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Shanks: "This is great! Buggy over there is finally stepping up!"
Xylpharze Rayleigh: "I hope that version of Buggy can show us the true limits of the Split-Split Fruit!"
Kurokasis: "The moment he bent down to pick up that knife, his eyes were filled with an unusual determination..."
Gol D. Roger: "Hey hey hey! Little Buggy, it looks like your other self is getting serious! You need to put in the effort too!"
Buggy: "Captain, I will!"
If anyone else had said this, Buggy would have ignored them completely. But when Roger spoke, Buggy felt compelled to respond.
[Two days later, the small boat arrived at Sirob Village.]
[Zoro's training also bore fruit—his *Observation Haki* had officially awakened!]
"Luffy, this feeling is incredible!" Zoro exclaimed, his senses expanding as if he'd unlocked a new world.
Compared to before, he now realized how limited his previous battles had been. It was as though he'd been fighting blindfolded and deafened, but now, for the first time, he felt like a person with all five senses intact.
"Huh? Looks like we've got company!"
As the trio docked their boat, Buggy turned toward a nearby cliff where another pirate ship emerged, heading straight for the shore.
Zoro surveyed the area and frowned. "These pirates... why are they coming to such a remote place?"
Luffy shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe they're just passing through. Let's ignore them and head into the village to restock."
The three disembarked and began walking up a long slope leading into the village.
"Hey! Stop right there!!"
A cat-hat-wearing pirate leapt off the pirate ship, landing in front of Luffy, Zoro, and Buggy. He sneered arrogantly, glaring at them. "You saw our Black Cat Pirates' flag and still dared to move? Who said you could leave?!"
As the Black Cat Pirates' ship anchored, dozens of pirates wearing various cat-themed accessories swarmed around, surrounding the trio.
"What's going on? Didn't Captain Kuro tell us to stay hidden until further notice? What are you guys doing?"
The crowd parted, revealing a man in a suit wearing heart-shaped glasses. This was Jango, the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates.
"Vice-Captain, we were planning to hide here, but then we ran into these three," explained Buchi, one of the Black Cat Pirates' fighters.
However, when Jango laid eyes on the trio, his expression froze in shock!
"Huh??"
"Buggy!!"
Having sailed the East Blue waters, Jango immediately recognized Buggy.
"Since you know who I am, shouldn't you scram already?" Buggy snapped impatiently.
Though Jango felt a twinge of fear upon seeing Buggy, it wasn't enough to send him running.
He quickly calculated in his head: Buggy's bounty was 15 million Berries, while their captain, Kuro, carried a bounty of 16 million Berries. In terms of combat strength, the two were likely evenly matched...
Although their captain had gone into the village alone, Buggy was also unaccompanied. The two youngsters beside him seemed insignificant and were promptly dismissed by Jango.
Straightening his collar, Jango puffed out his chest and declared haughtily, "Sorry about this, but our captain has important business in this village. Buggy, do me a favor and leave quietly, alright?"
"Do you a favor?"
"Damn it!"
Buggy's anger flared at those words—they reminded him of Shanks' favorite catchphrase!
Under normal circumstances, Buggy wouldn't dare provoke so many pirates alone. But with Luffy standing beside him as backup, he felt emboldened.
"Who do you think you are, talking to me about favors?!"
Without hesitation, Buggy extended his hand, grabbing Jango by the throat and lifting him into the air.
"You bastard, you're dead!"
"Get him! Save the vice-captain!"
"One guy against all of us? Tear him apart!"
...
Seeing this, the surrounding Black Cat Pirates drew their weapons and charged forward.
WHOOSH!
A faint trace of Luffy's *Conqueror's Haki* leaked out, causing the charging pirates to collapse instantly, frothing at the mouth.
Buggy retracted his hand, slamming Jango's head onto the ground with a loud THUD!
Jango fell unconscious on the spot.
Brushing the dust off his gloves, Buggy scoffed, "What a bunch of worthless fools..."
Turning to Luffy, he asked casually, "Should we kill them?"
Luffy furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Having witnessed countless life-and-death battles as a child, he understood the harshness of this world—if enemies weren't dealt with today, they'd surely return tomorrow to strike back.
Just as he was about to agree with Buggy, Zoro suddenly shouted, "Wait! Are you guys crazy?! This is such a waste!"
"???!!!"
At Zoro's outburst, both Buggy and Luffy turned to him with puzzled expressions.
How did killing pirates equate to being wasteful?!
Zoro pointed at the fallen pirates and yelled, "Do you even know how much these pirates are worth combined?!"
After four years of working as a bounty hunter, Zoro had developed a keen eye for identifying bounties. At a glance, he could estimate the total value of the group.
"Just Jango and seven or eight fighters add up to over 40 million Berries!" Zoro explained passionately. "And the rest of these pirates may only have bounties of a few hundred thousand Berries each, but together, they still amount to a significant sum!"
Zoro held up six fingers, emphasizing his point. "That's at least 60 million Berries in total!"
"GASP!"
Buggy couldn't help but suck in a breath of air. He'd never realized pirates could be so valuable!
Even Luffy's heart raced at the revelation.
60 million Berries! That could buy HOW MUCH MEAT?!
Realizing the implications, Luffy slapped his thigh excitedly and turned to Zoro. "So... does this mean we're rich?!"
"Yeah! We're rich!"
"Haha!"
A clear path to wealth unfolded before their eyes.
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