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BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!
Up on the roof of the tallest building in Orange Town, loud laughter echoed as smoke and fire raged below.
"With my Buggy Bombs, I'm the strongest in the entire East Blue!!!"
Wearing a circus-like outfit, face painted like a clown, and sporting that iconic red nose, Buggy stood with his hands on his hips, proudly showing off to his crew.
He was feeling unstoppable.
"Woohoo! Captain Buggy's bombs are unbeatable!!"
His henchmen, all dressed like circus performers too, showered him with shameless praise.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Buggy was loving every second of it. At this moment, he looked nothing like a former crew member of the Pirate King, or a future Warlord of the Sea.
"Keep the compliments coming, boys!" he roared. "Praise your great Captain Buggy!"
Immediately, the crowd below shouted:
"Captain Buggy is the strongest pirate in East Blue!"
"Captain Buggy is the Marines' worst nightmare!"
"Captain Buggy has the most treasure of any pirate!!!"
"Captain Buggy is—"
"Hey! Red nose!!!"
Suddenly, in the middle of all that flattery, a small voice rang out.
It wasn't loud, but it instantly shut down the whole scene.
Every single background pirate stiffly turned their heads in unison toward the sound.
Who else could it be but Luffy and the gang?
"You're pretty sharp, Luffy. The most distinctive thing about Buggy the Clown is definitely his big red nose."
Before anyone could react, Bai Ye smoothly picked up the conversation, totally unfazed by the tension in the air.
"Yeah, that bright red nose really stands out. I wonder if it's real or not."
Zoro crossed his arms and stared seriously at Buggy for a moment.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you guys totally ignoring the situation here?! It's obvious those three words—red-nosed—are totally banned around here!!!"
Nami was clearly the most on edge out of the group. It seemed like she was the only one who noticed how off the mood had gotten.
Except...
Random background pirate: You said those three words too! And super loudly, I might add!!!
"Hehehehe~"
A deep, chilling laugh suddenly echoed through the air.
"You little brats… just now, you said... those three words, didn't you?! RED-NOSED!!"
Buggy snarled at them, his twisted expression combined with his clown makeup made him look both creepy... and a bit ridiculous?
The moment Buggy lost it, all the pirates around them started shaking in fear.
Their captain was super sensitive about the red nose thing. Even if someone might have said those words by accident, they'd still end up facing Buggy's most brutal, most vicious punishments.
But now? These four had each said it once.
"Bring the cannon over!"
At Buggy's command, a cannon loaded with a special Buggy Bomb was wheeled out.
Buggy stared down the four of them.
One guy with three swords.One guy whose looks were threatening his greatness.One guy in a super annoying straw hat.And one trembling blonde chick.
Who the hell gave you guys the guts to mess with me, the great Buggy?!
"Go to hell, all of you!!!"
With the cannon lit, there was a loud BOOM as the Buggy Bomb launched toward the group—way more dangerous than a regular cannonball.
To Buggy and the others, it looked like the next second would end in a big, messy, bloody explosion.
But then—
"Yosh! I got this!!"
Luffy, seeing the bomb flying toward them, grabbed his straw hat with one hand and stepped forward without hesitation.
"Gum-Gum... Balloon!"
In a flash, Luffy sucked in a massive amount of air and puffed up like a huge rubber ball. He took the full hit from the bomb and then bounced it up into the sky.
"One-Sword Style—Draw and Slash!"
As the bomb soared upward, Zoro charged forward, using Luffy's belly as a springboard to launch himself into the air.
With one clean slash, he landed smoothly, and the bomb exploded mid-air with a deafening boom. A massive shockwave rushed down toward them.
"Xun Hexagram—Dancing Firefly Wind!"
Bai Ye raised one hand flat, summoning a stream of wind out of nowhere that shielded them from the oncoming heatwave.
From the moment the bomb launched to the instant Bai Ye made his move, it had all happened in just seconds.
But what the four of them had just pulled off left the entire Buggy crew staring in shock, jaws practically hitting the ground.
At that moment, every pirate in the area had the same thought running through their heads:
"Who are these guys?!"
Even Buggy had snapped out of his manic rage. With his experience, it was easy to see that these weren't just some nobodies.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'm the guy who's gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Luffy proudly declared his usual line, then pointed to the three behind him.
"And these are my crewmates. Zoro's a swordsman, Bai Ye's a Taoist, and Nami's our navigator."
Nami: "Why the hell are you giving such detailed intros, you idiot?! And who said I'm your crewmate?!"
"A pirate hunter turning pirate, huh?"
Buggy looked at Zoro first, then glanced over at Luffy and Bai Ye.
"You two... you've eaten Devil Fruits too, haven't you?"
"Nope! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, so I'm a rubber man. Bai Ye didn't eat any Devil Fruit—he's a Taoist."
"A pretty badass job, huh!"
Luffy corrected him mid-sentence and proudly introduced Bai Ye.
Buggy: ???
Wait, are you guys here to negotiate or something?
And what's with that smug "Bai Ye's amazing" face you're making?
"You bastards messing with me?!"
Buggy exploded, "What the hell do you want?!"
"Oh, right—"
Luffy suddenly clapped his palm like he just remembered something.
"We're here to steal your Grand Line map! And also, I'm gonna punch you into next week, Buggy!!"
"A bunch of brats think they can take my map? Don't make me laugh!!!"
Buggy roared, "I'm the great pirate of the East Blue—Captain Buggy!!!"
"Minions! Get them!!!"
Bai Ye snorted, "Wow, saying something that cowardly in such a cocky tone? That's so you, Buggy."
"Buggy!!! You're my opponent!!!"
Luffy didn't bother with any more talk—since he'd already said what he needed to, now it was time to throw hands.
[Gum-Gum Pistol!!!]
His stretchy punch shot past the crowd and smashed straight into Buggy's head!
BAM!
Caught totally off guard by Luffy's no-nonsense attack, Buggy didn't have time to split his head apart. The blow sent him flying backwards, knocked out cold by the sheer force.
Seeing his punch connect, Luffy dashed at Buggy again.
But this time, Buggy's top three officers moved to intercept him.
Only—two people stepped in to block their path first.
Well, not two people… two guys and a beast.
Bai Ye and Zoro stood side by side in front of them, blocking the way.
Bai Ye said casually, "There's no way we're letting you interfere with our captain's fight."
And by "our," he meant—
Buggy's right-hand man, the so-called Beast Tamer Mohji, was dressed in some ridiculous bear costume and wielding a whip.
His partner? A massive, vicious lion named Richie.
Then there was the crew's strategist, Cabaji the Acrobat, rocking that edgy side-swept hairstyle and riding a unicycle, armed with a sword.
Facing these three weirdos—well, two and a lion—Zoro and Bai Ye exchanged a look.
Zoro said, "I'll take the one with the sword."
Bai Ye shrugged, "Guess that means I'm stuck with the leftovers."
Cabaji: Could you not sound like you're picking fruit, damn it?!?!
Mohji: Long-haired punk, sorry to say, but you're not gonna enjoy fighting me and Richie!!!
Yeah… the tension's high now—no backing down!
Straw Hat Pirates vs. Buggy Pirates—Ready, go!!!
"....."