"Oh!!" The members of the Black Cat Pirates shouted as they charged toward Clover Benson.
"Clover..." Seeing so many people rushing toward him, Nami's face was full of worry. At the same time, she clutched the two large bags of treasure tightly in her hands, ready to run away at any moment.
"Die!" A pirate slashed at Clover with a knife. Clover calmly dodged sideways and then punched him in the stomach.
"Ugh!" The pirate groaned in pain from the blow, flew backward, and tumbled all the way down the slope.
Clover didn't give them a chance to react and continued sweeping through the group. Four more pirates were knocked down by him, rolling a long way down before they could stabilize themselves.
Seeing this, the remaining pirates became serious and began to view Clover as a real threat. One aimed a knife at Clover's head and slashed across. Without even looking, Clover ducked to avoid it and then jumped up with an uppercut, dislocating the pirate's jaw with a sickening crack.
The surrounding pirates flinched at the sound. It was too brutal.
But they had no way out now because Clover had already taken control, charging toward them. He snatched a knife from one of the pirates, crushing the man's wrist to pieces in the process. The pirate let out a miserable scream.
Wielding the knife, Clover took down two more pirates cleanly, then grabbed one pirate by the hair and swung him around.
"Ah! Help!" The pirate, caught by the hair, screamed in pain.
But the others had no time to care about his fate, as they were knocked down like bowling pins by the pirate's swinging body, rolling down the slope. Compared to those with broken arms, legs, jaws, or who were already dead, these pirates were actually lucky.
In less than a minute, Clover had beaten back more than twenty pirates who had rushed up the slope.
"That's incredible..." Nami, still clutching the treasure, was stunned. Staring at Clover's back now, she couldn't help but feel a sense of safety and reliability.
"Come on!" Jango shouted to the remaining pirates, urging them to attack.
"Oh!!!... But Captain... you saw that guy too, he's incredible," the pirates yelled in frustration, hesitating to rush forward and instead turning to Jango for direction.
"What a bunch of weaklings," Jango sneered. "If we don't hurry, Captain Kuro will be furious... There's no other choice. Come here, after I say 'one-two-Jango,' you'll become invincible!" Jango took out a ring and began to wave it back and forth.
Clover didn't stop him. He knew his strength. In his mind, there couldn't be anyone stronger than him in this battle.
"One... Two... Jango!" Jango shook the ring, and all the Black Cat Pirates suddenly roared as if their bodies were filled with newfound energy. Their eyes turned red, and over thirty pirates rushed toward Clover with renewed bravery.
But Clover, standing in the middle of the slope with the knife, remained calm, like a god of war.
"Go to hell!" A pirate, holding a massive hammer, leaped into the air, aiming to smash it down on Clover.
Little did he know that his leap would be his downfall.
After all, Clover was positioned at a higher elevation.
As the pirate jumped, his head aligned perfectly with Clover's foot. Clover kicked him square in the face.
A loud "crack" echoed through the air, indicating the pirate's neck had broken.
The pirate's lifeless body slumped down the slope, rolling away with his eyes already glazed over.
But the rest of the pirates, now empowered by the hypnosis and having lost their minds, rushed toward Clover without hesitation.
Clover threw a punch into the air. The sheer force of the punch created a wind strong enough to send more than thirty pirates flying. Some flew so far they landed directly in the sea.
Jango stood there, dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that Clover, without even using his full strength, could send people flying dozens of meters with just one punch.
"Hey! Nyaban Brothers, it's your turn!" Jango shouted toward the ship.
"What? It's our turn?" A man with green hair poked his head out of the boat, his face filled with fear.
"But we're not fighters," another larger man said, sticking his head out as well. Despite their complaints, both of them jumped off the boat.
"Stop whining and get over here quickly!" Jango yelled at the two of them.
"We really don't have a choice," the two sighed as they slowly walked toward Clover.
"We don't know how to fight. What if we die?" the larger man asked, trembling as they approached.
"Die? Then we die. After all, it's Captain Kuro's orders," the green-haired thin man said, his face showing near-tears.
"What's going on with these two?" Nami asked in confusion. Could these people really fight?
Clover, remembering how Zoro had struggled with them before, was unimpressed. It was obvious that their fearful expressions were all fake.
"But I'm really scared... Go to hell!" As they got close, the large man suddenly changed his fearful look to a fierce one, sharp claws extending from his hands as he attacked Clover!