On the sea, Buggy's pirate ship suddenly changed course, heading directly sideways to escape, completely abandoning any intention to continue sailing alongside Sig.
"Captain Buggy, weren't you planning to cooperate with Sig?"
A pirate asked, looking confused.
The sudden appearance of the Navy and Buggy's abrupt order to change course had left them all unprepared.
"That's right, Captain," Cabaji, the acrobatic swordsman, couldn't help but recall the earlier duel between Sig and Buggy.
While others might not have fully understood, as a swordsman, he could somewhat grasp the terrifying level of Sig's swordsmanship.
"Sig's swordsmanship is truly frightening. Even if we're not sure if he can actually slay giant Sea Kings, is it really okay for us to just leave him like this?"
"Won't we anger such a powerful pirate?"
Cabaji's voice was filled with panic. Facing Sig, many of the pirates, including himself, didn't even have the courage to draw their swords.
"Idiots!"
Buggy glared angrily, his head floating in the air as his big red nose pressed against Cabaji's face.
"I'm being merciful by letting Sig go!"
"Besides, what future does he even have left?"
"We're already near the border between the East Blue and the Calm Belt, and with so many Navy ships surrounding us, he's doomed today!"
"If he can survive the Navy fleet's attack, then I, Captain Buggy, will reluctantly admit that he has the qualifications to challenge me again!"
"Got it? I'm the one letting Sig go!"
"Y-Yes, Captain," the pirates all broke into a sweat and lowered their heads.
After a moment of silence, someone in the crowd whispered:
"But Captain, were you really a former crew member of the Pirate King?"
"Idiot!" Buggy's hands flew into the crowd, grabbing the pirate who spoke by the neck and lifting him up.
"Sig only associated me with the Pirate King because my strength is too overwhelming. How can you idiots not understand that?"
While the Buggy Pirates were busy arguing, Sig's heart sank.
The Navy had arrived, and Buggy had fled.
Could things get any worse?
"Boss, what do we do now? Buggy's run away. Should we fire on them and make them stay?"
The bald man walked up to Sig and asked.
Sig didn't respond. Instead, he looked into the distance at the gradually encircling Navy fleet.
How could he spare any energy to provoke the Buggy Pirates now?
Buggy's strength wasn't particularly impressive, but his pirate ship was equipped with specially made Buggy Balls, high-explosive cannonballs that, in the original story, were powerful enough to destroy half a town in a single shot.
Now that the Buggy Pirates were gradually pulling away from Sig, engaging with them would only make things worse.
Unlike Sig's inner turmoil, his mountain bandit crew was eager and full of fighting spirit.
"Boss Sig, should we break through now, or turn around and crush the Navy's main fleet? Or maybe cross the Calm Belt?"
"We're not far from the Calm Belt. Why don't we just cross it right under the Navy's noses?"
Listening to his crew's discussions, Sig was momentarily stunned.
"The Calm Belt? We're already near the Calm Belt? What a coincidence."
"That's no coincidence," the bald man said with a chuckle:
"The Navy's encirclement has been trying to drive us toward the Calm Belt or the entrance to the Grand Line at Reverse Mountain."
"The Navy thinks the Calm Belt is a dead end, but they'd never expect us to dare cross it!"
The bald man used a telescope to glance at the gradually closing Navy ships:
"Boss, these ships are mostly from the East Blue Navy branches. Their ships don't have Seastone, so they can't cross the Calm Belt."
"As soon as we enter the Calm Belt, we'll be able to shake off most of the Navy fleet!"
"Then all we'll have to deal with is the Headquarters Vice Admiral, Onigumo!"
The bald man was completely unfazed, speaking as if the Navy fleet was nothing, not even showing concern for the Vice Admiral.
So... what now?
Amid the continuous roar of cannon fire from the Navy fleet, Sig's mind was in chaos.
The "100% Empty Hand Catches Blade" ability was now just a single-target control skill, and it even controlled himself.
Even if he could deal with Onigumo, stray bullets or other Navy forces on the battlefield would be enough to give Sig a hard time.
........
On the other side of the sea, aboard the approaching Navy warships.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo!" a Navy officer reported:
"We've confirmed that the other pirate ship belongs to Buggy the Clown, whose bounty has just surpassed 10 million berries. Sig seems to have made contact with Buggy—he just jumped over from Buggy's ship."
Onigumo stared into the distance at Sig and Buggy's ships, his brows furrowed, making him look even more menacing.
"Why would Sig make contact with a pirate whose bounty is barely over 10 million?"
Onigumo frowned but didn't dwell on it.
"Never mind. None of the pirates here will escape."
He swung the sword in his hand:
"Fire a full broadside!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that moment, the dozen or so Navy ships that were gradually encircling them fired in unison. The cannons on each ship roared almost simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Navy Commander Hina raised her hands, aiming at the fleeing Buggy Pirates' ship.
From her palms, heavy black iron spears rapidly emerged, shooting through the air like cannonballs.
Hina, the "Black Cage," was a user of the Ori Ori no Mi, which allowed her to create iron bars from any part of her body and launch black iron spears like projectiles.
The black iron spears whistled through the air, joining the barrage of cannonballs that blanketed the small area of sea where Sig and Buggy's ships were.
Bang!
The thick black iron spears pierced through the deck of the Buggy Pirates' ship, followed by a rain of cannonballs.
Amid the deafening explosions, the pirate ship was instantly thrown into chaos, rocking and trembling on the sea.
"Captain Buggy! What do we do? Do we fight back?"
The pirates looked up at the relentless barrage of cannonballs, their hearts filled with despair.
"The Navy is really attacking us!"
Buggy's big red nose started running again, and his earlier smugness at escaping Sig vanished:
"Could it be that what Sig said was true? Has the Navy figured out my identity? Are they here to capture me?"
After a moment of panic, an idea popped into his head. Buggy's upper body floated up again as he looked over at Sig's pirate ship, which was also under fire.
"Sig! Let's team up and take these Navy fools down!"
"Come on, let's teach them a lesson!"