Chapter 338

"The elementalization you're so proud of can't block my attack."

"Remember that!"

"Devil Fruits are, after all, just an external power."

"A true powerhouse doesn't need to rely on any external power."

Lu En gripped Smoker's throat and slammed him down hard with one hand.

In an instant—

Boom—

Accompanied by a tremendous roar.

The entire ground trembled and shook faintly.

One could see—

Smoker's body was pinned to the ground by Lu En's single hand, smashing a pit over a dozen centimeters deep, shattering and cracking the surface.

Crack!

Crack!

Piercing sounds rang out one after another.

The ground caved in,

The earth crumbled apart.

Rumble rumble rumble!

An area spanning dozens of meters in every direction quivered faintly beneath this force.

For a moment—

Smoke and dust billowed upward,

Dust swirled around.

Gradually—

As the smoke cleared,

One could clearly see—

Smoker was pinned to the ground by Lu En's single hand, unable to move, looking utterly wretched—head and face covered in dust, his face smeared with dirt and grime, his body bearing several superficial wounds.

Miserable beyond words!

Too painful to look at!

A formidable Logia-type ability user was subdued in a single move, one-handed.

Countless grains of dust settled on Smoker, revealing a face filled with pain, defeat, helplessness, and despair.

His whole body felt as if it were falling apart.

Being slammed down hard by Lu En's one hand sent Smoker face-first into the dirt once again.

"I'm such a fool."

"Really…"

"How could I have doubted a monster? Doubted a once-in-a-century, unprecedented genius?"

"I must be insane!"

"An absolutely unprecedented, terrifying monster—and I actually doubted whether he could master dual Haki in a short time? Was that something a useless fool like me could possibly doubt?"

"I truly am hopelessly stupid!"

Smoker's face was bitter, sighing without end.

At this moment—

His heart was filled with regret.

Had he known it would come to this,

He never should have agreed to face Lu En, this monster, in combat!

And now look.

He'd been beaten down again!

And what's more, he'd been killed on the spot in a single exchange!

At this point—

Smoker had no choice but to admit one thing.

The facts proved—

A true monster truly cannot be judged by common sense!

For example—

The freak standing before him—Lu En!

A monster who, in just a few short hours, had completely mastered dual Haki!

Every time he thought of this,

Smoker felt his scalp go numb.

"Who would have thought…"

"This monster—he actually did it!"

"Others need a full year or more just to barely touch the threshold of dual Haki. Yet on this monster, he did it in just a few short hours!"

"In just a few short hours, even dual Ha~ki was mastered by him."

"A monster like this—unprecedented through the ages!"

Smoker, pinned to the ground, wore a bitter expression again and again.

At first.

He couldn't bring himself to believe such an astonishing guess.

Not until now.

Did he suddenly wake up to the truth.

He — actually judging a monster by the standards of an ordinary person?

"No one has ever been able to accomplish such a world-shaking feat."

"In just a few hours, he mastered two-colored Haki!"

"And Lu En — he truly did it."

"He blazed a trail in history!"

"Setting an entirely new record!"

"A brand-new record: at only four years old, mastering two-colored Haki in just a few short hours."

Smoker's throat went dry.

He had an extremely strong premonition inside.

A monster like Lu En…

Was likely unmatched by anyone before him — and would remain unmatched by anyone after!

For the next thousand, hundreds of years, no one would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lu En.

Nor could anyone else do it.

Mastering two-colored Haki within a few hours.

Only Lu En alone!

This was the sole example in the past several hundred years!

And also one that later generations could never surpass!

"Alright, I've finally cleared the stain of that past disgrace."

Lu En slowly released his right hand that had been pressing down on Smoker; the power of Armament Haki and Observation Haki faded, and his hands returned to their original state.

As he stood up,

Smoker also dragged his battered body, pushing himself up from the shattered ground.

"That duel with you just now was absolutely the most wrong decision I've ever made."

"Believing your damned nonsense!"