Chapter Nineteen: Fierce Battle with the Navy

Ghost Spider, one of the Vice Admirals of the Navy Headquarters, was later among the five Vice Admirals who participated in the Buster Call at Enies Lobby. He was also the one tasked with escorting Ace to Marineford for his public execution.

In his youth, he was one of the disciples of the former Navy Admiral Black Arm Zephyr. He had mastered both the Navy’s Six Styles and Life Return. Using Life Return, he could control his hair to transform into six additional arms for combat; with his original two, he wielded eight arms in total. Combined with his ghastly visage, this earned him the moniker Ghost Spider.

Buffon had an intuitive grasp of Ghost Spider’s strength. During the later war at Marineford, Ghost Spider managed to handcuff the undying Marco with seastone while Marco was caught off guard—a feat that placed him among the very top of the Vice Admirals.

Reflecting on this, Buffon recalled the contents of earlier newspapers and bounty posters. He casually wove himself a white cloak and a mask. Then, with Armament Haki, he imprinted a black cross on each.

Buffon leapt from the ship and addressed Ryoma and Brook, “In a moment, keep the zombies in the cabin from coming out. Neither of you is to act without my command.”

The skeleton and the zombie nodded, replying in unison, “Yohohoho, go for it, Buffon!”

The distance between the three ships narrowed rapidly, and soon a voice boomed from the loudspeaker on the opposite warship: “The ship ahead, halt immediately and submit to inspection!”

Buffon ignored the bluster, instructing Brook to turn the rudder to avoid a head-on collision, yet maintaining speed.

Ghost Spider witnessed this defiance, his brows knitting even tighter, making his frightening face appear all the more monstrous.

Perhaps suspecting that the ship still carried experimental subjects, the other side refrained from opening fire immediately, seemingly intent on a direct close-quarters battle.

This suited Buffon perfectly.

The gap closed further, and Buffon could now clearly see the two entwined, clawless dragon tails on Ghost Spider’s helmet.

In an instant, Buffon released his Conqueror’s Haki. The weaker marines on the two warships collapsed, eyes rolling back and foam leaking from their mouths. Those who remained upright could only cling to their weapons for support.

At this point, aside from Ghost Spider, all combat capability had been wiped out.

Ghost Spider, a Vice Admiral, did not lose his composure in the face of the situation. He stubbed out the cigarette clamped in his mouth and addressed Buffon, “Conqueror’s Haki, eh? Newcomer! I don’t know your background, but in front of Ghost Spider, mere Haki won’t win you the day.”

As he finished, the hair at the back of his head lengthened, transforming into the shape of six hands. He then produced eight swords from his white coat, leaping toward Buffon in attack.

Buffon remained unfazed—this was his first true, proper battle with an enemy, and he intended to hone his combat skills.

Hands in his pockets, Buffon stepped lightly on Moonwalk, advancing toward Ghost Spider.

Seeing Buffon use Moonwalk, Ghost Spider was instinctively startled, but his blades never faltered, maintaining their relentless speed as he pressed the assault.

Buffon, seeing the fierce approach, switched tactics, using Shave to dart behind Ghost Spider, then raised his leg and unleashed a white slashing wave with Tempest Kick, striking at Ghost Spider’s back.

Ghost Spider, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, used his transformed hair-arms to brandish swords and block the attack.

He was shocked internally, “Is this guy friend or foe? He’s already used three of the Six Styles—could he be an undercover agent?”

Before he could ponder further, Buffon’s Finger Gun barrage came down like a storm.

Ghost Spider, wielding eight swords, barely kept pace, but the more he fought, the more astonished he became: “Four Styles now. If he’s not one of ours, it makes no sense! But Zephyr’s former disciples—he knows their circumstances, and none like this exists. Plus, Conqueror’s Haki… could he be a senior?”

His movements slowed slightly, and he called out, “Senior?”

Buffon thought to himself, “If you count my years reading manga, I really could be your senior,” but said nothing aloud, continuing his fierce assault.

Ghost Spider, seeing the attack intensify, abandoned any illusions. With Armament Haki, he cloaked his body and eight swords, swinging them like a meat grinder to counter Buffon’s offensive.

Buffon, using Iron Body, responded calmly to each move, then deployed Paper Art, dodging about Ghost Spider’s side.

At this point, Buffon had demonstrated all Six Styles; feeling satisfied, he unleashed a powerful Tempest Kick.

The white slash forced Ghost Spider onto Buffon’s ship’s deck, and with a flash of Shave, Buffon appeared before him and delivered a forceful kick, knocking Ghost Spider unconscious.

The marines who had been barely holding themselves up with their weapons saw this, and lost all will to resist. One after another, they tossed aside their weapons and lay on the deck, feigning death. Thus, the navy was utterly defeated.

Buffon glanced down at the unconscious Ghost Spider; blood was seeping from his helmet.

He shook his head slightly, then bent down and removed the helmet, seeing the bleeding wound on Ghost Spider’s forehead, which made Buffon feel a bit sorry.

He quickly stitched up the wound with his flying needles, leaving not a trace of injury.

At once, the “Character Encyclopedia” appeared in his mind:

[Owner: Ghost Spider]
[Level: T4]
[Faction: Navy]
[Rank: Vice Admiral]
[Obsession: 26%]
[Current harvest: Soul +366 → 17826 (Level 3 Ghost)]
[Skill available: Life Return]
[Do you wish to collect rewards?]

“Life Return, eh? Not a single one is missing,” Buffon mused, then lifted Ghost Spider and tossed him back onto his warship.

He lay down, basking in the sunlight.

“Yohohoho! Buffon, I really think your bounty is a bit low!” Brook joked.

Buffon shook his head without replying.

A moment later, the three warships had separated by nearly three hundred meters.

Ryoma picked up Ghost Spider’s discarded helmet and placed it on his head, commenting seriously, “Still looks somewhat like a samurai!”

Buffon glanced sideways, feeling displeased—a white cloak paired with a samurai helmet was hardly fashionable.

Thinking this, he rose and smacked the helmet off Ryoma’s head, then turned and, aiming at the departing warships, gave a gentle kick.

The samurai helmet traced a perfect arc through the air and landed squarely on the prostrate Ghost Spider’s head!

Suddenly, Ghost Spider was jolted awake!

He sat up and examined himself; though there was plenty of blood, he was completely unharmed. Looking down at the now misshapen helmet, he was lost in thought.

Meanwhile, a voice echoed in Buffon’s mind: “Gatekeeper’s Secret Technique—Backfield Goal—Score.”

“Yohoho, not bad!” Buffon praised inwardly, then lay back to enjoy his sunbath.