You're sharper than I thought

Hearing the commotion from above, Nami felt a wave of speechlessness wash over her and couldn't help but remark:

"No wonder those pirates downstairs were screaming so loudly, and no one came down to check."

"Turns out the ones up here are having a party too."

"Uheehee." Carina couldn't hold back a laugh either:

"Looks like these pirates took over this town way too easily, and no Marines came to arrest them."

"They don't have a shred of vigilance at all."

From the moment she saw no pirates guarding the harbor, she'd already picked up on that.

Now it fully confirmed her earlier guess.

Thump--!

Pushing open the rooftop door, Will bent slightly as he stepped out, straightened up, and looked ahead.

A scene similar to when he'd entered the tavern earlier repeated itself.

The group of pirates on the rooftop froze mid-motion, all turning their heads to look.

The previously noisy scene instantly fell silent.

Staring at the three people standing at the rooftop doorway, every pirate showed surprise and wariness in their eyes.

Ignoring the miscellaneous small-fry pirates, Will looked straight at the figure lounging lazily in a deck chair among the crowd—a guy clearly dressed like a circus clown—and confirmed:

"So you're the one called Clown Buggy, huh."

"Hm?"

Clown Buggy opened his eyes in surprise, looking toward where the voice came from. A tall, unfamiliar man and two young women came into view.

Noticing the man's towering stature, his heart instinctively jolted in alarm.

But Buggy thought again.

This was just the East Blue, not the Grand Line. Being tall didn't mean anything. His heart relaxed again.

Looking at the three who'd suddenly crashed his party, Clown Buggy's expression carried a hint of disdain as he sneered:

"What, another Bounty Hunter crawling out of nowhere?"

"Bringing two women along to pick a fight with me? You planning to die in style?"

Hearing how arrogant the guy was, Will raised an eyebrow in surprise:

"Clown Buggy, didn't expect you to have some bite."

"Huh?" Clown Buggy looked confused, not quite catching the meaning.

But Will, having confirmed the man's identity, had no intention of wasting more words. He decided to cut straight to the chase.

To make sure the guy went all out, he deliberately added a slightly mocking tone:

"And that Red Nose of yours—pretty hilarious to look at."

"What did you say?!"

Clown Buggy shot to his feet, eyes wide, wearing an expression of utter disbelief.

The surrounding pirates were all stunned too.

The scene instantly erupted into noise again.

"He's done for, that guy's dead meat."

"Exactly, daring to mock the Captain's nose to his face."

"Haha, yeah, yeah, this idiot probably has no clue—the nose is our Captain's taboo."

"Hehehe, the Captain's gonna blow his top now."

"Last time someone mocked the Captain's nose was, well, last time."

"True."

Just as these pirates wore expressions ready to enjoy the show, Clown Buggy had already gone red-hot in an instant, fuming inside, completely losing it as he roared:

"You damn bastard! Daring to mock my nose to my face!"

"Don't think just because you're tall I won't hit you!"

"Apologize with a flashy death!"

Chop-Chop Flying Dagger!

Without a second's hesitation, Clown Buggy's right hand grabbed a flying dagger.

Then he jerked his right arm, flinging his entire hand and forearm off, the dagger's tip aimed straight at Will.

"What?! His arm actually detached and flew off?!"

Nami and Carina couldn't help the shock spreading across their faces.

Clearly, neither of them had expected the opponent's ability to be so bizarre.

Clang—!

But Will wasn't surprised by this. He quickly raised his right hand, using two fingers to precisely catch the flying blade.

No matter how hard Clown Buggy's severed right hand tried to wrench the knife free, it couldn't budge an inch.

"Damn it... how is this possible?!"

This scene completely defied Buggy's expectations, and a bead of cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

His years of experience on the sea immediately told him that the tall man before him was far stronger than he'd anticipated.

Yet Will, feeling the resistance from the flying knife, couldn't hide a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

His left hand, which had been resting in his pocket, slowly emerged. Then he grabbed Buggy's floating wrist, gradually tightening his grip.

"Ah—!"

Buggy couldn't help but scream in pain, shouting angrily, "Bastard, let go of me!"

Will paid him no heed, instead squeezing harder, using brute force to pry the hand away from the dagger.

Watching Buggy's palm tremble and struggle in his grasp.

Will examined it with mild interest, then tossed it behind him, saying:

"Tie this hand up. Don't let it fly away."

With that, he stopped paying it any attention and strode toward the grim-faced Buggy ahead.

That hand was already his trophy.

He had no intention of giving it back.

Nami and Carina behind him caught on immediately.

They each pulled out ropes and worked together to quickly bind the hand as it tried to escape.

In the end, they tied it into a tight ball, leaving the hand trapped inside, unable to move.

"Damn it... those two wretched women!"

Seeing his hand trapped in the rope ball, Buggy's forehead bulged with veins as he growled through gritted teeth.

But he had no time to worry about that hand now.

The most pressing issue was stopping the man steadily approaching him.

Buggy's eyes darted around. Thinking fast, he waved his arm grandly and shouted with full bravado:

"Don't worry! This is all part of my plan!"

"Men! Get him! Hack this bastard to pieces!"

"Whoever takes him down first gets a reward of 1 million Berries from yours truly!"

Saying this, Clown Buggy couldn't help but wince, his eye twitching from the sting of the offer.

Hearing their captain's confident declaration.

Except for the officers Kajiba and Mochi.

And the big lion lying outside the crowd.

The rest of the pirates excitedly raised their weapons, charging at Will with all kinds of twisted expressions.

"Kill him!!!"

"Take him down!"

"Don't steal my kill! That head's mine!"

"Bullshit! The 1 million Berries are mine!"

"Hehehe! Chop him up! Chop him up!"

Watching the rabble swarm forward with wild shouts.

Will slowly came to a stop, his hands hanging loosely at his sides, looking completely relaxed.

Taking advantage of his underlings momentarily blocking Will, Buggy quickly turned and ran to the edge of the rooftop.

There, he shifted a cannon into position, loaded a special bomb.

Then he swiftly aimed the muzzle toward Will's direction.