Can Yue remained expressionless, his eyes cold.
In midair, he pressed his blade downward. Violent sword energy gradually gathered, and an azure dragon formed from countless sword energies roared down from the sky.
The hundred-meter-long azure dragon charged forth, reducing everything in its path to ashes. Its momentum was terrifyingly powerful; even distant onlookers like Luffy felt as though their hearts were being crushed.
Not to mention Buggy, who was still struggling against the Poison Flower Claw Meteor Shower. Exhausted from dodging, he now had to face such a terrifying attack head-on, and the sensation of impending death washed over him.
"Damn it, do I have no choice but to try?" Buggy gritted his teeth as Armament Haki instantly covered his entire body.
"Break apart for me, Chop Chop Fruit, aaah!!!" Buggy roared. Ignoring the pain of his body being corroded by the poison claws, he released his power outward and finally collided with Azure Dragon Break.
The terrifying energies exploded in an instant. Azure-blue energy scattered in every direction, further ravaging the already corroded, crater-riddled ground. The entire mountain was flattened into a plain.
On another mountaintop in the distance.
Luffy and the others stared wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
"Is this really power a human can attain?" Seeing the scene that resembled a natural disaster, Nami's heart pounded wildly. Amid her shock, a thought suddenly arose in her mind.
"My experience is still far too limited." Luffy's expression turned grave as he reflected on his recklessness. Neither of those two was someone he could face right now.
There must be many people like Can Yue and Buggy out on the seas. I have to become stronger. Luffy made up his mind to train twice as hard throughout his adventures.
Feeling the sword energy wreaking havoc ahead, Zoro immediately realized the gap between himself and those powerful swordsmen.
I actually thought I could challenge Hawk Eyes as soon as I set sail. I really was too naive.
With that thought, Zoro's gaze sharpened as he looked at Can Yue and made his decision.
The Mayor had long since fainted. It was unclear whether he had passed out from fright or from rage at seeing his town destroyed like this.
The young woman was so terrified by the scene that she tightly clutched Pig Butcher's elbow.
Pig Butcher, meanwhile, frowned deeply. Something felt wrong. Where had the move Buggy used to split apart Ohm gone?
As the smoke dispersed, the battlefield was already a complete mess.
At the center of the explosion, Buggy stood in place covered in blood, the skin all over his body cracked. He appeared to be seriously injured.
Can Yue slowly landed ten meters in front of Buggy and looked at him calmly.
"If you hadn't split apart the initial portion of Azure Dragon Break's energy, the outcome would have been far worse."
Buggy struggled to steady himself and replied unsteadily, "I should thank you. If you hadn't pushed me into a life-or-death situation, I never would have learned this move in my life."
"I often tried to awaken the Chop Chop Fruit's power, but I always failed at critical moments. Like that mountain that has now been leveled—I often used it to practice. Every time I split it apart, it would automatically restore itself before long, and I would suffer internal injuries."
Hearing that, Can Yue understood. Pig Butcher had gotten the wrong idea, thinking Buggy could effortlessly split apart Ohm and restore it at will. In truth, Buggy simply could not control this ability.
As expected of the strongest Luck-Luck Fruit. No matter what Buggy did, it made outsiders think he was incredibly powerful.
At that thought, Can Yue nearly lost control and laughed.
After calming himself, Can Yue looked at Buggy and asked, "Then why were you able to split apart part of my energy this time?"
Buggy fell silent for a moment. He raised his head to look at the sky, as though recalling something, before replying, "Maybe it was luck."
"Can Yue, you won. I no longer have any strength left to fight. How do you plan to deal with me?"
Can Yue's cold gaze remained fixed on Buggy. Even though Buggy's mindset had changed somewhat, Can Yue's stare still made his scalp tingle.
"Heh. You have no intent to kill me, so I won't kill you." Can Yue's reply was simple.
"Ka-ha-ha, cough, cough... White-haired Swordsman Can Yue, you really are interesting." Because of his severe injuries, Buggy began coughing as he laughed.
Just as Can Yue turned and prepared to fly toward Luffy and the others, Buggy spoke again and asked him another question.
"If I hadn't split apart that initial portion of Azure Dragon Break's energy, would you have actively detonated the remaining energy?"
Can Yue did not turn around. As he slowly walked away, he answered Buggy indifferently, "The answer is what I just said. The only difference would have been how badly you were injured."
After saying that, Can Yue stopped and spoke seriously.
"Buggy, you are not my opponent yet. I hope we get the chance to fight again in the future."
After saying this, Can Yue turned and flew toward Luffy and the others.
Buggy watched the white figure in the sky, the corners of his mouth lifting as he softly said, "Definitely!"
Seeing that Can Yue had already left with Luffy and the others, Buggy closed his eyes, and a memory flooded into his mind.
"Buggy, blindly running away won't let you bring out your fruit's true strength. A fruit's power is directly tied to its user's character. If you are cowardly, it can only be used to escape for your life. If you are bold, it can possess formidable combat power! Take this!"
Pluto Rayleigh shouted and swung his sword forward. A pale-blue sword gleam carrying terrifying destructive force shot toward Buggy, who was not yet thirteen years old.
Yet even as the sword gleam was about to cut into Buggy, he could only cry out in terror, "Uncle Rayleigh, stop! I'll die!"
Rayleigh could only send out another slash to shatter the previous attack and protect Buggy.
"Buggy, our crew is about to disband. If you remain like this, how will you stand on your own in the future?"
"So what? My escape skills are amazing. I actually could have dodged that slash just now."
"You were being far too lucky. If I had added—" Rayleigh was about to scold Buggy when Pirate King Roger suddenly spoke from nearby.
"Forget it, Rayleigh. Everyone has their own way of living." Roger then looked at Buggy and said meaningfully,
"In the days ahead, no one will be able to help you. So use your own way to work hard and realize your dreams, Buggy."
"Got it, Captain Roger! Actually, I used to be really good at fighting in the water. It's all Shanks's fault!" Buggy ran over to Roger carelessly and started complaining again.
The memory faded, and Buggy returned to reality. Lying on the ground and staring at the sky, tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
"Captain Roger, I miss you so much."
"I didn't want to disgrace you, so I trained hard and worked hard to become stronger. But every time I tried to awaken my power, I felt as though I would be torn apart. I felt the fear of certain death. I'm still afraid of dying. I'm afraid that if I die, I'll lose those wonderful memories from aboard your ship."
After another moment of silence, Buggy began talking to himself again.
"Captain Roger, I met a white-haired man just now. His attack made me feel death, but at that moment, I suddenly stopped being afraid of dying. I was your crewmate. I was a crewmate of the Pirate King! How could I possibly fear death?!"
"Just wait. I'll make these seas remember the name Clown Buggy. I'll let everyone know that none of Pirate King Roger's crewmates are weak!"
"From this day on, I, Buggy, will press ever forward!"
"Thank you, Can Yue."
Before you continue