Chapter Seventy-Eight: This Is the True Pirate (First Update)

“So, are we going to fight now? I’m the man who will become King of the Pirates—I’m not afraid of you.”
Facing the oncoming pirates, Luffy’s playful grin vanished, his expression turning serious.
True, they had just helped fill his belly, but that was no reason for him to hold back.
Defying his grandfather’s orders and choosing to set sail as a pirate had always been his dream. Now, some small-time pirates had appeared out of nowhere, trying to get him to join their crew? Impossible.
He wanted to set out to sea, find his own companions, become captain, and then venture into the Grand Line on his own terms.
“Even though you just gave me some meat, if you want a fight, I won’t go easy on you.”
Luffy charged forward, his arms stretching back as he shouted, “Gomu Gomu no... Gatling!”
In the next instant, his fists snapped forward, raining down a storm of blows upon the pirates.
This was Luffy’s special move, using his rubbery limbs to unleash a flurry of punches so quickly that afterimages filled the air, resulting in a barrage of strikes—like a hail of bullets.
It was the perfect technique for clearing out a crowd.
Buggy’s underlings stood no chance against this assault. In moments, they were all sprawled on the ground.
“Pathetic. Looks like I, Cabaji the Acrobat, will have to claim your head myself.”
From behind Buggy, a man appeared, riding a unicycle.
“Mohji, just stand aside and watch my performance. After all, the captain said only slashing attacks work on him.”
Cabaji shot a provocative glance at the man with the lion behind Buggy, then lunged at Luffy.
“A circus troupe? So cool!”
Seeing Cabaji on his unicycle, Luffy’s eyes sparkled with delight, as if he’d forgotten he was in the middle of a battle.
“Cool, is it? Then lose yourself in this display of coolness—while you die!”
Cabaji sneered, driving his longsword straight at Luffy.
He didn’t think someone this absent-minded was even worth using his skills on.
“Hey, can I have a go on that unicycle? Hey, mister trench coat!”
Luffy’s reaction was true to his odd nature. As Cabaji charged, he suddenly leapt in front of him, bumping him off the unicycle with a single, forceful move.
“This is fun, but it’s hard to control! Teach me, trench coat guy!”
Swaying precariously on the unicycle, Luffy couldn’t ride it as naturally as Cabaji.
“Trench coat guy?”
When Cabaji didn’t reply, Luffy turned to see what was wrong, only to find Cabaji squashed beneath the unicycle.
“Ah, sorry—are you alright?”
Luffy meant no harm, quickly jumping off and checking on Cabaji with genuine concern.

“Hahaha, looks like it’s up to me, Mohji the Great, to defeat that brat.”
With Cabaji fallen, Mohji showed no concern, letting out a boisterous laugh.
He commanded the lion, Richie, to lunge at Luffy. If he could take down the guy who humiliated Cabaji, Cabaji would have to step lightly around him in the future.
“Wow, a giant lion! Can it jump through fire hoops?”
At the sound of roaring behind him, Luffy’s attention shifted from the unconscious Cabaji to Richie the lion.
“Of course! Under the training of Mohji the Beast Tamer—hey, you idiot, what are you talking about? I’m going to kill you—”
Mohji shouted in outrage, swinging his whip at Loran while commanding Richie to attack.
He knew his whip wouldn’t hurt Luffy, but all he needed was a distraction so Richie could sink his fangs into the scrawny boy with the straw hat. If that happened, it would be more than just a missing arm or leg.
It must be said, Luffy’s appearance and personality were wholly misleading. Everyone—including Buggy—underestimated him. Otherwise, this farcical rescue attempt would never have happened.
Mohji’s fantasy was pleasant, but Luffy’s interest in the lion didn’t dull his fighting ability in the least.
Once again, as he had with Cabaji’s unicycle, Luffy easily shoved Mohji off Richie’s back, only for Mohji to be stomped unconscious by the furious lion.
“Hey, quiet down, you dumb lion!”
As the lion jumped and bucked, trying to shake him off, Luffy lost his patience and punched Richie square on the head.
A huge lump swelled up, and Richie instantly quieted, curling up meekly like a housecat, letting Luffy do as he pleased.
“What a bunch of useless trash.”
Buggy glared at Luffy with venom, grinding his teeth. He hadn’t expected his crew to be dispatched so easily by this straw-hatted boy.
“Kid, look over here.”
At some point, a cannon had been wheeled to Buggy’s side, aimed straight at Luffy.
“What’s that?”
Luffy hopped off Richie and eyed the cannon with curiosity.
“Try one of my specially made Buggy Balls, you little punk!”
Seeing Richie drag Cabaji and Mohji away from the infuriating brat, Buggy lit the fuse, grinning with satisfaction.
“A special Buggy Ball? What’s that? Is it tasty?”
Luffy cocked his head, his curiosity fixed on the cannon.
“Hahaha, you little fool, you can blow up along with this whole town!”
Buggy roared with laughter as Luffy stood unmoving.
“The town? You bastard! How could you do something like that?”

He glanced at the cannon, then at the town behind him, and his anger erupted. He dashed toward the cannon.
“How could I do something like that? Are you joking? I’m a pirate—doing things like this is perfectly normal.”
Buggy sneered.
“No, pirates aren’t like you. That’s not what they are.”
Luffy shouted at Buggy, his anger boiling. The pirates he’d known—like Shanks—were free spirits, not villains like Buggy.
“No, this is what a real pirate is.”
It wasn’t Buggy who said this, but Loran, who arrived just in time, shattering the main doors with a single slash.
“Hello, Buggy. Let me introduce myself. I’m Loran, newly appointed Navy Captain. Pleased to meet you.”
Loran smiled and extended his hand to Buggy.
“Uh, hello.”
Buggy, caught off guard, shook hands with Loran in a daze.
“No, wait! Who said I was happy to meet you? Damn Navy, what are you doing here?”
A moment later, Buggy realized what was happening and flung Loran’s hand away in fury.
“I have to admire your courage, Buggy. But did you just not listen to my name?”
Loran didn’t mind Buggy’s reaction—this guy was a rat in a trap, with nowhere to run. Let him have his last fit of madness.
But Luffy’s presence here was completely unexpected.
In the original story, Luffy met Buggy only after encountering Zoro, but now that Zoro had been taken away by him, how had Luffy arrived here alone?
And compared to Buggy, Luffy was the real headache.
Because, truth be told, even though Luffy called himself a pirate, his actions were more those of an adventurer—free-spirited, unrestrained.
Except for the incident at Impel Down, where he’d caused chaos and freed some of the worst pirates, he’d hardly done anything bad at all.
So, should he arrest him? Loran felt he had no reason to—Luffy had done nothing wrong.
If being a self-proclaimed pirate was enough to warrant arrest, half the world would be in prison.
But if he let Luffy sail the seas as a pirate, trouble was bound to follow, like the Impel Down fiasco in the original story.
“What a headache!”