In Orange Town, Nami's face went pale when she saw over a dozen fierce-looking pirates brandishing their weapons and shouting as they charged toward her.
Although her martial arts had improved slightly recently, it hadn't reached the point where she could take on so many physically imposing men on her own.
Without a second thought, she prepared to turn and run while her mind raced.
She already knew the surrounding alleys by heart. To defeat this group, she had to lead them into those narrow paths, using the complex terrain to run circles around them and pick them off one by one!
She quickly formulated her plan.
But just as the plan was set and she had already sprinted a short distance away, Goku's voice rang out from behind her.
"Don't you dare hurt Nami! I'm the one you're fighting!"
*Shua!!*
She skidded to a halt and looked back, only to see Goku appearing before the pirates. With the Power Pole in hand, he began striking them over the head like he was playing a game of Whac-A-Mole. *Thwack, thwack, thwack!* Their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed in a dizzying heap.
"Goku..."
She stood there, stunned into silence.
Having dealt with the lackeys, Goku turned back and gave her a wide grin. "Nami, these guys look a bit tougher. You might not be able to handle them, so leave it all to me this time!"
With that, he turned back around, leaning on his Power Pole with one hand and pointing at Buggy's group with the other.
"Hey! I'm your opponent this time! Bring it on, all of you!"
Buggy's eye twitched as suspicion and uncertainty clouded his mind.
'Where the hell did this brat come from? He actually managed to take down my men!'
"Hey, Cabaji. You go deal with him."
Adhering to the philosophy of letting subordinates test an unknown opponent first, he gave the order to Cabaji without hesitation.
"Understood, Captain Buggy."
Cabaji knew exactly what his captain was thinking, but he didn't mind. After all, as a member of Buggy's crew, this was precisely his purpose.
If the captain had to deal with every enemy himself, what would be the point of having a crew?
He pulled a unicycle out of nowhere and hopped on, zooming over to Goku in an instant.
"Brat, I suggest you surrender now. Otherwise, you're going to be in for a world of hurt."
Cabaji looked at Goku with a sinister glint in his eyes, casually flourishing his long sword.
Undeterred, Goku gripped the Power Pole with both hands and dropped into a fighting stance. "I'm not going to lose to you!"
Cabaji licked his lips. Without another word, he pedaled his unicycle, closing the distance to Goku in a flash.
At the same time, he swung his long sword down at Goku with vicious force!
*Clang!!*
Goku raised his weapon, easily parrying the blow with the Power Pole.
Seeing his attack blocked, a ruthless look flashed in Cabaji's eyes. He began swinging his sword in a blur, his unicycle circling Goku as he launched a relentless assault from every angle.
To his surprise, Goku remained calm and collected, steadying himself to block every single strike.
Seeing this, Cabaji devised a cruel scheme. His cheeks suddenly puffed out.
A second later, he threw his mouth open and spewed a blast of searing flame directly into Goku's face.
"Waaaah!"
Goku leaped away, his left hand frantically swatting at his hair to extinguish the flames.
With his face slightly soot-stained, he glared at Cabaji and gritted his teeth. "You dirty coward! I can't believe you'd use a cheap trick like that!"
Cabaji gave a disdainful laugh. "Hmph, this is what a real fight is like. As long as you win, nobody cares about being dirty."
"Besides, this is my Acrobatics Swordplay. These are the kinds of moves I'm best at."
Goku looked at him huffily. "You underhanded jerk! You've been attacking this whole time, now it's my turn!"
With that, he leaped high into the air, raising the Power Pole above his head with both hands.
Aiming straight for the top of Cabaji's head, he swung the staff down with everything he had!
Cabaji dismissively raised his sword to block.
A split second later, a loud crack echoed as the fine blade he had used for years was snapped in two by the Power Pole.
The Power Pole didn't slow down. Carrying the whistling wind, it slammed into his head with a resounding thud as his eyes filled with shock and terror.
*Flump!*
Goku landed back on the ground and looked at Cabaji, whose eyes had rolled back as his body fell stiffly backward. He curled his lip. "What? He's so weak. He couldn't even take one hit."
Behind him, Nami stood dazed for a moment after seeing him take down a Buggy Pirates officer so effortlessly.
Then, she couldn't help but pump her fist in excitement.
'Goku is amazing!'
'At this rate, he might actually take down the entire Buggy Pirates by himself!'
...
At that moment, Buggy's mood was the exact opposite of hers.
Seeing Cabaji defeated so quickly, Buggy was so furious he began cursing internally.
'Useless! Absolutely useless!'
'And you call yourself the Chief of Staff and an officer of the Buggy Pirates? Falling before a brat so easily!'
'No! I have to restore our reputation. I can't let this kid look down on the Buggy Pirates!'
With that thought, he glared at Goku and growled, "Don't get cocky, kid! Now it's time for the great Captain Buggy to show you what's what!"
"Is it your turn? I'm ready!" Goku said, a grin of anticipation spreading across his face.
Buggy's eyes darted around as he quickly formulated a battle plan.
It didn't take long for him to come up with an idea.
"Chop-Chop Senbei!" he yelled.
In an instant, his lower body split off and went whistling toward Goku like a spinning cracker.
At the same time, two hidden blades popped out from the tips of his shoes—the true killing blow of this attack!
Seeing such a bizarre attack coming his way, Goku gave a light hop and easily avoided it.
But then, he saw Buggy wearing a triumphant smirk.
Grabbing his right upper arm with his left hand, Buggy shouted, "Chop-Chop Cannon!"
An instant later, his arm—clutching three throwing knives between the fingers like the claws of a beast—shot out like a cannonball, hurtling toward Goku who was defenseless in mid-air.
It was far faster than his previous strike!
It looked as though Goku was about to be pierced through the heart.
While Buggy watched with glee and Nami looked on in horror, Goku suddenly stomped against the air, causing his entire body to rise even higher.
In the same motion, he twisted his body in mid-air and swung the Power Pole down hard on Buggy's flying arm!
"Aaaaaooooowwww!!!"
Buggy let out a howl of agony, hopping up and down from the sheer pain.
A large, red lump swelled up instantly on the arm Goku had struck.
"Blehh! That move doesn't work on me!" Goku stuck out his tongue and made a playful face after landing back on the ground.
Gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain, Buggy pointed a trembling left hand at Goku. "You... what the hell was that just now—"
He was about to demand how Goku had dodged his attack, but he suddenly witnessed a scene so bizarre that he instinctively changed his question.
"Y-y-you! What the heck is with that tail behind you?!"
Without anyone noticing when it happened, a brown tail had sprouted from Goku's backside and was currently wagging back and forth.
Hearing Buggy's words, Goku blinked and turned his head to look.
A second later, his face lit up with excitement and joy.
"Yay! My tail grew back!"
—
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