"Impressive, is this the power of talk-no-jutsu?" Sensing the fluctuations in the aura behind him, Arthur pinched his chin and sighed like this.
However, Arthur didn't realize his own charm—or rather, he underestimated the allure of his current body.
As the King of Knights who upholds good and cuts down evil, every word and deed from him radiated a righteous chivalry.
A presence, a charisma that made people trust him instinctively.
Coupled with the fearsome reputation he had carved out over half a year, the tales of him across the East Blue made Nami hold no doubts.
If some ugly clown had tried to talk to Nami like that, she would have turned the tables and walked off with everything.
There's a saying, right? Looks are justice!!
Because Buggy often tested his Buggy Balls, Orange Town had basically become a ghost town; the surviving townsfolk hid in remote places where they wouldn't be hit.
So Arthur followed the direction sensed by his Observation Haki and soon reached the Buggy Pirates' main base.
First impression: a circus.
Noise, lions and beast tamers, acrobats pedaling unicycles—the most clownish pirate crew. Arthur could hardly feel any threat from them.
"Hey..... kid, who are you?"
In this cozy pirate circle, a person whose aura was on a completely different level suddenly appeared, and many turned their attention to Arthur.
"Sigh..... as expected of the weakest among the three major pirate crews—the Buggy Pirates." Arthur's helpless sigh was heard by a pirate walking toward him, who immediately got angry: "Damn brat, spouting nonsense—say that again if you've got guts?"
Bang!
Arthur didn't bother replying; he swept a kick out, swift and fierce, and sent the pirate flying.
With E+ Strength—whatever the number meant—Arthur had discovered four months ago that ordinary bodies were like plastic before him, easy to crush.
That E+ definitely wasn't a Type-Moon stat; it was a One Piece–world stat.
"Hoh..... an enemy? To provoke the great pirate Buggy, you've got guts." The kicked pirate was like a fuse; the acrobat Cabaji, who had been performing on a unicycle, gripped a saber and mocked Arthur.
His tone showed no panic, only cat-and-mouse playfulness, and the Buggy Pirates behind him joined in with amused grins.
No surprise: the East Blue is the weakest of the seas; as one of its three major crews, their fame and ferocity had blinded their judgment. That was normal.
Which was why Arthur had no desire to humor them.
Right now, he felt like a max-level character with god-tier gear strolling into a noob village.
He raised his right hand. Wind gathered, forming an invisible sword; it was as if he held a clump of air.
"A blond boy who holds the wind..... so that's it—the famed Wind-Sword Knight. What an honor to cross blades." The impossible scene and that golden short hair let Cabaji recognize Arthur at once.
Because Invisible Air shrouded it, most people didn't know what Arthur was actually holding.
Only after someone asked did people around the East Blue learn—it was a sword in his grip.
Holding the Sword of Promised Victory, Arthur looked at Cabaji with disdain.
"Waiting for me to strike? As expected of the Wind-Sword Knight—such a strong man's posture." Misreading his poise as an invitation, Cabaji excitedly pedaled the unicycle and lunged with his saber at high speed: "Acrobatics: Single-Wheel Thrust....."
Swish—crack!
With a light swing, he sheared Cabaji's saber in two and left a sword mark across him; blood sprayed.
Cabaji collapsed to the ground in a clownish heap.
"You don't even gauge your enemy's blade length and reach, yet you dare leave both feet off the ground. Such arrogant ignorance." Arthur glanced down at him with disgust; Cabaji wasn't even worthy of a finishing blow from Excalibur.
"S-so..... strong. I can't see the sword, can't see the speed—is this the Wind-Sword Knight's power?" Cabaji forced out, voice weak with pain.
"Scram—" Arthur booted him away. Frowning, he even began to doubt whether wiping out the Buggy Pirates would count as a recognized victory to the system.
They were ridiculous enough in the original, but in real life they were even more absurd.
"Forgive me for letting you be shamed." Arthur glanced at Excalibur in his hand, then looked darkly at the Buggy Pirates and slowly raised the Sword high.
Mind, body, and spirit aligned, an unprecedented focus.
In his sight, all things were fragile bodies.
Swish—
He chopped down; golden light filled everyone's eyes.
A golden wave of sword pressure became an irresistible slash.
The ground scored by the slash sank into a deep ravine; the cut streaked past lines of Buggy Pirates and continued on.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, a building struck head-on split in two and collapsed.
Hsss.....
Many had never seen a great swordsman's flying slash. Staring at the deep trench and the fallen house, it felt like a dream.
Silence fell; only heavy breathing and gulps remained.
"Bastards, which one of you attacked me?"
At that moment, an angry voice shattered the air.
From the smoke billowing out of the collapsed house, a figure burst forth—the captain's hat, the cloak, the clownish getup, and a big round red nose: Buggy.