Seeing that persuasion was futile, Matthew quickly changed his approach.
"Then how about this—we join forces. First, we deal with that Straw Hat kid, and then we take on Gin. What do you think?"
"This..." Buggy and Alvida exchanged glances.
The proposal wasn't bad.
After all, the person in front of them, Matthew, also had a bounty well over ten million.
With his help, they would have a much better chance of dealing with that Straw Hat kid.
So, after only a brief consideration, the two immediately nodded in agreement.
"Alright, it's a deal!" Buggy cackled.
Seeing Buggy nod, Matthew was overjoyed.
Then, he glanced skeptically at Alvida and asked Buggy, "May I ask who this is?"
Buggy, puffing his chest out, declared, "She's 'Iron Mace' Alvida!"
"WHAT?" Matthew was completely dumbfounded.
In the entire East Blue, not to mention those with bounties over ten million, even those with bounties over a million were few and far between.
So, even if he hadn't met them all, he could still remember their names and descriptions.
Thus, he had a very clear impression of "Iron Mace" Alvida.
Covered in freckles. Obese. And hideously, unforgivably ugly.
What about the stunning, supermodel-esque woman in front of him matched that description, aside from the signature iron mace in her hand?
"Her? She's 'Iron Mace' Alvida? Hahaha..." Matthew couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Then, pointing at Alvida, he said, "Hahaha... that's quite the joke! Good one, Buggy!"
Buggy: "..."
He glanced nervously at Alvida, his lips tightly pressed together, afraid he might burst out laughing himself.
He had spent quite some time with Alvida and knew her new, vain temperament all too well.
So, he subtly shifted a few steps away from her.
Alvida: "..."
Her originally fair and delicate face instantly darkened like ink.
Her eyes, wide and beautiful, now looked as if flames of pure rage were about to burst forth.
She roared furiously, her voice cracking, "What exactly do you mean by that!"
With this furious shout, she exerted the full force of her arms, lifting the heavy iron mace she tightly gripped high above her head.
Without hesitation, she swung the rod with a sharp whistling sound and astonishing momentum, smashing it directly toward Matthew.
At that moment, Matthew saw the incoming iron mace and was momentarily stunned, but soon a faint, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corners of his lips.
He thought to himself, 'Perfect timing. Let me see what ability she possesses that allows her to influence Buggy's decisions.'
As the thought flashed through his mind, he swiftly raised his right hand and gave a light, almost casual flick.
In an instant, a powerful and violent gust of wind erupted from his palm, surging forth like a raging torrent, heading straight toward Alvida's incoming iron mace.
Astonishingly, this incredibly strong wind managed to forcefully block Alvida's full-powered strike!
Although Alvida's blow, in terms of raw power, could be considered quite formidable in the East Blue, the wind released by Matthew acted like an impenetrable, invisible barrier, firmly holding back her attack.
"H-How is this possible?" Alvida couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief, her face filled with shock.
The moment her iron mace made contact with the wind, she felt as though her strength had been completely swallowed—as if she hadn't struck a solid object but rather a soft, fluffy mass of cotton, with no place to exert her force.
It was as if she had struck a towering, unshakable mountain; no matter how much strength she used, she couldn't budge it an inch.
"Is this all the strength you have?" Matthew's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile, his face revealing undisguised contempt.
With a light wave of his arm, the already powerful wind intensified abruptly.
The howling gale roared like a ferocious beast. Under the force of such an overwhelming wind, the iron mace Alvida tightly gripped began to tremble violently.
Her immensely strong hands trembled along with it.
Despite exerting all her strength to hold on, it was ultimately futile.
With a sharp "whoosh," the iron mace was ripped from her grasp and shot straight out like an arrow released from a bow, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Yet, remarkably, Alvida herself, standing at the center of this raging wind, remained as steady as if her feet were rooted to the ground.
The raging gale, powerful enough to send her mace flying, seemed to encounter some invisible barrier as it hit her, diverting completely around her body without causing her the slightest harm, not even ruffling her hair.
Witnessing this scene, Matthew's eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth agape with astonishment.
After all, the wind he controlled was no ordinary natural breeze!
This wind could easily sweep people and objects away like trash, and even the hardest Tekkai would be deeply scarred in its presence.
For an ordinary person, just a mere thought from Matthew would cause them to be instantly torn to shreds by the terrifying wind force, suffering a gruesome and torturous death.
However, what exactly was happening with the woman before him now?
Even with the reality laid out before his eyes, deep down, he still couldn't believe such a bizarre occurrence was possible.
He watched as he clenched his fist and swung his arm out once more with violent force.
But unlike the previous strike, the power generated this time was noticeably stronger.
Even more astonishingly, what shot forth from his hand was no longer just a gust of wind—it was a sharp, imposing blade of wind!
This wind blade resembled the flying Rankyaku slashes unleashed by master swordsmen, carrying an intimidating momentum that seemed capable of effortlessly tearing apart anything in its path.
Yet, just as this formidable wind blade was about to strike Alvida, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
The wind blade appeared to be manipulated by some mysterious force.
The moment it made contact with Alvida's smooth skin, it abruptly changed direction, veering away and shooting past her.
No! To describe it more accurately, it slid off her as smoothly as a loach, as if Alvida was enveloped by an invisible protective barrier that rendered any attack completely ineffective against her.
Matthew stood frozen in place.
He had held nothing back in that last strike.
It was precisely this Rankyaku-like technique that gave him the confidence to confront even Buggy and the others, let alone Gin.
Yet this powerful move, which he considered his trump card, proved so... utterly futile... against this woman.
"Tsk tsk..." Buggy, watching from the side, let out a strange chuckle. "Stop wasting your efforts, moron. Alvida is no longer the Alvida of before—she has eaten the Paramecia-type Sube Sube no Mi (Slippery Fruit), capable of deflecting any attack."
"What?" Matthew was utterly shocked.
Because in his view, this Devil Fruit ability seemed completely invincible!
"Oh, really? 'Any' attack? Then let me give it a try..."
As the words fell, a towering figure descended from the sky, landing silently before the astonished Alvida.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
The next second, Alvida clutched her chest and let out a sharp, sudden scream.
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