## One Piece Chapter 423, pages 2-3: The Mermaid Legend - Chapter: 423 - Pages: 2-3 - Characters: Monkey D. Luffy, Rob Lucci, Tom ### Summary Page 2: The warship struck by Luffy and Lucci burns on the sea, its deck split and its crew thrown into panic. Smoke rises from the wreckage while Luffy crashes through debris and shouts as he is hurled back. His huge attack has torn the battlefield open, but the danger around him has not stopped. He pants, shaken by Gear Third's aftermath, and admits, "I... I AM SHRINKING." The power that let him blast Lucci away now starts taking its price. Even after the massive impact, Luffy is not in control; he is caught between the collapsing ship, the Buster Call, and the weakness that follows his new technique. Page 3: Luffy lands amid rubble, now reduced by the cost of Gear Third. He says through exhausted breaths, "HAA... I USED GEAR THIRD FOR ABOUT A MINUTE...!! SO I'LL PROBABLY BE LIKE THIS FOR ANOTHER MINUTE...!!" He tries to steady himself, thinking, "I SHOULD GO HIDE UNTIL I GET BACK TO NORMAL OR HE'LL KILL ME!!" Then he sees that Lucci is still moving. "EITHER HE'S BEING SERIOUS... OR JUST JOKING AROUND... THE FACT IS HE'S STILL ALIVE..." he thinks. Lucci, thrown from the bombardment and the impact, reflects bitterly, "IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BORING, THOUGH, IF HE DIED FROM SUCH A BOMBARDMENT. JUST LIKE TOM-SAN WAS." The past and present overlap: Franky's old wound over Tom and Lucci's survival both sharpen the stakes.