As Gin had just set his stance, a ring of air exploded under Sanji's feet. He dove down at insane speed, a side kick shooting straight at Gin's neck.
"Neck Meat Shoot!!"
Gin's pupils shrank. The motion of his planned frontal attack suddenly stopped, and he shifted sideways into a guard.
Instinctively, he felt this move wouldn't be easy to block.
Bang!!
It was like he'd been rammed by some massive weight—there was a dull, heavy thud. The foot that had been planted on the ground flew up, and his whole body was blasted sideways by that heavy kick, slamming toward the wall with a crash.
Thud!
Just before he smashed into the wall, smoke rings burst from under Gin's feet. He stepped into Moon Step, forcibly dragging himself backward, spun once in low air, and staggered to a landing.
He glanced at his hands, which had just blocked the kick, and frowned hard.
Even with steel plus Haki, his hands were still trembling uncontrollably—that was the physiological shake from exerting too much strength and failing to fully block the impact.
Mr. Sanji's power is this strong?
The thought had barely formed in Gin's mind when he heard Sanji cry out in shock. He looked up and saw one of Sanji's legs bent at an obvious angle, probably snapped under that massive force.
That was only natural. The human body has a protection mechanism—if you throw out power beyond your own limits, your body just can't take it.
But...
Why is it like this?
To make his attacks stronger, he's even ignoring his own body?
Mr. Sanji's already lost his cool this much?
Gin was just about to get angry when he saw Sanji staring at his own leg in astonishment. "Eh? What's going on? What happened to my leg?!"
There wasn't a trace of pain on that face, nor was he gritting his teeth or putting on an act. He really was surprised...
"It doesn't hurt. I don't feel much of anything, and also..."
Sanji flexed the bent leg a bit, then suddenly tensed. His leg snapped straight. He stomped a few times, confirmed his leg was perfectly fine, and then suddenly froze.
"My body... has changed a bit."
"Fist Bone!"
Gin's eyes narrowed. He yanked one arm back hard, his clenched fist bursting with steam. His feet also jetted steam for extra thrust as he shot at Sanji and drove his fist forward.
Pow!
The instant his fist fired out, it detonated the air. A red flow of light ran within the steam, like fire-mist spreading out, and his punch slammed viciously into Sanji's chest.
"Steam Fire Flowing Light!"
A superheated steel fist, the impact of scalding steam—its power was absolutely massive. As long as it's a living creature, there's no way it wouldn't be affected!
Gin could clearly feel his fist sink into Sanji's chest. Just a little more, a bit more force, and he could punch straight through—but that last tiny bit simply would not go in.
Bang!
A dull thud spread out. Sanji slid backward a short distance, then subconsciously touched the dent that had appeared in his chest.
There still wasn't the slightest hint of pain on his face.
"The feel is right. Weird—not only does it not hurt, I can even..."
Sanji was even more puzzled than Gin. As his bones crackled, the fist-shaped dent in his chest forced itself back out, restoring to normal like he'd never taken a heavy hit at all.
Sss!
Steam snorted from Gin's nose. He spread his arms wide, and shockwave steam blasted out from his shoulders, whipping both arms like steel whips.
"Kami-e! Tekkai! Finger Gun!"
Driven by the blast and the speed boost, his two arms blurred into afterimages. In an instant, dozens of afterimages formed, like a swarm of black snakes lashing out together, biting into Sanji from all sides.
"Fog Snake Bite!"
Steel heated to high temperature, reinforced by Haki, the impact pushed by steam plus propulsion speed—on top of that, he hardened his arms with Tekkai, then used Kami-e to swing them like twin flails, with Finger Gun-level force focused in his fists. All of it combined into his most powerful technique, raining down on Sanji.
Bang bang bang!
But this time, instead of that sensation of sinking into flesh, what rang out were dull booms like striking a bell.
Sanji's torso still warped under the blows, but warped was all it did. Under that overwhelming impact, his body didn't move an inch.
He snapped out of his daze, suddenly raised one leg, and kicked at Gin's jaw.
Bang!
Gin crossed his arms and blocked the strike, but the force that rippled through still made his body bob upward.
The leg Sanji had kicked out suddenly straightened into a stabbing thrust, igniting in a burst of flame, and slammed straight into Gin's chest, booting him away with one shot.
Thud!
Gin's feet landed on the wooden wall, instantly bursting a ring of smoke. As the wall blew open with a gaping hole, he pushed off and landed steadily on the floor.
He rubbed his chest, face stern, watching Sanji, who was still staring his own body up and down. Then something finally clicked, and he asked, "Artificial Human?"
He remembered...
Back when Master Sage went to take down Big Mom, he'd mentioned some science family whose most perfect creations were Artificial Humans...
And Mr. Sanji's full name was Vinsmoke Sanji!
"Tch! Don't bring that crap up! I'm supposed to be a normal human!"
Sanji shouted, but even as he denied it with everything he had, the look on his face was all wrong.
His twisted, bent body let out strange sounds like metal and machinery grinding together, and with those sounds, his torso straightened again, returning to normal.
"Same as those guys... did I Awaken too?" Sanji murmured, closing his eyes.
He didn't want to become one of those feelingless monsters. How could a person have no emotions?