But luckily for them, he was a Slow-Slow human who had eaten the Paramecia-type Slow-Slow Fruit. It could slow an opponent's movements, thoughts, and reactions by dozens of times. Though it only lasted for thirty seconds, that was more than enough time for them to escape.
As the Noro Noro Beam struck Momoo, the sea beast's speed instantly plummeted, and it began to move through the water with an exaggeratedly slow motion. Its raised head lowered back beneath the waves frame by frame, its fins paddling forward at a crawl.
Momoo was now only about three hundred meters away, and they could clearly see its massive body and its face, which was a mix between a dragon and an ox. An overwhelming sense of primeval might washed over them.
"As expected of Master Foxy, you're amazing!" Porche, standing beside Foxy to cheer him on, immediately offered her adoration upon seeing Momoo slowed.
"It's... huge! How could a Sea King like this appear in these waters!" Foxy stared in shock at Momoo, whose head alone was several times larger than his ship, the Sexy Foxy.
"Quick, retreat while you have the chance!" Foxy ordered his crew from his perch atop the giant fox figurehead.
With grunts of effort, the crew worked together, turning the sails and driving the Sexy Foxy into a rapid retreat!
"Yeah, a direct hit! That giant Sea King has been slowed down!"
"Get 'em, men! Charge!"
Buggy's reaction was swift. Seeing the Noro Noro Beam hit its mark, he completely forgot his earlier panic, leaping onto the ship's rail and shouting with arrogant excitement.
"Charge!"
A crowd of pirate grunts immediately raised their guns and opened fire on Momoo.
Meanwhile, the officers of the Buggy Pirates had already lowered a small boat and were rowing furiously toward the Sexy Foxy.
"Mohji, row faster!"
"You idiot, you're too slow! Let me do it!"
On the small boat, an enraged Alvida snatched the oar from Mohji's hands and began to row with all her might.
At the same time, a number of pirate grunts were still standing at the stern of their own ship, shouting toward the small boat on the water, "Ms. Alvida, don't leave us behind!"
Bang! Bang bang!
With a deafening volley of gunfire, the group of pirates fired wildly at Momoo.
However, on Momoo's back, Haki surged around Ryuuto's body; the Noro Noro Beam had no effect on him whatsoever. The same was true for Hancock, whose qipao fluttered as if in an unfelt wind, similarly unaffected.
Nami, on the other hand, had her mouth open, trying to speak to Ryuuto.
"Cap..."
"...tain..."
Due to the effects of the Noro Noro Beam, her speech was slowed dozens of times over, and she had only just managed to get the second syllable out.
"Just as I thought, an old acquaintance."
Ryuuto, riding on Momoo's back, had spotted Buggy early on. Seeing the bullets flying toward them, he decided not to hold back.
"Wind Scar!" Ryuuto roared. With a few swings of Yubashiri, countless waves of cutting energy shot forth in an instant.
The white slashes easily sliced through all the incoming bullets before continuing straight toward the Marine warship the Buggy Pirates were on.
"Ah! Wasn't he slowed down? How is this possible! We're dead! We're dead!!" Buggy instantly panicked. His body had already split into pieces before the attack even arrived.
"Aah... No!" The pirate grunts' eyes widened in terror.
Seeing the countless slashes bearing down on them, they had no time to think. They threw their muskets aside and leaped into the sea.
BOOM!!
The slashes arrived in the blink of an eye. With several massive explosions, the Marine warship was shredded into countless small pieces that scattered across the surface of the water.
"What terrifying power!" The pirate grunts in the water, the Foxy Pirates, and Alvida's group all cried out in unison upon witnessing the spectacle.
"Damn it!! I almost died!" Buggy hovered in mid-air, his expression filled with lingering fear. Fortunately, his feet had landed on a floating piece of wood.
As a user of the Chop-Chop Fruit, Buggy wasn't afraid of being cut, but falling into the sea would have been the end of him.
"Cabaji, grab my feet, quick!" Buggy shouted to the nearby Cabaji, glancing at the rapidly approaching Momoo.
After a moment of hesitation, Cabaji leaped back, grabbed Buggy's feet, and returned to the small boat. They had abandoned their plan to approach the Sexy Foxy and were now rowing frantically into the distance.
"Now that's more like it. I'm sure Buggy will appreciate my welcome-back gift!" Ryuuto nodded in satisfaction. How could the great Buggy not be running for his life? It just wouldn't be right!
Ryuuto stroked his chin, then sent another slash toward the Foxy Pirates, who hadn't gotten far. The massive shockwave crashed into the sea in front of the Sexy Foxy, forcing it to a halt.
"Captain Foxy! Maybe... we should surrender!"
Having witnessed the warship's disintegration, Porche swallowed hard. Her hands went limp, and her pom-poms dropped to the deck. She turned her head mechanically toward Foxy and spoke.
"I think... that's a very good idea!"
Foxy snapped his jaw shut and pulled a white cloth from who-knows-where, waving it frantically in his hand.
"Captain Buggy, maybe we should surrender too!"
The officers in the small boat, all frozen like statues, looked up at the hovering Buggy and spoke with difficulty. The last slash had passed right by them. If it had been off by just a little, their lives would have been forfeit.
"You idiots!!" Buggy hovered in the air, fuming with frustration. Because Cabaji and the others had stopped rowing, he was constrained by his feet, yanked to a halt and unable to fly any further forward. But no matter what he said, his officers refused to move another inch.
After a short wait, the thirty seconds were up.
Even though Momoo had been slowed, it could have covered that short distance in less than a second. Thus, by the time the effect wore off, Momoo had already brought Ryuuto and the others right in front of Foxy and Buggy.
"Buggy, it's been a long time!" Ryuuto said with a light laugh, standing on Momoo's back and looking at him. "You could say I saved your life last time. Otherwise, you might still be in Impel Down right now!"
"And as for you, Silver Fox Foxy, was it?"
Ryuuto then pointed Yubashiri at the Foxy Pirates, his eyes locking onto them.
"Don't move. This is a robbery!"
The people aboard the Sexy Foxy flinched at his shout and immediately raised their hands in compliance.
"Hahahaha, so it's an old friend!"
"There's no need to panic, men! This is Captain Ryuuto! We've met before! It's all just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
Buggy's mind raced. Then, slapping his forehead as if in a moment of sudden realization, he addressed the crowd of pirate grunts in the water. Even at a time like this, the master showman didn't forget to spin a few lies for his subordinates.