Luffy’s Journey in Impel Down Part 11
"It doesn't matter. You will be dying here."
Just the fact, Luffy was able to launch such a powerful counterattack made Magellan look at him with a different light.
But he wasn't worried at all.
His venom fruit was much more versatile than most people could imagine.
He breathed out a lot of venom into the air that started filling the room. It was quite disgusting, but Luffy couldn't run away.
Because the moment he left, Magellan would target his friends. The entire Impel Down was his ground.
That's why he must defeat Magellan here and right now.
Even if it was going to be deadly.
He closed his eyes and wrapped a piece of cloth around his mouth and nose.
[Poison Spider Cloud]
The poison in the air wasn't just made to create hallucinations; they were also deadly for any person.
The moment Magellan saw Luffy using Future Sight, he didn't get careless at all. He knew all of his movements were gonna be predicted by the opponent's Haki.
But there was one problem.
He could predict his actions, but there were still things he couldn't stop.
Using the poison spider cloud and increasing the toxicity of his poison, he could not only force Luffy to rely only his Observation Haki but also drain his stamina.
To block the effect of this poison, Luffy must cover his body with Armament Haki, and doing so would lead to weakening his current state.
Except things didn't go the way Magellan thought they would.
Luffy didn't cover his body with Armament Haki. Instead, he used Observation Haki to predict Magellan's position, entered Gear Second, and instantly rushed in front of him.
[Gomu Gomu No]
A flash of Armament Haki appeared on his fist, only on the surface of his fingers, as he punched forward with all of his strength.
[Jet Pistol]
Bang!
Luffy's punch struck Magellan on his stomach, sending him flying across the bridge. But when he was in mid-air, he launched Hydra.
One of the heads of the hydra moved towards the other side of the bridge, and Magellan entered his poison ride.
[Venom Path]
His movement was extremely fast, and more importantly, Luffy couldn't stop him since he was traveling through the poison.
Unless Luff was willing to use Armament Haki to block the effect of the poison, he couldn't do it.
Of course, Luffy wasn't just going to wait for him to arrive.
His battles with Kuzan, Kizaru, and Akainu taught him one thing.
Attack when and where the enemy expected you the least!
Luffy stretched his foot, reaching the ceiling of the room.
Coating his slipper with Armament Haki, he brought it down with so much force that it could tear apart even a large warship.
Bang!
The leg struck down the moment Magellan left his poison ride, forcing him to block it with his poison and the Armament Haki.
The poison was effective, at least more than what Luffy expected it to be.
The intense pain started affecting his foot, but he was able to hold his own against the pain and strike Magellan with all of his strength.
Crack! Whoosh!
The part of the bridge broke once again, and Magellan was smashed down. He landed on another bridge near the boiling pot.
This time, he didn't take the poison ride since he didn't find it very useful in his battle with Luffy.
"Ufff! Huff! Huff!"
Luffy started panting hard. His breathing was already getting bad due to the toxin. His constant use of Haki was pushing his body to the brink of exhaustion.
'Not here! Not now! I still have to free Ace.'
Luffy took a deep breath, inhaling a lot of poison all at once.
Despite the poison affecting him, he rushed straight down. His figure was constantly running on Air as he appeared in front of Magellan.
Magellan was prepared this time. His Observation Haki wasn't just for show. He clenched his right fist, coated it with poison and Armament Haki before sending a punch towards Luffy.
Boom!
Luffy and Magellan's fists collided, creating a powerful explosion that sent Luffy flying. The shockwave of the explosion caused severe wounds on his body, and the flames started burning him even more.
Before landing on the ground, Luffy stabilized himself and thought.
'He can explode his poison. I can't attack like this. I need to find another way to attack him.'
Luffy saw the broken part of the bridge, and an idea came to his mind. He stretched out his hands, held the broken part, and pulled it out.
He released his Armament Haki into the metal and struck down with all of his strength.
'Damn it!'
Magellan was stunned by his attack. He took a deep breath, inflated his body, and coated it with Armament Haki.
[Poison Blowfish]
Bang!
Luffy struck him on the head with the metal piece and broke his Armament Haki.
'Too strong!'
Magellan commented in his heart as he gritted his teeth and released several poisonous liquid bubbles from his mouth.
These liquid bubbles produced the Hydra that went after Luffy's hands.
But Luffy quickly pulled back his hands, leaving the metal piece on Magellan's head.
"Hoo!"
The Hydra didn't attack Luffy while Magellan felt a bit of relief since the metal was able to destroy his Armament Haki and cause some serious damage.
He even started bleeding from the corner of his mouth.
'Damn it! How can someone be so good at Haki while having no strength to use it? He was able to send Haki into the metal and keep it there for long enough to hit me.'
'But he knew the lack of Haki would be a problem, so he didn't keep his arms coated with Haki. That's why he withdrew his fist the moment I used Hydra.'
'His control over Haki seems to be like Admirals and Vice Admiral Garp...'
Suddenly, Magellan paused.
'Is it genetics? Just because he is Garp's grandson, he can control Haki like it's nothing. That shouldn't be possible. There must be another reason. I can't wait here to find out.'
'I need to exhaust him more.'
He nodded and dashed forward. He covered his body with poison and appeared in front of Luffy.
Luffy clenched his fist and punched forward. His fist tore through the air and struck Magellan on his chest.
Bang!
Magellan tanked the attack this time and punched towards Luffy. He wore boxing gloves with sharp tips that he had coated with Armament Haki and his poison.
Even Luffy was surprised by his action. His Observation Haki gave him a strong warning, and he tried to move away using Soru.
But his legs felt a bit weak, almost like a shaky old man's leg.
Splash!
He wasn't able to dodge the attack on time. Although he did his best, Magellan was still able to reach his right chest.
Just before it pierced his chest, a hardened Armament Haki emerged on that exact place and blocked the attack.
Bang!
"Argh!"
The glove didn't manage to pierce the skin, but it did manage to damage his Haki, forcing it to break, and the poison from the tip touched his skin and started dripping on his skin.
Luffy screamed and crawled away.
Magellan immediately wanted to chase him, but suddenly, he found a strange pressure exerted on his mind
'Conqueror Haki!'
It forced him to stop as Luffy used this chance to retreat to the higher land. He started panting hard.
He released Armament Haki to put away the poison, but it had already started to affect him.
After all, the poison could easily spread its effect into his body through this kind of condition.
It wasn't going to kill him, but it was strong enough to leave him weak.
And Luffy could feel it. He had a growing sense that he was growing weaker with every passing second.
But even so, he couldn't stop fighting.
Because that was his job.
Fighting! That's all he was supposed to.
When someone showed you good intentions while still keeping proper respect, it would be hard not to feel inferior.
Luffy never considered himself inferior. He knew he was a Captain and his job was to fight his enemies.
That's why he would never stop fighting.
He couldn't make plans like Liam. He couldn't swing a sword like Zoro. He couldn't cook like Sanji. He couldn't navigate his way through this sea like Nami.
He couldn't cure other people like Chopper. He couldn't read history like Robin. He couldn't sing like Brook. He couldn't make a ship like Franky.
He couldn't even lie like Usopp.
Then, there was only one thing he could do. One thing that everyone in his crew could do was so he had to do better.
He had to fight.
Fight as the best, fight as the strongest, fight to protect his crew and friends.
The pain of losing his friends shouldn't happen to him.
Because he will protect his friends.