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Aero and his crew were led to the central plaza of Orange Town. In the middle stood a few hastily set-up tents.
"We're... we're here," one of the nervous pirates said, pointing at the largest tent.
"Here? Where exactly?" Eddie narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, finally locking onto the biggest tent.
"In... in the main tent! Captain Buggy is waiting inside," the pirate stammered, his voice shaky.
"Then you go first," Eddie said coldly, pushing them forward.
The two pirates struggled in resistance. "No! We can't go in there!"
"What's wrong?" Eddie grinned eerily. "Is there something terrifying inside you're not telling us about?"
At that, the two pirates stopped resisting, resigning themselves and trudging forward.
When they reached the tent, they halted again.
"W-we'll stay out here. Important people like you… we're not worthy to join."
"Cut the crap. I said go in—" Eddie growled, but was cut off by a deep voice from inside.
"Are those my guests? Let them in. Don't make things hard on my men."
It was Buggy.
The two pirates exhaled in relief, then quickly shifted to smug faces.
"Please, honored guests of Captain Buggy."
Eddie still looked annoyed, but Aero raised a hand to stop him, then led the way inside. The others followed close behind.
Outside, the pirates looked at each other with malicious glee.
"Let's get out of here quick," one said. "Buggy's Buggy Bomb is strong enough to blow up half a town."
"Exactly! Doesn't matter if it's Aero or the whole Hurricane Crew they're done for! Hahaha!"
And they ran as fast as they could, knowing full well Buggy's traps didn't discriminate.
Inside the tent, it was pitch black. Aero couldn't see anything.
But there was a voice speaking. Eddie stepped ahead and tracked the source.
As Aero's eyes adjusted, he saw the vague interior of the tent and then Eddie returned holding a Den Den Mushi.
"Captain—it's a call," he said.
Meanwhile, at Buggy's base...
"Buru buru... Captain Buggy! They took the bait!" came the voice from the other end of the line.
Buggy grinned wide. "Perfect! Get me the torch!"
He held the burning torch but hesitated. Killing Aero so easily… didn't feel dramatic enough.
So he picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Hey! It's the great Captain Buggy! You walked right into my trap! Hahahaha!"
From inside the tent, Aero now held the Den Den Mushi and calmly said, "You know, this makes it easier. Since you made the first move, I think I'll be taking some compensation."
"Compensation?! You're delusional if you think you're surviving today, Aero!" Buggy sneered, then hung up.
He stood up, shoved the torch into the cannon's fuse and fired.
A massive red cannonball the infamous Buggy Bomb launched into the air, blazing with fire as it streaked toward the plaza.
Back inside, Aero and the crew discovered they'd been trapped. The tent had masked a metal cage beneath it, floor and all.
Aero blew the tent skyward with a burst of wind, revealing the steel bars.
"Captain, look!" Gin pointed toward the sky, where the Buggy Bomb was closing in.
"Everyone, get behind me!" Aero barked, stepping forward with wind swirling at his feet.
His [Domain] had expanded again by now, it covered over half the town.
Aero had read in the records that the Buggy Bomb could level half a town. And that's exactly why he came here to claim this weapon. There was no way a clown like Buggy deserved to keep something this destructive.
As the projectile neared, Aero suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! You know what? We should start talking about how we're going to deal with that red-nosed clown!"
The winds thickened in front of him. With a push of his palm, the cannonball slowed… and then froze in midair.
Aero redirected it.
The Buggy Bomb reversed course and began flying straight toward Buggy's base.
He then raised his hand and unleashed a flurry of wind blades, slicing the steel cage into dust.
Elsewhere, atop a tower, Buggy stood peering through binoculars, awaiting the explosion.
"What's taking so long? My Buggy Bomb should've gone off by now…"
"C-Captain Buggy..." a trembling pirate said behind him.
"What?"
"L-look behind you!"
Buggy turned just in time to see his own bomb flying back at him.
He screamed.
And then...
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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