Why Was Buggy Here?

Number Five Backstreet.

Facing more than two thousand pirates armed with Seastone weapons, Buggy and Smoker were locked in a bitter fight.

They stood back to back, constantly on guard against attacks from all directions.

A pirate swung a saber at them, but Smoker seized his wrist first. Then, with a precise Marine hold, he drove a knee straight into the pirate's face!

With a bang, blood splattered from the pirate's face, and Smoker casually tossed him aside.

The weakness caused by the Seastone bullet was still washing over him, yet there was not a trace of exhaustion on Smoker's face. In its place was a terrifyingly savage expression.

"Come on!" Smoker roared at the surrounding pirates.

The pirates around him were so overwhelmed by Smoker's presence that none of them dared step forward.

Seeing this, Buggy could not help swallowing. Hey, hey, hey, hey, does this guy really have to go so hard? We just need to work together and break out!

But when he saw Smoker swinging the iron rod in his hand and knocking down one pirate after another, he instantly understood—

That guy truly intended to take on the two thousand pirates before him all by himself!

"What a mad Marine. I'm not sticking around for this!"

Buggy immediately decided to slip away.

But at that moment, Lynn's roar came from the sky:

"Whether it's you or JOKER—"

"Get down there!"

Bang!

With a dull impact, a figure fell from the sky like a cannonball, plummeting straight toward the ground of Number Five Backstreet.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, the figure slammed heavily into the ground.

A massive crater instantly opened in the street, dust billowing in every direction as the pirates fell into chaos.

"What happened?"

"Who fell down?!"

"Captain Kuro? No, it's not him. Looks like some big guy..."

Whoosh!

The pirates closest to the impact site had barely made out the figure's face when a black finger swept past their eyes.

Pfft!

"Argh!"

In an instant, the pirates in the innermost ring clutched their eyes and screamed without end.

Meanwhile, Vergo, who had crashed to the ground, clutched his chest as blood continuously spilled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes swept over the surroundings as he swiftly mapped out an escape route.

"Tch, my ribs are broken..."

Lynn Barek's strength far exceeded his expectations. If they kept fighting, it would only end with both sides badly hurt—or perhaps with his own defeat!

That meant his plan to eliminate those who knew the truth, then arrest the pirates under the identity of a Marine, had already failed.

Vergo could find no benefit in the entire situation. In that case, his goal became minimizing his losses as much as possible—

For example, ensuring that he could continue operating undercover within the Marines.

There were simply too many people here. He could not expose his identity as an undercover agent yet!

He had already prepared a solid alibi before taking action, and Lynn Barek was a wanted criminal. The Marines would not believe his words.

So long as no one else saw his face, he still had a chance to continue his undercover work!

With that in mind, Vergo suddenly stomped his foot, kicking up another huge cloud of dust around him to conceal his body.

He then pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and placed it on the ground before using Soru, one of the Rokushiki, to dart into a nearby alley.

As the highest-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family, Vergo performed this entire sequence at incredible speed. It took only a few seconds.

Immediately afterward, a figure wrapped in a black-and-white storm descended from the sky and punched the spot where Vergo had just been.

Another deafening boom rang out, and the crater in the ground instantly widened and deepened.

Feeling the earthquake-like tremors beneath their feet, the pirates were struck by a familiar and terrifying feeling.

That man was back?

Lynn Barek... had he already defeated Captain Kuro?!

When the dust settled, Lynn indeed appeared in the street.

What frightened the pirates even more was the black-and-white storm raging around Lynn's body. He looked like a ferocious, terrifying beast, and the icy aura around him lowered the surrounding temperature by several degrees.

Lynn rolled his neck and looked around. He found no sign of Vergo, only the Den Den Mushi on the ground.

"He ran pretty fast. Was this Den Den Mushi left for me?"

After picking up the Den Den Mushi and putting it away, Lynn turned his gaze toward the pirates staring at one another around him.

Then he grinned.

"Do you still want to fight me?"

At this, the pirates immediately began to stir. Remembering the companions Lynn had sent flying earlier, cold sweat streamed down their faces.

"Hey, hey, no way, again?"

"I don't want to get blasted into the sky!"

"Look at that punch he threw at the ground. Would anyone even survive getting hit by that?!"

"I became a pirate to live well and drink well, not to throw my life away!"

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed pirate noticed something unusual.

The black-and-white storm around Lynn was slowly weakening, and his imposing presence was visibly fading.

"He... is injured?"

Seeing this, Smoker came to Lynn's side and said in a low voice, "Hey, what exactly happened? Don't tell me that Kuro beat you into this state!"

"Ran into a tough one." Lynn panted heavily, both arms hanging at his sides and trembling uncontrollably.

Vergo had indeed inflicted no small amount of damage on him.

To be honest, Lynn was already using all his strength just to remain standing. He was only maintaining the Icebound Domain Armament Form to intimidate the pirates around them.

Lynn knew Smoker's condition well. After taking a Seastone bullet to the shoulder, he had only held on this long through sheer grit.

As for Buggy? Lynn guessed he was already thinking about running away.

Wait...

Why was Buggy here?!

Did he have something to do with this?!

Why was he not wearing makeup and only wrapped in a bath towel?!

Why did he seem to be hostile toward Kuro's pirates?!

What was going on?!

Lynn stared at Buggy, his mind filled with question marks.

But the commotion among the surrounding pirates interrupted Lynn's thoughts.

After noticing Lynn was in poor condition, they barely managed to recover their courage. Gripping their blades, they closed in on the three of them.

They did not know what had happened, but if they could kill the three people before them, there would surely be far less trouble afterward.

"Tch, mere pirates..."

Smoker clenched the cigar in his mouth, drew in a deep breath, and frowned at Lynn. "Don't tell me I have to take care of you too!"

"Is that necessary?"

Lynn grinned broadly, slammed his fists together, and shouted at the surrounding pirates, "I'm the BOSS!"

Before his words had even faded, a pirate suddenly yelled:

"He's finished! Kill him, get him!"

Dozens of pirates immediately rushed forward.

Just as Lynn and Smoker prepared to fight to the death, and Buggy prepared to use the chance to flee—

A fist sent a pirate flying with a bang.

A familiar burst of laughter rang across the battlefield.

"Mahahaha! It's quite lively here. Let this old man be your opponent too!"