Well, this...
Roman glanced over at the battle on the other side, and a thousand words condensed into two.
Holy shit!
Luffy and Buggy had been fighting with some semblance of skill just moments ago, countering each other's moves. But now, their battle had become:
"How dare you ruin my straw hat and spit on it—"
"Ahhh, don't wipe it on me~~"
"Shut up, that's your own spit!"
Buggy lay on the ground with Luffy straddling him, rubbing his beloved straw hat all over him! In an instant, their duel between masters had turned into a street brawl... making Roman's brow twitch.
Please, could you two captains be serious? This was a life-or-death battle. You couldn't kill anyone fighting like this. If you wanted to fight, go fight in a dance studio!
Face-ripping, glaring, spitting...
The two of them, whose cool factor had instantly crashed through the floor, grappled while trading insults.
"Don't say I'm Shanks's brother!"
"I don't care what your relationship with Shanks is. I can say whatever I want!"
"Don't say it—"
"I'll say it if I want..."
"Rubber—Nose Pick!"
"Four-Point Separation—Tickle!"
Two idiots!
Roman stopped in his tracks, nearly turning around to beat the pair of them up first! Their very existence dragged down the intellectual lower limit of pirates. But in the eyes of the panting Mohji and Kabaji, his reaction meant:
"Hang in there, he can't keep going!"
Heh.
Roman sneered. Ever since learning that he had transmigrated into the One Piece world, he had not slacked off for a single day! While others drank and partied, he trained; while others slept soundly, he trained; while others relaxed and played, he trained...
Combined with this body's naturally excellent physique, it was as though it had no "bottleneck" at all. So even without guidance from a famous master, Roman's strength was still not to be underestimated! He could keep up a battle of this intensity for a whole day and night without issue.
However:
Roman maintained an unhurried attack rhythm, openly slacking off without any rush to determine a victor. In any case, he absolutely did not want to interfere with those two idiots' fight, lest he be caught in their "idiot aura" and become foolish himself.
Ah, she had gotten too absorbed in watching!
On the other side, Nami, who had been hiding behind a building, was also snapped out of the captains' street brawl and finally remembered what she was supposed to be doing.
Though the houses had been burned down, the Buggy Pirates' treasure would definitely have been rescued first. So...
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Having finally escaped Luffy's entanglement, Buggy climbed up from the ground and glared hatefully at the straw hat atop Luffy's head.
"Let me tell you, the person I hate most in this world is Shanks!"
"Because he destroyed my dream!"
Hm?
At the mention of dreams, Luffy stopped attacking as well and seriously listened to Buggy recount his "old story."
"Back then, Shanks and I were still apprentice sailors..."
"But Shanks and I were different from everyone else on that ship!"
"They didn't care about treasure at all. They only cared about vague, intangible 'dreams'..."
Hm, among a group of dreamers, there had been one genuine pirate. It felt as jarring as a lunatic mixed in with ordinary people.
"The purpose of sailing is treasure, and taking treasure is a pirate's greatest joy. That is the true essence of piracy! Shanks doesn't understand pirates at all!"
(Shanks, far away in the New World: Yeah, yeah, yeah. What the hell would a Four Emperor like me know about pirates?)
"So after getting a treasure map for a treasure hidden beneath the sea, I planned to strike out on my own..."
"But at the time, I didn't have my own ship or any sailors... so when our ship seized a Devil Fruit and no one was willing to eat it, I stepped forward—"
"You ate that Devil Fruit?"
Faced with Luffy's question, Buggy the clown captain gave a proud smile.
"How could that be! I merely performed a little 'trick' in front of everyone, hid the real fruit, ate a fake one, and claimed it was just an ordinary fruit..."
"I had it all planned out. Once I sold the Devil Fruit, I would have the money to build my own ship! Then I would recruit sailors and search for that great treasure beneath the sea! But then—"
"That damned Shanks! He suddenly scared me from behind, making me accidentally swallow the Devil Fruit and fall into the sea—"
"Although that guy pulled me back out, he also turned me into a landlubber who couldn't touch water. I would never be able to search for that undersea treasure again..."
"What? So Shanks saved your life."
After hearing about the "grudge" between the other man and his own benefactor, Luffy nodded in realization. So Buggy was the same as him.
"You got the wrong point, didn't you!?"
"The point is that that bastard ruined my dream, damn it!!!"
"Forget it." After talking for so long, Buggy gradually calmed down, and his body split apart as his upper half floated into the air.
"Since I can't get the treasure beneath the sea, then I'll get all the treasure on the sea!" As he spoke, he turned toward the area that had been reduced to ruins by fire.
"You dare touch my treasure—"
Whoosh!
His upper body whirled and flew toward it at high speed. At the edge of the ruins, a girl named Nami was quietly carrying a bag full of gold, silver, jewelry, coins, and valuables, preparing to slip away.
"Even if you're a woman, I won't let you go!"
His sharp dagger pointed at the girl clutching the treasure, and Buggy's shouting arrived together with his killing intent.
"Nami, put down my treasure!"
Hm?
Just as Roman, who had been slacking off nearby, was about to make a move, Luffy beat him to it.
Bang!
"Ooohhh~~~"
Buggy's upper body, which had been charging toward Nami at high speed, suddenly plunged headfirst to the ground like a kite with its string cut. His eyes rolled white as snot and tears streamed down his face at once, forming a genuine mask of pain, because:
"You bastard, Rubber Boy! You actually ambushed me!"
That's right. In front of Buggy's lower body, which remained where it was, Luffy had kicked him right between the legs! The intense pain transmitted through him, instantly sending Buggy's upper body crashing to the ground as he trembled all over.
"Hey, our fight isn't over yet."
Luffy stood with his hands on his hips, wearing a righteous expression. At the same time, he turned to the orange-haired girl.
"Nami, put down the treasure. Otherwise, he won't let you go..."
"No!"
Yet the orange-haired girl displayed her money-over-life nature to the fullest, clutching the treasure in her arms tightly with both hands.
"What I steal is mine! I won't let go—"
"Hey."
Buggy's upper body, lying on the ground, caught his breath and slowly floated back up.
"A thief dares to sound so righteous?"
"If you steal something, it becomes yours? Is there no justice left? No law...?"
"Hmph, who are you to lecture me?"
Nami sneered.
"This treasure is only something you stole from others anyway. If I can steal it away, then naturally it becomes mine!"
"That makes sense."
Luffy suddenly understood, leaving Buggy speechless. But then:
"Fine, then I'll kill you! Once I take it back, the treasure will be mine!"
"Four-Point Separation—"
His upper body on Nami's side and his lower body on Luffy's side instantly split apart at the same time! They turned into a mass of scattered pieces.
"Great Platter!"
Crash—
Buggy's entire body transformed into countless small pieces flying through the air. He nimbly evaded Luffy's follow-up attack, then:
"Hehehe, spread out like this, let's see how you can hit me now!"
"Then—"
Buggy's head and the hands holding his daggers flew toward Nami, who was still trying to sneak away, as he shouted:
"Put down my treasure!"
"Never!"
Hmph, looked like he still had to save the day. Roman, keeping a close eye on the battle, flicked his hand, and a paper throwing knife landed in his palm as he prepared to throw it. But then:
"Ahahahaha~~~"
?
Buggy's flying head suddenly burst into wild laughter!
The others were utterly confused. Roman turned to look, and his face darkened.
It turned out that among Buggy's Four-Point Separation body parts, one of his feet was in Luffy's hand, and Luffy was tickling its sole.
??
"I can endure—"
Yet the next second, Buggy's eyes bulged as he tried to suppress his laughter!
"Ooohhhhhh~~~"
???
Luffy was pinching a piece of flesh on the foot in his hand and twisting it three hundred and sixty degrees.
"Don't go too far, Rubber Boy!"
Hiss—
Roman sucked in another deep breath! If this kept up, he felt like the weather in the One Piece world was going to get warmer.
The world was so beautiful, yet he was so irritable. Not good, not good...
Damn it.
Were they here to fight or perform a comedy routine?! Could they be serious for once? Did they deserve to be called pirates?!!
An opportunity!
No matter how ridiculous the scene was, for Nami, who was being pursued, it was a perfect chance to turn defeat into victory. She immediately swung the huge bundle in her hands and hurled it viciously at Buggy's flying head! But:
Slap.
The gap in strength was simply too great. Her so-called counterattack was nothing more than:
"Walking right into my trap!"
Buggy caught the bundle Nami threw with one hand while flying through the air! No matter how comical or absurd he was, Buggy, the pirate captain, was still a powerhouse with a bounty in the tens of millions.
Meanwhile, Luffy's expression sharpened, and he immediately stopped fooling around and rushed over!
"Die."
As Buggy's flying head spat out those cold words, one hand grabbed for the bundle while the dagger in his other hand came slashing down from above! It stabbed toward Nami's—
Bang!
But while Buggy and Nami were both focused on the treasure, the rapidly approaching Luffy had already leaped up and kicked Buggy's entire head into the bag of treasure. The head and bag flew off together, while Nami was saved at the same time.
"I told you, our fight isn't over yet~~"
When the dizzy Buggy finally "got back up," what greeted his eyes was Luffy's clenched fist!
"Hmph, don't get cocky. Four-Point Separation—"
Buggy's head shouted.
"Combine!"
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
His hands and feet instantly flew over and rejoined his head! Except for one thing:
"Where's my body?!"
"You mean this?"
On the other side, Nami had tied up a pile of wriggling "meat chunks" with rope. There were thighs, a torso, arms... all parts of Buggy's body. When his head had been kicked and left dazed, Nami had swiftly bundled those parts together.
"I..."
"Hahaha, just what I'd expect from Nami. Then: Rubber, Rubber—"
Facing the "miniature" Buggy, who had only a head, two hands, and two feet left, Luffy laughed as he rapidly stretched his arms backward! Once they reached their limit, they violently snapped back.
"Wait—"
"Rocket Cannon!"
Bang!
"I'll be back~~~"
Buggy was sent flying into the sky by Luffy's Rocket Cannon. His fading, miserable scream made Roman begin to question his life. Why? The art style had been perfectly normal before...
Before you continue