Chapter 37: Selling to the Marines Again
"Y-You... What did you just do!?" Thanks to the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit, Buggy naturally hadn't died. His body parts, sliced into pieces, floated in midair as he stared at Ian with a hint of fear.
"I cut you!" Ian turned around and said with a smile.
Buggy was still confident in his Devil Fruit ability. His Chop-Chop Fruit didn't have much offensive power, but when it came to defending against attacks, it was top-notch. Since Ian was a swordsman, Buggy thought he had no way to deal with him, so he stubbornly said, "Didn't I tell you? I have an invincible body! You can't kill me!"
As if to prove his point, Buggy used his Chop-Chop Great Assembly to recombine the parts Ian had cut apart, returning to his original form.
"Is that so?" Ian smiled faintly. Suddenly, he sheathed the Sword Saint Longsword behind his back, lunged forward with explosive force from his feet, and threw a punch like the wind, striking Buggy squarely in the stomach!
Although Ian didn't know any martial arts, he could still throw a regular punch. This one combined his own strength with his swift speed, making it quite powerful. Buggy took the hit to his stomach, his eyes bulging out!
With a thud, Buggy was sent flying, crashing into and overturning many tables along the way.
"Captain Buggy!?" The pirate underlings rushed over to check on Buggy's condition, though of course, they also wanted to use the chance to get away from Ian.
However, before they could reach him, Buggy suddenly jumped up.
"Ow ow ow!! So hot, so hot, so hot!!"
Buggy's entire body was on fire! Orange flames covered him as he ran in circles on the spot, frantically slapping at the flames on himself. But no matter what he did, the fire wouldn't go out.
Everyone was stunned. They had no idea why Buggy suddenly burst into flames after taking a punch—until they looked at Ian.
Both of his fists were now blazing with roaring flames! He stood there like a god descending from the heavens, looking incredibly fierce!
Evil King Flame Slayer Fist!
Ian had just tried out this skill on Buggy, and the effect was naturally satisfying. He raised his right hand, watching the flames on it. He found the sensation strange—the fire clung to his hand, yet he felt no heat. He could sense that the flames were continuously consuming his Psychic Power, and the same went for the flames left on Buggy. They were connected to his Nen; as long as he didn't remove that Nen, the fire wouldn't go out.
Ian could also tell that if he increased his Psychic Power output, the temperature of the flames would rise.
When Ian finally dispelled his Nen, the flames on Buggy vanished instantly. Buggy's entire body was charred black. He opened his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The entire Buggy Pirates crew was terrified by Buggy's miserable state, but even more so by Ian's flaming hands!
"H-He... Didn't he say he wasn't a Devil Fruit user!?" Mochi was dumbfounded, his pitiful IQ once again nearing its limit.
Cabaji, after being untied, had originally wanted to see Buggy avenge him. But in the blink of an eye, his great Captain Buggy was beaten half to death, his body scorched black. Cabaji's eyes darted around as he wondered if he should find a chance to slip away.
Only the lion Richie remained calm. He first yawned widely, then sniffed the air. Catching the smell of roasted meat, he figured it was almost time for another meal...
As for Morgan, he watched from behind, trembling all over. With a Marine's pride, he had always looked down on Ian, this rookie bounty hunter. Even when Ian caught Cabaji, Morgan assumed it was just dumb luck. But now, seeing Ian slice Buggy into a dozen pieces with one sword strike and then knock him senseless with a burning fist, he finally realized that this kid in the bear-ear hat was terrifyingly powerful!
Stepping forward, Ian placed his foot on Buggy and drew the Sword Saint Longsword from his back. Activating the Evil King Flame Slayer Sword, the entire blade instantly erupted with roaring flames. The fire even condensed at the tip into a sharp, blade-like flame edge. Ian pointed it at Buggy and asked, "Stop playing dead. The flames I used weren't that hot—I know you're fine!"
Buggy looked up at him weakly and said, "Y-You... You're a monster too, aren't you?"
Ian didn't deny it. He smiled and asked, "So, do you want to keep fighting? Don't say I didn't warn you. If we continue, I won't hold back. I'll use this flaming longsword to chop you into dozens of pieces. Then we'll see if you can still reassemble yourself!"
"N-No, don't!" Buggy shuddered at the thought. How could he reassemble himself if he was burned into dozens of pieces? He quickly waved his hands and said, "No more fighting! I surrender!"
Although Buggy could split into many pieces, he still felt pain. He was vulnerable not only to blunt force but also to burns like this. He now realized he had no chance against Ian at all—just these flames alone could completely counter him.
But... why hadn't he used this move back on the Bikudoupu? Buggy found it strange.
The flames on Ian's fists and sword made Buggy mistakenly think he was a Logia Devil Fruit user. But then he remembered Ian swimming in the sea and climbing onto the ship, leaving his mind completely confused. Weren't Devil Fruit users supposed to be unable to swim? Was this kid named Ian an exception!?
Buggy felt utterly bewildered.
"Since you're not fighting anymore, you won't mind if I tie you up, right?" Ian said with a smile, looking at Boss Buggy.
"N-No, I don't mind!" Buggy replied, feeling humiliated.
Ian nodded in satisfaction, then turned to face the rest of the Buggy Pirates crew. He swung his longsword, the flames pointing at them with a whoosh. "And as for you all..."
"Ah! Yes! Yes!!"
The Buggy Pirates members all raised their hands in surrender, on the verge of tears as they awaited Ian's orders. Even the lion Richie did the same—it was quite a feat for a lion to make such a human-like gesture...
"Find some rope and tie yourselves up!" Ian commanded.
There were too many Buggy Pirates members for Ian to handle alone, so he had to resort to this. But under the threat of his flaming sword, no one dared to say a word of objection. They all obediently complied.
One man subduing an entire pirate crew—the sight made Morgan's jaw drop.
After a flurry of activity, everyone from the Buggy Pirates who had stormed the base was tied up. These foolish pirates had a rare moment of cleverness: since Ian's order was problematic—they couldn't tie themselves up—they had a bright idea and tied each other up instead. Ian watched with admiration, thinking they weren't so dumb after all.
Buggy got special treatment. Ian personally found a rope and tied him up. When he asked Morgan, he found out the base had no Seastone Handcuffs, so Ian had to use ordinary rope. But worried about Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit and the possibility of him splitting apart to escape, Ian ended up wrapping Buggy like a mummy, coiling rope around his entire body until Buggy could barely move.
After finishing, Ian grabbed Buggy and tossed him onto the ground in front of Morgan. "Ha! I'm here to collect the bounty! No mistakes this time, right?"
Morgan stared at Ian stupidly, feeling like he couldn't understand this kid at all. Just earlier, he had used Cabaji to get a million from Buggy, and now he had turned around and caught Buggy, throwing him in front of Morgan for another bounty!?
Wasn't this like eating from both the plaintiff and the defendant? This kid was way too money-hungry!