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The massive warhammer in Bugsy's right hand looked ridiculous compared to his short, stocky frame. The weapon was nearly twice his size, its head wide enough to crush a man in a single blow.
"I've spent every day since that humiliation training getting stronger just to settle the score!" Bugsy roared.
He charged.
His gang of thugs, over twenty of them, followed closely behind, blades drawn.
But Dylan didn't move.
He stood at the entrance of the casino, arms crossed, perfectly still.
Just as the Warhammer came crashing down.
WHOOSH!
A sudden gust of wind tore through the square.
In a blink, Bugsy and his massive hammer were flung backward tumbling across the dirt and landing in a heap nearly thirty feet away. His gang scattered like leaves in a storm.
Bugsy groaned and pushed himself up, using the hammer for balance.
He froze.
There was a voice behind him calm, close, dangerous.
He spun around, swinging the warhammer with all his strength.
But there was no one there.
His men were still downed. He turned back this time coming face-to-face with a tall, dark-haired boy.
Aero.
Bugsy blinked, stunned. The teen stood quietly, hands at his side, eyes steady.
Then Bugsy roared and hurled the hammer toward Aero.
Aero raised a hand.
And caught it.
Effortlessly.
Bugsy watched in horror. The hammer, his pride, his strength, was suspended in Aero's grip like it weighed nothing.
Impossible.
Bugsy had always known there were stronger people in the world. He wasn't delusional. But in his little corner of East Blue, he was someone.
At least, he had been.
He remembered the news.
Three days ago.
The story of the Daggerfang Pirates' complete annihilation.
No confirmed body for Scar… but Bugsy had been digging. Ever since his disgraceful defeat a year ago, he'd kept tabs on Scar's movements quietly, carefully.
Scar was worth three million Berries. A dangerous man.
And when Scar didn't come for revenge? Bugsy thought he'd been forgotten.
Eventually, he stopped checking the papers. Stopped caring.
Until last month when whispers of the Daggerfang Pirates' near-total destruction reached him.
Old hatred returned.
He waited three days to confirm the casino's silence after the reports.
Then he struck.
Bugsy hadn't come just for the cash. The vault was probably emptied by Scar's men anyway. What he wanted… was the casino itself. A self-sustaining fountain of wealth. A recruitment pool.
That had been his goal a year ago too.
But then he'd learned the difference between ambition and reality the hard way.
Now?
Now that difference stood before him, holding his hammer like it was made of paper.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Bugsy screamed in defiance and lunged again.
He was swatted away like a fly smashed into the stone wall across the street.
Aero stood there, wearing a black hooded cloak that concealed his body, save for his face.
Bugsy saw him clearly now.
Just a kid.
A teenager had brought him to his knees.
"Boss!" Dylan called out, rushing to Aero's side with a blade drawn.
Across the square, Bugsy's underlings dragged his broken body from the wall.
Aero rubbed his forehead, exasperated.
How is he still moving?
This world was… strange. Humans here were absurdly tough. Bugsy was proof.
Not only that Aero had started noticing something else: most people in this world had shockingly little common sense.
They didn't strategize. They just… charged.
It looks like the IQ of One Piece World is very low.
Aero glanced behind him. The remaining casino guards, most still bandaged from earlier wounds, now stared at him with fear and reverence.
They had once served under Scar. A day ago, when Aero arrived and claimed the casino, they attacked first and asked questions later.
They stopped swinging after he put them all on the floor.
Only then did they listen.
Only then did they realize that he had once sailed with Scar.
Pirates respected power. Simple as that.
And after seeing him, they accepted him as their new captain.
Now, they called him Boss.
Aero spent his days resting on the third floor of the casino, where Scar had once lived. Nine smaller rooms circled a central suite. That suite? Now Aero's.
He'd barely explored it.
Just yesterday, he was still asleep when the phone call came in.
The Den Den Mushi ringing jolted him awake.
Now, back in the square, he watched as Bugsy tried to flee with his injured crew.
Aero raised a hand and clenched his fingers.
Wind swept across the plaza.
Bugsy and his thugs were lifted off their feet, dragged backward through the air, and deposited in front of the casino.
Even Bugsy was shocked.
He looked down.
His feet weren't touching the ground.
They were… floating.
One by one, the gang was pulled to Aero's feet hovering until Aero relaxed his hand.
They dropped with a thud.
Aero sighed, lowering his arm.
'Damn… That took a lot out of me.'
His powers were new and untamed.
And controlling a dozen people with wind?
That was exhausting.
He'd need time to recover.
And even more time… to master this fruit.
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