"Captain! That's the guy who saved the female thief from us earlier! He's her boss!"

Three pirates, their faces still bruised from before, charged out of the bar the moment they saw Alex and shouted toward Buggy.

"The leader of a thief gang dares mess with pirates? This is the era of great pirates! Since when do lowly thieves get to run wild? And now he's even bringing a dog to challenge me—what a joke!"

Buggy's expression turned terrifyingly dark. He lowered his head slightly and closed his eyes, blue veins bulging on his forehead. The sharp barks from Chouchou only fueled the flames of rage burning inside him.

"You idiot, why did you provoke him like that?!"

Nami rushed to Alex's side and demanded an explanation. She noticed Buggy trembling with barely restrained fury, his muscles flexing with tension—he was clearly on the verge of snapping.

Though frustrated with Alex for recklessly provoking Buggy despite his injuries, Nami couldn't help but worry. She even considered dragging Alex away if things got too dangerous. That's why she remained glued to his side, unwilling to take a single step away.

"You're wrong. I wouldn't waste my time provoking a clown-faced weirdo with a big red nose,"

Alex, pale as a ghost but eyes firm with conviction, looked Buggy dead in the eye and declared,

"Listen up, Big Red Nose! I'm no thief boss—I'm a pirate. A real pirate."

Nami froze beside him, stunned. The tone of certainty in his voice caught her off guard. Her expression changed. Something in her heart stirred, and her mind went blank. She stared at Alex in silence, ripples forming in her chest.

"So what if you're a pirate? From the moment you shouted at me, I don't care who you are—I'm not letting you or your friends go!"

Buggy raised his head in fury, eyes bulging with rage.

"Come at me then!" Alex roared back. "The moment you fired a cannon at me, your fate was sealed. You're getting knocked into next week, you ridiculous oversized red-nosed clown!"

"Bark! Bark! Bark bark bark!"

Chouchou growled louder than ever, leaping beside Alex, barking ferociously toward Buggy.

"You're dead meat!!"

Hearing yet another insult about his nose, Buggy felt like his chest was going to explode. He charged straight at Alex.

Buggy had always despised people mocking his nose—and today, he'd already been ridiculed by Luffy, and now Alex had gone and insulted it twice. How could he possibly tolerate this?!

"Let's go, Alex! Knock him out!"

Not far away, Luffy cheered and pumped his fists.

"What are you doing just standing there?! You know he's badly hurt! Why aren't you stopping him? What kind of crewmate are you?!"

Nami shouted at Luffy, furious. She had tried several times to pull Alex away, but he stood as steady as a mountain. No matter how hard she pulled, he wouldn't budge an inch.

Now, seeing Luffy just cheering from the sidelines instead of helping, her anger boiled over and she flashed her teeth at him.

"It's because I'm his crewmate that I'm cheering for him right now!"

Luffy looked at Nami with a serious expression. "You get it now, right? He's a pirate. If he doesn't fight back when another pirate attacks him, then he doesn't deserve to sail forward."

He glanced over at Alex, then grinned confidently. "We're heading to the Grand Line. There'll be pirates even stronger than this red-nosed clown. Things will get way more dangerous than today. If we run now, we'll never survive later."

"Don't underestimate Alex. He's not someone who'll die easily—I know that. And he's got his pride. Unless he calls for my help, I won't interfere."

"What's wrong with you people? What's more important, pride or staying alive? He's already this badly injured, and still fighting? He could die any second!"

Nami held her head in her hands, stealing a glance at Alex as she snapped at Luffy.

"Are you stupid or something? Of course, it's better to live with pride. That's exactly what Alex is doing right now."

Luffy's answer left Nami speechless. Deep down, she suspected the same—Alex was risking everything for his pride. But even so, she just couldn't agree with it.

"You little punk! Enjoy your last breath of sunshine before I tear you to pieces!"

Just a few meters away now, Buggy suddenly drew several throwing knives. "Now watch as I split apart—"

Before Buggy could finish shouting his move, Alex whipped out a giant fishing net he had secretly prepared. With a flick of his arm, he threw it at Buggy, ensnaring him before he had time to split his body.

While Buggy was still registering what had happened, Alex yanked the net tight with his left hand, lunged forward, and stomped hard enough to crack the ground beneath him.

Then with his right hand, he clenched his fist, summoned every last bit of strength left in his battered body, and smashed it squarely into Buggy's fat red nose.

"Split this, you bastard!!"

It was the first time Alex had ever cursed out loud mid-fight.

Buggy's nose squished into an oblong mess, and it felt like the bones in his face had shattered. His eyes rolled back in his head from the pain, and he nearly lost consciousness on the spot. Even when Chouchou took the opportunity to bite him a few times, he barely noticed.

WHOOSH!

Buggy was sent flying with such force that he tore right through the net that had bound him and soared into the air.

At that exact moment, a pirate on the roof of the bar had just fired a cannon in Alex's direction.

"NO! Captain Buggy got launched by that guy!"

"Watch out, Captain! It's a cannonball!"

"Split your body, Captain! Dodge it!!"

The pirates on the roof panicked as they saw Buggy flying straight into the path of the cannonball they had just fired.

"I... I..."

Buggy's head was spinning—he couldn't even think straight, let alone hear his crewmates' warnings. He had never imagined that Alex, despite being covered in blood and barely standing, could still punch with such terrifying power. One blow, and he was nearly out cold.

"Oh no! Captain Buggy bounced the cannonball back at us!"

"RUN! It's coming this way!!"

The rooftop pirates screamed as the cannonball, now ricocheting off Buggy's body, came flying toward them. Some were so panicked they jumped from the top of the bar straight to the ground below, snapping bones and wailing in pain—

BOOM!

-------------------------

Support me so I can keep bringing you more chapters! Your comments, reviews, and power stones mean a lot.

To Access 40+ Advance chapters head over to Patreon:

patreon .com / Samorash

~~Do leave a comment!