Several swordsmanship and martial arts experts had already engaged with Lafitte, Daddy, and Kuro.
The ones fighting Lafitte were skilled swordsmen, but none of them had reached the level of Cutting Iron. Even though they outnumbered him, Lafitte was overwhelming them. One misstep, and their blades were slashed clean in half. Some already had deep gashes on their bodies.
Daddy, meanwhile, stayed out of direct melee. He used hit-and-run sniping tactics from the side, lightening the pressure on his allies. Though he had been training in close-quarters combat recently, he still wasn't at the level where he could go toe-to-toe with these elites. What he could do, however, was leverage his skills as a sniper to thin the enemy ranks.
Every so often, a single shot from Daddy would drop an enemy where they stood, instilling fear and hesitation in their ranks.
As for Kuro, he relied entirely on his speed advantage. Using Soru to weave in and out, he darted around the enemy martial artists. He knew he was no match for them in direct combat — head-on, he didn't stand a chance.
So instead, he fully exploited his speed, using his Cat Claws to slash at them relentlessly. Though the attacks didn't cause critical injuries, they were effective in distracting and disrupting several enemies at once.
At the same time, Buggy had caught the attention of Jesse, who charged toward him.
Upon closing the distance, Jesse swung his longsword and launched a blade of compressed air. Just from the sword aura alone, Buggy could tell — Jesse had indeed reached the level of a swordmaster, and might even have a slight edge in swordsmanship.
Buggy didn't dodge. He stood still and let the blade come toward him. Just before it struck, he activated the Bara Bara no Mi — his Chop-Chop Fruit powers. His body split apart at will, effortlessly bypassing the attack without a scratch.
His Devil Fruit mastery had improved.
Currently, Buggy could split his body in any number of ways, from any point he chose — a massive upgrade from before. He was steadily progressing toward the goal he had set for himself.
Buggy's plan for his Devil Fruit power was simple but profound — summed up in eight characters: "From Big to Small, From Inside Out."
"From Big to Small" meant refining his control so precisely that he could split his body into microscopic pieces, potentially even to the point of becoming invisible to the naked eye.
"From Inside Out" referred to externalizing his powers. Once he reached full mastery and awakened his fruit, he believed he'd be able to apply his ability not just to himself, but to other objects — maybe even the ground, air, or in the wildest theory from his past life's fandom — split the entire world.
Seeing Buggy dodge his sword aura without even moving, Jesse's expression darkened instantly.
He had seen enough battles in his life to know — this was a Devil Fruit user. Not only that, his opponent was a master swordsman and a fruit user. Jesse had come into this fight confident in his experience and drive to win, but now, his certainty was crumbling.
Buggy, on the other hand, looked excited.
Jesse was the first true swordsmanship rival Buggy had encountered since becoming a swordmaster himself. It might just turn out to be a worthy duel.
"Hahaha! I never thought I'd meet such a skilled swordsman here in the West Blue.
Let's have a duel worthy of our titles!"
"Flame Blade Barrage!"
Buggy slashed his sword, and dozens of flaming sword auras erupted toward Jesse in a blazing volley.
Though the move was called Thousand Flame Blades, Buggy couldn't produce a thousand. His stamina and skill hadn't reached that level, but he liked the sound of it.
"Whirlwind Dance!"
Jesse wasn't slow to react. As soon as Buggy struck, he launched a powerful counterattack — a whirling sword aura spiraled from his blade.
The two forces clashed midair.
The whirlwind enveloped Buggy's flaming slashes. The auras collided violently, sparks flying in every direction. Eventually, Jesse's whirlwind snuffed out Buggy's attack and pushed toward him.
But that move had spent most of its force. When it reached Buggy, he easily split it in half with a casual swing of his sword. Jesse had won that exchange — but not by much.
Jesse charged again, and Buggy met him head-on. Their blades clashed thunderously, sending out blazing sparks. Jesse's sword was no ordinary weapon either — it held up fine against En'yō, Buggy's fire-forged blade.
They clashed again and again, evenly matched.
Then, Buggy vanished behind Jesse using Soru and unleashed:
"Flame Crescent Slash!"
A curved, flaming sword aura spiraled toward Jesse's back like a burning crescent moon.
Jesse sensed the danger instantly. He turned and brought his blade in front of him just in time, launching a defensive sword aura to counter it.
The two forces collided again. This time, the rotational force of Buggy's attack overwhelmed Jesse's aura, pushing him back hard. Jesse's feet dragged deep gouges into the ground. His defensive blade aura began to crack and flicker.
In that instant, Jesse poured all his strength into reinforcing the attack, then swiftly dodged to the side. The flame crescent shattered his aura and slammed into the ground, blasting open a massive crater.
They continued fighting.
After over a hundred exchanges, Buggy began to slip slightly into a defensive stance. However, he was still uninjured, while Jesse's body was already laced with wounds.
Jesse's eyes turned bloodshot. He began to swing his sword wildly, unleashing one technique after another in a desperate frenzy.
"Hurricane Fang!"
From Jesse's blade, a swirling vortex began to form — small at first, but growing rapidly. Sand and stones were sucked into the funnel as the massive tornado surged forward, aiming straight for Buggy.
The vortex wasn't quite a natural disaster, but the pressure it emitted was enormous. In mere seconds, it swelled to nearly 100 meters in diameter.
Buggy didn't dare take it lightly — even he could suffer severe injury if caught.
Immediately, he used Soru, dashing in a rapid circle around the whirlwind. From all sides, he unleashed dozens of sword auras, slashing at the storm's core.
Each strike cut deep into the air itself.
Eventually, the tornado disintegrated, vanishing in a burst of wind and dust. A giant crater now marred the earth, carved with cracks from Buggy's slashes.
The two resumed their fight.
After exchanging hundreds of blows, Buggy showed some signs of strain, but Jesse was clearly the worse off. Blood streaked his body, his sword swings more desperate by the second.
Buggy, though still calm, knew one thing for sure — the duel wasn't over yet.