Luffy and Buggy stood face to face, but instead of fighting, they started chatting.
On the other hand, Zoro and Shin'ya had already engaged in battle, while Nami and the ordinary pirate grunts stood still, not moving.
On Zoro's side…
Cabaji rode his unicycle out from behind Buggy and declared, "Buggy Pirates' Chief of Staff, and Acrobatic Swordsman, Cabaji, reporting for duty! As a swordsman, it is my honor to have the chance to kill you. Allow me to test your strength, Roronoa Zoro!"
With that, Cabaji pedaled his unicycle and charged toward Zoro.
He swung his two swords down hard at Zoro. Zoro, seeing this, quickly raised his sword to parry. Clang! Their weapons clashed, and they were locked in a stalemate.
Cabaji, seeing that their strengths were similar, immediately used a skill.
"Acrobatics: Fire-Breathing Old Man!" Cabaji spewed flames from his mouth toward Zoro. Zoro didn't expect a swordsman to be so underhanded and was caught off guard, taking a direct hit from the flames.
While Zoro was fending off the flames, Cabaji, disregarding all martial ethics, kicked Zoro directly in the kidney, sending him flying.
Seeing Zoro, who was still airborne, Cabaji once again used "Acrobatics: Steam Murder Incident" and swung his sword down at him. Zoro, unable to move in mid-air, could only block with his weapon and was once again kicked away by Cabaji.
As Zoro landed and stood up, Cabaji mockingly said, "Is this the strength of the East Blue's renowned Pirate Hunter? A bit weak, aren't you?"
Zoro ignored the taunt and instead said, "For me, a swordsman, to have to fight someone like you… it's an insult to the weapon in my hand. And you have no self-awareness, no dignity befitting a swordsman. I'm tired of playing with you."
With that, Zoro bit down on his sword, activating his Three-Sword Style, and continued, "Let me show you the proper way a swordsman fights!"
Hearing Zoro's words, Cabaji angrily retorted, "You sure talk big, Zoro! Let's see who's stronger, then! Acrobatics: Divine Wind Hundred Tops!"
Cabaji began spinning his entire body, attacking Zoro.
Zoro: "I'm done fighting with you. Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!" As the two crossed paths, Cabaji fell to the ground, unmoving.
Buggy, seeing Cabaji defeated, gritted his teeth and snarled, "What a waste! Mohji, you're up!"
Mohji replied, "Understood, Captain! Leave it to me! I'll definitely take them down!"
Then, he addressed Richie, who was beneath him, "Let's go, Richie! Let them see the power of the greatest beast tamer, Mohji!"
Mohji walked forward and looked at Luffy and the others. "I am Mohji, Vice-Captain of the Buggy Pirates, the strongest beast tamer in the sea! Who among you will fight me?"
Zoro looked at Shin'ya and Luffy and said, "You two go. This kind of acrobatic pirate crew isn't worth my effort."
"Then I'll go. Luffy, you just deal with their captain," Shin'ya said, then walked out.
Looking at Mohji and Richie across from him, Shin'ya pondered how to fight.
Mohji was about to say some grand words when he heard the person opposite him say, "Wood Release: Whipping Cage."
Mohji felt a tremor beneath his feet, and then he and Richie were trapped inside a cage made of wood. Inside the cage, there were eight things resembling motors standing upright. The central parts of these wooden motors were covered in vine-like thorns, like cactus spines. The thorns were so dense that a single touch would likely cause prolonged pain.
Richie and Mohji, one beast and one man, felt their hair stand on end at the sight. But they couldn't dwell on it now. Mohji pointed at the wooden bars of the cage and said to the lion, "Richie, bite through these wooden bars! We'll break out and directly attack that person!"
Richie: "Roar! Grrr!"
Just as Richie opened his mouth to bite the wood, Mohji heard Shin'ya speak again, "Wood Release: Thorn Whip."
As soon as Shin'ya finished speaking, Mohji saw the 'motors' around him begin to spin—faster and faster. Then came a rapid smack-smack-smack-smack-smack-smack-smack of whipping sounds. Immediately after, everyone saw the man and beast inside the cage being whipped half to death, their entire bodies covered in long cactus-like thorns.
"Owwooo~~ Ow~ Ow~ Ow~" Richie howled wildly from the whipping.
"Captain Buggy, help! Ow! Damn it, ahh! It hurts! Captain Buggy, quick, help!" Mohji cried out in agony.
Hearing Mohji's screams, Buggy turned his head to look and his eyes met Shin'ya's amused gaze. Buggy shivered and said to Mohji, "Figure it out yourself. I still have to deal with their captain, no time to help you." With that, he turned away, no longer looking at Mohji and Richie.
Shin'ya looked at the cowardly Buggy and said to Mohji, "It's alright, I won't kill you. At most, it'll just hurt for a bit. It's nothing!"
Mohji gritted his teeth, "It's not you getting whipped, so of course you think it's nothing!"
Shin'ya couldn't be bothered with him and turned his attention to Luffy and Buggy.
Just then, Buggy saw the straw hat on Luffy's head and found it very familiar.
Buggy: "Seeing that straw hat on your head reminds me of an infuriating guy. If it weren't for him, how could I have become a landlubber like this, losing my chance to search for treasure at the bottom of the sea? Do you know how much treasure I've lost because of this? Now I can only collect treasure on land—damn Shanks!"
Luffy: "Oh~ So you know Shanks, huh? Haha!"
"That straw hat just infuriates me. Since you care about it so much, then…" Buggy suddenly launched an attack. "Chop-Chop Cannon!" He sliced Luffy's straw hat a few times, then caught the hat with his flying hand, brought it back to his own hand, and continued, "Then let it be pulverized! Ah~ Hahaha!"
With that, Buggy put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily. Luffy, seeing his straw hat destroyed by Buggy, finally grew angry.
Luffy: "Even if you know Shanks, I'm still going to send you flying! That straw hat is a promise between me and Shanks! Since you dared to destroy it—'Gum-Gum Grab!'"
Luffy retrieved his hat and put it behind his back. "I'm going to send you flying! 'Gum-Gum Pistol!'" He directly attacked Buggy's face. Buggy dodged with a sidestep. In the same instant he dodged, Buggy pulled out eight throwing knives and aimed to slash at Luffy's arm.
Just as they were about to hit Luffy, he immediately used "Gum-Gum Train!" Luffy transformed his entire body into a train and charged directly into Buggy.
Buggy's eyes nearly popped out in fear. He hastily used "Chop-Chop Emergency Escape!" narrowly dodging Luffy's attack.
Just then, Nami quietly entered Buggy's treasure room and stole a large bag of treasure from inside. Buggy had just seen her.
"I hate it when people take my treasure! Especially when they blatantly steal it! Damn Nami, put down my treasure!" Buggy shouted, his upper body flying directly toward Nami.
Nami cried out in terror, "Oh no! He found me!"
As the attack was about to land on Nami, in the blink of an eye, Luffy suddenly caught sight of Buggy's lower body still in front of him. Without hesitation, he flew up and delivered a powerful kick to Buggy's vital area—Little Buggy.
Thud! A deafening sound, followed by Buggy's agonizing scream: "My balls! Ah~ They're going to shatter! Shattered!" Buggy's expression instantly became extremely twisted. He writhed on the ground like a whipped snake.
Seeing this, Luffy quickly shouted to Nami, "Hey, Nami! Don't worry about that treasure! Just throw it away and run! That guy will definitely attack you again!"
However, Nami clutched the treasure tightly, refusing to let go, muttering, "How can I? I worked so hard to steal this treasure from those pirates! Now it's mine! I'm not going to easily throw away my own treasure!"
Luffy heard this and immediately chuckled. He laughed and said, "Then if it passed by me, it's mine, right? Hahahaha~ I think I understand what's going on!"
At this moment, Buggy, who was lying on the ground groaning in pain, finally recovered. He furiously yelled at Luffy and Nami, "What are you two idiots talking about? This is clearly my treasure! You bastards, give me back my treasure!"