Next Bonus, 100!!
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"Hahaha! It's useless!" Buggy cackled. "I'm a Chop-Chop man who ate the Chop-Chop Fruit! Slashing attacks, stabbing attacks... any kind of sword attack is completely useless against me! You could say I'm the natural enemy of all swordsmen! Get it?"
Seeing that their captain was completely unfazed by Zoro and Saga, the crewmen erupted in cheers.
"Hey! Don't just stand there gawking!" Buggy snapped at them. "Get them!"
"YES, CAPTAIN BUGGY!"
The Buggy Pirates charged.
"He's mine!" Cabaji shouted, riding his unicycle toward Zoro.
"Watch out, Zoro!" Saga yelled, turning to face the swarming pirates. A dozen of them were sent flying.
"Two-Sword Style... Rhino Cycle!"
Zoro charged as well, unleashing his full power on the grunts in front of him. With his monstrous strength, he was a whirlwind of destruction, cutting down anyone in his path.
"Acrobatic... Fire-Breathing!"
Cabaji rode up and spat a gout of flame at Zoro.
The intense heat forced Zoro to backpedal. He looked at the man on the unicycle. He was holding a sword. Another swordsman.
"Roronoa Zoro," Cabaji said. "As a fellow swordsman, if I can kill you... I'll be the strongest swordsman in the East Blue!"
"If it's a sword fight you want," Zoro said, his eyes sharp, "I'm game."
"Acrobatic... Steam-Engine Murder!"
Cabaji, still on his unicycle, spun his sword so fast it kicked up a cloud of dust, like a giant pinwheel.
Zoro's expression turned serious. The Guild's intelligence report had described Cabaji as a swordsman who fought with flashy, acrobatic moves. His strengths were his technique and his speed. His weakness was his lack of power...
Zoro's eyes were fixed on his opponent.
Against an opponent like this, all he needed was one strike.
Not far away, Saga was also in a tough fight. His opponent was Mohji, who was lashing at him with a whip while his giant lion swiped at him with its claws.
The ground buckled and shattered, the shockwave from the impact sending the nearby pirates flying.
"Hey, Richie! What are you doing??" the crewmen yelled.
The lion looked embarrassed.
Buggy, hiding among his men, let out a sinister laugh. "Chop-Chop... Ground-Level Flight!"
His two detached hands, hidden by the chaos, shot out and grabbed Saga's leg.
A cheap shot.
Saga reacted quickly, swinging his sword down, but Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit was a cheat against swordsmen. Even Mihawk couldn't have cut him.
Wounded, Saga was now on the defensive.
Zoro didn't fare much better.
With Buggy's underhanded tactics, and Cabaji's complete lack of a swordsman's honor, Zoro was hit with several heavy blows.
In the end, both he and Saga were captured. To get revenge for the destruction of his ship, the furious Buggy decided to execute them by cannon.
He had them tied to a wooden post and, with a sadistic grin and the cheers of his men, he lit the fuse of the Buggy Cannon.
BOOM!
The cannon roared, and the cannonball shot forward.
Just then, a figure stretched out a long arm, grabbed the wooden post, and launched himself through the air.
"Gum-Gum... Balloon!"
He suddenly inflated, and the hard cannonball, to everyone's astonishment, slammed into his soft, rubbery stomach. The skin indented, but it didn't break. Instead, it stretched, and with incredible elasticity, it sent the cannonball flying right back at Buggy.
"HUH??" Buggy shrieked.
His head, hands, body, and feet all flew in different directions, just in time to dodge the incoming cannonball.
His men weren't so lucky.
"Whoa! That was close!" Luffy said, landing and wiping the sweat from his brow with a grin.
"Close for you! Not for us!" the crewmen screamed.
"Who the hell are you?" Buggy demanded, enraged.
Zoro and Saga looked at the newcomer.
"I'm Luffy!" he said with a laugh. "And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"HUH??" Everyone was stunned.
"King of the Pirates?"
"You?"
"Dream on!"
The crewmen jeered.
Buggy also burst out laughing. But when he saw Luffy pick up a fallen straw hat from the ground, his eyes widened.
That hat...
Wasn't that Shanks's?
"Hey, kid! What's your relationship with Shanks?"
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Hey! You know Shanks?"
Know him? He more than knew him. Buggy grit his teeth. It was because of that bastard that he'd eaten a Devil Fruit and could no longer swim, that he'd lost his chance at the sunken treasure.
"He's my hero," Luffy said. "He's the one who inspired me to become a pirate. But one day, I'm going to surpass him."
That was all Buggy needed to hear.
"Chop-Chop... Flying Daggers!"
His hand flew through the air, aiming for Luffy.
Luffy dodged, but the hand flew past him, then came back, snatching the hat and returning it to Buggy.
"My hat!"
Buggy took the straw hat and stomped on it. He had hit Luffy's sore spot.
"Hey! Give me back my hat!" Luffy roared, charging at him.
"Get him!" Buggy commanded.
"Gum-Gum... Gatling!"
A flurry of stretched-out fists rained down on the charging crewmen.
While Luffy was fighting them, Viola rushed over and cut the ropes, freeing Zoro and Saga.
The two swordsmen, their swords back in their hands, once again faced off against Cabaji and Mohji.
Before, Cabaji had the advantage, with Buggy's help and the sheer number of grunts. Now, facing a serious Zoro, that advantage was gone.
"My dream," Zoro said, tying his bandana around his head, "is to become the world's greatest swordsman! Let me show you the difference between us!"
A powerful aura washed over Cabaji, and he was momentarily stunned by the look in Zoro's eyes.
"Don't underestimate me!" he snarled.
"I can't afford to lose to anyone who calls himself a swordsman, not even once," Zoro said, his breathing steady, the sword held in his mouth.
"Is that so?" Cabaji said, swinging his own sword. "Such determination. But don't worry. You'll be losing to me today."
"You're wrong," Zoro said. "If I were to lose to you, what would that say about my future?"
"Enough talk!" Cabaji sneered.
He scattered a handful of spinning tops on the ground. "Kamikaze... Hundred-Top Theater!"
"Acrobatic... Mountain Climb!"
"Acrobatic... Fireworks!"
He rode his unicycle up a wall and threw a handful of fireworks to blind Zoro.
The three moves were all a setup for his final attack.
"One-Wheel Pierce!"
He leaped high into the air and, holding his sword in a reverse grip, plunged down toward Zoro.
"Are you done with your little circus act?" Zoro said.
"Three-Sword Style... Oni Giri!"
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