From Mafioso to Pirate

by azure37410

At the age of fifteen, Lambo is looked down upon by everyone in his so-called family. When he's just about to give up on ever proving himself to them, he finds himself being stalked by some kid wearing a straw hat shouting, "Join my crew!"

12. Chapter 12

From Mafioso to Pirate

Chapter 12: Pirates' Battle

XXX

"I'm here to kick your ass, just like I promised!" Luffy shouted at the clown, smirking as he let go of his hand, which floated back to its owner and snapped into place.

"It's you four again!" Buggy snarled down at them. "So you actually had the guts to come back and face the mighty Captain Buggy, huh?!"

"Yare, yare. He has no problems with modesty," Lambo sighed before turning to look at Nami. "You should probably get back."

Nami humphed and glared at him. "I'm just here for the map and treasure, so don't try to get me involved in your fight, got it?"

"Right, right..."

"What... What are you kids doing here?!" The mayor shouted, coughing. "This is my town, and I'm going to protect it! So don't get in my way!" He grabbed the weapon he had dropped, a homemade wooden spear, and charged forward once again.

And then Luffy grabbed him by the head and slammed him face-first against the nearby wall.

Every single eye stared in disbelief as Luffy dusted his hands off, letting the old man fall onto the ground, unconscious.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nami shrieked at him. "Why would you do that?!"

"'Cause he was in the way," Luffy said flatly, smiling.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Hey, that's good thinking," Zoro spoke up, causing her to look at him in disbelief.

"That old man would have gotten himself killed. This is for the best," Lambo stated before looking at the unconscious man and wincing. "...Though this might have been pushing it a bit. I don't think limbs should bend that way..."

"There is something wrong with all of you," the girl grumbled.

"Alright! Here I go!" Luffy interrupted as he turned his attention back to the clown and took a deep breath.

Lambo's eyes widened slightly. 'Luffy, are you gonna do what I think you're gonna do?'

"HEEEEYYY! STUPID BIG NOOOOSE!"

He couldn't resist facepalming. 'He is. He really is. Fine, let's just get this over with...'

Next to him, Zoro stood a bit straighter, his hand tightening around his sword, while Nami just shouted "WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?! YOU IDIOT!"

"...You're really pissing me off, kid," Buggy growled, gritting his teeth. "No one has insulted my nose and lived to tell about it! That includes you, Cow-Boy! Don't think I've forgotten!" He added, pointing his finger at Lambo, who blinked.

"You're still upset about that?" He asked in disbelief. "That was literally hours ago!"

"I'm the kind of guy who keeps grudges! FIRE THE BUGGY BALL!"

"Damn it, this is all your fault, you dumbass!" Nami shouted at Luffy before turning on her heel and running away.

"Maybe we should follow her example?" Lambo asked nervously, taking a few steps back.

"Oi, Luffy, let's go!" Zoro shouted as well.

To their surprise, their captain just smirked. "Don't worry! That won't work on me!"

"What are you talking about-" Lambo started, trying to talk some sense into the boy, but he quickly shut his mouth, completely baffled by what happened next.

"Gomu Gomu no..." Luffy took a deep, deep breath, causing his body to start to expand at a rapid pace. "Balloon!"

Nami, along with every pirate within viewing distance, had their jaws drop as they watched the cannon ball sink into the boy's now massive stomach before being flung back with a force.

"What the?! He bounced it back!"

"You could give us a warning," Zoro grumbled while Lambo just stared at the scene with a sort of reluctant awe.

"I know he's made of rubber and all, but is that even biologically possible?" He mumbled. "Did his lungs expand into his stomach or something...?"

The Buggy Ball crashed into the building the pirates had been standing on, quickly being followed by the familiar sound of an explosion as the entire area was filled with smoke and debris.

"I really should just stop questioning these things," Lambo muttered before turning his gaze towards Nami, who had crouched down onto the ground in the wake of the loud explosion. "You okay over there?"

"Y-Yeah," she said in a dazed way before looking at Luffy and then back to Lambo. "What... What the hell is that guy?!"

Lambo looked in Luffy's direction and answered. "He's a rubberman...apparently."

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

"It means he's made of rubber," Zoro stated as he observed the damage. "Nice job, Captain."

"Hold on!" Nami exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "What the hell do you mean he's made of rubber?! Something like that isn't even possible!"

"I ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit," Luffy explained, grinning a carefree grin.

"You ate a Devil Fruit, too?!"

Lambo caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye as Nami continued to scream at Luffy. Turning in its direction, his eyes narrowed. "Crap... Hey, you guys, this isn't over yet!"

The three stopped and turned their attention back to the rubble, startled to see Buggy standing up, unharmed. His severed hands, however, were holding two unconscious (or at least Lambo hoped they were only unconscious) pirates in front of him as human shields.

"He used his crew as a shield, huh?" Nami said, sounding disgusted. "Just what I've come to expect from a filty pirate..."

"Ugh... What the? What happened?"

"Another one?" Lambo asked as he turned towards the voice.

"Oh, hey! It's that lion guy!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing at him.

"You mean the beast tamer?"

"Yeah, him."

Hearing them, the man, Beast Tamer Mohji, looked in their direction only for his eyes to widen as he pointed a trembling finger at Luffy. "It's you!"

Lambo took a closer look at the man, his eyes lingering on his hair, which had two bear-like ears pointed out of his head. "What's with his costume?"

"He says that that was his real hair," Luffy pointed out helpfully as his crewmate just looked at him in disbelief.

"...What is wrong with this pirate crew?"

"Captain Buggy! Be careful!" Mohji continued, rushing over to his captain. "This is the guy who beat me! He ate one of the Devil Fruits, too! He's a rubberman!"

"So that's how he was able to do that..." Buggy muttered, glaring at the boy.

"Captain," a new voice called, prompting Buggy to turn his head back slightly. Seeing who it was, he smirked.

"Ah, Cabaji," he said. "You finally made it."

"Great, another weirdo," Lambo mumbled as he looked at this new pirate.

He was a fairly slender man with long black hair that covered half of his face, while the other half had a shaved design. He wore a long white and blue checkered scarf that almost reached down to his ankles, an open blue sleeveless jacket, and a pair of long white pants along with matching white shoes. What stuck out the most, though, was the fact that he was holding up a giant white lion, which was now covered in injuries and smoking slightly, as a shield, much like Buggy had done. Also the fact that he was balancing himself on a freaking unicycle.

"Cabaji, you bastard!" Mohji shouted in rage. "What did you do to Ritchie?!"

The other man, Cabaji, shrugged and let go of the lion, letting it flop onto the ground. "I didn't want to get my clothes dirty, so I used it as a shield."

"R-Ritchie!" Mohji shouted in horror before rushing to the lion's side. "Ritchie! Are you okay?! Pull yourself together!"

The lion just lied there for a few moments before weakly opening its eyes, which quickly locked on to Cabaji. At that moment, it seemed that all the strength returned to the lion's body, as it shot up off the ground and scurried to hide behind one of the ruined buildings, peeking out slightly and shivering in fear.

"And to think, I was actually a bit scared of that thing..." Lambo muttered as he watched the animal with half-lidded eyes.

"R-Ritchie... Cabaji, you bastard!" Mohji shouted in anger, lunging towards the other man, fist clentched in anticipation for a punch. Cabaji, however, effortlessly dodged it and sent a kick to the man's side, sending him into the air as if he were nothing more than a ball.

Lambo's eyes widened when he realized that it was heading straight towards him and Luffy. Before he even had time to process what was happening, he had already out of reflex sent a beam of Lightning Flames towards the man, sending him flying into the wall, twitching slightly as electricity crackled around him.

"Wh-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Nami shouted, looking at him as if he was the strangest person here now. "What the hell did you just do?! Did you eat one of those weird fruits, too?!"

"You might have gone a little overboard," Zoro stated, sweatdropping as he watched Mohji continue to spasm and emit the emerald flames.

Lambo sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Sorry, I sort of panicked there for a second." 'I'm really not used to real combat yet...'

"You beat him, though, so who cares?" Luffy responded with a grin. "Besides, that lightningy thing you do is still awesome!"

"Stop ignoring me and tell me what he did!" Nami shouted angrily.

"Captain," Cabaji started as the four crewmates continued on.

"What is it, Cabaji?"

"Please allow me to handle this."

Buggy smirked. "Alright, show them your acrobatics!"

Lambo tore himself away from the shouting of their (apparently) navigator and looked back at them. "Acrobatics?"

Before he could even think anything else, Cabaji was steering towards them, sword drawn.

"Heads up, Luffy," Lambo warned once he realized that the man was aiming towards the both of them. Then, suddenly, Zoro was in front of them once again, blocking the sword with one of his own. "Zoro?!"

"Since you're a swordsman, I'll be your opponent," Zoro stated, not once breaking eye contact with his opponent.

"What?! But you're still..." He trailed off, his eyes going towards the wound on the green-haired man's side.

"That seems fair, Roronoa Zoro," Cabaji stated, smirking. "It's an honor to fight you as a swordsman..."

"Hey, Zoro, you should be resting," Luffy said, frowning in concern. "We can take care of him."

Lambo hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah, I don't think you're in any shape to fight right now."

Zoro glanced back at them. "You two stay out of this. This is my fight."

As he said this, Cabaji's gaze landed on his wound, his smirk growing wider. "Acrobat Technique: Old Man's Flame!"

Bringing his hand to his mouth, he started to blow, scorching orange flames flowing out of his mouth as opposed to mere air.

"What the?!" Zoro shouted as he put his arm up to his face, wincing as the heat burned his skin. Being blinded by the flames, he didn't see Cabaji's foot coming towards him before it was too late, and he let out a shout of pain as it landed on his wound, causing it to open back up and flecks of blood to spill. Still yelling in pain, he fell onto the ground, grimacing as the bleeding continued.

"What's the matter? I didn't kick you that hard," Cabaji said, smirking down at him.

"He's fighting dirty," Nami said, looking concerned at the blood stain on Zoro's bandages, which was steadily getting larger and redder.

"'It's an honor to fight you as a swordsman' my ass," Lambo scowled before turning to Luffy. "Luffy, I think we should step in."

"No."

Lambo blinked and looked at the other boy in disbelief. "What?! Why?!"

"This is Zoro's fight. He doesn't want us to help him."

"But...!"

Luffy turned to him with a small, reassuring smile. "You gotta have more faith in your nakama, Lambo. We'll jump in only if we really need to."

Lambo blinked and stared at him in surprise for a moment before slowly nodding. "Right. You're the captain, after all."

"Acrobat Technique: Murder at the Steam Bath!" Cabaji shouted, starting to spin his blade like a windmill, causing sand and dirt to fly off the ground and into the air, creating a cloud of dust.

"What's up with this guy's weird attack names?" Lambo asked, shielding his eyes as some of the dust came in their direction.

"'Acrobat Technique?' It's just an ordinary dust cloud," Zoro said as he struggled to get back up of the ground. His eyes widened when the form of a sword shot through the dust and quickly blocked it with his own, but as a result was unable to see the foot coming right towards his wound once again. "AAARGH!"

"That asshole did it again!" Nami snarled as Lambo looked at Luffy.

"Luffy..."

The other boy shook his head, although Lambo could clearly see a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Cabaji mocked. "A grown man crying in pain is just disgraceful. Now do you see how foolish it was to make enemies out of Captain Buggy and his crew?"

"Hey, you two!" Nami shouted at Luffy and Lambo, finally having enough. "Enough already! Go help him!"

"Luffy, this is starting to look really bad," Lambo added in agreement. "He's not fighting fairly. We should stop this."

Luffy just continued to watch the fight, expressionless. "...Zoro isn't going to lose to someone like him."

"Are you stupid or something?!" Nami yelled.

"...Yare, yare. You really believe in him, huh?" Lambo muttered before looking back at the fight, still looking really concerned, but... "I guess I'll try to believe in him, too, then."

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" The orange-haired girl continued.

"And with this, Roronoa Zoro is defeated!" Cabaji shouted, snapping their attention back to him. He was riding towards Zoro once again, sword aiming for his chest. "It's over!"

"You..." Zoro mumbled, getting up off the floor, his eyes unseen under his bandanna. Then, as soon as Cabaji was within reaching distance, his hand rushed forward, catching the man's chin with the hilt of his sword and sending him sprawling towards the ground. "You're really annoying. Is poking my wound that much fun for you?"

"What the- He got up!" Nami said in awe.

"Can nothing keep this guy down?" Lambo asked with wide eyes.

"Told ya!" Luffy said, grinning. "Kick his ass, Zoro!"

"Y-You... How can you get up after that?!" Cabaji asked, forcing himself up.

"If you like going after my wound that much, then here, I'll give myself a handicap for you."

"Wha?"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror as Zoro brought his sword to his wound and cut into it. From the blood that began gushing out, they could tell it was deep.

"What the hell?!" Nami gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

Lambo was just in utter disbelief. "What the hell, Zoro?!"

Zoro, however, completely ignored them. "Now," he said, smirking at Cabaji. "Let me show you the real difference between you and me."

"Alright! So cool!" Luffy cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

Cabaji smirked, although nervous sweat ran down his face. "So this is the famous Roronoa Zoro, huh? Do you really think you can mock me in your condition?"

"My aim is to become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro stated. "That means that I can't lose even once to anyone who fights me with a sword, understand?"

"I see... That strong resolve of yours must be what keeps you going. Don't worry, though. A wound like that is a good enough excuse for when you lose to me."

Zoro scoffed. "Screw that. If I lose because of a flesh wound like this, I don't have much of a future ahead of me."

Cabaji's smirk disappeared and his eyes narrowed in anger. "Why you..."

"Did he seriously just call that a flesh wound?" Lambo asked, looking at the still-bleeding cut. "If he were anyone other than Zoro, he'd be passed out on the ground at this point."

"See? I told you that you should have faith in your nakama!" Luffy said, grinning widely. "Do it, Zoro!"

"Faith in your nakama, huh?" Lambo mumbled, frowning. "It's gonna be hard to live up to that..."

"Hm? You say something?"

"No, nothing..."

"...I can't go along with this." Both of them stopped and turned to Nami, who looked a bit calmer than before and was frowning and crossing her arms. "You pirates can get yourselves killed for all I care. It doesn't matter to me whether you win or lose."

"Where are you going?" Lambo asked as she turned and started walking away. "It's dangerous by yourself."

Nami turned back and smirked. "I'm gonna use this chance to swipe their treasure and get the hell out of here. If we happen to meet up someday, let's team up again. So, see ya! And good luck with your fight!"

"Yeah, see ya!" Luffy answered back with a wave as she turned and ran out of their sight.

"Wait, so does she like us or not?" Lambo asked in a deadpan tone. "I just don't understand her..." He turned back towards the fight and blinked when he saw that Cabaji was now holding some spinning tops in one hand.

"Acrobat Technique: Dance of 1000 Kamikaze Tops!" He shouted, throwing top after spinning top at his opponent.

Zoro's swords easily cut through the thousand spinning tops, but it soon became clear that they were only meant as a distraction.

"Acrobat Techinque: A Hike in the Mountains!" Cabaji shouted before riding his unicycle vertically up the wall and launching himself up into the air right above Zoro. "Acrobat Technique: Fireworks in the Cool Summer Breeze!"

"How did he even do that?!" Lambo asked in shock.

"Whoa! He's way high up!" Luffy shouted beside him.

"Sting of the Unicycle!" The acrobat pointed his sword downwards as he fell right towards Zoro.

In the background, Buggy smirked and extended his hand out. "Ground Hugging Bara Bara Cannon!" His hand shot away from the rest of his body and headed straight towards Zoro. "Cabaji! I'll hold him down and you finish him off!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Damn you two!" Zoro snarled.

And then the hand was sent spasming to the ground by a burst of emerald flames. At the same moment, Zoro dove to the side, avoiding Cabaji's blade.

"Ow, what the hell?!" Buggy shouted, clutching his arm in pain.

"Nice shot, Lambo!" Luffy praised, walking over to the hand. Seeing it trying to get up again, he slammed his foot down on it.

"Thanks," Zoro said, glancing at Lambo.

Lambo ran a hand through his hair, slightly embarrassed. "Well, we weren't just going to let him interrupt your fight."

"Damn you both..." Buggy snarled.

Cabaji glared at Zoro. "I can defeat you easily enough even without my captain's help."

"Enough already..." Zoro panted out. "I'm tired..."

Cabaji laughed mockingly at him. "Finally give up, huh? Though, I must say, I'm impressed you managed to fight me with such injuries."

"I don't think you get it," Zoro continued, pushing himself up off the ground. "What I'm tired of is..." He looked up, glaring directly into his opponent's eyes. "Your crappy excuse for acrobatics."

Cabaji's eyes widened slightly as his smirk became forced. "Fine then... I'll fight you with my real sword skills!" He shouted before charging forward, not even bothering to call out the name of whatever attack he was doing in his need to kill Zoro.

Zoro stood up straight, crossing his arms so that both swords were on either side of him. "Oni...Giri!"

The two swordsman passed through each other. There was a moment of silence before blood suddenly gushed out of Cabaji's chest and the man fell forward. He didn't get back up.

Buggy's eyes widened in disbelief. "Cabaji!"

"The Buggy pirates..." The downed man groaned out. "Beaten by mere thieves..."

"We're not thieves," Zoro said before he finally fell to the ground, exhausted. "We're pirates!"

"So he is human after all," Lambo said, though there was a smile on his face. "You okay, Zoro?"

"Yeah... I'm going to sleep... You two can handle the rest..."

"Leave it to us!" Luffy grinned, turning towards Buggy.

"So, the captain's the only one left now?" Lambo said, walking to stand beside Luffy.

"Yeah, let's do it, Lambo!"

"R-Right..." Lambo nodded, trying to hide his hesitation as he turned to face their opponent.

"You guys are pirates?!" Buggy asked, sounding surprised as he walked over to stand across from them.

"That's right! We're going to the Grand Line!" Luffy answered back at him.

"The Grand Line? That's not something a nameless group of rookie pirates like you can handle, dumbass! What are you planning to do in the Grand Line anyway? Got sightseeing? Hahahahaha!"

"Become King of the Pirates."

"Haha- WHAT?!" Buggy shouted, his expression turning from mocking to shocked, and then finally to angry. "Get real, you flashy idiot!"

Lambo blinked. "Flashy?"

"If you're the Pirate King, then I'm God!" Buggy continued, apparently too angry to spare him a glance. "I'm going to become King of the Pirates and obtain all this world's treasure!"

"You're annoying. Let's just do this already!" Luffy said impatiently.

"So, we're starting..." Lambo mumbled, eyeing Buggy nervously. This was going to be his first real fight. The three not-bandits didn't count, as they were civilians and couldn't last two seconds with someone who could use Dying Will Flames. And Morgan didn't count either since he was already almost down thanks to Luffy before he and Zoro finished him off. At this point, it wouldn't have even mattered if the Vongola had trained him. No matter how well-trained someone was, they could and would still panic when faced with real combat. But still, he couldn't afford to lose and show that Luffy's faith in him as nakama was misplaced.

Buggy glared them down, taking out his daggers, four in each hand. "You..." He snarled at Luffy. "Seeing that straw hat of yours reminds me of him. That damn flashy red-head!"

Luffy's eyes widened. "Red-head?"

Lambo blinked in confusion and once again asked, "Flashy?"

"Hey, are you talking about Shanks?!" Luffy instantly demanded.

Lambo turned to look at him in surprise. "Luffy? Who's Shanks?"

Buggy also looked confused. "Huh? Yeah, why?"

"Do you know where he is?!"

Seeing how serious Luffy was about this, Buggy smirked. "Maybe I know where he is, maybe I don't."

Luffy's serious expression turned into an utterly confused one. "What? Are you stupid or something?"

"...Pfft." Lambo immediately clasped a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter, but that didn't stop Buggy from hearing it.

"You're the stupid one here! And you, STOP LAUGHING!" He shouted at them angrily. "What I mean is that I'm not nice enough to just tell you what you want to know!"

"Then we'll just make you tell us!" Luffy declared, grinning.

"So, we're actually starting then?" Lambo mumbled, becoming serious once again. "Luffy, to be honest, I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. I mean, I've never..." He trailed off.

"You said you wanted to get stronger, right?" Luffy asked, prompting him to look back at him. "You can't get stronger if you don't fight." The straw-hat wearing boy grinned. "Don't worry! We're nakama, so I'll protect you!"

Lambo stared at him in surprise before nodding ."R-Right..."

"Bara Bara Rice Cracker!"

Turning back to Buggy, their eyes widened when they saw that his legs had separated from his body and were coming towards them, spinning around like a windmill. Upon closer inspection, there were daggers sticking out of the soles of each shoe, ready to cut them up.

Lambo dived to the side while Luffy jumped up into the air, each narrowly avoiding it.

"You can't dodge in midair!" Buggy shouted, throwing daggers in the air towards Luffy, only for his eyes to widen when said daggers were shot out of the air by green shots of electricity. Turning towards the source, he narrowed his eyes at Lambo. "Don't think I've forgotten about you!" He shouted, throwing some more daggers his way.

Lambo's eyes widened once he caught sight of them, realizing he wouldn't be able to react fast enough. 'Shit! I can't dodge!'

"Lambo!"

"Huh? Whoa!" He yelped when a hand clasped his arm and he was suddenly yanked out of the way. Landing on the floor, he looked up just in time to see Luffy's arm snapping back into place.

"You okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Luffy."

"Those are interesting abilities you two have," Buggy said, looing at them interestedly.

"You too!" Luffy said, grinning.

"Luffy, you're not suppose to compliment your enemy," Lambo mumbled as he stood up, wobbling slightly as he felt the adreneline rush.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy shouted, throwing a punch towards Buggy, his arm extending out towards him with the force of a pistol.

Buggy sidestepped the arm, which then grabbed onto the branch of a tree behind him. "You left yourself wide open!" He smirked, bringing his handful of daggers down towards the boy's outstretched arm.

Luffy quickly let his feet off the ground, catapulting himself towards Buggy as his arm started to revert back to it's normal length. "Gomu Gomu no..."

"Bara Bara Quick Escape!"

"Sickle!"

Luffy extended his free arm outwards as he approached Buggy, intent on slamming it into his neck. At the last second, Buggy's head separated from the rest of his body, causing Luffy to miss him completely and continue catapulting past him, crashing into one of the buildings as a result.

Buggy smirked as his head returned to his body. "Hahahahaha! Not good enough, rubberman!"

"Elettrico Cornata!"

"What the?" Buggy quickly turned towards the voice and his eyes widened when he saw Lambo charging towards him, emerald green electricity crackling around the two horns on either side of his head. "Ugh!" He jumped out of the way, but hadn't reacted quickly enough as the electric fire caught his right leg, enveloping it as Buggy let out a shout of pain and landed on the ground.

The lightning around Lambo crackled out of existance as he stopped near Luffy, who had gotten up out of the wreckage of the house he had crashed into. "You okay, Luffy?"

"Yeah! That thing you did was awesome!" The pirate exclaimed ecstatically. He then pointed at the horns on his head. "What are those?"

Lambo self-consciously reached a hand up to one of them. "This is my Thunder Set. It works great as a weapon because I can channel my Lightning Flames into it. I can also make them conduct real electricity in thunderstorms, too."

Luffy flashed a grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but it was really cool!"

Lambo just stared at him for a few seconds and sighed. "...Don't even know why I bother. Let's just get back to the fight."

"You..." Buggy grunted as he forced himself up, causing the two to stop and look at him. "So that wasn't some flashy parlor trick after all... Just what kind of Devil Fruit did you eat, anyway?!"

Lambo frowned at him. "I didn't eat any Devil Fruit."

"Bullshit! You're telling me you can just do something like that naturally?! Are you some kind of monster or something?!"

"That's a bit uncalled for, especially coming from someone who can behead themselves," Lambo said flatly.

"Shut it, you stupid brat! This is for my nose! Bara Bara Cannon!" Buggy brought both his arms forward and shot them towards them, each one again holding four daggers.

Lambo dived to the left to avoid one while Luffy grabbed the other, stopping it inches from his face. Seeing this, Buggy smirked.

"Separate!"

The hand separated from the arm Luffy was holding back, and he barely had time to move his head to the side as it shot past him, daggers leaving three long, bleeding scratches on his face and causing him to lose his balance and fall.

"Hah! How do you like that, you punk?!" Buggy gloated as his arms and hands came back to him and snapped back into place.

"Damn it, that was a close one..." Lambo mumbled as he stood back up. Turning towards Luffy, his eyes widened when he saw the blood pouring down the side of his face. "L-Luffy, are you alright?!" He asked instantly, but stopped when he realized the other boy wasn't listening to him. He was just sitting there, looking down at his hat. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there was a small cut on the side of it. "Luffy...?"

Luffy just continued to stare down at the cut on his hat. Then, suddenly, his face contorted into one of rage, a kind that Lambo would never expect him to even be capable of, as he turned to Buggy, nothing but absolute anger in his eyes. "YOU BASTARD!"

Buggy just smirked mockingly, undeterred. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I not supposed to scratch your face or something?"

"You... How dare you cut my hat?!"

Buggy arched an eyebrow. "Huh? It's just some stupid hat."

"This hat is my treasure!"

Lambo's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered. 'Ah, that's right...' He looked back at the hat. 'He said that he made a promise to the person that gave him that hat that he would become Pirate King... So Shanks must be...'

"Anyone who damages my hat will pay!" Luffy continued shouting at the clown pirate.

"...Well, it seems that that hat has some history to it," Buggy admitted. "Is it really that important?"

Luffy nodded. "It is!"

The clown smirked. "In that case..."

As the two talked, Lambo suddenly realized something: Buggy only had one of his arms. Eyes widening, he quickly shouted, "Luffy, look out!"

"?!" Luffy's eyes widened and he quickly dodged a dagger that was thrown at him from behind.

"...You should protect it better!" Buggy finished as the severed arm rushed towards the hat in Luffy's grip.

Realizing what was about to happen, Lambo rushed forward and used all his strength to tackle Luffy aside. As a result, the knife-wielding hand completely missed the hat, but left a deep cut in the cow-boy's shoulder. "Argh!"

It took a moment before Luffy fully realized what had just happened. When he did, his gaze immediately went to Lambo, eyes widening when he saw that the other boy was wincing and clutching his shoulder, which was now bleeding. "Lambo!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lambo quickly assured, smiling shakily as his previous adreneline rush finally wore off. "That hat's important to you, right? We've gotta protect it."

"Lambo..."

"I don't get it. How can that tattered hat be considered a treasure?" Buggy asked in annoyance as his arm returned to him. "Treasure is gold and silver and jewels! Not a filthy old hat!"

"Man, that guy's really annoying, isn't he?" Lambo mumbled as he stood back up, one arm still clutching his shoulder.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yare, yare. I told you I'm fine." He smiled. "Have some more faith in your nakama, would you?'

Luffy blinked before erupting in a mile-long grin. "Right!" Nodding, he turned back to Buggy, expression serious once again. "Listen up, you stupid clown! This is the hat that Shanks gave to me! It's more precious than any stupid gold or silver!"

"What?!" Buggy gasped, eyes widening in shock as he looked at the hat once again. "That's Shanks' hat?! No wonder it looks so familiar! He was always wearing the damn thing when we were sailing together!"

"Wait, you and Shanks sailed on the same ship?" Luffy asked in surprise.

Buggy smirked at his shocked expression. "Yeah, back when we were still pirates-in-training. I was once comrades with that bastard."

Luffy's expression hardened. "Shanks was a great man! The only bastard here is you!"

"I really can't find it in me to believe that this clown was actually comrades with that Shanks guy," Lambo admitted.

"Comrades my ass! Don't even compare yourself to him! You stupid big-nose!"

Buggy scoffed. "I can say whatever I like about Shanks! AND STOP INSULTING MY NOSE ALREADY!"

"Seems like you really dislike him. What exactly happened between you two anyway?" Lambo asked curiously.

"You want to know that badly?" Buggy asked, face hardening. "Shanks is the one person I can never forgive... I'll hate him until the very end of my life! I will never forgive him!"