Buggy

Moke looked at the scene and once again marveled at how Devil Fruits truly were a shortcut to becoming stronger. At this point, he was probably already unmatched in the East Blue.

Even Smoker would be unable to do anything to him.

However, he still had a major weakness. His own strength had not improved. He was relying on his Devil Fruit Ability... and in that kind of situation, it was all too easy for someone to seize an opening and kill him in a single counterattack.

Just like Enel, who possessed strength close to that of an Admiral, yet was defeated by Luffy, whose strength was far inferior to his.

Although his Devil Fruit's immunity to lightning had been an important factor.

Another crucial factor was that Enel had relied too heavily on his Devil Fruit and neglected to train his own strength. His body had become too frail... which was why Luffy had beaten him with a barrage of wild punches.

So, he needed to make up for that weakness.

But to do so, he had to find a suitable substance to absorb and turn into a permanent ability.

That was right.

Devil Fruit Abilities were also divided into realms: Dominance, Manipulation, and Awakening.

When one had just eaten a Devil Fruit, its ability was like a talent that had become part of the person. They could freely command the ability, while techniques were merely the user's application of it.

Just like how Sabo could immediately use the Flame-Flame Fruit with ease after eating it.

By continuously developing the Devil Fruit Ability, one's understanding and application of it could reach another level: the Manipulation Realm. After reaching this realm, the power of the same technique would no longer be comparable.

It could be said that any ability user who reached this realm

would be able to carve out a place for themselves even on the Grand Line.

Finally came the Awakening of a Devil Fruit Ability... Once one reached the Awakening level, the ability and its user would have completely become one. The user could fully bring out the Devil Fruit's inherent power.

Devil Fruit Awakening was the strongest state for ability users.

Anyone who reached this level could become a renowned figure even in the New World. However, there were very few ability users who could reach this level...

And Moke was currently only at the initial Dominance Realm.

At the Dominance Realm, the Absorb-Absorb Fruit could absorb an entire object or substance and turn it into a permanent ability. It could be viewed as forming a permanent passive skill.

For example, with his current mud ability, he had immediately become a Logia Mud-Mud Fruit user. But that was not what Moke wanted.

Because even if he became a Logia,

he could only dominate the East Blue and the first half of the Grand Line. Once he entered the New World, he would be finished the moment he encountered anyone with Armament Haki... Therefore, Moke's original intention had not changed.

He still wanted to change his body's potential. Only then could he improve his own strength through training and constant battles, rather than relying solely on his Devil Fruit Ability.

His gaze involuntarily fell upon the swords scattered across the ground.

Honestly, swords were a good choice. As long as he absorbed one, he could turn into an iron man. His body would also be completely transformed and gain room to improve.

But... he found ordinary swords somewhat beneath him.

At the very least, they had to be Meito... because once he absorbed one, his body's toughness would reach the level of a Meito.

At the thought of Meito, Moke immediately thought of Loguetown, where Smoker was stationed, because there was more than one Meito there.

Zoro's Yubashiri, Sandai Kitetsu, and Tashigi's Shigure were all good choices.

So, his next destination was Loguetown...

Moke was a highly decisive person. Once he had a goal, he would not hesitate. So he took the two boxes containing Devil Fruits in hand. One held that Paramecia—the Slip-Slip Fruit.

The other was filled with small, valuable items taken from this place. After all, no matter the world, money was indispensable.

He then walked out.

But when he reached the surface, he discovered that Buggy had already brought his men to wait at the exit.

The instant they saw Moke appear,

their gazes immediately turned malicious.

Moke also looked at Buggy the Clown and was briefly lost in thought. After all, this man was the child of fortune. Even Baccarat, who had eaten the Paramecia Lucky-Lucky Fruit, did not have luck as good as his.

With strength barely worthy of a fight against five, he had somehow become one of the Shichibukai, and even one of the Four Emperors.

Tell him, who could refuse to be impressed?

Even Luffy had to step aside before him. After all, Luffy had charged headlong through every obstacle, and calling it a journey of nine deaths and one life would not be an exaggeration. If not for his protagonist's halo, no one knew how many times he would have died.

But this guy was simply the king of scavenging opportunities!

He had scavenged his way all the way to becoming one of the Four Emperors. He had truly won while lying down.

"Kid, hand over the things in your hands. Otherwise, I'll make your life worse than death..." Buggy's face was filled with greed.

If it had been anyone else, Moke would have killed him directly.

But this guy!

Forget it!

If the world lost him, it would lose much of its fun. Besides, this guy was very perceptive. As long as one displayed enough strength, he would disappear on his own.

So Moke did not pay Buggy any attention.

Instead, he stretched out his hand toward the sun. The blazing sun hung high in the sky, and as the intense sunlight shone down, Moke could clearly feel its warmth.

The next second,

Moke's hand lit up.

The corners of his mouth could not be suppressed at all. "As expected, it works..."

Only then did he look at Buggy and chuckle playfully. "Buggy the Clown, right? As a great pirate of the East Blue, you should have an Eternal Pose for Loguetown on you, shouldn't you?"

"A Devil Fruit user!!!"

Buggy had once sailed with Roger, the Pirate King. Although his strength was utterly lacking, his knowledge was definitely not something those ignorant East Blue pirates could compare to. So he immediately saw the key point.

His expression changed drastically, and his pupils could not help shrinking.

But Buggy only bowed to the strong. When facing anyone else, he was still arrogant. He immediately stared at Moke and said coldly, "I do have an Eternal Pose for Loguetown, but who are you? Just because you tell me to hand it over, I have to hand it over?"

Moke did not get angry. Instead, with a hint of malicious amusement, he asked, "Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

"???"

Buggy froze at first, then his face filled with question marks. Finally, he sneered disdainfully. "You think you're..."

Before he could finish speaking,

he saw light begin to gather around Moke's right leg. In the end, his entire right leg radiated light. Buggy had seen Kizaru fight before, so he was genuinely intimidated.

But he quickly recovered and roared, "Kid, no matter what trick you're playing, you'll die by my hand today..."

He knew that two identical Devil Fruits could not exist in this world. Kizaru was still alive and well, so how could this guy possibly possess Kizaru's ability?

At that moment, someone riding a unicycle and carrying a longsword stepped forward. "Captain Buggy, why should you personally deal with someone like this?"

Moke swept his gaze over him and immediately recognized him.

This man was Buggy's capable subordinate, Cabaji...

Hearing that, Buggy glanced at Moke's glowing right leg and thought, It wouldn't be bad to have him test the waters first.

Although the other man could not possibly possess Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit, he was still an ability user no matter what.

So he nodded and added, "Don't hold back..."

Cabaji nodded as well. Then he unleashed his strongest technique: "Amazing Officer Triple Act—Smoke Hot Springs Murder Incident..."

Using his spinning body to whip up smoke, he leaped into the air and slashed down at Moke, clearly intending to split him in two...