One Piece: I will become stronger by checking in

Kai felt a twinge of displeasure at the thought. If this was true, it meant someone had been keeping tabs on him for a long time.

Of course, there shouldn't be anyone spying on him now. If there were, it wouldn't make sense that no one had found him based on what he was seeing.

After a brief moment, a smirk curled at Kai's lips. The gloom in his eyes faded, replaced by a cool indifference. He muttered under his breath:

"So you want to play? Fine, I'll play along."

"You brat, what are you mumbling about? Are you looking down on me?"

Blackbeard's voice was laced with irritation. Was this kid seriously ignoring him? Was he that confident—or just stupid?

"Hm?"

Kai lifted his gaze slightly, his smirk deepening. "Oh? You actually caught that? Yeah, I don't take you seriously at all."

(╬▔皿▔)╯!!

Blackbeard's blood boiled instantly, rage flaring in his eyes. He bared his teeth in a vicious grin.

"You better keep that arrogance when I'm beating you half to death! Today, I'm sending you to hell for what you did to Burgess and the others!"

Kai raised an eyebrow, his voice as calm as ever. "The sun's still shining, and you're already dreaming?"

"You're dead, brat!"

Blackbeard roared and shot toward Kai at high speed. With the power of the Float-Float Fruit, his movements in the air were significantly faster.

But Kai? He remained utterly unfazed. In fact, there was even a flicker of excitement in his gaze.

"Heh. Big black fatso, today's the day you learn some manners."

"Straw Hat!"

Luffy, mid-battle with a group of Marines, turned at the sound of his name. His eyes locked onto a man in a black suit rocketing toward him using Moonwalk.

Kai glanced at the approaching figure, then looked again, confirming he didn't recognize him. He tilted his head curiously.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the guy who's going to kill you," the man said coldly.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked, then scoffed. "Oi, are you daydreaming? What makes you think you have the strength to take me down? Did a certain singer named Liang give you courage or something?"

"...What?"

Rob Lucci, who had been charging in, suddenly faltered.

This was... new.

Usually, when he delivered a death threat, people either trembled in fear or spat back some straightforward bravado like, "Damn World Government lackey, bring it on!"

But this? This was the first time someone had responded with such... polite mockery. And somehow, it was even more infuriating.

Especially with Luffy casually picking his nose while saying it.

Lucci didn't know who this Liang guy was, but he sure as hell knew what courage meant.

Something inside him snapped. Without another thought, he shifted into his hybrid form and lunged at Luffy.

Luffy, seeing Lucci charging in a blind rage, grinned.

Heh. Got him.

This was a little trick he picked up from Kai. Every time they argued, Kai would say just the right thing to make Luffy lose his cool. And every time, Luffy would charge in recklessly—only to get clobbered.

Even now, he had no idea why Kai's words made him so irrational. It just... worked.

"Man, this really does come in handy," Luffy mused, stretching his arms.

The next moment, he snapped into Gear Second. Lucci's attack missed as Luffy easily dodged. Then, his fist—hardened with Armament Haki—slammed into Lucci's stomach.

"Letting anger cloud your mind in battle? That's a rookie mistake."

BOOM!

Lucci was sent flying like a shooting star, crashing onto the ice in the distance, leaving a long skid mark.

Luffy pulled back his fist, standing tall with an air of effortless dominance.

Of course, he had stolen that line from Kai, too. Turns out, Kai's talents weren't just limited to combat.

"Cough!"

Lucci staggered to his feet, shock flashing in his eyes. His stomach muscles spasmed painfully from the sheer force of Luffy's punch.

How... how was this possible?

This didn't make sense. A guy with a 120 million bounty shouldn't be this strong.

But then again, Lucci had never encountered people who were practically born cheating. He had no way of understanding why some freaks just kept getting stronger at an absurd rate.

And those words...

Those damn words had actually rattled his mind.

Him! The unshakable assassin!

How?!

At that moment, something clicked inside Lucci. He committed those words to memory. Who knew? Maybe they'd come in handy someday.

Of course, that was a story for another time.

Right now, Luffy was walking toward him, step by step.

With each step, the pressure in the air grew heavier.

Lucci's instincts screamed at him. His hair stood on end. His back was slick with sweat.

When Luffy was just a few dozen meters away, his eyes narrowed.

And then—

BOOM!

A burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, surging outward like an unstoppable wave.

Marines around them dropped like flies, collapsing onto the ice. Not a single pirate was affected.

Lucci, the direct target, blacked out for an instant.

By the time he came to, Luffy was already standing right in front of him, wearing a casual grin.

Shit—!

Alarm bells rang in Lucci's mind. He crossed his arms instinctively.

And then—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

At that moment, all eyes on Marineford turned to Luffy.

The three admirals, the Fleet Admiral, even the Five Elders—every one of them took notice.

Luffy's Conqueror's Haki was impossible to ignore.

Sengoku's face twisted with rage as he turned to Garp. His voice was low, strained, filled with barely contained fury.

"You damn old man... Why didn't you stop your grandson from becoming a pirate? He could've been an incredible Marine!"

Garp sighed, scratching his head. "Oi, it's not like I didn't try, you know! I beat him, scolded him, even begged him! Kid just wouldn't listen... What else could I do?"