The Importance of a Healer

After passing the palace ruins in the center of the island, Buggy and his group were led by Mikuru. As they approached the Holy Lake east of the palace, Buggy's Mantra sensed a fierce battle between two forces not far away, so the group quickened their pace and walked over.

According to the intelligence he had just received, these two forces must be the Navy and the Rainbow Mercenary Group. Although Buggy wasn't afraid of the Navy, there was no need for him to provoke them. However, Shuma had a bounty of 60 million, making him an easy target for the Navy. Moreover, he didn't think things through, and if he offended not only the Navy but also the Rainbow Mercenary Group, becoming a target of both sides, things would be bad. It was with this thought in mind that Buggy didn't choose to observe secretly but went directly into the battlefield to look for Shuma so that he could provide timely support.

"Um...?"

He glanced around briefly but didn't see Shuma. Even with his Mantra cultivated to its highest level, it couldn't sense the characteristics of each individual as accurately as GPS. Moreover, his field of vision was full of people, making it even more difficult to find him in a short time.

However, the current battle situation seemed different from what he had imagined. The navy and the Rainbow Army weren't engaged in a life-or-death struggle. Hundreds of navy soldiers, armed, huddled together, watching the mercenaries warily. The mercenaries, surprisingly, didn't attack the navy either. Instead, they watched helplessly as four figures clashed on the lakeshore. Not far from them, a man with a golden braided hairstyle retreated into the crowd, shouting, "Go! Kill that guy!"

Wherever he went, the mercenaries beside him would follow his orders and surround the person being attacked by the three. However, the three attacked in perfect unison, and the other mercenaries were too much of a hindrance and were knocked away by the three.

That's why the number of mercenaries around Golden Braid is decreasing. Anyone who isn't an idiot can see that staying by Golden Braid's side won't end well.

Buggy looked at Rodifei's familiar figure and said, "That man with the gold-rimmed glasses... we should have seen him at the market."

Cabaji began, "I saw that woman with White Hair at the market. She defeated Commodore from Marine Headquarters, and she seems to be a Rainbow officer as well..."

"So, these three are all Rainbow Army executives. Then who was the man they attacked?" Buggy asked, somewhat confused. "Was he a Marine? He didn't seem like it..."

"The smells here are too mixed, I can't smell Shutaro anymore!" Mikuru sniffed and shook his head helplessly.

"How about we split up? One team stays here to observe the situation, while the other team continues forward to look for Shuma?" Lilina suggested. Shuma was indeed out of sight, but there was no guarantee he wasn't here. Splitting up was definitely an efficient approach.

Just as the group was whispering amongst themselves, one of the navy soldiers, huddled together for their own safety, suddenly pointed at Buggy and exclaimed, "Hey, that guy...!!"

Following the direction the naval soldier pointed, all the navy personnel fixed their gaze on Buggy.

"That's... Buggy the Clown of 136 million!!"

"It's not just him... there's also Cabaji the Deceitful Swordsman with 64 million, Lionheart Mohji with 56 million, Raicao... Good heavens, the entire Buggy Pirates is here!"

"This is the pirate crew whose bounty has skyrocketed the fastest lately... What are they doing here?!"

"It's over, Vice Admiral Dalmatian has fallen, who can protect us now..."

The naval soldiers in that circle instantly erupted into a panicked uproar, like a bustling marketplace, the noise clearly audible throughout the entire lakeside.

The man with the Golden Braid, who was constantly moving closer to the crowd, turned his head and, upon hearing the commotion, a look of joy appeared on his face as he looked at Buggy and the others.

The next moment, Cabaji, knife in hand, charged towards Tiro, who was being attacked by the Rainbow Three executives, a move that even Buggy hadn't anticipated.

"Cabaji!" Buggy called out quickly, but Cabaji seemed not to hear him and sprinted even faster.

Not only Cabaji, but at this moment, Mikuru, Mohji, and Kaya, who were acting strangely, also rushed forward.

"What... what's going on!" Buggy's heart skipped a beat, a very bad feeling welled up in his heart, and in that half second of stunned silence, his eyes met those of the Golden Braid.

The Golden Braid's eyes were clearly scarlet, but there seemed to be an indistinct rainbow in them, constantly changing between the seven colors of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. As Buggy watched, he noticed that the rainbow seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, and then it no longer looked like a rainbow, but rather like a large, colorful fish.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but his vision began to blur. He tried his best to catch up and see what the rainbow looked like in full, but as soon as he took a step, it was as if he had been hit by something, and his whole body tilted and fell to the ground.

Buggy suddenly woke up, only to see Mikuru, Mohji, and Kaya rush past him. He realized that everything he had seen was just a fleeting moment. Lilina, who had knocked him down, whispered sternly in his ear, "That guy with the golden braid is wearing Seven-Colored Crown. Don't look into his eyes!"

"What... what happened?!" Buggy stared in disbelief, convinced that he had indeed seen a rainbow.

"The crown you saw is an evil artifact capable of manipulating people's hearts. The wearer can draw incredible power from it, and anyone with desires in their heart will have their soul corrupted by this power, becoming a puppet under the wearer's control." Lilina sighed with lingering fear. "I had to push you down, otherwise you would be like Cabaji and the others, controlled by that Seven-Colored Crown ..."

"This, I, you..." Buggy stammered, trying to suppress his surprise. "Why didn't you say something like this sooner?"

Lilina said helplessly, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed such a legend... And even if I told you, would you choose to believe it or treat it as a somewhat exciting story?"

Buggy said speechlessly, "Yeah, you're right... I did notice that crown earlier, but I always thought of it as just a decoration with LED lights..."

Lilina: "LED lights... what are they?"

Buggy stood up and helped Lilina up as well. "Don't ask so many questions now, Cabaji... They've all probably been affected. What should we do now? If we destroy that crown... will it wake them up?"

"Hmm... no need for all that trouble. Just take that Seven-Colored Crown off that Golden Braid's head, and Cabaji and the others will regain their senses. Be careful not to look into the Golden Braid's eyes, or you'll be controlled too..."

"Got it, just take it..." Buggy let out a deep breath, his body half-bent over, and with a single step, he vanished from his spot, reappearing ten meters away, before disappearing again.

Using Shave twice in quick succession, Buggy appeared less than three meters in front of the Golden Braid in an instant, and threw a punch covered in Armament Haki.

Clang!!

There was no scene of the Golden Braid being sent flying more than ten meters by a single punch. Instead, Buggy, whose eyes were glowing with seven-colored rainbow light, faced Cabaji sideways. The Sakura Blizzard at his waist was raised, and its gleaming blade directly blocked Buggy's attack with a crisp sound.

"Um..."

Buggy paused for half a second, then quickly retracted his arm, adjusted his body, and threw another punch to the right.

Instantly, a tremendous force surged from his hand, and even Buggy was forced back seven or eight steps by the Doriki.

Mohji, whose eyes were radiating rainbow light, withdrew his fist and took ten steps back.

"You... how come this guy isn't under control?" The man with the Golden Braid took two steps back, a look of confusion on his face, then seemed to understand something, "You should also possess the power of not being controlled, right..."

"Also...?" Buggy turned his head to avoid the Golden Braid's gaze, looking at Tiro who was being attacked by the three executives. He thought to himself, "The one who's not controlled by the crown is probably him. This guy seems different from me; he seems to be truly unaffected by that Seven-Colored Crown..."

Seeing Buggy remain silent, the Golden Braid screamed maniacally, "I knew it... Since you're out of control, then you can die too!!"

After he finished speaking, he didn't give any orders to Mohji and Cabaji. The two of them acted on their own. Cabaji held the Sakura Blizzard, and with a slight slash, he slashed horizontally. Mohji clenched his fist and struck out fiercely, making a whooshing sound.

Buggy dared not underestimate his opponent, and kept taking steps backward. When the knife in Cabaji's hand was fully drawn, he suddenly kicked away the exhausted Sakura Blizzard, then turned to the side and crossed with Mohji's punch.

Buggy gripped Mohji's wrist with his right hand, his claws pointing upwards. "Mohji, wake up!"

Mohji's pupils flashed with iridescent light as he expressionlessly extended a hand and placed it on Buggy's shoulder.

Buggy instantly felt as if a portion of his physical strength had been taken away out of thin air, and he became somewhat mentally exhausted.

The next instant, the bright Sakura Blizzard slashed down again. Buggy hurriedly split his upper and lower body apart, but due to the sudden loss of stamina, his movements were a beat slower, and a long, narrow knife wound suddenly appeared on his abdomen, staining his clothes with blood.

"Low-Frequency Finger Pistol!" Buggy frowned, his fragmented right hand trembling, and his index finger suddenly pierced Mohji's shoulder blade.

The force instantly sent Mohji flying, but he stopped about ten meters away, seemingly unharmed. The power generated by the low-frequency vibrations must have been absorbed by his Devil Fruit ability.

The moment he forced Mohji back, Buggy shifted to the right, lowering his center of gravity, and his right foot, covered in Armament Haki, kicked Cabaji, who was closing in on him, away unexpectedly.

"Call..."

He then reached up and touched the knife wound in his abdomen, looking at Cabaji, "You've already learned Armament Haki... I really don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing..."

Meow~~

Just then, a sound came from behind Buggy, and two Cat Claws crackling with blue Lightning Flash crossed over him.

Upon Mantra commotion, Buggy instantly transformed into a pseudo-elemental form, turning into countless bits of flesh that scattered in the air. After dodging Mikuru's downward attack, he coalesced back into a humanoid shape.

"Everyone's here..." Buggy glanced at Mikuru, who was also in control and had quickly turned to face him, then glanced at Kaya, who hadn't made a move yet. She probably knew she wasn't a combat type, so she didn't choose to fight like the other three, Cabaji.

Golden Braid was standing behind Cabaji and Mohji, about fifty meters away from them. Even if they used Shave repeatedly, it would be impossible for them to get close to him instantly... Sleazy, no word could better describe his current position.

Therefore, unless they defeat the irrational Cabaji and his gang, there's absolutely no way to get close to Golden Braid...

"I'll ask you one more time, are you serious?" Buggy narrowed his eyes slightly, and the three of them walked over without saying a word, their eyes sparkling with rainbow colors.

"Looks like I have no other choice... I'll just have to take you all down first, and see just how much you've grown..."

A serious smile curved Buggy's lips. He bent his knees slightly, flicked his toes, and, as if performing a shave, suddenly raised his leg and swung it out several times, shouting, "Tempest Kick. Three-Wheel Moon White Jade!"

Three white slashing streams shot towards Cabaji and his two companions in an instant. At the same time, Buggy quickly followed, preparing to target the opponent's momentary opening.

The group advanced side by side. Cabaji swung his sword wildly, unleashing small streams of air from the blade. Suddenly, dozens of these streams opened like large umbrellas, their sharp points piercing through the slashing air currents. Mohji swiftly flattened his hands into palms, placing one above the other in front of him. Just as the slashing air currents reached him, he clapped his hands together on top of the currents and flicked them downwards. Instantly, the central portion of the white slashing air currents vanished, as if it had been eaten by his hands, while the left and right portions continued to fly backwards.

Mikuru leaped high into the air, dodging the slashing airflow, and then swooped down like a hawk aiming at its prey. Her cat-like Cat Claws, crackling with static electricity, clashed with Buggy's fist, which was covered in Armament Haki. However, she was knocked away by the latter's powerful force. She curled up in mid-air, hugging her knees and spinning to dissipate the force before landing steadily on a thick tree trunk.

With Mikuru blocking his way, Buggy's speed had to slow down. Cabaji had already arrived, and the moment he swung his sword, it seemed as if time around him slowed down. Ripples on the Sakura Blizzard flowed like water, and suddenly the water surged, like a waterfall rushing down with immense force.

Buggy's body once again pseudo-elementalized, suddenly transforming into countless bits of flesh that bypassed the thin, sharp blades of Sakura Blizzard. Like fluttering dandelions, they quickly approached Cabaji's body, catching the latter off guard. Suddenly, they condensed into two palms, covered with Armament Haki, and slapped Cabaji's chest, sending him flying.

Mohji's attacks came one after another. His Lion Fist, derived from imitating animal behavior, was imposing. The power of the Store-Store Fruit allowed him to unleash the slashes he had just stored up, striking out with both slashes and blunt force at the same time.

"Shigan. Black Bell!!"

Buggy's body solidified, and his two fingers, imbued with Armament Haki, thrust out like sharp blades without mercy, colliding with Mohji's fist. After a brief stalemate, both were sent flying backward.

After flying more than ten meters backward, Buggy steadied himself and looked up at the three people in front of him, slightly out of breath... or rather, four people. Under Kaya's rapid healing from the Sap Bubble, the three of them looked energetic again.

He frowned. "Is this what makes a wet nurse so important...?"