As if someone had hit a mute button, all of Buggy's screaming, cursing, and struggling stopped in an instant. He jerked his head up, and under the clown makeup his eyes went perfectly round, packed with maximum shock and dread, blurting out:
"Y-you… how do you know about that?!"
That shout not only confirmed things for Tabito—it also left Mohji and Cabaji, tied up nearby, completely dumbfounded.
"C-captain… was a crewmate of the former Pirate King?!" Mohji's jaw dropped so wide you could've shoved an apple in there. That captain who stared at treasure maps all day, who made a huge fuss over pocket change, who looked totally unreliable… actually had a background that earth-shattering?!
Cabaji's eyes also shook hard as he re-evaluated their captain. The Roger Pirates… that was the legendary Pirate crew that kicked off the Great Pirate Era! And their captain had been one of them?
"Then it's real." Tabito got the answer he wanted. The corner of his mouth lifted into a faint curve—yet that smile made Buggy's heart clench as a chill shot up his spine.
"W-what do you want?" Buggy's voice was trembling. He'd hidden that secret for years. In East Blue, nobody knew. So what the hell was this terrifying, mysterious young man in front of him?
"Since you were one of Roger's crew," Tabito said leisurely, unhurried and composed, finally showing the blade behind the map, "then you definitely know how to train 'Haki,' right?"
"H-Haki?!" Buggy's voice jumped an octave, full of disbelief. "Who the hell are you?! In a place like East Blue, how could anyone even know Haki exists?!" He stared at Tabito, suspicious and unsettled. "D-don't tell me you came back from the Grand Line?!"
"I'm getting ready to go there." Tabito pressed the spear tip down a little, making Buggy bare his teeth in pain. "So, respected Buggy-san—since you're a senpai who's seen the top of the world—could you 'give me some guidance' on how to train Haki?"
Tabito wore a smile, but to Buggy it was scarier than any demon-faced glare—an oppressive, unrefusable kind of pressure. Especially with the force coming from Tabito's foot, and that corpse puppet of chains beside him reeking of death, everything was reminding Buggy what would happen if he said no.
"I… I…" Buggy broke into a cold sweat. He did know Haki training methods. As an apprentice on Roger's ship—even if he'd been young and more focused on treasure—he'd still picked up the basics through constant exposure. But instinctively, he didn't want to hand over knowledge that could strengthen an enemy.
"My patience is limited." Tabito's voice went cold. "Or would you prefer I use some special method and just 'look' directly inside your head?" As he spoke, his gaze meaningfully swept across Buggy's skull, as if a ghostly glint flashed in his eyes.
That wasn't an empty threat. The Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Art had soul-searching techniques—only they were extremely damaging to the soul, and with Tabito's current cultivation, it'd be very easy to turn Buggy into an idiot. Since he'd decided not to kill him for now, he didn't want to go that far—assuming Buggy cooperated.
Buggy shuddered hard. He didn't know what that "special method" was, but his gut screamed it was worse than getting beaten. And when he connected it to Tabito's freakish corpse-control tricks… Buggy folded.
"I'll talk! I'll talk, okay?!" Buggy wailed, face scrunched up. Between "possibly becoming a vegetable" and "handing over knowledge," he chose the latter without hesitation. As long as the mountains stay green, you'll never run out of firewood—Buggy-sama's journey was to claim ALL the treasure, and he wasn't about to die here!
Next, under Tabito's "friendly supervision" (the spear tip never leaving the back of his neck), Buggy spilled everything he knew about Haki, without holding back.
"Haki has three types—'Kenbunshoku,' 'Busoshoku,' and 'Haoshoku'… Haoshoku is something you're born with, you can't train it, so don't get your hopes up… Kenbunshoku is sensing presence and predicting movements. The basic training is blindfolding yourself to dodge attacks, or focusing on sensing the 'presence' of living things around you… Busoshoku boosts defense and attack power, and it can grab Logia users' real bodies. The basics are to imagine there's a flowing power inside your body, keep tempering your will and physique, and try to guide it to the surface of your skin…"
Buggy explained in fits and starts. Some parts he couldn't quite remember clearly himself, but he did lay out the core principles and beginner methods. Tabito listened carefully, and with his understanding of energy and spirit from cultivation, he quickly grasped the key points.
In this world, "Haki" was essentially a method of use that combined mental will with life energy. It shared the same underlying flavor as cultivation-world methods of tempering the mind and tempering the body—but leaned more toward the manifestation of "will," and interference with "rules" (like catching a Logia's true body). A genuinely interesting addition to his knowledge.
When Buggy finished, Tabito silently reviewed it in his mind, confirming it was basically correct (with his experience, he could judge truth from lies to some degree). Only then did he look at Buggy again—swollen-faced, bruised, dust-covered, miserable and ridiculous.
"Good. Cooperation well received." Tabito put away the spear.
Buggy was just about to exhale in relief—when Tabito signaled to the Mad Treasure corpse puppet. The corpse puppet immediately manipulated the chains, binding Buggy, Mohji, Cabaji, and that tied-up lion, Richie, together like bundled rice dumplings. The chains tightened layer by layer, until the four of them were compressed into one gigantic "chain ball" with only their heads sticking out.
"H-hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?! Didn't you say you'd let me go?!" Buggy was bound at the very top of the ball, screaming in terror as a terrible premonition surged up.
"I said I won't kill you for now. I never said I wouldn't punish you." Tabito stepped back a few paces, widening the distance. A "kind" smile appeared on his face—one that made Buggy's scalp crawl. "Get ready. In a moment, you might feel a little… 'seasick.'"
With that, Tabito drew a deep breath. The Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Art circulated slightly within him, power gathering in his legs, and then—
He aimed at that massive chain ball and snapped out a brutal soccer-style kick!
"N—NOOOOO—!!!"
Inside Buggy's shriek—long, dragged out, utterly tragic—the chain ball shot off like it had been struck by a giant cannon, turning into a blurred arc as it rocketed toward the sky at insane speed. It flew over the buildings of Orange Town, over the coastline, and hurled itself deeper and deeper toward the endless open ocean, until it became a tiny black speck and vanished into the blue sky.
As for how far they'd fly, where they'd land—whether they'd splash into the sea or smash into some desolate island—that wasn't Tabito's problem. He hadn't taken Buggy's life, and he hadn't stolen his Devil Fruit ability. He'd only "borrowed" a bit of knowledge, and "sent" them away from here. That was benevolence to the utmost.
Surely that "Red-Hair" and that "Dark King," even if they learned about it someday, would feel too embarrassed to come looking for trouble, right?
Tabito withdrew his gaze and looked toward the remaining Buggy Pirates grunts in the square, along with the scattered weapons and supplies on the ground. The Human Emperor Banner appeared silently in his hand.
"Now," he murmured, flicking the banner lightly, "it's time to handle the real business."
(End of Chapter)
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