Deterrence

The smoke caused by the explosion on the warship dissipated quickly, leaving the deck in a state of chaotic, panicked disorder among the countless soldiers.

Captain Nezumi had been snatched away by pirates right under their noses—what a disgraceful dereliction of duty!

The swarming soldiers crowded against the ship's railing. A Navy sergeant with a cape draped over his shoulders stood at the forefront, his left hand clenching into a fist while his right hand pointed a finger at the pirates below. "You bunch of reckless pirates, release Captain Nezumi at once, or we will blast this entire island to pieces!"

"That's quite a big mouth you've got there..."

Buggy twisted his neck, loosened his joints, and crouched slightly before leaping upward with force. Like a startled swan spreading its wings, he vaulted onto the nearly ten-meter-high warship.

He landed with both hands on the deck, crouching to absorb the impact of the fall as a light cloud of dust rose around him. His cape fluttered without a breeze, and he stood up slowly, muttering to himself, "How interesting. Even though we're right by the coast, I don't seem to feel any external gravity from the island..."

Swish, swish, swish—

The surrounding soldiers marched in perfect unison, surrounding Buggy from all sides as they leveled their muskets at him.

The Navy sergeant kept his eyes locked on Buggy, having witnessed the man leap from the beach to the deck. While he was shocked that Buggy had boarded the ship alone, he couldn't help but sneer at the man's stupidity. What was he trying to do? Did he really think he could take on five hundred soldiers on a warship by himself?

"Perfect, I'll just use you to trade for the Captain..." the sergeant said coldly. "Buggy, if you don't want to die, surrender now. If you insist on resisting, you're just cutting off your own path to survival!"

"I have a bounty of ten million Beli, you know. Isn't it a bit belittling to talk to me like that?"

Buggy stretched his limbs and cracked his joints, glancing at the sergeant like a well-fed cat watching a mouse scurry about.

The sergeant was suddenly struck by a jolt of fear. He remembered the legend circulating throughout the East Blue: Buggy the Immortal, who would not die even if his body were severed into several pieces.

His soul would exist on these seas forever, and once a ripe opportunity arose, he would plunder the body of another pirate, reshape it into his own likeness, and be perfectly resurrected in this world!

Cold sweat instantly soaked the sergeant's shirt. A chilling sensation crept from his spine to the top of his head, and without hesitation, he roared, "Fire! Fire!"

Bang, bang, bang—

The soldiers pulled their triggers. Countless bullets tore into Buggy's body from all directions, but in the next second, sprays of blood erupted from the soldiers who had fired, and they collapsed to the deck, losing consciousness.

The sergeant stared at the scene, pinching the back of his left hand with his right. The intense pain told him this was no dream!

The bullets had riddled Buggy's body with countless holes, and the force of the impact had torn away sand-grain-sized particles of flesh, scattering them into the air. As the soldiers fell, these particles seemed to possess a consciousness of their own, rushing back to fill the holes in his body...

Instantly restoring his form to a flawless, undamaged state!!!

"A devil, he's a devil!" The sergeant's pupils contracted sharply.

"You're half right..." Buggy wore a cunning smile. "In a sense, I am a devil."

After training in both Life Return and the Devil Fruit, he could control every part of his body almost at will. Once struck by an external force, he could actively split his body down to the level of sand grains. Moreover, his body would instinctively split to evade incoming damage.

In the original records, Buggy's body being sliced into thin strips by Mihawk was the passive effect of his Chop-Chop ability, but now, he could split those "strips" into even finer "sand" states.

"Go to hell, pirate!"

A burly soldier nearly two meters tall, wielding a military saber, roared as he charged forward. He raised his blade high and slashed diagonally at Buggy's back, cutting the unsuspecting man in two from his left shoulder to his right abdomen as if slicing through tofu.

Success!!

The joy that had just bloomed on the burly soldier's face froze instantly. He stared in horror at the fingers that had pierced his chest like hidden weapons, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and fell backward, crashing onto the deck with a thud.

Buggy retracted his blood-stained index finger, his body knitting back together. He scanned the surrounding Navy. "Don't waste time... come at me all at once!"

His arrogant tone made the blood rush to the heads of the proud soldiers, uniting them in their hatred.

"Don't be afraid! We have four or five hundred men! Everyone, attack together and kill this devil!"

The sheer numerical advantage and the adrenaline born of fear spurred the soldiers into a frenzy. They charged at Buggy with their swords drawn.

"Very good... just the right time to test my new move." Buggy lowered his body without a change in expression, curling into a ball with his hands crossed over his abdomen.

"Chop-Chop..."

"Chaos Burial!"

The accumulated power erupted in an instant. Buggy's body shattered into pieces in a heartbeat, and the air currents formed by countless slashes, along with a dense barrage of point-attacks, instantly enveloped the entire warship, marking the whole vessel as his target.

Piles of soldiers suddenly sprouted finger-sized holes, or deep, blade-like wounds that nearly pierced through their bodies. Sprays of blood bloomed everywhere, and cries of pain and terror rose one after another.

A thick, pungent scent of blood filled the air, stinging the nose and forming a thin, crimson mist.

When the sea breeze blew the mist away, every single soldier on the deck had collapsed, leaving only one man standing!

Buggy's body parts reassembled, forming a terrifying, blood-soaked figure.

This was his first time using this move. He had used Life Return to concentrate all his power into a single point in his abdomen, and once it reached its limit, he exploded his body parts outward while simultaneously using Tempest Kick and Finger Pistol to strike everyone within a two-hundred-meter radius indiscriminately.

Although it was effective for clearing out fodder, using this move weakened his control over his individual body parts, and the power of his Tempest Kick and Finger Pistol was only about seventy percent of what it was when his body was whole.

"Whatever, I'll improve it later..."

Buggy looked calmly at the rows of fallen soldiers on the deck. The facts had proven once again that numbers didn't mean much—at least, that rule held true in the East Blue.

He walked to the ship's railing and looked down at the pirates below. "Shuma, bring that rat up here, and you all come up too."

"You got it!"

Shuma grabbed Captain Nezumi, stepped on the air using Moonwalk, and landed on the warship, tossing the Captain onto the deck.

Captain Nezumi stared at the soldiers on the ship, dumbfounded. The terror on his face deepened, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Suddenly, he pushed off the ground with his hands and scrambled toward the edge of the ship, lunging with all his might toward the sea.