Enel clasped his hands together, and several blasts of laser fire rained down upon Daifuku.
This was a ranged attack method he had only recently developed.
Previously, Enel could only trigger explosions by making direct physical contact with his fists or other body parts against his opponents.
The idea for the long-range laser had been inspired by the Automata.
In practice, it involved directing the explosive energy he generated along a fixed trajectory.
Given the AI level of the Genie, its primitive processor was probably still trying to figure out how to pummel Buggy with its fists.
By the time it processed that thought, Buggy had already split himself apart, causing the Genie's systems to crash.
It couldn't dodge Enel's attack at all. The Genie's entire body was pierced clean through.
But very quickly, its body began to reform and swirl back together.
The Genie wasn't Charlotte Daifuku's true body after all. It was composed of smoke, so even if scattered, it could restore itself in moments.
"It's not going to be that easy, is it." Inuarashi murmured under his breath.
Both he and Nekomamushi had used Geppo to take to the air.
However, they found themselves intercepted by the other crew members Daifuku had brought along.
After all, this was a pirate crew that commanded a corner of the New World under the banner of one of the Four Emperors in the original story.
It wasn't as if Big Mom and the Three Sweet Commanders were the only capable fighters in their ranks.
Charlotte Daifuku's raw talent might fall short of Katakuri's, but he was still a monster in his own right.
His combat power was at the very least on par with the Flying Six.
Buggy and Enel were simply too young. Give them another two or three years, and an opponent like this wouldn't even warrant a second glance from them.
But right now, at only fifteen years old, neither Buggy nor Enel could beat Daifuku in a one-on-one fight.
That said, they didn't need to fight alone!
With Buggy, Enel, and Fleche working together against Daifuku, things were different.
Fleche possessed the Lunarian bloodline factor, and her defensive capabilities were so formidable that Daifuku couldn't so much as scratch her.
Meanwhile, Buggy and Enel relentlessly pressed the attack.
For a time, even Charlotte Daifuku found himself struggling to keep up.
"How is this possible? Are these really pirates with bounties in the tens of millions?"
Daifuku fought while silently cursing the Marines for their sheer incompetence in his mind.
His own bounty had reached one hundred and fifty million Belly.
Because he was part of the Big Mom Pirates, some of the bigger incidents he caused were often attributed to Big Mom herself.
This meant his bounty was actually somewhat lower than his true strength warranted.
If he had been operating independently, it would have been at least two hundred million.
For three people to push him into a defensive position, they would need to be pirates with bounties over a hundred million each!
At this level of strength, even carving out a place in the New World wouldn't be impossible.
And all three of them had already mastered Haki at such a young age.
Their future accomplishments might not fall short of Katakuri's.
As the two sides clashed, another pirate ship quietly sailed into the waters around them.
"Captain, it looks like two pirate crews are fighting up ahead!"
Bendic Snek, the navigator of the Red Hair Pirates, kept his eyes fixed forward.
"If we keep going, we'll enter the crossfire."
"What should we do?" Beckman asked, turning his head.
"Let me see."
Shanks took the telescope and adjusted the focus until he could make out the flags of both sides.
"Is that…"
"That's the BIG MOM Pirates' flag, isn't it? What are they doing in the first half of the Grand Line?"
Shanks was visibly startled.
"BIG MOM? Seriously?"
Lucky Roux nearly dropped the chicken leg in his hand. His whole body jiggled with nervousness.
Everyone knew that the three most powerful pirate forces in the New World right now were the BIG MOM Pirates led by Big Mom, the Whitebeard Pirates led by Whitebeard, and Inazuma led by the Lightning General.
Logically, these forces should have been concentrated in the New World.
What was one of them doing in Paradise?
"And who are they fighting?" Beckman asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he frowned.
"Anyone who can go toe to toe with the Big Mom Pirates must be a well-established major pirate, right?"
"No… I've never seen a more ridiculous pirate flag in my life." Shanks scratched his head.
"Now that I think about it, I remember these guys. They're one of the rising pirate crews that made waves recently."
Beckman suddenly recalled the news.
"I think they burned Big Mom's flag in the New World a while back!"
The incident had been reported in the papers, though Beckman had only given it a passing thought at the time.
He never expected that crew to still be alive, let alone fighting on equal footing with Big Mom's pursuit force.
"So what do we do? Wait here until the fight is over?"
"No, going up against the Big Mom Pirates sounds like it could be fun. Let's get in on this too!"
Shanks was itching for a fight.
He dismissed Beckman's suggestion and steered his ship toward Buggy and the others.
His crew, however, had not yet been through any truly harrowing ordeals.
The mere thought of making an enemy of the Big Mom Pirates left them trembling.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. If we're going to enter the New World and become the Pirate King, these are our enemies anyway!" Shanks laughed.
Their approach clearly caught the attention of both Buggy's group and Daifuku.
"A pirate ship from Paradise?"
"These clueless fools are in such a hurry to die!"
Daifuku took one look at the Red Hair Pirates' flag and had no recollection of it whatsoever.
He clearly dismissed them as just another band of Paradise riffraff.
And it wasn't just Daifuku — even Buggy and Enel thought the same.
As they closed in, Shanks' crew opened fire on Daifuku's ship.
The red-haired young man standing at the bow called out with a cocky grin.
"Hey, hang in there! I'm coming to help!"
For some reason, Buggy took an instant dislike to the man the moment he laid eyes on him.
Besides, they didn't need any help.
"I'll sink you fools first!" Daifuku sneered.
He couldn't beat Buggy's three-man team — fine. But he certainly wasn't about to lose to a bunch of Paradise rookies.
Seizing the moment Buggy's attention was drawn away, Daifuku launched himself forward.
His Genie swung its massive blade in a vicious arc aimed directly at Shanks.
"Die!"
Shanks showed no fear. He drew the cutlass at his waist and released a burst of Haki.
The Haki coiled around the Genie, and a single slash of concentrated energy sent the smoke creature reeling backward.
The Genie quickly deflected the remaining force of the strike, but did not press the counterattack.
Daifuku's expression darkened. The Haki coating that young man's blade was unmistakable — and its intensity was no joke.
He was already struggling to hold his own against Buggy's three-man assault.
Now with this additional combatant, Daifuku immediately realized there was no chance of taking Buggy's group down.
But still.
That red-haired kid possessed this level of strength and yet was completely unknown?
What exactly were the Marines even doing?
[
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