Knock Them All Down

Weapon Street.

Because of the earlier disturbance, there were fewer pedestrians on the streets. After leaving the Marine base, Wilton slung one dumbbell over his back and used the other in his left hand to work his biceps. It counted as weighted training.

In his right hand, he held two skewers of takoyaki, stuffing them into his mouth in big bites.

They were delicious.

He had come to see whether there was any fitness equipment available, or perhaps upgrade his dumbbell weapon. Originally, he had planned to custom-order a weapon through the Marines once he had earned enough merit.

For example, dumbbells made entirely of Seastone.

Those things were hard, heavy, and especially effective against Devil Fruit Users. With a pair of dumbbell weapons like that, dealing with ability users would be twice as easy.

Twin axes would have been more suitable.

He could use those too.

But perhaps because of the Vitality Assault prestige skin, he preferred using dumbbells as weapons.

It was purely personal preference.

Boom—

Before Wilton could enter a weapon shop, another massive explosion erupted in the distance. A plume of smoke rose into the sky moments later, accompanied by a great deal of shouting.

Wilton soon saw crowds of civilians scrambling to flee.

Loguetown truly was free. Chaos every day.

There was never a moment of peace.

As East Blue's final line of defense, whether pirates or people of other identities, anyone who wanted to enter the Grand Line had to pass through this place. Though East Blue was called the weakest sea, there were still plenty of monsters and freaks from a civilian's perspective.

Those troublemakers were out of luck.

Observation Haki spread outward.

It soon covered several streets. Everything was under control.

Explosive Double Axes!

Wilton crouched slightly, then launched himself into the air. In that instant, the ground cracked apart, and the hard, thick pavement collapsed into a ten-meter-wide spiderweb crater.

He shot upward like a meteor, leaving behind a graceful arc at incredible speed. Like a missile, he streaked over one street after another. Wherever his Observation Haki reached, his skill struck exactly where he pointed.

At that moment, two groups were fighting fiercely on one street.

One side consisted of pirates, the other of gangsters.

Blades, swords, and pistols flashed everywhere. Many had already fallen within the battle zone, and the pungent stench of blood filled the air. Among them were quite a few innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

Protective Barrier.

Chop-Chop: Clown's Flying Daggers.

Within the crowd.

Two figures stood out particularly in the battle. One was a man dressed as a clown with an especially prominent red nose. The other was a man with a grass-green cockscomb, markings beneath his right eye, a nose ring, and a face like an ogre's.

There was also a beautiful woman with exceptionally smooth skin, gliding silkily through the crowd. Wherever she went, attacks from the gangsters, whether blades, swords, or bullets, slipped harmlessly away from her body.

She moved as though no one else existed.

These three would become somewhat famous in the future. They were Clown Buggy, Iron Mace Alvida, and Ogre Bartholomew, and all three were Devil Fruit Users.

Just as the battle was reaching its peak, the sound of something tearing through the air suddenly rang out overhead. Everyone instinctively looked up, only to see a black missile-like shadow crash heavily into the center of the crowd. A ring-shaped shockwave spread out in every direction in an instant.

The ground within fifty meters cracked and collapsed, while the very center continued to bulge upward.

Dust and shattered stones shot outward like bullets. Both sides of the fight were blasted away. Some had already breathed their last before hitting the ground. Only Buggy, Alvida, and Bartholomew remained standing safely.

Buggy split his entire body apart to evade the flying rubble.

Alvida's body was completely smooth, causing every attack to slide away.

Bartholomew crossed his middle and index fingers, producing a transparent Protective Barrier before him that blocked all attacks.

"What the hell was that?"

"That scared me to death."

"Hehahahaha."

The three of them stared intently at the dust as it gradually dispersed, and the silhouette of a tall, muscular figure slowly came into view.

"A Marine!"

The dust finally cleared.

Buggy and the other two became slightly solemn. Between the dumbbell weapon and those bulging muscles, Wilton looked anything but a flashy fraud.

Moreover, the word Justice on both the dumbbells and his red-and-white skintight vest made the identity of this man who had descended from the sky unmistakable.

"What an unexpected surprise."

Wilton was somewhat surprised. He had not expected to encounter all three at once. But then he remembered that the Straw Hat Pirates had appeared in Loguetown, so Clown Buggy and Iron Mace Alvida appearing here was only natural.

If he had not captured the Straw Hat Pirates, then according to the normal course of events, Buggy and Alvida should have caught Luffy and nearly executed him on the Execution Platform.

As for Bartholomew, he had been born in Loguetown and had yet to set sail. Yet he was already an underworld boss ruling over seventy or eighty towns, with power and wealth alike.

In the future, that number would rise from seventy or eighty to one hundred and fifty.

He was seriously involved with organized crime.

Why were these three fighting?

There did not seem to be anything like this in the original story.

What Wilton did not know was that one of Buggy's subordinates had been investigating the Straw Hat Pirates' whereabouts on gang territory and ended up being swindled out of one hundred thousand Berries. With Buggy's money-grubbing personality, how could he possibly tolerate that?

You could insult him, kill him, or mock him, but you could never covet his wealth.

And so, one thing led to another.

The two sides clashed. It eventually alerted Bartholomew as well. Both sides were bosses, and when their subordinates got bullied, they naturally had to reclaim their face. Otherwise, how could they continue making a living in the underworld?

So they naturally started fighting.

Speaking of which, this was all because of Wilton. If he had not captured Luffy in advance, Luffy would definitely have gone to the Execution Platform. Like a light bulb in the darkness, there was no way Buggy's vengeful crew would have failed to spot him.

But now that Wilton had captured him, Buggy's crew naturally had to investigate.

And then the conflict happened.

"There's only one Marine."

At first, the three had been wary. But once they confirmed that Wilton was alone, everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Our target is Monkey D. Luffy. There's no need to waste time here. The Marine colonel stationed in Loguetown is Smoker, and that guy is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user."

Buggy and Alvida prepared to withdraw.

As for this fellow called Bartholomew, his influence seemed rather substantial. They could find another opportunity later. For now, they would let the Marines and his side tear each other apart.

"Retreat!"

Buggy decisively called to his underlings.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Buggy, Alvida, and their people preparing to leave, Wilton exploded off the ground and vanished. When he reappeared, he was already above Buggy's head, gripping his terrifying dumbbells in both hands as he smashed them down as though splitting heaven and earth.

Explosive Double Axes.

Unimaginable power descended.

Buggy's hair stood on end. His body instantly broke into pieces and scattered in every direction. In that first exchange, he knew he had encountered a real monster.

Bang—

A deafening roar erupted.

The ground within forty meters exploded apart, forming a ring-shaped shockwave that continued spreading outward. Buildings all around collapsed one after another. Alvida and Bartholomew had no time to defend themselves and were both blasted away, crashing into the ground with shocked expressions.

Buggy's body, split into countless pieces, suffered the same fate. But strangely, those body fragments seemed to have been hit by the Slow-Slow Fruit's power, their movement speed suddenly cut in half.