Chapter 23

"It's useless, I'm a rubber man. Your attacks won't work on me."

Luffy, who had been punched through the wall by Eden, quickly got up as if nothing had happened and slowly walked towards Eden.

"Try taking another punch from me and you'll know if my fists work or not."

Eden also stood up. His left cheek was already slightly swollen from Luffy's heavy punch, and he had crashed through the wall with his body, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

Considering he was already injured before, his current state wasn't great.

However, Eden showed no sign of retreat. Since things had come to this, the only thing he wanted to do was to give it his all and fiercely beat his opponent.

Moreover, Eden really wanted to fight Luffy with all his strength to see just how big the gap between them was.

As for the result, Eden didn't care to think about it.

"Do you think you can knock me down?"

Luffy extended his arm backward and charged at Eden.

"Do you really think you can knock me out?"

Eden, enduring the pain throughout his body, also quickly charged towards Luffy.

"Stop being so full of yourself, you jerk!"

As Eden swung his fist towards Luffy, both of them cursed at each other in unison.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

Luffy's arm, which had extended backward, used the elasticity of rubber to snap back at high speed, delivering a punch straight to Eden's stomach.

"Such a simple move won't work on me!"

Eden sidestepped Luffy's attack and jumped in front of him, delivering a punch to Luffy's face without hesitation.

Boom!

Luffy was sent flying by Eden's punch, crashing into the wall again and causing it to crack.

"I was too careless. It hurts. Why do your punches work on me?"

This time, Luffy felt the pain from Eden's heavy punch and shouted in pain, unlike before when he was unscathed.

"Get serious and use your full strength, Monkey D. Luffy! Otherwise, you'll definitely lose to me."

Eden's words made Luffy's expression serious. He pressed down on his straw hat, "The first time I saw you, you were very weak. But now, you've become so strong, Eden. But that's to be expected. You're the most hardworking and determined person in our crew."

Luffy paused, looking at Eden, "From now on, I'll give it my all to knock you out!"

Luffy wasn't lying. During the month since they set sail, he had witnessed Eden tirelessly using every available moment to train hard. Eden's determination and perseverance far exceeded that of ordinary people, and Luffy had seen it all. This was one of the reasons why he trusted Eden.

"I'll knock some sense into you, you blockhead!"

Seeing Luffy jump into the air, Eden quickly took a few steps back to distance himself from Luffy.

"Gomu Gomu no Stamp!"

In mid-air, Luffy extended his legs, aiming his feet at Eden's face and kicking down with great force.

Crap, that's fast!

Seeing Luffy's feet rapidly approaching, Eden barely dodged but was still thrown by the impact of Luffy's powerful kick that created a small crater in the ground.

"Gomu Gomu no Ono!"

Eden had just regained his balance when Luffy extended his left leg to sweep across at him.

"I won't stay on the defensive forever!"

Eden crouched to avoid Luffy's sweeping leg and grabbed his still-extended left leg, pulling Luffy towards him.

"Take another punch!"

Eden's right fist, stained red with blood, struck Luffy's face as Luffy swung his own fist at Eden's right cheek.

Bang! Bang!

Both Eden and Luffy were sent flying in opposite directions, heavily hitting the ground and rolling several times before stopping.

"So, you had sharp stones between your fingers, that's why your punches hurt me."

Luffy, with several cuts on his face, realized that the sharp stones between Eden's bloody fingers were what caused him pain earlier.

"But doing that will ruin your hand."

Luffy wiped the blood off his face and walked towards Eden.

"Don't worry. Before my hand is ruined, I'll make sure you taste defeat!"

Eden panted heavily. His right hand, with sharp stones wedged between his fingers, was covered in blood and trembling uncontrollably.

In his all-out effort to punch Luffy, the sharp stones had driven deeper into his finger gaps, causing excruciating pain that was unbearable for most people.

Eden's current method of fighting Luffy could be described as a mutually destructive strategy, but it was the most effective way he could think of.

After all, Eden couldn't use Haki yet. To inflict damage on Luffy, a rubber man, he had to rely on external tools.

If Eden had more time, he might have made spiked gloves to avoid this painful method of fighting Luffy.

Originally, Eden considered wedging sharp stones between both hands, but that would limit his attacks to just punches, making it disadvantageous. Hence, he only used sharp stones on his right hand while his left hand assisted in attacks.

Behind Eden, Nami was completely dumbfounded. This wasn't how she had imagined things would develop.

Nami had initially planned to cause a quarrel between Eden and Luffy, hoping they would fall out so she could persuade Eden to stop being a pirate.

But to Nami's surprise, Eden and Luffy started fighting seriously after just a brief argument, looking like they wouldn't stop until one of them was dead. This made Nami realize for the first time that men and women were indeed completely different creatures.

You two are just arguing, is it necessary to fight to the death? Look at you, you've already wrecked several houses!

Nami saw Eden and Luffy fighting more fiercely, the commotion growing larger, yet neither showed any sign of stopping. She began to worry that one of them might actually be beaten to death.

What bothered Nami the most was watching Eden and Luffy's injuries increase, yet she could do nothing.

Earlier, when Luffy declared he would beat up Eden for her sake, Nami thought he was just shouting slogans.

Little did she know that he and Eden would actually start a serious fight, making Nami, who had always despised pirates, see them in a new light for the first time.

Thinking back to how Luffy repeatedly called her a comrade made Nami feel a strange emotion. She then thought of Eden, who risked his life to save Zoro at the Marine base in Shells Town.

Could it be that the so-called "Demon Hunter" Zoro is also their comrade? Is that why he risked everything to save Zoro?

I must be overthinking. How could that pirate hunter join them and become a pirate?

Besides, would pirates really risk their lives for their comrades? Aren't pirates supposed to be ruthless plunderers?

If Eden bullies me again, should I tell Luffy? Would he still help me beat up Eden?

For some reason, this thought crossed Nami's mind amidst her contemplation.

If Eden knew what Nami was thinking, he would have jumped out, even while fighting Luffy, to scold her. How could she deceive the naive Luffy into being her free enforcer? How could he have any peace in the future?

"Take this, Eden!"

Luffy panted slightly. His body was covered in injuries from being punched dozens of times by Eden's sharp-stoned right fist. Bleeding from his body, face, and hands, he extended both hands backward.

Seeing this, Eden knew Luffy was going all out. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his blood-soaked, numbed right hand and rushed towards Luffy, "Come on, Monkey D. Luffy! No matter who the opponent is, no matter how strong they are, I will never back down! Especially when the opponent is you, I can't retreat!"

At this moment, both Eden and Luffy, looking battered and bruised from their mutual beatings, showed remarkably similar expressions and determined eyes.

"Because I know you're that kind of person, I have to knock you out, Eden!"

Luffy shouted at Eden while extending his stretched arms forward at lightning speed, "Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"

"If yours is a rocket punch, then mine is a crushing punch!"

Seeing Luffy's fists flying towards him, Eden stepped forward with his left foot, cracking the ground beneath him from the force.

Eden stood firm, clenched his fists, veins bulging on his arms as he gathered all his strength, punching towards Luffy's approaching fists.

Bang!

Eden and Luffy's fists collided with full force, generating a powerful shockwave that made their clothes flutter.

As their fists clashed and held against each other for a moment, the immense impact sent them flying in opposite directions again.

Bang! Boom! Bang! Boom!

After crashing through three buildings, Eden flew across two streets before finally stopping, collapsing to the ground, feeling as if his bones had been shattered. The sharp stones wedged between his fingers finally fell out.

In that final clash with Luffy, the sharp stones severely injured Eden's right hand, with wounds between his middle and index fingers deep enough to see the bone.

Luffy, after crashing through two buildings, slammed into the wall of a third. His left hand, damaged by Eden's sharp stones, hurt down to the bone, making it difficult to exert force, leaving him temporarily unable to get up.

Eden had intentionally exposed the sharp stones to the maximum extent during their last clash, inflicting severe damage on Luffy's left hand. But the more the stones were exposed, the greater the backlash on Eden.

Both Eden and Luffy were severely injured from their full-force battle. Luffy's condition was slightly better than Eden's.

Eden tried several times to get up but felt utterly exhausted. His consciousness grew heavier, and he finally succumbed to his injuries and fatigue, passing out. Just before losing consciousness, he thought he heard Nami's voice, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Eden felt something licking his face. It tickled, prompting him to slowly open his eyes, only to see a white dog licking his face.

"Woof! Woof!"

The white dog looked somewhat dirty. Upon seeing Eden awake, it barked urgently.

Eden struggled to sit up from the ground. Before he could gather his thoughts, he saw a cannonball flying towards him from afar.

What rendered Eden speechless was the big red nose on the cannonball.

Damn it, Buggy, you bastard! Using cannons on me again!

If it weren't for this white dog, I wouldn't even know how I died.

As Eden thought this, he quickly picked up the white dog, gritting his teeth against the intense pain throughout his body, and moved away from the spot as fast as he could.

With a loud explosion, the shockwave from the cannonball's blast knocked Eden forward, causing him to fall to the ground.

Looking at the spot where he had just been, Eden saw that it had been reduced to rubble. An entire row of buildings in the town had been directly obliterated by Buggy's cannonball.