One Piece: New Luffy

"What should we do, Captain? As much as I want to join the Shichibukai crew, I don't want to get struck by lightning and die!"

"No… don't panic. As long as we endure, there's a chance we'll be chosen!"

Foxy's face turned grim, and he snorted. "Hmph, since the game has already started, no one can back out. You want our pirate flag to be humiliated? Let's go!"

He waved his hand and took a step toward the storm cloud.

Seeing Foxy take the lead, the Straw Hat Crew smiled and followed suit, entering the storm cloud one after another.

Eventually, the remaining pirates from Foxy's crew hurried to follow as well.

"Time's up!" Luffy closed the pocket watch. "Nami…"

"Wait, wait! You three aren't joining?" someone protested.

"Of course not, it'd be unfair if the three of us participated. Think of it as a favor. Alright, let's start, Nami."

Luffy waved casually, grabbed a cup of grape juice, and took a sip.

"Yes~"

Nami raised her right palm, electric currents crackling across it. In the next moment, lightning struck the clouds above.

Boom!

Lightning began to fall.

Two bolts came down—one targeting the Straw Hats and the other striking Foxy's pirates.

Instantly, screams filled the air.

Among the Straw Hats, Zoro was the first to almost be struck. Thanks to his Observation Haki, he dodged in the nick of time.

"Hey! You targeted me first, Nami! Was that on purpose!?"

"Miss Nami, splendid as always!" Sanji applauded.

On the other side, Foxy's crew wasn't so lucky. A large man was struck directly and immediately convulsed, collapsing to the ground with hair standing on end.

"Kyaaaa!" everyone screamed.

"Don't get distracted, focus on dodging," Nami reminded them with a devilish smile.

Luffy looked at her smile, unexpectedly entranced.

In the blink of an eye, the second bolt arrived.

Then the third, fourth…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Two strikes per second. The pace terrified everyone, forcing them to stay alert.

One by one, they looked up at the storm clouds, ready to dodge at any moment.

But they quickly realized it was pointless. The lightning was far too fast. By the time they noticed it, it had already struck.

Unless they had Observation Haki and could hear the lightning coming in advance!

"Run!" someone yelled, and a group immediately bolted away.

Some even tried to escape the storm's range, but a much stronger bolt struck right in front of them like a death warning. That quickly crushed any thoughts of fleeing.

In just ten minutes, half of Foxy's crew had fallen.

Vivi covered her mouth and whispered, "Luffy, will this kind of training even help?"

"I'm just helping them move around. We've deliberately lowered the lightning's frequency. The original plan was ten strikes per second," Luffy shook his head.

As long as we push their potential, they'll grow stronger. And besides, it won't kill them.

Time ticked on.

To Luffy, it was snack time.

To those under the clouds, it felt like a great escape from hell.

Running wasn't enough—they also had to stay away from others. No one knew who would be struck next, and being near someone unlucky could get you hit too.

"Arrrrrgh!!!"

Occasionally, screams rang out.

At first, only Foxy's pirates cried out, but gradually, Luffy's own crew started getting struck as well.

After half an hour, the number of participants shrank from over a hundred to less than thirty.

And the fewer the people, the greater the chance of being struck.

Fatigue, falling lightning, enemy movements…

Everything was pushing them to their limits.

If someone's body was strong enough, they could still stand after being hit once.

If hit by lightning intended for someone else, even a glancing strike caused their whole body to seize up.

"Damn it! Why do they keep coming after me?"

Foxy ran for his life, watching his crew drop one after another.

Panting, he couldn't help but scream.

"Straw Hat Luffy, you never said I couldn't use my abilities, right?"

"You can."

After hearing that, Foxy stopped abruptly and turned, making a gesture.

He folded his thumb, middle, and ring fingers, raising his pinky and index fingers. In the next moment, pink rings of light shot toward the sky.

"Slow Beam!"

As the beam fired, a bolt of lightning struck.

At that moment, its speed dropped dramatically.

Taking advantage of it, Foxy stepped back, and the lightning struck in front of him.

"Fueh Feh Feh Feh Feh… If I can use the Slow Beam, I've got nothing to fear from mere lightning!"

He laughed triumphantly. "I'll be the last one standing, Straw Hat Luffy!"

"Is that so?" Luffy sipped his coffee with a calm smile, saying nothing.

His crew, watching this, slowly caught on.

"So I can use my powers too? Haha, you should've said that earlier!"

Valentine opened her umbrella and soared into the air. Moving through the sky, she was far faster than on land.

"This is training—flying isn't allowed!"

Nami added a rule and snapped her fingers.

Boom!

Several lightning bolts struck Valentine instantly, knocking her out of the sky.

"Nami!!" Valentine cried out in pain as she crashed to the ground.

"Huff… huff…"

Mr. 3 adjusted his glasses and raised his hand above his head, instantly creating a small candle house to hide inside.

"Idiot… provoking the captain and bothering Miss Nami..."

Boom!

A bolt hit the roof of the candle house, but it held.

Seeing this, Mr. 2's eyes sparkled and he dove in.

"Move over!"

"Don't push!"

"Can't you make it bigger?"

"If I do, it'll draw attention. Idiot!"

At that moment, a hashtag vein popped on Nami's forehead.

"I told you this was training, and you just want to slack off!"

She raised her hand again and unleashed a massive bolt of lightning.

With a thunderous crack, it pierced the candle house, shocking both of them into spasms.

"Run! If you don't, I'll keep striking you!"

"Demon!!"

The two didn't dare play dead and had no choice but to get up and run.

(Oh no... I think I might be falling for her all over again...)

Luffy couldn't help but think as he watched Nami.

One hour later.

The storm finally subsided.

The survivors stood where they were, panting.

Whether they were Luffy's crew or Foxy's, those still standing looked at each other with mutual sympathy.

Nami was a terrifying woman.

Luffy stood and surveyed the scene.

"Not bad, you all held out. That's worth some praise," he said appreciatively.

At that moment, only Foxy was still standing among his crew, but even he was exhausted and foaming at the mouth.

As for the Straw Hats, there were eleven still on their feet.

They were: Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Bartolomeo, Mr. 1, Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Mr. 5, Robin, and Kaya.

Everyone else had been electrocuted—even little Marianne (Miss Goldenweek) hadn't escaped.

Robin and Kaya, however, hadn't been struck at all.

Kaya made sense—her health was already weak.

As for Robin… Luffy seriously suspected she had secretly bribed Nami.

Luffy looked at Nami suspiciously, then walked toward the others.

"How effective was it?"

Sanji took a deep breath. "Luffy, you might not believe this, but the results were even better than we imagined!"

"That's right," the usually quiet Mr. 1 spoke up, "I got struck seven times, but each time I was about to collapse, the medicine we took beforehand boosted my body and gave me a second wind!"

"It's been about an hour since we took that medicine, and the effects are fading now," Usopp groaned, lying on the ground. "Was that part of your plan too, Luffy?"

"Good. Rest up. We'll continue later."

Luffy smiled.

Everyone: "..."

If Nami's a demon, then you're definitely one too!

The Demon King and Queen!

You bastard!!

Of course, they could only curse him in their hearts.

"Rest up. Good days are still ahead."

Luffy patted Zoro on the shoulder, walked over to Foxy and said, "You lost."

Foxy collapsed to his knees, unable to stand.

"Damn it! Fine, I get it. From now on, I'm a member of the Straw Hat Pirates!"

Luffy: …

Why do you sound so happy?

(End of Chapter)

"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."

So I want to let you know that I didn't post anything yesterday because something very annoying happened with a friend of mine. Do you know what an annoying situation is? Multiply that by ten times. Anyway, I had to spend a lot of time helping her and I didn't have time for anything else.