No One Worthy of a Fight

"Damn bastard, let them taste the power of this Big Shot's Buggy Ball!"

"Get ready to be blown away by this Big Shot's magnificent explosion!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Buggy directly pulled out a match and lit the fuse, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

In his mind, he was already fantasizing about the scene of the opponent being blown to pieces by the Buggy Ball.

Shave!

But before he could even laugh, Will had already flashed into view directly in front of the cannon's muzzle, expressionlessly looking down.

"Uh..."

Clown Buggy's smile froze, and a strong sense of dread surged in his heart.

He glanced sideways, shifting his gaze to the area behind the opponent.

He immediately noticed that the lively group of underlings from moments ago were now all lying on the ground.

Some had already fallen into peaceful sleep.

While others were still quietly whimpering.

Will glanced at the fuse that was about to burn out. Instead of dodging, he directly raised his hand and slammed it hard against the base of the cannon!

The cannon immediately spun one hundred and eighty degrees.

The muzzle turned straight around, aiming directly at Clown Buggy, who had been standing behind it.

Staring at the dark cannon hole so close to his face.

Buggy couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye, muttering to himself:

"This is it."

The next second, the fuse burned out.

Boom--!!

The Buggy Ball shot out from the cannon at high speed!

It struck Clown Buggy, who was standing right in front of the muzzle, instantly triggering a violent explosion. Smoke and flames scattered in all directions.

Then a pitch-black object was hurled out from the smoke, trailing a wisp of black smoke as it rapidly flew toward the distant sky.

"I'm flying... flying so high..."

High in the sky, just before losing consciousness, Clown Buggy couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Then his eyes rolled back, his head lolled to the side, and he continued flying farther away with the momentum.

"Huh?!"

Nami and Carina looked on in shock, seemingly surprised that the cannonball had such immense power.

But Will watched Clown Buggy being blasted away.

He noticed that the man hadn't lost any limbs or body parts—still intact—and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

"This bomb's power is pretty mediocre, though it sure flies far."

"Clearly, we're not yet at the version where bombs dominate. Bombs are basically non-lethal right now."

In terms of results, the Buggy Ball was just flashy.

The fire and sound gave a strong sensory impact.

But the truth was that Clown Buggy took the Buggy Ball head-on and didn't even suffer severe bodily damage, let alone being blown to pieces.

Maybe part of the reason was that Clown Buggy had eaten a Devil Fruit, which enhanced his physical resilience.

But this also reflected from the side.

That such bombs were probably not very effective against Devil Fruit users at this stage.

"You damn bastard, daring to blow away our Captain Buggy!"

Just as Will was deep in thought, Kajiba, who had been standing nearby, suddenly roared in anger!

Spike Deadly Skill!

Then, gripping his sword, he leaped onto the railing, sprang into the air, and came crashing down from above, stabbing straight at Will below.

Clang--!

But what Kajiba thought was a powerful strike was easily blocked by Will, who raised two fingers to catch it.

"What?! How is that possible?!"

Kajiba's fierce expression instantly turned to shock.

Not only because his attack was effortlessly stopped.

But because he found that he couldn't pull his sword free.

And even more, he himself was being lifted into the air by the sword clamped between the opponent's two fingers!

Will looked up slightly, noticing that sweat seemed about to drip from the other's cheek.

So he swung his arm in a full arc, then lashed out violently, sending Kajiba—sword and all—flying straight off.

"AAAAHHH—!!"

With a trail of screams, Kajiba sailed farther and farther away, gradually vanishing from the rooftop crew's sight.

Kajiba, launched skyward, shot straight through the town before crashing headfirst into the sea, bubbles rising as he sank slowly into the depths and disappeared.

Will didn't bother whether the guy lived or died.

He didn't even spare a glance at the pirate lackeys nearby who, sensing trouble, had flopped to the ground and were playing dead.

After dealing with Kajiba.

He turned slowly, fixing his gaze on one man and one beast who were frantically searching for something to hide behind, trying to duck out of sight.

The lion Riki and the tamer Mochi, who had been creeping stealthily to conceal themselves.

Felt a sharp stare boring into them, and instantly froze in place.

Lion Riki sneaked a glance at Will, saw that look like he was staring at an ant, and his survival instinct began skyrocketing.

So lion Riki's "smart" brain kicked into high gear.

Then his eyes suddenly lit up, as he hit on the only way out.

Without hesitation, he raised his massive paws and swung them viciously at the tamer Mochi beside him!

Smack—smack—smack—smack—!!!

Paw after paw, lion Riki struck left and right, battering the utterly bewildered Mochi until he wobbled on the spot, his face swelling rapidly.

And all the while, lion Riki kept slapping, flashing an ingratiating grin at Will.

"Hm?"

Will was a bit surprised at the sight, and even more taken aback by the lion's move.

For a lion, it actually knew how to sell out its companion to save itself.

From that alone, this lion was far smarter than many of the Jungle Beasts he'd killed before.

Will walked slowly over to lion Riki, raised a hand, and stroked his mane.

Lion Riki stiffened at first, then quickly stopped his paws and bowed his head low, as if to make it easier for Will to pet him.

Meanwhile, the poor tamer Mochi had flopped onto his back, eyes rolled white, foam at the mouth, completely unconscious.

After a few strokes, a faint smile curled at the corner of Will's mouth.

Bam—!

Then, without warning, he slammed a horizontal punch into lion Riki's head!

Sending the lion crashing to the ground, a huge lump swelling on his skull, eyes rolled back, tongue lolling out—clearly fast asleep.

"Don't think playing nice will get you off the hook. That'd make me look way too easy to win over."

Will pulled his hand back and stood upright, muttering to himself as he looked at the lion.

He wasn't about to let being intimidated by this lion fool him into thinking it was harmless.

But seeing as the lion had at least shown some sense.

Will decided to show a bit of mercy, taking it out in one clean hit so it wouldn't suffer too much.

After taking down lion Riki.

Will looked around—no one else was standing except himself—and slipped both hands into his pockets.

"Not a single one worth fighting."

Will furrowed his brow, deeply disappointed with this battle.

He hadn't expected the Buggy Pirates to be even weaker than he'd imagined, not even matching the Treasure crew he'd run into by chance earlier.

At least Treasure and his bunch had tried to struggle and fight back for a while.

That had given him a rare bit of enjoyment.