Unlike the cheap solid cannonballs used by ordinary pirates, the "Buggy Balls" was a high-explosive shell meticulously developed by Buggy the Clown himself.
Once fired, it obliterated everything in its path.
With just one shot, the "Steel Blade Pirates'" ship had its vital main mast blown to bits.
The scorching flames ignited by the explosion quickly spread across the wooden ship, rapidly burning through the poorly maintained fireproof coating.
It didn't take long before the main sail, foresail, and mizzenmast were reduced to ashes.
Now, the "Steel Blade Pirates" had completely lost the ability to flee, becoming sitting ducks for Buggy's massive cannon.
"Keep firing!"
Buggy waved his battle knife triumphantly, commanding his underlings to continue the bombardment.
Clearly, the Steel Blade Pirates' ship wasn't built with reinforced iron.
Against the destructive power of the Buggy Balls, losing their sails meant certain death.
Before long, the sizable vessel was blasted into two burning halves, drifting weakly on the ocean surface.
"Ahahahaha!"
Buggy laughed gleefully.
"Boys! Move the ship closer!"
"We're here to collect the Steel Blade Pirates' corpses!"
"Yes, Lord Buggy!"
The crew cheered energetically—this kind of effortless victory was their favorite.
The Buggy Pirates' ship quickly approached the ruined remains of the Steel Blade Pirates' vessel.
The water was now thick with floating debris.
"Why haven't we seen any bodies yet?"
First Mate Cabaji began to feel something was off.
The Steel Blade Pirates had dozens of crew members.
Under such heavy bombardment, it was impossible there were no casualties.
"Haha!"
Buggy, still basking in his glory, laughed heartily and said,
"Looks like my Buggy Balls were too powerful—they blasted them all into dust!"
But his arrogant laughter was soon cut short by movement on the sea's surface.
Three figures suddenly emerged from underwater and climbed onto a large chunk of shipwreck.
One of them was Wallace, a disheveled, messy-haired journalist. Though soaking wet and battered, he was clutching a waterproof box to his chest, inside of which were his cherished camera and interview notes.
Another was Nami, drenched from head to toe, her drenched clothes revealing an alluring silhouette.
Despite the risk of exposure, she focused only on protecting the waterproof box in her arms—inside was the ten million Berries gifted personally by Lord Steel Blade.
Unlike the battered Wallace and Nami, Garen—clad in splendid, resplendent armor—looked even more dazzling as seawater glistened across his frame.
"Captain Buggy…"
Cabaji said, slightly stunned, "Those don't look like Steel Blade Pirates…"
A well-dressed intellectual, a beautiful young woman, and a righteous knight—their group looked nothing like the shirtless, tattooed brutes of the Steel Blade crew.
But Buggy didn't answer.
His eyes were locked on Garen's armored form, filled with uncontrollable greed.
"Captain?"
Cabaji cautiously asked again, "What should we do now?"
"What should we do?"
A greedy glint flashed in Buggy's eyes.
"Who cares if they're from the Steel Blade Pirates or not?"
"That tin can is covered in expensive gear—let's loot them first and ask questions later!"
The pirates instantly grew excited.
To them, Garen in his golden armor and massive sword was a walking, talking treasure chest.
But before they could make a move, their "target" took the initiative.
Using his sword as a paddle, Garen rowed through the sea with powerful strokes.
His digitalized body never tired, functioning at full capacity without any drop in performance.
With Garen rowing, the piece of wreckage beneath them instantly transformed from a makeshift raft into a high-speed diesel-powered boat.
The distance between the two ships shrank rapidly before everyone's eyes.
"Open fire!"
Buggy ordered hastily.
"Sink that piece of driftwood!"
The underlings scrambled to aim the cannon, hastily launching another Buggy Bomb without even calculating trajectory.
The accuracy was terrible.
None of the shells even grazed Garen and the others.
In the end, their makeshift motorboat reached the enemy ship's hull.
With sword in hand, Garen leapt from the raft and landed steadily on the Buggy Pirates' deck.
He stood tall and glared at the horde of pirates in front of him.
"You're the ones who blew up my ship?"
"That's right!"
Buggy said proudly, still basking in his masterpiece.
"The ones who defeated you are none other than the great Lord Buggy!"
"Buggy?"
Hearing that familiar name, Garen paused slightly.
He focused on the clown-faced man and couldn't help blurting out the most eye-catching part of his appearance:
"Big Red-Nosed Buggy?"
"YOU!!"
Buggy exploded like a powder keg, instantly furious.
"Who are you calling big red nose?!"
"Uh…"
Garen looked a bit awkward.
He had forgotten that Buggy hated people mentioning his oversized red nose.
But the awkwardness lasted only a moment.
After all, they'd just tried to blow him up—no way he was going to tiptoe around their feelings.
So, Garen boldly insulted him again:
"Yeah, I am talking about you, red-nosed clown!"
"Huff… huff…"
Buggy began panting like a bellows, his throat emitting heavy, furious breaths.
Finally, he roared in rage:
"Bastard! Kill them all!!"
The brief trash-talking session ended abruptly as a swarm of pirate underlings charged forward with swords and blades.
But pirate captains often have one bad habit—
They rarely lead from the front in battle.
Instead, they prefer to send underlings or officers to deal with intruders first.
This could be to train subordinates, wear down the enemy, test their strength, or simply to maintain the dignity of a leader.
Whatever the reason, it's something most pirate captains do.
Buggy was no different.
After sounding the call to arms, he leisurely returned to his grand captain's chair and watched his crew fight from above like an audience member at a play.
His first mate Cabaji and deputy captain Mohji carried out the strategy perfectly too, halting their own attacks and ordering the low-level grunts to handle Garen.
The chain of command worked its way down until the hard labor was entirely offloaded onto the weakest, lowest-paid nobodies.
What Buggy didn't know was:
For a protagonist, this kind of piecemeal tactic was essentially free combat training—delivered experience points.
Especially for someone like Garen, who literally had an experience bar.
Seeing that his enemies had downgraded from elite villains to super minions and then to weak mobs, Garen's worries vanished.
Gripping his massive sword, Garen stood unmoving in front of the snarling mob of pirates wielding flintlocks and sabers.
His composure was so overwhelming that the ferocious pirates were momentarily thrown off.
They exchanged uncertain glances.
Not one dared to step forward to test him.
"What's wrong?"
Garen casually slung his heavy greatsword over his shoulder and sneered:
"A great pirate crew with dozens of men, and not a single one has the guts to take a swing at me?"
His mocking grin was full of disdain.
He didn't even bother making eye contact with them, exuding an aura of solitary, rebellious strength.
With his oversized, clumsy-looking greatsword, he looks like a legendary swordmaster himself.
"What are you all standing around for?"
Buggy's face darkened instantly.
His cold voice echoed from behind:
"Kill that knight punk!"
"Take his armor and sword!"
"Y-Yes!"
The grunts quickly nodded—but still hesitated.
They all exchanged looks… and none dared to make the first move.
Even before the fight started, they were so nervous their weapons shook in their hands.
"Hahahaha."
Garen's grin grew even more contemptuous.
He leisurely stepped closer to the group of pirates.
"When you were blasting me with cannons earlier, you sure looked confident."
"And now you're too scared to get close?
You call that wielding a blade?"
This was outright humiliation.
These were proud pirates—men of the sea who thrived on danger.
Garen's insults ignited their tempers and adrenaline, pumping their blood full of rage.
These brave, unflinching warriors… took two steps back.
"Sigh."
Garen sighed in disappointment.
"So you don't even dare swing a sword at me.
Not even one of you has the guts to fire a shot?"
"I mean, you're standing way over there.
If you shoot me, I won't even be able to reach you to retaliate!"
Bang! A gunshot echoed—muzzle flash lighting up the deck.
Prompted by Garen's taunt, one pirate remembered he had a gun.
"AHH!"
The tense standoff shattered instantly—though the first scream came from his own comrades.
In this world, guns weren't even that useful compared to swords.
There were far too many people on the seas who could shrug off bullets.
And judging from Garen's calm demeanor, he was likely one of those bulletproof monsters.
Firing at someone like that was basically poking a sleeping tiger—and might only enrage him.
But then…
As the smoke cleared…
Garen clutched his chest, fell to one knee, and grimaced in very realistic pain.
The pirates exchanged awkward glances.
An awkward silence spread through the fearless "men of the sea."
"…Screw this guy!"
The spell was broken.
The pirates, no longer intimidated by Garen's bluff, exploded in anger:
"Get him, boys!
Let's kill this fake-ass poser!"
They all swarmed in, hacking wildly at the "injured" Garen.
Buggy might be called the Clown, but his crew had a circus of their own:
Unicycle swordsmen, beast tamers, tightrope walkers, knife jugglers—
They looked like a fully staffed circus troupe.
But despite their clownish appearances, they were a real pirate crew.
They robbed, killed, extorted, and fought rival pirates year-round.
Every one of them was a hardened criminal, soaked in blood.
So, when they attacked Garen en masse, it was with deadly force.
Their blades targeted vital spots, holding nothing back.
Garen had already survived bombardment from the Buggy Balls.
Now he faced a swarm of armed thugs—it would've killed any normal man several times over.
In a fight to the death, there's no need to hold back.
That's one of Garen's personal rules.
So, when the pirates swarmed him like ants on prey, eager to claim his head—
Garen suddenly looked up and gave them a sinister, "friendly" smile:
"Thanks so much…
For grouping up the mobs for me."
(End of Chapter)