After Shanks' experiment, it turned out that if you doodled on a statue petrified by the Love-Love Fruit, the drawings would not disappear when the ability was undone. Instead, they would remain on the person's skin.
The clown makeup on Buggy's face, personally drawn by Shanks, was proof of that.
Not long ago.
Aside from his natural red nose, Buggy originally didn't have much makeup on his face.
Red lip gloss and the pirate mark on his face were everything. Even if his prestige and status were somewhat fake, Buggy still had to maintain them.
But Shanks' train of thought was different from Buggy's. He drew according to the look of a comedic clown.
The tools he used for drawing were also a bit different. He obviously didn't carry clown cosmetics around with him.
Buggy did have some, and they were high-quality waterproof body paints. They were one of his important living expenses.
However, he had already been turned to stone, and the items on his body were no exception. Shanks had no way to use them.
In the end, what he used to put makeup on Buggy was one of Uta's signature pens.
Shanks didn't carry pens. Under normal circumstances, no one would ask for his autograph, unless they were a fanatic like Bartolomeo.
But there were only a handful of people like that across the entire sea, and running into one was purely a matter of luck.
Uta was different. She was a famous singer who frequently held autograph events, so signature pens were standard equipment whenever she went out.
She also had cosmetics, but she refused to provide them for Shanks to use on Buggy. If that face was going to be painted into a clown's, who knew how much makeup it would consume.
It wasn't that she lacked any, but that kind of waste would drive anyone crazy. Just imagine the despair of seeing a relative's bratty kid smear lipstick all over the walls.
"This one is fluorescent, this one is waterproof and fade-resistant, and this one is a polished Seastone self-defense pen, meant for protection…"
Because the circumstances and locations for signing autographs varied, Uta had to prepare for many different situations.
Making sure an autograph wouldn't be washed away by sweat, or making it look more beautiful, were all things she had to consider.
Uta continued counting the pens in her bag while explaining their categories to Shanks.
She had also encountered some fanatical fans before. The Seastone pen existed precisely for that purpose.
Most fans of that extreme type were ordinary people who, for some reason, became obsessed.
Seastone was extremely hard. After being polished into a pen using Wano Country's craftsmanship, its sharpness was no less than that of a metal spear tip.
The metal pen casing also allowed Uta to use it without being affected, making it an essential tool for both home and travel.
"Waterproof?"
"Yeah. If you write on clothes, even washing them won't remove it. Getting it off takes a lot of effort. I also have to be careful not to get it on my hands…"
"Good, this is the one! Uta, lend me this."
"But that one is really hard to wash off."
"That's exactly what I want. Cough, cough.. I mean, what color is this pen?"
"Red, yellow, and blue. You can mix the colors here."
With the three base colors, the pen could produce even more shades, and Shanks began his grand artistic endeavor.
By the time he finished drawing, Olga finally noticed that Shanks seemed to have done something strange.
"Huh? Isn't that Red Nose? When did he get turned into stone?"
Olga had arrived at Kuja after Buggy and hadn't noticed the petrified Buggy in the corner at all.
If Shanks hadn't spotted him, Buggy would most likely have remained a stone statue here for the rest of his life.
That would be the lucky outcome. If he were unlucky, he might be taken back and used as a stone to press pickled vegetables, or smashed into pieces, ending his life outright.
Without a doubt, Buggy's Haki was nowhere near strong enough to break through Hancock's petrification on his own.
If he wanted to turn back, he could only rely on Hancock. If something happened to her, then even the next Love-Love Fruit user wouldn't be able to undo the petrification.
"Shanks?! Why is it you again, you b*stard? Why do I run into you everywhere? What are you all doing? What's so funny?"
There were many people on the island, but the first person Buggy noticed was Shanks—"that face he hated to the bone."
Then, after regaining consciousness, Buggy felt that Shanks was desperately holding back laughter. And it wasn't just him, even Mr. 3 and the others looked like they were trying hard to suppress something.
"It's nothing. I just thought it's been a long time since we last met."
"A long time? You b*stard just kicked me away a moment ago! And now you're saying it's been a long time?!"
"Huh? Did that happen? Why don't I remember?"
"It's always like this, always like this! Do you know that every time I see you playing dumb like that, it pisses me off so much?!"
Still not understanding what had happened, Buggy grabbed Shanks by the collar and began roaring.
His body split apart, the pieces flying up and down as if venting the resentment in his heart.
But Shanks' expression seemed full of indifference. No matter what Buggy said, he remained calm and carefree.
"So noisy. May I turn this annoying man back into stone?
I also happen to have an experiment I want to try."
"What experiment?"
"He's the user of tge Chop-Chop Fruit, and I'm the user of Love-Love Fruit.
If I turn him into stone and then kick off a non-lethal part of his body, and afterward completely undo the petrification… will his fruit still allow him to regenerate?"
"Huh? I've never thought about that. Want to give it a try?"
"?!"
This time, Hancock didn't even need to act. The mere threat in her words made Buggy's body gradually stiffen on its own.
Then Shanks' response made Buggy tremble with anger.
[Why don't you try it yourself, you b*stard Shanks! It's not your body that's going to be smashed, is it?! Just wait, I'm going to tear you apart!]
Of course, he only thought that in his heart and didn't dare say it out loud.
After all, the one who might slice him up wasn't Shanks, it was Hancock.
There were no memories of the petrification process. At first, seeing Shanks' grinning face, Buggy had even forgotten what had happened.
It was this life-threatening experiment that reminded him, and only then did he realize what state he was currently in.
To his shock, he discovered that Mr. 3 and the others had already quietly retreated far away, hiding in a place where they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
"Buggy, take care of yourself!"
"Captain Buggy, we believe in you! You can definitely handle this, we won't disturb you!"
"You bunch of b*stards!"
Looking at his subordinates bowing neatly in unison, he strongly suspected they were trying to send him off.
"Alright, alright, just let him leave. What do you say, Buggy?"
"Y-Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking! I was planning to leave anyway… Mr. 3! Get back here and get to work!"
Under the threat of being turned to stone, Mr. 3 quickly created a small wax boat. Then they chased off once again in the direction Luffy and the others had just departed.
The unrelated people on Kuja had basically left, but Red Hair remained.
He wasn't sure whether the World Government might secretly take action, so he decided to stay for the time being and look after Uta and the others.
Meanwhile, at the battlefield, Kaido was in a very bad mood.
On one hand, Shanks had slipped away just as the battle was about to reach its peak. That was undeniably a huge disappointment, but it wasn't the real reason for his anger.
Even without Shanks, there was still Bullet. Kaido also didn't want to go too hard on Shanks right now, so even though Shanks had left, he still had someone even more worth fighting.
The problem was that someone had interfered in the battle. Just moments ago, a member of CP0 had appeared on the island and, during the fight between Kaido and Bullet, launched a sneak attack on Bullet.
In his earlier battle with Whitebeard, Kaido had various attribute bonuses and even the boost from Terastallization. But now he wasn't using that power, precisely so the fight could last longer.
However, the CP0 agent's sneak attack tilted the balance slightly. The Seastone dagger in his hand left a wound on Bullet's body.
The suppressive effect of Seastone on stamina caused Bullet to immediately lose ground in his clash of strength with Kaido, and he took a solid blow from the kanabo.
In fact, that CP0 agent's target was the pocket on Bullet's body. According to his observations, the Eternal Pose was on Bullet, so he intended to seize the chance to take it away.
The shockwaves of the three-way melee earlier had been far too terrifying, leaving him no chance to sneak into the fight. He had been lurking for a long time before finally finding this opportunity.
From this perspective, the World Government had succeeded. They had trained a group of loyal CP0 agents who would carry out their mission even if they knew it meant certain death.
"You b*stard… what have you done?!"
Kaido's furious roar made ears tremble. Failing to obtain the Eternal Pose, the CP0 agent immediately tried to withdraw…no, to flee.
They dared to carry out suicidal missions, but when facing an even more terrifying creature, fear was an instinct that came from deep within. At this point, there was no need for any elegant wording. It was simply an unchangeable reality.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
He pushed Geppo and Soru to their absolute limits. Every cell in his body screamed at him to get out of this dangerous area as quickly as possible. Even if he had to carry out the mission, he would need to find another opportunity later.
In terms of strength, Red Hair was actually the only one who might have had a chance to snatch the Eternal Pose from Bullet during a lull in the battle.
But Red Hair had once been Roger's apprentice. The World Government simply couldn't trust him, and instead chose to rely on the weaker CP0.
The potential of his body had already been squeezed to its limit. Every cell was struggling so that this body could continue to survive.
But effort did not always lead to success.
In the face of an absolute gap in power, some efforts were simply futile.
"Where… do you think you're going?"
A shadow loomed over the CP0 agent. Like a shadow, Kaido appeared behind him despite the agent's desperate escape.
"Who gave you the guts to interfere in my fight with strength like that?"
Kaido didn't even bother shouting "Thunder Bagua." He simply gripped the kanabo with both hands and swung forward. The CP0 agent vanished from midair, then, like a tattered sack, was sent crashing toward one end of the island.
At the spot where he landed, Crocodile, who had turned into sand, temporarily reassembled his body.
"Idiot… daring to interfere with monsters like that…"
With his Logia-type fruit and his current level of strength, Crocodile could still remain on this island. At the very least, he wouldn't be killed by some inexplicable area-of-effect attack.
But that was all. From beginning to end, he had never found any opportunity, so he never made a move.
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