Collapsing onto the cold floor, Buggy lay there in his death throes, utterly hopeless.
As he recalled the glorious adventures of his earlier life, a wave of fierce unwillingness surged within him:
"Back in the day, even when I, the great Buggy, was surrounded by the Golden Lion's forty-ship fleet in the New World, I didn't die! Am I really going to die today at the hands of some nameless, random knight?"
Shanks, Rayleigh, Captain Roger... One legendary figure after another flashed through Buggy's mind, filling him with endless strength.
This extraordinary power surged within Buggy's still-burning chest and exploded through his vocal cords as he shouted two thunderous words:
"HELP ME!"
Garen looked helplessly stunned by the sheer force of that roar.
"Stop screaming," he said flatly.
"Keep that up and I will cut someone."
But Buggy wasn't giving up just yet.
Garen raised his massive sword high, hoping to scare the delirious clown into silence.
Instead, Buggy shrieked again in panic and tried to fly away using his Devil Fruit ability.
"Pointless."
Annoyed, Garen swung his sword toward him.
Buggy, however, screamed like a madman, "I, the great Captain Buggy, will not die here!"
"That's not up to you."
Garen once again delivered a classic villain line with full dramatic flair, ready to unleash another strike as soon as his Deadly Strike cooldown ended.
But just then—
A loud explosion erupted outside the captain's cabin.
In the next instant, Garen felt the entire ship shudder violently beneath his feet. The sharp crack of splintering wood echoed through the ship's interior in mere seconds.
The floor below them began to buckle and collapse visibly, while cracks spread rapidly across the wooden walls of the cabin.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Startled, Garen grabbed Buggy's leg tightly and rushed out of the crumbling captain's cabin with Wallace in tow.
Once they were outside, the devastation caused by that mysterious attack became clear:
Buggy's medium-sized pirate ship had been split nearly in half by some unknown force. The entire vessel was now slowly sinking into the sea.
Across the splintered deck, many of the crew had been shaken into the ocean by the sudden impact. Beast-tamer Mohji and swordsman Cabaji were clinging to the lion Richie, shivering in fear.
Meanwhile, Nami was gritting her teeth, struggling to tie several treasure chests together and protect them with her body.
Seeing Garen and Wallace, she shouted, "Garen! We've been bombarded again!"
"Bombarded? Again?"
Garen was completely baffled.
Just how lucky—no, unlucky—was he, to be bombarded twice in a row after jumping ships?
Wait... Garen suddenly glanced at Buggy, who was now visibly relieved.
Was this happening because of his luck... or the red-nosed clown's?
In that moment, Garen couldn't help but feel a sense of awe for the infamous Captain Buggy and his so-called Conqueror's Luck.
While he stood dazed in thought, the second cannonball came.
From the sky came a roaring noise, a massive shockwave like a tsunami bearing down on them.
Then—BOOM! Another deafening explosion rocked what was left of the shattered deck. Buggy's pirate ship was instantly reduced to a pile of wooden wreckage floating on the sea.
This wasn't like the custom Buggy Bombs Garen had faced before—there was no explosive fireball. This was clearly a solid cannonball.
And yet, the sheer force of it created a devastating pressure wave, instantly pulverizing the sturdy wooden deck. The destructive power was even more terrifying than the Buggy Bombs.
"A high-speed kinetic projectile?!"
Garen was speechless with shock.
"What kind of place is this?! How much more black-tech nonsense is out there?!"
Nami clutched the bundled treasure chests tightly and shouted toward Garen and Wallace:
"Don't just stand there! Come help me carry these!"
Snapping out of it, Garen quickly rushed over to Nami's side with Wallace.
But then—something changed.
Nami didn't see it. Wallace didn't see it. But thanks to his enhanced physique after reaching Level 4, Garen barely caught a glimpse of the incoming cannonball with his dynamic vision.
Maybe it was precision targeting from the enemy, or maybe it was just really, really bad luck—but the next high-speed cannonball was aimed directly at the three of them standing on the ruined deck.
With his current strength, there was no way Garen could protect both Wallace and Nami while dodging an attack like that.
And the cannonball was moving far too fast. In his vision, it was just a blurry streak—he didn't even have time to think of another plan.
It was either abandon them to die… or—
"Decisive Strike!"
"Courage!"
In an instant, Garen cast every buff he had: damage reduction, attack boost, speed enhancement—and leapt off the deck.
He still had Buggy's leg clutched in his left hand. In his right, he raised his greatsword glowing with the light of justice.
For Garen and his digitized body, wielding a sword one-handed or two-handed made no difference in strength output.
Suspended mid-air, Garen launched his attack at the blurred cannonball streaking into his field of vision.
Basic Attack! Target Locked!
A normal swordsman, even one with enhanced vision, could never intercept something moving at this speed.
But Garen was different.
If he could see it, he could hit it.
No matter how fast the enemy moved—within the range of his blade, it was a guaranteed hit.
His sword struck the cannonball dead-on.
He didn't even need to add strength—the cannonball's own kinetic force was enough to slice it clean in two against the blade.
The two halves of the cannonball veered off course and crashed into either side of the ship, landing near where Nami and Wallace stood.
Despite the impact having been slightly deflected by Garen's strike, the split cannonball fragments still carried terrifying destructive force. Woodchips and seawater exploded into the air on impact.
As for Garen, the force of the collision launched him like a meteor, slamming him deep into the already-destroyed ship.
It all happened in a split second.
Only when Garen crashed to the floor in front of her did Nami realize—he had saved her life.
Peeking out from the wreckage, she screamed in panic:
"Garen!"
"Where are you?!"
Even though she knew Garen had some weird ability that made him immune to blades and bullets, she couldn't stop the fear and worry from trembling in her voice.
"I'm here!"
Garen suddenly stood up from a pile of debris and called out casually:
"Don't worry, I'm fine!"
Nami looked him over carefully and breathed a sigh of relief.
Not even the silk on his armor was damaged. His exposed skin didn't have a scratch on it. He really was fine.
"Good…"
Still a little shaken, Nami said, "Let's grab the chests and jump into the sea. This ship's done for!"
"Got it!"
Garen nodded and casually leapt out of the crater his body had made, quickly helping Nami gather the treasure.
But while he said nothing on the outside, inside his mind, Garen was reeling:
That was just the recoil force transferred through his sword… and even with his Courage skill reducing damage by 40%, he still lost a quarter of his HP!
Just who the hell is the enemy?!
Garen was shaken to his core.
(End of Chapter)