"Ka-hahahahaha! I never expected that three mere rookies would dare challenge the great Captain Buggy. You've got some nerve."
Clown Buggy floated in midair, his ferocious expression making the Mayor beside him tense all over, sweat dripping from his forehead.
Buggy's laughter also snapped Nami out of her lovestruck state. Seeming to remember her main objective, her expression turned serious.
Luffy glanced at Buggy, then turned to Can Yue. "Leave Buggy to me!"
"Alright."
Can Yue nodded in agreement, then expressionlessly grabbed the recovered Chouchou by the scruff of his neck and carried him off to one side.
The Pig Butcher Couple were a little dumbfounded by the scene. What was going on? They were just starting a fight? Then what was the point of the two of them coming here? It seemed that aside from the matter involving those two young pirates, Can Yue and the others had other grievances with Buggy.
Pig Butcher Man had wanted to say something to Buggy in explanation, but Luffy had already charged forward!
"Come over here. Don't get caught in the crossfire!"
At Can Yue's call, the couple could only head over to his side first.
"Benefactor, how strong is your companion?"
"Not bad."
"Ah, then aren't you worried something might happen to him?" Hearing Can Yue's assessment of Luffy, the young woman could not help worrying.
"I'm here."
After giving that simple reply, Can Yue ignored the two of them and began talking to Chouchou instead. "Sit. Good. Shake hands. Mm, not bad."
Seeing Can Yue being so relaxed, the two could only look on helplessly. Then, the young woman suddenly remembered that the Mayor was still over by Buggy's side and hurriedly asked Pig Butcher Man to bring him over too.
But when he returned with the Mayor, he found his wife staring at Can Yue with dreamy eyes again, drooling.
At that moment, even the Mayor was looking at Pig Butcher Man strangely.
Pig Butcher Man had nothing to say. He could only sigh and summarize the situation in the following three points.
Meanwhile, Luffy had already begun using his ability, fiercely attacking Buggy in the air.
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!"
A barrage of fists, like a rapid-firing Gatling gun, instantly filled the space around Buggy.
Amid Luffy's furious roars, Buggy was struck and sent flying toward a distant building.
Nami had a sudden idea and sneaked toward Buggy's base. After a few quick turns, she vanished from sight.
~
Recalling the feeling of his earlier punches, Luffy frowned slightly. In his perception, amid that overwhelming barrage of attacks, only the final punch had hit Buggy—on the palm of his hand!
That strange sensation made Luffy abandon the idea of taking it easy. He began to get serious.
Just then, flames suddenly erupted in the distance, followed by another explosion.
The powerful impact of a Buggy Ball blasted down another row of houses, including the house where Zoro had been sleeping and the shaded spot where Can Yue and the others were.
When the explosion ended, dust and smoke filled the air.
Relying on his tough physique, Zoro crawled out of the rubble, even yawning as he did so.
On Can Yue's side, a ring of silvery-white light protected everyone. Looking closely, the caster at the center of that light was actually Chouchou.
The Mayor had just been amazed by Luffy's freely stretching arms, and now Chouchou's defensive barrier had frightened him all over again.
The Mayor declared that he had never seen anything so outrageous in his entire life.
But Pig Butcher Man still had his brows furrowed. Even after seeing that Can Yue and the others possessed such formidable strength, he was still worried about something.
In the distance, Buggy slowly emerged from the ruins of the building. Behind him stood a group of Buggy Pirates, including the acrobat Kabaji, who rode a unicycle and carried a saber.
Kabaji flicked his smooth long hair and said to Buggy, "Captain, leave these small fry to me."
Buggy smiled at Kabaji and said, "The Pirate Hunter is yours. As for Straw Hat Kid, I'll handle him myself."
Then Buggy turned to the other subordinates behind him. "Next time, you are not allowed to use Buggy Balls without my order!"
His sharp gaze made the many subordinates break into a cold sweat, especially Black-Nosed Clown, who had already lost an arm. He was the one who had suggested firing the cannon to Kabaji earlier.
"Yes, we won't do it again, Captain!" Kabaji stepped forward and answered on behalf of the other subordinates.
"Ka-hahahahaha! I'll let it slide this time because you loyally helped me. Now, let's kill all three rookie pirates who dared challenge me!"
"Oh!!!!"
With that, Kabaji charged toward Zoro while Buggy slowly walked toward Luffy.
Black-Nosed Clown assessed the situation. Only Can Yue's group had no opponents, so his eyes shifted as he egged on the remaining subordinates to charge at Can Yue's position.
~
Zoro looked at Kabaji, who was charging at him on a unicycle with a sword in hand, and grinned. Ignoring the pain in his kidney, he tied on his bandana and assumed the stance of Three Sword Style.
As for why Zoro was taking this so seriously, it was because Luffy had told him earlier that Clown Buggy was powerful and mysterious, and warned him to be careful of Buggy's subordinates.
"Let me see just how strong the Buggy Pirates really are!"
Zoro stared seriously at Kabaji, who was about to reach him, and slowly muttered, "Three Sword Style, Onigiri!"
At present, Zoro could only barely coat part of the blades in his hands with Armament Haki, but against Kabaji, that was complete overkill.
The two figures crossed. Three columns of blood instantly erupted from acrobat Kabaji's upper body, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed, unable to rise again.
Zoro sheathed his swords, the corner of his mouth twitching. "This... is way too weak!"
Kabaji's sword strength and reaction speed were, in Zoro's eyes, inferior even to his own from several years ago. He simply was not worthy of such caution.
"But the reason Luffy told me to be careful of Kabaji was that Clown Buggy is strong, so... cough!"
Zoro had yet to recover the vitality lost from his injured kidney. Now, after forcibly using Haki and exhausting too much stamina, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Completely drained, he leaned against the nearby rubble and watched Luffy and Buggy fight.
As for Can Yue's side, Zoro was not worried in the slightest.
~
Indeed, Can Yue sat there without moving.
In front of him, Chouchou had transformed into a white giant dog five meters long and three meters tall, strange runes covering his body. With a casual swipe of his paw, Buggy's subordinates fell in droves.
The Mayor wiped his glasses, his pupils shrinking. He felt that his sixty years of life had not been in vain, for he had actually seen a legendary monster with his own eyes.
Chouchou swung his claws, and the terrifying cutting force sent blood flowing everywhere, shattering the rubble into fragments.
In the end, only Black-Nosed Clown remained. Chouchou held him in his mouth and tossed him at Can Yue's feet, while all the other Buggy Pirates lay unconscious.
~
Meanwhile, Buggy and Luffy were locked in a heated battle.
Buggy used the abilities of the Chop Chop Fruit to evade every one of Luffy's attacks.
The fight appeared evenly matched, but only Luffy knew how difficult it truly was.
No matter what angle he attacked from, Buggy could split his body apart in advance to evade him.
Even fists like a Gatling had yet to deal any substantial damage to Buggy.
"Straw Hat Kid, is this all you've got?"
Buggy mocked Luffy while dodging his attacks.
Luffy was growing a little anxious. If this continued, his stamina would surely run out.
"I've more or less figured out your strength, Straw Hat Kid. Prepare to accept defeat."
As soon as he finished speaking, Buggy's body instantly split into dozens of pieces and scattered apart.
Before Luffy's astonished eyes, the dozens of pieces of Clown Buggy's body suddenly turned black and crashed toward him.
"Armament Haki!"
Zoro and Luffy cried out in shock at the same time.
Before you continue