As the white light faded,
The fragmented body of Buggy—having reassembled after his Chop-Chop: Emergency Escape—opened his mouth wide, coughing out a puff of black smoke.
Both his hands still clutched his rear end, the pain of the Thousand Years of Death too great for him to recover from immediately.
"His vitality is much stronger than other pirates. The lightning strike's power wasn't excessive."
Ren frowned, gazing down at the trident in his hand. He had some doubts about how effective this weapon would prove in the future.
"You bastard!"
Buggy suddenly split apart into several pieces, snapping himself back together again. His eyes glared at Ren with fury."Who the hell are you? Why did you attack us?!"
"Don't recognize me? Didn't your men already come back and report?"
Ren raised his trident, golden streaks of energy swirling around his body as he sneered. "My name's Ren. Not long ago, I made a little mess at Arlong Park."
"What!? You're that ten-billion-Beli fat sheep?!"
Buggy's eyes went wide—shock and delight flickering together. His target had delivered himself right to his doorstep.
BOOM!
A deafening thunderclap shook the air. The trident pierced through Buggy's previous position before snapping back into Ren's hand under the bond of loyalty.
"Damn it! You didn't even let me finish talking before you attacked! Where's your sense of honor?!"
Buggy was literally exploding with rage—physically bursting into more than a dozen pieces.
His feet remained planted on the ground while his knife-wielding arms shot forward at incredible speed, thrusting toward Ren.
Chop-Chop Cannon!
At the same time, the tips of his lower body's toes transformed into blades and spun like flying pancakes, whirling toward the enemy in a flurry of attacks.
Ren's reply was simple—he raised the trident high and slashed downward.
Scorching lightning flared as he swung—rolling thunder roared across the sky!
"Should we really be running away like this? Won't Captain Buggy kill us afterward?"
Cabaji, drenched from head to toe, spoke while pedaling his unicycle, his hair plastered to his scalp.
Next to him, Mohji ran gasping for breath.
"What else could we do? Whoever attacked us is clearly another Devil Fruit user like Captain Buggy—someone who can control lightning and fly, especially in this kind of weather.
Our flintlocks probably won't even fire, much less hit anything.
Staying there would've just made us target practice. It's better to trust in Captain Buggy."
Mohji gritted his teeth. "Damn it! After this, I'm training a whole batch of flying animals!"
"Oh, shut up. We don't even know where your lion ran off to! It bolted before the lightning even got close!"
Cabaji cursed in frustration. "Completely useless—it can't even serve as a meat shield!"
"Richie's a lion, not a lightning rod! Of course he's scared of thunder. You know his strength. Otherwise, why would I be the vice-captain?"
Mohji shot back indignantly.
The pirates trailing behind them said nothing—heads lowered, completely demoralized.
The humiliation of defeat and the miserable weather had shattered their morale.
But none of them noticed that among the sheets of rain, part of the downpour wasn't falling naturally—it was bending slightly around a faint human outline.
Raindrops splashed shallow puddles, forming invisible footprints creeping closer and closer to the pirates.
'They really can't see me. Ren's Devil Fruit can even make invisibility potions now… amazing. Still, I'd better be careful when I'm bathing—he's got no shame at all!'
Nami gripped her Ruyi Staff tightly, stealthily tailing the pirates.
Each time thunder rumbled behind them, she swung her staff without hesitation—cracking it hard against the skull of the last pirate in line.
Each victim dropped unconscious with a dull thud, collapsing face-first into the mud.
But the relentless rainfall and booming thunder perfectly masked the sight and sound. Nami followed them the whole way without being discovered.
Eventually, as their numbers dwindled, Cabaji began to sense something was wrong.
"Wait… don't you think our group's getting smaller?"
He drew his sword and looked around—but found nothing. It was as if an invisible monster was trailing them, silently dragging off its prey one by one.
"Yeah… there's definitely fewer of us."
The remaining pirates shivered, cold sweat mixing with the rain.
Though it was still daytime, the thunderstorm had darkened the world to a shadowy midnight.
Their lingering fear grew stronger and stronger—until a sharp crash! split the air.
"G-Ghost!"
One pirate couldn't take it anymore and stumbled away, screaming, into the curtain of rain.
"Idiot! That was the sound of breaking glass—there's an enemy nearby!"
Cabaji barked in fury, pointing at the trembling pirates. "Groups of three! Search the area! Find that creepy bastard now!"
The men muttered no reply, but obeyed mechanically—spreading out into the storm.
From the shadows, Nami crept up behind Cabaji. A faint red glow shimmered on her target's back.
Bang!
The gunshot thundered, the scent of gunpowder mixing with rain.
"W-What!?"
Mohji's eyes went wide as a hole the size of a fist exploded through Cabaji's chest—then his head burst like a watermelon.
The flash faded, leaving only rain. The falling water sketched the faint outline of a figure.
"Enemy!"
Mohji grabbed the whip at his waist and lashed it toward the shape he saw.
But Nami was faster.
Five consecutive gunshots rang out—three missed, one struck Mohji's side, and another hit his leg.
He grimaced in pain, but his whip still coiled around something invisible and yanked it toward him.
Had he seen what he was pulling, he never would've dared.
Nami surged forward, Ruyi Staff whistling through the rain as it cracked hard against Mohji's neck.
Crunch!
The vice-captain of the Buggy Pirates collapsed instantly—lifeless.
"The vice-captain's down!"
"Run! There's an invisible monster in the rain!"
The remaining pirates broke instantly, scattering in every direction.
'That should do it.'
Nami straightened up, rain-soaked clothes clinging to her form as she lowered her staff.
Step… step… step…
Footsteps splashed through the puddles ahead.
Zoro emerged from the storm, dragging the massive severed head of a lion.
"Where's my sister?"
"Nojiko? She should be behind me," Nami replied.
"You didn't watch over her?"
"You ran too far ahead, so I came to protect you."
Zoro tossed the lion's head aside, the blood dyeing the puddles red. "That beast's sense of smell was sharp. Even with Ren's potion, it still caught my scent.
I cut it down in one blow—but if you'd run into it, you wouldn't have stood a chance."
"You're probably right. Thanks, Zoro."
Nami glanced at the lion's head—bigger than a person—and for once didn't argue.
"No need. Ren told me to look out for you. If you're grateful, thank him instead."
Zoro shook his head and turned toward the direction where thunder still rumbled.
"He's still fighting over there. Should we go interrupt him?"
(End of Chapter)