Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Cannonballs rained toward them, but Jack calmly shot each one down, the acrid scent of gunpowder thick in the air. Seeing their attacks neutralized, the Buggy Pirates weren't discouraged—they simply fired more rounds from their ship in quick succession.
"Captain, why don't we have cannons on our ship?" Jack had been aboard the Chris for over twenty days, and as a sharpshooter, he'd always felt something was missing. Now he understood—they didn't have a single cannon on board.
"No need, no need," Weiss replied cheerfully. "I trust you can handle those little things just fine."
Indeed, the Chris wasn't equipped with artillery. In Weiss' view, his own strength was more than enough to deal with enemies. If he couldn't handle it, no amount of cannons would help anyway.
That left Jack to handle every incoming projectile one bullet at a time. Fortunately, his skills backed up his claim to be the best gunman in the East Blue.
Standing at the bow, Jack held his firing stance with sharp focus. With each movement of his eyes, he unleashed a precise shot, destroying the cannonballs midair before they could get close. Not a single one reached the Chris.
After clearing the sky of danger, Jack quickly reloaded. In theory, a flintlock could fire about five rounds per minute—but Jack had heavily modified his weapon. With its enhanced firing speed, he had no trouble keeping up with the enemy barrage.
---
A single man's firepower rivaled an entire pirate ship's.
As the two vessels drew closer, the Buggy Pirates finally gave up on firing—they'd realized it was pointless.
At that moment, Weiss made his move. Leaping onto the Buggy Pirates' ship ahead of Jack, he didn't want the battle to mess up the Chris. Cleaning up afterward was just too much of a hassle.
Once aboard, Weiss spotted several familiar figures: a red-nosed clown, a beast tamer riding a tiger, and a sneaky swordsman whom Zoro once cut down in a single furious slash.
Buggy. Mohji. Cabaji.
These three were the core strength of the Buggy Pirates.
"Alright, nobody move. This is a robbery," Weiss announced, drawing a small knife and pointing it at the crew. He'd left the precious sword gifted to him by Koushirou back on the ship—this was a small-time affair, not worth drawing a proper blade.
The entire ship went silent for a beat. Then laughter erupted. The pirates roared with amusement, brandishing their weapons toward Weiss and the approaching Jack.
"You little brat—did you say you're robbing Lord Buggy?" The crowd parted as Buggy stepped forward, arms akimbo, his expression dark and dangerous.
In the entire East Blue, only Buggy robbed others—no one had ever dared to rob him. His name was infamous, his reputation ironclad. Yet here was this lunatic challenging him outright.
"Clown Buggy, your nose is really red," Weiss said, going straight for the insult.
The air froze.
Even his own crew looked horrified, recoiling like they'd seen a ghost. Buggy normally flew into a blind rage just hearing the word "red nose" by accident. Now someone had said it to his face—what kind of madman was this?
"You little bastard, I'll show you what pain really means!" Buggy bellowed, instantly splitting apart. His upper body floated into the air while his knife-wielding hand detached and shot toward Weiss.
Weiss caught the flying hand midair, holding it firm no matter how much Buggy struggled to pull it back.
Weiss tilted his head curiously. "Hey Buggy, can your severed hand still feel pain?"
Buggy blinked in surprise at the question. "Hah! Of course not. Lord Buggy's powers are—"
"Let go! Let go! OW OW OW! That hurts, stop it!"
As Weiss began twisting the hand in his grip, Buggy collapsed to the deck, cradling the stump of his arm and howling in pain.
Weiss didn't even use a weapon—just his grip strength. But it was enough to crush a sea beast with a punch, let alone twist human flesh.
The Chop-Chop Fruit may allow body parts to detach, but it didn't mean they were immune to pain.
"Get him! All of you, attack now!" Buggy screamed through gritted teeth, tears and snot running down his face.
Mohji charged on his lion, and Cabaji followed on his unicycle.
"Move! Why aren't you moving, Richie?!" Mohji shouted at his lion, but the beast skidded to a halt and began backing away, trembling.
No amount of coaxing could move it—Richie even covered its eyes with its paws.
Why? Because Weiss had looked at it—just one glance.
Weiss had killed more beasts than he could count during his sword training. Even sea kings had fallen to him in the depths. As a result, his aura carried a lethal, primal presence that terrified animals.
Buggy was still kneeling, writhing in pain. He'd given up trying to retrieve his hand and instead was rummaging behind him for something. Weiss noticed and tightened his grip again.
"ARGHH!"
Buggy's scream echoed again.
Meanwhile, Cabaji had reached the deck, tossing a smoke bomb that quickly filled the area with thick fog. The entire battlefield became a haze.
Riding along the railing, Cabaji tried to sneak up for an ambush.
But it was no use. Jack, who had mastered Observation Haki, had already tracked his movements. As Cabaji reached the railing, Jack pulled the trigger.
Bang!
"Ahh—I fell!"
Cabaji's unicycle shattered, pieces clattering across the deck. One wheel rolled dramatically to Buggy's feet.
Cabaji himself tumbled to the floor, disoriented. He tried to sneak up again, but—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sharp report of gunfire echoed. Screams followed. Cabaji realized the smoke wasn't shielding them—it was trapping them instead.
Terrified, he ducked behind his own crewmates, clutching his sword and hoping Jack wouldn't pick him as the next target.
Weiss noticed. His expression tightened. So this is what real pirates are like—using their comrades as shields just to survive.
Even Mohji had his moments. But this guy? After they entered the Grand Line, no one ever heard of him again.
As the smoke finally cleared, the deck was strewn with bodies—some dead, others groaning in pain. Buggy still knelt there, occasionally making a move before Weiss crushed his hand again.
"Damn it—what do you want!?" Buggy shouted, his head floating in the air but quickly snapping back at the sight of Weiss gripping his palm.
"Nothing much," Weiss replied with a smile. "Just your treasure."
Then he gave Buggy's hand a friendly squeeze.
Buggy screamed like his soul was being wrung out.
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Currently at chapter 310 on Ko-Fi
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27