Chapter 190: A Legendary Drowning Incident!
Nearly one hundred nautical miles away, atop the peak of a lonely island—
Silence.
The cigarette between Sanji's fingers had long since burned out.
A long column of ash hung there, forgotten.
Beside him, Trafalgar Law stood with his arms crossed over Kikoku, his posture stiff as iron.
The two men looked like statues eroded by sea wind.
Only their pupils moved—reflecting the apocalyptic scene unfolding in the distance.
Space itself was torn apart by devouring cracks.
Chaotic nebula-like energy storms burned endlessly.
And the ocean itself seemed partially erased from existence, leaving behind a void-like sea region.
Even from this terrifying distance, the aftermath of destruction pressed on their hearts like a physical weight.
"So… this is what the monsters at the very top of the sea… really look like?"
Sanji finally inhaled deeply.
His voice sounded dry and hoarse, as though scorched by the sight of destruction.
He lit another cigarette.
The faint glow illuminated half his face hidden in shadow.
It carried a seriousness he had never shown before.
The difference in strength…
Was like a bottomless chasm.
Yet within that overwhelming shock, something in his own path began to clarify.
His understanding of combining Diable Jambe with the deeper power of lightning slowly came into focus.
The storm of power had blown away the fog.
My path… is finally starting to take shape.
The thought sparked quietly inside him.
"Heh…"
Law let out a low, complicated laugh.
It carried both disbelief and self-mockery.
"Even seeing it with my own eyes… it's hard to believe that the monster creating this 'apocalypse'…"
"…is someone sailing the same seas as us."
To most people, the "Surgeon of Death" and "Black Leg" Sanji were already geniuses standing far above the rest.
But only they themselves understood the truth.
Among these so-called prodigies—
Monkey D. Luffy was a completely unreasonable anomaly.
He ignored logic.
Defied common sense.
Dragged every "impossible" thing violently into the realm of possibility.
That kind of power…
Was pure.
A suffocating feeling slowly tightened around Law's heart.
To live in the same era as such a monster—
Was both fortune and pressure.
Fortune, because they witnessed legends firsthand.
Pressure, because all light seemed swallowed by a sun that burned too brightly.
A thought he couldn't suppress surfaced within him:
Perhaps… I was born in the wrong era.
Law fell silent.
"Oi, Tra-guy."
Sanji's voice interrupted him.
Law turned slightly.
Sanji wasn't even looking at him.
He was still staring at the distant apocalypse.
But his tone was firm.
"Don't use that smart brain of yours to compare yourself with that idiot captain of ours."
Sanji inhaled deeply.
The smoke disappeared instantly in the fierce wind.
"In this world… there's only one idiot named Monkey D. Luffy."
The glow of his cigarette briefly illuminated his blond hair.
And the mature understanding in his eyes.
Sanji had been one of the earliest witnesses.
Luffy's growth trajectory had always been a mockery of every so-called law of the world.
Once upon a time, Sanji believed he could stand close to his captain.
Even protect him.
That was why he ate the Goro Goro no Mi, the so-called strongest Logia-type fruit.
He fused lightning with his kicking style.
He thought it would close the gap.
But reality was cruel.
As he grew stronger—
Luffy advanced at an even more outrageous speed.
The distance between them stretched farther and farther.
Until the end of that chasm could barely be seen.
Sanji reached out and slapped Law's shoulder.
He tried to sound casual.
"Look at it this way."
"At least having that kind of monster as our captain…"
"…gives us incredible peace of mind, right?"
"If the sky collapses, the tallest guy will hold it up first."
The sea wind roared harder.
It completely messed up Sanji's blond hair and scattered his smoke rings.
Law looked up through his messy hair.
He saw Sanji's profile.
Behind the relaxed expression—
Law's sharp perception caught something deeper.
The same unwillingness.
The same frustration.
The same worry about not being able to stand beside Luffy under the ultimate pressure.
Sanji's calmness wasn't peace.
It was resolve after accepting reality.
"By the way,"
Law said calmly.
His arms were still crossed around Kikoku, his eyes locked on the distant battlefield.
"It looks like Rayleigh fell into the ocean."
His tone sounded as casual as stating that seawater was salty.
"Mhm."
Sanji replied briefly.
He took a long drag of his cigarette.
"That can't be helped."
He tilted his head slightly, glancing at the faint arcs of lightning flickering around his fingers.
"We're both Devil Fruit users."
He flicked the cigarette off the cliff.
The spark vanished as it fell.
"So the only thing we can do…"
"…is wait for him to climb out of the sea himself."
He said it as if it were perfectly natural.
Not even a trace of doubt.
Law's lips twitched slightly beneath his hat.
Sanji continued staring at the massive vortex still forming in the distance.
His voice carried a hint of admiration.
"That's a legendary figure, after all."
He paused, recalling fragments of old stories.
"The Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh."
"The man who once swam across the Calm Belt alone—through seas filled with Sea Kings—to reach Amazon Lily."
He turned toward Law and gave a faint smile.
"We should have more faith in monsters like that."
"After all…"
"It'd be pretty embarrassing if a legend drowned in the ocean."
The wind carried his words away.
The two men fell silent again.
Meanwhile…
Breaking through the chaotic waves and lingering energy storms—
A magnificent ship pulled by two enormous sea serpents entered the devastated sea.
The flagship of the Kuja Pirates.
On the bow stood two breathtaking figures.
Their long hair and clothes fluttered in the scorching wind.
"Oh my god…"
Yamato's crimson pupils shrank.
She stared at the terrifying spatial crack in the sky.
The giant whirlpool devouring the sea.
And the destructive energy still lingering in the air.
"This… this was just sparring?!"
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
"Even a life-or-death battle wouldn't be much worse than this!"
The scale of destruction rivaled the disaster Luffy created when fighting Kaido on Onigashima.
Beside her, Boa Hancock remained silent.
Her beautiful blue eyes were clouded with worry.
Anxiety wrapped around her heart like icy vines.
Luffy fought that old man here… what if something happened to him…
That worry quickly fermented into burning anger toward the culprit.
Suddenly—
CRACK!
A bolt of blue lightning flashed across the deck.
It struck the center of the ship.
The light faded—
Revealing Luffy.
"LUFFY?!"
Both women cried out at once.
But when they saw him clearly—
Their hearts sank.
His entire body was covered in blood.
Though his aura was still strong, it carried the instability of exhaustion.
Worst of all—
A terrifying sword wound stretched diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen.
The wound's edges were gray-white.
Instead of healing, they radiated a chilling aura that rejected life itself.
Blood kept flowing.
"How did you get hurt like this?!"
Yamato rushed forward.
Her red eyes were full of worry as she grabbed Luffy's wrist.
Hot blood stained her white sleeve immediately.
"Come on!"
"We're returning right away to find the best doctor!"
"Don't worry!"
Luffy laughed.
Even though he looked exhausted.
He gently shook off Yamato's hand and plopped down onto the deck.
Then he gave them his usual carefree grin.
"It'll grow back after a while!"
He waved casually.
Then suddenly remembered something.
"Though… Rayleigh—"
"Don't mention him!"
Hancock cut him off sharply.
The Pirate Empress's face was cold as ice.
Anger burned in her eyes.
"If that shameless old man hadn't insisted on this reckless 'sparring'—"
Her voice trembled with both anger and worry.
"How could you be hurt like this?!"
Deep Under the Sea…
Far below the ocean—
Rayleigh was struggling upward with sheer willpower and monstrous vitality.
Suddenly he shivered.
"…?!"
Isn't it possible that I was the one forced to keep fighting in the first place?
Back on deck—
Luffy blinked.
Thinking back on how he had gotten more and more excited during the fight…
He suddenly felt a little guilty.
…Isn't it possible that I was the one who refused to stop fighting?
"Anyway…"
Luffy scratched his head awkwardly.
"More importantly…"
"If we don't rescue him right now—"
He pointed toward the gigantic whirlpool roaring in the distance.
"—Rayleigh's going to drown in the ocean!!!"
The entire deck fell silent.
Hancock: "…"
Yamato: "…"
Kuja warriors: "!!!"
The fury in Hancock's eyes froze.
Replaced by confusion.
The legendary Dark King…
Drowning?
The absurdity of the situation caused everyone's thoughts to short-circuit.
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