Chapter 53 - Intense Battle! Nami, Nojiko and Ryu Vs Bounty Hunters!

His voice sounded cold through the night, but with a hint of fun that made it seem like it was all just a joke to him.

"How could he..." Mr. 8 was incredulous for a moment, but then thought it made sense. Someone who is worth that much could not be captured with such a simple tactic. Every bounty on the Grand Line showed how dangerous someone could be.

As they looked at each other, a large number of bounty hunters began to gather around them. To make sure of the sucessful capture they were watching the city, so everyone seemed to have realized that the plan had failed, even though none of the party house watchers had yet come out to warn them.

"Why hasn't anyone yet-" Miss Monday was about to question the watchers when Mr. 8 put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"There's no point worrying about them now..." Knowing that either they were dead or captured, it would be a waste of time worrying about it now. So, looking up at Noah there, he shouted in a commanding voice, "Now that you know, there's no point pretending! Surrender now and we will spare your life and that of your two crew members. You don't know who you're dealing with, so I suggest you follow my words!"

"Wow, that's so dangerous. It even scared me." Noah mocked a little of all that nonsense he spoke, "Let's do this, you surrender and maybe I'll let you all live. You don't know who you're dealing with, so I suggest you follow my words."

"You!" Mr. 8 immediately felt the anger bubbling within him, throwing any kind of pretense out. He even dared to repeat his words against him!

The moment the "mayor" raised his hand, several of the bounty hunters took out guns from God knows where and pointed at Noah up there. With the silence of the night and the moonlight above, the two sides stared at each other firmly before Mr. 8 lowered his hand.

“Fire!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Tornado Technique!

And when the shots were fired, Noah didn't even have to move before a tornado engulfed all the bullets and dispersed them away. With a smile on his face, he looked at the two newcomers.

Nami had her full staff on her shoulders, having just applied a technique of her own, while Nojiko didn't bother to hide and already had her hands on her Rapid Flintlock Pistols.

"How did they..." Miss Monday was once again shocked by their entrance onto the scene.

Not only her, but everyone there was shocked. And the reason was quite simple: Everyone thought the two were weak and held lesser positions (Not like fighters, but just normal people). So, when the orange-haired one casually dispersed everyone's bullets with a swing of her staff, the scene clashed with what everyone thought and caused a momentary pause in the scene.

"How many people... all of them just to capture you?" Nojiko whistled a little when she saw how many people were there, knowing it was going to be a bit difficult.

Unlike the battle on Clockwork Island, where she and Nami fought against a much larger crowd of ordinary, weak people who barely knew how to use a weapon, now they were dealing with bounty hunters who had already had their share of deadly fights and even killed someone. The level was a step higher, so the quality greatly surpassed the quantity.

"I even felt flattered." Noah laughed a little at the two's indifference, but liked what he was seeing.

In the meantime, Mr. 8 finally recovered and ordered everyone to attack.

"Attack! Capture them alive if you can, but if not..." His eyes became a bit cold at that moment, determination growing, "Kill them!"

As soon as his voice was heard by everyone, several of them drew their own weapons and ran to attack the trio. Others stayed behind and began to use their guns to shoot from afar, while others dispersed throughout the city to try some stealthy attack.

Seeing that wave of almost a hundred people attacking them all at once, Nami and Nojiko steeled their wills, even though a slight anxiety grew in their chests. Still, they didn't let this shake them and prepared to attack as well.

And when the two sides were about to face off, a whistle was heard.

WHISTLEEEE!

And what accompanied it was shocking to everyone.

ROOOAARR!

With a roar that echoed in the moonlit night, a huge green feathered dragon came out of the Black Artemis and flew in the sky for a while, leaving everyone with their mouths open. But the situation got even worse when they saw that dragon fly down and start spinning like a bullet.

Swoosh! BANG!

In just a second, Ryu reached the ground and opened his wings again, flapping them hard to brake his body. This generated a terrible wind force, blowing everyone away. And as if that wasn't enough, he did something that left everyone's jaw on the floor.

Ignite!

As soon as he opened his mouth, flames ignited in his throat, forming a fireball. Despite his weak and imprecise control, he mustered enough strength with his Fire Manipulation to direct it towards the attackers.

Dragon Breath!

As soon as the fireball hit the ground, the flames got out of control, engulfing most of the bounty hunters and began to spread on the clothes they wore. With enough force and intensity just to cause mild burns, it was not enough to kill anyone, but it still did some damage.

"They have a dragon!!”

“I'm burning, burning! AAAH!”

"Wretch! I'm going to kill this feathered beast for burning my underwear- Aah!”

Before the last individual could finish his speech, some sharp claws suddenly scratched his chest and a tail hit his head, causing him to be sent far away, hitting a house and breaking the wall.

“A dragon is not a dragon if it can't breathe fire…” Noah lightly commented while continuing to watch his adorable pet and companion invade the battlefield.

Ryu didn't stop there as he continued to fight whoever he could, paying attention when they were going to shoot at him and flying from the place. His presence was a huge shock to everyone, and even more shocking was his unreal combat power!

On the other side, Mr. 8 and the others watched that in astonishment, but the first recovered sooner than everybody and angrily asked Mr. 9 and Vivi.

“Why didn't you tell me they have a dragon?!”

“We…” And all they could do was remain silent, as they had absolutely forgotten that fact!!

Seeing how they had been left speechless, Mr. 8 just held himself back from giving them a good beating and breathed calmly. After thinking a bit, he decided to go all out.

“Ignore him, he's just a ferocious beast. As long as we can capture his owner, he will naturally stop.” He then looked at Mr. 9 and Miss Monday, “You two, join forces against that orange-haired woman. Miss Wednesday (Vivi) and I will first capture the blue-haired one. Perhaps the reason his bounty is so high is also because of the two women, so let's capture them first.”

"Yes, sir!" Mr. 9 and Miss Monday looked at each other before nodding their heads and going in another direction.

"Let's go, Miss Wednesday!" Mr. 8 spoke with a calmer voice towards her, but still without room for negotiation.

°°°

Swoosh! Bang!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Bang! Bang!

Dodging the blows that came her way, Nami had a calm expression as she skillfully manipulated her staff and hit everyone around her, leaving them unconscious and with some broken limbs.

Thanks to her almost uninterrupted training and exceptional strength, fighting these bounty hunters was like gaining fighting experience on the easy level. Her mind was able to analyze behavioral patterns and react to them in record time, leaving anyone defenseless to perform any kind of trick against her.

Whether on defense or offense, no one could match her current strength. One step ahead in body refinement, her power was so immense that a single swing of her staff would create the sound of air tearing and generate strong winds, even without the use of Spiritual Energy!

Cat's Whiskers!

Using a move that she had tried to create a long time ago, she was able to execute it with much more fluidity this time. Her staff hit a bounty hunter's chest as she suddenly ducked and then immediately followed with a sweep on another, her weapon always following her movements.

Flicking Tail!

With a sweep of her staff, several other hunters were knocked to the ground, some crying out in pain for having certainly cracked their leg bones. Each of her attacks made someone's bone break, incapacitating them instantly.

But despite her efforts, it seemed that the more people she knocked down, the more people came in her direction. Feeling that it was getting overcrowded, she jumped towards the top of a house.

As soon as she set foot on the ground, a sudden chill made her widen her eyes and do a somersault away at the same moment!

BANG!

Where she was, Mr. 9 suddenly appeared, the metal bats in his hands creating cracks in the ground with the impact he had just caused.

"Damn!" Pulling his two bats from the ground, he angrily looked at his target.

"What's wrong, are your legs still weak?" Nami teased lightly with a smile on her face.

"I was tied up for three days at that helm and you're still making fun of me?!" Mr. 9 felt a vein in his forehead almost burst as he pointed his bats at Nami, almost spitting saliva in anger as he spoke.

"Was the food bad? Did you go a day without a shower?" Nami looked indifferent at him, even raising an eyebrow. She, as a full supporter of Noah, didn't understand what was the bad part of his stay on their ship.

"No, but... but..." Mr. 9 stammered for a while, remembering that the food was actually good, but suddenly he got angry again, "Still, that's no way to treat someone! Now stand still and suffer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. 9 attacked with his metal bats. His steps were steady and he seemed to add some acrobatics to his movements, quickly reaching Nami.

Hot Blooded Bat of Guts!

"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood."

And with Nami's response, her staff split in two as she defended against Mr. 9's attack.

Pouncing Panther!

With a skillful move, she disarmed Mr. 9 and reconnected her staff, striking him in the chest with enough force to throw him far, hitting a wall.

BANG!

With him out of the game, Nami took some time to take a deep breath. Despite not being very tired, it was enough for her to have to stop for a while to know where she was on the battlefield.

But the moment she stopped, suddenly a hand appeared in front of her face.

Wind Vortex!

Knowing that she couldn't dodge at the same instant, Nami delayed whoever was coming with a large amount of wind blades around her before jumping away.

"AAAH! You damn!"

A little girl's voice sounded in agony from where Nami was.

Miss Monday, covered in thin cuts that oozed small drops of blood, was kneeling on the ground enduring the pain. Although it hadn't incapacitated her, the sudden attack on her pain nerves was still distressing.

"You're going to pay for this!" Trying to ignore the pain she was feeling, Miss Monday quickly got up. Flexing her arm muscles, even more blood came out of the wounds, but she ignored it and got used to the pain. She then took two knuckles out of her pocket and put them on her hands.

Superhuman Knuckle-Duster!

And suddenly she attacked Nami again, jumping from where she was at high speed.

Soru!

But Nami wouldn't be foolish enough to stand still and immediately used Soru to escape, appearing a few meters away. Even though the physical wear was great with just one execution, it was worth it when she saw the ground crack under Miss Monday's powerful punch.

"Stand still!" Miss Monday shouted angrily as she jumped to attack again. She was furious due to the pain she was feeling at the moment.

"No, thanks-" And just like that, Nami was about to dodge again, but something interrupted her.

Home-Run Sneaky Bat!

Her arm was suddenly bound by some steel chains. Following it, she saw that a bloodied Mr. 9, missing some teeth, had somehow recovered his metal bat and used this surprise attack. With Miss Monday coming at full speed, she had little time to react to it.

But she was not at all panicked.

"Idiot."

Soru!

Without hesitation, Nami used Soru, simultaneously using all her strength to pull Mr. 9. With him caught off guard, their positions were instantly swapped!

"No!!" Miss Monday immediately realized what she had done, but it was too late to stop her body.

The moment she attempted to halt her punch from striking Mr. 9, her arm muscles became sore. Despite this, the two still collided. Mr. 9 was immediately knocked unconscious, while she was left disoriented from being hit in the nose with the metal bat.

Bang!

Nami didn't waste time to seize the opportunity and hit Miss Monday hard on the chin, causing her to also become unconscious.

In this way, she dispatched Mr. 9 and Miss Monday, as well as almost a third of the bounty hunters.

°°°

Blitz Barrage!

With a hail of bullets coming from her Rapid flintlocks, Nojiko moved among the bounty hunters like a quick shadow. Unlike how a shooter would normally stay away from everyone, she likes being in the middle of the chaos.

"Hey, my gun-"

Bang!

Kicking the face of the bounty hunter in front of her, Nojiko shamelessly stole his pistol and shot again at the people in front of her. And since no one wanted to die, they made a path to evade from the shot, at the same time giving her a chance to flee.

"Thank you very much!" Nojiko smiled as she threw the stolen gun away and moved out of the circle of hunters that formed around her.

After she disappeared from everyone's sight, she quickly hid inside a house with several exits and began to reload her guns. First her Power flintlocks and then her Rapid, having stolen enough bullets to fully load both.

As fast as she could, she was just finishing the reload when she felt a chill and suddenly ducked down and rolled away.

Igarappa!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A large number of bullets hit the wall where she was, and Mr. 8's figure appeared not far away, holding his saxophone in a strange position. Smoke was also coming out of the instrument's mouth, making it obvious that he had shot with it.

"Bastard..." Nojiko cursed under her breath while wiping the sweat from her forehead. It was literally by a hair's breadth, and she doesn't even know how she managed to react so quickly without noticing his presence.

And on the other side, Mr. 8 didn't attack anymore after the first shot.

"Miss, I suggest you surrender immediately!" Mr. 8 looked with half-closed eyes at the blue-haired woman. His plan is for her to surrender without causing further damage, and then he would use her to capture the pirate captain.

"You say that after you've shot at me?" Nojiko raised an eyebrow at the other party's stupidity. Behind her, her hands finished reloading the Rapid pistols and she was about to fire again.

However, just as she was about to do so, a peculiar smell filled the air and she noticed Vivi near one of the exits.

Captivating Perfume Dance!

Moving her waist and body in a "sensual" way, Vivi was at the same time applying a perfume to the air, her movements helping to spread it around the room. And this perfume was paralyzing for anyone who breathed it in, giving her the opportunity to attack with her weapon.

But it's a pity that she was messing with the wrong person.

Nojiko barely looked at her as she took a small round object out of one of her pockets and threw it at Vivi.

"Watch out!" Mr. 8 shouted as soon as he saw what she did, his mind panicking at the thought that it was a bomb.

Devil Gas Bomb!

But, contrary to his terrible expectations, that small object exploded in the air and released a white, odorless gas, but that completely covered his view of the place. And without being able to see anything there, he didn't want to attack because he might end up hitting Miss Wednesday.

And while he was in cruel doubt about how he should proceed, the same could not be said about Nojiko. Just because he couldn't shoot, the same rule didn’t apply to her.

Heaven Binding!

Shots started to sound suddenly from the smoked room, making Mr. 8 immediately look for cover.

Shot! Shot!

But at the moment he was going to hide, two shots hit him. One almost hit his chest, but all it did was pierce his saxophone, while the other hit his butt.

"AAAH! Damn it!" Rolling on the floor in pain, Mr. 8 put his hand on his right buttock and endured the pain to see the damage. And he took a deep breath and thanked the heavens that the shot was weak and the bullet was still on the surface.

"I wouldn't be relieved if I were you..."

"What?!" With the sudden voice that came from behind him, Mr. 8 felt a chill throughout his body at the thought that he was going to die now. Then, getting up, he was about to run when...

Bang!

His body, stiff and frozen in running posture, collapsed to the ground. His eyes were still open, but all he could do was know he was in a bad situation. And shortly thereafter, he heard footsteps approaching him.

"Alright, you guys stay here together." Nojiko placed a paralyzed Vivi next to Mr. 8 and smiled at them, "You're lucky that Noah isn't a killer type guy. Well, bye bye, little girl. It was nice traveling with you."

Winking at Vivi, Nojiko ran back to where Noah had been before, not caring what would happen to them. There were no more bounty hunters coming after her, which means that either her sister or Ryu had taken care of the rest.

With Mr. 8 and Vivi paralyzed by her Devil Needles, everyone who was after Noah was now incapacitated or had fled the scene, realizing they had no chance.

Now, they just needed to get out of here...

After restocking the ship, of course.