"What are you waiting for?! ATTACK!" roared Krieg, ordering all the pirates under his command.
"You're so impatient," muttered X with a half-smile. At that moment, several pirates ran toward the center of the circus. The protagonist took his hands out of his pockets, dodged a stab with a quick movement, grabbed the attacker by the neck, and threw him straight toward his own captain.
"Idiot," growled Krieg, punching the subordinate before he could even reach him and sending him to the ground with a single blow.
"Aaahhh!" screamed the pirate as he crashed against the floor.
Snap.
The sound echoed just as Buggy and Ahu were about to be ambushed. The net that trapped them vanished in an instant, and both reappeared beside X.
"Get ready to fight," exclaimed the white-haired man with a serious look. "I'll judge both of you."
With that said, X jumped into battle, throwing punches and kicks with precision, sending several enemies flying away with barely any effort.
"Leave this to me! This is nothing but a game for me!" shouted Buggy with an excited grin, laughing as he drew his blades, which looked more like kitchen utensils than weapons.
"Don't get cocky, Buggy! Remember these are Krieg's pirates!" warned Ahu, leaping toward an enemy and biting him in the face without hesitation.
"Bah, what are you saying?! These lowly underlings can't stand against the great Buggy, hahaha!" replied the clown with his usual arrogance, slashing left and right.
Meanwhile, Gin and Krieg watched the fight from the circus stage without moving a muscle. They saw how those three strangers defeated their men with insulting ease.
"Captain… I must stop them," muttered Gin, gripping the handle of his weapon tightly. His breathing was heavy; he was nervous, but ready to act.
Krieg, however, kept a wide, almost macabre smile on his face.
"Wait a moment, Gin..." he said in a deep voice and a devilish grin. "Use that."
Gin froze. His face turned pale at his captain's words, looking at him with a mix of fear and disbelief.
"S-sir, we can't do that!" he almost shouted, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Krieg frowned and looked at him with such a serious expression that it was terrifying.
"Gin… are you going to disobey my orders?"
The silence grew heavy. Gin swallowed hard, not knowing what to do. For a moment, he wanted to refuse again, but Krieg's gaze left him no choice.
With trembling hands, he took a small metallic device from his pocket. In the center was a red button that glowed slightly in the circus light.
"DO IT NOW!" Krieg roared furiously.
Gin clenched his teeth, shut his eyes, and pressed the button.
A few seconds passed. Everything stayed the same. The screams, the clashing swords, the sound of pirates hitting the ground… until suddenly—
DIIIING!
DIIIING!
DIIIING!
DIIIING!
The sound of a bell echoed throughout the entire circus. It was so loud that even the pirates stopped fighting. The echo spread across the whole village, making everyone freeze, looking around, realizing what was happening.
At that instant, all the adults in town became serious, as if the sound of the bell had awakened them from a trance. Some began rushing to take the children inside their houses, while others lowered their shop curtains or slammed their doors shut.
In a matter of seconds, the streets were empty. Only the hurried footsteps of the adult villagers could be heard as they silently marched toward the circus.
Each carried a different weapon: swords, spears, axes, even work tools turned into improvised arms. Their faces were full of determination… but also something else: fear.
All of them were heading toward the center of the battle — the circus.
Meanwhile, X noticed something strange: the pirates began to laugh, even as they fell one after another. It was as if they didn't care about losing.
"Hahaha, you damn idiots… you have no idea what you got yourselves into by coming here," mocked one of the pirates, smiling maliciously despite his face being covered in bruises.
"Because of you bastards my city has been in chaos, I won't forgive you!" roared Ahu, leaping on him and biting his back so hard that the man screamed in a high-pitched tone that almost sounded like a child.
The pirate fell to the ground crying in pain, while Buggy pointed at him laughing.
"Hahaha, Ahu, you went too far! That guy's gonna have nightmares about you!"
"Not like he's seen your face!" shouted Ahu, annoyed.
"What did you say, you damn dog?!" Buggy yelled furiously, a vein bulging on his forehead.
X let out a tired sigh, already resigned to the fact that those two would never get along… at least not for now.
At that moment, a pirate tried to take advantage of his distraction and threw a punch straight at X's face. But what he didn't expect was that his fist passed right through a kind of illusion. Before he could react, X had already grabbed him by the shirt and, with a quick judo move, slammed him against the ground.
"Nice try, but not good enough," said X with a sarcastic smile, brushing the dust off his clothes as if nothing had happened.
"Damn it, those bastards have already taken out more than a hundred men… we've got less than twenty left," said a pirate with sweat dripping down his face, trembling slightly as he watched the fight.
"Don't worry, reinforcements are coming," replied another, letting out a nervous laugh.
Suddenly, the ground began to vibrate slightly. Everyone turned toward the circus entrance. Through the dust and darkness, silhouettes could be seen slowly approaching. They were the villagers… but not the same as before.
Men and women advanced with cold expressions. No one said a word. Only their footsteps echoed on the floor.
"Perfect!" shouted Don Krieg, spreading his arms with an arrogant grin. "This is exactly what I was waiting for!"
His voice echoed throughout the circus, as the people of Gosa Village entered the battlefield, ready to fight.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" burst out all the pirates still standing, with that typical mocking laugh that made anyone want to punch them.
"What's going on?" asked Ahu, frowning, feeling something didn't add up.
"Why are the villagers here?!" shouted Buggy, more nervous than usual, watching as the townsfolk approached armed.
The pirates looked at them with smug smiles.
"They're part of our reinforcements," said one of them, pointing his sword at X's group. "And from what I see, you're already tired. Your strength is gone, huh?"
X, with a calmness that contrasted the chaos around him, put his hands in his pockets and raised an eyebrow.
"Did I hear that right? Did you say they're your allies?"
"Yeah, brat, that's what I sa—"
The pirate didn't get to finish his sentence: a strong blow from a bat sent him flying several meters, crashing to the ground unconscious.
"You?" murmured Ahu, surprised, watching as the newcomers — the villagers — began surrounding them. But not to attack them… to protect them.
Silence fell upon everyone.
The pirates stared in confusion, X stood firm, and Buggy couldn't believe what he was seeing. The villagers, who were supposed to be their enemies, were now standing against the very pirates themselves.
"What the hell is happening here?" thought Buggy, not taking his eyes off them.
Then, the crowd slowly parted, making way for a figure walking confidently forward.
A woman with reddish-pink hair, a white Marine cape over her shoulders, and a gaze full of authority and strength. Her mere presence commanded respect.
She stopped in front of the group, lifted her chin, and with a firm voice that echoed throughout the circus, shouted:
"Your reign ends here, Pirate Krieg!"