One Piece: Legend of the Star Sea

"You can split your body into pieces? At first, I thought that flying hand was fake, but turns out… you're actually a monster," Luffy said, watching Buggy's dismembered body float around.

"Shut up! You're a rubber man—you don't get to call me a monster!" Buggy snapped, furious that Luffy had the nerve to judge him while ignoring his own bizarre ability.

"Hey, straw hat brat! If you have that woman return the Grand Line map and hand over that guy who picked a fight with me, I'll consider sparing your life," Buggy growled, casting a resentful glare toward Alex.

"No way. We're heading to the Grand Line ourselves, and we're not giving that map back. We're pirates too! If you want it, then take it like a real pirate!" Luffy shot back, flexing his arms. Then, with a sudden stretch, he launched his left fist: "Gum-Gum Pistol!"

"Split-Split Escape!" Buggy instantly fragmented his body again, dodging the attack. "You're too naive. The Grand Line isn't some tourist destination for no-name pirates like you."

He floated mid-air, sneering. "What are you people going for, a guided tour?"

"I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" Luffy declared with absolute conviction.

Buggy froze. He'd heard Luffy say this before but thought it was a joke. Hearing it again, with such seriousness, left him momentarily stunned—mouth agape, neck twisted, practically petrified.

"Don't make me laugh. You, King of the Pirates? Then I must be a god! Only I will claim the world's greatest treasure!" Buggy shouted, his skull-marked forehead furrowed and menacing.

"Say whatever you want, but the more I look at you, the more I dislike you. And you think we can't go to the Grand Line, but that giant nose of yours can?" Luffy switched to his right fist for the next attack. His left arm was still aching from earlier, and his injuries weren't superficial.

His fight with Alex had left several deep bruises and a still-bleeding wound in his left hand from being pierced by sharp stones. Though not as severely injured as Alex, Luffy's mobility had clearly taken a hit. Had he been at full strength, Buggy wouldn't still be standing after the cannon blast and Alex's punch.

"You mentioned my nose again?! You and that guy both—so damn irritating!" Buggy snapped. "Die—Split-Split: Clown Knives!"

Buggy's right hand launched a barrage of knives straight at Luffy. Dodging back, Luffy twisted his body mid-air to avoid the attack. He muttered, "Your nose is redder, rounder… and now it's turning black."

He wasn't wrong. Buggy's nose, now swollen from Alex's punch, had dark scorch marks on it. But that only enraged Buggy further.

"You little brat! That hat of yours reminds me of a cocky red-haired bastard I met when I was younger. I'm going to kill you!" Buggy roared, lunging.

"Red-haired!?" Luffy froze. The name caught him off guard, making him slow just enough for a knife to nearly graze him.

"You mean Shanks? You know him?" he asked, pulling back, voice filled with sudden hope—this was the man he'd admired since childhood, the one who had entrusted him with his hat.

"What's it to you? Yeah, I know him. So what?" Buggy scoffed, his expression souring at the mention.

"Where is he now?" Luffy stepped forward eagerly.

"Where? Hah… I guess you could say I know… or maybe I don't…" Buggy rubbed his chin in fake contemplation.

"What are you even saying? You idiot!" Luffy snapped.

"Oh, real brave—mocking my nose and now calling me an idiot! I'll take you out first and send your buddy after you!" Buggy bellowed, completely losing it.

Meanwhile, in the bombed-out bar, Nami and Alex were calmly rummaging through the wreckage for Buggy's treasure.

"Search around here. If we find the loot, I'll give you a share," Nami offered. She'd noticed some color returning to Alex's face and was relieved. His condition earlier seemed dire—yet he'd recovered quickly, almost too quickly.

She remembered the time Alex had been badly injured in the back, but mysteriously recovered soon after. Nami was starting to think Alex might be some sort of freak of nature.

Normal people wouldn't even be standing after losing that much blood, let alone walking and talking. But Alex had simply rested his head on her legs for a bit and got right back up. Even she sensed something was wrong with his body.

Truth was, Alex still felt dizzy, weak, and in pain. It wasn't that his wounds had healed—it was more like some other force was keeping him upright.

"You listening to me?" Nami called, having just unearthed the hidden stash and stuffed it into a burlap sack.

Then she froze. Staring at the man in front of her—half his face marked with blood-red streaks, the other with fiery orange—she couldn't find words.

The colored lines on his face weren't static—they writhed like living things, as if venomous snakes were crawling across his skin. One eye burned like a golden sun, the other bled crimson like a blood moon. It was terrifying.

Instinctively, Nami stepped back and reached for her weapon—a pair of nunchucks strapped to her right thigh. She swung them at the strange figure approaching her. "Stay back! Alex, where are you? Help!"

Alex had no idea what she was seeing. Seeing her horrified expression, he stepped forward to ask what was wrong—only to be clubbed in the head by Nami.

"Ow! What was that for? That hurt!" he cried out. He hadn't expected an attack from her at all.

Already weakened, the blow left Alex spinning, and he toppled forward.

Nami fared no better. In her panic, she'd grabbed the wrong weapon—the nunchucks Alex had rigged earlier, not the three-section staff tied to her left leg. And nunchucks, if used improperly, tend to hit the wielder just as hard.

The weapon bounced back and struck her in the head, sending her reeling. She dropped the bag of treasure and stumbled forward.

The result: both of them collapsed into each other, with Alex—taller and heavier—falling squarely on top of her.

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