Tom walked forward, leaving a bloody footprint with every step, heading with Shushu toward the town's largest bar. It was very noisy there.
As he got closer to the bar, Tom could faintly hear someone talking.
"Old man, are you crazy? So-called treasures refer to gold, silver, and jewels! Things that shine and show off their owner's dignity are treasures!"
Even from across the street, Tom could tell this was Buggy's voice.
"This poor, broken-down town is your treasure? You're joking!"
Buggy's voice suddenly rose an octave as he yelled at an old man wearing reading glasses across from him.
This old man, wearing reading glasses, his forehead covered in wrinkles, his hair white, his face full of anger as he stared straight at Buggy, was the mayor of Orange Town, Boodle.
It turned out that when Boodle saw Buggy bombarding the town, his anger finally erupted and he couldn't hold back from coming to settle accounts with Buggy.
Forty years ago, this place had been burned down by pirates. Everything in the town was destroyed, and one could say it was a scene of total devastation waiting to be rebuilt.
Later, under Boodle's leadership, the villagers worked together, cultivated the wasteland, and rebuilt Orange Town.
After forty years of development, Orange Town, which had once been burned to ashes by pirates, had now been built into a small town of some scale.
But now, the Buggy Pirates were wreaking havoc here, and Buggy had even used his cannons to destroy one-third of the town.
This was unbearable for Boodle, who had poured his heart and soul into Orange Town for forty years. After seeing Luffy and the others fighting the Buggy Pirates, he could no longer suppress his anger. In order to protect the town he treasured like a jewel, he bravely challenged Buggy.
Boodle regarded Orange Town as the most precious treasure of his life. He had devoted his entire life to this town.
But in the eyes of Buggy, who only considered gold and jewels as treasures, Orange Town was a town that could be casually destroyed, completely insignificant.
"You bastard! You have no idea how much effort I've put into this place! If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!"
Boodle's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead as he angrily cursed at Buggy.
"Hahaha, that's hilarious. An old man who doesn't know his place actually dares to challenge our captain."
"Exactly, he's lived so long but still has no self-awareness. It's really laughable."
Buggy's underlings, upon hearing Boodle's words, all burst into laughter, constantly mocking the sixty-year-old Boodle.
"You want to duel me? Old man, what do you take pirates for?"
Buggy's face was gloomy as he stretched out his right hand toward Boodle in the distance.
With a whoosh, Buggy's right hand detached from his body and flew toward Boodle.
"Let me go, you monster!"
Boodle was tightly choked by the right hand that had separated from Buggy's body. He was lifted into the air, finding it very difficult to breathe.
"Captain, kill him!"
Buggy's underlings behind him cheered, seeing the pained expression on Boodle's old face. Each of them laughed happily.
Originally, Buggy, seeing that his sent-out First Mate Mohji and Chief of Staff Cabaji had not returned for a long time, was about to go look for them himself.
But he had just stepped out of the bar with his men when he saw Boodle.
Buggy still didn't know that his two capable subordinates, Mohji and Cabaji, were now lying on the ground, unconscious.
It turned out that when Buggy noticed the big commotion in the town, he had sent Mohji and Cabaji to check the situation.
After Luffy used Rubber Rocket to exchange a full-power punch with Tom, the mayor Boodle, who had been hiding and watching, pale with fear, ran out.
When Luffy and the others were about to go find Tom, they saw Mohji attacking Shushu. Then Mohji was beaten up by Luffy, and along with Mohji's underlings, they were all punched away by Luffy.
Then Luffy encountered Zoro and the three Buggy Pirates members he had coincidentally saved.
The moment those three Buggy Pirates members saw Nami, they fiercely pounced, wanting to deal with her.
There was no helping it. Nami had previously been on a small boat at sea, pretending to be shipwrecked, deceiving these three greedy pirates. She then stole their ship and treasure, and even used her extensive nautical knowledge to make the three pirates suffer the ravages of a thunderstorm, nearly killing them at sea.
However, these three pirates were lucky. When they were about to give up, they happened to meet Zoro, who was desperately rowing to chase after Luffy and Tom who had been taken by the giant bird. They climbed onto his boat from the sea and barely managed to survive.
But these three pirates, because they threatened Zoro with knives, were beaten to a pulp by Zoro and became free guides and rowers for him.
Now, seeing Nami again, they were by no means polite. They immediately drew their swords and attacked, and then they were dealt with by Zoro.
Then, before Zoro and Luffy could say much, Cabaji came over with a group of underlings.
Zoro, seeing that Cabaji also used a sword, naturally fought him, while Luffy dealt with Cabaji's underlings.
Although Cabaji used a sword as his weapon, he was underhanded and his techniques were like circus tricks. Zoro fought him for a while, found it rather boring, and then cut him down.
And so, by the time Zoro finished off Cabaji, more time had been wasted.
As for Nami, originally she saw Tom and Luffy exchange punches and fly apart. She cried out in alarm and wanted to go find Tom alone, but thinking that Tom was a pirate and had been hiding it from her, she felt some resentment.
Added to the previous awkward incident of mouth-to-mouth contact with Tom, even though Nami was worried about Tom, she was hesitant, unsure whether she should go find him alone.
Actually, when Nami saw Luffy help Shushu retrieve the last bag of pet food, she was deeply moved and had begun to change her view of pirates.
Moreover, when Nami saw that Zoro had really become a pirate and was with Tom and Luffy, she was truly shocked. This famous pirate hunter of the East Blue had actually become a pirate.
But Nami still harbored resentment over Tom being a pirate and hiding it from her. That's why she went along with Luffy and the others, since they would eventually go find Tom anyway.
For Nami now, it seemed that the later she saw Tom, the better.
At this moment, Nami's feelings were very complicated, but it was a normal reaction.
The more you care about someone, the greater the hurt when you find out you've been deceived by them.
Nami even thought to herself that if she had known Tom was a pirate earlier, she might have thrown him into the sea to feed the turtles when they were on the same boat.
But from Tom's perspective, he didn't think he had deceived Nami. From the very beginning, Nami was the one who actively proposed cooperation. She didn't ask about his identity, and the two went to Shells Town together to steal the Grand Line map.
How could Nami have imagined that Tom, as a pirate, would be lying flat on his back in a treasure chest when they first met? She had stolen from many pirates and seen many pirates, but she had never seen a pirate like Tom.
Originally, after dealing with Cabaji, Luffy and the others went to look for Tom. But as they walked, they discovered that Boodle, who had been with them, had disappeared at some point.
Luffy guessed that Boodle had gone alone to settle accounts with Buggy, so he decided to have Zoro go find Tom, while he and Nami would go stop Boodle from doing something foolish.
Zoro agreed without a second thought. After parting with Luffy and the others, he went alone to find Tom and promptly got lost.
Therefore, after Tom woke up from unconsciousness, no one came to find him.
"How does it feel? Uncomfortable? This is the consequence of challenging me!"
Buggy's right hand, which had separated from his body, was still tightly choking Boodle's neck, lifting him into the air, almost suffocating him.
"This is nothing!"
Boodle's expression was pained. Being unable to breathe was very uncomfortable for him, but he still used his own hands to strike with all his might at Buggy's right hand that was choking his neck.
By doing this, Boodle was essentially continuously punching his own throat. After a moment, he began to vomit blood.
"That hurts! Who would punch their own neck?"
Although Buggy's right hand was detached from his body, he could still feel pain. His right hand, which was choking Boodle's neck, was being fiercely pounded, and now his right arm was twitching in pain.
Even though Boodle had already made himself vomit blood, he had no intention of stopping. He continued to use his own fists to pound on Buggy's hand that was choking his neck.
At this moment, the nearly sixty-year-old Boodle's eyes behind his reading glasses were slightly red. He stared fixedly at Buggy, with only one thought in his mind: At least let me cut him once, otherwise I'll die with regrets.
"You old man, you've wasted too much of my time. Die!"
Just as Buggy was about to choke Boodle to death, his detached right hand suddenly felt a sharp pain.
"Straw-hat guy... who are you?!"
Buggy saw a straw-hat-wearing youth forcibly pull his detached right hand from Boodle's neck and squeeze it tightly in his hand, squeezing until his hand hurt.
For some reason, the moment Buggy saw the straw hat on Luffy's head, he felt uncomfortable all over. He remembered the person who had caused him to delay his life's dream for so long.
"I'm here to punch you away!"
Luffy was still holding Buggy's detached right hand in his hand. His expression was completely serious.
"Punch me away? Just the two of you?"
Buggy glanced at Nami, who was standing further back, and said to Luffy.
"Captain, that woman is the thief who stole our navigational chart."
The moment the pirates saw Nami, they recognized her as the female thief who had stolen the Grand Line navigational chart.
"What? She actually dares to come to us."
Buggy retracted his detached right hand. His gaze toward Nami became very hostile: "You woman, if you know what's good for you, return the Grand Line navigational chart! We are about to go to the Grand Line. With my powerful Buggy Balls, we'll surely make a big splash there, and maybe even find the legendary great treasure!"
Hearing Buggy's words, his underlings also cheered with excitement, as if they could see the Buggy Pirates dominating the Grand Line. Each of them laughed arrogantly.
"Wrong! The one who will find that legendary great treasure is definitely me! Because I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Luffy pressed down on his straw hat, his expression becoming very serious as he looked at Buggy.
The moment they heard Luffy's words, Buggy and his crew's laughter came to an abrupt halt. They all stared at him dumbfounded, then burst into even more ear-piercing laughter, mixed with thick mockery.
"Pirate King? You, a thief, actually dare to aspire to become the Pirate King? This is the funniest thing I've ever heard."
Coming back to his senses, Buggy looked at Luffy, laughing so hard he couldn't close his mouth. He saw that Luffy was with Nami, and Nami was a thief, so of course Luffy was also a thief. But this thief was declaring in front of him, a pirate, that he would become the Pirate King. How could he not laugh?
"What's so funny? I'm a pirate. Isn't it only natural that I want to become the Pirate King?"
Luffy took a step forward. He had many bruises, and his left hand was still bleeding. These were left by Tom. The wound on his left hand was extremely deep, and even after some time, it still hadn't stopped bleeding.
"I don't care if you're pirates or not! This is a fight between him and me! My territory, I'll protect it myself. I don't need you to step in!"
Boodle coughed up a mouthful of blood and said to Luffy with an agitated expression. It was clear that he was overly emotional.
Buggy, hearing Boodle's words, had just opened his mouth and hadn't had time to say anything when Luffy, without hesitation, punched the overly agitated Boodle, knocking him out.
Luffy's action stunned everyone present.
"What are you doing? Why did you hit the mayor?!"
Nami saw Boodle fall to the ground, his head bleeding, unconscious, and immediately questioned Luffy.
"He was too much in the way!"
Everyone present was speechless at Luffy's words. He was very direct and merciless, but it was the truth.
"Even so, you shouldn't be so reckless. You've injured him."
Nami yelled at Luffy again.
Luffy ignored Nami and shouted loudly at Buggy across from him: "Big Nose!"
"Huh?"
Nami was dumbfounded by Luffy's shout. Even Buggy and his crew were petrified.
"You idiot! Didn't I tell you? You must never say that to him."
Nami held her head, cold sweat pouring out. At this moment, she thought of someone: if it were Tom, he definitely wouldn't be as reckless as Luffy.
"I suppose you're the one who caused quite a stir in this town earlier. You have some nerve. I already warned you with my Buggy Balls, and you still dare... dare to mention my nose!"
Buggy hated people mentioning his nose more than anything in his life. Now he was in a rage. He yelled at his underlings: "Use the Buggy Balls! Bomb them hard! I want to blast this town and them into bits!"
Seeing Buggy's outburst, the pirates didn't dare delay. They rushed to the top floor of the bar, where the Buggy Pirates' cannons were placed.
While Buggy's underlings went to prepare to bombard Orange Town and Luffy's group, Tom also arrived with Shushu on the street where Buggy was.
"Buggy, so you're here."
Tom walked forward step by step. His face was as pale as paper, without a trace of color. His steps were slow, and he was covered in blood. From a distance, one could smell the faint scent of blood coming from him, showing how much blood he had lost.
"Tom?"
Nami saw that Tom was like a man of blood. Whether his clothes or bandages, they were all bright red. Her heart jumped, and she quickly ran over. The worry on her face was plain to see.
She reached out to touch Tom's half-damp, blood-stained clothes, but she didn't dare. She really hadn't expected Tom to be so badly injured.
If I had known, I would have gone to find you earlier.
Nami deeply regretted it in her heart. If she had known, she should have found Tom first. That way, she could at least have bandaged his wounds.
What made Nami most uncomfortable was that Tom's face was now frighteningly pale, like someone who might die at any moment.
"It's good to see you're all right. I still have something to do. Let's talk later."
Tom saw that Nami's eyes as she looked at him were full of concern. Those lively, spirited eyes were gradually becoming misty. He sighed inwardly: This woman is about to cry again.
Passing by Nami and walking a few more steps forward, Tom and Luffy looked at each other. Seeing Luffy's calm expression, Tom knew this bastard had cooled down.
If Luffy really still wanted to punch Tom away, then when he saw Tom earlier, he wouldn't have cared about Tom's condition and would have rushed over to give Tom a beating.
It's just not known what Nami said to Luffy to make this single-celled glutton stop being foolish.
As Tom thought this, he stopped about twenty meters away from Buggy, took a deep breath, and roared loudly at Buggy: "Hurry up and come here to die, you damn super big red nose!!!"
As Tom challenged Buggy, Shushu beside him jumped around at his feet, letting out one loud bark after another toward Buggy: "Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"What?! You brat!!"
Buggy had originally been wondering who this heavily injured person was and what he wanted. But before he could ask, Tom's words made him completely lose it.
"Hahaha, well said, Tom."
Luffy held his stomach and laughed happily.
And just as Tom shouted those words, behind him, Nami, who was still worried about him and wondering what else he had to do, suddenly heard his words. She held her head, almost crying on the spot: You idiot, you're injured like this and still saying that kind of thing. You and your companion are both the same—you're crazy!
At the same time, on the top floor of the bar ahead, three cannons fired into the air in succession. Clearly, the pirates who were about to fire the cannons, upon hearing Tom's words, were so startled that their hands shook, and they couldn't even assume the proper firing stance.
The deafening cannon shots, along with Tom's sky-shaking shout, lingered in the air for a long time. And Buggy was so angry that veins popped out all over his body...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic