From Mafioso to Pirate
Chapter 10: Buggy the Clown
XXX
By the time Lambo and Zoro finally managed to find Luffy, they were greeted with a rather unexpected sight.
Luffy was tied up and in a metal cage, a cannon pointing straight at it. A lit cannon.
'Dammit, Luffy, how'd you even get yourself into this mess?' Lambo thought to himself incredulously as he and Zoro got ready to rush over to him. Before they could even get close to him, however, one of the people there, a girl, hurried over to the cannon and wrapped her hands around the flame, putting it out and burning her skin in the process.
The girl shrieked in pain but didn't remove her hands until the fire was completely out. Once that was over, she slumped a bit, not noticing a dozen pirates all rushing for her from behind, swords poised to cut her apart.
"Hey, look out!" Lambo called out to her, causing her to look at him in surprise before turning to see the pirates.
Seeing that there was no way she could get away from them in time, she squeezed her eyes shut and put her arms up in defense, preparing herself for the pain.
'Crap!' Lambo thought, running forward as the familiar green glow of his Dying Will Flames began to crackle around him.
But it seemed like he wouldn't have to do anything.
"Oi, oi," Zoro muttered, swords outstretched and blocking the pirates from reaching the girl behind him. "Ganging up on a girl isn't very nice."
Lambo sighed in relief before changing direction towards the cage, where Luffy was grinning like an idiot. "Zoro! Lambo! You made it!"
"Yeah, we made it," Lambo grumbled as he took a look at the lock. "Why are you in a cage, anyway?"
"That weird clown and his crew put me in here," Luffy supplied before pouting. "I'm hungry..."
"Luffy, now really isn't the time," Lambo said, letting go of the lock as Zoro made his way over to them. He then turned to the girl, who was looking at Zoro in shock. "Who's that girl?"
"Oh, that's Nami. She's our new navigator," Luffy replied cheerfully, earning a glare from the girl.
"Hey, I didn't agree to anything!"
'This doesn't surprise me at all,' Lambo thought to himself flatly.
"Hey, Luffy," Zoro said in an irritated tone. "First you get caught by a bird and now we find you in a cage? Is this your idea of fun or something?"
"H-Hey, wait, did they just call that guy 'Zoro'?" One of the pirates asked fearfully.
"As in Pirate Hunter Zoro?!"
"Why the hell is he with these thieves?!"
"Th-The crewmate you mentioned earlier was Pirate Hunter Zoro?!" Nami asked Luffy with wide eyes.
Luffy grinned. "Yeah! And this is Lambo, my other crewmate."
"Lambo?" The girl asked, looking Lambo up and down scrutinizingly. "I've never heard of you before."
"Well, I'm not exactly someone famous like Zoro."
"So, you're Pirate Hunter Zoro?"
Lambo, as well as Luffy and Nami, turned in the direction of the new voice. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the man. 'Those guys weren't kidding, he really is a clown.'
In front of them was a man with blue hair, make up covering his face, and a large, red and round fake(?) nose. He wore a short-sleeved shirt with white and red stripes, white gloves, baggy pants, striped socks, pointy shoes, a green scarf around his neck, and a fur lined orange coat hanging around his shoulders like a sort of cape. On his head was an orange pirate hat with a jolly roger on it: a skull with the same red nose as the man wearing it.
"What do you want?" Buggy continued, directing his question at Zoro. "Are you here for my bounty?"
"Not interested," Zoro said, causing the enemy pirate crew to look at him in surprise. "I'm not a pirate hunter anymore."
Buggy gave a wide smirk. "Well, I'm interested in you. Taking you out will earn me lots of fame."
Zoro turned around and sent him a glare. "You shouldn't try that unless you have a deathwish."
"So that's Buggy the Clown?" Lambo asked as he watched the two go back and forth, Buggy now sporting two daggers.
"That's right," Nami replied. "He's famous here on the East Blue."
"I have to admit, I didn't expect him to look like an actual clown..." Lambo muttered, ignoring the what-exactly-were-you-expecting look he got from the orange-haired girl. "He even has a fake nose and everything."
And just like that, everything stopped.
Lambo blinked and looked around in confusion and slight worry when every pirate turned to stare at him in utter disbelief.
"Wh-What did he just say?"
"D-Did he just call the captain's nose f-fake?"
"He's gonna get it now..."
"That poor bastard..."
"Captain Buggy's gonna kill him..."
'...I immediately regret speaking,' Lambo thought to himself miserably as he looked over at their captain.
There was nothing but absolute rage in Buggy's eyes as he glared murderously at Lambo. If looks could kill, he would be dead a thousand times over. By the looks of it, however, Buggy would much rather do that job himself.
"You..." Buggy snarled before glaring at him full-force and pointing at his large, red nose. "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS MY REAL NOSE!"
'Seriously?!' Lambo thought incredulously, but wisely kept his mouth shut this time around.
As Buggy tightened his grip on his daggers and started charging towards him, Lambo found himself suddenly very glad that Zoro was there standing between them.
"Your opponent is me," the swordsman remarked, swords unsheathed and ready for use.
Buggy smirked as he turned his attention to the man standing in the way of his target. "Fine, then! I'll just kill you first!"
And with that, the two pirates rushed at each other, aiming to kill.
It all happened faster than Lambo could blink. Buggy's head, arm, and leg had all been completely cut off from the rest of his body and his torso cut in half, all the parts falling limply to the floor.
Lambo couldn't help but shudder. Even though he had been part of a Mafia family for fifteen years, this was still something he was very uncomfortable with. Next to him, Nami closed her eyes and turned away from the sight while Luffy looked on expressionlessly.
Zoro took his third sword out of his mouth and turned to look at the body with a frown. "He didn't even try to dodge..."
"Wow, what a weakling," Luffy exclaimed, looking disappointed.
"Something doesn't feel right..." Lambo muttered, frowning. "He went down way too easily..."
"...Hey, what's with his crew?" Nami asked suddenly. "Their captain just got killed, but..."
Lambo and Luffy both turned to look at the clown's crew. Each one of them had malicious smirks on their faces, and most were laughing.
'What's with them? Are they happy that their captain is dead? Or...' His eyes widened in realization. 'Oh, shi-' "Zoro, watch out!"
"Wha-?" Zoro started before his eyes widened and he let out a grunt of pain, falling to his knees. "What the hell?!"
"Wh-What the?! Is that his hand?!" Nami shouted as she, Luffy, and Lambo all stared in shock.
Embedded into Zoro's side was a dagger being held by a severed hand. Buggy's severed hand to be exact. Behind Zoro, Buggy stood back up, his body whole and a smirk on his features.
"Zoro! Are you okay?!" Luffy shouted as he caught sight of the blood staining the swordsman's clothes.
"What the hell...is this?!" Zoro groaned out, watching with wide eyes as the hand shot back towards Buggy and reattached itself.
"This is the power of the Bara Bara Fruit," Buggy explained. "The Devil Fruit I ate! Cutting me is pointless!"
"I-I thought the Devil Fruits were just a myth," Nami stuttered, taking a step back fearfully.
'I guess Luffy hasn't shown her his own powers,' Lambo thought to himself while he watched Buggy warily.
Speaking of Luffy...
"Wow, that guy's a freak!" Luffy exclaimed in awe, gaining an incredulous look from Lambo.
"...Luffy, do you even realize the irony of that statement?"
The boy looked at him in confusion. "Whaddya mean?"
"...Never mind. More importantly..." Lambo turned back to look at Zoro and frowned worriedly. "We need to get you and Zoro out of here. He's injured and you're in a cage. We can't fight like this..."
"You honestly think I'll let you escape? Especially after you had the gall to insult my nose?!" Buggy shouted, directing a glare at Lambo, who winced. He smirked at this and looked at Zoro, who was clutching his wound. "I missed his vital organs, but that's still a serious injury. He can't protect you three anymore."
"Dammit..." Zoro grunted in pain. "I wasn't expecting this..."
Lambo gritted his teeth as he thought desperately for some kind of strategy, or at least an escape route. 'Crap! What the hell are we supposed to do?! Luffy's in a cage, Zoro's down, the girl can't fight, and I don't think I can fight him on my own! I have to come up with something else...' He trailed off when he caught sight of the cannon. "...Luffy," He whispered, getting the other boy's attention. "We could use that cannon, but we'll need to distract him..."
It took a moment for Luffy to realize what he was getting at. Once he did, he nodded and turned to glare at Buggy before taking a deep breath and shouting, "Attacking from behind is unfair! You stupid BIG-NOSE!"
Buggy's crew all turned to gape at him. "Wh-What's with these people?! Do they want to die?!"
'Dammit, Luffy, I said distract him, not make him want to kill you!' Lambo thought as he got to the cannon and tried to turn it around. 'Damn, it's heavy!'
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING BIG-NOSE?!" Buggy shouted in rage as he threw one of his hands along with a dagger at Luffy, hitting him straight in the face.
Lambo's eyes widened as Nami let out a gasp and Zoro shouted, "Luffy!"
The boy just lifted his head up and grinned, dagger clamped tightly between his teeth. "I'm gonna kick your ass, Buggy!" He stated before biting down on the dagger and breaking it to pieces.
At this, Buggy burst out laughing. "You're going to kick my ass? Really? I'd love to see you try! I'm gonna finish all four of you off right here and now!"
"This is it... We're doomed," Nami moaned in despair, running a hand through her hair.
"Kill us?" Luffy asked, laughing as well and causing Buggy to look at him in confusion. "I'd love to see you try!" He turned to look at the swordsman. "Zoro! Run!"
"Huh?" Zoro looked at him in disbelief.
"Hey, what's the matter with you?! He came all this way to help you, and you're telling him to run away?!" Nami shouted at him angrily.
Luffy ignored her and continued to look at Zoro before moving his head in Lambo's direction so slightly that no one would notice unless they were looking at him closely. Zoro's eyes followed where he was gesturing towards only to widen when he saw Lambo struggling to turn the cannon around and towards Buggy.
Noticing him looking, Lambo shot him a pleading look. 'Zoro, I know you're injured and all, but I could really use some help here!' He thought.
Luckily for him, Zoro was quick to realize what was going on. "...Understood, Captain," he said, smirking.
"That's it... I just don't understand anymore..." Nami groaned. "This is why I hate pirates..."
"You really think I'd let you escape?!" Buggy shouted, dagger in his hand as he lunged at Zoro.
The swordsman parried each blow before swinging his sword at his chest, completely cutting it in half. Whilst the clown was pulling himself back together, Zoro shot past him and towards Lambo.
"Swords are useless against me, you-" He stopped and blinked bewilderedly when he realized that Zoro had passed by him already. "What the?! Hey, don't ignore me!"
Zoro did continue to ignore him, however, as he and Lambo managed to push the cannon all the way around.
"Wh-What are you doing?! Are you insane?!" Buggy shouted in panic.
Lambo quickly used the flame-like properties of his Dying Will Flames to ignite the cannon.
The clown pirates were panicking at this point. "Wait! WaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitWAIT!"
BOOM!