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  --xLOVEx--

  Nami ughed dryly, a hollow sound that echoed her iurmoil. "There's no need for that," she tried tue, her gaze dartiween Buggy and Coby. "Hey, how about we return to drinking? Huh, let's fet about that loser," she suggested, desperately hoping to divert Buggy's attention.

  But Buggy's evil smile only widened. "Do it!" he anded, his voice cold and insistent.

  "Do it! Do it!" the crew ted in unison, their voices rising in a morbid chorus. "Bst him! Blow him to pieces!" they yelled, their faces twisted in a frenzy of excitement.

  Nami, her heart pounding in her chest, looked at Coby, her eyes searg for any sign of fear or desperation. But Coby simply sat there, his smile unwavering, his eyes meeting hers with an inexplicable calm.

  As the tension reached its peak, Coby spoke, his voice clear and steady. "Nami, it's okay," he said softly, his gaze never leaving hers. "Do what you must."

  Nami's hand trembled as she reached for the trigger of the Buggy Ball. Her mind raced with flig thoughts aions. Could she really kill Coby, even if it was to save her own life? What kind of person would that make her?

  As she hesitated, Buggy grew impatient. "What are you waiting for?" he barked, his voice ced with irritation. "Prove your loyalty, or you'll be !"

  Nami closed her eyes, a silent tear esg down her cheek. She took a deep breath, steeling her heart for what she was about to do.

  Coby, Nami's trembling hands, gave her a reassuring grin. "Your hands are shaking," he remarked, his tone light yet filled with uanding. "That's what you get foing up against pirates unprepared."

  Nami forced a smile, her voice tinged with a mix of sarcasm and bitterness. "Prepared? Do you mean being prepared to kill someone?"

  Coby shook his head, his thoughts drifting to a memory of Luffy in a simir situation. He recalled Luffy's words, shaped by his experiences with Shanks. Coby's own words, though influenced by watg Luffy's adventures, were no less heartfelt. "It means being prepared to risk your own life," he said solemnly.

  Around them, the shouts of the pirates grew louder and more insistent. "Bst him! Do it!" they yelled, their voices a cacophony of bloodlust and anticipation.

  A pirate, growing impatient with Nami's hesitation, snatched the match from her hand. "What's the matter, new girl? Don't you know how to fire a on? It's easy, just light the fuse and—" His words were abruptly cut off as he was uo light the fuse.

  Nami, with a swift and almost imperceptible movement, drew three pieces of a rod from under her skirt. In one fluid motion, she assembled them into a sturdy staff and khe pirate down with a well-pced strike.

  The crowd fell silent, stunned by Nami's sudden dispy of skill and ferocity. She stood over the fallen pirate, her staff held firmly in her hands, her stance defiant and unyielding.

  Buggy looked livid, his face t with rage. "Traitor!" he bellowed, pointing an acg fi Nami. "After I weled you to my crew!" His voice echoed across the chaotic se, his anger palpable.

  Coby, still bound aed within the cage, g the lit fuse of the on, a dry chuckle esg his lips. He really had risked his life with this setup, all in an attempt to impress Nami. "Hey, don't want to rush or anything, but the fuse is lit," he remarked casually, an amused glint in his eye.

  Nami's head sowards the on, her eyes widening in horror at the realization. In a swift, graceful leap, she moved towards the on. The pirates, rec from their initial shock, luowards her, their iions clear.

  But Nami was a force to be reed with. She dodged their clumsy attacks with ease, her agility and quick thinking keeping her oep ahead. With a final leap, she reached the on and smothered the fuse with her bare hands. The heat singed her skin, causio grima pain, but she didn't relent until the fme was extinguished.

  As she turo face the onsught of pirates once more, two new figures appeared seemingly out of nowhere, their presence a sudden and wele reinfort.

  "Haha, Luffy, Zoro. What took you so long?" Coby called out, his voice carrying a tone of mock irritation mixed with genuine relief.

  The two new arrivals wasted no time. Luffy, with his trademark grin and boundless energy, plunged into the fray, his rubber limbs stretg and snapping as he knocked pirates aside like bowling pins. Zoro, his swords drawn, moved with lethal precision, orike, one pirate down.

  The pirates, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Luffy and Zoro, faltered in their attacks. Their initial fidence waned as they faced the formidable duo.

  Nami, though still unaware of who these new allies were, couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and relief. She watched as Luffy's rubber body torted in impossible ways, his attacks both ical aating. Zoro, with his calm and focused demeanor, was a stark trast to Luffy's exuberant style, yet equally effective.

  "Zoro?" Nami thought, her eyes widening in reition. Is his captain Zoro the Pirate Hunter? No, he said it was Monkey D. Luffy. It must be that goofy boy, she cluded. Meanwhile, Buggy's gaze locked onto Zoro, a mix nition and disdain in his eyes. "Have you e for my head, Pirate Hunter Zoro?" he sneered.

  Zoro, his focus undisturbed by Buggy's taunts, responded coolly without even gng at the pirate. "I quit hunting pirates. I have no i in you." His indifferenly seemed to infuriate Buggy further.

  "But I am ied in you," Buggy retorted, his voice dripping with malice. "Taking your head will be a nice feather to my cap."

  Zoro's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint appearing in them. "Back off, before I pluck all your feathers," he warned, his tone as sharp as his swords.

  Buggy, driven by bloodlust, attacked without hesitation, his crew cheering him on. "You asked for it!" Zoro decred, a hint of annoyan his voice as he bit down on his third sword, preparing for bat.

  In a swift, fluid motion, Zoro uhed his swords, and with a single, precise strike, he cut Buggy into pieces. The pirate's body fell apart, his limbs and torso separatiill alive, thanks to his Bara Bara no Mi abilities.

  At that moment, Coby, who had been ily the fight, activated his Skill S. "This is it," he murmured to himself. He had been waiting for this opportunity to copy Buggy's unique Devil Fruit ability. The system interfa his mind flickered to life.

  [Skill S initiated on 'Bara Bara no Mi, Detag Hands'. Analysis in progress…] the system message rang in Coby's mind. His eyes focused on the scattered parts of Buggy, trying to uand the essence of his ability.

  [Estimated cost: 1200 SP,] the system tinued. Coby nodded internally, willing to pay the price for such a unique power. [Skill essence captured. 1200 SP deducted,] the system firmed.

  Zoro, believing he had won the fight, started to stride fidently towards the cage to free Coby. His steps halted abruptly wheiced Coby's hand, seemingly severed from the wrist. "What?" He gasped in shock, his eyes wide as he stared at the floating hand. It was an eerie sight, ohat defied all logic he knew as a swordsman.

  His shotensified wheurned back to see another floating arm, this one holding a bde, aimed menagly towards his torso. For Zoro, this was a horrifying sario. As a swordsman, a scar on his back was a mark of shame, a sign of defeat. The realization that he was moments away from such a fate sent a chill down his spine. "Bastard!" he muttered under his breath.

  Coby, watg Zoro's rea from the cage, couldn't help but smirk. The sho the swordsman's face was almost ical. Coby's newfound ability, courtesy of the Skill S he had performed on Buggy's Bara Bara no Mi, had given him the power to detad trol his hands. It was a strange, yet incredibly useful skill, and Coby was just beginning to uand its potential.

  Luffy, realizing the gravity of the situation, charged at Buggy with his signature gusto. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he shouted, ung his arm at the pirate. His rubber fist stretched across the distance, closing in on Buggy with a force that promised destru.

  Buggy, however, was not an easy oppo. His ability to split his body into multiple parts made him a tricky target. He ughed maniacally as he dodged Luffy's attack, his body parts floating around like a bizarre, disjointed puzzle.

  Meanwhile, Zoro faced his own challenges. Cabaji, Buggy's acrobat and swordsman, approached him with a flourish, his movements theatrical yet deadly. Zoro, still upset due to earlier trick, readied himself for the challenge. Cabaji was fast and agile, his attacks a blend of swordpy and acrobatics. But Zoro, with his three swords, was a formidable oppo. He parried Cabaji's strikes with ease, his own terattacks swift and precise.

  Simultaneously, Mohji, riding atop his fearsome lion Richie, joihe fray. The lion roared, its sound eg through the air, as it charged towards Zoro. The swordsman, his senses heightened, leaped out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding the lion's deadly cws.

  Zoro's fight was a dance of steel and danger, his swords g against Cabaji's and Richie's raw power. He moved with a grace that belied the ferocity of his attacks, each strike a testament to his skill aermination.

  Back at the cage, Nami approached Coby, her eyes sing the chaotic se. She was still unsure about Coby's panions, but she couldn't deny the sense of camaraderie was strong. She reached Coby's cage and began to work on the lock, her fingers movily to free him.

  As she worked, Coby watched her, a smile pying on his lips. "You're pretty good at this," he ented, his voice ced with admiration.

  Nami g him, a pyful glint in her eye. "It's not my first time breaking into a cage," she replied, her tone light yet fident.

  --

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