The Vice Captain of the Buggy Pirates, Cabaji, asked nervously, "Captain, they're coming closer. What should we do?"
"Are you stupid? Of course, fire the cannons!" "Clown" Buggy growled through gritted teeth.
The nearby town was the location of the secret treasury of the Four Seas Trading Company that Dampier had mentioned. Buggy hadn't retrieved the money yet, so running away wasn't an option.
The Buggy Pirates' ship fired first. As the inventor of the Buggy Ball, Buggy's ship was stocked with plenty of these powerful weapons. Although the distance made aiming difficult, the cannonballs still landed near Gin's Marine warship, creating massive waves and towering water columns that rocked the ship violently. The Marines onboard turned pale with fear.
Gin, however, simply smirked. Unfazed by the cannonballs exploding around him, he stood firmly at the bow of the ship, bending his knees as though preparing for a martial stance. Then, with a sudden burst of power, he launched himself into the air like a rocket, the force of his jump cracking the deck beneath him.
Gin soared hundreds of meters into the sky, his body appearing weightless. His feet tapped repeatedly in mid-air, propelling him higher and higher using Moonwalk (Geppo), one of the Six Powers (Rokushiki). As a user of the Float-Float Fruit (Fuwa Fuwa no Mi), Gin could freely control his body's weight. Even without using Moonwalk, he could hover in the air for extended periods, allowing him to ascend rapidly.
By the time Gin became a tiny black dot in the sky to those below, his upward momentum finally ceased. He then began his descent—his target unmistakably the Buggy Pirates' ship.
Gin's descent was even faster than his ascent. Through his telescope, Buggy's mouth dropped into an "O" shape as he watched. Panicking, he yelled for his crew to set sail and evade, but before they could act, Gin had already landed on their ship.
Boom!
The entire ship shook violently upon impact. Using his Devil Fruit ability, Gin had increased his weight to its maximum. Though his frame appeared lean and light, his body now weighed over ten tons. Combined with the speed of his fall, amplified by Moonwalk, he struck the ship like a meteor. The resulting crash was so devastating that it nearly split the Buggy Pirates' ship in half, causing damage far greater than any cannonball could.
Buggy narrowly avoided a falling mast, grabbing onto the railing to steady himself. His face contorted with rage as he glared toward the spot where Gin had landed. "Kill him!" he roared.
Cabaji and the other crew members, obeying Buggy's command, abandoned their cannons and rushed toward the crater Gin had created on the deck.
"What's that noise?" Buggy muttered as Cabaji and the others approached the crater. A rumbling sound resonated from below deck. Unbeknownst to them, Gin was rampaging through the ship's interior like a charging rhinoceros, smashing through walls as he went.
Before long, Gin reached the area directly beneath Buggy. While Buggy was still puzzled by the noise, the deck beneath him suddenly shattered. Gin burst through the splintering wood, surrounded by debris and dust, and delivered a powerful elbow strike to Buggy's back, sending him flying.
Thud!
Buggy coughed up blood as he was flung across the deck. His crew watched in shock, their faces pale. Cabaji drew his blade and charged at Gin.
Iron Body! (Tekkai)
Clang!
Cabaji's sword struck Gin, but it was as if he had hit a statue made of steel. The metallic clang echoed, leaving Cabaji momentarily stunned. Gin seized the opportunity, extending his right index finger and striking Cabaji's chest with lightning speed.
Finger Pistol! (Shigan)
To the other pirates, it looked as though Gin had merely tapped Cabaji's chest lightly. They barely noticed the blood staining Gin's finger before Cabaji collapsed to the ground, his face filled with disbelief. He clutched at Gin's shirt in vain as Gin stood motionless, gazing coldly ahead. The pirates, already shaken by Gin's dramatic entrance and his swift defeat of their vice captain, were now utterly terrified.
One pirate managed to raise a pistol and fire at Gin. But in the blink of an eye, Gin vanished.
"Where did he go?" a panicked pirate shouted.
Sitting on the deck, Buggy wiped the blood from his mouth and angrily yelled, "He's above you, you idiots!"
Sure enough, Gin had used Shave (Soru) to leap into the air. The pirates frantically fired at him, but Gin didn't bother dodging. Using Iron Body and his Float-Float Fruit powers, he descended like a meteor, crashing into the group of pirates on the deck.
One unlucky pirate was directly beneath Gin when he landed. The impact was so forceful that the pirate's body was crushed, his bones and organs bursting outward in a gruesome display. Blood sprayed everywhere, staining Gin's white uniform red.
The surrounding pirates, horrified by their comrade's gruesome death, instinctively stepped back. Gin smirked menacingly and threw a punch. His movements were as swift as a leopard's, yet his strength rivaled that of an elephant. Before anyone could react, his fist connected with a pirate's chest, sending the man flying like a cannonball. The unfortunate pirate crashed into the sea dozens of meters away, coughing up blood.
Another pirate, a burly man wielding an axe, seized the opportunity to strike Gin. But the blow didn't even faze him. Gin turned and retaliated with a sweeping punch, his arm like an iron whip. The punch landed on the pirate's face with a sickening crack, twisting his head at an unnatural angle. The man collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
What followed was a one-sided massacre. Gin, having mastered the Six Powers, was an unstoppable force. Though he no longer wielded a sword, his extensive training in swordsmanship had honed his footwork and combat techniques, which he now employed with deadly efficiency. Combined with the Float-Float Fruit's ability to manipulate his weight and density, Gin's attacks became even more devastating.
He moved like a phantom among the pirates. Their attacks either bounced off his Iron Body or missed entirely as he evaded using Paper Art (Kami-e) or Shave. Meanwhile, each of his strikes was a guaranteed takedown. Within minutes, the Buggy Pirates, already weakened by their prior defeat at the hands of Morgan William, were completely annihilated by Gin alone.
Buggy, observing Gin's use of Iron Body to block blades, refrained from attacking. Instead, he carefully studied Gin's fighting style, noting the slight pause Gin exhibited before activating Iron Body. Buggy deduced that Gin needed to focus briefly to use the technique.
When Gin finally approached him, Buggy took two steps back, his right hand hidden behind his back. Feigning weakness, he pleaded, "Don't arrest me! If you let me go, I'll tell you something important about Morgan William."
Gin remained unmoved, prompting Buggy to shout, "It's really important! Morgan William is planning to destroy the Bridge Kingdom, Tequila Wolf!"
Gin's expression finally changed, showing a hint of surprise. At that moment, Buggy's detached right hand, controlled by his Chop-Chop Fruit (Bara Bara no Mi), lunged from behind Gin, wielding a dagger aimed at his vital point.
Reacting to the sound of the blade cutting through the air, Gin shifted slightly, avoiding a fatal wound but still taking the dagger to his shoulder.
"Ha!" Buggy exclaimed triumphantly. But Gin, suppressing the pain, immediately countered with a piercing punch to Buggy's oversized, clown-like nose. Blood gushed from Buggy's nose as he toppled backward onto the deck, tears streaming from his eyes.
Gin grabbed Buggy's detached hand, along with the dagger it held, and yanked it free. Using his Devil Fruit ability, he increased his weight and stomped on Buggy's chest.
"'Clown' Buggy," Gin declared coldly, "you're under arrest."
Buggy coughed up more blood as a tear slid down his cheek.
First, he had escaped Morgan William's control, only to fall into the hands of the Marines. Freedom... why do you always elude me? And the cruelest part of all—I didn't even get the money.
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