Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...
As the heartbeat grew increasingly dense, Buggy's crew members were drenched in sweat, instinctively stepping back.
However, Sig's heartbeat did not calm down because of this, as he still had Buggy standing in front of him.
A Buggy without hands did not mean he was without combat ability.
Sig glanced back at his ship, feeling slightly reassured.
Strictly speaking, he wasn't completely alone. He still had his crew with him.
As long as his men rushed over, even without including Stussy, with Arlong the fish-man and Kuro, dealing with the Buggy Pirates shouldn't be a problem.
Just as Sig expected, while he was facing off against the Buggy Pirates, the mountain bandits also drew their swords. The quicker ones had already climbed onto the railing, ready to jump over.
Just as Sig was feeling reassured, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the crowd.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
The bald man squeezed through the crowd, his face serious as he stopped the mountain bandits' actions:
"The boss has already drawn his sword. Do you really think he can't handle such a small-time pirate? Do you think he needs your help?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the mountain bandits who were about to jump over silently stopped their movements.
"Who do you think Boss Sig is? Do we really need to worry about him?"
Sig's eye twitched slightly, and then he heard a voice from in front of him:
"Let go of my hands! I was just kindly helping you dust off your collar earlier..."
At this moment, Buggy's upper body had split off and was floating in the air, glaring at Sig with an angry expression.
Sig, however, felt a chill.
Buggy appeared furious, but his feet, which were still on the ground, had quietly disappeared without a trace.
Using his Observation Haki, Sig could vaguely sense that the tips of Buggy's shoes had silently extended blades, preparing to sneak around to his back.
Sig called out first to buy time, while thinking of a countermeasure.
Buggy was a user of the Chop-Chop Fruit (Bara bara no mi), allowing him to split and fly his body parts at will, but this ability wasn't without limits.
If any part of his body went beyond a 200-meter range from his feet, he wouldn't die, but he would lose control and sensation over that part.
Sig's peripheral vision fell on Buggy's hands, which were still pinned under his folding knife, and an idea emerged.
After a moment of thought, Sig directly said:
"You don't believe I can handle the giant Sea Kings in the Calm Belt? Fine, I'll show you my swordsmanship."
"Sea Kings that are several kilometers long? In front of my sword, all Sea Kings are nothing!"
As Sig spoke, the heartbeat grew denser, and his aura began to rise sharply.
A terrifying pressure surged like a tide, completely engulfing Buggy.
Buggy, who had been preparing to sneak attack from behind with his feet, suddenly froze, feeling as though he couldn't breathe.
Despite being a Chop-Chop Fruit user who was immune to slashing attacks, Buggy felt a wave of fear in that moment.
He suddenly remembered the days when he was still a cabin boy on Roger's crew, encountering those terrifyingly powerful enemies.
Sig shouted, his aura reaching its peak.
In that instant, Sig quietly canceled the "Empty Hand Catches White Blade" technique, and then... he kicked Buggy's hand, which was under the folding knife, with full force.
"Wasn't it 'watch my sword'? Why did you kick my hand!"
Buggy, who had expected a slash from Sig, was completely caught off guard.
He watched helplessly as Sig kicked his hand, sending it flying into the sea with a splash.
Buggy's expression turned even uglier.
"My hand! You actually kicked my hand into the sea!"
Buggy shouted angrily, his other hand returning to his body.
He was completely furious. His newly reattached right hand pulled out a dagger, and his upper body lunged at Sig.
At the same time, behind Sig, Buggy's feet also leaped up, the blades on the tips of his shoes aiming straight for Sig's neck.
Sig called out again in a low voice.
"You're still trying to trick me------"
Before Buggy could finish his sentence, a bright flash of sword light appeared before his eyes.
In an instant, his entire body and head were split cleanly down the middle.
Not only that, he felt his feet, which had been sneaking up from behind, were also cut in half, falling powerlessly to the ground.
All the cut surfaces were smooth as mirrors, with not a drop of blood flowing.
However, in the next second, Buggy's severed body parts reattached, and he laughed as if nothing had happened:
"Your slashes are completely useless against the great Captain Buggy----"
Before Buggy could finish his sentence, Sig raised his sword and slashed across Buggy's face, splitting his head in half again.
But in the next moment, Buggy's head reattached.
"I told you slashes are useless...."
Buggy never got to finish his sentence, as every time he started speaking, Sig would raise his sword and split his head again.
Sig casually continued to slash at Buggy, cutting him apart every time he tried to reattach.
With only one hand, Buggy couldn't meet the conditions for the "Empty Hand Catches White Blade" technique, so Sig's swordsmanship could be fully unleashed.
However, as a Chop-Chop Fruit user, Buggy was immune to slashing attacks and couldn't be truly harmed.
"What if I cut him into even smaller pieces?"
Sig's sword never stopped, slashing again and again, cutting Buggy's body into dozens, then hundreds of pieces.
Every time Buggy's body tried to reattach, he couldn't even finish half a sentence before being cut apart again.
"I'm angry! Chop-Chop Storm!"
Buggy shouted, no longer trying to reattach his body. Instead, he actively split into dozens of pieces and lunged at Sig.
But what awaited him was still the relentless flash of Sig's sword.
In an instant, Buggy's dozens of pieces were cut into hundreds of fragments, scattering across the ground.
Under the relentless onslaught of Sig's sword, no matter what Buggy did, he was met with a slash, constantly being cut into smaller and smaller pieces.
"Seeing this again, Boss Sig's swordsmanship is truly terrifying."
"Buggy has no ability to resist at all. He can't even finish a sentence. If he weren't a Devil Fruit user, he'd probably be dead in an instant, right?"
The mountain bandits who had seen Sig slay the Lord of the Coast couldn't help but marvel.
Kuro, Arlong, and Buggy's crew members were also stunned.
Many of them recalled Sig's earlier words, and a thought crossed their minds.
Was Sig using Buggy, an immortal target, to demonstrate his swordsmanship capable of slaying giant Sea Kings?