Chapter 16: Fierce Battle
With such a strong burst of Conqueror's Haki, there were many connoisseurs in the pirate world. Although it's said that in the latter half of the New World, pirates possessing Conqueror's Haki are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river.
But this saying was actually too exaggerated. Those possessing top-tier Conqueror's Haki could be counted on two hands. Whitebeard Edward Newgate and Red-Haired Shanks were two of them.
"I never thought this brat would actually reach this stage. The Conqueror's Haki Buggy just emitted wasn't inferior to yours, Shanks," Whitebeard hadn't expected a day where he would misjudge someone. Anyone who had been with Roger couldn't be underestimated.
"His performance shocked me too. A Devil Fruit user unafraid of seawater or Seastone—if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it." Shanks felt that this red-nosed Buggy on the live broadcast screen was somewhat unfamiliar. He had known him for so many years but had never seen such an unrestrained side of him.
Most people on the Roger Pirates didn't eat Devil Fruits; top-tier powerhouses didn't want to give themselves a weakness. Red-Haired Shanks also inherited and carried forward this idea; there were very few Devil Fruit users on his ship.
But now, someone was telling you that eating a Devil Fruit had no side effects. Even a strong person like Shanks was somewhat tempted to find a suitable Devil Fruit to enhance his strength, achieving an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
"Next time there's a chance, I'll invite him aboard for drinks. I wonder if this brat would be willing to become my son, haha!"
Hearing Whitebeard's words, Shanks couldn't help but roll his eyes. This old fellow really dared to think big. Not everyone was like Roger's son, lacking fatherly love. Perhaps he had drunk too much.
The battle between Buggy the Clown and Admiral Akainu continued.
"Lord Buggy, you've become so tall! Your whole demeanor has changed!"
"You're truly amazing! Even magma can't do anything to you!"
Alvida was still a little smug. Just moments ago, Buggy the Clown had helped her crush the Seastone handcuffs on her wrists. "Captain Buggy, if you had come out any later, the magma would have soaked my skin."
At this moment, Buggy's height had reached 4.2 meters. His original clothes were too small and had been directly torn open. Not only did this not detract from his image, but it also revealed his robust muscles. Even the smile and makeup on his face had changed, more closely resembling his future image from the Sky Screen.
"It's mainly because you all are too useless. If I hadn't come out to help, everyone would have died in that prison."
Magma fists flew down from the air. Buggy raised his right hand into the air, activating his Devil Fruit ability from within. "Splitting Net!"
An invisible, intangible large net covered the Buggy Pirates' heads. When the magma fists generated by Meteor Volcano fell, the magma, exceeding a thousand degrees, was torn into pieces, split and destroyed from the microscopic atomic level, turning into harmless smoke and dust that dissipated into the air.
Sakazuki watched the whole thing. He ordered the Marine warships according to the original plan, "Gunners, prepare! All units, open fire!"
Hundreds of cannons simultaneously opened fire. The cannons roared as one explosive shell after another shot towards the Buggy Pirates. Not every shot could hit the target, but as long as they could deplete Buggy's stamina, these cannonballs were valuable.
Currently, apart from Captain Buggy, the rest of the Buggy Pirates were not a major concern. They simply couldn't withstand the artillery bombardment from multiple Marine warships. In the end, they would still need their captain to protect them.
"Admiral Akainu, if you destroy the Marine branch like this, Fleet Admiral Sengoku won't be happy afterwards~"
The first few cannonballs landed quite far, but after correcting the range, they could reach Buggy the Clown. These Marine gunners had learned their mathematics well; the basic education in the Marines was indeed much better than that of pirates.
"Multi-Split!"
The hundreds of cannonballs flying in together were sliced into countless tiny pieces in mid-air. No explosions occurred during this process; they turned into debris and fell to the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!... A new round of shelling descended again. Buggy used Multi-Split once more. This battle of attrition wasn't a solution. Who knew how many cannonballs this "magma dog" had brought? Being unilaterally bombarded by the Marines was too shameful for a pirate.
"I wonder how much one Marine warship costs to build." Buggy the Clown disappeared from the Marines' sight in the blink of an eye. His speed was too fast; in less than two seconds, he was less than five meters away from the Marine formation.
"Splitting Cannon!"
Buggy compressed his Devil Fruit's splitting ability to the extreme within a space the size of two fists. This had the advantage of allowing the splitting ability to reach the target faster.
"I won't let you succeed! Dark Hound!"
Admiral Akainu was the first to rush in front of Buggy, his arm turning into scorching magma, clashing with the clown's technique.
The splitting ability and the continuous flow of magma were actually evenly matched for a moment. For the opponent's attack to be like a basic attack and an ultimate move at the same time was simply too abnormal. Sakazuki continuously used Dark Hound with both arms to forcibly counteract Buggy the Clown's incredible disintegration ability.
The clash between Splitting Cannon and Dark Hound eventually turned into a competition of Armament Haki. Black, thick fists slammed against each other, each impact sounding like colliding steel.
Sakazuki felt he had still underestimated Buggy the Clown earlier. A man who had developed his Devil Fruit to this extent was also excellent in terms of physical combat skills. He couldn't gain an advantage in Observation Haki either. After a brief exchange of over a dozen rounds, he still couldn't take down this pirate.
"I will absolutely keep you in Loguetown! Great Eruption!"
An enormous amount of magma, like a volcanic eruption, burst forth from Admiral Akainu's right fist. The thousand-degree high temperature seemed capable of melting anything, instantly covering the area directly in front of Buggy the Clown.
"You really underestimated me. Splitting World!"
The amount of magma, like that from a small volcanic eruption, couldn't even touch Buggy's clothes in the face of his splitting Devil Fruit ability. It was divided into hundreds of small streams of magma, all dispersed and disintegrated from the front of the pirate, losing their original offensive power.
Sakazuki had possessed the Logia Magma-Magma Fruit for so long, yet this was the first time he had encountered an ability that could disintegrate magma. The strong opponents he had fought before always chose to withstand it with Armament Haki. For the first time, he understood that the degree of Devil Fruit development truly determined a person's upper limit of strength.
Former Admiral Zephyr had said that the current Admiral Kizaru relied too much on his Devil Fruit ability. Looking at it now, that wasn't entirely correct. Could it be that the era of Haki was coming to an end?
"Sakazuki, let me show you the techniques of Conqueror's Haki!"
"Divine Rend!"
Buggy's tall figure passed through the magma blockade, his fist wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, landing a direct punch on the Marine Admiral's face. Although Sakazuki had turned into his element in advance, it was still too late, and he took the full force of the blow.
A complete fist imprint was left on his entire face, his nasal bone directly broken. But this man, being a Marine Admiral, actually hadn't lost consciousness despite suffering such an attack.
"Pluto Pillar!"
Sakazuki grabbed Buggy the Clown's fist, his entire body turning into a mass of scorching magma. The magma formed a pillar over ten meters high, completely engulfing the figures of the two men on the scene...