The entire El Drago Pirates landed on the island and raced toward its depths, intent on wiping everyone out.
But only a few minutes into the chase, they spotted Moya and his crew waiting for them in the distance, standing ready for battle.
"Ha! Looks like you can't wait to die!"
El Drago burst into a crazed laugh, but Golass beside him furrowed his brow. A swordsman's instincts told him the situation ahead was dangerous!
"Your sound attacks may be powerful, but that doesn't give you the right to look down on everyone! From the moment you set foot on this island, your fate was sealed!"
Moya smiled, but a dark shadow lingered in his eyes.
"Quit acting tough, brat! Take this—Sonic Cannon!"
El Drago finished speaking and immediately launched an attack with the Sound-Sound Fruit!
The first to strike had the advantage. Hesitate, and you'd suffer for it.
"I told you, you're a crewmate I've already picked out. And crewmates aren't allowed to attack their captain!"
Moya sounded relaxed, but his hands and feet moved fast!
"Maximum output—Slip-Slip Fruit: Glazed Ground!"
The ground between the beach and Moya turned slick. The El Drago Pirates' crew members all slipped and fell.
Golass drew his sword and poured all his strength into it. Using a precise strike to overcome the slippery ground, he stabbed his blade into the earth and managed to stay on his feet, frowning.
"He has the same kind of Devil Fruit power as the captain!"
El Drago's Sonic Cannon went flying into the sky when he fell, piercing a white cloud and leaving a huge hole in it.
But Moya wasn't about to give such a dangerous enemy a chance to catch his breath.
"Slip-Slip Fruit: Instant Slide!"
Moya appeared in front of El Drago. With his seawater-soaked gloves ready, he punched El Drago in the mouth again and again.
But El Drago's body was tough, and he endured Moya's fierce barrage.
"You dared to shoot me just now! I'll teach you to shoot me! You don't know the Six Powers or Haki, so how could you possibly fight me on my Glazed Ground? That'll teach you to be arrogant, to let your guard down! No way to break free, no aerial mobility—so much for acting tough!"
Moya kept cursing under his breath, still furious that El Drago had hurt him with that shot!
El Drago grew enraged and tried to launch a sound attack.
But Moya kept hammering his mouth with seawater-coated fists, leaving him unable to open it and rendering his Devil Fruit power partially ineffective.
And on top of that, he had to listen to Moya's nonsensical taunts. It was unbearably humiliating.
El Drago's eyes reddened with fury. He summoned all his strength and punched Moya back, then unleashed a barrage of Sonic Laser Cannons from his mouth, whipping his head around to fire indiscriminately.
"Damn, I let my guard down! Get out of the way!"
"I'll kill every last one of you!"
Everyone scattered in all directions.
Like Godzilla's atomic breath, the beams shot wildly in every direction. Countless trees were swept in half, smoke billowed, and explosions roared without end.
The destructive power was truly astonishing.
This Devil Fruit seemed born for destruction.
Out at sea, you could hit a ship from several thousand meters away. What ship could withstand that?
After sustaining such a devastating attack for more than ten seconds, El Drago finally stopped, gasping for breath.
Moya's Glazed Ground had also been destroyed.
"What an unruly bastard, firing off his big moves all over the place!"
"If you hurt my still-growing subordinates, I'll be furious."
As the smoke cleared, Moya's enormous transparent shield vanished. He lowered his crossed arms and looked up, glaring at El Drago with dark eyes.
The wisps of energy coiling around his arms slowly faded.
If he hadn't awakened at that critical moment and triggered a trace of Armament Haki, Moya might have been badly injured again while protecting everyone.
My crewmates haven't grown strong enough yet. I'll just have to protect them for now.
"Slip-Slip Fruit: Glazed Ground!"
His Devil Fruit power spread over the ground again, and Moya gasped for breath.
"Slip-Slip Fruit: Silent Instant Slide!"
Moya blurred forward. To El Drago's shock, a seawater-soaked fist appeared before him once more.
With nowhere to brace himself, El Drago was like a sitting duck, unable to dodge.
A faint wisp of energy made Moya's fist seem as hard as steel.
One punch drove El Drago deep into the ground, and a cloud of dust rose around him.
Moya panted heavily. As the smoke cleared, he saw El Drago lying on his back, eyes rolled up and arms and legs spread wide. Moya suddenly relaxed and sat down.
"I'm exhausted. But I actually awakened Armament Haki by chance—that's a huge windfall."
El Drago never got another chance to fight back. Moya beat him unconscious, leaving him utterly humiliated.
Moya turned toward Golass and asked:
"A swordsman, huh? Are you surrendering?"
"..." Golass didn't answer. He just closed his eyes.
Moya looked at the El Drago Pirates' underlings, who had fallen over and kept slipping every time they tried to stand. He shouted to the members of the Moya Adventure Group:
"Now it's your turn to get some practice in! Buggy, go test out this swordsman's strength!"
"Sure thing, Captain!" Buggy grinned. As a Devil Fruit User with the Bara Bara no Mi, the "swordsman's natural enemy," he feared swordsmen least of all!
Moya lifted the Glazed Ground effect.
Cabaji, Mohji with his new beast, a liger, and the spotted cat George and Siamese cat Sham rushed forward to deal with the enemy's underlings.
Buggy also went after the swordsman, Golass.
Moya called out to Golass, "If you beat Buggy, I'll let you go. Otherwise, join me and become the captain of my swordsman squad!"
After hearing Moya, Golass stared sternly at the red nose in front of him. The man didn't seem dangerous at all!
Still, he didn't believe Moya would send an incompetent fighter to face him!
Without hesitation, Golass drew his sword and leaped into a slash.
!!!
He'd hit him! It had been so easy, but something felt wrong. He'd felt his blade cut into flesh, yet something was missing!
Right—there was no blood.
Golass turned around and saw Buggy's upper body floating in the air, a short blade in his hand and a sly grin on his face. Before Golass could react, Buggy had already plunged the blade into his shoulder.
Clang! With his right shoulder injured, Golass dropped his sword. Looking at it on the ground, he said in dejection, "Just kill me! I've lost a swordsman's honor, and now I've lost my sword in battle. There's no point in going on."
"Then join my Adventure Group! You can win back the honor you lost," Moya said.
"..." Golass was speechless, unsure what to think.
"If you keep dragging your feet, what kind of swordsman are you? You don't deserve to have a dream. I'll give you a chance, then—kill yourself!"
Moya prodded him with some irritation. Some people were just too precious.
"Captain, I look forward to working with you from now on!" Golass finally regained some of his swordsman's resolve.
"Buggy, take him to Kaya for treatment," Moya said.
"Yes, Captain!"
Buggy seemed to remember something and looked a little scared. He thought of Kaya just starting to study medicine and how she'd been looking for them to serve as "human volunteer models."
Under the captain's threats, quite a few of the crew had fallen victim. Buggy gave the injured Golass a teasing look.
Golass seemed to sense Buggy's teasing gaze. A chill crawled up from his tailbone, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Maybe it was because of his injury.
The Moya Adventure Group's squad leaders also dealt with the underlings, except for the unlucky ones accidentally killed by El Drago's attack.
The Moya Adventure Group always took care of the whole job: kill and bury, or subdue and recruit.
Before you continue