Chapter 54: Skipgate
Just as Obei and the others were advancing at full speed toward the shore, Burufaruto had also arrived in front of the enemy.
“Hahahaha! Long time no see, Skipgate. What’s wrong, not following your boss today?”
Burufaruto lurking under the sea suddenly leaped upward, directly piercing through the opponent’s hull and leaping out from under the deck.
Seeing the surprised expressions of the crowd on the ship, the fierce Fighting Fish-Man let out a triumphant laugh.
“You… Burufaruto! You bastard!”
Seeing Burufaruto, who had single-handedly destroyed his flagship and still dared to swaggeringly appear before him, Skipgate’s eyes were filled with anger and wariness.
As one of the three executives guarding the Fenrir Island sea area, his and Fogg’s strength was actually a notch below Burufaruto’s; among the three of them, only Foll, who had always been stationed on Fenrir Island, was qualified to compete with the Fish-Man before him.
“Can’t even speak properly when you see me? What a disappointment, Skipgate.”
The pirates on the ship fell into chaos due to the damage to the hull, and for a moment, they didn’t surround Burufaruto, instead letting him stand swaggeringly in the center of the deck.
“The ship, the ship has been smashed through!”
“Bad news, water is entering the cabin…”
“What about the keel? Is the keel okay!”
“Where’s the repair team? Come quick!”
“But, but the enemy is still on the ship…”
Noisy voices rose and fell, the entire deck was in chaos, filled with shouts and curses everywhere.
“Hey! Everyone stop for me! Repair team, go patch the hole; the rest follow me to take down this guy!”
Skipgate’s shout quieted the pirates on the ship.
These pirates were no novices; after a brief confusion, they reorganized their formation according to Skipgate’s instructions.
Burufaruto had no intention of taking advantage of the moment to attack, still standing with arms crossed, his face full of mockery as he watched the crowd on the ship.
“Thirty seconds, and it took you thirty seconds to reorganize your combat power. As expected, without Foll, you’re just a rabble.”
Seeing Burufaruto’s attitude of completely disregarding him, the pirates on the ship naturally became furious; the opponent was just a Fish-Man after all!
“Charge!”
With Skipgate’s order, the battle finally began in earnest.
As the attack order was given, the pirates rushed toward Burufaruto.
“Fish-Man Karate · Tang Cao Wa Zheng Quan!”
Facing dozens of pirates charging at him with weapons, Burufaruto assumed a stance, and with a single Fish-Man Karate technique, he knocked them all out, then didn’t forget to mock:
“Has your pirate crew only been recruiting trash like this all these years?”
“Damn it!”
Facing Burufaruto’s mockery, Skipgate’s face turned ugly.
Looking around him, aside from the pirates busy repairing the ship’s breaches, no one else was still standing.
The personnel assigned to repair the ship couldn’t be moved; the large hole in the ship had to be patched immediately, or else if the ship sank, facing Burufaruto this Fish-Man would leave them with no chance of victory.
With this thought, Skipgate decided to go all out, aiming to settle it quickly before the opponent fully sank the ship.
“This is your fault!”
With no way to retreat, Skipgate bent his body, his muscles trembling all over.
Immediately after, white fur grew on his limbs, a pair of curved sharp horns sprouted from his head, and his pupils turned into a line shape.
Zoan Cow-Cow Fruit — Goat Form.
“Shattering Headbutt!”
Skipgate, transformed into a half-goat-man form, thrust his head toward Burufaruto.
“What a move with no originality.”
Seeing the opponent’s straightforward action, Burufaruto simply sidestepped to dodge Skipgate’s charge.
Then he drove his knee upward, directly hitting the opponent’s chin and sending him flying.
“Your strength is far inferior to your boss Foll.”
“Hmph! You guys only dare to sneak attack when big bro is away.” Skipgate, crawling up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face full of reluctance.
“Strategy is part of strength. Blame your boss for backing the wrong horse and following that guy John; now he probably can’t come back.”
Despite having the advantage, Burufaruto didn’t press the attack; instead, uncharacteristically, he started chatting idly with the opponent.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Literal meaning. This time, John’s faction will be uprooted completely; going to Hachinosu Island now is no different from seeking death. Surely Foll that guy didn’t tell you nothing?”
“Big bro only said to go support Captain John… What exactly have you guys done to Hachinosu Island?!”
“Nothing much, just teamed up with Golden Lion and BIG MOM to go treasure hunting on the island~” Burufaruto said in an indifferent tone.
“Golden, Golden Lion and BIG MOM?!”
Skipgate looked shocked; clearly, John hadn’t told anyone outside his confidants about the possible pirate alliance to pacify the masses.
Seeing the other’s obviously panicked expression, Burufaruto began persuading him to surrender unhurriedly.
In his view, Skipgate and the others would soon be a group of wandering pirates without protection; recruiting them into the Beasts Pirates before others acted would naturally be a gain, after all, the Beasts Pirates’ current scale was still too small compared to other sea overlords.
“Now you get it, right? That guy John is done for. And you without his protection won’t fare much better.
So, how about it? Want to join our Beasts Pirates now? Our boss welcomes Zoan ability users like you.”
This was the truth; almost everyone in the pirate crew knew that Kaido had a preference for Zoan Devil Fruits.
In his view, compared to the flashy special abilities of Superhuman and Logia types, the Zoan type’s straightforward enhancements to speed, power, recovery, and overall limits made it the top choice.
Combined with powerful Haki, it could achieve the level of ‘overwhelming force breaks all techniques.’
Essentially, what Kaido relied on in battle was the world’s strongest physique and unmatched Haki.
“I…”
Skipgate was now hesitating; if the opponent’s words were true, with their strength, they definitely couldn’t hold Fenrir Island after losing Captain John, and even surviving the upcoming faction reshuffle would be questionable.
Even without considering the future, he was no match for Burufaruto right now; continuing to fight meant death.
After a period of silence, Skipgate spoke up.
“I, I need to contact big bro first.”
“Do as you like.”
Seeing that the other had wavered, Burufaruto didn’t press further, just stood with arms crossed, waiting leisurely for his response.
……
“Puru~ Puru~”
“Hey, big bro. It’s me, Skipgate.”
“Gate, what’s the matter calling me now? Has something happened on Fenrir Island?”
Foll on the other end suddenly received a call from his brother left at the garrison, clearly a bit surprised.
“Yes, it’s like this…”
Skipgate repeated Burufaruto’s words to Foll, including the Beasts Pirates’ invitation.
“…”
There was silence on the Den Den Mushi side, and after a long wait, Foll finally spoke:
“Even if what they say is true, I must go; this is Captain John’s order.
We brothers took the initiative to join Captain John back then; now that he’s in peril, I can’t abandon him and stand idly by.”
“But big bro…”
“If you want to, then surrender. I’ve repaid the captain’s kindness with this life; you can seek a new path without worry.”
With that, the other side hung up the Den Den Mushi.
“So this is Foll’s choice? What a pity… Then, what’s your choice?”
Burufaruto felt some regret for this old rival’s heroic resolve to die.
Skipgate was silent for a moment, then put away the Den Den Mushi and smiled relievedly: “Since big bro has chosen his path, as his subordinate, how can I not follow him to the death?”
“Is that so? You guys really are…”
Understanding the other’s intent, Burufaruto dropped the persuasion to surrender and prepared to give this man one last bit of dignity.
“Goat Charge!”
“Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique · Gui Wa Zheng Quan!”
Skipgate’s full-force charge brought his horns colliding with Burufaruto’s fist, two strong Armament Haki clashing against each other.
But this standoff didn’t last long; in an instant, Skipgate’s Haki was shattered, and Burufaruto sent him straight into the sea.
Watching Skipgate gradually sink to the seabed, Burufaruto turned to the still-prone pirates and said:
“Those willing to join our Beasts Pirates, drop your weapons now; otherwise, go down and join your boss!”
“Wh-what do we do? Surrender?”
“I’m surrendering; I don’t want to die.”
“Me too; I haven’t spent all my Belly savings yet.”
……
Clang, clang, clang…
The sounds of swords and blades hitting the ground gradually rose.
Most of these pirates were new recruits, with little attachment to Skipgate and no fanatical loyalty to John; hearing a chance to live, they all dropped their weapons.
From this point on, the only executive left blocking Burufaruto and the others was the final one.
