"Impossible!"
It was common knowledge that Buggy had two great obsessions in life—one taboo and one dream. The taboo? Never call him "Red Nose." Not even as a joke. The dream? Treasure. During his time on the Roger Pirates' ship, his obsession with treasure was already evident. He even believed that if you went out to sea without chasing treasure, then you weren't a real pirate.
Three years later, he would end up arrested for digging treasure near a Marine base, only meeting Luffy again after breaking out of prison.
Weiss let go of Buggy's hand. Buggy quickly summoned it back and, once it was firmly reattached, began huffing and puffing over it—trying to ease the stinging pain somehow.
"Die already!"
Furious, Buggy kicked out his leg. You'd think he was using Rankyaku, one of the Navy's Six Styles? Nope. He was just trying to launch the Buggy Bomb hidden in his shoe.
A small black orb shot out from under his foot. It looked barely larger than a normal bullet, but it was Buggy's secret weapon: the Buggy Bomb.
Don't let the size fool you—it packed more punch than a standard bomb, especially when used as a surprise. Funny enough, it was originally invented to help blow open treasure mines.
This whole ordeal had done serious damage—not just to his body, but to his pride. Since becoming a pirate, Buggy had never been humiliated like this. Back on the Roger Pirates, the real fighting was always left to the strong ones. He just cheered from the sidelines.
Weiss didn't move as the bomb flew toward him. Jack simply raised his gun, aimed, and fired—all in one fluid motion.
...
...
BOOM!
A wave of flame exploded like a stormy sea, tearing the air apart. The powerful blast shattered the deck and sent fire roaring skyward.
This was why Weiss didn't want the battle to happen aboard the Chris. Pirate fights always caused too much damage to ships—one careless moment and you'd need a complete rebuild.
The black smoke from the explosion filled the air, choking the pirates. Many couldn't stand the stench and started coughing.
Buggy stood up again. He didn't believe anyone in the East Blue could survive an explosion like that.
"Hahaha! That's what happens when you mess with the great Captain Buggy!"
The humiliation he just suffered evaporated with the blast, and a rush of pride replaced it.
"Captain is invincible! Lord Buggy is the eternal god!"
"Captain's too powerful! All of East Blue will kneel before you!"
"Captain's the best! All the treasure in East Blue will be yours!"
Mohji tried to push Richie forward, but the lion kept his head buried under his paws. Mohji looked toward the fading flames, but aside from the black smoke, nothing was visible.
As the smoke cleared—there was still no one.
He glanced around—no one hiding nearby either.
"Richie, what are you scared of? Get up!"
The lion whimpered and simply raised a paw—pointing upward.
Mohji looked up, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He dove straight behind Buggy.
"Captain! Captain!"
"What are you doing, Mohji? We just defeated the enemy! It's time to celebrate—send the crew to grab the treasure from their ship!"
Buggy was grinning, already imagining piles of gold and jewels.
"No, Captain—look up!"
"Up? What's up there—?"
Buggy looked to the crow's nest. His excitement froze. He nearly split himself apart from shock.
Weiss and Jack stood there.
The moment the Buggy Bomb exploded, Weiss had grabbed Jack and leapt up to the lookout post.
An explosion of that level? It couldn't harm Weiss at all—not even a scratch through his Armament Haki. Getting hurt was one thing, but looking undignified? That was the real problem.
Weiss leapt down from the crow's nest. He drew a short sword from his pocket, unsheathing it mid-fall, and landed right in the middle of the pirate mob. The surrounding pirates instinctively backed off. Cabaji even slipped out to the edge of the group, as if putting some distance would keep him safe.
"Hand over the treasure, Buggy. Given your experience, you should know how vast the gap is between us."
Weiss pointed his blade at him.
"Don't look down on me!"
Buggy looked at the sword—barely bigger than a hand—and felt deeply insulted. A sword that small? Was this a joke?
"Oh, this thing? Sorry—I couldn't find anything smaller," Weiss said casually.
And in that moment—he truly understood the joy Hawkeye Mihawk must feel.
Wait a second... Why do I feel like I'm the villain here? Weiss glanced around—pirates everywhere, calm speech in the face of danger, elegant posture... Maybe not a villain. More like a badass.
"Don't get cocky!"
Buggy didn't dare use his Split-Split powers again. He charged, gripping a dagger in his gloved hand, and stabbed straight at Weiss.
Weiss blocked it with a light ting of his short blade. Not a dramatic clash, but clean and precise.
Both of them were using daggers—hard to say who had the advantage. After all, a true badass didn't need a strong opponent. They just needed an impressive-looking weapon.
Big weapons make a man look heroic!
Power surged through Weiss' arm. With a sudden yank, he disarmed Buggy, who stumbled and nearly dropped to one knee.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Weiss slashed with lightning speed. The surrounding pirates could barely see his arms—they were just blurs.
Everyone watching had the same thought:
The captain's finished.
There's no way anyone could survive that speed.
We're doomed.
Time to surrender.
Split the crew.
Start picking a new captain.
Weiss stopped. In just ten seconds, he had slashed over a hundred times. Buggy's upper body was now floating around in thin sheets like paper.
"What the hell are you doing, you damned swordsman?!"
Sure enough, in the next second, Buggy reassembled himself right before Weiss' disappointed eyes—fully intact.
"So sword techniques really don't work on you, huh," Weiss muttered.
But Buggy heard him.
"Of course not, brat! Lord Buggy ate the Chop-Chop Fruit! Your swordplay is useless—so just surrender already!"
"Hand over your ship's treasure, and I might even let you join my crew. Heck, I'll even make you my first mate!"
Buggy clearly recognized Weiss' strength. With someone like him on the crew, Buggy figured he could go anywhere in East Blue. No more fear. All the treasure in the sea would be his!
He was already lost in dreams of gold and glitter.
He didn't notice the two murderous glares aimed his way—Mohji and Cabaji had both been eyeing the first mate position. Hearing Buggy offer it to Weiss, they both turned to stare at him.
"If swords don't work on you," Weiss said with a smile, "then I guess I'll just have to use something else. After all, swords aren't the only way to kill."
"What... did you just say?"
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Currently at chapter 340 on Ko-Fi
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27