Buggy's Thoughts
Vander Decken IX's pupils contracted sharply as four grinning pirates descended from the sky with a giant fishing net, about to trap him!
He hurriedly flipped off the iron bar and landed on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the four pirates, with their combined strength, had forcibly brought back the black iron bar that had been rushing out of control with their fishing net!
If I had reacted any slower, I probably would have ended up like this iron rod...
Looking closer, they saw a dense swarm of Fish-Man soldiers and human pirates emerging from all directions, completely surrounding them. Among the Fish-Man soldiers were the three brothers, Neptune and Fukaboshi, while the pirates were surrounding a Red Nose man.
Vander Decken IX glared at Neptune through gritted teeth, and said angrily, "Neptune, you actually used human power to do such a shameless thing, and you still call yourselves royalty? You've completely lost face! You should just get off that throne as soon as possible!"
Faced with Vander Decken IX's counter-accusation, Neptune declared righteously, "Vander Decken IX, you've harassed my daughter Shirahoshi for eight long years! It's time for you to get your comeuppance. Today, you must be arrested and imprisoned no matter what!"
"To deal with villains, we must use extraordinary means..." Fukaboshi said solemnly, "In order to prevent my sister from living in the Hard-Shell Tower any longer, taking you down is imperative!"
Ryuboshi and Hong Manboshi raised their weapons and echoed, "Big brother is right, it's all for Shirahoshi!"
"You damned bastards, you think you can arrest me...?"
Standing on Fish-Man Island, at the gateway to the New World, Vander Decken IX, having seen his share of the world, felt his panic subside considerably in an instant. While subtly nudging a weapon lying on the ground with his right foot, he declared, "I won't let you control me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, with lightning speed, he used his foot to hook the large axe on the ground and suddenly hurled it towards the Hard-Shell Tower!
The gate to the Hard-Shell Tower wasn't firmly closed after Vander Decken IX escaped; a gap wide enough for the giant axe to pierce through. Neptune was horrified, fearing that Vander Decken IX, trapped like a beast, might attempt to take Shirahoshi down with him. He momentarily froze, completely forgetting to give the order. Cabaji, who was lying in ambush inside the Hard-Shell Tower, rushed out and, looking ahead, tried to stop the giant axe. However, the axe only flew about ten meters towards the Hard-Shell Tower before suddenly spinning around and flying in the opposite direction. Vander Decken IX leaped forward and caught the incoming axe!
His purpose was not to take Shirahoshi's life. He deliberately reversed direction to distract everyone and make an escape!
"Raptor. Giant Pill!"
Shuma had been keeping a close eye on Vander Decken IX under Buggy's orders. After charging up his Raptor Boomerang, he shot it out. Beams of blue slashing energy extended more than two meters from the boomerang, like the blade of a lightsaber, clinging to the edges of the boomerang and forming a huge disc slash!
Even before it got close, the terrifying wind pressure of the disc-shaped slash made Vander Decken IX, the target, tremble with fear. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and with a determined bite, he had no choice but to abandon his great axe and fall back to the ground.
Sizzle!
The Raptor Boomerang sliced the iron axe in two with ease, as if cutting through mud. It continued flying forward for a hundred meters, carving a long, deep crack in the ground before returning to Shuma's hand!
Whether it was Neptune, the three Fukaboshi brothers, or the Fish-Man soldiers, they were all shocked by this scene. If their subordinates alone had such strength, how powerful must Buggy himself be... No wonder he was able to make such a splash at Marineford War and be valued by the World Government!
Vander Decken IX was both anxious and furious. He had tried to escape twice but was stopped each time. Now he was surrounded by this menacing pirate crew, and the chances of escaping again were extremely slim...
He glared angrily at Buggy, the leader, and roared, "Human, this is a matter within Fish-Man Island. You have no right to interfere! Let me leave now, or none of you will leave Fish-Man Island safely!!"
Buggy ignored the other party's meaningless threat and said calmly, "Ryan, send your men out for a practice run."
"Yes, Captain Buggy!!"
Upon hearing Buggy's order, Captain Jody Lane waved his hand, and the six combat captains behind him immediately surrounded Vander Decken IX, drawing their weapons and launching an attack.
Among these six combat captains, the lowest bounty is over fifty million. Although their combat strength is not top-tier, it is more than enough to deal with Vander Decken IX. Van Die Deikun's Mark-Mark Fruit ability can only target two targets at a time. Right now, one hand is aimed at Shirahoshi, and the other hand is aimed at the crew members on his own ship. This means that his Devil Fruit ability cannot help him at all in this battle... Right now, he is just a Fish-Man who cannot swim.
Although Vander Decken IX possessed some skill, he could only dodge and weave when surrounded by six men. His black tuxedo was torn to shreds, and he looked utterly disheveled. However, he was unable to break through their encirclement and could only endure the blows. Before long, his body was covered in wounds, and blood spurted continuously.
Buggy stared at the besieged Vander Decken IX, his calm voice laced with murderous intent, "Don't worry, whether it's you... or the other outlaws on Fish-Man Island, I will wipe them all out."
He emphasized the words "criminals" in particular. When Vander Decken IX heard Buggy's words, his heart sank even further. He knew that his chances of leaving today were extremely slim. Gritting his teeth, he decided to prioritize survival. He took off the right glove that had touched Shirahoshi and used both hands to reach for two of the combat captains. Using the power of the Mark-Mark Fruit, he picked up the weapons lying on the ground and launched an attack. However, he was fighting six against one, one of whom was a combat captain with a bounty of over 100 million. Even if he used his power, he could not gain any advantage. He could only hold on and wait for an opportunity to break through.
"Your Majesty Neptune, something terrible has happened..." The Right Minister, having received the news, hurriedly reported to Neptune, "That sea monster has broken in!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than a huge shadow fell over the sky, and a powerful voice echoed from mid-air, "Captain!!! I've come to save you!!!"
Everyone looked up and saw that the shadow was the bald sea monster of the Flying Pirates, who was about 250 meters tall. After receiving Den Den Mushi Vander Decken IX was in trouble, he stormed into the Ryugu Palace alone!
"Perfect timing!" Vander Decken IX roared with joy, "Get me out of here!!"
The bald sea monster violently ripped a massive stone pillar, nearly a hundred meters long, from the ground in front of the Hard-Shell Tower, raised it high above its head, and roared like thunder, "Watch me flatten them all!!"
A massive stone pillar, nearly a hundred meters long, crashed down with a deafening roar, seemingly intent on turning everyone present into mincemeat!
Gazing at the almost insurmountable colossal stone pillar, the hearts of all the Fish-Man soldiers present began to race. Even the experienced old king Neptune's expression turned extremely solemn. He released his royal staff and was about to use Fish-Man Jujutsu to stop it, but a glance out of the corner of his eye revealed that Buggy was not flustered at all. In a moment of stunned silence, he saw one of Bucky's officers leap up like a rocket and crash into the stone pillar.
Mohji stored the reaction force Lightning Flash approached in a flash. His right hand blocked the stone pillar, and a faint, ring-shaped air wave rippled out from the point of contact with the pillar. In the next instant, as if time had reversed, all the air waves contracted inward and returned to the singularity in Mohji's palm.
His left hand lashed out, slamming into the stone pillar. The bald sea monster, still clutching the pillar, was thrown backward by the recoil stored in Mohji, staggering to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured everyone's vision. Because he hadn't held onto the massive pillar properly, he bumped his head after slightly losing his grip, becoming somewhat dazed. His eyes darted around, and he kept muttering, "It hurts... it hurts..."
The scene before them left all the Fish-Man soldiers in disbelief, a profound sense of unease washing over them. It was as if an ant had tripped an elephant... and the elephant had ended up falling over instead!
Left Minister Fish-Man's droopy eyelids snapped open, and he stroked his graying beard in astonishment, exclaiming, "This... this is simply too powerful!"
Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the bald sea monster, a voice suddenly rang out from somewhere, "Oh no! The Ryugu Palace is on fire!"
"Where's the fire?!" Neptune quickly snapped out of his daze, glancing back at the Ryugu Palace but finding nothing amiss. Just to be safe, he said to Fukaboshi, "Fukaboshi, go to the palace and check what's going on!"
"Yes, Father!" Fukaboshi hurriedly left with a squad of soldiers.
"Vander Decken IX is gone!" someone suddenly shouted. Everyone hurriedly looked towards the center of the battlefield. The dust raised by the bald sea monster finally dissipated, revealing a bottomless pit on the ground, just big enough for a person to fit inside. The pit was covered with Vander Decken IX's bloodstains.
"How could there be a hole in the ground here?!"
Neptune's expression changed drastically. He never expected that Vander Decken IX could escape despite being surrounded by so many people. Now that he had alerted Van Die Deacon, how difficult it would be to catch him again!
"Your Majesty, what should we do now? We should immediately send soldiers to chase them into the cave!" the Right Minister said hastily.
"Yes, it's not too late to chase after him now, otherwise that guy might get away!" the Left Minister echoed.
"Hmm..." Neptune didn't finish his sentence, glancing at Buggy beside him who had a calm expression. He decided to reserve his opinion for now and asked, "Lord Buggy, what should we do now?"
"Don't rush, Neptune..."
Buggy, seemingly anticipating this, reassured Neptune and asked the five combat captains in the center of the arena, "Is everything alright?"
The ship's combat commander confidently replied, "Captain Buggy, we have successfully placed the [listening device] and [tracking device] on this Fish-Man as you instructed."
Buggy nodded. "Doggy, it's yours now."
Nilek patted his chest confidently, "Don't worry, as long as I turn on [signal feedback], I can connect to the [eavesdropping device]!"
Neptune paused slightly, his expression a mixture of confusion and unease. "Buggy Bucky, so you had this planned all along... But I don't understand, why didn't you just capture Vander Decken IX on the spot?"
"Because my target isn't just Vander Decken IX, but also those scoundrels of Fish-Man Street ..." Buggy's lips curled into a smile, "After all, this place is now under my control, so I want to thoroughly clean up all the filth and corruption on this island."
Neptune pondered for a moment before realizing why Buggy had said that. The only ones capable of rescuing Vander Decken IX from the Ryugu Palace were the fish-men of Fish-Man Street. His expression turned serious, and after taking a deep breath, he said, "Buggy, if I may be frank, Vander Decken IX's attempt to harm my daughter, Shirahoshi, is a violation of Fish-Man Island's laws. However... the Fish-Man of Fish-Man Street are different. Although their reputation isn't great, they haven't actually harmed the country or its people. Furthermore, your intervention won't gain the islanders' approval; it will only create greater division, fear, and dread... Please reconsider!"
"I've already thought this through, you don't need to worry about it..." Buggy said confidently, his tone softening slightly. "I know what I'm doing, Neptune. Just watch this unfold. Hesitation will only lead to more trouble. Instead of trying to fix things after they happen, why not plan ahead?"
Neptune's face was grave. He felt utterly deceived. Buggy's stated mission was to save Shirahoshi and arrest Vander Decken IX, but that wasn't the real reason. He'd had a hunch about it from Buggy's unwavering composure when Vander Decken IX escaped, but now that Bucky had said it himself, Neptune realized the situation was far beyond his control...
Fish-Man Street has always been a haven for criminal gangs, and the Neptune Army has generally turned a blind eye, allowing it to run rampant. This doesn't mean Neptune doesn't want to clean up the area; it's just that the place is impossible to truly eradicate. What would be the consequences of rashly taking action against the entire Fish-Man Street...?
He didn't know.
But what can be done now? One of the crew's officers has the strength to stop the bald sea monster's full-force attack. Going against such a pirate crew is definitely not the right thing to do.
Neptune was somewhat bewildered and at a loss. He didn't want to deal with the remaining problems of Fish-Man Street through war. His thoughts told him that this approach was foolish and unacceptable, but deep down he secretly hoped that Buggy would arrest or wipe out the group of Fish-Man villains in Fish-Man Street and completely eliminate the hidden danger.
"Alright, Neptune ..." Buggy interrupted him, "All you need to do is cooperate with me."