Chapter 25: Are You Guys Here to Be Funny?
"Could it be the Buggy Pirates?"
Looking at the bow of the ship, he noticed it was shaped like an elephant, with its long trunk modified into a cannon. No doubt about it! This was Buggy's ship, the "Big Top"!
Ian never expected that the ones who stole his belongings would be the Buggy Pirates. It felt quite surprising.
This made things a bit difficult. Ian had a deep impression of Buggy. Not to mention his future achievements, even when Buggy first appeared, he was already a pirate with a bounty in the millions!
Ian had set sail earlier than Zoro, and naturally earlier than Luffy as well. He didn't know what Buggy's current bounty was, but it was safe to assume it wasn't low.
Since he didn't have a clear understanding of his own strength yet, Ian wasn't sure if he could defeat Buggy. Under other circumstances, he might have avoided him for now, but not this time. He had to get back his clothes, hat, and Den Den Mushi!
Lost in thought, Ian remained silent, leading the Buggy Pirates' underlings to think he was intimidated by them. One by one, they drew their weapons and approached him with sneers.
"Kid! Since you're here, don't think about leaving! Put down your weapon and wait for Captain Buggy's judgment!"
"Haha, if the great Captain Buggy is in a good mood, maybe he'll let you work as a lowly shipwright on board, scrubbing the deck for us every day!"
"And if the captain's in a bad mood?"
"Haha, then you're in trouble! Maybe you'll replace that unlucky bastard hanging over there! When the cannon fires... boom!"
The underlings chatted recklessly about Ian's fate, not noticing his expression growing darker.
Finally, one pirate couldn't hold back. He raised a Western-style sword and swung it at Ian, aiming to wound him and tie him up.
Ian stood still, watching the blade come down toward his shoulder. Just as everyone thought he was too scared to fight back, Ian suddenly moved!
Dodging the underling's slash with a sidestep, Ian slid behind him. His katana flashed from its sheath, and with a brilliant gleam, he struck down hard!
The pirate let out a scream as a massive gash opened on his back, blood gushing out as he collapsed.
But it didn't end there. After felling that underling, Ian moved again at lightning speed, weaving through the group of pirates. With each shift in position, a flash of steel followed—slashing, stabbing, cutting, or thrusting. Every move was different, but the result was the same: another pirate screamed and fell!
By the time the eight or nine underlings who had surrounded him were all down, Ian's movement stopped. As he halted, his blade returned to its sheath.
Whoosh! Perfect!
Though they were small fry, there were too many enemies, and he was alone. Getting surrounded would be bad. So Ian led with his strongest technique: Continuous Flash Slash.
This move, requiring advanced swordsmanship, demanded seamless transitions between attacks. After downing the first opponent, he had to simultaneously focus on the next target and prepare his stance. Otherwise, the chain would break. Ian had practiced it for a long time in Shimotsuki Village before mastering it.
The advantage of this technique was that the psychic power used in one go could be divided into portions for sustained use, rather than consuming a new amount with each hit.
Most importantly, it was incredibly effective against large groups of pirates!
The remaining Buggy Pirates, who hadn't closed in yet, stood frozen, staring blankly at Ian as he held his finishing pose. They didn't know how to express their shock and disbelief.
They had thought he was just a lone, shipwrecked rookie traveler drifting at sea. How had he suddenly turned into a merciless demon who killed without blinking?!
The shift in tone was way too fast!
Ian had no idea what the pirates were thinking. After his first time drawing blood and seeing so much of it, he didn't feel nauseous or want to vomit, as novels often described. Instead, he felt a faint thrill—a sign of his adrenaline spiking.
He realized he was surprisingly suited for this kind of combat!
Of course, Ian hadn't actually killed the pirates lying on the deck. He had only severely wounded them, avoiding vital spots. He had used most of his psychic power to enhance himself rather than coating his blade, so the attacks were less lethal. If they received timely treatment, they wouldn't die.
He wasn't yet at the point of killing without a second thought.
But the other pirates didn't know that. Thinking their comrades were dead, they snapped out of it and started shouting angrily.
"Get him! Kill him!"
"Yeah! He insulted the Buggy Pirates—he's dead meat!"
But for all their yelling, no one dared to charge forward. The sight of Ian taking down eight or nine men in an instant had terrified them. Deep down, they knew they were no match for him. As they shouted, their eyes unconsciously darted toward the chief of staff, Cabaji, hoping he would step in.
Cabaji stood on his unicycle, arms crossed, his face hidden behind his black-and-white checkered scarf. His expression was unreadable, but a closer look revealed a sinister glint in his eyes.
He hadn't spoken since Ian boarded the ship. At first, he had dismissed Ian as a rookie not worth his attention, letting his underlings handle it. Now, he found himself at a loss for words. After watching Ian's swordplay, he realized he wasn't confident he could win!
The speed of Ian's Continuous Flash Slash had been too fast.
Just as Cabaji hesitated over whether to act, a loud lion's roar rang out.
The sound came from the rear of the ship. Ian heard it and looked over to see a man riding a lion slowly approaching.
"What's going on? Why is there so much blood? Aren't you afraid of agitating Richie?" the man said, annoyed, as he emerged.
When Ian saw him, he burst out laughing, pointing and saying, "Haha! Your hat is even weirder than mine!"
The man had a ring of fur around his head, covering even his cheeks, making his whole head look like a fluffy sheep!
And the lion he rode had its mane combed into a long braid sticking straight up. It looked utterly ridiculous.
"How rude! This is my hair!!"
Hearing Ian's laughter, the lion rider flew into a rage, veins bulging on his forehead. Anyone would get angry if their hair was mistaken for a fur hat!
After shouting, he realized something and asked Ian in confusion, "Who are you? How did you get on our ship?"
This was, of course, the Buggy Pirates' first mate, the animal tamer Mohji. The pirate world was full of strange people. Looking at his fur-like hair, Ian wondered if he might be a Mink. If so, which tribe? Sheep Tribe?
As Ian's mind wandered, Mohji finally noticed the pirates lying in pools of blood on the deck. He immediately understood the situation. This half-naked kid was an intruder!
"You've got some nerve, coming onto the Buggy Pirates' ship to pick a fight!" Mohji growled at Ian.
"Nonsense!" Ian wasn't about to take the blame. "Your guys stole my stuff, and you're calling me the provocateur?"
Mohji didn't care. As the first mate, if he let Ian off the hook, he'd lose face on the Big Top. Ignoring Ian's rebuttal, he patted the lion beneath him, Richie, and said, "Kill him!"
Richie let out another thunderous roar and leaped toward Ian with Mohji on its back, swiping its claws at him.
Seeing the fierce attack, Ian was already prepared. He stepped back quickly, dodging the claw strike. A gust of wind brushed past him, and he broke out in a slight sweat.
Fighting humans didn't scare him, but going head-to-head with a beast like a lion was a first!
When the first strike missed, Richie lunged again, jaws wide. Lions moved much faster than humans when pouncing. In a hurry, Ian used his scabbard to block Richie's bite.
But to his surprise, Richie bit down and snapped the katana in two!
Ian stared dumbfounded at the broken hilt in his hand, momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the cheap katana he'd brought to last long, but he never thought it would break so quickly!
"Hmph! Don't underestimate Richie's bite force!" Mohji said, arms crossed, looking down at Ian. "Richie is a fearsome beast. The number of people who've died in its jaws is more than you can count on two hands!"
Before he could finish, Richie suddenly stopped. It lowered its head, sniffed the broken blade, and then—to everyone's surprise—stuck out its tongue and started licking it!
"..." Ian stared speechlessly at Richie, who was lapping at the blade like a big dog. Back in the sea, he had used this katana to spear a fish, leaving a fishy smell on the edge. Richie must have caught the scent and decided it was time for a meal.
Though he didn't want to say it, Ian couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you guys really pirates? You look more like a circus to me..."