5 people could be seen running around the streets of Orange town, particularly heading towards the building Buggy has occupied, namely Ame, Zoro, Luffy, Nami, and the Mayor however, the Mayor was just being dragged around for speed efficiency.
Nami glanced at Ame who was slightly struggling to catch up to them, "Are you okay now? You didn't have to go with us, you know?" She was concerned about Ame's well being since he seemed really drained out from all of his vitality.
Ame smiled and nodded lightly in response, he knew that his strength has only slightly returned and he was in no position to fight, but he couldn't bear to just stand by and not do anything while his friends were fighting with their lives on the line.
Ame felt that he had to at least be there, just in case something happens, juat in case they needed help. If things goes south, he's ready to gamble on that skill to turn things around.
The group went closer, and closer, and closer to Buggy's building and after a couple of minutes, they have finally arrived in front of Buggy's building with Luffy adjusting his vocal cords, "Ehem, ehem, ehem... BUGGY, THE ONE WITH THE GIANT WEIRD RED NOSE, COME DOWN HERE!!"
Upon Luffy's provocation, all of Buggy's crew mates suddenly froze in place out of terror, each of them slowly turned around to take a look at their Captain, only to see the very scene they feared the most, Buggy actually buying to their taunt and filled with anger.
Buggy's mouth twitched profusely, veins popping out on his forehead, such a clear provocation has finally extinguished all sense of reason from Buggy as he blindly ordered his men to charge.
Luffy smirked as he saw his taunt do its magic, evident from the 30 or so Buggy pirates coming down and rushing towards them while Buggy himself simply jumped down as he waited for his crew.
Buggy's expression turned grim as his arms startes floating around him wielding the same knives as weapons, "You're gonna regret you ever uttered those words, Strawhat boy... MEN, CHARGE!" Buggy and his mem began their charge towards Luffy, Zoro, Ame, Nami, amd the unconscious Mayor. Luffy knocked the Mayor unconscious to avoid getting him involved in the fight.
Luffy, Zoro, Ame, and Nami gathered together as they began formulating a plan.
Luffy started, "I'll take care of the red nosed clown guy! He seems strong!"
Zoro chuckled and resigned, "Then I'll take care of the grunts. Ame, you protect the girl since you are in no condition to fight as of now." Ame simply agreed, he knew it was the truth but he was still ready to aid them in case somethinf unexpected happens, like a Buggy ball for example.
Everyone returned to their positions and looked at the fast and approaching Buggy pirates. For his final words, Luffy said, "Let's show them how the Strawhat pirates works, shall we?"
The battle has begun, Luffy clashed with Buggy, Zoro clashed with Buggy's crew while Ame was protecting Nami from the few pirates that dared to target him and Nami.
Ame let out a sigh as he finally surrendered to his fate and said, "The time finally came where I have to use this huh?"
Nami heard what Ame said and asked with concern, "What? Wait, use what?! Don't tell me you're going to fight with your drained body?! You can't fight anyone with your condition!"
Ame laughed, he put his hand on Nami's shoulders to comfort her as he replied, "First off, I have a name and it's Ame. Second of all, I know I'm in no position to fight but that's why I can do this!"
"Wild Nature!" Ame's rationality disappeared, any traces of intelligence has been temporarily removed, and any proof of weakness has been eradicated, being replaced with newfound and regained strength and an exceptional instinct to make up for his lack of judgement.
Nami witnessed the feeling and atmosphere around Ame change to that of a primal and aggressive air, like a beast fighting for his territory.
A Wild Beast of the jungle.
Ame has startes to make a move, holding his staff exceeding his height as he dashed towards the nearest pirate, deeming him as an enemy he immediately swung his staff to him, sending a strong burst of impact along with the initial blow of the staff to his waist, immediately sending him to an unconscious state.
With the first opponent down, he began seeking out his next opponent as he found 3 Pirates standing before him with malicious smiles and intent, confident of beating him but they were sadly mistaken.
Ame used his power to bind two of them using the potted plants on a nearby house, successful subduing them for him to land a clean thrust to both of them, sending them flying towards the distance.
The last pirate felt uncontrollable fear for the first time, the hunter finally being the hunted as his actions finally catching up to him as Ame bashed the pirates head to the ground, knocking him and a few teeths out.
Nami steered clear of Ame's way by stepping back a few meters away from the field of battle, "While they are fighting, maybe I should go ahead and grab Buggy's treasure. That's what I came here for anyways, so I'd be one step closer to freeing everyone... " With that, Nami left the battlefield with a new goal in mind. To steal Buggy's treasure.
While everyone was fighting, a man in a unicycle suddenly arrived and approached Buggy, "Captain Buggy! What is happening? Are we under attack?!"
Buggy felt even more furious when met with such a dumb and obvious question, "NO SHIT ASSHAT! JUST IN CASE YOU COULDN'T SEE LITERALLY EVERYONE FIGHTING! WITH REAL SWORDS AND DAGGERS! GET IN HERE CABAJI!"
Cabaji hearing Buggg's words, didn't waste anymore time as he unsheathed his swords and seeing Zoro, a fellow swordsman. He decided to challenge him, to which Zoro gladly accepted.
As swordsmen, they wished to fight fellow and strong swordsmen to hone their sword and strength more than anything in the world, aiming to become to strongest swordsman in the world.
With no one handling Buggy's grunts, they attempted to attack Luffy, hoping to aid Buggy to defeat him. To their misfortune, Ame stood in their way, halting their charge and reinforcement to Buggy.
When Luffy and Zoro saw Ame joined in the fight with a newfound strength and energy, stronger, and better. They couldn't help but smile and nod in respect as they decisively entrusted Ame to cover their backs, as a crew, and as friends.
Ame was beating, kicking, bashing, and knocking out one grunt to another when he suddenly found Mohji and Richie in front of him, "Hey there kid, It's high time that we pay you back for what you did to Richie! RICHIE, SIC HIM!" Mohji ordered Richie who wasted no time and already lunged towards him, hoping to also get revenge for sending it flying earlier.
Even though Ame is in a Unconscious and wild state right now, he didn't make his staff larger and heavier like the last time. This time, he strategically kept the length of his staff just a bit taller than him, enough to keep some distance and space between him and the lion. While also making it just heavy enough so that his attacks would successfully hurt and damage it.
Richie startes out while roaring loudly, making Ame cover up his ears in an attempt to block out the loud sound. The roar was heard by everyone, even Buggy and Luffy who had to stop momentarily to cover their ears or else it'll be a burden to their fight.
Ame was left momentarily vulnerable due to covering his ears as Richie successfully landed a powerful attack to Ame's chest by swinging his claw towards him, seizing the moment Ame was vulnerable and couldn't react.
He was sent tumbling far away, grazing every part of his body as his body was rolling in the ground. Ame slowly stood up from the ground, his hands trembling as he spat out a mouthful of blood. In his state, even he felt that he was nowhere strong and durable enough to handle and get hit by another swing of that lion, it was the made out of pure unaldurated power and muscle.
He stood managed to stand up again, wiping his blood off of his mouth. After a few minutes, Ame quickly rushed back towards the Lion with his staff in front off him, he was aiming to do a charging thrust into the lion's stomach.
The Lion sensed the Ame's intent amd barely managed to move out of Ame's charge, evading it. However, Ame foresaw the Lion's action as he when he arrived at the Lion's former location, he immediately changes the direction of his staff to point towards the Lion which swiftly stretched and extended, leaving the lion no time to react as it was hit straght to its stomach.
Ame didn't only extend his staff. When the staff was just inches away from hitting the Lion's stomach, in a split second he instantly altered its weight to its limit, strengthening and enhancing the power of its thrust while empowering its Burst Point.
Because the weight alteration only lasted for a second, it still left Ame enough energy to keep fighting for a few more minutes.
In Mohji's eyes, it all happened in a flash. He initally thought his Lion was going to win because it landed a clean powerful hit directly to the young man but he didn't expect him to fight back like that and still be able to deliver that kind of powerful attack while injured and weakened.
Before Ame can fight Mohji, he had already fell down unconscious from the sheer fear and hopelessness he felt from Ame's fight.
Seeing Mohji already unconscious, Ame's attention switched back to the Buggy pirate grunts. There were only a few of them remaining, mostly because they were beaten black and blue by Ame.
Now that they noticed that Ame was looking at them once again, they simply and quietly smiled in resignation. They kneeled down, dropped their weapons, closed their eyes as they smiled and in quick succession, they punched themselves unconscious, sparing themselves from the much more painful fate awaiting for them once Ame catches them by his own hands.
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Zoro and Cabaji's fight was still at a standstill with no clear winner in sight. Both of them filled with wounds, and injuries but both of them showed no signs of surrendering and yielding.
Zoro was stronger than Cabaji in terms of physical and technical ability, he was also much more durable and endurant since he took way more attacks from Cabaji.
Cabaji however, was clever and sly. Relying not only on his swordsmanship, but also with his sly and clever tactics, traps, and apparels, but because he is physically and technically weaker than Zoro, he still suffered the same amount of damage as Zoro. Putting both of them in the same condition.
One could argue that Zoro has the right to call out Cabaji on his tricks and say that he wasn't a swordsman because of his way of fighting, but for swordsmen. As long as one devotes their life to the sword, fights with the sword, and stays by the sword, they are still a swordsman despite how they fight. Such is the case for Cabaji, he was still without a doubt, a swordsman at heart.
Zoro was kneeling while supporting himself by his sword, "I'm tired... "
Cabaji smirked, "Heh, You're tired? I must say, you lasted pretty long despite your clear inferior skills bu-"
Zoro cut off Cabaji's words as he stood up, bit one of his swords and drew on of his spare sword from his sheathe, effectively using 3 swords and said, "I meant I'm tired of you, your acrobatics, and lack of skill to face me head on."
Zoro's insult and mockery of Cabaji made him irritated, he unsheathed and drew his sword answering Zoro's provocation as he said, "Well then, I'll end this... USING REAL SWORDSMANSHIP!!"
Zoro didn't reply, he watched as Cabaji was rushing towards him using his unicycle. He composed his breathe, crossing his swords across his sheathe with the blade on his mouth horizontally behind them as he muttered, "Oni.... Giri!!"
Just as when Cabaji was about to attack Zoro, Zoro moved almost instantaneously behind Cabaji, leaving behind a 3 slash wounds deep within Cabaji's chest as Cabaji fell, "I can't believe we were beaten... By mere thieves."
Zoro glanced at Cabaji for a moment and replied, "We are... Pirates... " before he fell down to the ground, unconscious.
Luffy celebrated upon Zoro's victory but Buggy expression looked like he just ate a spoonful of salt, seeing both of his most powerful men on the ground, defeated along with his crew has left him alone against Luffy in a standoff.
"So, you guys we're pirates?" Buggy asked.
Luffy answered, "Yeah, we are heading to the grandline!"
Buggy felt like he heard the greatest joke of all time, "HAHAHAHA! YOU?! SAILING TO THE GRANDLINE? THAT'S THE BEST DAMN JOKE I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE BEFORE!"
Luffy's expression didn't change though, indicating he was serious.
Buggy saw this and said, "That's too much dreaming for nameless bums like you guys, you guys can't handle that. What're you guys going to do on the grandline anyways? Going on a picnic? Tourism? HAHAHAHA!!"
Luffy still didn't react but he gave out a clear and serious response to Buggy's mockery. "To become King of the Pirates!"
Buggy immediately became annoyed, "SNAP BACK TO REALITY, IDIOT! HOW WOULD A FLIMSY GUY LIKE YOU BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES? AND IN ANY CASE, I'M THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES AND OBTAIN THE WORLD'S GREATEST TREASURES!"
Luffy simply itched his ears and said, "You're getting annoying, red nose. Let's just fight already!" Luffy held his shoulders as if rolling the sleeves of his clothes back, ready to fight.
Buggy revealed several knives from his knuckles and answered, "Fine by me! Just seeing your strawhat reminds me of that bastard shanks from before!"
Upon hearing the name of shanks coming from Buggy's mouth, he immediately inquired about him, "SHANKS?! DO YOU KNOW SHANKS, RED NOSE?!"
Buggy answered, "Huh? Yeah, why do you ask though?"
Luffy answered, "REALLY? WHERE IS HE RIGHT NOW??"
"Maybe I know where he is, and maybe I don't." Buggy replied as he shrugged.
This answer struck Luffy as dumb, as he made sure to voice out his thoughts, "Huh? That's dumb y'know?"
This made the already annoyed Buggy even more annoyed, "NOT AS MUCH AS YOU! In any case, I'm not nice enough to tell you what you want, strawhat boy."
Luffy smilled lightly, "Then I'll simply make you tell me!"
Buggy laughed and answered, "I'd defeat you before that, Give up!"
Luffy and Buggy's battle has begun, with each side exchanging attack between attacks, punches between slashes, however both evaded every attacks thrown at them.
"PISTOL!" Luffy threw out his usual, Rubber Pistol punch but missed Buggy. Before Buggy can counter attack though, Luffy managed to grab a tree at the of the punch, enabling him to send himself towards it while extending his hand out to attempt taking Buggy's neck with him. "GOMU-GOMU NO SICKLE!"
Buggy noticed this and immediately seperated his neck from his body at the nick of time for Luffy's sickle to pass through his body, letting Luffy send himself hurling towards a destroyed house by himself.
Nami was watching the fight between Luffy and Buggy from a distance and she couldn't help but be entranced by the scene. "So this is how Devil fruit users fight..."
"CHOP-CHOP CANNON!" Buggy sent out one of his hands hurling towards Luffy while wielding his usual weapons, Luffy caught it up sudden a part of his hand separated once again which caught Luffy off guard.
Luffy barely evaded it by jumping to the side but Buggy's attack almost grazed and ripped off Luffy's strawhat. This strawhat was precious to Luffy, it was his own treasure, even precious to him than the one piece itself, it was a gift from Shanks.
Luffy stood up once again, and said in anger, "Don't you dare damage my strawhat!"
Buggy mocked Luffy, "What?? Is that strawhat really that precious to you?!"
Luffy yelled out in anger, "YEAH! SO WHAT?! IT'S MY TREASURE!"
Away from anyone's eyes, Buggy's separated hand was creeping up behind Luffy, Nami saw it and was about to warn Luffy but it was too late.
Before launching the attack, Buggy said, "If it was that precious to you, THEN YOU SHOULD'VE TAKEN BETTER CARE OF IT!!"
Luffy quickly looked behind him but itbwas too late, as if mocking him, Buggy purposely attacked and pierced Luffy's strawhat, making Luffy cry out in anger, "NOOOOOOO!!"
Buggy laughed as he watched Luffy hold unto his damaged strawhat however, something sent him flying before he knew it.
It was Ame. He had regained his lost reasoning and conscious, and woke up to the scene of Buggy intentionally tearing a hole through Luffy's precious strawhat just to toy with him.
Ame was filled with anger, facing such a blatant wicked and scummy actuon, there was only one thing appropriate for hin to do. Beat him up.
"You're laughing awfully loud over there Clown, might wanna pipe down a little bit lest you I send you flying once again." Ame mocked Buggy.
Buggy spew out a mouthful of blood from the impact of Ame's attack, "I'll make you pay fox-eye boy... COME AT ME!"
Ame was really about to fight Buggy, until he saw Luffy standing up, looking furious as his entire expression turned dark. "I don't think you'd even get the chance to come at me, you messed with the wrong guy behind you." Ame pointed at Luffy who was already behind Buggy.
Right as when Buggy was about to turn around and look, what met him a hard and powerful kick by Luffy to his ballsack, making Buggy cry from the intense pain of having your entire bloodline exterminated before they could even exist.
"God... Damn it... Strawhat.... " Buggy winced in pain.
Luffy screamed on the top of his lungs, releasing his pent up anger. "YOU DON'T TOUCH THE HAT THAT ME AND SHANKS SWORE OVER!"
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{Chapter 10 - Fin}