"Hmph! I, the great Buggy, wielder of the Chop Chop Fruit, am the savior of this world!"
In the only remaining broadcast shot, the miraculous clown Buggy was bragging excitedly to the camera, his face full of confidence and arrogance.
"What Whitebeard? What Marineford Admirals?"
He waved his hand dismissively while facing the Marine prisoner holding the visual Den Den Mushi.
"If I felt like it, I could split Marineford apart with ease! Just like this!"
Buggy made a dramatic whooshing sound with his mouth, struck a heroic pose, laughed loudly, and casually gestured toward Marineford.
"Da da da…"
"A mere clown," Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered coldly.
"Retrieve that visual Den Den Mushi immediately. The scene of Marines being harmed by our own weapons must not be broadcast."
If such footage spread, it would completely distort the image of Marine justice in the eyes of the world.
Without justice as its banner, Marine recruitment would suffer catastrophic consequences. Without new blood, the Marines would eventually wither.
"Hehe…"
From afar, Shirogai leaned back comfortably, listening to Buggy's bragging with an amused smile and eyes full of interest.
"A mere clown?" Shirogai murmured.
"You really look down on entertainers who bring joy to the world, Sengoku."
Meanwhile, Buggy continued his performance.
"All I need to do is think about splitting Marineford, and then Marineford will…"
He raised his voice dramatically.
"Completely shatter! That's the power of my Chop Chop Fruit!"
Buggy laughed proudly, fully convinced that no one would ever know he was exaggerating.
After all, reputation in the pirate world was built on confidence and bravado.
"If not now, when else would I expand my fame?" Buggy thought smugly.
"How about that! Amazing, right! Ga ga ga ga! I am the legendary Clown Emperor Buggy the Great!"
Buggy boasted without the slightest shame, declaring himself capable of splitting the world itself.
"What… what did I just see?!"
"Oh my god! Captain Buggy, you are my idol!"
"Buggy the Great! You're incredible!"
The prisoners behind him stared in stunned disbelief, their gazes fixed past Buggy toward Marineford.
"Huh?"
Buggy blinked in confusion at his subordinates' expressions, then slowly turned his head.
"Nani?!"
The moment he saw the scene behind him, Buggy's eyes bulged, and his body instinctively split apart in sheer terror.
"It actually split?!"
Click.
Creak…
The upper section of Marineford, which had not been damaged by any pirate attack until now, was slowly cracking apart and floating unnaturally in the air.
"Wooooah! Captain Buggy is amazing!"
"As expected of a former crewmate of the Pirate King, and the sworn brother of Red Hair!"
"He's on the same level as Whitebeard!"
Buggy froze, scratching his head in a daze as the prisoners looked at him with worship-filled eyes.
"Did… I do that?"
A dangerous thought crept into his mind.
Am I a genius?
Did my Chop Chop Fruit awaken just from bragging?
Can I split other people now?
His imagination spiraled out of control.
If that were true…
Wouldn't that mean…
"I'm invincible?!"
Buggy puffed out his chest proudly, swelling with confidence.
I, Buggy the Great!
A super pirate who can split Marineford with a wave of my hand!
Who else could do this?!
"My subordinates!"
Buggy laughed triumphantly, striking a commanding pose.
"You see now! I never lie! If I say I'll split Marineford, then Marineford will split!"
"Hiss…"
Across the world, countless spectators stared at the screen in silence.
Then the square erupted.
"He's unbelievably strong!"
"He actually disintegrated Marineford while laughing!"
"I thought he was just comic relief, but he's terrifying!"
"Quickly report this to headquarters! Former Pirate King crewmate, Red Hair's sworn brother, Clown Emperor Buggy, has attacked Marineford!"
For a moment, Buggy's name spread like wildfire across the globe.
The world remembered a red-nosed pirate who casually split Marineford.
"What?! Clown Buggy split Marineford?!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku turned around in disbelief after hearing the report, staring at the fractured structure.
"No… he doesn't possess that kind of power."
His gaze sharpened as it locked onto the true culprit in the distance.
"Hehe…"
A young man smiled gently while tossing a blood-red fruit into the air.
Shirogai Yamikuro.
"Shirogai!!!"
Sengoku clenched the Den Den Mushi, his voice filled with fury.
"So it was you all along! Damn you!"
"Huh?!"
A sudden shout erupted among the Marines.
"Fleet Admiral! Something's wrong with Whitebeard! He's been stabbed by one of his own subordinates!"
"…Good?"
Sengoku forcibly suppressed his emotions, inhaled deeply, and spoke in a steady voice.
"All of this is within the Marine's expectations. Prepare to activate the Iron Wall Plan."
"Yes! For justice!"
"Cough… cough…"
Whitebeard stood with his chest heaving, blood pouring from the wound in his torso.
His heart…
Had it been pierced?
He tried to step forward, but his legs buckled beneath him.
Damn it…
Even the smallest movement sent weakness through his body.
"Hoo… hoo…"
Whitebeard dropped to a crouch, pressing his hand against his chest. There was no pain, yet the overwhelming sense of powerlessness was suffocating.
"Pops, no!"
Squard, the Whirlpool Spider, glared with bloodshot eyes at the man he had once revered more than anyone else.
"Whitebeard! Have you never thought of us as family?!"
"My foolish son…"
Whitebeard looked at Squard, who was struggling to hold back tears that mixed with blood in his eyes.
"To fall for such a crude scheme."
In that instant, Whitebeard understood everything his misguided son had been put through.
Sengoku.
As expected of you.
To devise such a ruthless psychological trap.
____
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