"Jet Whip!"
Luffy lashed out with a powerful kick while Rock Lee rushed toward him.
As his head snapped back, he retaliated immediately.
"Headbutt!"
But Rock Lee had already vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Luffy once again.
Whoosh—
The bandages wrapped around Lee's arms unraveled with a flick.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
A fierce spinning kick landed squarely on Luffy.
The attack connected cleanly.
Realizing he couldn't just stand and trade blows, Luffy darted forward.
But—
No matter how fast he ran...
Lee stayed on him like a ghost—never letting up, always pressing.
Luffy could tell that while Lee's strikes weren't doing significant damage, his stamina was draining fast.
Then, mid-step, Lee sprang upward into the air and spun rapidly.
Bang—!!!
His heel crashed down onto Luffy's head with thunderous force.
Buzz—
Luffy's neck stretched unnaturally from the blow before his head slammed into the ground.
Lee landed lightly and took a short hop back.
"Jet Stamp—!"
From the haze, Luffy could barely make out Lee's silhouette.
Taking his chance, Luffy launched a lightning-fast kick.
But Lee remained calm, his head tilting just enough to dodge.
In that moment—
Luffy's body snapped forward.
Gear Second-enhanced, he closed the distance like a bullet.
At range, Luffy had the speed advantage now.
But up close—
He still couldn't touch Lee.
Not yet.
After all, this was Rock Lee before he made his name.
"Gomu Gomu no… Gatling Gun!!"
As his body hurtled past Lee, his arms snapped back—
Then surged forward in a hail of rubber-coated fists.
Lee parried swiftly, deflecting the punches one by one.
More bandages burst from his sleeves.
He narrowed his eyes.
"If that's the case… then I'll use Lotus."
He took a breath, gaze sharp.
"Wake up."
"Even if you're made of rubber, you're not walking away from this one!"
Whoosh—
Lee vanished once again.
"Huh?!"
Luffy blinked.
Then his eyes widened.
Lee had already reappeared—circling around him like a blur.
No attack came.
But Luffy's instincts screamed.
His still-developing Observation Haki flared.
He sensed the incoming blow.
"Not good!"
He dropped his weight and raised his arms to guard his chin.
But—
The strike never came.
Luffy was stunned.
While he hesitated, Lee was already accelerating beyond his previous limits.
He had started to attack—
But the moment he saw Luffy raise his guard, he pulled back without hesitation.
His reflexes were razor-sharp even at this blinding speed.
Bang—!!
Then came the real strike.
"Not good—!"
Luffy's Haki warned him again.
But this time, he was too slow.
Lee's foot connected flush with his jaw.
A brutal uppercut kick sent his head snapping back—
Neck stretching grotesquely from the impact.
Lee, now crouched, swept his legs low.
They caught Luffy's feet, twisting his whole body off the ground.
Rubber limbs flailed upward—head following like a balloon.
"It's not over yet!!"
Lee roared.
He planted his hands on the ground.
And with a sudden burst—
Double kick!
Both legs shot up like pistons.
Each kick sent Luffy higher.
Then, with a flick of his arm, Lee's bandages snaked out and wrapped around Luffy's torso.
Whoosh—
Lee blurred again, appearing directly behind Luffy's mid-air body.
He gripped the bandage firmly.
"Primary Lotus—!!!"
And then—
Rock Lee spun.
A spiraling descent.
A high-speed gyroscope with Luffy caught in the center.
The true dance of the Lotus had begun.
Luffy's eyes spun wildly.
Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
He and Rock Lee slammed into the ground, still rotating at high speed.
A massive crater erupted beneath them, punching through the dense wooden structure created by the Wood Release technique.
Smoke and debris billowed up.
Whoosh—
Rock Lee was flung backward, skidding across the ground. He dropped into a crouch, his breath ragged.
Inside the shattered remains of the wooden battlefield, Luffy's body lay twisted at an absurd angle, coiled like a spring—eyes rolling with dizziness.
Boing—
But being rubber, his body quickly rebounded, and his spinning resumed with full force.
"Ugh~!"
Lee retreated a few steps, wincing. The corner of his eye twitched slightly.
"Even the Front Lotus didn't do it…?"
He frowned as he watched Luffy spinning through the air like a human gyroscopic missile.
The Lotus technique was a double-edged sword. It came with a cost.
Even Lee could feel his muscles aching from the exertion.
Moments later, Luffy finally stabilized—groggy, but recovering fast.
Then—anger.
Lee stood, steeling himself.
Luffy bit into his finger, then inhaled sharply.
FWOOOM—!!
With a forceful exhale, his fist inflated rapidly—growing larger and larger before the stunned Lee.
"Damn it!!"
Fist bloated, steam rising, Luffy launched himself forward in a fury.
Lee's lips curved up faintly.
He felt it—that gaze.
That warm, fierce gaze.
'Guy-sensei… you're alive. I can feel it.'
'And for that alone… I won't hold back anymore!'
"If Teacher Guy is the Crimson Beast…"
"Then I'll become the next Blue Beast!"
Facing Luffy's massive, fast-approaching punch, Lee's eyes sharpened.
"The Lotus of Konoha… will bloom again."
"The Blue Beast of Konoha hasn't fallen yet!"
At that moment, the chakra limiters within Lee's body began to break—
One by one.
Starting from his brainstem, the restrictions along his chakra meridians lifted throughout his limbs.
"No matter what, this time—"
"I won't let you stand back up."
Lee raised his arms, guarding.
Chakra surged from his body in waves.
Luffy's inflated fist came crashing down—
But wrapped in raw chakra, Lee moved.
He didn't tank the blow.
He vanished.
Body Flicker Technique.
Yes, that Rock Lee.
The one once mocked for having no ninjutsu—
Could now wield it.
"Everyone's been fighting…"
"Even Guy-sensei overcame his limits. If they can do it—how can I lose here?"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!
Dust, stone, and splinters erupted upward, blown away by the shockwaves of Lee's chakra.
Luffy froze.
His attack had failed.
Again.
And now—
Lee's presence began to unnerve him.
Even without knowing Haki…
Even without Garp's raw power…
Luffy could feel it.
This pressure—
Was overwhelming.
Lee's skin turned a deep crimson. Veins pulsed across his temples.
"Now… it's time to fulfill my ninja way!!"
"The Third Gate—Gate of Life: Open!!"
Luffy narrowed his eyes as Lee's skin darkened to a scorched red—similar to his own Gear techniques.
But where Luffy looked scorched by heat—
Lee looked as if his body was on fire.
"The Fourth Gate—Gate of Pain: Open!!!"
"RAAAAHH—!!!"
BOOM—!!!
Lee launched forward.
The wooden platform beneath him shattered as his feet tore a trench through the ground.
Buzz—
Luffy's eyes widened.
Then—impact.
His chin exploded upward from a kick.
His Observation Haki flared instinctively—
But it was no use.
Lee's speed was so extreme, the "future" Luffy saw with Haki was nearly indistinguishable from the present.
Luffy tried to deflate his ballooned fist, letting the air out through his mouth to redirect his body in midair—
But it was futile.
Lee's raw strength dominated the skies.
And this time, the Lotus wasn't just a high-speed dive—
"The Fifth Gate—Gate of Limit: Open!!!"
Now, just moving caused Lee's speed to whip up cyclones of wind and gouge the earth beneath him.
"It's still not over—!!"
"The Sixth Gate—Gate of View: Open!!!"
No more limits.
No more holding back.
Lee had gone all in.
Whoosh—!!!
Luffy's instincts screamed.
A gust of wind howled from above—
And for the first time…
His pupils shrank in genuine fear.
This power…
This speed…
Surpassed every opponent he had ever faced.
The gusts of wind stirred by sheer movement alone were enough to make onlookers shudder.
"Luffy!!!"
From within the towering form of a complete Susanoo, controlled by Hashirama, came a cry of worry.
But Ace had no strength left to help.
He was barely able to survive.
Susanoo's sword rained down strike after strike.
Dodging was no longer possible.
There wasn't even time to brace.
All Ace could do now was rely on his Logia intangibility—but even that came at a cost.
Each time he turned into flame to avoid the blow, Amaterasu's black fire would cling to him a little more.
Amaterasu, the black fire that devoured even flame—
It continued to burn on his elemental body.
Ace could already smell death closing in.
On the other side—
After clashing blades with Hawkeye Mihawk, Vista collapsed.
Both swords—and both arms—had been severed cleanly at the root.
Mihawk gave him a cold glance before shifting his attention.
He looked toward Tobirama Senju, who was now seated casually atop Marco, watching the duel between Rock Lee and Luffy.
The fight was over long ago.
Marco hadn't even had the chance to escape.
Tobirama had shut him down completely.
Back on the battlefield—
Rock Lee, now with Six Gates open, appeared above Luffy in mid-air.
Luffy attempted to twist around and counter, hoping to create some distance.
But—
He couldn't turn in time.
His rubber body, while able to absorb tremendous force, now showed its limits.
Reversing momentum took far too much effort.
In that moment—
Lee struck.
A punch faster than the eye could follow.
BOOM——!!!
A single blow.
Ripples exploded from the impact, shockwaves radiating outward in all directions.
Luffy's body spasmed.
The power of his Gomu Gomu no Mi seemed to vanish in that instant.
He plummeted.
"It's not over yet."
Lee's figure blurred like a specter.
One moment above Luffy's head—
The next, beneath his falling body.
His afterimage still hung in the sky like a fading memory.
Suspended midair, Luffy couldn't react.
His rubber form hadn't even processed the first blow before the next came.
"Morning Peacock!!!"
Lee unleashed both fists.
They moved too fast to be seen.
His arms vanished in the blur.
Friction ignited the air—blazing trails of fire burst into existence.
Dozens of fiery fists bombarded Luffy.
Each one struck like a cannonball.
In an instant, Luffy was engulfed in a vortex of heat and concussive force.
His back was pounded full of craters—dozens of them.
The sky burned crimson.
The explosion of flames bloomed in brilliant arcs—like the feathers of a peacock's tail.
Lee exhaled sharply, watching Luffy hurled upward into the inferno.
"So this is… Konoha's new Blue Beast."
His eyes narrowed.
"Eight Gates Released Formation—Seventh Gate, Gate of Shock… Open!!!"
BOOM! BOOM—!!!
Lee's body transformed.
Blue steam poured from his skin—sweat vaporizing instantly.
Buzz—
A twitch of his foot—
And six Lees appeared at once.
Each was hazy and unstable.
These weren't clones.
Not Shadow Clones.
Not Illusions.
Just raw afterimages.
Bang! Bang! Bang—!!!
The instant the afterimages formed, Luffy's flight path twisted violently again.
Lee's afterimages attacked midair—chasing Luffy like guided missiles.
"This is the final blow!!"
Lee clenched his fists.
The steam around him turned white—like compressed shockwaves bursting from his body.
"Hiryu——Guren Rendan!!!"
(Daytime Tiger—Sunflower Canon edition.)
...
TN:
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