Chopper passed out from fright—leaving Maude standing there with a giant question mark over his head.
Sure, his appearance might've been a bit abrupt, but Chopper's mental fortitude was this bad?
Maude had no idea of the terrifying image he'd unintentionally built up in Chopper's mind ever since Alabasta. Naturally, he couldn't begin to understand what Chopper was feeling.
"Chopper…"
Seeing Chopper collapse, Luffy's eyes narrowed. He assumed Maude had done something and immediately moved to strike.
Without even looking, he threw a punch to the side.
But the moment his arm extended, it froze—stopped dead in its tracks.
"What the…? I can't move…"
Luffy was stunned.
No matter how hard he tried to exert force, it was like his body had been hit with a paralysis spell—completely immobilized.
"Because I've 'stepped' on your shadow. Know what that means?" Maude said coolly, watching Luffy hold a frozen punching stance. "It means that if I wanted to, I could have you flat on the ground in an instant."
As he spoke, Maude reached out and casually placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder, while Luffy trembled with the strain of resisting.
"I heard from Sunny that Sabo stayed behind to help you guys train. But from the looks of it… let's just say, your Observation Haki hasn't improved a bit."
"Damn it…"
Luffy gritted his teeth, struggling to break free, but his body refused to respond.
"If only I could go into Gear 4…"
The thought screamed in Luffy's mind.
Maude looked down at Luffy's furious, unyielding expression.
Though he had immobilized Luffy by controlling his shadow, every movement Luffy made was directly fed back to Maude through that same connection.
Strictly speaking, the effectiveness of the shadow restraint depended on the gap in strength between the user and the target.
But with Maude's current level, there were only a handful of people in the world who could break free from his shadow's grip through brute force alone.
Luffy clearly wasn't one of them—at least not yet.
"Don't look so worked up. You're making it seem like I came here to pick a fight," Maude sighed. "Besides, I didn't come here for you… though, explaining it wouldn't help."
He withdrew his hand, releasing Luffy from the shadow control with a pat on the shoulder, then turned and started walking inland.
Using Observation Haki, he'd already located Robin's position.
Aside from catching up with Sabo and Usopp, one of Maude's main reasons for coming here was to ask Robin to help decipher a newly obtained Poneglyph.
"Gear 4!"
Just as Maude had walked a dozen meters away, a deep voice called out from behind.
"Oh?"
Maude stopped and turned.
Luffy had entered Gear 4.
So soon after the war at Marineford, and he'd already unlocked Gear 4?
Maude scrutinized him carefully.
Luffy's once lean body had expanded, becoming stockier and more muscular—like someone had pumped air into his muscles and bones.
But there was something missing. The form lacked the deep crimson markings Maude remembered.
That meant this version… might still be incomplete.
Either Luffy hadn't yet learned how to fully integrate Haki into his Devil Fruit ability, or his Haki itself simply wasn't refined enough yet.
"I already said—I didn't come here to—"
Maude started, but stopped mid-sentence.
Forget it.
He could feel the fighting spirit pouring off of Luffy in waves. No words were going to talk him down from this.
Was this guy planning to use him as a benchmark—to test how far he'd come?
Shadow Flow – Twin Fish Circulation.
Maude gave a slight shake of his head and silently summoned his shadow to envelop his entire body.
With Armament Haki woven in, jet-black and crimson patterns laced across his exposed skin like living tattoos.
"If you want to try, then go ahead," Maude thought calmly. "Just don't shatter your own pride in the process."
Luffy's eyes lit up as he saw Maude activate his shadow-based technique. The fire in his gaze intensified.
At that moment, Sanji and Zoro arrived, having sensed the commotion.
"Luffy! Chopper!"
Seeing Chopper unconscious and Luffy in Gear 4, both of their expressions darkened.
Zoro even reached for his blade.
"Easy."
Sabo followed close behind, placing a calming hand on each of their shoulders.
"Chopper just fainted. He's fine."
A faint red glow flickered in Sabo's eyes as he added coolly, "And Luffy… he's most likely taking this chance to test his new power on Maude. They might start swinging, but it's Maude. He can handle it."
"…"
Sanji and Zoro backed off slightly at Sabo's reassurance.
Their earlier tension came from the immense pressure Maude exuded just by being there.
Both Maude and Luffy had sensed the others' arrival.
But Luffy only had eyes for Maude—his focus unshaken.
Maude tilted his head slightly toward Sabo and gave a small nod of greeting before turning back to Luffy.
"You'd better come at me with the intent to kill," he said flatly. "Otherwise, you won't even last a second."
"You don't have to tell me…"
Luffy exhaled steam from his mouth. His massive hands shifted—left palm forward, right fist clenched—into a bold offensive stance.
It was a dramatic pose, full of tension.
Maude said nothing more. With a soft shing, he slowly drew Shusui and let the blade hang casually at his side.
BOOM!
Luffy launched into the air. His feet kicked rapidly—sounding off in a series of thunderous pops, like Moonwalk taken to the next level.
High above, both arms and fists compressed inward like spring-loaded pistons, resembling a turtle pulling its head tightly into its shell.
This intense compression, laced with Armament Haki, was a form of power concentration—charging up for a devastating blow.
Gear 4– Rhino Schneider!
BOOM!
With a sonic crack, the fully compressed fists exploded outward, ripping through the air at terrifying speed, closing in on Maude in the blink of an eye.
"You're missing something…"
In that flash of motion, Maude neither swapped places with a shadow mark nor raised his sword to block.
He simply chose to tank it head-on.
According to the Hunter's Notebook's analysis, Luffy's Devil Fruit mastery was at a 7.5-star rating—meaning his physique and Haki were at or below that level.
Meanwhile, Maude had only recently broken through to four fully-maxed 9-star ratings.
So he wanted to see for himself—what would happen if he absorbed a full-power blow from Luffy, without defending?
WHAM!
The Rhino Schneider slammed into Maude's chest.
A violent shockwave burst out from the impact, radiating in all directions like ripples on water.
"I hit him—wait…!?"
Before Luffy could celebrate, he saw Maude still standing tall—hadn't even taken a step back.
It was as if the full-force attack hadn't even touched him.
"No effect at all…?"
Luffy's eyes went wide, staring in disbelief at the unscathed Maude.
This was his strongest move since developing Gear Four.
He hadn't expected to defeat Maude outright with it—but he thought it would at least cause some trouble.
The result before him was incomprehensible.
"For a guy with an average rating around 7 stars to pull off that kind of power? You should be proud."
Maude's expression remained calm as he lifted his left hand and seized Luffy's wrist.
Then—with a sudden jerk—he yanked Luffy straight toward him.
Maude flipped his wrist, gripping his blade as he sidestepped Luffy's incoming charge with swift precision.
In the fleeting instant as they passed one another, Maude swung his sword clean through Luffy's body.
By the time Maude had reappeared over ten meters away on open ground, Luffy—who had just passed him—was suddenly struck as if by a tremendous blow.
In a flash, that broad and powerful frame of Luffy's deflated like a punctured balloon. Within mere seconds, his body shrank back to its normal size, and he plummeted straight toward the ground.
Boom!
Luffy's body slammed into the earth with a resounding crash, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
Through the swirling haze, his mouth hung open—and he was clearly unconscious.
Not far off—
The battle had ended in an instant, leaving Sanji and Zoro utterly stunned.
One hit? Just like that?!
How?!
They had trained for months, pushing themselves to the brink, and yet before this man… they were still utterly powerless.
"Luffy!"
Sanji and Zoro bolted forward, rushing to check on him.
Sabo followed close behind.
Unlike them, however, Sabo wasn't quite as panicked—he had "seen" Maude strike with the back of his blade. Still…
Even knowing that, witnessing Luffy get taken out in a single blow—after training so hard for months—left Sabo deeply shaken.
"There's no question Luffy's grown stronger these past few months," Sabo thought, forcing himself to remain calm as he reached Luffy's side.
"But Maude has grown even stronger—far stronger than he was on the battlefield at Marineford!"
The realization struck hard.
"And it's not just a slight improvement, either... If Luffy's progress can be measured as a hundred steps forward, then Maude has taken a thousand."
"The gap is just too wide… Even with everything he had, Luffy couldn't lay a scratch on him—let alone win."
After a thorough check, Sabo confirmed Luffy wasn't seriously hurt. Only then did he look up at Maude, who was calmly approaching from the distance.
Ignoring the sharp glares from Sanji and Zoro, Maude met Sabo's eyes with a light smile.
"Been a while, Sabo."
He lowered his gaze slightly, looking down at the unconscious Luffy.
"Don't worry—I struck with the back of the blade. I even held back."
"I know."
Sabo nodded and offered an apologetic look.
"Sorry about this. My little brother's caused you trouble."
Thanks to his Observation Haki, Sabo had already sensed most of what had happened before arriving—he knew full well that it was Luffy who had picked the fight.
Maude simply waved it off with a smile.
"It's fine. I just played the part of a 'training dummy' this time—no big deal."
"A training dummy, huh…"
Sabo chuckled at the self-deprecating comment, then asked, "By the way, how'd you find this place? Did you get a Vivre Card from Sunny and the others?"
"Nope."
Maude shook his head, then glanced back at Luffy.
"I left a Shadow Mark on Luffy. It works a lot like a Vivre Card, which is how I tracked him down."
"I see."
Sabo understood instantly.
This island didn't meet the requirements to create a Log Pose record, so locating it precisely would require a method similar to a Vivre Card.
And Maude's "Shadow Mark"—in function—was practically identical.
"Shadow Mark…"
Sanji and Zoro, overhearing this, were visibly alarmed. They glanced at Maude, then turned to Luffy.
To be marked without even realizing it? That was not good.
Without saying a word, they began inspecting Luffy's body.
Moments later, they found a tiny black dot on the side of his shoulder—barely the size of a fingernail. Anyone not looking for it would've assumed it was just a mole.
"How could he not notice a mark that big on his arm? This idiot…"
Sanji and Zoro were both exasperated beyond belief.
Just then, Chopper began to stir.
"Huh? What happened to Luffy?"
Seeing Luffy collapsed on the ground, Chopper momentarily forgot his fear of Maude and rushed over to examine him.
"He was knocked out by the impact? Looks like the injuries aren't too serious, though…"
After a careful check, Chopper finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile—
The noise from the battle had drawn the rest of the crew over.
"Maude?!"
"Master!!!"
"My idol!!!"
Their reactions varied as they caught sight of him.
Maybe it was their loud shouting—or maybe just instinct—but Luffy suddenly jolted awake. His eyes snapped open as he sprang off the ground, fists instinctively raised toward Maude in a battle-ready pose.
But in the next second, realization dawned. His raised fists slowly lowered.
"I lost… didn't I…"
Hearing Luffy's rare tone of defeat, even Zoro and the others found themselves at a loss for words.
Maude had taken him out in a single move. How were they supposed to console that?
—Ten minutes later—
"Luffy, when you were showering, you seriously didn't notice a new black spot on your arm?!"
Having pieced together what happened, the crew stared at Luffy in disbelief, eyes wide.
Under their barrage of questions, Luffy—who had just barely recovered his spirits—hung his head and said sheepishly:
"I thought it was… a new mole…"
"???"
Everyone froze, speechless.
Maude couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, well… Quite the lively bunch."
Suddenly, a cluster of shimmering ice crystals appeared out of thin air, rapidly forming into the shape of Aokiji.
"Huh?!"
"That's… Aokiji!!!"
The crew's mood instantly shifted. Most were caught completely off guard—but Robin, in particular, went pale the moment she saw him.
It was clear they still didn't know: Aokiji was now one of Maude's own.
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