Chapter 5
"Scum!" Brigadier General Brownie hissed, with extreme disdain for the mob.
He was even a little angry. Angry that this scum looked down on him and had the audacity to come out of the cage. But it was better this way. When Director Magellan asked about it later, he would have a reason to answer.
Brownie secretly increased the kill target from half to two-thirds. After all, they were just a bunch of pirate scum, and no one would demand their deaths.
"Don't let a single piece of scum escape!" he shouted.
Well-trained Marines entered in file from the hallway behind Brownie and formed an "S" toward the group of prisoners. The muzzles of the cannons, black as pitch, pointed directly at Buggy and the others, almost giving them chills.
At least in the first half of the Grand Line, such a phalanx of muskets still had a strong deterrent effect, and even some prisoners began to hesitate. They blocked the passage to the upper deck, coldly blocking any hope of survival for the prisoners.
Every step forward reduced the space they had finally managed to sneak into. Magellan could accept the death of a pirate prisoner who rebelled during transport, but he would never accept a single prisoner escaping.
But that was exactly what Buggy wanted.
He lowered his head, a slight smirk on his lips as he watched the pirates' various expressions out of the corner of his eye... Greed, brutality, cunning... these were the most common descriptions of the pirate profession. Put more kindly, it was adventurous. In short, it was animal nature. The animal nature of pirates. It was the animal nature forged in the face of treacherous seas and dangerous life journeys.
Buggy's actions had to gradually awaken the animal nature of these jackals, forcing them into a desperate fight with no other option. Survival and hatred were the perfect catalysts.
"Fire!" Brownie ordered, with a severe expression and without hesitation. He didn't care about the pirates' thoughts.
Bang!
The dense smell of gunpowder filled the cabin and blood spurted out.
A burly figure, with arms rough as rocks, emerged from the smoke.
"I'd rather die than go to that prison and be a slave to that scum!" Habler roared over the sound of gunshots, charging fearlessly toward the naval formation.
Habler and the others guessed where the pirate captain who openly sold himself on the Sabaody Archipelago had come from.
"Let's fight!" the captive pirates howled.
"Rum awaits!"
"Kill those Marines!" they shouted, using the chains that had just bound them as weapons as they charged furiously toward the naval formation.
The scene was truly heroic, if only their decision to release Buggy hadn't been so deliberate.
The Marines' muskets pointed directly at Buggy, unimpeded.
"Did you see that?"
"You have to trust yourself. You can't expect others to suddenly get smart," Buggy said, patting the stunned Arne several times.
If this were a novel where the protagonist plays dumb, these pirates would have already surrendered to him, clamoring to swear loyalty to him, right? Even in Buggy's original trajectory, there was a group of characters who behaved that way, his own imaginary minions.
If that were the case, Buggy would be happy to follow the original plan he had drawn up for these people. A group of pirates in command of a warship would undoubtedly be quite interesting, right?
He looked at the helmet.
Unfortunately, the ones he had encountered so far were more evil than the previous one. Arne, the pirate who was originally considered a bad guy, was actually considered a good person in this novel.
He could only play alone.
Buggy suddenly missed the talented people from Gotham City, especially that adorable guy who promised a truce of not killing... They seemed to be of the same class. The same twisted nature.
"Who is he?" a Marine asked.
"Buggy the Clown, 15 million Belly price, from the East Blue," another replied.
"Ah."
The Marines in the front row did not exchange much; the mere mention of "from the East Blue" said it all.
Simultaneously, they aimed their weapons and fired fiercely at the other pirates.
The pirates, who originally planned to betray the captain, were confused. "That weird guy is the source of the chaos, why are you ignoring him?"
Unfortunately, the Marines had no intention of confronting the fugitives.
The intense firepower scattered them in all directions.
This showed how weak the East Blue was. It's our responsibility to revive its power!
Buggy's mind suddenly conjured the image of a passionate young man... Never mind, let that matter be left to the boy with the unblockable health trick.
But he remained unperturbed. Calmly, he moved the kitchen knife from his chest to his forehead, pinning it between his eyebrows. Then he smeared some blood from some unknown corpse.
Added to the lack of his hand, eye, and ear, it was as if he had been labeled an old, weak, sick, and harmless creature!
Then, crouching to the side, he watched with great interest as his tools fought the Marines.
Buggy might have been used to this before, but now, with his two memories merged, everything was new to him. Especially the one from Arkham. A bag of sunflower seeds and a bottle of Coca-Cola would have been even better.
Buggy didn't mind being the instigator of this chaos.
The commodore in the white coat was clearly a veteran who had fought his way through a sea of blood and corpses. Faced with the siege of multiple pirates, he remained calm and ordered his Marines to fire some volleys, cushioning their momentum.
Then, with his crescent-shaped sword in hand, he suddenly appeared before the little giant, Habler.
The little giant's movements were truly eye-catching.
"Soru?" Buggy thought. The name of this move came to him naturally. It was one of the six styles, or Rokushiki, commonly used by the CP organization, which debuted in the Enies Lobby saga. Soru was the second most famous. The first was "Tekkai."
Brownie continued his movements. He held his sword with both hands, raised it above his head, and lightly tapped his feet in the air as if he were on solid ground. Then he used another of the Rokushiki, Moonwalk, to gain momentum in the air.
Then, he delivered a fierce slash.
Blood spurted from the little giant's chest like a fountain.
In pain, the little giant, Habler, could only retreat a few steps. Luckily, Brownie had more to worry about than just his own side.
A bearded pirate, holding the body of his cellmate, charged at the Marine formation. Although he was quickly gunned down, the bursts of fire from the formation stopped.
Joseph's eyes lit up and he took the opportunity to run toward the entrance of the passage. The salty air of freedom seemed to call to him!
But the next instant, his vision spun and he seemed to float in the air. Looking down, he saw his empty neck.
He had been beheaded.
He finally understood.
Brownie brandished the scimitar in his hand and blood dripped to the deck. The feeling of killing gave him a throbbing pleasure. Even the pain of muscle tearing caused by frequent shaving became a kind of stimulation. This is the fate of scum!
He squeezed the scimitar in his hand and his slightly reddened eyes looked for his next opponent.
Suddenly, he met a playful gaze...
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