Chapter 17: Ch-17 Buggy V/S Luffy
"If I lose to you even with these injuries, then my dream of being No.1 is still far away," Zoro said as he took the Wado Ichimonji into his mouth.
"YOU!" Cabaji yelled, eyes flaring in anger.
He immediately raised his arms and slashed at Zoro.
Zoro countered with a strike of his own.
Seeing how close he was, Cabaji suddenly exhaled fire from his mouth.
"ACROBAT TECHNIQUE—FIRE TRICK!"
Zoro instinctively raised both arms to shield his face and jumped back to create distance.
Cabaji used the opening and kicked Zoro right at his wound again—but this time, Zoro didn't flinch or even grunt.
Instead, he coolly raised his left leg and kicked Cabaji clean off his unicycle.
"That trick won't work on me twice," Zoro said coldly.
"W-Whoa! That dude just breathed fire! Is he secretly a dragon or something?" Lucen blinked in amazement.
"Beats me," Luffy shrugged casually.
"Hey! You two!" Nami called out, pointing at the ruins where the Buggy Pirates had been holed up. "I'm going to steal all of Buggy's treasure and the map-"
"It's probably still on Buggy himself, so once I grab the loot—I'm outta escape here!" she said as she turned toward the ruined building.
"Since whether you win or lose has nothing to do with me."
She walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped.
"Are you gonna join us?" Luffy asked when Nami stopped her steps, his face lighting up.
Nami rolled her eyes and turned her head just slightly, giving them a view of her side profile.
"Lucen… that's your name, right? I'm sorry about what I said earlier."
"Eh? What did you say earlier?" Lucen grinned.
Nami smirked. "Well, if you do get the map, I guess we can cooperate again."
With that, she ran off.
"ACROBAT TECHNIQUE—MIST MURDER!" Cabaji shouted, releasing a thick mist from his mouth, hiding his movements.
"Hmph. It's just smoke." Zoro closed his eyes.
Clang! Clang!
Even with his vision obscured, Zoro used his left sword to deflect an attack from the side, and then clashed head-on with another using the sword in his mouth.
As the mist faded, Cabaji appeared, putting all his strength into a frontal assault.
"How could you?!" Cabaji growled, stepping back only to strike again.
Zoro easily parried. "A true swordsman isn't defeated by cheap tricks."
"Grrr! DIE!" Cabaji roared, attacking furiously.
Zoro blocked each blow, steadily pushing Cabaji back bit by bit.
Watching from afar, Buggy growled in frustration. "Cabaji! I'll grab him—you finish him off!"
"Yes, Captain!" Cabaji replied, panting.
Buggy detached his only remaining hand and launched it toward Zoro.
Zoro's eyes widened for a second but then sharpened. He strengthened his stance and intensified his strikes.
Lucen, who was smiling like a devil, suddenly caught the flying hand mid-air, holding it tightly.
Buggy broke into a cold sweat, his expression going full cartoonish panic.
"I wonder what happens if you lose both arms, Buggy?" Lucen said while reaching into his mysterious 4D pocket.
"NO, YOU DON'T!" Buggy screamed. A knife suddenly appeared from the severed hand and aimed straight at Lucen.
"WHAT THE HECK?! Where did that knife come from?!" Lucen yelped, dropping the hand and jumping back.
"Lucen!" Luffy called out. "Leave this clown to me."
Luffy cracked his knuckles with a smirk.
"Okay," Lucen replied, walking back to his spot and plopping down casually.
Luffy's face turned serious. He remembered what Lucen had told him.
"Listen, Buggy. You might be flashy and dangerous... but I'm still gonna kick your ass!"
He stretched his arm back—
GOMU GOMU NO… PISTOL!
"WAAAH!" Buggy screamed as the punch slammed into him, launching him through a house. Cracks spread across the wall where he crashed.
"STRAW HAT! I'LL FLASHILY KILL YOU!" Buggy yelled as dozens of knife appered in his hand.
CHOP CHOP—CANNON!
His hand detached and fired at Luffy like a missile.
"Eh?!" Luffy rolled across the ground to dodge. "Shishishi~ you missed!"
"Oh really?" Buggy grinned.
"LUFFY! BEHIND YOU!" Lucen shouted.
Buggy's hand had done a U-turn and was heading back toward Luffy.
Luffy turned around just in time and crossed his arms.
"That's not gonna work." The bladed hand collided with Luffy's rubbery arms and got caught—the knives squeezed through his slightly opend fingers.
"Smooth," Lucen commented from the side.
"Damn it," Buggy muttered. With one hand still in Lucen's possession, he couldn't deploy more weapons.
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"Tch," Cabaji clicked his tongue as he watched Buggy get overwhelmed. He turned his focus back to Zoro.
"I don't need anyone's help to cut you down!" he shouted and jumped to attack.
Clang!
Zoro blocked the strike with just one sword.
He slowly lifted his head and locked eyes with Cabaji. His cold stare pierced through him like a blade.
Cabaji stumbled back instinctively. Then, ashamed of himself, he grit his teeth.
"I'm tired of this," Zoro said as he crossed both swords in front of his chest, the third held tightly in his mouth.
"THREE-SWORD STYLE—"
ONI GIRI!
Cabaji's eyes widened in terror as Zoro's blades cut through him.
"GAAAH!" Blood sprayed as Cabaji hit the ground unconscious.
"WHOA! ZORO IS SO COOL!" Lucen cheered, raising both arms like a fanboy.
Luffy and Buggy paused their fight and turned to look.
"Nice one, Zoro!" Luffy grinned.
Buggy stared at Cabaji, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"I'm gonna sleep. You guys take it from here," Zoro muttered as he removed his black bandana and collapsed flat on the ground.
"Alright, you relax," Luffy said, smiling, before facing Buggy once more.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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A/N:
For those who might think these chapter is almost similar to anime I only say go and watch the anime back. Even though it seem same but it's different. The way the fight is going is no longer same.
Even most talking and stuff is no longer same as anime or manga.