Chapter 138: Is Buffon a Demon?

The pirates, suddenly re-energized as if injected with adrenaline, instantly cast aside the camaraderie of their shared escape. While dodging cannonballs, they showed no mercy even to the Marines beside them.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Garp momentarily averted his gaze and rebuked the Marines behind him, "As Marines, you must always remember your mission!"

Thus, a chaotic melee erupted once more.

Seeing this unfolding scene, Ronse, who was not currently engaged in combat, ordered his warship to charge toward the Juventus.

Every Marine warship participating in a Buster Call carried a thousand soldiers, and he intended to close in and capture the Juventus, which seemingly had only a single zombie guarding it.

However, Ronse severely underestimated that sole zombie.

The moment the two ships intersected, Ryuma leaped toward him with incredible speed.

Before Ronse could even register the motion of Ryuma drawing his blade, the T-shaped mask on his face shattered into pieces. Simultaneously, Ryuma’s voice rang out from behind him: "Revolutionary Dance: Humming Three-Block Notch!"

At the same time, another petite figure darted out from the cabin of the Juventus and landed on the warship. Countless white ghosts emerged from within this diminutive body.

Instantly, every single soldier on the warship dropped their weapons, assumed expressions of utter despair, and began to complain bitterly.

Ronse turned around, taking in the bizarre spectacle before him, drew his sword, and charged at Ryuma.

Ryuma, preparing to engage, was stopped by Perona: "Ryuma, stay back and cover me."

Ryuma nodded, emitting Brook's signature laugh, "Yo-ho-ho-ho! Perona, you must be careful."

Laboon, having successfully unloaded its passengers, slipped back beneath the water and vanished. Its target was the cluster of warships still firing their cannons.

Soon, Laboon—its body many times larger than a warship—began ramming the fleet from below. The vessels it targeted shook violently, and because Laboon never surfaced, the Marines were given no opportunity to counterattack.

Feeling the violent pitching of the ship, Momonga realized the situation was dire. While trading blows with Luffy, he ordered the Marine soldiers, "Drop anchors into the sea and eliminate that damn whale first!"

Following a blanket barrage of dropped anchors that churned up countless splashes, the sea did not turn red with blood as the Marines had hoped.

This, of course, was thanks to Aisa, who was directing operations from inside Laboon's body. On the way here, Belo Betty had explained many of the tactics commonly used by the Marines in battle, and this was certainly among them.

Aisa hid near Laboon's blowhole, constantly observing the surface of the sea and issuing tactical commands for Laboon's strikes.

After the anchor barrage, Laboon surfaced from the deep ocean floor, struck a warship once more with its massive head, and promptly submerged again.

Faced with this style of attack, the Marines aboard the ships were at a complete loss as to what to do.

Buffon, currently trading blows with Garp, frowned slightly upon seeing this.

After landing a heavy punch, Garp called out, "Brat Buffon, what on earth will it take for you to stop this attack?"

Buffon returned the blow with one of his own, replying indifferently, "The conditions I'd propose are things you wouldn't agree to. Can you set Moria free? Since you can't, let's just settle this with our fists."

Buffon was right. As a Marine, Garp had his own bottom line; letting Moria go was out of the question. Therefore, letting their actions speak louder than words was indeed the only option.

Hinders from Laboon had significantly reduced the volume of Marine gunfire directed at Enies Lobby.

As time passed, Oimo and Kashi, the two giant warriors bringing up the rear, finally stepped onto the Bridge of Hesitation.

Facing the incoming artillery fire from the air, both giants drew their weapons to deflect the shells, though they were powerless against those aimed directly at the bridge piers.

Seeing that everyone was on the verge of escaping Enies Lobby, Momonga issued a fresh order: "Focus all firepower on the Bridge of Hesitation. Wipe out as many as we can!"

The command rippled from ship to ship across the fleet. Moments later, every warship swung its cannons around, locking their sights entirely on the bridge's support piers.

Just as the first cannonball struck a pier, Buffon turned to Garp and demanded, "Is this what you Marines call 'Justice'?"

Garp’s expression turned grim. He had no answer for the accusation, but he proved his stance through his own actions.

Abandoning his fight with Buffon, Garp bolted toward the Bridge of Hesitation, intercepting the shells hurtling toward the piers while shouting to everyone on the bridge, "All Marines and pirates, stop fighting on the bridge! Once you cross, you can do as you please."

Seizing the opportunity, Buffon swept directly toward the cluster of warships.

His target was the vessel that had transported Moria, which had retreated behind the fleet when the battle began.

Yet, upon arriving, he found no trace of the ship upon the water.

He cursed himself mentally, dropped down directly onto the deck of the nearest warship, and unleashed his Conqueror's Haki indiscriminately.

Moments later, every Marine combatant except for the Vice Admirals collapsed unconscious.

With this, the threat of the Buster Call was essentially neutralized.

At that moment, the four remaining Vice Admirals cast fearful, apprehensive glances toward Buffon. They had all heard Spider-Nose Ghost Spider mention that Buffon possessed Conqueror's Haki.

Some of them had even joked about Spider's defeat in the past, but having experienced it firsthand today, none of them could ever laugh about it again.

"If Vice Admiral Garp hadn't been keeping him occupied earlier, we probably wouldn't even have been able to complete a single round of bombardment," Momonga thought to himself.

At that moment, Buffon’s loud voice rang out, commanding the crew of the Juventus: "Stop playing around and finish the fight quickly."

The Marines stationed near the Gate of Justice stared slack-jawed at the fleet, dumbfounded by the display. "Is that guy a devil?!"

A chorus of pirates answered in unison, shaking their heads, "No! He's an angel!"

Buffon then dashed onto the warship where Perona was stationed and knocked out the giant Vice Admiral Ronse with a single punch.

Seeing this, Perona grumbled discontentedly, "Big Brother Buffon, at least let me practice my moves!"

Buffon merely walked over, ruffled her hair, and said calmly, "We've been tricked. The ship escorting Moria has already slipped away."

Hearing this, Perona gasped in shock, "What do we do now? Should we chase after them right away?"

This was the very dilemma weighing heavily on Buffon's mind. Even if they hijacked a warship to give chase, it was clearly impossible to catch up through the swirling currents at equal speed.

Doing so would mean charging headfirst into Impel Down.

If he hadn't met Garp, Buffon might have thought nothing of a direct assault. Once he dealt with the highest-tier threat, Magellan, leaving the remaining guards to the others would be a walk in the park.

However, the fact that the Hero Garp himself had been dispatched to escort the prisoner meant that Magellan would by no means be the only elite force waiting for them in Impel Down.

Lacking intelligence, Buffon truly had no idea what consequences might follow if he blindly charged in with this small group.

He was confident enough in his own ability to escape under any circumstances. However, the people following him were a different story; he could no longer afford to think only of himself—he had to consider his companions.

These were the comrades who stood resolutely by his side, bravely defying the World Government.

With this thought, Buffon squatted down so that his eyes were level with Perona's.

He spoke with utmost earnestness: "Perona, don't worry. I promised you I would rescue Moria, but not right now. If I charge in with everyone right now, we'll likely walk right into a Marine trap..."

Before Buffon could finish, Perona bit back her tears and nodded. "Big Brother Buffon, I trust your judgment. I know you'll save Lord Moria. We'll all listen to you."

Unaccustomed to such sudden emotional vulnerability, Buffon was momentarily flustered.

He turned to Ryuma and said, "Go help the others wrap up the battle here. I'm going to the Gate of Justice to settle things with Garp."

With that, Buffon flew over to Momonga's ship, grabbed Luffy—who was still trying to attack Momonga—by the collar, and soared toward the Gate of Justice.

Hoisted into the air, Luffy protested indignantly, "Captain Buffon, why are you stopping me from fighting him?"

Buffon replied unhurriedly, "Your grandfather, Garp, is standing right over there by the Gate of Justice. Aside from you, who else could possibly handle that old man?"

At Buffon's words, Luffy involuntarily shrank his neck. His mind immediately conjured images of the "Fists of Love" with which Garp used to mercilessly pummel the three brothers when they were kids.

Yet, he had to admit Buffon was right. Apart from him—the old man's actual grandson—no one else on the field could truly stop his grandfather.

More importantly, his entire Straw Hat crew was still over by the Gate of Justice. If they were captured by his grandfather and a massive force of Marines, his dream of becoming the King of the Pirates would effectively be over.

Realizing this, Luffy nodded and said earnestly, "Got it, Captain Buffon. Leave that old fogey of a grandfather to me."

After a moment's thought, Luffy added, "Robin isn't going to leave again, right?"

Taken aback by the abrupt question, Buffon was stunned; he hadn't expected the usually reckless Luffy to notice that detail.

He nodded calmly and said, "She will continue sailing with us on the sea."

In truth, Luffy was merely hot-blooded and appeared reckless, but he was far from actually being stupid.

Hearing this reply, Luffy smiled with a hint of lingering reluctance and said, "Thank you, Captain Buffon. I need to get stronger too, so I never let another companion slip away from my side easily."

Buffon wanted to say something more, but ultimately bit his tongue and held back.

Upon reaching the Gate of Justice, Buffon hurled Luffy in the direction of Garp. At the same time, Laboon surfaced near the shore, and Buffon tossed the seven still-unconscious CP9 agents directly into its mouth.

He then shouted to Belo Betty, who was still inspiring the troops from atop the Millennium Dragon, "Let's go! We're retreating!"

Franky rushed toward him through the crowd, panting heavily as he shouted, "Captain Buffon, can I please see my master?"

Buffon nodded without hesitation and, carrying Franky with him, flew toward the Juventus.

Hearing the retreat order, the others ceased fighting and gathered around the Juventus.

The Marine Vice Admirals attempted to give chase, but Buffon conjured a massive ball of fire in his hands mid-air and hurled it straight down toward the fleet.