"What about him?!" Buggy waved his hand impatiently, cutting off whatever Mohji was about to say.
"Yihahaha!" Buggy suddenly straightened his back, his red nose sticking up high. "Since you're joining this captain's crew, you'll follow my rules!"
Mohji and Kabaji frantically tugged at Buggy's cloak from behind, their faces paler than death. Richie had already covered his eyes with his paws, unable to bear watching the coming disaster.
"First!" Buggy held up one finger, saying proudly, "When we encounter slave ships, we'll handle killing the pirates, and you'll handle soothing the children. You know, kids will cry non-stop. These useless guys don't know how to soothe a single one of them. It drives me crazy."
Rhett raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Second!" Buggy completely failed to notice the strange atmosphere and kept getting more excited. "When this captain eats, you'll serve tea and pour water. When this captain sleeps, you'll stand guard..."
Mohji was already kneeling on the ground drawing crosses.
Kabaji had tears streaming down his face like noodles. He muttered quietly, "Captain... stop talking... I think you might be about to die."
"Shut up!" Buggy glared at Kabaji, not hearing a word he said. He turned back to Rhett and continued, "Third! You'll hand over 80% of your monthly salary... no, 90% to this captain! Our goal is to find all the treasure in the world. Pretty great, aren't we?"
The four of them watched from behind with their jaws dropped.
Aya whispered, "Brother Buggy... is really brave..."
Buggy got more and more carried away, even starting to dance around. "Yihahaha! You see how amazing this captain is? Back in the East Blue, I was..."
Mohji and Kabaji's faces turned ashen.
Mohji's lips trembled as he whispered to Kabaji, "Quick... quick stop the captain..."
Kabaji's legs shook like a sieve. "You're... you're the vice captain... you figure something out..."
Buggy strode over to Rhett and looked this masked "newcomer" up and down.
"Hmm... good build, good presence..." Buggy stroked his chin and suddenly reached out to take off Rhett's mask. "Let this captain see your real face!"
Mohji and Kabaji's loyalty to their captain overcame their fear of the Mist Lord. "No, captain!!!"
But it was too late.
"Pop."
The mask fell off.
Buggy froze along with time itself.
Buggy's smile froze on his face. His pupils contracted violently. His jaw dropped. Even though he was still standing, mentally, he had already left a while ago.
"Rhe... RheRheRhett... bro..." Buggy's tongue tied itself in knots.
Rhett smiled gently. A shark-toothed smile from Big Bro Rhett wasn't scary.
But a gentle, soft smile from Big Bro Rhett?
Heh heh heh.
That smile reminded Buggy of the days back on the Oro Jackson when he and Shanks got hung off the stern and had to play with the piranhas.
"Little Buggy," Rhett's voice was gentle, terrifyingly so. "Long time no see."
Buggy's legs also began trembling uncontrollably. He mechanically turned his head,
looking to his crew for help,
only to see Mohji and Kabaji glance at each other.
After confirming the look in each other's eyes, they each punched the other as hard as they could. The force was so great that their stomach acid spun.
They foamed at the mouth and passed out cold. Richie had already been lying on the ground unconscious for a while.
"Um... well..." Big drops of sweat formed on Buggy's forehead. "I mean... big bro, why didn't you say anything beforehand! Yihahaha... See, I didn't even have time to prepare..."
Rhett cracked his knuckles leisurely. "Buggy... you were setting rules for me? You were saying it so smoothly back there. Why are you stuttering now?"
Buggy immediately snapped to attention. "Not at all! It was all a misunderstanding! You're my beloved big bro. How could I dare? Big bro, believe me!"
"So why were you putting on airs in front of your beloved big bro Rhett?" Rhett was just teasing him. He was the one who didn't reveal himself. He couldn't really blame Buggy.
Buggy's tears were about to fall. "Big bro, I was wrong! Look how lively our recruitment rally is..."
Rhett suddenly reached out and ruffled Buggy's hair. This familiar动作 instantly brought Buggy back to his days on the Oro Jackson.
"Alright," Rhett sighed. "After all these years, this is the best you can do? Still recruiting babysitters in Paradise?"
Buggy muttered defensively, "I just wanted to find some reliable crew members. None of us are very good with kids. Taking care of them is really a problem..."
Rhett looked at Buggy like this and suddenly smiled. "You've grown up, Buggy. Have you been eating well all these years?"
Buggy's eyes started filling with tears. "Big Bro Rhett..."
Before Buggy could cry, Rhett continued.
"But still, a proper 'greeting' can't be skipped."
Buggy's face instantly turned deathly pale. "Wait, Big Bro Rhett! I'm a great pirate with a billion-berry bounty now! Give me some face..."
"Oh?" Rhett's smile grew even brighter. "Perfect. Let me see how much the great pirate with a billion-berry bounty has improved."
"Nooooo——!!!"
"Here comes little flying Buggy."
Rhett took Buggy to an open area. He wanted to test Buggy's quality. A very malicious smile played on his lips.
"Hey, Buggy." Rhett suddenly spoke. The blood mist in his palm condensed into a small vortex. "Want to come play in my world for a bit?"
"Huh?" Buggy was confused. Before he could react, the mist expanded. Rhett pulled Buggy into the Blood Prison Scroll. Buggy didn't even need to get hurt.
"Show me what you've got, Buggy."
——Humm!
Buggy's vision went dark. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing on a blood-red wasteland.
A blood moon hung high above. Corpses littered the ground. The air was thick with a rusty, iron-like smell.
He shuddered violently. "Whoa! Wh-What kind of creepy place is this?!"
Rhett's voice came from all directions, carrying a teasing laugh. "Don't be nervous, Buggy."
The mist churned. Countless blood-colored samurai crawled out of the ground, holding weapons, their eyes burning with crimson flames. They silently surrounded Buggy, their blades coated in black-red Armament Haki.
Buggy swallowed hard. Cold sweat formed on his forehead, but he quickly forced himself to puff out his chest. "Hmph! I've seen every kind of scene there is. You think some illusion is going to scare me?"
Rhett stood beneath the blood moon, looking down at the fight unfolding below.
"Oh, you know it's an illusion."
Rhett didn't heavily distort Buggy's perception.
Just as the first samurai swung his blade at Buggy, Rhett simply snapped his fingers.
——Swish!
The samurai seemed bound by an invisible force. Buggy's eyes went wide, not understanding what was happening, when Rhett's voice came lazily:
"Hey, hey, don't be in such a hurry to cut him down. I haven't said 'go' yet."
The samurai were frozen in place like someone had hit the pause button.
Buggy was stunned for two seconds. "Big Bro Rhett, are you sure I have to take on this many samurai of unknown strength all by myself?"
Rhett chuckled softly. "Relax. This is just so you can get used to it. They probably can't kill you."
Rhett estimated that Buggy's current strength was about the same as Shanks' at this time. Although the gaps between each level in One Piece were huge,
these blood samurai wouldn't have much trouble hitting Shanks.
He casually waved his hand. "Now, begin. Let me see how much you've grown."