One Piece: Buggy's Uncharted Legend

Chapter 132: Win or Lose!

After Buggy finished speaking, a wry-faced Basil Hawkins shot a resentful glance at Buggy, then jumped from the "Thor" onto the venue and slowly walked towards the center.

"Captain, did you do something to offend Hawkins?" Paula asked, finding Hawkins's glare very strange.

"That fool is blaming the captain for destroying all the substitute items he needs for battle," Shiliew, who was very clear about Hawkins's ability, naturally understood the meaning behind his glare at Buggy.

"Pfft!" Looking at Hawkins's somewhat tragic back, Paula laughed heartlessly.

Ignoring the mocking expressions of his companions on the "Thor," Hawkins had already calmed his mood. He drew his sword and looked at the short man who was already walking towards him.

Having seen the wanted posters of the Whitebeard Pirates long ago, there was no way Hawkins wouldn't recognize the short man approaching—the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' 12th division, Haruta.

Hawkins had limited knowledge of the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates' commanders. On the way here with Buggy, he had asked Buggy about the strength of the division commanders. Unfortunately, all the intelligence Buggy had came from the anime. Although the entire Whitebeard Pirates crew had participated in the Summit War, there was very little screen time for many of them, so Buggy naturally wasn't very clear.

Therefore, for Hawkins's question, apart from knowing that these commanders had mastered Haki, Buggy only roughly knew who a few of the ability users were and what their abilities were. He couldn't say much about the ones who only used weapons.

In fact, the reason Buggy had chosen this method for the challenge this time was precisely because he wasn't very clear on the opponent's strength.

Strictly speaking, among the Red Nose Pirates, there were only a few people who gave Buggy confidence. Not to mention the four main combatants—whether it was Fujitora Issho, Dracule Mihawk, Boa Hancock, or Shiliew of the Rain—as long as they weren't facing Whitebeard himself, they had an absolute chance of victory. Buggy was very confident about this.

As for the others he had trained, Daz Bonez had gone through several years of experience, and Buggy had confidence in him. But for the others, even Paula who had already awakened her ability, Buggy was not very optimistic.

Their lack of deep proficiency in Haki was one aspect, but more so it was due to having too little actual combat experience.

The reason for creating such a venue, which sealed Hawkins's ability, although not intentional on Buggy's part, was still a good thing to let Hawkins experience combat without relying on his ability.

Of course, this was what Buggy thought. Hawkins certainly did not think so.

Facing a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Hawkins wished he could go all out. But with his ability unexpectedly sealed, he couldn't go all out even if he wanted to. No matter how you looked at it, this was not a rhythm for winning.

Letting out a long breath, Hawkins cast aside all extraneous thoughts and summoned the full concentration he usually used when fighting those freaks. Even if he lost, he couldn't lose too badly; otherwise, he would definitely be abused even more惨 (cǎn - miserably) when he got back.

En garde!

Raising his sword, which was as sharp as or even sharper than a Supreme Grade Sword, Hawkins approached Haruta with his unique rhythmic steps.

After a crisp clang, looking at the nearby Haruta, Hawkins swept away his gloomy, bitter-gourd face, and a slight smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

"What are you smiling at?" Haruta felt that this gloomy man before him was somehow displeasing to the eye.

"Nothing. I just feel that it's great to be fighting you," these were Hawkins's sincere words.

"Huh? What you're saying is so strange. I completely don't get what you're thinking." Haruta also really didn't understand what Hawkins was thinking.

"You wouldn't understand. That feeling... you can't understand it without experiencing it," after speaking, Hawkins put forth a sudden burst of strength and directly swung Haruta's sword away.

"I don't want to understand!" When you can't find common ground, half a sentence is too much. Haruta made up his mind not to speak anymore, but to finish off this man before him as quickly as possible.

However, after they really started fighting, Haruta discovered that this gloomy man, who was basically on the defensive, was not so easy to deal with.

Although it was their first time fighting, this guy opposite him didn't seem to have any trouble adapting to his attacks. While he didn't have much offensive capability, his defense was almost reaching a watertight level.

Is this guy a masochist? He's clearly a swordsman, yet his offense has no power at all. Does he just like defending that much? Does he just like being attacked by people that much?

At this moment, if Hawkins knew what Haruta was thinking, he'd probably slap him a few times.

Damn it, if you came to the Red Nose Pirates and trained against those big freaks for a while, you'd probably become a masochist too.

Of course, Hawkins didn't know this, so he didn't fly into a rage, but just dealt with Haruta's attacks one by one.

While defending against Haruta's attacks, Hawkins was also verifying what he had learned.

Soon, half an hour passed amidst the clanging sounds of collision.

Compared to the first two matches, the battle between Hawkins and Haruta was not lacking in intensity. But neither side had an overwhelming strength advantage. On the contrary, because their strengths were not far apart, the battle was particularly time-consuming.

Of course, compared to the battle between the Baboon and Namur, it was certainly not as bloody, but it was not the least bit less thrilling.

On the Moby Dick, Whitebeard, watching the battle that had dragged into a stalemate, said unhurriedly, "If any of you had gone up for this battle, it probably would have been over by now."

And on the "Thor," Buggy was also saying to the people beside him, "Fortunately, Haruta follows a high-speed, flexible route, and his attack power isn't too outrageous. If it were one of the others who rely on strength to use their swords, Hawkins wouldn't have it so easy."

"Indeed. If a power-type had gone up, without his substitutes, you, kid Hawkins, probably wouldn't have lasted long," nodding, Shiliew very much agreed with BugG's opinion.

"Then is there a possibility for Hawkins to win?" Paula, not understanding much about the way of the sword, asked Mihawk beside her.

"Without using his ability, losing is only a matter of time. After all, apart from his ability, although the gap in their strength is not large, it is very obvious," Mihawk did not think Hawkins could defeat Haruta.

"Losing is not necessarily a bad thing," Fujitora said with deep meaning.

"As long as he doesn't lose too badly," Law said with disdain.

"What's most important is that he gains something. It's not easy to create such an opportunity for you all. It's probably impossible to have a next time. Absorb as much combat experience as you can," looking in the direction of the Moby Dick, Buggy said faintly.

"I understand!" After hearing Buggy's words, Paula, Law, and Betty replied in unison.

Just as Buggy and the others were discussing, Haruta finally seized an opportunity he had created. After skillfully deflecting Hawkins's sword with the back of his own, he immediately followed up with a vicious slash at Hawkins's chest.

In an instant, fresh blood formed a beautiful, bloody flower petal.

"I surrender!"

(End of Chapter)

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