Chapter 34: Sell Him to the Pirates First
♂Watching Ian retie Cabaji and prepare to lead him along like a dog on a leash, Koby’s legs were trembling as he asked, “I-Ian, big brother, are you really going to the Marine base? The Buggy Pirates have already attacked there! Isn’t that walking right into a trap? Maybe… maybe we should just hide!”
Ian shook his head and said, “We still have to go. Don’t forget, the townspeople have taken shelter inside the Marine base. If the Marines really can’t hold out, those people will be in trouble!”
Koby stared blankly at Ian. He hadn’t expected Ian to still be concerned about those innocent people.
Indeed, Ian could be quite scheming at times, but he wasn’t completely without principles. The Buggy Pirates had chased them here because Ian had captured Cabaji, and the townspeople were clearly implicated because of Ian. So Ian felt it was necessary to resolve this trouble.
“I… I’ll go with you!” Koby didn’t know what he was thinking, but suddenly mustered the courage to shout, “M-my home is in this town. I want to help defend it too!”
Ian glanced at him, said nothing, just pulled the brim of his hat down a little lower, and said, “Then you’d better keep up!”
Along the way, they could see the bodies of both Marines and pirates. Some were only seriously wounded, but all lay motionless, a grim sight.
Among those fallen on the ground, there seemed to be more Marines, and Ian immediately realized that the Marines had been defeated.
Instinctively, both of them quickened their pace, though it was tough for Cabaji behind them, who was practically being dragged along the ground by Ian…
…………………………
The Buggy Pirates had already stormed the main gate of the base. The remaining Marine soldiers were using the base’s fortifications as a defensive line, continuing to hold off the pirates.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Morgan rushed inside the base to report the situation to Colonel Rhodes.
Upon hearing the news of defeat, Colonel Rhodes immediately fainted from shock. This elderly colonel, advanced in years, couldn’t handle such a shock.
In his panic, Morgan couldn’t bother with Colonel Rhodes anymore. He picked up the Den Den Mushi on the desk and called Marine Branch 16 to request reinforcements.
However, the response from Branch 16 was terrible. Their colonel was reportedly on vacation at the Baratie, a sea restaurant!
Morgan was so furious he nearly smashed the Den Den Mushi. Left with no choice, he had to request reinforcements from Loguetown.
When they heard that the Buggy Pirates were attacking Shells Town, Loguetown took it seriously and immediately said they would send reinforcements—and that Vice Admiral Garp himself was coming!
This surprise almost made Morgan jump for joy. He had long heard that the hero of Marine Headquarters, Vice Admiral Garp, often visited the East Blue these days, but he never imagined that Vice Admiral Garp was currently in Loguetown. Now, with Vice Admiral Garp here, the Buggy Pirates were doomed!
However, after the excitement, Morgan suddenly realized the problem. Loguetown was too far away. By the time Vice Admiral Garp arrived, who knew how long it would take? The crisis at Branch 153 hadn’t been resolved yet, and he had to find a way to hold out.
Putting down the Den Den Mushi, Morgan called over the middle-aged Marine with the bushy beard and ordered him to lead the townspeople to evacuate further back. He himself went downstairs, intending to continue leading the remaining Marines to resist the Buggy Pirates.
But when he got downstairs, Morgan realized how dire the situation was!
The Buggy Pirates had already broken into the base. The defensive line of fortifications hadn’t held them off for long. With Buggy, a Devil Fruit user, the Marines hiding behind the fortifications were ambushed by him. His detached hands, wielding knives, struck with deadly precision.
Only about a dozen Marine soldiers remained in the base, hiding behind desks, exchanging gunfire with the pirates. Bullets flew everywhere in the room, shredding piles of documents into confetti that danced in the air.
The Buggy Pirates laughed wildly, while among the Marines, one after another was hit and fell to the ground amid the laughter.
When Morgan appeared, the remaining Marines were encouraged and held out a bit longer. Unfortunately, they still couldn’t avoid being shot down.
Only Morgan was left. The pirates stopped firing. Buggy stepped through the crowd and appeared before him, grinning, “Alright, Lieutenant Morgan, it’s just you now. Tell me, where is Cabaji being held? Spill it, and I’ll spare your life!”
Morgan shook his head and said, “That Cabaji isn’t held here. He was taken away by that pirate hunter!”
“Nonsense!” Buggy stomped his foot in anger. “My men clearly found out that brat brought Cabaji to the base. How could you not have locked him up!”
“I’m telling the truth!” Morgan said, cautiously approaching Buggy as he spoke. “Cabaji has no bounty. That pirate hunter took him away when he couldn’t get any money!”
Buggy was momentarily stunned. It seemed true—Cabaji didn’t have a bounty after all.
“Then where did that brat go?” Buggy asked through gritted teeth.
“Go ask in hell!”
Morgan finally got close enough. He swung his axe fiercely, bringing it down on Buggy!
But Buggy seemed frozen, watching Morgan’s axe come down without dodging at all.
Swish! Morgan’s sharp axe split Buggy cleanly from head to toe!
After succeeding, Morgan burst out laughing, “Haha, I got you!”
The only sound in the entire scene was Morgan’s laughter. The other pirates stared at him with strange looks.
As he laughed, even Morgan felt something was wrong. Buggy had been killed, so why weren’t his men panicking at all?
Just then, two blades suddenly pierced through both of Morgan’s arms from the sides. Morgan screamed in pain and fell to his knees.
Buggy’s split body recombined, and he stood up, looking down at Morgan. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m immortal!”
The pirate underlings behind him finally burst into loud laughter. They had seen this many times, but it was always amusing.
At that moment, Morgan finally realized what Buggy’s Devil Fruit ability was. Earlier, when Buggy stabbed him at the dock, Morgan had thought Buggy could only detach his wrists and fly them out. He never imagined Buggy couldn’t die even when split in half. His arms hung limply as he looked up at Buggy, his face full of disbelief.
“Since you don’t know either, then die!” Buggy grinned menacingly, raising his knife.
At that moment, Morgan suddenly felt fear. The scene of the entire Marine crew dying while fighting the Black Cat Pirates flashed back into his mind. If not for that experience of capturing Captain Kuro, Morgan might have always been a passionate Marine soldier, ready to die fighting Buggy. But after being promoted to lieutenant, Morgan suddenly realized he didn’t want to die. That useless old Colonel Rhodes was about to retire, and Morgan had hopes of being promoted to colonel. How could he die now!?
So he suddenly shouted, “You can’t kill me! I’m a Marine officer! If you dare kill me, that’s a serious crime. Even if I have to go to the ends of the earth, Vice Admiral Garp will hunt you down and bring you to justice!”
The information in those words was too much. As soon as he heard “Vice Admiral Garp,” Buggy nearly spat out, panicking, “Garp!? Where is he!?”
As soon as he said it, Buggy realized something was wrong. When he spoke, there had been two voices, saying exactly the same thing!
Turning his head, Buggy was utterly horrified. He instinctively jumped back, staring at Ian, who had appeared behind him at some point, and stammered, “Y-you… how did you get here!?”
Even the pirates behind him all looked up and spat out in unison!
To be honest, Ian was quite surprised. When he entered the base, he heard from Morgan that Garp was coming, which was why he had spoken the same words as Buggy in shock. But then he thought about it and felt relieved. It wasn’t strange for Garp to be in the East Blue. After all, his two grandsons, Luffy and Ace, were there. He probably came to check on them from time to time.
Hearing Buggy’s words, Ian seemed to notice him for the first time. He raised a hand in greeting and said, “Yo, Buggy? Long time no see!”
“Long time no see my ass!” Buggy roared, spitting everywhere in anger. “Sneaking up behind someone without a sound, are you trying to scare someone to death!?”
But after recovering, Buggy unexpectedly laughed out loud. “Good, I was just looking for you! I didn’t expect you to deliver yourself to me. Perfect, I’ll finish you off right here. Even if Garp is coming, it’ll take a while. After I kill you, I’ll escape immediately. Let’s see how he catches me!”
But before Buggy could act, Ian suddenly pulled the rope in his hand, dragging a person out from the crowd. It was Cabaji, tied up in an S-shaped binding that highlighted every curve!
“Cabaji!?” Buggy exclaimed in surprise.
“I’m sorry, Captain Buggy. I’ve disgraced you!” Cabaji was completely deflated, weakly looking up at Buggy.
Ian, however, took the Sword Saint Longsword from his back and placed it directly against Cabaji’s neck, saying to Buggy, “Want your chief of staff back?”
Buggy was sweating profusely, gritting his teeth and saying, “Let him go immediately, or I’ll kill you for sure!”
“Don’t worry!” Ian waved his hand. “I brought him here to give him to you!”
“Oh?” Buggy was overjoyed. “Hmph, looks like you’ve finally come to your senses. You’re not going to oppose the great Captain Buggy anymore, are you?”
“Don’t misunderstand!” Ian shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. Giving him to you isn’t free. This guy has no bounty, so you’ll have to pay for him!”
“What do you mean?” Buggy asked stupidly, not understanding.
“I mean, you pay up, and I hand him over to you!” Ian explained. “You should have plenty of money, right? This guy is worth five million Berries. As soon as you fork it over, I’ll release him immediately!”
“You… brat! Are you messing with me?” Buggy’s teeth ground together with a grating sound.
“Too much?” Ian asked, puzzled, then started lowering the price. “Can’t do five million? How about four million? Three million? What, three million won’t work? Then two million! Damn! One million is the lowest price, clearance sale! Any less, and I’ll kill him!”
Throughout this, Buggy kept shaking his head, trying to find a chance to speak. His original intention was to refuse the threat, but Ian misunderstood, thinking he found the price too high. By the time Buggy heard Ian’s last words, he nearly jumped: Do you ever let anyone speak!?
Just as Buggy was about to refuse, Mohji suddenly pulled him aside and whispered, “Captain Buggy, Cabaji is in his hands. We have to be cautious. It’s better to agree for now. Once Cabaji is released, we can kill this brat. Then we’ll get revenge and take back the money!”
Buggy rubbed his chin, thinking it over. The idea seemed pretty good, so he said, “Fine, one million it is!”
Then he turned to a pirate underling and said, “Go to the ship and get the money!”