The morning sun spilled across the Grand Line like liquid gold.
Seagulls cried overhead as a red-flagged ship cut lazily through the waters, her sails flapping gently in the wind.
On the deck of the Red Force, the crew of the Red-Haired Pirates lounged in their usual state of comfortable chaos, laughing, drinking, and arguing over breakfast.
"Mail call!" Lucky Roo yelled, catching a paper bird out of the air and handing the bundle of newspapers to Benn Beckman. "Fresh from the News Coo! Smells like trouble."
Beckman took a slow drag of his cigarette. "Everything does."
He flipped open the front page, bold black letters screamed NEW ERA OF PIRATES EMERGING! EAST BLUE IN FLAMES!
And just below it, a wanted poster.
Beckman smirked. "Heh. You're gonna like this one, Captain."
From where he sat against a barrel, Shanks reached for his bottle of sake, tipping his straw hat down over his eyes. "Oh? Who's making waves this time?"
Beckman held up the sheet.
"Monkey D. Luffy — 30,000,000 Belly."
For a long second, the deck went silent.
Then, slowly, a grin spread across Shanks' face, that old, carefree grin that could light up the sea.
"That kid actually did it…"
Yasopp leaned over Beckman's shoulder, squinting. "Hah! He even took a picture like yours, Captain! Look at that stupid grin!"
Shanks threw his head back and laughed, sake spilling from the bottle. "He's just starting and he's already wanted… thirty million! Not bad for a rookie from East Blue!"
Lucky Roo snorted, mouth full of meat. "That's more than most pirates ever get, even after a years on the seas."
Beckman flipped the page, exhaling smoke through his nose. "He's already beaten a few Marine officers, apparently. One report says he flattened a base commander on Orange Town."
Shanks' smile softened. His voice dropped to a quiet murmur.
"Guess he's really started his adventure…"
For a moment, the wind carried silence. Only the waves and the creak of the mast spoke.
Then Beckman frowned, turning another page. "…Huh."
Shanks glanced up. "What?"
Beckman handed him a different poster, this one rougher, the ink darker, the photo slightly tilted like the subject had been mid-laugh.
'The Bloody Jester' Buggy — 150,000,000 Belly.
Shanks blinked. "…Wait. Buggy?"
Yasopp whistled. "One hundred and fifty million?! That clown? What'd he do, juggle a vice-admiral?"
Beckman scanned the article aloud. "Laid siege to Loguetown, stole a Marine battleship, fought Marine Commodore Smoker, a Logia user, and escaped through unknown waters."
Silence.
Then the Red-Haired captain started laughing. Loud, genuine, belly laughter that made even the gulls startle.
"Pwahahaha! That idiot! He never changes!"
Lucky Roo grinned. "You know him, captain?"
"I remember hearing his name before... Was an apprentice alongside you on Rogers ship, right?" Beckman said dryly. "Seems he no longer cares about laying low. It says here the Marines are furious. They're calling him a strategic-level threat in the East Blue."
Shanks leaned back against the railing, looking out at the endless sea.
"That's Buggy, alright. Always one step away from disaster, somehow always finding himself in these situations..."
For just a moment, his smile softened into something quieter.
"...What are you up to, old friend?"
The wind picked up, catching his hair and the back of his dark coat.
Far away, a seagull took off into the clouds, carrying the paper that fluttered open and drifted toward the horizon.
Two wanted posters, one smiling rookie with a straw hat, one laughing clown with blood on his hands, flapped together in the wind before vanishing into the distance.
-
-
-
Somewhere far, far from that laughter, the ocean was silent.
The sea stretched endlessly, smooth as glass, no wind, no waves, no sound. The stolen Marine battleship sat motionless upon it, its massive hull painted over with chaotic streaks of red and blue.
The figurehead had been crudely re-carved into a clown's face, complete with a ridiculous wooden nose.
"Alright, you barnacle-brained buffoons!" Buggy's voice echoed across the deck. "Status report!"
Mohji saluted, trying to sound professional despite Richie gnawing on the remains of a Marine coat beside him. "All den-den mushi accounted for, Captain! Sliced, diced, and fed to the fish!"
Cabaji approached, flipping his hair dramatically. "And every single tracking snail, transponder, and spy trinket is gone. We're ghosts in the sea now."
Buggy grinned, boots propped up on the ship's rail. "Perfect~!"
The deckhands cheered, though a few looked nervously at the still, eerie waters stretching in every direction.
One whispered, "Captain, sir… are we really goin' through there?"
Buggy turned slowly, eyes gleaming beneath his captain's hat.
"You mean the Calm Belt?"
He spread his arms wide, as if addressing a grand audience.
"The still sea! The graveyard of ships! Home of the Sea Kings and birthplace of legends! …And we're sailing right through it!"
The crew collectively groaned.
Mohji's face went pal. "Captain, you can't be serious! Even Sea Kings don't come here for a reason!"
Buggy grinned, waving him off. "Relax! This ship's bottom is coated with seastone. They won't even smell us. That's why we stole this hunk of Marine iron in the first place!
Cabaji crossed his arms, skeptical. "Assuming the coating's actually uniform…"
Buggy jabbed a finger at him. "It's uniform enough! Besides-"
He leaned forward dramatically, grinning.
"-Reverse Mountain is for dreamers and losers!"
The crew blinked.
Buggy jumped onto a crate, hands on his hips, cape flaring behind him in the still air.
"Roger went up that mountain to conquer the Grand Line, people just follow along thinking they can hog some of the spoils or follow his steps. But we? We're cutting through the world itself! We'll make our own entrance!"
Mohji scratched his head. "I mean… at least we're avoiding the waterfall that eats ships aliv"
Buggy pointed at him with mock gravity. "Exactly! Do I look like a man who enjoys being flung into the sky by seawater?!"
Cabaji muttered, "In the past? No. Now? Honestly, yes."
Buggy ignored him. "We're taking the Calm Belt route! No crazy currents, no cannonball cliffs, no stupid mountain trying to drown us!"
A crewmate raised a hand. "But, uh, Captain… what if the Sea Kings-"
Buggy clapped both hands dramatically. "IF the Sea Kings attack-"
He paused, leaned down, and whispered conspiratorially,
"-we run like hell."
The crew just stared.
Then, one by one, they started laughing. Because somehow, it made sense.
It was stupid, dangerous, and insane, but they were starting to get used to it.
He threw his arms wide. "That's the spirit! We're pirates, not mathematicians! Now quit whining and start steering!"
Cabaji adjusted the compass and checked the Log Pose, brow furrowed. "Hmm. The needle's turning slowly…"
Buggy leaned over his shoulder, watching the delicate glass dome. Inside, the golden needle spun lazily… then stopped. Click.
It pointed toward the horizon, deep into the heart of the Calm Belt.
Buggy's grin returned, wide and wild. "Heh. That's odd..." After all, a log pose was supposed to lock into the magnetic field of an island upon entering the Grand Line itself.
Within the calm belt, while a normal compass didn't work, a regular Log Pose would also not be close enough to a magnetic field in order to lock into it. At least that was what Buggy remembered.
"Ah, crap, who cares? Where there's mastery, there's adventure. And where there's adventure, there's fun~"
He turned to his men. "Alright, you sons of circus freaks! Set sail for adventure!"
The crew cheered as best they could, though the lack of wind made "set sail" mostly symbolic. Still, they hauled ropes and adjusted masts with gusto, laughter echoing across the still waters.
Buggy leaned on the railing, watching the horizon stretch endlessly ahead. For once, the smile on his face wasn't manic, it was something else. Pride, maybe. Excitement.
"…You watching, Roger?" he murmured under his breath. "Your idiot apprentices are finally making their own waves. Maybe I'll even save your idiot son... Who knows?"
The sea remained silent, but in the reflection of the calm water, the sky seemed to shimmer just a little brighter.