Ta-da-ta-da...
"Chirp chirp chirp, Cube Trap!!"
As the two ran, a loud laugh came from the shadows below. Immediately afterward, shiny straight lines extended from beneath Hancock and Luo Chen's feet, and then the ground beneath them was sliced open.
Rumble...
One by one, the cubes collapsed, and the two fell into the dark cave at almost the same time.
"Hmm, where am I... Damn it, I just accidentally..."
Luo Chen, who had fallen into the cave, dusted himself off, stood up, and looked around. Seeing the unfamiliar open space filled with cubes, he asked in confusion.
"Oh dear, where am I? And what was that just now...?"
Hancock on the other side also got up from the ground, and her beloved pet Salome rushed over, swimming to her side and warily scanning the surroundings, guarding against any possible danger.
" Cube Passage!!"
At that moment, the voice from the shadows rang out again, and the surrounding cubes moved continuously, forming a passage leading to an unknown direction in front of the two of them.
"Hmm, is this the way?"
The two spoke almost simultaneously, and then rushed inside.
Clang clang clang...
As the two ventured deeper, the cubes surrounding them shifted, forming a quiet path for them to walk along.
Da da da!!
Have we arrived?
Sizzle sizzle...
As Luo Chen ran, he saw a glimmer of light gradually appearing at the exit, and his mood brightened. He stopped just in time before rushing into the exit.
Sizzle sizzle...
On the other side, Hancock also arrived at this time, stopped in her tracks, and appeared in front of Luo Chen.
"Hmm, this is... isn't this our destination? Could this be the work of one of World's men?"
As Luo Chen rushed in, he failed to notice a blue-clad figure arriving in the distance as well.
"This is... um, it's him... Luo Chen, I've finally seen you again."
Hancock, like Luo Chen, immediately looked around upon entering. However, she was even more observant. After scanning the surroundings, her gaze settled on the man in front of her, dressed in white shirt and blue pants with a calm expression. Her heart skipped a beat, and she spoke with a mixture of joy and shyness.
"Huh? Who's calling my name? Hmm... It's you, Pirate Empress. So even you've accepted the government's call to attack World?!"
Seeing the Pirate Empress walking towards him with a delicate expression, her cheeks flushed red, and her fair and exquisite little ears turned pink and charming. Luo Chen seemed to know her feelings but did not say anything. Here, everything was for the sake of World, his formidable opponent.
"Yes, yes, I received a summons from the World Government, so..."
Upon seeing Luo Chen, Hancock seemed to forget even the safety of her two younger sisters, lowering her head shyly and responding awkwardly.
"Hehehe, welcome to my territory! I am Gairam, one of Captain World's subordinates, the Pirate Empress, Luo Chen the Blasphemer. I will be your opponent... Cube Propeller!!"
A cube floated down, carrying a man with graying eyebrows, two tufts of hair shaped like cubes, and a large iron hammer on his back. He introduced himself.
After the introduction, before Luo Chen and the other person could speak, he placed his palm on the cube beneath his feet, and his ability was activated instantly.
brush...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Small cubes disintegrated from the cube plane he was standing on, shooting towards the two of them like arrows.
"Hmm, dangerous, get out of the way..."
Out of the corner of his eye, Luo Chen saw several cubic bombs flying towards them. Seeing that Hancock seemed too shy to realize the impending danger, he immediately reached out and pushed her away from him, then clenched his fists and swung them forward.
Bang bang bang...
He blasted apart cubes with the force of small cannonballs with his bare hands, sending them flying and slamming into the surrounding area, creating craters in the rock formations and sending up clouds of dust.
"Cough cough... Damn it, they're all hidden by the smoke and dust..."
Gairam, his face obscured by the smoke and dust, covered his nose and complained.
Meanwhile, another uninvited guest barged in.
"Hey everyone... Right now, the Pirate Empress and Luo Chen, the two Shichibukai, are locked in a fierce battle with World. If we break in now, we can not only catch him off guard but also steal all the credit..."
Buggy, strutting around with his big mouth, and a large group of mindless, worshipping pirates followed the passage through which Luo Chen had entered and arrived in front of the three.
"Yes, it's you..."
"Ha~ It's you. Why haven't you gone to cause trouble for World yet?"
Upon seeing Luo Chen and his companion, Buggy's first instinct was to run away, but he had these devoted followers behind him, and if he fled now, he might lose their support. So, he mustered his courage and spoke with Luo Chen.
" World? I'll find him myself. Dealing with the immediate enemy is more important..."
Upon hearing this, Luo Chen glanced at him in surprise, then shook his head and spoke.
"However, if you wish, I can hand over World to you to deal with first. How about it, want to give it a try? Two thousand Dao Transformation... Buggy?"
Luo Chen looked at Buggy, the man known as having the strongest Conqueror's Haki and good luck, with the same gaze he had towards Yu.
"Ha~ I..."
Upon hearing that Luo Chen was going to give World to him, Buggy drew out his words, pointed at himself with his white-gloved finger, snot running down his face, and said incredulously.
"As expected of Captain Buggy, you managed to get that formidable figure among the Shichibukai to hand over the great pirate World to you with just a few words. I swear I will be loyal to you for life, Captain Buggy..."
Behind him, before he could even utter a word of refusal, his idiotic subordinates began to fill in the blanks in their own minds, biting their handkerchiefs and weeping with emotion, vowing to be loyal to him even unto death.
"Uh... no, no, I haven't agreed yet... you guys..."
Before Buggy could even speak, his escape route was blocked by his men, making it difficult for him to get away. Buggy looked at his men with great worry, unable to bring himself to refuse.
"Alright, fine, since you've said so, then I'll leave World to you..."
Buggy, forcing himself to stay calm, raised his hand and replied with a relaxed expression.
"Alright then, Captain Buggy, I'll trouble you to take your men to find World first. I'll deal with this guy here before heading over..."
Luo Chen chuckled and handed World over to Buggy and the others. He would go and see later whether Buggy and the others would be able to use their Conqueror's Haki luck as they did in the original story and manage to get an advantage.
"Then let's go..."
After being tricked by Luo Chen, Buggy didn't dare linger, fearing that Luo Chen would use the same trick again and he would be tricked once more. He immediately fled with his subordinate Luo Huan.
"Hehehe, why are you running so fast? I'm not going to eat him..."
Luo Chen chuckled as he watched Buggy flee in delight.
"Damn bastards, you've sabotaged my perfect masterpiece! I won't let you get away with this..."
Gairam finally realized what was happening, wielding a large iron hammer as he walked over, his face full of anger.