In the center of Orange Town, as in other similar places, there was a small town center with a square.
This square probably served the same purpose as the square in Moonlight Village, and if there was a festival here, it would probably be filled with people, noisy conversations, and fun.
However, now everything was different. Instead of crowds of people, there were tents.
Usually, when a circus comes to town, its participants live in such tents, and the performance itself takes place inside one of them. However, this "circus" looked extremely unprofessional. Although the tents had similar shapes, they seemed small and miserable. Outside, there was a crowd of people in strange clothes, and although there were not so many of them, they were all guarding one large tent.
Inside the tent sat a clown. He sat with his legs spread wide, his elbows on his knees, and his fingers folded under his chin. His gaze was cold and intense, focused on something outside the tent.
What was he looking at there? From the outside, it seemed as if the sunlight and the quiet street aroused in him the same hatred as his worst enemy.
"Not back yet?" Buggy's irritated voice rang out.
Several of his subordinates standing outside immediately flinched. And one of them stuttered, "Bah... Buggy-san, they... will probably be back soon."
"Useless scum!" Buggy's face twisted in rage, which even his bright red nose couldn't hide. "He's just some bounty hunter! How can they take so long with him?!"
The pirates looked at each other, afraid to utter a word, but then one of them, plucking up courage, quietly muttered: "Perhaps the enemy was strong."
- What? - Buggy didn't even get up, but his hand suddenly appeared at the poor guy's throat. Then he grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air like a rag doll.
- Bah... Buggy-san! Forgive me! Forgive me! - The pirate was overcome with horror. His legs twitched helplessly, and his voice trembled.
"Strong? Some pirate hunter is strong? Can those cowardly rats who follow pirates around to collect scraps be strong?" Buggy's voice grew louder and more ominous, and his grip tightened.
- Forgive me! I was wrong! They... they can't compare to you, Buggy-san! They are all unworthy! - the pirate squeezed out.
Buggy suddenly let go of him, and he fell to the ground, gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"These pathetic creatures aren't even worthy of being mentioned next to me!" Buggy said coldly.
The silence was cut by the sound of someone's footsteps. They were clear and measured, as if someone was slowly walking down the street. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound and saw a young guy with an iron mace on his shoulder. He was walking straight towards the square, picking his ear with his finger.
"I've been waiting for you for ages. Since you didn't come yourself, I had to come for you," he said in a calm voice.
- Who the hell are you? - One of the pirates, clearly not understanding who he was dealing with, ran up to the guy and pointed his finger at him: - One more step forward, and you will find out what the power of the Buggy pirates is!
Bam! - The answer was the sound of an iron mace hitting his skull. The pirate fell to the ground before he even had time to realize what had happened.
"Five thousand..." Rogu said, glancing at the body lying on the ground. Then he looked at the large tent and smiled: "Won't you come out?"
From inside, Buggy's dark voice came out, full of menace and fury: "So Kabaji and Moji fell by your hand?"
Rogu picked at his ear, unperturbed. If he hadn't known how comical this clown really was, he might have been taken in by his sinister tone. But unfortunately for the clown, he knew it better than anyone.
Rogu swung his mace. If you looked closely, you could see blood stains on it. The numerous spikes that once adorned the mace were now worn smooth. This weapon had clearly been through many battles.
Buggy and his men watched as Rogu swung his mace as if preparing for a baseball game. But the next moment, he found himself in front of one of the pirates. His mace came down and the pirate fell unconscious.
- Damn it!!
— Attack!
- For Captain Buggy!!!
Rogu, hearing these cries, only shook his head, thinking: "It seems that pirates always have the same slogans, just like their pirate flags. As if they can't start a fight without it."
"Moon Arc: Third Form!" His cold voice echoed across the square. And a moment later, three dark arcs, reminiscent of lunar crescents, swept over the ground.
If this technique was performed using a blade, the arcs of light would cut all enemies in half, leaving only a bloody line behind. But instead of a blade, Rogu used a mace, and the effect was completely different.
The dark arcs engulfed the enemies, and the first blow of the mace hit one pirate right in the lower back. Of course, the mace could not cut through the body, as a blade would have done, but the force of the blow was enough to literally throw him back. And then... the mace, dragging the first pirate along with it, continued its movement. One... two... three...
Buggy left no more than a dozen people to guard the tent, but they all ended up in the area of effect of this technique. First, the mace's blows felled the pirates one after another, and then the bodies of the fallen began to collide with the others, turning into a kind of battering ram.
When the technique was completed, all the pirates were piled up like a mountain of bodies. Rogu shook his mace with ease, and the entire mass fell to the ground with a crash, unable to rise.
"This technique… it's still a little different with a mace," Rogu said thoughtfully, looking at his weapon and realizing that Arc of the Moon: Third Form had not been able to reach its true power.
However, the result was still satisfactory. All the small pirates were lying on the ground, and judging by their condition, none of them would rise anytime soon.
Rogu looked towards the tent again and said: "Still don't want to go out?"
The answer was a loud laugh, filled with madness.
- HAHAHAHAHA!!! HAHAHA!!! - Buggy gushed. - I didn't expect that in such a tiny place like East Blue there would appear such an... impudent boy who has no fear of death at all!!!
Rogu remained unperturbed, only glancing briefly at his hands. His hands were cuffed: on both sides of his wrists, alien hands appeared, holding him tightly, twisting them behind his back.
The next moment, Buggy's huge face with his famous red nose suddenly popped out of the tent. His expression was both mad and smug.
- You thought I wouldn't come out? Haha! In fact, I've been here for a long time! And now, the power of my Fruit will show you all the cruelty of this world! - His words were accompanied by hysterical laughter.
Buggy's head flew forward, and in his teeth he held a knife, aimed straight at Rog's throat. Buggy clearly intended to slit his throat in one motion.
The distance between them was closing, and his gaze was becoming more and more insane and coldly determined. But suddenly something blocked his view.
"What the...?" Buggy thought, then squinted to see what it was, and...
It was a huge foot! So close that he could even see the blood stains on the sole of the boot!