The dust slowly settled.
Kuma still stood in place, completely unharmed, his tall frame not even swaying in the slightest.
His massive shadow seemed to grow heavier, completely enveloping the three astonished Straw Hat members in front of him.
The sunlight seemed unable to penetrate the oppressive feeling he brought.
The earth-shattering combined attack just now was perhaps not even a breeze to him.
The battlefield fell into a dead silence, with only the mournful wail of the wind blowing over the shattered ground.
A bone-chilling, suffocating sense of invincibility, like thick ink, rapidly spread through the air, making it almost impossible to breathe.
That was not just power, but an absolute, despair-inducing gap, almost like a law of nature!
"Wh... what?!" Zoro was the first to let out an incredulous growl.
He maintained his posture from the end of his slash, three swords still gripped tightly in his hands, but his arms trembled slightly from the shock and the aftershocks, his eyes fixed on Kuma's enormous, unharmed body.
"You've got to be kidding me... Our attacks... couldn't even touch him?!"
It wasn't a block or an evade; it was outright nullification.
The feeling was like throwing a full-force punch into a bottomless quagmire, without even a ripple of an echo, leaving only a heart-palpitating emptiness.
"N-no way?!"
Usopp's jaw almost hit the ground, his giant slingshot "Kabuto" nearly slipping from his grasp.
He saw it most clearly: his confidently aimed gunpowder star, while still a good distance from Kuma, was gently swatted away as if by an invisible giant hand.
"My special gunpowder star... it... it didn't even do any damage?! Is this guy... is this guy really human?! He's a monster! Definitely a monster!"
Extreme fear instantly seized him, making him stumble back a step.
Even Luffy, usually the most reckless, now had wide eyes, his rubber jaw stretched long, and uncharacteristically didn't charge forward immediately.
He pressed down on his Straw Hat, his tone unusually solemn: "Hey, hey... Zoro, Chopper, Usopp... your attacks, they were all useless?!"
Nico Robin stood to the side, arms crossed over her chest, her brows tightly furrowed, her face clouded with gloom:
"Not just useless... all attacks were 'bounced off' by some incomprehensible force before they even got close to his body. This is beyond the level that 'strength' can describe..."
Chopper, hiding behind the taller group, was crying, whimpering, "Too... too strong! Can we really defeat an enemy like this?"
Sanji lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, "It seems to be some kind of special Devil Fruit ability. It's time for this gentleman to step in."
Then he fiercely spat out the cigarette butt, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp.
"Ability nullification? Perfect!"
He let out a low growl, his right arm instantly turning deep black, the devouring power of the Dark-Dark Fruit coiling around it, "Then let's compare our martial arts! You damn Kuma!"
His figure flashed, moving at high speed to close in on Kuma, his black right foot kicking fiercely towards Kuma's waist with an air-ripping momentum: "Diable Jambe: Friture Assortie!"
However, Kuma's reaction was faster than imagined!
He didn't even use his Devil Fruit ability, but with pure physical strength and speed, his giant palm arrived first, accurately grabbing Sanji's ankle!
"What?!" Sanji was startled, trying to break free, but found the opponent's strength astonishing!
"The Dark-Dark Fruit, huh, making others temporarily lose the use of their Devil Fruit abilities through touch? Very interesting."
Kuma said expressionlessly, grabbing Sanji's ankle and slamming him fiercely to the ground as if swinging a sandbag!
Boom!
A shallow pit was smashed into the ground, Sanji coughed up a mouthful of blood, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted.
But this was just the beginning!
Kuma gave Sanji no chance to breathe, his hand still gripping his ankle, he swung him up again, slamming him madly into the ground, walls, and piles of rubble from various angles!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The continuous heavy thuds were bone-jarring, Sanji was like a human wrecking ball, being brutally ravaged by Kuma with the purest, most savage martial arts!
He was completely defenseless, only able to passively endure one heavy blow after another, blood quickly staining his suit and golden hair.
"Sanji!!!" Usopp and Chopper let out terrified screams.
Zoro also gripped his sword hilt tightly, his face extremely solemn.
However, amidst this one-sided beating, Sanji, in a state of dizziness and intense pain, suddenly heard a cold and familiar system notification sound in his mind:
"Ding! Host is detected to be continuously suffering high-intensity physical attacks!"
"Hidden advanced mission triggered: Trial of the Iron Body!"
"Mission requirement: Accumulate one thousand effective physical attacks!"
"Mission reward: Armament Haki Awakening! (Elementary)"
"!!!" Sanji, who was on the verge of fainting, suddenly snapped awake as if injected with a stimulant when he heard this notification, especially the words "Armament Haki"!
Armament Haki?! His long-sought Armament Haki!!!
Heaven knew how envious he felt every time he saw that Green Algae Head wielding his Haki-clad swords, cutting down those Logia users!
How he yearned for it!
He had practiced countless times late at night, but always failed to grasp it!
And now, the path to obtaining power was so simple and brutal—getting beaten! Get hit a thousand times!
"Hahaha... cough cough..."
Sanji even let out a laugh mixed with pain and extreme excitement in the gaps between being slammed to the ground, blood constantly spilling from the corners of his mouth, "It's here... it's finally here... System... you really are a... genius...!"
Not only did he stop trying to break free, but he adjusted his posture, using various parts of his body to receive Kuma's storm-like blows!
Boom! Another fierce slam!
"Effective hits +1! Current progress: 1/1000!"
Dark-Dark Fruit double pain bonus: Current progress: 2/1000!
Bang! Two heavy punches landed on his back!
"Effective hits +4! Current progress: 6/1000!"
"Come on! Big guy! Didn't eat your breakfast?! Is that all the strength you have?!" Sanji even started to provoke him with words, trying to make Kuma's attacks more violent, "Is this all a Warlord is capable of?! You're practically tickling me!"
A barely perceptible ripple seemed to appear on Kuma's expressionless face, as if he felt a hint of confusion about this opponent who grew more excited the more he was beaten.
But his attacks did not stop; instead, they became even heavier due to Sanji's provocation!