Shave and Scoop

The empty slope connected to the rocky beach. Although the pirates could not see any combat with the naked eye, they heard the ceaseless sounds of a fierce struggle carried on the wind.

Buggy stomped his feet against the ground, using Shave to keep a tight tail on Kuro's figure, the two sides trading offense and defense in turn.

However, this was his first time fighting while in the Shave state; his movements were clumsier than Kuro's, and his rhythm was often a beat slower than his opponent's. In other words, his hit rate was far too low.

Kuro used his Cat Claws to launch attacks, while Buggy blocked them using his passive splitting ability or the sheer force of his Finger Pistol. When Buggy launched an attack, Kuro would rotate his palms, letting the sharp blades on his cat-claw gloves parry the strikes.

Most of the time, however, Buggy was the one taking the initiative. His own Devil Fruit ability meant he did not fear the slashes from the Cat Claws, so he didn't have to worry about getting hurt while attacking. Yet, there was a clear drawback: during such high-speed movement, his separated body parts were affected by factors outside of Shave, such as air resistance and inertia, which caused him to feel a slight stiffness.

Although Kuro did not know what exactly he was attacking, he had used his Cat Claws to the point of mastery. Thrusting, slashing, defending, and deflecting—the moment he sensed danger, he would immediately switch to defense. Even so, he remained firmly suppressed in his confrontation with Buggy.

Buggy observed Kuro's Scoop. This technique was different from Shave; while it was very fast, it only reached the entry-level stage of Shave.

At the same time, it possessed an advantage that Shave could not match. Using this footwork, Kuro could continuously change direction while moving forward. Once activated, as long as he didn't stop or get interrupted, and provided he had enough stamina, he could use Scoop to wreak havoc erratically for an hour or even a day.

Shave could never achieve such a level; every dash required him to stomp the ground a dozen times to build up "explosive power," though the stamina consumption seemed to be lower than that of Scoop.

He did not use his full strength to end this battle, choosing instead to remain locked in a stalemate with Kuro. This was to hone his skills and experience in high-speed combat, and if he could steal the essence of Scoop during this fight, he might be able to develop Shave toward a more flexible and versatile direction.

"Look!" one of the Black Cat Pirates shouted. "I think I just saw Captain Buggy appear! It's him! He's fighting Captain Kuro!"

"Hey, you brat! You're actually calling the enemy 'Captain'!"

"Don't say that, big guy... If it weren't for Captain Buggy, we might have been killed here."

"That's right, Captain Buggy is our savior!"

"In that case, let's cheer for Captain Buggy!"

The pirates of the Black Cat Pirates discussed it in a flurry of voices, then suddenly, as if they had made up their minds, they shouted in unison: "Captain Buggy, hurry up and defeat that guy!!"

Standing to the side, Shuma scratched his head. "These upright ingredients are so strange. Why are they cheering for Buggy? Oh well..."

He blindly followed along, raising his right hand high and shouting excitedly: "Go, Buggy!!!"

Cabaji scanned the cheering pirates and touched his sword hilt. "These guys recovered their strength so quickly... It seems my strikes were lacking."

The pirates immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

Standing on the slope, Usopp turned his head rapidly. His dynamic vision could slightly capture the movement trajectories of the two combatants. Compared to the pirates who didn't know what was happening, he saw the situation unfolding before him much more clearly.

"That glasses-wearing bastard and Uncle Buggy are evenly matched..." he muttered under his breath. Suddenly, he put his hands on his hips and laughed triumphantly, "Kaya, did you see that? That guy fighting and the ones down there are all my friends! Haha, they once went on an adventure with me to Goldfish Feces Island; they should count as part of my eighty million subordinates..."

As he spoke, the bloodstain on his arm caused by Kuro flared with intense pain due to his exaggerated movements. He clutched his arm and collapsed weakly to the ground. "Ugh... I'm dying. I've caught a disease that makes me unable to see blood. I'm going to die... 'Proud Usopp' is about to fall in battle!"

Kaya supported Usopp's arm. "Stop messing around. You only have some superficial wounds; you won't die, Usopp."

She frowned and thought for a moment, then opened her palm. A strange green bubble emerged from the center of her hand, which she then pressed into Usopp's arm.

Usopp hissed, drawing in a sharp breath, only to feel the pain in his arm slowly fading, replaced by a tingling, numb sensation.

"This magical power..." He couldn't help but recall what had happened over an hour ago.

"Captain Usopp! Captain Usopp!"

Covered in wounds, Usopp opened his eyes wearily. His blurred vision was filled with streaks of light, and it took a while before he could clearly see the familiar faces before him.

"Ninjin, Tamanegi... and Piment, how are you here... and... Kaya, you..."

"Captain Usopp, we didn't see you at our usual spot and thought you went to find Miss Kaya, so we went to the hilltop villa to look for you, and then we ran into Miss Kaya..."

Tamanegi shook his head hurriedly, saying anxiously, "Captain Usopp, now is not the time for this! We're taking you to the village clinic right now!"

As he spoke, the group moved to lift Usopp up.

"No!" Usopp pressed down on the three of them with all his might, looking at Kaya, who was covering her mouth with tear-filled eyes. "Kaya, listen to me. Klahadore, that is, the pirate Kuro, he's the one who hurt me like this... He is a very dangerous pirate, and his goal is to seize your fortune."

"Don't say any more, Usopp. We're taking you to the clinic right now!" Kaya wiped her tears, trying to help Usopp up.

"Kaya!!"

Usopp let out a roar, suddenly coughing up a mouthful of blood. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said weakly, "Listen to me... There is a group of very powerful pirates on the east coast. Their captain, Buggy, was a crewmate of my old man's on the same ship. We can go ask them for help. As long as I plead with him, he will definitely help me!"

"But... they might be setting sail soon. If we don't hurry, this village will be bathed in blood, do you understand!" Usopp looked at the group before him with a firm gaze. "Don't worry about me... don't sacrifice the whole village for my sake!!!"

Afterward, he fainted from his severe injuries. When he woke up again, the pain in his body had inexplicably lessened.

The feeling of lingering between life and death was like a dream... Usopp patted his head as if he had returned from another world.

"I... I don't know either. After drinking that special medicine from the doctor yesterday, I felt my body get much better, and it seems I can control this..." Kaya's palm sprouted tiny bubbles, "...power..."

Usopp was dumbfounded, then his face broke into an exaggerated expression of joy. "Kaya, you seem to have become something amazing... Haha! How could my, Usopp's, friends be ordinary people? You must have been blessed by the gods!"

"Blessed by the gods?"

"That's right, blessed by the gods." Usopp raised his head proudly. "When I was six, I went to a strange sea area. The people there were different from us; they had a magical power where they could produce bubbles the size of hills from their hands, and then they would use these bubbles to build houses on the sea for people to live in."

"Really?"

Usopp patted his chest confidently. "Of course! I am Captain Usopp, after all!"

Kaya managed a faint smile, but it couldn't hide the worry on her face. Looking at the slope and the rocky beach where the gale was rising, she prayed silently: "Uncle Red-Nose, you must win..."