Chapter 190: The Besieged Straw Hat Crew

On a land covered in ice.

The disheveled Buggy Pirates crawled out of the ruins.

Chief of Staff Kabaji said with pleasant surprise, "Captain Buggy, we are truly lucky. After Liji died, he only consumed two hundred Reward Points to be resurrected; everyone else survived."

"Thanks to you for saving everyone, Liji!"

Mohji looked at the newly resurrected giant lion with a face full of emotion.

After constant Reinforcement, the lion Liji's body was two stories tall, and the mane on his neck burned with bursts of raging flames.

A very imposing-looking flame lion.

Bang.

Liji looked at the crowd with resentment and sat down, crushing everyone including Buggy underneath him.

Saving everyone?

Is that something this lion wants to do? It's just that you all hid behind me, forcing me to bear everything.

The scene was chaotic at the time,

and everyone in the Buggy Pirates was grabbing each other to use as a Shield. Liji also wanted to use the Vice-Captain Mohji as a shield, but he was too big, and ultimately became the target of everyone.

Although one does not die inside the Trial Tower, the pain is very real, and even the strongest lion is afraid of pain.

Do these humans have any conscience at all?

"You bastard Liji, daring to attack Buggy Saint! Do you believe that once we reach Mary Geoise, I'll make you eat green peppers every day!"

Buggy's internal organs were almost crushed out, and he was in so much pain he couldn't breathe.

"It's Red Nose..."

A voice of surprise suddenly emerged.

The Straw Hat pirate ship gradually approached from afar, hunting down the wandering souls along the way, and the leader, Caomao Lufei, fixed his gaze on Buggy.

"Don't call me Red Nose, I am the great Buggy Saint!"

Buggy climbed up,

and upon hearing the title of Red Nose, his red nose became crooked with anger as he retorted furiously.

"So it's the Straw Hat Rubber Man. Daring to be disrespectful to the Captain, you are truly a foolish person who should be thrown into prison."

"Execute him!"

"Audacious Straw Hat!"

Fang Yi sensed the encounter between the Straw Hats and Buggy, and upon hearing these voices, he couldn't help but laugh.

It must be said,

you can't find two types of people on one ship. After obtaining the Celestial Dragon Bloodline, Buggy felt no hesitation at all, seamlessly transitioning into his new status, and his manner of flaunting his power like a fox borrowing a tiger's might was almost on par with a real Celestial Dragon.

Even these crew members transformed into crew of a World Noble with extreme smoothness, without the slightest sense of incongruity.

"Move aside, or I'll cut you down!"

Zoro was concise and to the point, raising his gripped twin blades and looking at the blustering Buggy with killing intent.

Nobles and the Revolutionary Army rebelled against the World Government without mercy, causing the majesty of the Celestial Dragons to plummet rapidly.

But with the powerful secret Cipher Pol and the threat of the Navy, they were unwilling to directly clash with the Celestial Dragons, avoiding them whenever possible.

It is indeed rare to see a group of villains like the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Is that so? Just relying on you lot?"

Buggy laughed wildly, pulled out the high-level weapon he had purchased earlier, and said, "This World Noble, the super Celestial Dragon Lord, can finish you off with one hand."

"Watch out, the gun in Buggy's hand is a Lv. 15 Purple weapon!"

Nami's mouth opened slightly, her gaze falling greedily on the long-barreled rifle that shimmered with a faint cyan halo.

"Purple weapon?"

Zoro frowned, subconsciously gripping his sword hilt tighter.

Even his Oath Blade, which could cut through iron like mud, and the Great Grade Blade 【Wado Ichimonji】 were only Lv. 10 Blue weapons.

The game merchant's evaluation of equipment was extremely rigorous; the gap in grade and level was enough to create a very large distance between players.

"I say, Straw Hat idiot!"

Buggy's eyeballs rolled like cartwheels as he smiled and said, "How about we cooperate?"

"I have the advantage of status and can pass through the Navy blockade without fighting. How about we join forces to get the first kill on the Pollution Source and split a portion of the rewards with you?"

Although the Navy provided him with protection, they would never help him hunt the Soul-Hooking Envoys.

Having tasted the sweetness, Buggy naturally would not give up on hunting lords, but since his own strength was insufficient, he could only set his sights on these scattered pirates.

The Straw Hat Pirates were considered relatively powerful among these pirate forces.

"No."

Luffy picked his nose,

with no reason; he just simply didn't like adventuring with strangers.

"Then go to hell, you bastard Straw Hat!"

A dagger-shaped bullet shot out from the pitch-black gun barrel, and the place it hit was instantly frozen, quickly icing over a large area nearby.

Bang.

Luffy reached up to take off the straw hat on his head and slammed it heavily onto the frozen ground.

Fist Qi surged through the straw hat into the earth, expanding a circular domain of 【Giant Soldier Power】.

"Rubber Rubber... Dive Swing!"

Luffy's figure was like a ghost, flashing continuously, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Buggy.

"Rubber Rubber... Tiger Creek and Saint Fist Combo!"

He lunged at Buggy like a fierce tiger, Fist Qi bursting forth continuously, his fists breaking the air with sharp whistling sounds.

Bang, bang, bang.

The Broadsword Landmine exploded, billowing with black smoke.

This was a pressure-sensitive explosive device Buggy had set up long ago, but before the agile Blue Fist Saint Luffy, it only caused minimal damage.

"Liji!"

The vice-captain brandished his beast-taming whip, lashing it against the flame lion's backside.

The flame lion, standing two stories tall, saw its body swell by several more meters, its flaming mane began to burn violently, and it lunged fiercely at Luffy.

"Ah... so hot, so hot!"

Luffy swooped and swung behind Buggy, using his arms to lift the dazed and disoriented Buggy, using him as a shield against the flame lion.

"Awoo!"

The flames scorched Buggy's red nose, making him wince and grimace in pain.

Looking up, he saw a flash of satisfaction in Liji's eyes, which vanished in an instant.

Buggy shrieked, "Damn you, Liji! You clearly could have stopped in time just now. So it's true, you're taking revenge on me?"

He was met with the flame lion's rather human-like expression of playing dead.

It was as if it were saying, I am just a lion, how could I possibly have the emotions of you despicable humans?

"Luffy, tie him up."

Nami smiled very deviously; after arriving at Buggy's side, she activated a Life Skill that she had already mastered quite well.

【You failed to use Steal on the player...】

【You failed to use Steal on the player...】

"..."

Buggy's hair stood on end, and he screamed, "Devil woman, what are you trying to do?"

"Huh..."

After several consecutive failures, Nami looked at Buggy with some confusion; the opponent's luck was truly good, as the Steal skill kept failing.

Hard work pays off; after several more attempts at Steal, just as her Energy Value was about to bottom out,

【You successfully used Steal on the player, obtaining 【Holy Martial Illusion Gauntlets】*1】

"Luffy, here!"

Nami opened her equipment menu, discovered it was a Lv. 10 Green-grade gauntlet, and casually traded it to Luffy, who was suited for it.

"Stop, that's my equipment!"

Buggy struggled with all his might.

The Munitions Expert's main attribute is Spirit, which can increase the power of the ammunition produced, while Strength and Constitution are slightly weaker.

Yet Luffy was a barbarian fighter with Strength and Constitution just like Garp.

This resulted in Buggy being completely unable to break free from Luffy's suppression.

"Captain Buggy!"

Buggy's crew members wanted to intervene to rescue him, but were blocked by Zoro, behind whom a phantom of a ghost god was flickering.

【You successfully used Steal on the player, obtaining 【Ghost Slayer Blade】*1】

"Zoro, this is yours..."

A katana with a purple tassel was thrown by Nami to Zoro, and she instructed, "Two thousand Reward Points, don't forget to pay me!"

"Got it!"

Zoro took the Ghost Slayer Blade and examined the dark purple blade; a layer of faint yin energy emerged, making the entire sword feel exceptionally cold to hold.

A sword very suitable for a Ghost Slayer.

I never expected Red Nose to have these good things; I really couldn't tell.

"That's my sword, give it back to me!"

Buggy was so angry he shed tears; these were all drops he had obtained from hunting ghosts.

Steal only takes effect on equipment that is not soul-bound.

These drops were all things he intended to trade for money, so naturally, it was impossible to go through the extra trouble of soul-binding them, and as a result, they were targeted by Nami.

"Robbing a Celestial Dragon? You daring fellows..."

A group of people slowly approached.

Leading them was a man with a strange-colored nose bridge, carrying a large sword that looked like an elephant on his back.

"I am Spandam, Chief of CP9 under the World Government!"

The man introduced himself quite arrogantly, then said, "By order of the Five Elders, we are to capture the heinous Straw Hat Crew and take them to Enies Lobby for trial!"

"The weapon on your back is so strange, is it an elephant?"

"That's right, it is a weapon that has eaten the Elephant Elephant Fruit and can turn into an elephant..."

Maotouying, a tall, ball-like CP9 intelligence agent, began to chat with Luffy.

Stars appeared in Luffy's eyes, and he said enviously, "So amazing!"

"Maotouying, do you also want to be tried by the World Government?"

Spandam felt that Maotouying had made him lose face and threatened him very unhappily.

"Sorry."

Maotouying reached out to pull the zipper on his mouth, put his hands together, and apologized with body language.

Lucci, wearing a black top hat, frowned slightly.

If it weren't for the orders of the World Government, they would never follow Spandam's command, and even so, they still looked down on this guy from the bottom of their hearts.

Hum.

Lucci's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, and by the time he reappeared, he was already beside Luffy, kicking him flying with a fierce blow.

He saved Buggy and grabbed Nami at the same time.

"Orange Devil, bounty of eighty million Beli, go to Enies Lobby and repent for your crimes!"

Spandam looked at Nami, who had been thrown over by Lucci, with malice.

He raised his foot, intending to bring it down ruthlessly.

Crackle.

A small, silver-white snake with two horns on its head emerged, its entire body flowing with crackling electric arcs.

The corners of Nami's mouth curled up; she showed no panic at all after being captured.

After drinking a bottle of Recovery Potion, the energy within her body fluctuated violently.

The Light Electric Eel suddenly began to elongate, transforming into a spiral-shaped electric tower resembling a magnetic coil, and an energy array filled with the aura of lightning covered all the Cipher Pol members.

"Not good!"

Lucci sensed something was wrong and hurriedly dodged away.

But the remaining Cipher Pol members did not have such good luck.

Bolts of massive electric current erupted from the head of the Light Electric Eel at the top of the tower, causing everyone to fall into a state of paralysis, their HP dropping wildly.

"Forgot to tell you, Nami-san is the strongest among us!"

Sanji watched Nami unleashing her Kamui, his eyes nearly turning into pink hearts as he jumped up in excitement.

In just a few short seconds.

The HP of the Cipher Pol members dropped by nearly half, and by the time the electric tower's energy was exhausted, Nami had already returned to the Straw Hat Pirates' camp.

Bruno, covered in electrical burns, said in a low voice: "Boss, the Straw Hat Crew is not easy to deal with."

Lucci remained expressionless and said: "That kind of strange technique, the Orange Devil cannot release it too many times; they are no match for us."

With the financial resources of the World Government, they were at full status the moment they landed on Death Island.

Although, due to the Samsara Game, the strength of the Straw Hat Crew had undergone earth-shaking changes,

but they, the CP9, were no pushovers either; furthermore, they had the Buggy Pirates assisting on the side, so capturing the Straw Hat Pirates would not consume too much energy.

"Rest assured, I will help you!"

Suddenly, a golden stream of sand drifted over, rapidly condensing into the figure of Crocodile.

"Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

The rest of the CP9 members were somewhat startled, but only Lucci remained expressionless and asked: "What do you want to do?"

Crocodile laughed unscrupulously and said: "I just want to help the World Government, is that a crime? I am, after all, a Seven Warlords of the Sea recognized by the World Government!"

However, his gaze did not land on Buggy.

Instead, he looked unreservedly at the somewhat solemn-looking Caomao Lufei.

"As a reward, Caomao Lufei's head belongs to me!"

"Impossible!"

Maotouying retorted subconsciously.

Protecting the stranded Celestial Dragon Buggy was just a secondary mission; their true goal in landing on Death Island was to take away Caomao Lufei, who possessed the Rubber Fruit.

"Maotouying, you idiot."

Kalifa, wearing glasses and looking refined, raised her long, black-stockinged leg and kicked the round Maotouying.

The other party was clearly bluffing them.

Crocodile laughed even harder and said: "Sure enough, the Five Elders' target is Caomao Lufei. Can you tell me the reason?"

Kalifa frowned and asked in return: "You actually dare to plant spies in the World Government?"

Crocodile said without concern: "They were spies you planted by my side, only they were turned by me."

It was impossible for his act of taking in Nico Robin to be hidden from the World Government.

The other party would naturally plant spies by his side, only for them to be quickly rooted out and turned into double agents to steal intelligence from the World Government.

He came to the East Blue, besides wanting to test the game merchant,

was also because the World Government had suddenly placed the highest priority for the East Blue mission on the newly debuted Straw Hat Crew—or more accurately, on the Rubber Fruit.

Even he, who was searching for Pluton, had not made the Five Elders take notice.

To think they would dispatch CP9, who were stationed at Water 7 and also searching for Pluton, for this Rubber Fruit...

Could the Rubber Fruit be related to Pluton?

"Let's run..."

Luffy quietly gave a wink.

The still-nascent Straw Hat Crew understood immediately and lunged toward the space behind Luffy.

"Rubber Rubber... Great Escape!"

Luffy's arms stretched out violently, grabbing the walls of the streets on both sides that were slowly repairing themselves automatically.

Like a rubber slingshot, the Straw Hat Crew was launched away at an extremely high speed.

"Chase them!"

Spandam let out a howl like a slaughtered pig.

The Five Elders' orders were supreme; they absolutely could not let the other party escape.

"Hmph, futile."

A breeze stirred, and Crocodile's body dissipated, turning into a stream of sand that drifted in the direction of the Straw Hats' escape.

The Buggy Pirates looked at each other, their gazes finally landing on their Captain, and they asked: "Captain Buggy, what about us?"

"Damn it, chase after them and snatch back my equipment!"

Buggy's face flushed red with anger, and he chose to pursue without the slightest hesitation.

(End of this chapter)