmically. Most of his body was coated in a deep red-and-black Armament Haki, with the Haki forming intricate flame-like karakusa patterns across his chest. His hair stood on end, reaching toward the sky.

"Gear 4: Boundman!!!"

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