Rumble.
A violent explosion rang out.
Buggy's Chop-Chop body flew out of the dust, drenched in sweat like an ant on a hot pan. He surrendered, saying, "Wait, I may be a pirate, but I've never done anything terribly wicked."
"As long as you let me go, I'll turn over a new leaf immediately."
"If that's not enough, I can even give you the treasure maps I've collected."
Buggy's Chop-Chop body parts flew everywhere. Watching Wilton charge at him like a rutting rhinoceros, with that heavy dumbbell in his hand, was terrifying enough on its own.
If that thing hit him, he would definitely see stars and end up with a cracked skull.
Lord Buggy knew when to bend and when to stand tall.
"You should go to prison and turn over a new leaf there!"
Wilton arrived like lightning, raising the dumbbell high enough to block out the sun and cast Buggy completely in shadow. He had made up his mind to send Buggy to prison.
After all, this guy had committed plenty of crimes.
"Damn it."
"Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Buggy flew into a rage, then gave a sinister smile. With a thought, two hands appeared behind Wilton, gripping short swords as they silently stabbed toward his back.
He had been diverting Wilton's attention from the very beginning.
All to set up this sneak attack.
"Die!"
"Chop-Chop Sneak Attack!"
Clang—
The expected spray of blood never appeared. Buggy's arrogant, smug expression froze. What was going on? Why could he not stab through him? Was this guy's body made of stone?
This was bad.
Before his eyes,
that enormous dumbbell drew closer and closer. There was no way to dodge it.
Visible to the naked eye, Buggy's entire face made intimate contact with the dumbbell. His red nose was crushed flat like a pancake at once, and his clownish face twisted out of shape.
An explosion spread outward.
Once the dust gradually settled, Buggy was embedded deep in the ground, his face covered in blood and his eyes rolled white. That one dumbbell strike had knocked him unconscious.
After effortlessly knocking Buggy out, Wilton leaped into the air and once again turned into a missile, precisely locating Alvida as she slid away. Amid a thunderous roar, the shockwave sent Alvida flying.
"Useless Buggy."
Alvida climbed up from the ground, her pretty face full of anxiety. Buggy was far too useless; he had not even lasted a minute.
What should she do?
Was she really going to fall here today?
The dust cleared.
Wilton stepped out, looking at the wary Alvida holding a spiked iron club. He gripped the dumbbell with both hands and struck a bodybuilding pose, advising, "I am an absolute believer in gender equality. For justice, even if the enemy is a woman, I will still use a Flying Kick. I certainly will not go easy on her or show tender affection."
"To avoid unnecessary pain, I advise you to surrender."
Wilton kindly offered Alvida some advice.
"Damn Marine."
"Don't even think about making me surrender."
As expected, Alvida refused.
She knew she could not escape. Since that was the case, she might as well give it everything she had. Gathering her courage, she took the initiative and slid toward Wilton.
Easily,
Wilton dodged it. At that moment, Alvida gripped her spiked, fang-like iron club in her right hand and viciously swept it toward Wilton's head. Both the timing and angle were perfect.
"Iron Body!"
Wilton had no intention of dodging. The iron club struck his head at close range, and Alvida felt as though she had hit solid steel, nearly losing her grip on the weapon.
What kind of head was that?
"My turn."
Not good.
A chill shot straight to Alvida's scalp. Wilton truly showed no mercy. His right foot, coated in Armament Haki, swept heavily toward Alvida's slender waist.
"It's useless. I ate the Slippery-Slippery Fruit and became a Smooth person. My skin is smooth with zero friction, and ordinary attacks can't hurt me."
Alvida forced herself to remain calm and suppressed the panic in her heart.
Because only explosions could threaten her.
Pfft—
The moment she finished speaking,
Alvida felt as if a mountain had crashed into her head-on. Though much of the force slid away, more than half still struck her body, and that long-forgotten pain instantly spread throughout her entire body.
She screamed uncontrollably and spat blood three feet into the air. Her body bent into a C-shape as she shot away like a cannonball, smashing through house after house before finally landing in another street.
"A miraculous Slippery-Slippery Fruit. Too bad you haven't developed it properly."
At the moment of contact, Wilton had felt that slippery effect as well, and a considerable amount of force had been diverted. Otherwise, that kick would have snapped Alvida's waist.
He had used Armament Haki.
That so-called zero friction was far from absolute.
With a powerful leap,
Wilton descended from the sky and crashed down not far from Alvida. His first skill, Explosive Double Axes, could not only be used for attacking, but also for traveling or escaping.
"Why bother?"
Looking at Alvida lying in the rubble, barely alive, Wilton thought that he had already told her he was an absolute believer in gender equality. Why resist and suffer all this pain?
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
Blood continuously spilled from Alvida's red lips. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was pale and weak. It was the first time her Devil Fruit ability had failed to completely slide an attack away.
And this Marine had truly been trying to kill her.
May he stay single for the rest of his life.
Wilton slung both dumbbells over his back, seized Alvida by the neck with one large hand, crouched slightly, and leaped. He traced a graceful arc through the air before landing beside the unconscious Buggy, Bartholomew, and the others.
He stacked them together like bricks, supported them with one hand, and leaped again. This time, his destination was the Marine base.
He had practically crossed two-fifths of Loguetown.
Within the range of his Observation Haki,
his first skill, Explosive Double Axes, could land at any location he chose. This meant that as Wilton's Observation Haki range continued to expand, the landing range of his first skill would expand as well.
In the future, repeatedly hopping between islands would no longer be a dream.
More importantly, it was even faster than flying.
And his first skill would grow stronger as Wilton grew stronger, whether in jumping speed or the power of his ground-smashing impact. Like a meteor, the instant he landed would be like a nuclear explosion.
On the Marine base grounds,
Wilton crashed down like a descending god, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Many Marines thought the base was under attack, but once they realized it was Wilton, they all solemnly saluted him.
"Major General Wilton."
"Lock these pirates in the cells. Tomorrow, I will escort them all to Impel Down."
"Also, find these pirates' Pirate Ship and the gang's assets. Sell everything that can be sold. Use all their treasure to repair the damaged homes of residents or provide humanitarian compensation."
Wilton casually tossed Buggy, Alvida, Bartholomew, and the others onto the ground. Patting his hands clean, he prepared to continue strolling around. Perhaps he might run into more pirates or vicious thugs.
Anyone like that would be sent to prison on sight.
Wilton believed that if there was one less evil person in the world, that was equivalent to saving one person, perhaps even an entire family. In any case, it was only a matter of convenience.
Moreover, whenever he fought, he tried his best to avoid harming civilians. As for civilian buildings damaged during battle, he would use the pirates' assets to repair them or provide compensation.
They were all simple things to do. More importantly, they would make his public image more complete and give his ambitions a better chance of being realized.
Qidian: Many thanks to (Xi Juan Tian Xia) for 22,200 Qidian Coins, (Su Qin) for 100 Qidian Coins, (Mangham) for 100 Qidian Coins, and Huanxiang Zhong y for 400 Qidian Coins.
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