chsdbacks Chapter 96 The Rules of Justice, Winged Serpent vs. Son of the Sun
Chapter 96 The Rules of Justice, Winged Serpent vs. Son of the Sun
Chapter 96 The Rules of Justice, Winged Serpent vs. Son of the Sun
Alabasta-Yuba City, a trading town on the edge of the desert, is now shrouded in a strange panic.
In the distance, eerie lights flickered on the horizon, accompanied by muffled explosions like rolling thunder, and the earth trembled slightly from time to time.
These unusual movements terrified the civilians in the city.
"Oh my god, what is that?" A mother pulled her child into her arms.
"Could it be related to the rainforest that suddenly appeared?" a businessman wondered to himself.
"Is this the end of the world? Are we all going to die?"
Despair and fear are the dominant themes of this city.
They didn't know what was happening, but felt as if the end of the world was coming, so they all hid in their homes and closed their doors and windows tightly.
The streets were deserted, with only sandstorms swirling around the empty stalls, creating a desolate and deathly atmosphere.
The air was thick with fear and the will to survive.
"Hurry up! I remember the pharmacy should be on that street ahead!" Ace whispered, moving quickly using the shadows of the buildings.
He held tightly to the list of medicines written by Yangba.
Luffy stayed close by his side, his rubber body taut, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
Roger walked behind casually, but his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings.
Karna, the Little Sun, walked at the back, his aura restrained. His golden armor also dimmed in the dim light, and his perception covered the surroundings like a radar.
"Hey Ace, don't you have a strange feeling?" Luffy, unusually, didn't joke around, and his rubber ears twitched.
Ace didn't look back, he just kept walking forward.
"What does it feel like?"
"Ugh—. This feeling is terrifying—my head is throbbing, something powerful is coming—"
Before the words were even finished!
boom!
A blast of scorching heat, accompanied by a heavy thud, slammed into the street in front of it!
Three figures appeared amidst the billowing smoke and dust.
A person's lower body turned into smoke and floated, his face gloomy, his hands clenched tightly. It was Smoker, the one with whom he had a previous feud.
Kuzan yawned lazily to the side, his eye mask pushed up to his forehead, emanating a chilling aura, and the ground beneath his feet quickly frosted over.
Another source of Luffy's unease is...
His fists were covered in jet-black Armament Haki, his mouth was wide open, and his eyes burned with raging anger.
"You two brats! And Roger! You're really good at hiding! Let's see where you run this time!"
Before the three of them, a figure landed lightly—it was Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god.
She maintained her elder sister demeanor, her feathered serpent crown hissing on her head, and her healthy, wheat-colored skin glowing faintly in the night.
But at this moment, her passionate eyes were fixed on Roger, filled with a strong sense of connection and burning fighting spirit from the depths of her blood!
The dinosaur plush toy on her arm also stood up, staring coldly at Roger.
"Found you, little mice of the Red Team!" the older sister said with a smile, radiating an aura similar to that of a little sun. "Grandpa!"
"Old man!"
Luffy and Ace exclaimed in surprise at the same time, their faces turning extremely pale.
Garp's appearance means we're in big trouble!
"Old man! And the Navy too!" Ace shouted immediately, speaking rapidly.
"We're not here to fight! The Shichibukai Kuma is critically injured and desperately needs the medicine here! We'll leave immediately after we get the medicine! Get out of the way!"
"Seriously injured? And by Kuma?" Garp raised an eyebrow, looking at the list in Ace's hand, then at Luffy's anxious face.
"Hmph! Pirate lies! Who knows if it's just an excuse!"
"Roger! You bastard, we're going to settle this score from last time today!" Garp's attention was clearly more focused on Roger.
"Hey, old man Garp, can we catch up later?" Kuzan interjected lazily, but the chill of the air quietly blocked any escape route down the street.
"However, if a fight breaks out in a place like this, it will cause a lot of trouble for the citizens." He glanced meaningfully at the tightly closed doors and windows around him.
Karna stepped forward, blocking Luffy and Ace, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable power.
"Master's words are true. Saving lives is urgent; please do us a favor. If you insist on obstructing us..."
An indestructible spear appeared in his hand, and golden flames began to rise.
"My gun will show no mercy."
Quetzalcoatl entered Garp Mode, hands on hips, and a loud voice rang out.
"That's right! There are rules to fighting! Innocent people shouldn't be hurt! However..."
Her eyes were fixed intently on Roger, and the Garp-esque tone was completely gone.
"Roger! You're quite different. Your scent is unique! It's making this place restless! Come and have a good chat with me!"
Roger laughed heartily, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Hahaha! Why don't you just say you're Garp? Little girl! If you keep repeating that you're Garp, I might laugh so hard I won't be able to fight anymore."
"Putting Garp aside, your aura is ancient and powerful too! But right now—"
He glanced warily in the direction of the pharmacy. "I really don't have time to play with you!"
Just as tensions were running high and a major battle seemed imminent.
"Ha ha ha ha-""
A deep, playful, divine voice seemed to resound directly in everyone's minds.
In the center of the street, the air twisted and rippled eerily, like ripples on the surface of water.
A figure appeared without warning—it was Tescatlipoca.
Unlike the modern clothes worn by the Crocodile, Tescatlipoca was now wearing a feather headdress and face paint, just like the one Ace had seen.
He seemed to have always been there, yet also seemed to have just emerged from the void.
His presence brought a suffocating sense of oppression.
He ignored the tense navy and the Red Team members, his gaze first falling on Quetzal Koyatl with a hint of mockery.
"Oh? Winged Serpent? You've also caught the scent of chaos? What an interesting coincidence."
His gaze swept over Roger and Karna, finally settling on the older sister, a mysterious smile curving his lips.
"However, this is a chessboard for struggle, and fair rules must be followed."
The bone staff in his hand emitted a hazy glow, and a power originating from the realm of rules instantly enveloped the entire neighborhood!
"This area is off-limits. No one may cross it. No one may interfere." The voice of the smoke-mirror carried an oracular authority.
"Both sides' heroic spirits, including mine, can only send one from each side."
As the words fell, invisible chains seemed to wrap around Quetzalcoatl, Karna, and Roger.
The fighting spirit on the older sister's face froze. She was surprised to find that the power belonging to the feathered serpent god within her body was temporarily suppressed by a strange law of fairness.
The moment the Smoke Mirror spoke, she tried to unleash her divine power to attack it, but felt her power vanish like a mud ox sinking into the sea; she was indeed bound by those rules.
She could only glare fiercely at the smoke goggles, her eyes filled with the carefree spirit of Garp replaced by divine rage, yet she was powerless to do anything about it.
He tricked me again!
"Damn it! Admiral Akainu said that this guy is playing by his own rules again!" Smoker cursed under his breath.
"Fair?" Kuzan adjusted his eye patch, looking thoughtfully at his smoky goggles. "What a troublesome guy—"
"Shout!" Roger and Garp both shouted in annoyance.
They felt an invisible constraint preventing them from unleashing their full Conqueror's Haki.
Powers that did not belong to this ancient rainforest were rejected.
For powerful individuals like them, stripping them of their Conqueror's Haki would significantly weaken their strength.
Tescatlipoca looked on with satisfaction at the crowd bound by the rules, his figure slowly fading away as if merging into the smoke.
"The rules are set. What remains—is the pleasure of the struggle. Enjoy, gentlemen."
"Oh, right, Winged Serpent. Since you wanted to attack the alliance earlier, you'll be the one to fight the first battle."
After he finished speaking, his figure completely disappeared into the air, leaving only his unsettling low laughter echoing in the air.
Under the constraints of rules:
On the red side, Karna can fight, while Roger's power is restricted to most of his abilities, so he can only be considered "half" of his fighting strength.
On the Navy side, Quetzalcoatl is available to fight, while human powerhouses such as Garp, Kuzan, and Smoker are directly restricted.
Unable to participate in the battle.
Even their strength was subtly suppressed by the "fairness" domain of the Smoke Mirror, as if they had entered a weakened domain.
"The situation seems to be in our favor!" Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance and instantly understood the key point.
"Little Sun! And—you guys, this is your responsibility!"
Ace shouted, and he and Luffy took advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was drawn to the standoff.
They shot off like arrows, rushing towards the pharmacy at the end of the street!
"You brat! Don't even think about running away!" Garp roared, his iron fist, covered in Armament Haki, about to smash out.
"Stop! Straw Hat!" Smoker's lower body turned into smoke, and his ten hands thrust straight forward.
However, "This road is blocked." Karna's figure instantly appeared in front of Garp and Smoker, sweeping across with his Undying Spear.
Golden flames formed a scorching barrier!
At the same time, he made a clenching motion in the air with his other hand, and a demonic spear burning with the fire of the sun appeared, the flaming spear thrusting straight at Kuzan.
"Didn't you hear what that guy said? Kid, your opponent is me."
Quetzal Koyatl let out a delicate shout, which also carried a touch of Karp's boldness.
"Let's spar with big sister Garp!"
She flashed forward, unleashing an overwhelming force and speed, and punched the little sun!
The force of the punch was so powerful that even space itself seemed to distort slightly. This punch combined the divine power of Quetzalcoatl with Garp's lifelong combat experience.
Amazing power!
A glint flashed in Karna's eyes, and with unparalleled speed, he swiftly dodged the punch by sidestepping.
"My reverence for you remains unchanged, my humble servant will gladly oblige!"
After dodging the punch, Karna's golden spear danced like a dragon, the blazing sun's fire and the spear's shadow weaving into an impenetrable barrier. This rain of spears instantly surrounded the older sister, and just as she dodged, another spear pierced the sky and surged towards her.
Upon seeing this, the eldest sister neither dodged nor evaded, but instead thrust her fist, which shimmered with divine pressure, forward. The two divine forces collided, and golden light shook the heavens.
On the other side, Smoker charged directly towards Ace and Luffy.
To prevent Roger from getting in the way, Garp and Kuzan confronted Roger.
Garp took the lead, his fist, surging with Armament Haki, flying like a cannonball.
Roger's hearty smile was on his face.
"Old man, looking at it this way, that beauty from the other day was much more pleasing to the eye. By the way, you weren't actually a woman, were you? Hahahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Garp's entire body turned bright red, his blood surging like magma, and his face became as ferocious as a beast.
"Damn it, Roger! Die!"
The moment that domineering fist came rushing in, Ace's sword was wrapped with equally top-level Armament Haki and met it head-on!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The narrow streets of Yuba City instantly transformed into an arena for top-tier fighters!
Karna's movements were precise and efficient, each strike perfectly neutralizing the older sister's attacks. He didn't seek to kill the enemy, but only to buy time!
Garp's iron fist slammed into Roger's sword, sparks flying as metal clashed.
Smoker's smoke sizzled as it was burned by Ace's flames, and Kuzan's ice wall was slowly burned through.
The battlefield descended into a fierce battle, especially the clash between the two top-tier heroic spirits.
Quetzalcoatl's fighting style is characterized by its visceral, powerful punches. Her fists and feet are a fusion of Garp's fighting style, making them incredibly fierce and powerful. With the blessing of divine power, each strike carries the force to shatter mountains and split rocks!
Little Sun possesses superb skills and astonishing speed. Of course, his strength is also considerable, enough to contend with his opponent.
Each collision between the two generated terrifying shockwaves, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear in the walls of the houses on both sides of the street!
The tiles fell!
"Pharmacist! Quick! We need these medicines!" Luffy and Ace finally rushed to the pharmacy door.
Luffy pushed open the tightly closed shop door and slammed the list down in front of the trembling shopkeeper.
"Take whatever you want, it's free." The boss looked at the list of expensive, controlled drugs.
Looking at the devastating battle scene outside, he was speechless.
"That won't do! How can we rob you? Luffy, hurry up and give us some money!" Ace said urgently, the flames flickering in his palm as he kept a close eye on what was happening behind him.
The pharmacy owner looked at the flames in Ace's hand, then at the scene outside that resembled a battle between gods and demons.
Even if Ace offered to give it to him, he wouldn't dare accept it and scrambled to find the medicine.
Meanwhile, in the street battle, bound by Tescatlipoca's "fair" rules and Karna's strong delaying tactics, the Navy was unable to break through the defenses to stop Luffy and Ace from getting the medicine!
"General Kuzan, stop holding back!" Smoker roared, somewhat embarrassed by Ace's flames.
He glanced at the golden-armored hero; it must have been the one who taught Fire Fist, for now Fire Fist could crush him!
"Oh dear—what a nuisance—" Kuzan sighed, his gaze becoming more serious, and the chill suddenly intensified.
"Ice Age!"
A chilling aura attempted to bypass the battlefield of the heroic spirits and freeze the door of the pharmacy.
But Karna seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and without turning around, he fired a shot with his backhand!
Egg!
The burning sunlight instantly pierced Kuzan's frozen core, detonating it! The icy air spread, covering the battlefield in a layer of smoke.
In the shadows of a distant rooftop, Tescatlipoca's figure could be faintly seen.
He watched the chaotic battle below with great interest, toying with the crystal skull.
He whispered, "Fight—run for the desire to live! What a wonderful struggle—what a wonderful world..."