Above Roguetown, lead-gray clouds were silently gathering like heavy curtains slowly drawing shut, gradually swallowing the once scorching sunlight.
The air grew heavy and oppressive, seemingly heralding an approaching storm.
At the center of Roguetown's plaza, beneath the famous execution platform symbolizing the end, the crowd below was buzzing with noisy discussions.
On the execution platform, the East Blue's newly emerged top villain - the currently trending Straw Hat Kid Luffy - and the notorious Clown Buggy were causing a commotion that captured everyone's attention.
Giyu finally arrived at the scene, scanning the chaotic spectacle and confirming his destination.
"Made it."
He instinctively turned his head, but found no one beside him. Zoro, who had been by his side just moments ago, had already disappeared without a trace.
The tip about [Getting Lost?] from the Interpersonal Interaction Manual silently flashed through his mind.
...It really was accurate.
For a moment, Giyu suddenly felt an inexplicable appreciation for this manual that had accompanied him these past days.
His gaze refocused on the execution platform, where he saw a black-haired boy wearing a straw hat being restrained by a red-nosed clown using a wooden guillotine.
Without further hesitation, Giyu began pushing through the crowd ahead, moving toward the execution platform.
At the center of the execution platform, Clown Buggy stood with legs spread wide, arms outstretched dramatically toward the sky as he loudly proclaimed:
"The criminal Monkey D. Luffy, guilty of [the crime of offending me through insolence]!"
"Sentenced to execution!!!"
"Make some noise, my men! Hahahahaha!The pirate underlings below immediately began waving their swords, firing wildly into the air, responding with fervent enthusiasm.
"Monkey D. Luffy..." Giyu silently repeated the name. This must be the interesting straw-hat-wearing kid the tavern owner had mentioned.
The hushed whispers of the surrounding civilians and their fearful tremors all reached Giyu's ears.
"That guy... that guy is the captain of the Buggy Pirates!! Buggy! I heard he's a demon whose body can split into hundreds of pieces!"
"How terrifying, it's that Clown Buggy!! Honey, let's get out of here."
"We can't, he just said... we should stand still obediently. If we move around, he'll definitely kill us."
"Then let's wait until Colonel Smoker arrives."
"Yes... yes! If Colonel Smoker comes, he'll definitely arrest them all!"
Body can split? Demon?
Giyu's gaze turned toward the clown on the platform called a demon. There were no demons in this town, yet there existed beings called demons? He began resting his fingertips on his sword guard, steadily continuing to push forward through the crowd.
"Now, public execution!! Death penalty!!!"
Buggy's voice echoed across the plaza once more, while simultaneously, the surrounding clouds completely enveloped the area, the sky rapidly darkening.
"Any last words? Rare to have so many spectators." Buggy placed one foot on the guillotine, looking down mockingly at Luffy.
Luffy remained silent for a moment, then suddenly took a deep breath and shouted with all his might to the entire plaza:
"I AM!!!"
"THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!!!!"
Whoosh—!
These words instantly caused the crowd to erupt.
"The Pirate King?!"
"Spouting such big words in a place like this?!"
"Daring to act so recklessly while trapped on the execution platform?!"
Meanwhile, Giyu finally pushed through the crowd and emerged at the forefront, clearly seeing everything on the platform.
"Oh?"
Buggy's attention was immediately drawn to this suddenly appearing swordsman. He glared at Giyu and roared, "You! I just gave the order for no one to move! Are you treating my words as nothing but empty wind?!"
His gaze then fell upon the empty sleeve and suddenly turned grim. "Ah~~ how irritating... It reminds me of that detestable red-haired bastard! I've decided—today, you'll keep this straw-hat-wearing fool company in death!"
Before the words fully faded, one of Buggy's arms detached from his body, fingers clutching several gleaming throwing knives. Like arrows released from a bow, they whistled through the air toward Giyu!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
Giyu's eyes showed no fluctuation. His Nichirin Blade didn't even need to be drawn.
With just a slight flick of his wrist, he casually deflected the arm carrying the knives using the scabbard.
Clang, clang, clang!
The knives were all knocked away, scattering across the ground, while the detached arm swiftly flew back to reattach to Buggy's body.
"Bwahahahaha!" Buggy forced a loud laugh, pretending to be calm. "I'm the Chop-Chop Man who ate the Chop-Chop Fruit! Your slashes are useless against me! Too bad for you!"
Yet inwardly, he was startled: This guy... his reflexes are incredibly fast... He's no ordinary opponent.
Giyu's gaze shifted past Buggy, settling on Luffy beside him.
The tavern keeper's words echoed in his mind: "If it's him, I believe he can definitely break through."
His objective clear and resolute, he spoke toward the platform:
"You cannot kill that straw-hat-wearing man."
Buggy grinned, his smile turning vicious. "Your arrogant demeanor reminds me more and more of that guy, and it pisses me off! But!!" He raised his scimitar high. "I'm going to slaughter this straw-hat-wearing brat right now! What are you going to do about it?!"
"Men!" he bellowed at the crowd below. "Don't let this one-armed bastard take one step forward!"
"Yes! Captain Buggy!"
A group of pirates immediately surged forward, closing in on Giyu with shouts, while Buggy raised his scimitar behind his head, blade aimed at Luffy's neck, ready to strike.
"Spare his life!!!"
A familiar furious roar suddenly came from the rear of the square. From the corner of his eye, Giyu saw Zoro—who had been separated from him earlier—alongside a blond man smoking a cigarette, both desperately charging toward the platform. The terrified crowd scrambled to clear a path for them.
But Buggy's pirate crew immediately split off a group, howling as they rushed out to intercept Zoro and the blond man.
Left in front of Giyu were only a juggling swordsman riding a unicycle and a slender woman carrying a massive spiked club.
"Our captain said not to let you advance one step~" the juggling swordsman sneered strangely. "Take another step, and we'll give you the execution platform trick too!!"
Giyu looked up at the execution platform. Buggy's scimitar was fully poised, ready to swing down.
There was no time left.
His eyes instantly sharpened.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Modified, Water Wheel!"
His only arm instantly swung the Nichirin Blade, his body rotating like flowing water. It wasn't a slashing attack, but rather a controlled motion using the hilt and sheath to swiftly yet non-lethally strike the heads of the two blocking his path.
Thump! Thump!
The two unlucky individuals blocking the way didn't even comprehend what happened before their vision went dark and they collapsed limply to the ground.
If it was truly as they and that guy claimed—that slashing attacks were ineffective against him—then he would destroy the entire execution platform first.
Just as Giyu gathered strength in his feet, preparing to charge toward the base of the execution platform—
Luffy's voice came from the execution platform, cutting through the clamor with a mix of apology and pure frankness:
"Zoro!! Sanji!! Usopp!! Nami!!"
"Sorry!! I'm going to die!!"
Something inexplicably tugged at Giyu's heartstrings, but he didn't hesitate for even a moment. The air in his lungs compressed to its limit as power surged into his legs.
"Water Breathing · Seventh Form: Droplet Ripple Stab!"
His figure transformed into a blue streak skimming the ground, heading straight for the weathered wooden base of the execution platform! The tip of his Nichirin Blade gathered chilling moisture, as if truly channeling flowing water.
And almost in the same instant—
The sky was torn apart by a ghastly white lightning bolt!
BOOM!!!!!!!!!
Deafening thunder swallowed all other sounds in the world!
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, the swordsman's thrust and the furious lightning descending from heaven struck the execution platform almost simultaneously!
A violent explosion occurred! Wood splinters, sparks, and charred fragments flew wildly in all directions!
That execution platform which had borne the legend and conclusion of the Pirate King crumbled into a burning ruin under what appeared to be the combined force of natural might and human determination!
Giyu's figure barely leaped backward just before the explosion, hot fragments raining down and brushing past his haori as they fell.
He landed steadily, standing in the gradually falling rain with his single arm holding the sword, gazing at the ruins and the storm clouds in the sky.
How could... it be such a coincidence?
For a moment he even felt dazed, uncertain whether the lightning that had descended from heaven was pure coincidence or if some other existence had intervened.
When he was destroying the execution platform, he had looked up and seen clearly—just as the blade was about to touch the Straw Hat Kid's neck, the lightning from the sky had suddenly and precisely struck Clown Buggy.
Amid the ruins, Clown Buggy lay sprawled on the ground, eyes rolled back, clearly knocked unconscious by the lightning strike.
But the black-haired boy in the red vest, Monkey D. Luffy, stood up from the ruins as if nothing had happened, dusted himself off, picked up the straw hat that had fallen nearby, and deftly placed it back on his head.
"HAHAHAHA!" He let out his signature laugh, filled with pure joy at having survived, "I'm still alive after all!"
Then he turned his head, eyes shining as he looked at Giyu standing not far away with his sword. His face was filled with the astonishment and excitement of discovering new territory as he shouted loudly:
"Your move just now was so interesting! I saw it! How does your sword spray water like that!!!"