"No, no problem, Arton-san."
Kaya, supported by Arton, lay down in his arms like Cinderella.
This caused a blush to immediately spread across her face.
"Good, as long as you're okay."
"You performed very well this time."
"Now, let me handle the rest."
Arton said as he helped Kaya to a wooden crate nearby to sit down.
Then he looked at Buggy and Alvida with a smile.
"And who might you be?"
Buggy, holding two small knives, looked at Arton warily.
Although Arton hadn't made a move yet, just from the way he appeared, Buggy knew Arton was a tough opponent.
After all, Buggy hadn't even seen how Arton appeared next to Kaya.
This meant that if Arton had decided to attack him and Alvida earlier, they might already be lying on the deck.
"Looks like a pretty handsome guy."
"You wouldn't be cruel enough to fight me, would you?"
Alvida, clutching her injured arm, threw a flirtatious glance at Arton despite her pain.
The Slip-Slip Fruit not only made Alvida's skin smooth but also made her mind quite slick.
If Buggy could see that Arton was extraordinary, Alvida could too.
By this time, Arton's ship had already approached closely.
Since just Kaya alone had given them such a hard time, Alvida didn't want to continue fighting Arton and the rest of his crew.
"Don't throw flirtatious glances at me, I can't handle it."
Arton waved dismissively at Alvida.
Hearing this, Alvida was momentarily stunned.
"H-how can this be?!"
This was the first time since obtaining the Slip-Slip Fruit that a man showed such indifference to her charm.
For a moment, Alvida was angry.
But she didn't dare to show it in front of Arton.
So, she could only look at Arton with a very aggrieved expression.
"It's just that I know what you originally looked like."
Arton waved at Alvida and then turned to Buggy.
"Buggy, right? No need to look at me so hostilely."
"I just wanted to meet you and let my partner gain some combat experience."
"I have no intention of throwing you overboard to feed the fish."
"Now that my partner has gained the combat experience,"
"I think we can end this fight, don't you?"
Buggy's face turned red with anger when he heard Arton's words.
"Damn it, you start a fight whenever you want and end it whenever you please?"
"Doesn't that make me look like a fool?"
Buggy shouted furiously.
"Oh? Then what do you want?"
"Do you want a fight to the death with me?"
Arton moved to Buggy's side with a speed that Buggy's eyes could hardly follow.
He placed his right hand on Buggy's shoulder and gradually increased the pressure.
In no time, Buggy showed a very pained expression.
"Ow, ow, ow! Let go, you bastard!"
"Ugh, I can't take it anymore. If you don't let go, I won't be polite."
"I was wrong, I was wrong, okay? Just let go."
At this moment, Buggy could no longer maintain his fierce expression and instead looked at Arton with a face full of tears.
In the template Arton inherited from Yoriichi Tsugikuni, there is a power called the Crimson Blade.
To activate this power, one must grip the hilt of the Nichirin Blade with immense strength.
You can imagine how strong Arton's grip is.
Even though Arton hadn't fused with Kaya at this moment, his powerful grip was still something Buggy couldn't endure.
"Hehe, that's more like it."
"If there's something to discuss, we can talk it out."
Arton smiled and released Buggy.
Buggy stepped back repeatedly, looking at Arton with fear.
Just now, he had considered using his ability to separate his body and attack Arton.
However, he had a sharp intuition that if he really did that, Arton would definitely suppress him.
Buggy had experienced such premonitions before.
It was also thanks to these premonitions that he had escaped many crises.
This was why he hadn't attacked Arton earlier.
"Arton, is this really the man who once called Shanks his friend?"
"Why does he seem so much weaker compared to Shanks?"
At this moment, Uta jumped from the Sylvan and landed next to Arton, curiously examining Buggy.
"Uta, don't underestimate him."
"Although in terms of raw strength, he isn't stronger than Shanks."
"And he's currently not as successful as Shanks."
"But this guy has his own unique abilities."
"Maybe someday, he could rely on that special ability to reach a status comparable to Shanks."
Arton smiled.
"Really?"
Uta squinted her eyes and looked at Buggy doubtfully.
Although she knew Arton was aware of this world's past and future, it was hard for her to imagine, after seeing Buggy's performance, what special talent Buggy had that could earn him a status equal to Shanks.
If it were just that Buggy lacked strength, that would be one thing.
But from his performance just now, Uta felt that Buggy, as a man, also lacked any masculine qualities.
How could someone without courage possibly achieve a status like Shanks?
"Shanks, you know Shanks?"
Buggy blinked, somewhat stunned.
"That's right, I'm Uta, once the songstress of the Red-Haired Pirates."
Uta said with her hands on her hips, head held high, and a smile on her face.
In the original story, Uta disdained the fact that she was once the songstress of the Red-Haired Pirates after being abandoned by them.
But now, after learning the truth, even though Uta still resented Shanks for abandoning her, she no longer regretted being the songstress of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"What, you were that bastard Shanks' songstress?"
Buggy's eyes widened, his expression extremely agitated.
"You red-nosed guy, how dare you call Shanks a bastard!"
"Red-nosed?! You called me red-nosed?"
"So what if I called you red-nosed? Your nose is not only red, but also big and round!"
"Big and round?! Dammit, who are you, and why are you defending Shanks so much?"
"Hee hee, because Shanks is my father."
"So you're Shanks' daughter... Wait, what did you say?!"
"I'm Shanks' daughter."
"D-d-d-daughter?! No way, that free Shanks got married? Before me?!"
In his excitement, Buggy accidentally activated his Devil Fruit ability.
His body split apart due to the power of the Bara Bara no Mi.
His body remained in place while his head flew over to Uta to closely examine her face...
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
"How could that guy Shanks have such a cute daughter?"
"You're lying to me, right? You're lying!"
Buggy said excitedly.
"Hmph, no matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that I'm Shanks' daughter."
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Shanks yourself."
"I spent a long time with the Red-Haired Pirates."
Uta found Buggy's reaction highly amusing.
"Could it be true?"
"Shanks really has a daughter."
Buggy's body reassembled, and he collapsed powerlessly onto the deck.
Although he had never considered competing with Shanks over who would have a daughter first, he now inexplicably felt like he had lost to Shanks.
If being sent flying by the straw hat passed down from Red-Haired Shanks' Luffy was maddening; then now, Buggy's heart was purely filled with distress.
"That... that Shanks, is he the Yonko Shanks?"
At this time, Alvida stepped forward two steps, curiously asking Arton and Uta.
"Yes, that's the one."
Uta nodded emphatically.
"Hiss!"
Alvida took a deep breath, her face full of surprise.
If she was like this, then the members of the Buggy Pirates who had been beaten by Kaya but hadn't passed out were even more astonished.
For a moment, everyone looked at Buggy with eyes full of surprise and shock.
"To think that you all have such a background."
"I suppose you won't trouble us then."
Alvida placed her hand on her lips, smiling gently at Arton.
"That depends on you. If you want to fight, I can take Kaya's place and continue the battle."
"By the way, what are you trying to say, Alvida?"
"Could you please stop looking at me like that?"
Arton glanced at Alvida, who was throwing flirtatious glances at him, and couldn't help but frown.
It wasn't that the woman in front of him wasn't attractive, but whenever he saw her face, he couldn't help but think of Alvida's original fat appearance.
"That... that, we won't fight anymore."
"Besides, since we're not fighting…"
"Can you look at my injury?"
"My arm really hurts."
Alvida pointed at her arm, which had been cut by Kaya's chakra scalpel, and said with a hint of grievance.
"It's just that some of your muscles were severed."
"Rest for a while, and you'll be fine."
Arton waved his hand and said.
"Really, it's just the muscles that are severed?"
"My skin isn't damaged at all."
"Did that little blonde girl really not use some strange ability?"
Alvida pursed her lips, glancing apprehensively in Kaya's direction.
"She simply used a scalpel to cut through your skin, that's all. What's the big deal?"
"But you should take this as a lesson."
"Even with the Slip-Slip Fruit's ability, it doesn't mean you're absolutely safe."
"There are powers in this world that can penetrate your smooth skin and attack your internal body."
"By the way, since your skin is so smooth,"
"Why don't your clothes slip off your body?"
Arton asked curiously.
***
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