Chapter 59: Pirates Hope for Dead Rivals
Bucky had no idea that Ian was inwardly mocking him at this moment. Seeing Ian stay silent, he thought he had struck a nerve, which only made Bucky laugh even more gleefully.
"Kid!" Bucky sneered. "You know what? During those two days I was locked up in the Marine base, I thought about getting my revenge on you every single moment. Now the chance has finally come. Let's see what you can do with those Seastone Handcuffs on!"
With that, he pulled out a cannonball, stuffed it into the barrel, pointed it at Ian's position, and roared, "Fire!"
One of the Buggy Pirates crew members lit the fuse at the back of the cannon with a torch. With a boom, the cannonball flew out!
Ian had already moved from his spot the moment he saw the fuse being lit, but the cannonball still landed precisely where he had been standing. That was why Bucky had brought the cannon onto land—without the rocking of the waves at sea, the Buggy Pirates' cannon fire was quite accurate!
"Keep going! Fire!" Bucky didn't stop, directing his men to continue attacking Ian. The execution platform square was soon filled with the roar of explosions.
The sound spread far and wide, reaching everyone in Loguetown, causing even more panic. Those who could escape were scrambling toward the docks, while those who couldn't were hiding in their homes, clutching their loved ones and trembling in fear.
Both the east and west harbors of Loguetown were now packed with people trying to flee. They crowded together in chaos, every small boat packed with passengers, yet still, people waved wads of Berry bills, begging for a spot.
These residents and travelers were so focused on escaping that they didn't notice a massive warship appearing on the sea!
It was a standard Marine Headquarters three-masted sailing ship, painted with blue-and-white camouflage stripes. The huge sails bore the Marine flag emblem.
A man with messy hair stood at the bow, raising a telescope to observe the chaos at Loguetown's harbor. He puffed on the two cigars in his mouth, blowing out a large cloud of smoke, and said without turning his head, "Am I seeing this right? This is the Loguetown I'm supposed to take over? A fleeing crowd and explosions in the town—what's going on?"
No one could answer him, but just then, a female Marine soldier with short black hair rushed out of the cabin. She wore a tight black jacket, a sword at her waist, and a pair of glasses pushed up on her forehead. If Ian and Zoro were here, they would be shocked at how much she looked like Kuina!
Once out, she immediately saluted and reported to someone, "Smoker Captain, I've contacted the Marines in Loguetown via Den Den Mushi..."
Before she could finish, Smoker said, "Tashigi Sergeant, put on your glasses before speaking!"
Tashigi quickly put on her glasses and realized she had been saluting the wrong person—standing before her was a speechless Marine soldier.
"S-sorry!" Tashigi repositioned herself in front of Smoker and said, "Smoker Captain, Loguetown is currently being troubled by two pirate crews. One is the largest pirate fleet in the East Blue, the Krieg Pirates, and the other is the Buggy Pirates, who escaped from prison two days ago. These two crews are causing chaos in the town, and they're the source of the disturbance!"
"And the Marines in Loguetown? Why haven't they arrested them?" Smoker asked.
Tashigi hesitated for a moment before replying, "Well... the Marines in town reported that they don't have enough forces..."
"Hmph, not enough forces?" Smoker snorted coldly. "Could it be that they're afraid of pirates? Can such Marines even be called Marines?"
Before even setting foot in his new post, Smoker had already formed a bad impression of the Loguetown Marines. But he knew he couldn't scold anyone here, so he ordered, "Speed up! Head to Loguetown immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" The Marines standing on the deck responded in unison.
Although there was only one ship, Smoker had brought dozens of his original subordinates for this assignment, along with the escorting Marines. The warship now carried over two hundred men, all elite soldiers from Marine Headquarters!
It seemed Loguetown was about to get even more lively...
……………………
Ian was constantly moving, dodging the cannonballs Bucky fired at him. Although the cannon was accurate, Ian could still move and wasn't foolish enough to stand still and get blown up. Bucky fired several cannonballs but couldn't actually hit him.
Bucky wasn't using his special Bucky Cannonballs, but Ian was still surprised by the power of these shells. These seemingly low-tech solid cannonballs had once made Ian think they were the kind of medieval pirate toys, but after actually encountering them, he realized that despite their unassuming round shape, aside from having fewer fragments, their explosive power was quite fierce!
Dodging like this wasn't a solution. Ian thought for a moment, and after evading another cannonball, he suddenly moved and ran right in front of Krieg.
Krieg had been watching the spectacle. Since Bucky had made the first move, he wasn't in a hurry to deal with Ian. But he never expected Ian to suddenly appear before him, catching him off guard.
"N-no good!" Krieg suddenly realized what was happening. He turned his head and sure enough, Bucky was firing a cannonball their way!
Krieg, clad in his armor, had enough protection, but the heavy armor came with a clear drawback—he wasn't fast enough! When the cannonball came flying, Ian dodged first, but Krieg couldn't get away. The cannonball landed right at his feet and exploded!
Fortunately, Krieg crossed his arms to protect himself during the explosion, so although he was blown back, he wasn't hurt.
He stood up, his face dark, and roared at Bucky, "What do you think you're doing!?"
Bucky sneered and said, "I'm shelling that brat! What were you doing standing there? Couldn't you have dodged?"
At this, the Buggy Pirates burst into laughter. It was normal for pirates to have no respect for each other. Although the Krieg Pirates claimed to be the overlords of the East Blue, the Buggy Pirates had never acknowledged that. Now that their captain Bucky was also a pirate with a bounty in the millions, not much different from Krieg's, the Buggy Pirates naturally looked down on the Krieg Pirates!
"You bastard! You clown-like piece of trash!" Krieg gritted his teeth and said, waving his hand to his men, "Teach them a lesson!"
The Krieg Pirates members, who had been watching the fight between Krieg and Ian, now received their captain's order and charged at the Buggy Pirates with a roar. They had been idle on the sidelines, but now they had something to do.
"Teach me a lesson?" Bucky sneered. "Boys! Show the Buggy Pirates what we're made of!"
And so, the two pirate crews clashed in a chaotic brawl!
Ian and the surrounding Marines were all dumbfounded. How did this happen? How did the two pirate crews start fighting each other over a few words?
What happened to getting revenge together?
They found it strange, but Krieg and Bucky didn't see anything wrong with it. Pirates were like that—they also hoped for dead rivals. Sometimes, just to steal each other's treasure, they wouldn't hesitate to fight to the death.
As their men fought, Krieg and Bucky glared at each other from a distance. But as leaders, they knew what was important and both glanced at Ian.
Bucky said, "Let's take down this brat first, then settle our score?"
Krieg nodded: "Agreed!"
As for the surrounding Marines, both of them conveniently forgot about them. Seeing how timid the Marine soldiers were, too afraid to fire their guns, they knew they had already intimidated them.
Krieg pulled out a large round shield and held it. The shield, bearing the Krieg Pirates' emblem, suddenly opened a gap, and in the next moment, countless thick, sharp javelins shot out from the opening, heading straight for Ian.
Ian's eyes narrowed. He swung his sword to block, knocking down the javelins one by one, but Krieg was cunning. Amidst the javelins, he had mixed in a small cannonball. Ian accidentally struck it, and the explosion sent him flying.
On the other side, Bucky aimed his cannon at the fallen Ian. Since his men were busy fighting the Krieg Pirates, he had to operate the cannon himself. But just as he was about to light the fuse, a fist suddenly came from the side and punched him hard on his big red nose!
The attacker was Ace, who said with a displeased look, "Hey, did you forget about me?"
"Who are you?" Bucky asked, his nose so sore that tears were almost streaming from his eyes.
Ace pointed his thumb back at Ian's position, then gestured to the handcuffs on his own wrist, and said, "He's my friend, and we're together. You've got the key to the Seastone Handcuffs, right? Sorry, but I need to take it back."
"You want the key? That depends on whether you've got the skills!" Bucky roared. "Bucky the Clown Knife Throw!"
His wrist detached, and his fist, clutching a throwing knife, flew toward Ace.
The battle on both sides had begun. A 2-on-2 situation had formed...