Outside the giant tent that stretched across a small city block, the battle between Buggy and Luffy raged on. Houses lay in ruin, and the cobblestone street was pockmarked with smoking craters. Luffy vaulted into the dusk sky, his silhouette framed against the burning embers of Orange Town. Below him, Buggy sneered, clutching a fan of glinting daggers between his gloved fingers.
"CHOP-CHOP PINWHEEL!" Buggy roared, detaching his right fist and spinning the blade-studded hand at blinding speed. The detached fist tore through the air like a lethal buzzsaw. Luffy snapped his wrist back mid-air, backhanding the spinning weapon away with a sharp CLANG. Landing heavily on a nearby roof, Luffy shattered the tiles beneath his sandals and immediately sprang off the pitch. Stretching his right leg straight into the dusk sky, he plummeted back down toward the clown like a falling meteor.
Before the blow could land, an explosion erupted from the roof of the main big top behind them. The same fire chip through the linings of canvas as a tower of roaring flame into the night sky. He staggered back, his jaw dropping as he stared in shock at his burning headquarters. "W-WHAT?! THE MAIN TENT?! As Luffy's feet crash to his floating head. "GOMU GOMU NO… STAMP!"
The impact drove the clown headfirst into the street, cracking the cobblestones into a web of splintered rock. Reeling his arm back, Luffy prepared to crush him, but a heavy set of footsteps made him pause. Zoro limped out from around the corner, blood trickling down his nose and jaw.
"HEY, ZORO!" Luffy's grim scowl instantly vanished, replaced by a wide grin. Zoro unclasped Luffy's straw hat from his elbow and tossed it through the air. Luffy caught it in his palm, resting it securely back on his head. Buggy spat a mouthful of blood into the dirt. "You're still alive, Pirate Hunter?!"
Clenching his white-hilted katana between his teeth, Zoro gestured with his chin toward the burning big top behind him. "Your unicycle buddy was a pain in the ass... so I took care of him."
Buggy's fists trembled in raw fury. "YOU SCOUNDREL!"
The clown launched his torso forward, blades flashing in a frantic whirlwind. But before his steel could reach Zoro, Luffy's fist rocketed in from the side, striking Buggy squarely across the jaw. The force sent the clown skidding violently toward the east side of town, where a single Ferris wheel still spun amidst the smoke. Luffy stretched his arm, snaring Buggy's floating leg mid-air, and slammed him down into the dirt.
"YOU DESTROYED THIS TOWN! YOU HURT THESE PEOPLE!" Luffy bellowed, driving a rapid volley of heavy punches straight into Buggy's chest, deepening the crater with every strike.
"GOMU GOMU NO—" Bleeding in the dirt, Buggy spotted a heavy wooden merchant cart parked nearby. Desperate, he fired his detached fist into the cart's thick axle. The steel fingers locked onto the frame, shattering the wood and bringing a crumbling brick wall down in a cloud of dust and gunpowder smoke. Using his stretched arm like a high-speed winch, Buggy snapped his torso out of the crater—narrowly escaping Luffy's descending fist as it shattered the cobblestones where his head had been a second prior.
Seeing the chaos, surviving Buggy Pirates, other pirates, and bounty hunters rushed into the square from opposite sides like a swarm of ants.
"PROTECT THE CAPTAIN!"
"KILL THE CLOWN!"
Before either group could interfere, Zoro vanished in a blur, reappearing directly in the center of the street to block their path.
"P-PIRATE HUNTER?!" the thugs gasped, skidding to a halt.
"If any of you want to get to those two," Zoro grunted, lowering his center of gravity and resting his hands on his hilts, "you'll have to go through me."
Uniting out of sheer panic, the mob charged him all at once. Zoro darted forward into the horde. His katanas danced in precise, lethal arcs—a swift parry, a low sweep across a lead thug's thighs, followed by a rising backhand cut that sent three men sprawling. A pirate leveled a flintlock and fired, but Zoro flicked the flat of his blade, deflecting the lead ball straight into the shoulder of an incoming spearman.
As the remaining men encircled him, Zoro planted his boot on a fallen stall counter and vaulted high into the air.
"THREE-SWORD STYLE..."
Mid-flight, he crossed his arm-blades over his chest, aligning them with the steel in his jaws like a predator spreading its wings.
"ONIGIRI!"
He flashed through the air in a single, blinding stroke. Four pirates collapsed instantly, deep cross-cuts spraying crimson over the stones. Landing softly, Zoro casually leaned his head to the side, letting a heavy sledgehammer whistle harmlessly past his ear, before thrusting the pommel of his hilt into the attacker's throat.
Within seconds, the mob was cleared. The thugs lay groaning or unconscious in the dust, their crude weapons clattering against the pavement.
Zoro stood amidst the fallen, his breathing heavy as the adrenaline began to fade. Suddenly, his left knee buckled. A wave of excruciating pain surged through his chest and side, the freshly opened wound from Cabaji throbbing violently. He gripped his ribs, staggering to keep his feet, his muscles trembling under the strain. He couldn't move another step.
Through his blurred vision, Zoro watched Luffy pursue the clown down the street.
"GET BACK HERE!" Luffy yelled, charging through the settling dust with both arms stretched far behind his back. "GOMU GOMU NO PI—"
Before Luffy could throw the strike, Buggy's detached fist shot straight out from the smoke ring, catching Luffy squarely across the jaw with a heavy impact that snapped his head back and sent him stumbling off-balance.
BEEP BEEP!
A horn blared from the smoke screen as a bizarre creation surged forward. Buggy had clamped his legs directly onto the wooden wheels of the destroyed cart, using his floating torso as a frame with a small steering wheel hovering in front.
"CHOP-CHOP CAR!" Buggy shrieked, cackling wildly. The makeshift vehicle struck Luffy at full speed, slamming him through rows of carnival stalls and into one of the houses. Brick and timber caved in, burying Luffy under a mountain of masonry. Buggy skidded to a halt outside, detaching from the wheels and snapping his lower body back into place with a wet CLICK.
The rubble erupted. Luffy vaulted out of the ruined house, blood trickling down his forehead, his straw hat hanging loosely against his neck by its string. Buggy's eyes suddenly locked onto the straw hat. He froze, staring at the woven pattern, the red band, and the distinct stitching near the brim. A surge of shock washed over his face, instantly morphing into deep, bitter recognition.
"Wait a minute..." Buggy muttered, his eyes narrowing to slits. "That hat... I'd recognize that damn piece of straw anywhere. That belongs to Red-Haired Shanks!" Luffy stopped in his tracks, his scowl deepening as he adjusted the brim over his eyes. "Do you know Shanks?!" Luffy's voice growled as his chest pumped for air.
"Gyahahaha! I knew it!" Buggy cackled, clutching his stomach as he pointed a gloved finger at Luffy. "So you're a little disciple of that soft-hearted bastard, huh? Shanks was always a self-righteous fool! A spineless, red-haired coward who ruined my life back on the grand seas! He probably gave you that cheap rag because he didn't have the guts to stand and fight like a real pirate!"
"SHUT UP! SHANKS DOESN'T DO EVIL THINGS!" Luffy exploded. His face flushed red with pure fury. He lunged forward, swinging a wild, unrefined haymaker straight for Buggy's face. The raw force of the punch whistled through the air. Buggy easily detached his upper torso, letting Luffy's massive fist smash harmlessly into the stone wall behind him, shattering it into dust.
"You are incredibly naive, kid." Buggy then reattached his limbs. "Do you think Shanks is some sort of saint?! HE KILLS PEOPLE! HE BRINGS DREAD AND FEAR TO OTHERS!"
"Because to be powerful… evil is inevitable"
"And for me, evil is… hilarious." Buggy then launches himself closer to Luffy, as he then grabs his head and slams it into the ground. Luffy replied by punching him in the chest, but Buggy quickly detached the part, as it flew into the air with no effect.
"WRONG!" Luffy roared, charging Buggy. He grabbed the clown's collar and slammed his forehead straight into Buggy's nose. The collision sent both crashing through the thin wooden frame of an abandoned photo booth. Inside the cramped space, flashes of blinding light strobed frantically as they exchanged brutal, short-range blows. Luffy grabbed Buggy's ankles to lift him, but noticed something strange—one boot remained firmly rooted to the floorboards. Before Luffy could process it, Buggy fired his detached fist like a piston, hurling Luffy straight through the booth's roof.
Mid-air, Luffy stretched his hand back down, snagging Buggy's shirt. The sudden yank yanked the clown along, and both crashed into separate metal cabins of the slowly spinning Ferris wheel.
"YOU CAN'T CHANGE REALITY, KID!" Buggy hovered mid-air between the ride's iron beams, his feet floating inside one of the passenger cars. He pointed all ten fingers straight at Luffy, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "I'VE SEEN THE GRAND LINE! YOU CAN'T CONQUER IT WITHOUT SACRIFICING YOUR MORALS!"
"BARA BARA MACHINE GUN!" Fingertip segments fired like a volley of heavy rifle rounds, punching straight through the cabin's metal walls and safety glass. The sheer barrage pinned Luffy against the back wall, making the entire iron structure shudder.
"YOU CHOOSE TO BE THAT BECAUSE IT IS YOU!" Luffy gripped the ledge of the passenger car, twisting his right arm around itself until his rubber skin squeaked under the immense tension. He backed away slowly, the raw, screeching friction of stretched rubber echoing through the enclosed cabin. Then, he sprinted forward and leaped into the open air.
"GOMU GOMU NO... SLEDGEHAMMER!" His coiled arm unwound with the violent speed of a motor. The immense torque rattled the entire car, snapping the steel cables and tearing through the heavy support beams. Bolts sheared off like flying bullets as the multi-ton cabin broke completely free. Luffy yanked the massive metal box into the night sky. Gravity and raw momentum threatened to drag him down, but he pushed past his limits, his strained muscles trembling under the load as he forced the cabin into a wide arc overhead. With a furious roar, he drove both hands downward, sending the giant structure hurtling directly toward Buggy like a falling meteor.
"You've got to be kidd—" The sheer weight of the metal car smashed squarely into Buggy, driving him straight into the cobblestones. The cataclysmic impact blew outward in a wall of pressure, hurling nearby market stalls and a staggering Zoro backward like they'd been hit by a runaway train. When the dust finally settled, the ride lay in ruined heaps, chunks of earth and shattered stone scattered across the plaza. Luffy slammed back onto the ground a second later, his elastic body flexing to absorb the recoil.
As Luffy surveyed the carnage, a stray boot smashed into his face, knocking him flat onto his back. He watched as a second shoe shot through the air toward the wreckage ahead, followed by a jagged sheet of metal launching skyward like a rocket. From deep within the rubble, a pale, blood-slicked hand clawed its way out as Buggy slowly hauled himself atop the twisted metal.
Meanwhile, on the stack of woods and irons, Zoro kicked the things that were pinning him down. The swordsman then looks at the distance as the blinding flurry of Buggy's parts strikes Luffy like a storm. "GODDAMIT!" He drew one of his katanas and began to dash towards Luffy. "LUFFY!"
"That's…it!" Buggy growled, his voice dropping into a dark whisper. "No more games. Let's see what your precious Shanks taught you!" Spreading his arms, he gripped all six daggers. A guttural roar burst from his throat as his body shattered into dozens of floating, razor-sharp segments, swirling through the air like floating blades.
"CHOP-CHOP FESTIVAL!" A storm of floating body parts and gleaming steel descended on Luffy like a hurricane. His blade-sharp segments and his hand with daggers spun like a monstrous twister. Luffy stretched his hand and swirled it into the air.
"GOMU GOMU NO FAN!" but the attack does nothing. He smacked one part, but it then swooped back and continued to harass his body. Snapping his hand to a nearby roof, Luffy slingshots himself high above the storm. But as he floated into the air, Buggy's grinning head materialized beside him. "Your performance is now over, kid!"
Luffy tries to pivot his body, but a detached hand claps tightly around his throat as his other hand clenches at the back of Luffy's head. "
"NOW TAKE A BOW FOR THE AUDIENCE!" Buggy slammed Luffy downward at terrifying speed. Luffy hit the iron wreckage with a deafening crash, jagged rebar and metal shards piercing his skin as the crater deepened. Luffy's eyes rolled back, blood pooling at the corners of his mouth. As the mist of concrete settles, Buggy slowly rises in front of Luffy, holding a dagger in his left hand.
"Now for the audience… I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SHOW! Buggy waves his hand into the empty street as he takes a low bow. Suddenly, a rusted iron rod plunged straight through Buggy's floating torso, pinning him to the earth. Zoro stood behind him, blood trickling down his own chin as he kicked the rod deeper, then spun his katana to slash across Buggy's neck using the back of his blade.
"DID YOU SEE… THE SHOW HAS ENDED?!" Buggy detached his arm and used his knives as a sword, dueling with Zoro, but as Zoro quickly deflected one of his strikes, a fist shot directly to his stomach, dropping the exhausted swordsman to his knees.
Grasping the iron rebar, Buggy's headless body yanked it free and raised it over Luffy's chest. "In the will of the Five Elders, the Holy Land, and Absolute Justice."
He brought the spike down—
CLAMP!
Luffy's hand shot up, catching the iron rod inches from his face. He jammed the spike into the dirt, kicked Buggy backward, and forced himself to his feet. Covered in deep cuts, blood staining his teeth, Luffy planted his palms on his knees.
He locked his elbows and drove his weight downward, compressing his rubber legs like hydraulic pistons.
PUMP. PUMP.
Deep within his chest, his rubber heart expanded violently, driving blood through his constricted veins.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
The sudden surge hit his arteries like a shockwave. Luffy gasped as his skin flushed a deep, feverish pink, the blood on his body instantly vaporizing into wisps of white steam. Buggy's cackle died in his throat as a suffocating pressure filled the air.
"What... what are you doing to your body?!" Luffy stood tall, steam venting from his lips as he locked his fingers together. "I told you..." he rasped, the steam evaporating as the pink glow faded back to skin, "...I'm not losing to a bastard like you." Luffy launched forward like a rabid beast, his arms stretching far behind him into houses. The glowing pink and the steam on his body vanish as quickly as it appears.
"GOMU GOMU NO... BAZOOKA!" Both palms slammed into Buggy's abdomen before the clown could separate. The impact launched Buggy straight into the main support beam of the spinning Ferris wheel. Luffy stretched his hand for a follow-up, but Buggy jerked his head aside—Luffy's fist burying itself deep into the solid iron girder, sending a metallic shiver through the entire structure. This kid! Why is he all Jumpy all of a sudden?!
Luffy stretched his arm, snagging a massive slab of shattered iron from the destroyed cart and hurling it straight at the clown. But before the heavy debris could connect, a screeching roar cut through the air.
"CHOP-CHOP TORNADO!" Buggy's body was severed into dozens of floating segments once more. His limbs whirled through the dusk sky at blinding speeds, generating a terrifying vortex that whipped the surrounding dirt and rubble into a localized twister. As the slab of iron entered the whirlwind, the sheer torque of the spinning, blade-wielding limbs shredded the thick metal to ribbons like wet paper.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! The storm of severed limbs closed in on Luffy in a blinding flash. He tried to hack through the whirlwind, using his arm like a whip, but the flying blades carved into him from every conceivable angle. Deep slashes ripped through his vest, chest, and arms, spraying crimson over the cobblestones.
The pain of the cuts began to clear the fog of anger from Luffy's head. His mind sharpened. Even in his fury, his combat instincts took over. As the blades carved into him, Luffy's sharp eyes tracked the movement of the storm. He noticed something critical: in his eager rush to slice up the enraged boy, Buggy was pushing his floating limbs out too far. Whenever his parts swarmed past several perimeters, they faltered, struggling against an invisible tether pulling them back toward his main torso.
As Luffy gritted his teeth, forcing his breathing to steady. He interlocked his fingers and stretched them wide, weaving his hands into a tight, crisscrossing rubber lattice.
"GOMU GOMU NO… NET!" As the hurricane of limbs swept in for what Buggy thought was a finish, Luffy scooped his massive rubber net straight through the swarm. The web of rubber snapped shut around Buggy's floating hands, boots, and daggers, trapping them in a writhing bundle. Luffy planted his heels, reeled his arms back, and hurled the net skyward with all his strength.
"GET OUTTA HERE!" The mass of limbs shot into the upper atmosphere, soaring far beyond Buggy's control range. High above Orange Town, the sea winds caught the detached parts, scattering them across the ocean.
Buggy's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "MY LIMBS! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BODY?! Stripped of his festival, Buggy was left hovering as a floating head, a stubby torso, and a pair of tiny, miniature feet. Footsteps echoed from the alleyway. Zoro and Nami emerged, bruised and breathless.
"Luffy!" Nami gasped, appearing to the side of the house, looking at the destroyed stalls once erected there earlier. "What happened here?!" Her eyes darted through the rubble, seeing Zoro's semi-unconscious body, trying to help himself up.
"You ok?" Nami ran towards him and grabbed his arm as he was about to fall to the ground.
"Damn clown..."
"Zoro, Orange-hair… stay back," Luffy rasped, wiping blood from his chin, his breathing leveling out.
As Nami watched Luffy wrestle with Buggy's floating limbs, her gaze dropped to the cobblestones. Resting motionless near the lip of a shattered stall was a single leather boot. In a fraction of a second, her mind flashed back through the chaos, tearing through every detail like turning pages in a book. The circus tent. She visualized Buggy hovering mid-air, a floating shoe attached to his leg. But her eyes narrowed in her memory. The shoe... why did it sit inches below his shin? A fashion choice? No—why was there no ankle bump under the leather?
Her mental focus shifted to the main stage. Why did he make his grand entrance seated on a high throne? Why was that throne bolted to a raised wooden box on the floorboards? She zoomed in on the grain of the wood beneath his seat. I've seen these kinds of woods before. Hundreds of images in her mind began to flood her memory, then one caught her attention. An image of a barrel. His feet can't float! That's why the floorboard's empty!They had to stay grounded!
Bingo.
"His feet!" Nami yelled. "He can't float his feet!" Spotting Buggy's tiny, bare feet scrambling frantically across the dirt, Nami sprinted forward, slamming a heavy wooden crate directly over them. Zoro caught on instantly. Dragging his weight forward, he planted his heavy boot square on Buggy's floating torso, pinning it to the cobblestones.
"W-Wait! Hold on!" he squeaked, his manic bravado instantly evaporating. "It was all a show! An act! I didn't mean to hurt anyone! I swear!"
Luffy didn't hear a word. He sprinted full speed down the ruined street, building immense momentum. As he closed the distance, he threw his body sideways and extended his left arm straight out like a rigid, heavy iron beam. Buggy's eyes widened in horror as he tried to float-dodge upward, pulling his hands up to block. "WAIT, NO—!"
"GOMU GOMU NO…" Luffy reached Buggy and drove his stretched arm directly across the clown's throat. "…SICKLE!"
The sheer kinetic force of the running, stretched arm snapped Buggy's head back with booming violence. The strike caught the rest of his floating upper frame, blasting him out of the air. The impact launched Buggy skyward like a cannonball, sending him screaming into the clouds, rocketing over the horizon until he disappeared into the starry night sky. Silence fell over the ruined streets of Orange Town. Luffy skidded to a halt on the pier, his arm snapping back to his side. He let out a long breath, looking up at the clear sky before collapsing onto his back, exhausted. Zoro quickly ran and helped Luffy to get up.
"Did you eat that bird?" Zoro asked mockingly. Luffy let out a chuckle as the two walked slowly, passing Nami. Nami walked up to Luffy and helped Zoro carry him. Before either of them could speak, heavy footsteps clattered across the cobblestones. Mayor Boodle came running around the corner, out of breath, his face pale beneath the soot and sweat. Behind him, Chouchou trotted along, his leg bandaged but his head held high.
"Where…Where's that damn clown?! Boodle gasped, darting around the place. "Into the sky," Zoro pointed to the clouds above them. "S-So… You... you actually beat him?" asked the old man. Zoro and Nami answered, nodding their heads in response.
"My goodness!" staring in absolute disbelief at the shattered crater where Buggy had been standing seconds prior. Then, his eyes widened with sudden panic. "Listen to me! You three have to get out of here right now!" Luffy lifted his hat slightly, blinking up at him. "Huh? Why?"
"The townspeople… some of them arrived at Shells Town… they called the Marines, and they're on their way here," Boodle urged, pointing his hands frantically toward the coast. "They're on their way! Any pirate they see here will be arrested! There are still minutes left, go! Run!"
"Wait… Shells Town?" Zoro clenched his forehead.
"W-Wait… let's just wait here! C-Coby might…" Luffy whispers. His voice is weak and in whispers, but before he could finish, Zoro cut it.
"That boy's gone… They didn't arrest us because we saved them from those bastards. They wouldn't do it for the second time… They're Marines after all," as he continued to drag Luffy. Nami, hearing all of those confessions, her eyes bulged. So they actually defeated Morgan! God, this airhead is strong!
"Alright, follow me!" Nami snapped, already turning on her heel. "I didn't dock my boat at the main harbor. I kept it hidden at a secluded inlet on the east side of the island!" Luffy scrambled to his feet, pushing his remaining energy into his body. "Shishishi! L-Let's go!"
The three of them sprinted down the narrow, ruined alleyways, leaving the Mayor behind as he waved goodbye, tears falling from his eyes. Thank you… Thank you for everything! Nami led them through a dense patch of trees, breaking out onto a quiet, rocky cove hidden away from the main town. Moored to a wooden post in the shallow water was the dark cabin cruiser —the very vessel Nami had stolen from the three perverted pirates earlier.
"Hop in!" Nami instructed, leaping onto the deck with practiced grace. Zoro and Luffy boarded behind her. As Zoro stepped past the hatch leading down into the cutter's small, cramped cabin, the door swung slightly open with the tilt of the boat. His eyes caught a glint of gold in the dark interior. Inside lay mountain after mountain of glittering gold coins, jewel-encrusted goblets, and heavy treasure chests—the massive hoard Nami had amassed from her thief runs.
Zoro halted, his sharp eyes narrowing as he stared at the sheer amount of wealth stashed inside a single girl's boat. His brow furrowed with deep suspicion. A solo thief hoarding a kingdom's worth of gold... What is she really after? He looked over at Nami, but she was already busy adjusting the rigging, completely ignoring his gaze. Zoro decided not to push it. He leaned his back against the ship's rail, resting Luffy to the edge as he was already snoring.
"I'll be below deck for a minute," Nami called out smoothly. "Don't touch anything!" She stepped into the small cabin, pulling the heavy wooden door shut behind her and sliding the latch into place. The bright smile faded from her mask instantly, replaced by her true face. She walked over to the corner of the cabin, moving aside a heavy velvet cloth to reveal a small, dark green Den Den Mushi sitting atop a crate.
She picked up the receiver. The snail's eyelids opened, its eyes morphing into sharp, sinister slits as the connection clicked through. A heavy, guttural voice echoed from the shell, dripping with arrogant amusement.
"Nami... Have you been wasting my time, or do you have something for me?" Nami held the receiver tight, her knuckles turning red. She glanced back toward the sealed door where she could hear Luffy's muffled snore outside, before turning her gaze back to the glowing pile of treasure.
"I have the map to the Grand Line, Arlong," Nami said quietly, her voice devoid of any warmth. "And another stack of gold. I'm coming home to deliver it."