Buggy had already taken out more than half of the Black Cat Pirates. But his supply of throwing knives was limited — he was forced to keep up a rhythm: throw with his right hand, retrieve with his left, just to maintain a steady offense.

Initially, this group of Black Cat Pirates hadn't posed much threat to him. But suddenly, a strange sound behind him sent chills down his spine!

Whoosh, whoosh—

Spinning around, Buggy saw two dark figures — one large, one small — lunging straight at him in midair!

To stay safe, Buggy had kept himself hovering three meters above the deck, well out of range of swords or spears. Playing it safe was the key to survival — that was his motto.

But the Meowban Brothers leaped from the deck like beasts, soaring nearly three meters high! Their claws gleamed as they aimed straight for Buggy's vulnerable lower half.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Buggy cursed, a cold sweat on his back. He barely dodged in time.

Looking around, he saw one of the brothers climbing the mast while the other crept up near a barrel. Using the ship's terrain, they pounced again — one from the left, one from the right!

In a panic, Buggy flung all the knives in his fingers toward Buchi, then sharply veered midair to evade Sham's slash.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Despite his bulky build, Buchi skillfully batted away every knife with his claws!

Meanwhile, Sham leapt again the instant he hit the deck, refusing to let up. The brothers moved like blurs in the pouring rain, their claws flashing through the air like thunderbolts.

Thankfully, Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit powers made him highly resistant to cutting or slashing attacks.

If he could dodge, he would. If he couldn't, he'd simply split his body to avoid damage.

For a moment, the Meowban Brothers couldn't touch Buggy — but he couldn't harm them either. Meanwhile, their chaotic flurry of attacks continued to injure their own crewmates by mistake.

Jango pressed his hand against his hat, visibly tense.

His hypnosis effects usually lasted a long time — after all, he had hypnotized Captain Morgan during Kuro's fake death plan, and the spell hadn't worn off until Morgan's last breath.

But the Meowban Brothers' bodies wouldn't hold out under such prolonged, high-intensity exertion.

If things dragged on much longer, even if their minds remained berserk, their bodies would collapse from exhaustion.

Jango gritted his teeth.

He'd originally planned to conserve his strength and help the brothers take down that Fish-Man afterward. But the situation had clearly changed — time to shift tactics.

He pulled several metal rings from his coat. Their edges were razor-sharp, and he handled them with extreme care.

Jango's fighting style was similar to Buggy's — throwing weapons — but his rings were special. Once thrown, they would fly back like boomerangs!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Jango aimed and launched six rings straight at Buggy's head!

Buggy spotted them out of the corner of his eye, and his confidence began to waver. First, he dodged the rings. Then he dodged Buche's claws.

But the pressure was mounting. Surrounded on all sides, Buggy began to falter.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The rings whirled back toward him like guided missiles!

This time, Buggy didn't even try to dodge — he let the rings slice right through his head, splitting it into several pieces.

Thud, thud, thud—

The six rings embedded themselves into the ship's railings.

Jango retrieved them… but saw no blood.

Buggy's head had already reassembled.

"As expected… not that easy to take down," Jango muttered, adjusting his heart-shaped sunglasses. "Is this ability invincible? Not even Captain Kuro could deal with someone like this. Why would a monster like him stay in the East Blue?"

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

Jango scanned the battlefield carefully, then began moving without a word.

From his spot, Davy Jones noticed Jango's sneaky maneuvering. He reached for the pistol at his waist — but then paused, noticed something else, and let his hand fall back.

He decided to let them handle this on their own.

The battle between Buggy and the Meowban Brothers continued.

Say what you want about Buggy's cowardice — he had perfected the use of his Chop-Chop abilities.

But he was also highly emotional.

After dodging another swipe from Sham, Buggy began to feel cocky. He realized the brothers couldn't really hurt him, and started toying with them.

That arrogance didn't last long.

Suddenly, Jango leapt forward and grabbed Buggy's legs, hidden away in a corner of the ship.

Buggy sensed something was off and turned his head — just in time to see Jango clinging to his feet!

Jango had figured it out.

He hadn't seen Buggy's legs once during the entire fight — meaning they were likely a vulnerable point in his power.

Sure enough, in the shadows, he'd found Buggy's legs walking in place on their own.

"I knew it! Your feet can't leave the ground!" Jango shouted triumphantly, gripping them tightly. "Gotcha now!"

Buggy's face twisted in panic. He tried to fly back and protect his legs — but the Meowban Brothers kept him occupied, slashing his body into pieces midair.

One of Buggy's hands broke free and flew toward Zyango — but there were still a few meters of distance left.

"Too late!" Jango roared. He raised a metal ring and prepared to slice Buggy's legs off.

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

A chill ran down his spine. Before he could react, something heavy smashed into the back of his head.

THWACK!

Jango's skull exploded on impact. His body crumpled to the deck, lifeless. His heart-shaped glasses shattered on the floor beside him.

"Captain!!" the remaining Black Cat Pirates cried out in horror.

The one who had dealt the blow — a woman — stood calmly over his corpse, gripping a giant iron club that looked comically oversized for her slender frame. She bowed gracefully toward Davy Jones, full of confidence.

Buggy's body parts flew back to his legs and reassembled beside her. He blinked at the woman, shocked and confused.

"Who… are you?" he asked, unsure.

The woman gave him a strange look. "Buggy, seriously? Now's the time for jokes? It's me — Alvida."

Alvida?!

Buggy gawked, scanning her from head to toe again.

No… no way.

That Alvida was overweight, crude, covered in acne, and had a voice so deep it could pass for a man's.

But this woman had long, flowing black curls, flawless pale skin, a curvy figure, and legs for days. Her voice was sweet and sultry — she could easily compete for the title of "East Blue's Most Beautiful Woman."

There was no way they were the same person!

"Captain," Alvida ignored Buggy's existential crisis and addressed Davy Jones with a smile. "I've begun to grasp the powers of the Slip-Slip Fruit."

Davy Jones didn't question her claim. "Looks like the Devil Fruit has completely reshaped your body."

He had noticed Jango trying to sneak attack Buggy's legs and was about to fire his pistol in response — but when he saw Alvida approaching, he let her handle it.

After all, every inch of the Terror Ghost was under his control. He knew there were no strangers on board, so this woman had to be Alvida.

He had left it in her hands intentionally.

Buggy finally realized that Alvida's drastic transformation was due to the Slip-Slip Fruit.

But… the change was just too extreme! She looked like a completely different person!

A sour thought crossed Buggy's mind.

Why couldn't the Chop-Chop Fruit fix his appearance? Maybe get rid of that huge red clown nose?

Alvida, however, was confused by Davy Jones's comment. "Captain, I haven't changed at all, have I?"

She looked down at herself curiously.

From her own perspective, she was the same as always — the most beautiful woman on the sea.

Buggy stood frozen beside her, mouth half open, struggling to say something… but ultimately stayed silent.

"Heh." Davy Jones chuckled but didn't explain further. "Let's see how your combat ability has improved."

"Yes, sir!" Alvida replied with uncontainable excitement.

At that moment, the berserk Meowban Brothers — now completely feral — lunged at them, totally ignoring Zango's corpse.

"Buggy!" Alvida shouted. "Let's take one each!"

Buggy snapped out of it. Realizing he had backup now, his morale surged.

He separated from his legs again and soared into the air, hurling knives toward Sham.

Meanwhile, Alvida kicked off her shoes and placed her bare feet on the deck. With a light push, she began sliding effortlessly across the ship like an ice skater — the power of the Slip-Slip Fruit!

"Take this, fat cat!" she cried, swinging her massive iron club with both hands. Using the momentum from her slide, she brought it crashing down onto Buche's stomach!

The Meowban Brothers, having fought in berserk mode for nearly ten minutes, were completely exhausted. Their bodies could no longer keep up with their instincts.

A knife pierced Sham's throat.

A club shattered Buchi's chest.

In a flash, the Meowban Brothers lay defeated — crushed by the combined assault of Buggy and Alvida!

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