Hawkeye's joining made the battle a foregone conclusion, and Dragon's arrival brought the battle to an early end.
After the Pacifistas were knocked down one by one, the World Government's army collapsed.
Many people abandoned ship and jumped into the sea to survive, but in the vast ocean, how many could actually swim back?
Spandam didn't escape; he was carried in the mouth of the lion Licky and brought before Buggy.
"For this kind of thing, you should have just killed him directly!" Buggy said. "No need to go out of your way to bring him to me..."
Spandam literally wet himself in fear. "Captain Buggy, I'm still useful! I can have my family pay a ransom, and I'm the chief of CP1; I know a lot of intelligence."
Spandam knew Buggy wasn't just intimidating him; this lunatic even dared to kill Celestial Dragons, let alone himself.
"Money and intelligence are useless to me... For someone like you, the only value is being dead."
Buggy pointed casually, and a bolt of [White Lightning] shot out, piercing Spandam's heart.
Spandam fell to the ground, but his saber dropped to the side, trembling... Was this the sword "Funkfreed" that had eaten the [Elephant-Elephant Fruit]?
Buggy picked up Funkfreed and tried giving an order, "Extend?"
A white elephant burst out from the longsword, its trunk transforming into a black blade.
It looked a bit... ridiculous?
However, weapons that had eaten a Devil Fruit were rare items in the pirate world, with only three known cases, making them even rarer than the twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
But as for their usefulness... they could only be treated as toys or collectibles.
"Mohji, this is for you. Get used to how to tame an elephant in advance." Buggy returned Funkfreed to its original form and tossed it to Mohji.
"Huh?" Mohji clumsily caught the elephant sword Funkfreed. "Captain Buggy, does this thing even count as a beast?"
"How should I know? But it has the appearance and temperament of an elephant, so it probably counts. Try it out yourself."
Buggy didn't know if a sword counted as an animal after "eating" a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.
When a sentient being eats a Devil Fruit, their own will controls the body.
But when a non-sentient inanimate object "eats" a Devil Fruit, the controlling factor should be the Devil Fruit itself.
Whether it was Mr. 4's dachshund gun Lassoo or Marine Captain Shuzo's alpaca cannon Alpacacino, they all more or less exhibited the personality of a dachshund or an alpaca.
Since the Nika Fruit has a will, perhaps other Devil Fruits also contain a will, especially Zoan-type Devil Fruits.
People who consume Zoan-type Devil Fruits also have their personalities influenced to some extent.
As for the Artificial Paw-Paw Fruit on the Pacifistas, it should be housed in a pirate's heart, which is why the heart became their weakness...
While Buggy was pondering this, Dragon had finished cleaning up the battlefield and was coming over with the Revolutionary Army executives.
Seeing this, Crocodile and Hawkeye stood behind Buggy. Since they had joined the Buggy Pirates, they naturally had to back up their Captain.
Dragon couldn't help but be stunned when he saw those two standing behind Buggy.
How did they end up with the Buggy Pirates...
"Captain Buggy, thank you very much for saving these reckless fellows." Despite the confusion in his heart, the fierce-looking Dragon first expressed his gratitude to Buggy.
"It was just a chance encounter," Buggy said.
Come to think of it, the Revolutionary Army executives had also helped him quite a bit, even though the Buggy Pirates' troubles originated from these revolutionaries.
"Regardless, our Revolutionary Army owes you a favor," Dragon said sincerely. "If you need anything in the future, be sure to let us know."
If the Chief of Staff and the Four Army Commanders had all been captured by the Marine, the high-level leadership of the Revolutionary Army would have been reduced by two-thirds.
To rescue their comrade Bartholomew Kuma, the Revolutionary Army had pretty much mobilized in full force.
"Where is Captain Buggy headed next? Why not come to the Kamabakka Kingdom as a guest and let us show you some hospitality?" Dragon invited. "Since Captain Buggy has declared war on the Celestial Dragons, we can be considered allies."
"Forget it, I still need to recall the people from Buggy Dispatch, so I won't be going there," Buggy refused directly.
If it were anywhere else, he might consider it, but he wouldn't go to the Okama Kingdom; it was too much of an eyesore.
"You can have this ship. We'll part ways here."
Although they both opposed the Celestial Dragons, Buggy's philosophy differed from that of the Revolutionary Army.
In the eyes of the Revolutionary Army, overthrowing the rule of the Celestial Dragons required mobilizing the commoners at the bottom, and they had seized control of several countries using this method.
In an ordinary world, there would be nothing wrong with this method, but the pirate world was one where the strong reigned supreme.
A single powerhouse could easily take on an entire nation; the power of the masses meant nothing in the face of the truly strong.
Buggy felt that instead of spending time inciting uprisings, the Revolutionary Army would be better off cultivating more powerhouses.
Of course, Buggy didn't deny the positive impact of the Revolutionary Army; they did bring hope to some oppressed commoners.
"Uh..." Dragon also noticed that Buggy wasn't very enthusiastic about the Revolutionary Army. "Then, regarding the matter of Bartholomew Kuma..."
"What do you want to do?" Bonney flared up as soon as she heard this. "Take him away and continue using him as a tool?"
Dragon likely knew about the relationship between Bartholomew Kuma and Bonney, and explained somewhat awkwardly, "We didn't expect things to turn out like this either..."
"I won't allow you to take him away. I will stay with him in the Buggy Pirates. The World Government did this to him, and I won't let them off," Bonney said hatefully. "And I won't forgive you either!"
"What is Bartholomew Kuma's current situation?" Buggy asked.
"When we rescued him, he no longer had any self-awareness," Sabo explained in a low voice. "He only obeys orders from the controller. Fortunately, the controller was in Rosward Saint's hands, and we snatched it along with him."
"What do you want to do? Bonney is my crew member, and I stand by her side. If she doesn't want anyone to take Bartholomew Kuma away, then no one can take him." Buggy said.
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
Crocodile lit a cigar. "Quite domineering, Captain."
Hawkeye said nothing, just quietly watching Dragon.
Bonney's eyes instantly turned red. "Thank you, Captain."
"But Bartholomew Kuma is an executive of our Revolutionary Army..." Sabo wanted to say more, but Dragon stopped him.
"I understand. In terms of both emotion and logic, Bartholomew Kuma should stay with Miss Bonney," Dragon said in a deep voice.
"However..." Dragon pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and whispered, "If any abnormality occurs with Bartholomew Kuma in the future, I hope Captain Buggy can inform us. This is very important to our Revolutionary Army."
"It even concerns the overall plan of the Revolutionary Army."
"I hope Captain Buggy can help us once more. Please!"
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