Breaking the Stalemate

In the blink of an eye, Cabaji, Mohji, and Mikuru attacked again.

"Hmph, it really is not bad..." Buggy muttered to himself.

"Life Return. Lightning Flash."

Buggy's body quickly shrank, sacrificing some of his strength, making him even faster. He moved like a ghost around Cabaji and the other two, leaving afterimages in his wake. He tried to pass through them at his current speed, but while the three were not as fast as Buggy, they were still quite fast, especially with their complementary offense and defense, which greatly slowed down Buggy's speed.

As a companion, Buggy didn't have a direct understanding of the three's strength, but as an enemy, he could clearly feel their skills. They were indeed troublesome. Cabaji's Ghostly Appearance swordsmanship, which allowed him to switch his presence at any time to ambush people, was even more effective when imbued with Armament Haki, greatly increasing the level of danger.

Mohji's laser penetration power was enough to eat a part of her body, and combined with the Tekkai, ordinary external blows were not very effective. Although Mikuru was only a navigator and her attack was not as strong as the two of them, as a harassing opponent, the static electricity generated by her fur and her racial advantage in movement speed were really a headache.

Buggy, Cabaji, and the other two exchanged blows for dozens of rounds, their continuous fierce fighting leaving the Marines dumbfounded. They didn't believe the infighting within the Buggy Pirates was due to internal discord; considering Vice Admiral Dalmatian's earlier actions... the real culprit was probably that guy wearing the crown!

However, this was merely pirates killing each other; in other words, evil was eliminating evil. For the time being, this situation didn't cause them any loss. Moreover, the condition of Vice Admiral Dalmatian, their leader, was unknown. Taking advantage of the fact that the mercenaries hadn't yet launched an attack, the highly respected naval lieutenant issued the order, "Everyone, let's retreat first. Don't act rashly for now. We'll make a decision after the Vice Admiral wakes up."

So, hundreds of naval personnel slowly retreated and moved away, clearing a large open space. Of course, they did not choose to leave, but instead remained on the battlefield to observe, looking for opportunities to attack and waiting for Vice Admiral Dalmatian to awaken.

Although the navy's movements attracted the attention of the mercenaries, they did not choose to pursue them. Although the navy was without Dalmatian's leadership, they were also leaderless and less disciplined than the navy, and at this moment they were more like a disorganized mess.

"That Red Nose over there!"

Tiro, distracted by his fierce battle with the Rainbow Three, shouted towards Buggy.

"Red Nose...?" Buggy kicked Cabaji away violently, punched Mohji back, and glanced at Tiro. "Was it you who spoke just now?"

"How about... joining forces with me to take that crown? That way, your companions can return to normal."

Tiro cautiously faced the attacks of the Rainbow Three executives, but he was still somewhat disheveled. Although he had partially neutralized the negative attributes of their attacks with his Devil Fruit ability, it did not mean he was completely immune. Of course, this did not mean that the Devil Fruit abilities of the three executives were weak, but rather that there was a kind of restraint relationship between their abilities.

Even so, fighting against the three executives still requires three times the stamina for defense and counterattack.

Moreover, the paralysis, pain, and vulnerability were constantly eroding Tiro's body. If this continued, his disadvantages would become more and more obvious, and he would eventually be defeated by the three of them.

Only by being able to bring oneself to kill these three people can one have a chance to retrieve the Seven-Colored Crown and end this pointless farce.

In this situation, if Buggy hadn't appeared, he really would have been willing to kill his three long-time subordinates and take back the Seven-Colored Crown. Although the three were loyal, they still couldn't compare to the Seven-Colored Crown in his heart. With the Seven-Colored Crown, he would never have trouble finding loyal subordinates!

Buggy narrowly dodged Sakura Blizzard's horizontal slash, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. "What do you want to do?"

"Lure your men over here, and my men will start attacking them. Then we'll kill that guy wearing the crown!"

Tiro proposed the idea after assessing that the three members of Cabaji were no weaker than the Rainbow Three executives. If one side is too weak, it is meaningless. Only when the strengths are similar can they counter each other and create opportunities.

Buggy asked, "Is this okay...?"

Tiro called out from afar, "Although the Seven-Colored Crown can manipulate them, it cannot erase each person's instincts, sense of crisis, likes, and dislikes. Without a certain amount of time to work together, they will develop a sense of antagonism towards each other."

"Who is this guy... how does he know so much..." Buggy felt a sense of unease, but this seemed to be the only way to break the deadlock, so he naturally wouldn't refuse, replying, "Do as you say!"

After saying that, they fought and retreated, moving closer to Tiro. Tiro also moved closer to Buggy, disrupting the movement of the three executives.

In just a moment, Buggy and Tiro clashed in battle.

Just as Tiro had predicted, once the six were mixed together, they no longer focused solely on attacking Buggy and Tiro. Instead, various chaotic battles erupted: Cabaji and Jesse clashed, Mohji and Rodifei fought, and Mikuru and Inia battled, or they switched targets. In an instant, the entire battleground descended into chaos.

Even the man with the Golden Braid wearing the Seven-Colored Crown was stunned, momentarily unable to comprehend what was happening. Why were the six people he was controlling suddenly attacking each other? He roared, "Stop! You bastards, stop right now! Kill those two!!"

However, his will did not seem to reach the six people, or perhaps he was unaware of the other way to control the Seven-Colored Crown. The roar did not stop them, and the melee among the eight continued.

Because of the distraction and confrontation between the Rainbow Three executives and Cabaji's trio, Tiro finally had a chance to break free from the encirclement and quickly approach the Golden Braid, who was starting to retreat in panic.

Seeing Tiro break through the encirclement, Buggy also rushed out without being outdone. At the same time, he was a little surprised. In his fight with Jesse and Inia just now, he clearly felt a strange power coming from them. Tiro, who was able to fight the three of them for so long, must be quite strong. Or... he had other means to fight back.

Tiro was close to the Golden Braid, suddenly turned around and looked at Buggy behind him. A gloomy look appeared on his face, and his hands were strangely clapping together.

Suddenly, sharp spikes sprouted from the ground in front of Buggy and pierced upwards.