The Crew Battle Begins!

On the high ground, in front of the Buggy Pirates' makeshift tents.

Mayor Boodle came charging to the foot of the steps, panting heavily. He gripped a rusty spear tightly in his hand, his tear-streaked face filled with resolve.

"Hey! Pirate Buggy!!"

The mayor roared with all his strength.

"I am Boodle, the mayor of this town! For my townspeople, for Chouchou's shop... I challenge you!!"

On the platform, Buggy, who had been sulking beside a pile of rubble, lowered his head and looked at the tiny figure with contempt in his eyes.

"Huh? Where did this stinking old man come from?"

Buggy picked at his ear, his face full of disdain.

"What kind of joke is this? If you don't want to die, get lost. I'm in a very bad mood right now."

The pirate lackeys around him also burst into piercing laughter.

"What's with this guy? Is that old man here to die?"

"Hahaha! He can barely walk, and he wants to challenge Captain Buggy?"

"Shut up!" The mayor gritted his teeth. The fire in his eyes did not fade despite their mockery. "There are things I have to protect..."

"Die, old man! You're not worthy of challenging Captain Buggy!"

"What if... we challenge you too?"

A calm voice interrupted the pirates' laughter.

Everyone turned toward the rear.

Luffy led the way, with Victor and Zoro flanking him on either side. The three strode forward with an intimidating presence.

The moment Buggy saw that straw hat and Victor, his pupils shrank sharply.

"Huh?! That damned Red Eye brat! Straw Hat Kid!"

Buggy sprang from his seat, his Chop-Chop hands flailing through the air.

"You weren't blown to bits? And you still dared to come looking for me!

"Hey, Straw Hat Kid! Seeing that disgusting straw hat of yours reminds me of another disgusting red-haired bastard! So now I hate you twice as much!"

"Red-haired?"

Luffy froze for a moment, then seemed to remember something.

"You mean Shanks? You know Shanks?"

"Hahaha! You could say I know him, or you could say I don't!"

Buggy laughed arrogantly. "Why would I tell you, idiot?"

Luffy tilted his head, looking at him as if he were a fool. "What nonsense are you spouting, idiot? Do you know him or not?"

"You're the idiot!!" Buggy snapped, utterly enraged. "Your whole family is made of idiots!"

"I'm not an idiot! I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!" Luffy shouted back righteously.

Zoro and Victor, standing behind him, exchanged a glance.

Without saying a word, they instantly understood the meaning in each other's eyes.

Confirmed. They're both idiots.

At that moment, the ignored Mayor Boodle raised his spear again and loudly cut in, "Buggy!! Don't ignore me! Accept my challenge!!"

"Huh? You really are annoying, old man..."

Bang!

Before Buggy could finish speaking, a fist flashed through the air.

Without warning, Luffy drove a punch into the back of the mayor's head.

The mayor did not even groan. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

The entire place fell silent.

"L-Luffy?!" Nami ran over in a panic. "What are you doing?! That's the mayor!"

Luffy withdrew his fist and lowered the brim of his hat. "That old man was in the way."

"Luffy did it for the mayor's sake too."

Victor stepped forward, glanced at the unconscious mayor, and explained calmly.

"If he really challenged Buggy, he would die without a doubt. Making him sleep is better than letting him lose his life."

"That doesn't mean you had to knock him out?!" Nami cried in exasperation. "That's way too reckless!"

"That's how we pirates handle things." Victor shrugged.

"It's you people! Don't lump me in with you!" Nami immediately drew a clear line.

Watching this scene from the platform, Buggy laughed so hard he was practically furious. "Huh? Are you fighting among yourselves? Wahahaha! What a bunch of idiots!"

Luffy raised his head, his gaze instantly turning sharp.

He took a deep breath and shouted at Buggy:

"Shut up, Big Red Nose!!"

Silence.

Dead silence.

The pirates who had been laughing moments ago froze, their expressions transforming into sheer terror as though they had heard the countdown to the end of the world.

"What... did you say?!"

Buggy slowly lowered his head. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his entire face twisted into a terrifying shape from rage.

"That's a forbidden phrase!!" one pirate screamed, clutching his head. "That Straw Hat Kid is dead!!"

"Who did you call Big Red Nose?!"

Buggy roared, crushing the throwing knife in his hand instantly.

"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish!! Men! Bring over the Special Buggy Ball! I'll blast them into scraps!!"

"Y-Yes, Captain Buggy!"

The pirates hurriedly pushed out another cannon, its dark muzzle aimed directly at Luffy and the others.

"Hey!! Run!!"

Nami saw the sight and was scared out of her wits.

"They're going to fire that town-destroying shell from earlier! We'll die!"

Without thinking, she grabbed Victor's sleeve and tried to flee.

But when she pulled, Victor did not move an inch. He stood there like a pillar.

"Victor?! Run!"

"I'm not running." Victor's lips curled into an amused smile. "Leave it to Luffy."

"Huh?!" Nami looked toward the other side in disbelief and found Zoro standing there calmly with his arms folded, showing no intention of dodging either.

"What is wrong with you people?!" Nami felt like she was losing her mind.

"Hmph, you're awfully cocky! Then die! Vanish in style!! Wahahaha!!"

With Buggy's furious roar, the fuse burned out.

Boom—!!

The enormous red cannonball, carrying an aura of destruction, shot straight toward Luffy's face!

Faced with an attack capable of flattening a street, Luffy not only did not dodge, but instead stepped forward and inhaled with a laugh.

"Shishishi! Perfect!"

"Gum-Gum—Balloon!!"

Before Nami's horrified eyes.

Luffy's body instantly inflated like a balloon, becoming round, soft, and elastic.

Boing—!!

The massive Buggy Ball slammed hard into Luffy's round belly.

The expected explosion never came.

The cannonball sank deeply into Luffy's stomach as if it had plunged into a giant mass of cotton, and then—

It was forcibly stopped by that terrifying elasticity before bouncing back!

"Take it back!!" Luffy shouted, thrusting out his belly.

Whoosh—!!

The Buggy Ball came screaming back along its original path, even faster than before!

On the platform, Buggy, who had been about to celebrate his victory, nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets. His jaw practically hit the ground.

"Huh? Why is it coming back?!"

At the critical moment, Buggy displayed his utterly shameless side.

He casually grabbed two unfortunate subordinates beside him and used them as shields.

"Save us, Captain Buggy!!"

"No!!"

Boom—!!!

The massive explosion rang out across Orange Town once more.

The Buggy Ball struck the center of the Buggy Pirates' headquarters with perfect accuracy.

Terrifying flames shot into the sky. The platform that had been so imposing moments ago instantly became a field of rubble, with broken stones flying everywhere.

"Shishishi! Blown away!"

Luffy returned to normal, rubbed his slightly numb stomach, and laughed happily.

Nami's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg. "W-What just happened? Why did the cannonball bounce back?!"

"Luffy ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, so he's a rubber man."

Victor kindly explained from the side. "His entire body is rubber. Ordinary blunt attacks and cannonballs are ineffective against him."

"A rubber man... Is this the ability of a Devil Fruit user?" Nami murmured. "What a bunch of monsters..."

At that moment, an enraged roar came from the rubble ahead.

"Argh!! That hurt like hell! I'll kill you all!!"

As the smoke cleared.

Buggy crawled out of the rubble in a miserable state, casually tossing aside the two blackened "human shields."

Though he was covered in dust, he had not suffered any serious injuries thanks to the shields and his Devil Fruit ability.

"Captain Buggy..."

A swordsman with long bangs covering half his face, riding a unicycle, slowly emerged miserably from the shadows of the rubble.

Though he had been caught in the blast, the killing intent in his eyes only grew stronger.

"Can I take that Mosshead swordsman?"

"Jihahaha! Cabaji!"

Seeing that one of his top officers was still standing, Buggy immediately regained his confidence and grinned viciously.

"Fine! Let them see the true power of the Buggy Pirates! Kill them all!"

Zoro looked at the unicycle-riding acrobat, reached for Wado Ichimonji, and sneered.

"From a circus? If you want to die, come at me, trash."

"Red Nose! I'm gonna send you flying!" Luffy clenched his fists and walked toward Buggy.

The battle was about to begin.

Standing at the rear, Nami watched the situation descend into complete chaos, her eyes darting rapidly.

Now that these monsters were fighting, wasn't this... the moment when that treasure vault was least guarded?

Her feet slowly edged backward until she had retreated behind Victor. Then she said with a smile:

"Ah... since you pirates are going to fight and kill each other, I won't be joining you.

"After all... whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. Maybe we'll work together again sometime!"

With that, Nami ignored everyone else, crouched low, carefully slipped around the edge of the battlefield, and headed deeper into the Buggy Pirates' ruins.

Clearly, her target was the Buggy Pirates' treasure.

Victor watched Nami's sneaky retreating figure, then glanced at Luffy and Zoro, who were preparing to go all out.

The system mission is to defeat powerful enemies, but I need money too... Hmm... I'll take both! In and out quickly!

A strange smile appeared on Victor's lips.

"Zoro, Luffy, I'll leave this place to you for now."

He murmured softly, then flashed away and silently followed that orange-haired figure.