In the sky, Ray was running out of energy.
His demonic power was practically gone, his internal energy tanked, and he couldn't even fly anymore.
To everyone down below, it looked like he just started falling out of the sky.
The Straw Hats freaked out, but they were all tied up with their own fights and couldn't do anything.
At that critical moment, Buggy shot up into the air, arms spread wide, heading straight for Ray.
Ray was so exhausted his eyes were about to close, but then he saw Buggy flying at him with this... totally creepy, lecherous grin.
The pose was clearly meant for a princess carry.
Just thinking about how incredibly embarrassing that would be, a hidden reserve of Ray's demonic power instantly flared up.
When Buggy was just a meter away, Ray elegantly twisted and flew over to the tree at the base of the cliff, landing gracefully.
Seeing this, Buggy just froze mid-air, completely embarrassed.
"Ray! Damn it... my good intentions were wasted on a dog!" he yelled, furious.
Ray's temple twitched.
If he wasn't so weak right now, he'd definitely go punch Buggy in his big red nose.
But the next moment surprised him.
Buggy actually flew over to his side.
"Still acting tough even when you're hurt like this?" he said, his voice surprisingly slow and serious.
"You got any energy left to heal yourself? If not, hurry up and sleep. Your big brother Buggy is here to protect you. Rest easy, you'll feel better after a nap."
Ray was annoyed that Buggy was calling himself his 'big brother', but he could also feel that the clown was being sincere.
Buggy wasn't just worried about him recovering; he was also worried some Marine would try to take a cheap shot while Ray was down.
But Buggy's idea of recovery was kind of hilarious.
'Sleep? Does he think I'm Zoro? Where are the bandages? The medicine?' Ray felt too weak to even complain.
Well... he really was weak right now.
But if he just had a little time to get back even a tiny bit of demonic power, he could kickstart his healing and recover pretty quickly—way faster than Zoro's nap-recovery method.
Ray struggled to lean against the tree.
"I can handle this myself," he said slowly. "Go help Luffy and the others."
Buggy carefully looked him over twice.
Seeing Ray's confident expression, he felt a little better.
He coughed a couple of times and then flew back towards the battle, shouting three last instructions at Ray.
…
From way up high, it looked like both sides' main players had taken heavy hits at the same time.
But the reality was totally different.
Down on the Marine side, Smoker, Tashigi, Hina, and Prince Gruss all looked grim.
Gion was gone.
That meant Buggy was now basically unstoppable.
Smoker knew that even if all four of them teamed up, they'd probably still lose to the current Buggy.
Not to mention all the other strong pirates running around.
Frustrated, Smoker roared and suddenly burst into action.
Using 'Soru', he flashed forward, unleashing a barrage of 'White Fists' that sent Luffy and Zoro flying back dozens of meters.
'Taking a gamble!'
While they were stunned, Smoker turned his lower body into smoke and shot towards the Roger statue at top speed.
His plan: destroy the statue before Buggy got back.
Buggy, who had just left Ray's side (a full two kilometers away), saw Smoker making a break for the base and immediately started yelling.
"Smoker, you bastard! Fight fair and square! What kind of cheap shot is attacking our base?!"
Ray just watched calmly, though he was feeling pretty anxious inside.
'If my body wasn't completely drained, I'd definitely slash Buggy a few times for this. Ignoring the base in a team fight? He'd get flamed so hard back in my old world. If this statue gets destroyed, what was the point of me getting beat up?! This is Buggy's mission, and he's practically AFK!'
'Sigh, what a troll.'
Ray was too weak to do anything about it.
'Whatever. I did my best.'
But then he wondered, 'Did Buggy really not see this coming? Or was he just so worried about me that he forgot about the statue?'
Shiver
The thought gave Ray goosebumps, and he immediately used the tiny bit of power he'd recovered to mentally block out that garbage thought.
He refocused on the fight, wondering if they were about to suffer a devastating comeback.
…
Smoker used 'White Hurricane' to close in on the statue fast.
His fists were coated in Haki, and more Haki-fists were forming in the smoke behind him.
This was everything he had.
He had to destroy the statue before Buggy got there.
But just as his attack was about to hit...
A red figure appeared beside him at incredible speed.
"Gear Second! JET PISTOL!"
Luffy's super-fast, Haki-powered punch slammed into Smoker's face before he could even react.
Smoker went flying backward, spitting out an old tooth and bleeding from the mouth.
Luffy's entire body was steaming, and he was gasping heavily.
He was clearly running on empty.
Smoker, however, seemed relatively okay despite the hit.
He looked at Luffy, frowning.
"This kid had another trick up his sleeve? Why didn't he use it earlier? Must have serious side effects." He chuckled softly.
'Doesn't matter. In this state, he can't stop me now.'
…
Ray saw the whole thing from afar.
'Luffy probably awakened Gear Second because of everything combined: our talks about his powers, seeing Smoker use Soru, and his intense desire to protect the statue. The trigger was Smoker attacking Roger's statue – Roger being his idol and Ace's father.'
Luffy's potential had exploded.
…
Luffy felt both happy and worried.
Happy that the transformation Ray had told him about actually worked.
Worried that he'd awakened it too late and didn't have the strength left to stop Smoker.
But he wasn't giving up.
He had to block this guy, for Ace.
…
Smoker started charging forward again.
Zoro, rushing up from behind, couldn't keep up.
'Can we really not hold on?' Both Luffy and Zoro felt a wave of anxiety.
But they were wrong. Those ten seconds Luffy bought by burning himself out were decisive.
Just as Smoker closed in on Luffy again, Buggy appeared right behind him.
Smoker's heart leaped.
'Oh crap!' He immediately coated himself in Armament Haki.
But the power gap between him and the current Buggy was just too big.
"Awakening Technique: Destruction!"
Buggy's terrifying Chop-Chop power invaded Smoker's body.
Turning into smoke, defending with Haki—none of it worked.
At that moment, Smoker felt the chilling grip of death.
Every part of his body, inside and out, was being torn apart.
His elemental form collapsed, blood pouring from everywhere.
His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness, staining the ground red.
…
Buggy's single, terrifying strike had taken out Smoker.
It also made the remaining Marines realize the awful truth: they had no chance of winning.
With Gion gone, even if Hina, Gruss, and Tashigi teamed up, Buggy would likely crush them.
They were all conflicted.
Fight? Surrender?
Marines couldn't surrender to pirates!
But if they didn't, Smoker would die, and they probably would too.
What should they do? Was the battle already decided?
-----------------------------
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