"Clown Buggy... That bastard Mouse actually teamed up with pirates!"
In the temporary command center inside the mine cave, Ajian angrily slammed the table in front of him. They knew Mouse was very greedy, but never expected that he would choose to collude with pirates.
As for how they found out, even though they discovered a gold mine, they weren't completely tax-exempt. Cocoyasi Village isn't an island taken over by pirates, but a residence belonging to the East Sea Kingdom.
After being attacked by pirates, they also contacted the Navy, but there was no response, and the Navy made no moves. No matter how you think about it, something's off.
The Navy's communication channels are all the same. Unless you have a private contact of a branch officer, the message is sure to go to the nearest branch. It's extremely difficult for them to bypass Mouse to contact higher-ups in the Navy.
"Belle-Mere, is your report letter really useful?"
"I got in touch with an old friend. He owes me his life, so he shouldn't deceive me. It might be that the evidence is still insufficient, or maybe the investigator is still on the way..."
For ordinary people, the Navy is a trustworthy group. Although Mouse is a disgrace to the Navy, no one thought that his superiors also took a bribe from Mouse.
"But this guy actually teamed up with pirates, so this evidence should be significant enough. As long as we can find evidence of him working with pirates, we can definitely wipe out this cancer..."
Bang! Bang!
Belle-Mere hadn't finished speaking when several explosions were heard as Buggy's Pirates launched another attack.
"Let's talk later. First, let's deal with those damn guys."
As a former Navy, Belle-Mere contributed a lot to training the Mining Protection Team, so preparing for a counterattack wasn't an issue.
...
"Captain Buggy, aren't you going to make a move?"
"Just a bunch of ordinary people, and you expect the great me to take action! This is your chance. If I step in, you won't have any opportunity to shine."
Buggy earnestly explained his reasoning, but in fact, it was because he got swarmed by two Heracross during yesterday's battle. The Chop-Chop Fruit lets him be immune to slashing, but not Heracross's charges.
Leveraging his custom-made Buggy Bombs, Buggy repelled the two Heracross, but he didn't know if there were other terrifying creatures hidden here, so he ultimately decided to let his underlings take the risk.
Mouse didn't send people to join Buggy's operation, but he provided some obsolete arms. The Navy's standard equipment was much better than what pirates could get, which added more pressure to the mine's defense personnel.
Although night had fallen, the battle hadn't stopped. The Heracross flew out in droves.
Their bodies couldn't withstand artillery bullets, so they chose to fight at night.
During the mining, countless waste rocks were produced. Each Heracross carried a giant stone to the sky above Buggy's camp, launching a unique aerial assault.
The falling boulders in the sky temporarily repelled these pirates but didn't fundamentally resolve the mine's crisis. Far from the mountains, Buggy set up camp anew in an open area, seemingly plotting something.
Meanwhile, Nami and Nojiko quietly sneaked out of the mining area through a small path. They wanted to gather evidence of Mouse and Buggy working together.
After all, it was Mouse who coveted this mine, not anyone else. If Mouse is not eliminated, even if they defeat Buggy, other pirates might come later.
...
"Hey hey, I suddenly remembered I have a disease where I die if I get close to a Navy Base, so..."
Aboard the Merry, Usopp trembled as he clung to the ship's mast, concocting bizarre illnesses.
"Don't joke around! There's no such disease!"
"That's the Navy! The Navy! With just a few of us, are we really gonna charge into the Navy Branch?!"
"No, we're just going to rescue Heracross."
Luffy adjusted his hat and said very seriously.
They followed other Heracross here but weren't clear on what exactly happened. On the way, the two Heracross encountered another Heracross, and got news that some Heracross were captured by the Navy Branch.
Mouse wasn't foolish. He knew there were two hard-to-deal Heracross in the mine, so he captured some Heracross heading there, intending to use them to coerce those beetles into surrendering.
Unaware of the details, Luffy mistakenly thought Heracross was among them, which led him to decide on the rescue mission.
"Usopp, you're already on a pirate ship; clashing with the Navy is a matter of time."
"Yeah, if you're that scared, you might as well just go home."
"Aren't you two gonna try to talk him out of it? There must be a better way!"
Watching Sanji and Zoro warming up for a big fight, Usopp couldn't understand what they were thinking.
"Huh? What are you talking about? This guy is the Captain. Since we're on this ship, we gotta follow the Captain's orders. I don't get how this branch differs from the previous ones."
Zoro said solemnly while wrapping a bandana around his head. Sanji didn't retort, simply lighting a cigarette silently.
Though terrified, in the end, Usopp joined them with his slingshot.
They didn't find Heracross but instead ran into the exposed Nami and Nojiko.
After sneaking into the Navy Base, they found evidence of Mouse's crimes, but were discovered at the last moment.
Finally, with joint effort, they successfully rescued those Heracross in the base and followed Nami and Nojiko to their gathering spot.
...
"Heracross! Damn, are you injured?!"
Inside the mine cave, Luffy saw an injured Heracross and immediately cried out as he ran up.
"Hera?"
"Ah, you're not Heracross... Wait, there are so many Heracross here!"
The mine's environment was somewhat dim and the Heracross all looked similar, so Luffy couldn't tell which was his Heracross and started checking them one by one.
Watching this bewildering two-legged creature, the Heracross's patience was running thin, and at that moment, the Heracross who had gone out to fight returned.
Spotting Luffy's Heracross, it was shocked and after a brief hesitation, a flying kick aimed straight at Luffy's waist.
"Heracross? Great! So you're alright!"
"Hera hera?!"
Heracross's tone was very complex, feeling both delighted that Luffy tracked him down, and angry: it could be roughly summarized as, "How dare you sail without me! Aren't you afraid of getting lost at sea?!"