Pirate: I, Buggy, am the Emperor, the Emperor of the Clown King!

"You look like you've used up a lot of energy."

Bucky looked at the black bunker in front of him and a strange smile appeared on his face.

This thing is very hard and difficult to break.

Without a suitable high-powered attack method, simply relying on close-range sword attacks to force an opening is easily countered by Smoker's defense.

After all, if Smoker were of sound mind, he wouldn't use a purely defensive move and then wait to die.

Coincidentally, Bucky does have a move that works in this situation, allowing him to hit directly inside without needing to penetrate external defenses.

That's why clown magic is so useful.

Although the numbers are low, the functionality is truly maximized.

Pakistani didn't even need to come into contact with the white smoke bunker.

"Clown Magic - Acrobatic Ball-Stomping"

Bucky can conjure up giant toy balls like those that you walk on in a circus within a certain range.

It can be used to perform rolling impacts, or it can appear directly under the enemy's feet to disrupt their balance.

The only problem is that he can't summon from too far away right now, and he can only summon one at a time at present.

But if Smoker is still hiding in this smoke bunker, one ball is enough; there's no room for more.

In theory, Bucky's move should work... if Smoker were still inside.

Unfortunately, Smoker wasn't among them.

This smoke fortress looks airtight, but Smoker himself can turn into smoke and walk through it.

Although everyone mocks the Smoke-Smoke Fruit as the worst Logia-type Devil Fruit, even the worst Logia-type Devil Fruit is still a Logia-type Devil Fruit.

The so-called elementalization is such a useful ability.

At this moment, Smoker moved very quietly, even minimizing his elemental transformation, in order to avoid being discovered by Bucky.

While sneak attacks are shameful, they are undeniably effective.

Because Buggy had been disguising himself, Smoker never expected that Buggy might possess Armament Haki and Observation Haki.

Smoker gradually transformed into smoke and moved himself out from behind the bunker. A white mist flowed and moved, appearing behind Bucky, and finally gradually condensed into a human shape, silently.

While the Smoke-Smoke Fruit is generally considered rather useless, it's not entirely ineffective when it comes to doing things discreetly.

Smoker leaned forward, raised his ten hands above his head, and slammed them down on Bucky's head.

Unfortunately, Buggy also possesses Observation Haki.

The reason I didn't reveal my abilities in Observation Haki and Armament Haki before was for this moment.

A black streak of light appeared in Smoker's eyes.

The moment Bucky noticed something was wrong with the smoke bunker, he kept an eye on Smoker to see if he could launch an attack from elsewhere.

After all, if Smoker were to hide in this bunker... what would be the point of a turtling tactic?

Now there's no need to drag things out, and we're not at a complete disadvantage.

So the most likely explanation is that it was a diversionary tactic to attract attention, and that's exactly what Bucky imagined.

Once Bucky realized this, he prepared to play the sweet card and trick Smoker.

——Clown Magic: Mind Transfer

Theoretically, this move allows for the teleportation of throwing knives within a small area of ​​space, but currently, due to Bucky's low stats, it's not possible to teleport long distances.

He was just using a disguise before, which doesn't mean he couldn't perform small-scale teleportation.

...Okay, for now, I can only move within a very small area around myself.

As the four ace knives flew around, they shredded the surrounding smoke, which impaired Smoker's senses to some extent, so he didn't notice that Bucky had quietly taken one.

The other three were still flying around, disrupting Smoker's smoke screen and distracting him.

After Bucky obtained the Heart Sword, he pointed the tip at his own body.

——Clown Magic: Extendable Sword

He shortened the blade and then used his body to block it, making Smoker unable to see it.

Buggy, having eaten the Split-Split Fruit, is immune to slashing and piercing attacks.

This series of actions combined resulted in an unexpected attack from Smoker.

Smoker's pupils contracted sharply. Even if he realized it, it was too late; there was no time to change his move and defend.

It's a retractable sword; it can both retract and extend, and it's quite fast.

After the blade pierced Bucky's chest, it emerged from behind.

After piercing Bucky's body, the Heart Sword suddenly grew longer and larger, its surface wreathed in a jet-black Armament Haki-infused luster, and stabbed straight toward Smoker's chest.

too fast.

too close.

Smoker didn't have time to dodge.

The blade pierced his chest, thankfully not his heart; Bucky missed it by half an inch.

However, the sword still pierced a hole in Smoker's chest, and blood gushed from the wound, flowing down the blade that had emerged from his back.

This time he didn't have time to actively transform into an element, and passively transforming into an element would result in being hit by Armament Haki.

This was the subconscious impression Bucky had left on Smoker during the battle.

No matter how Bucky attacked before, Smoker's elemental transformation would always evade it.

At first, Smoker would actively predict Bucky's attack trajectory and use his elemental form to dodge.

Smoker later mistakenly believed that Buggy lacked Armament Haki and Seastone, and thus lowered his guard.

So now they've been tricked.

Whether or not one possesses Armament Haki is crucial in determining whether or not one can defeat Smoker, which is why Buggy trained for a period of time before coming to Loguetown.

In other words, even if the battle with Smoker occurs before Luffy's execution... there are still ways to defeat Smoker.

Both sides seemed to have stopped moving completely, and the whole world seemed to have frozen in this frame.

sieve!

The blade that pierced Smoker quickly retracted and returned to Bucky's hand.

"Shoot him down~ Sharpshooter~" Bucky turned around with a smile, muttering the name of a move with squinty eyes.

Because of the Split-Split Fruit, Buggy's attack is much harder to defend against than that of the squinty-eyed guy.

After all, Gin Ichimaru wouldn't stab himself in the back.

But Pakistan can.

This is 100% damage reduction from slashing and piercing attacks; even if Hawkeye came, the result would be the same.

As Bucky drew his sword, Smoker fell to the ground, clutching the wound in his chest.

Although he looks very strong, Smoker is not the type to be a tank.

A stab wound through the chest would be considered a serious injury for Smoker.

Especially the telescopic sword, which can not only change length or length to a certain extent, but also change size.

Even if the heart is not damaged, having a hole in the chest and back will disrupt the negative pressure chest cavity, making it impossible to breathe.

Because normal breathing relies on:

①Rib expansion + diaphragmatic descent

② The thoracic cavity enlarges → the internal pressure becomes negative.

③ Outside air is "inhaled" into the lungs

But now there are two holes in his chest cavity, directly connecting to the outside:

① The chest cavity is no longer a closed space, and negative pressure disappears.

②The lungs are like a leaky balloon, collapsing on their own.

③ Even if you inhale forcefully, the air won't enter your lungs; it will only flow into your chest cavity through the wound.

However, humans in the world of One Piece are not ordinary people, especially Smoker, who is already considered an elite naval captain.

Although he was beaten so badly that his fighting ability was practically useless, he wouldn't die easily.

His superior physical skills allow him to actively shrink the wound and restore some of his respiratory function.

"He...he..."

Smoker was breathing heavily, but thankfully Bucky didn't attack him, which allowed Smoker to recover a little.

As for the punctured blood vessels, they were forcibly sealed with the smoke from the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

As long as there is no major bleeding in the lung blood vessels, lung injuries are not necessarily unbearable.

Unfortunately, although he suppressed his injuries through physical skills and Devil Fruit abilities, Smoker's current fighting strength is less than half of what it was at its peak.

Simply put, the outcome is already decided.

Bucky didn't attack Smoker at this moment; he just watched with interest.

"Smoker." Bucky's lips curled slightly beneath his mask. "You just said I couldn't beat you."

"Clearly, you're exaggerating."

When he spoke, Bucky tilted his head to the side.

This only made Smoker angrier, leaving him speechless and gritting his teeth.

His chest ached, and his back ached too.

But his pride hurt more than his wounds.

It's so embarrassing to make boastful claims, fail, and then get ridiculed.

"Smoker." Bucky knew now was the perfect time for talk therapy.

There's a reason why a certain expert in verbal persuasion can usually defeat his enemies with his words.

Do you know why you lost?

Bucky said, "It's because your justice is too clean... so clean that it makes you an outsider in the Navy."

"Let me guess—what kind of people did you meet when you were at Marine Headquarters?"

Bucky's voice carried a strange undertone, a twisted logic he had prepared long ago.

Both language and weapons can hurt people.

Compared to mere force, indoctrination is far more dangerous and harmful.

"Akainu Sakazuki, he can be called... the epitome of justice."

He believes that justice means completely eradicating evil, leaving no room for compromise.

"However, the most pitiful people are those who go to extremes, because they cannot see the gray areas of the world."

"Extremism taken to its extreme is violence...and violence is never justice."

"..." Although Smoker wanted to retort that Bucky was talking nonsense, as the loser, the important thing now was to recover from his injuries first and then fight back.

"Aokiji Kuzan, you could call him... Lazy Justice."

He believes that justice can be compromised when necessary.

"But laziness is escapism."

"He clearly has the ability to change many things, but he chooses to wear an eye patch and pretend he can't see them."

"Because if you don't take action, you won't make mistakes."

"Justice delayed is justice denied; it is merely a second humiliation for the victims."

"Those who die while waiting, those who are forgotten while waiting, all they get in return is a 'Sorry, we're too late.'"

"You damn clown, shut up! You know nothing!" Smoker couldn't help but retort.

Buggy's mockery of Akainu was tolerable to Smoker, even though Smoker didn't like Akainu either.

But he definitely had to say something about mocking his good friend Aokiji.

Aokiji became like this because he killed his best friend... and let the devil's child, Robin, go.

In fact, everyone knows that Robin was deliberately let go by Aokiji. Otherwise, if Aokiji really wanted to capture her, why would he let Robin run around everywhere?

Don't underestimate this high-end military force, which is like a humanoid nuclear bomb!

Bucky completely ignored Smoker's rebuttal... "Go ahead and jump up and hit me if you dare."

"Kizaru Borsalino, you could call him...ambiguous justice."

"Ambiguous? That's a nice way of putting it."

"To put it bluntly, it's called being opportunistic."

"He always stands on the winning side, never expresses his opinion, and never takes sides."

"If I'm strong today, he'll help me; if you're strong tomorrow, he'll help you."

"This kind of person has no stance, no principles, and no beliefs."

"Justice is merely a tool in his hands."

"Justice based on compromise will only breed new darkness."

"Do you think that if you take a step back, evil will take a step back?"

"No!"

"When you take a step back, evil takes a step forward."

What puzzled Buggy the most in this regard was Kizaru's strength... No matter how you look at it, Kizaru with the Glint-Glint Fruit is the strongest of the three admirals.

Kizaru's weakness: He relies on the Glint-Glint Fruit.

Kizaru's strengths: The Glint-Glint Fruit has no weaknesses.

This guy is fast, has high attack power, and his defense is incredibly tanky... It's ridiculously overpowered, yet he does absolutely nothing.

"..." Although Smoker didn't know the truth about Kizaru, his lies did seem rather unreliable... especially since Kizaru was too close to the World Government.

"Naval hero Garp, he can be called... the justice of freedom."

"This guy is the biggest joke of all."

"He can be a navy officer if he wants to, and he can be an admiral if he doesn't want to. He can do whatever he wants."

"His sense of justice is based on his own whims. If he's in a good mood today, he'll let you go; if he's in a bad mood tomorrow, he'll arrest you."

"Justice is not freedom—justice is a chain."

"A righteous person must first be bound by righteousness."

"A free justice is nothing but self-satisfied willfulness."

Buggy couldn't help but want to complain when he thought about Garp's strength.

Everyone says they're pursuing justice, so why don't you guys get moving!

The greatest evil—the Celestial Dragons—is right next to the Marine Headquarters.

After you, Garp, become the Fleet Admiral, wouldn't it be better to lead the three admirals and Sengoku to directly take down the World Government?

Apart from Im, who in the entire world government can stop you?

Of course, he didn't do that, which could also be a cognitive issue, since living under the rule of the World Government has become a habit.

Habit is a terrifying thing.

"A confused fellow, too cowardly..." This might be how Garp describes himself.

—As he gets older, he has too many concerns and is no longer as straightforward as he was when he was young.

"Shut up!" Smoker burst into smoke and stood up, intending to attack Bucky.

As a naval hero, Garp enjoys extremely high prestige within the navy.

Smoker has now regained some of his strength.

Unfortunately, with such little strength and recovery from his injuries, Bucky was no match for him... Bucky simply extended his sword at Smoker once more, and the retractable blade pierced through the original wound again.

Buggy felt a bit like complaining that all the named characters in One Piece had such thick health bars.

Smoker failed again.

Bucky, meanwhile, continued rambling on, looking at Smoker with an expression that said, "I want to hit you, but I can't."

His frustrated expression was really amusing.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, he can be called... the righteous ruler of the world."

"To rule the world?"

"Does this wording...does justice need to 'reign'?"

Is justice a top-down act of charity?

"The justice of ruling the world is, in essence, governance."

"He sat in that chair, giving orders, setting rules, and then saying, 'This is justice.'"

"Justice is not power—justice is the bottom line."

"The bottom line cannot be set; the bottom line must be followed."

"What comes down from the top is not justice, it is domination."

"!!!!!!!" Smoker's chest heaved violently. He wanted to curse Bucky back, but unfortunately, due to the injury he suffered again, he had lost the ability to speak for a short period of time.

"Finally... Black Arm Zephyr, he can be called... Justice Without Killing."

There was something inexplicable about Bucky's voice.

Smoker's eyes were bloodshot; Zephyr was his teacher.

Of all the people Buggy mentioned, Smoker only accepted Akainu; he didn't acknowledge the others!

That red dog is an exception!

"Not to kill? How merciful, how noble, how... foolish."

"He dedicated his life to proving what justice in 'not killing' truly means."

"His family was killed, his students were killed... and he himself will eventually be killed as well."

"To be merciful to evil is to be cruel to good."

"How many people did those he spare later kill?"

"How many evil deeds did those he forgave later commit?"

"Justice that does not kill is written in the blood of good people."

"True justice requires killing to eradicate darkness."

"Kill one evil person, save a hundred good people... Can't you do the math?"

Of all these people, Zephyr had actually changed, so he left the Marine Headquarters and founded the NEO Marines.

However, this doesn't stop Bucky from criticizing Smoker; he wants to change Smoker's mindset.

Sometimes, certain words... once you hear them, their impact begins.

The current refusal is merely a subconscious act of resistance.

When the time is right in the future, you will come to agree with it yourself.

The rain stopped then.

A ray of golden sunlight peeked through a gap in the clouds and shone directly on Bucky.

The Clown King's eerie style, combined with the golden light, gives off a sense of sacred evil.

"These people are the backbone of the navy."

"Extreme, lazy, ambiguous, free, domineering, non-killing... each has its own justice, each has its own reason."

"But what have they brought to the world together?"

"They did nothing."

"A force that cannot unite is meaningless."

"Their justice is not justice, it's just an excuse."

Bucky knew that Smoker would listen to some of what he said.

Especially the unity emphasized at the end.

If all the powerful figures in the Navy Headquarters could be united, it seems that they could really do anything.

...But it seems unlikely that these powerful figures from the Navy Headquarters can be united.

Those who have reached this point are all people with firm minds, so how could they possibly deny their own path for the sake of others?

Therefore, a divided Naval Headquarters is the current situation.

What will happen if someone who wants to unite everything is crammed into this divided Naval Headquarters?

Smoker's body was trembling slightly.

It wasn't out of fear or anger, but because he couldn't refute it.

There are indeed a lot of problems within the Navy.

Smoker was known as a troublemaker because he couldn't stand many problems within the Navy, and was eventually ostracized and sent to Loguetown.

He didn't compromise, but he couldn't outmaneuver those guys... He lacked both strength and brains.

"Smoker~ You're different~" Bucky's voice suddenly changed.

It's no longer the sarcastic, critical, or condescending mockery, but a gentler, more earnest, and more sincere tone.

It's like we're friends.

Smoker looked up at Bucky.

I don't really want to deal with this foul-mouthed pirate, but I can't beat him right now, so what should I do?

"Your justice can be called rude justice." Bucky's lips curled up slightly.

"If you think it's wrong, just say so; if you think it won't work, then do it."

"During your time in Rogge Town, you made it the safest town in the East China Sea."

"You don't have any fancy ideas, you only have one belief—pirates should be caught, and the people should be protected."

"Your justice is not extreme, not lazy, not ambiguous, not undisciplined, not authoritarian, and not hypocritical."

"Your justice is your fist; within your reach, you will definitely take action."

While this might seem like an exaggeration of Smoker's talent, Bucky chose Smoker for two reasons.

①In the early stages, the only person I could come into contact with was Smoker, who was relatively weak. He had his own stance, but lacked sufficient strength.

② Smoker's identity is also somewhat related; he is Zephyr's student and Aokiji's friend.

This means that Smoker has the right to choose his own justice, but is unable to carry it out.

Bucky took a step forward, bent down and stretched out his hand, as if giving alms from above, or as if a friend were helping each other out.

"I look forward to... I look forward to you changing the future of the Navy."

"Let the navy no longer be the watchdog of the world government."

"Let the Navy become true justice."

Although he seemed to be speaking very righteously, Bucky didn't actually have good intentions.

If Smoker were to pursue some kind of true justice, it would only further tear apart the current Marine Headquarters.

Once the idea of ​​unity is put into practice, it will cause individual conflicts within the Navy Headquarters to turn into small-group conflicts between factions, directly escalating the internal contradictions within the Navy.

This is what Bucky is doing now—one of the two hardest things in the world: implanting your own thoughts into someone else's mind.

When there is no absolute difference in military strength, ideology is the most terrifying weapon.

And unity?

What constitutes unity?

Will you rally around me, or will I rally around you?

What may seem like a well-intentioned act of kindness can become the cause of the worst possible outcome.

this is the truth.

And if the Navy Headquarters, the world's most powerful violent organization, were to split up... hehehehe, ahahahaha!

Smoker stared at the outstretched hand, finding it hard to believe that a pirate would actually try to help him up.

Should I accept this outstretched hand?

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