"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

Alex was exasperated. If Nami had known Jango was a hypnotist, she should've told him from the start. That way, he could've taken his time dealing with Jango and wouldn't have given him the chance to hypnotize his men.

"Sorry, I was too focused on the treasure…"

Nami wanted to say she had also been worried about him, but the words didn't come out. She had been fretting over Alex's condition; once she saw he was fine, her mind returned to the treasure—causing her to forget the important part about Jango being a hypnotist.

Usopp also knew about Jango's hypnosis skills, but seeing how strong Alex was, he completely forgot. Besides, he never imagined Jango could actually strengthen people through hypnosis.

What a pain. Who would've thought that flamboyant weirdo was a real hypnotist? Still, even with hypnosis, his minions shouldn't get that strong… right?

Just as that thought flashed through Alex's mind, he saw a pirate burst into maniacal laughter, stomp to the bottom of a cliff, and punch it—shattering it on impact.

Huge rocks tumbled down the cliffside, leaving Alex stunned.

What the hell? Weren't these the same pirates I took down with a few punches before?

Even if they got stronger through hypnosis, this boost was outrageous. Alex had already fought these guys—he knew how weak they were. But now, they'd grown ten times stronger and still outnumbered him by far. How was he supposed to win this?

"Wooooaaaaahhh!!"

The hypnotized pirates let out wild battle cries and charged at him like a tidal wave, their numbers and energy sending chills down Alex's spine.

"You two stay behind. Leave this to us three," Zoro said, drawing his swords and positioning himself in front of Nami and Usopp.

"Be careful not to hit Alex. He's still down there!" Nami warned them as she moved to the back with Usopp.

But before she could finish, Luffy—next to Zoro—let out a beast-like roar: "WOOOOAAAHHH!!"

"You too? You got hypnotized?!" Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were floored, jaws practically dropping as Luffy charged down the slope like a wild animal.

"Gum-Gum Gatling!"

Luffy screamed the name of his technique and launched a barrage of punches downward.

Alex had just braced himself to fight off the hypnotized pirates—sure, it would take effort, but he could handle it.

Then came the shout: "Gum-Gum Gatling!"

Alex turned to look—Luffy's arms were stretching and firing fists at breakneck speed toward his direction.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Alex could clearly see Luffy's punches flying at him like a hail of bullets. Dozens of afterimages swarmed his vision, overwhelming his senses.

Sure, Luffy's wild attack wiped out most of the charging pirates—but a few of those fists nearly hit him too.

As he dodged punch after punch, Alex realized he couldn't avoid them all. Hypnotized Luffy was faster, stronger, and relentless.

"This is your fault! Don't blame me now!"

Frustrated, and no longer caring about his injured right arm, Alex threw his own punch—right into one of Luffy's.

Boom! Bang!

In just three seconds, the two of them exchanged over thirty blows, their feet cracking the ground beneath them from the impact.

The hypnotized pirates? Flattened in seconds.

Now, only Luffy and Alex were still standing—and fighting.

"Perfect timing. DIE!"

Jango, seeing his men down and Alex distracted by Luffy, threw his razor-sharp chakram at Alex's back.

"Mother—!"

Alex sensed the ambush and dove into a roll, dodging the blade. But before he could fully regain his footing, Luffy's next punch came flying in.

The Gum-Gum Gatling barrage continued without pause. Alex had no time to breathe.

"You bastard! Enough already!"

Furious, Alex ignored his injuries and threw his full force into one final punch—colliding directly with Luffy's incoming fist.

Boom!

The resulting shockwave blew away all the dust in the area and even knocked loose pebbles off the cliff face.

Zoro had wanted to knock Luffy out, but before he could act, both fighters were sent flying in opposite directions by the force of their own punches.

Before Nami or Usopp could even react, the clash was over.

CRASH!

Alex slammed into the Black Cat Pirates' ship bow.

BOOM!

Luffy was launched into the forest leading to Syrup Village, smashing through trees and creating a crater upon impact.

Crack!

As Alex hit the ground, pain shot through his back and hands. He didn't even have time to breathe before he saw the massive decorative ship bow—shaped like a black cat—snap off above him and start falling.

Move, dammit—MOVE!

Clenching his teeth, Alex rolled to the right. Just in time. Luffy came charging in from the forest, screaming wildly, and caught the giant bow in his arms.

Veins bulged on Luffy's arms—clearly, the thing was very heavy.

At first, Alex thought Luffy had come to save him. But then he realized—Luffy was holding the bow like a weapon… to hit him with it.

"You idiot! The enemy's that way!"

Alex couldn't take it anymore and yelled at Luffy.

"Yes, smash them with that thing!"

Seeing Luffy's attention shift to the remaining Black Cat Pirates, Alex quickly pointed him in the right direction.

The pirates turned pale, trembling as Luffy marched over with the giant bow raised.

Alex had just breathed a sigh of relief when two new enemies jumped down from the ship—fat and thin brothers wielding cat-claw weapons.

Clang!

Zoro stepped in front of Alex, swords drawn, blocking the attack.

"You rest. Leave these guys to me," Zoro said firmly.

Just then, Jango hypnotized Luffy to sleep—right as he was holding the heavy ship bow. It collapsed onto him, pinning him underneath.

Most of the Black Cat Pirates were out of commission, and although Alex and Luffy were too injured to keep fighting, the only enemies left were the cat brothers and Jango. Zoro should be able to handle them.

Just as Alex finally lay down to rest—

"Alex, where are you?! Get over here—NOW! Luffy! Zoro! Help us!"

Nami's scream echoed from above.

"What happened to them?" Zoro asked, locked in combat with the cat brothers.

"Should you really be distracted like that?" the skinny one smirked—and snatched the two extra swords from Zoro's waist, flinging them away.

Crap, Alex thought. With only one sword, Zoro won't be at full power.

Struggling to stand, Alex looked up and saw a bloodied Usopp get thrown out of sight and crash hard onto the slope.

"What the hell is going on?! What happened?! Do I need to kill all of you, Jango?!"

Kuro appeared, gripping Nami's staff mid-attack. He took one look at the disaster—the wrecked ship, fallen men, destroyed bow—and his veins bulged with fury.

Jango trembled. "It's not what you think! A few strong guys showed up—we couldn't stop them!"

CRACK!

Kuro flung Nami into the cliff wall with her staff still in hand, slamming her hard into the rock.

"Do you want me to knock your lights out?!"

Alex appeared at the base of the slope, panting and glaring up at Kuro with rage.

Seeing Nami slammed against the rocks and Usopp bleeding heavily, he'd had enough.

Sure, he clashed with Nami now and then—but he'd never hurt her. Except maybe stealing a kiss or two.

But Kuro? Kuro beat Usopp to a pulp and threw Nami like trash. At that moment, all Alex could think was:

This four-eyed bastard is asking for a beating...

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