Bai Yun's instantaneous betrayal infuriated Buggy.
He hadn't expected the guy to be so weak, getting sliced in half at the waist immediately, but wait, he was cut in half and there wasn't a drop of blood—was that normal?
"Cabaji!"
Buggy roared.
Cabaji instinctively turned his head, and a burst of fierce flames erupted from his mouth.
But the moment the flames shot out, a hand holding a silver staff aimed for his chin and smashed upward.
Cabaji's flames sprayed upwards.
The hand gripped the staff and, seizing the moment while Cabaji was stunned by the blow, pursued the attack, rapidly brandishing the staff and delivering a succession of thrusts to Cabaji's chest, forcing him to retreat continuously.
Finally, the staff swung in a full arc, striking Cabaji's left cheek from left to right, resulting in an instant KO that sent him flying onto the rooftop to the right of the tavern.
Everything happened too fast; only a few seconds passed between Bai Yun striking Cabaji and him landing on the rooftop. It was so quick that no one could react; they could only stare in shock.
Or rather, they were dumbfounded, wondering why Bai Yun possessed the same Chop-Chop ability as Buggy.
Buggy and his subordinates were all filled with this question.
"H-how is that possible?" Buggy muttered.
Watching Bai Yun's upper and lower body separate, controlling his hand to wield the staff in mid-air—this was exactly his Chop-Chop Fruit ability!
How could this be!!
"You... how do you have my ability?"
Buggy couldn't help but demand.
Bai Yun's lips curled into a slight smile. "You want to know? I won't tell you."
Buggy froze for a second, then his expression twisted into a furious snarl.
"Bastard!"
"Who do you think I am?! I am Buggy the Clown!"
"Chop-Chop Festival—Cannon!!"
Buggy roared in fury, raised both hands, grasped his right forearm with his left hand, and with a dagger clutched between the fingers of his right hand, he launched his hand out like a cannonball, the blade aimed straight at Bai Yun!
"Hah."
Bai Yun scoffed, completely unfazed. He didn't dodge, instead controlling the detached hand in the air to use the staff and swat Buggy's hand back.
"Chop-Chop Festival—Pancake!"
Buggy stabilized his hand mid-air, then immediately separated his lower body. Blades sprouted from his toes, and his lower half began spinning like a flying disc, hurtling toward Bai Yun.
Bai Yun stepped and leaped, dodging Buggy's lower half, while controlling his other hand to grab the staff, splitting the staff in two.
They did not turn into blades; they remained staffs.
Trying to cut a Chop-Chop user with a sword was simply laughable.
Buggy's lower half spun back. Bai Yun didn't even try to dodge, allowing it to slice through him, cutting him in half at the waist once again. But for him, having replicated the Chop-Chop Fruit's power, this was nothing.
He controlled both hands, gripping the staffs, and forcefully smashed them toward Buggy.
Buggy immediately raised his hands, using the daggers wedged between his fingers to block the staffs.
Buggy's lower half returned and reattached to his upper body. Bai Yun's lower half followed close behind, and the moment Buggy was whole, Bai Yun's lower half delivered a kick directly to Buggy's abdomen. Bang! The force made Buggy's eyes bulge and his mouth fly open as he instantly shot backward.
Buggy crashed through a pile of tables and chairs, landed hard on the ground, struggled for a few moments, then managed to climb back up, looking utterly wretched and disheveled.
"Cough, cough!"
Buggy coughed twice, a trickle of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth, sweat pouring down his forehead.
He now understood that this junior who knew Shanks was not simple! At the very least, he couldn't beat him.
Damn Shanks!
(At this moment, Shanks, sailing on the high seas, suddenly sneezed.)
Shanks: Caught a cold? Impossible! Is someone thinking about me? Hahahaha.)
"Hee hahahaha, Bai Yun."
"I think we might have some misunderstanding, don't you?"
"You know Shanks, I know Shanks. Is there anything we can't sit down and talk about? Why resort to fighting?"
Hearing this, Bai Yun controlled his lower body and hands to return to his side.
"A perfect opportunity!"
Buggy had been waiting for this exact moment of Bai Yun's lapse in attention.
"Special—Mini—Buggy Ball!!"
Buggy's lower body flew out, and from a mechanism in his sole, a miniature Buggy Ball shot forth. Although only marble-sized, its destructive power was several times greater than the standard size.
"I was waiting for that move!"
Bai Yun instantly recalled his lower body and hands, and the moment his body became whole, the miniature Buggy Ball struck him in the chest.
Buggy smiled, thinking, Let's see you survive this, but his expression instantly changed to one of utter shock.
The Buggy Ball hit Bai Yun's chest but didn't explode. Instead, Bai Yun's chest simply indented and bounced the Buggy Ball right back.
This was the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit.
With this exchange, Bai Yun realized a limitation of his ability: although he could retain replicated powers, he couldn't use two Devil Fruit abilities simultaneously.
For instance, just now, to use Luffy's Gum-Gum Fruit power, he had to recall the body parts he had split off using the Chop-Chop Fruit power.
Meanwhile, Buggy and his subordinates, still frozen in shock, were engulfed by a fierce flash of fire.
The massive explosion that followed instantly blew off half of the tavern's upper structure, and a dozen or so houses behind it were also shaken down—a genuine, physical collapse.
When the smoke cleared, the members of the Buggy Pirates were all lying on the ground, completely incapacitated.
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
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