The island rumbled again.
Pebbles danced across the marble, palm trees quivered, and somewhere deep below, something massive groaned like a creature waking from a thousand-year nap.
Most men would have been terrified.
Buggy? He was just annoyed.
"Alright, who forgot to tie the damn anchor properly?!" he barked, glaring down the beach.Every crewmate suddenly found the sand very interesting.
Mohji pointed weakly. "Captain… I-I think it's not that the anchor came loose… I think the island's moving!"
Buggy blinked, then sighed dramatically. "Obviously, dipshit; I was making a joke~ We dropped the anchor more for fun anyway, there's no waves or current on the Calm Belt..."
Sure enough, the island was sliding away from their Marine battleship. The thick steel chain of its anchor was unmoving. stuck in the sand.
Cabaji paled. "Captain! We're going to lose the ship!"
Buggy rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. "Tch. Fine. Guess I'll do everything myself. Again."
Before anyone could protest, his body broke apart -arms, legs, torso, and head shooting upward like fireworks.
"Captain, wait-!"
Too late. Buggy was already flying through the air, cackling as his separated limbs twirled like juggling pins.
The crew watched in disbelief as their captain soared toward the drifting warship, his laughter echoing across the still water.
"Is he… seriously going after it alone?" Mohji muttered.
Cabaji groaned. "He's Captain Buggy. Of course he is."
Up above, Buggy's disembodied parts reattached with a satisfying snap as he landed square on the ship's deck. He marched over to the anchor chain, eyeing it like it had personally offended him.
"Big, heavy, and Marine-made…" he grunted, wrapping his hands around the massive links. "Perfect for training!"
He heaved.
Muscles bulged under his coat, veins standing out on his forearms. The anchor didn't so much as twitch.
"C'mon, you overgrown paperweight!" Buggy growled through clenched teeth. He dug his boots into the deck, every cord of muscle straining. The wood groaned. The chain rattled.
Down on the shore, the crew gaped.
"Is he lifting it?" Mohji breathed.
Cabaji shielded his eyes. "He's trying to. That's insane. That anchor must weigh-"
"At least a few tons..." Mohji interrupted. "Was Captain always this strong?"
And sure enough, Buggy laughed through gritted teeth. "Don't… underestimate… a showman!"
With a roar, he yanked the chain upward. The anchor burst free from the water with a tidal splash, spraying seawater everywhere.
Buggy's teeth bared in a manic grin as he swung the entire thing over his head and, with one final bellow, hurled it toward the beach.
It crashed into the sand like a meteor, sending up a geyser of dirt and foam, as his men scampered everywhere to avoid the spray of wet sand.
The shore seemed to shake again, though this time, it might've just been from the impact.
Buggy collapsed onto the deck, panting, then looked at his trembling hands with a grin. "Heh… not bad."
From the beach, his crew erupted in cheers.
"Captain, that was incredible!"
"Yeah, no way a human could've done that!"
"Are we sure he's human?"
Buggy crossed his arms, smirking. "Of course I'm human! Just… exceptionally fabulous~."
Cabaji crossed his arms. "More like terrifying."
"Thank you, I try."
Buggy leaned against the railing, catching his breath. His heartbeat was loud, but not strained. His hands still trembled slightly from the effort, but it was a good kind of tremble.
'So it's working,' he thought. 'The training… pushing myself to the limits constantly... I'm finally clawing some real strength out of this clown body.'
He flexed his fingers. It still wasn't enough, not for the New World, not for the monsters that waited beyond it, but for now? For now, he'd take the victory.
He looked down at his reflection in the water and snorted. "Shanks would laugh his ass off if he saw me now… I wonder how I should act when meeting him..."
Alas, that was a bridge he'd have to cross when he got there.
-
-
-
Later That Day
After some much-needed rest (and snacks), the Buggy Pirates set off inland again. The tremors had lessened, though the occasional rumble underfoot kept everyone jumpy.
"Captain, are we sure this place isn't cursed?" one sailor muttered, clutching his rifle like a talisman.
Buggy shot him a look. "The only curse here is your cowardice, numbnuts. Now keep walking before I hang you by your socks."
Mohji adjusted his turban nervously. "Still… there's something weird about those tremors. It feels like the island's alive."
"Alive, haunted, cursed, who cares?" Buggy said, waving him off. "If it doesn't try to kill us, it's none of our business. And if it does try to kill us, we'll kill it first."
Cabaji muttered under his breath, "Very reassuring." Of course, no one was going to ask the real questions, like. 'How the hell do we kill an island?'
They passed through the jungle and into the ruins again. Towering marble pillars loomed over them, vines wrapped tight like veins. The air felt charged, tingling, almost magnetic.
Buggy frowned, flicking the Log Pose around his wrist.The needle was spinning, erratic at first… then it stopped. Pointing straight toward the massive temple at the center of the island.
He raised an eyebrow. "Huh. That's odd."
Cabaji leaned closer. "The Log Pose locked on the temple itself?"
"Seems that way. Whatever they used to build that thing has a magnetic field strong enough to hijack the whole island's reading…" Buggy mused, scratching his chin. "Now that's interesting."
Mohji squinted. "Captain, why does that matter?"
Buggy smirked. "Because, dear Mohji, that means treasure, or something weird enough to attract treasure."
He led the charge, striding up the cracked stone steps toward the temple's grand entrance.Inside, it was cooler, dark and cavernous, the air thick with dust and history.
Gold-inlaid murals shimmered faintly in the torchlight. They showed winged people forging strange metallic structures, some rising toward the heavens on clouds, others falling in beams of light.
Cabaji ran his hand along a wall. "These metals… they feel strange. Almost… magnetic."
Buggy tapped it with a knuckle. A faint hum answered.
"… Huh, almost as if it's alive... Same metal used to build this place, strong magnetic field, hope none of you poor sods has metal implants..." he murmured.
"Is the metal alive?" Mohji yelped.
Buggy smirked. "Metaphorically, idiot. It's reacting to magnetic energy. No wonder the Log Pose went haywire."
He looked around, eyes narrowing. "I've heard of stuff like this before… minerals in the Grand Line that mess with compasses. Never found out what they were called though."
"Maybe the Sky People did," Cabaji suggested.
Buggy grinned. "Then let's go back to those skeletons and ask them."
They continued deeper into the temple, stepping over more bones, cracked masks, and toppled relics. The deeper they went, the stronger the hum became, an invisible current buzzing through the air.
Every few seconds, a faint tremor rippled through the floor.
Mohji jumped at one. "G-ghosts!"
Buggy groaned. "Oh for crying out loud, if you keep whining about ghosts, you'll ruin my fun! Now zip it and keep looting!"
The crew shuffled uneasily, muttering to themselves.
"Easy for him to say…"
"Yeah, he can just detach his head and leave if something attacks us!"
Buggy spun on his heel. "You saying something, sailor?!"
"Nothing, Captain! Absolutely nothing!"
"Good! Then keep your mouths shut and your eyes open!"
They entered a vast chamber at the heart of the temple. The walls pulsed faintly with an otherworldly sheen, and in the center stood an enormous block of dark stone.
It wasn't like the others.It didn't shine. It didn't hum. It just was.
Buggy stopped dead in his tracks. "…Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
Cabaji squinted. "What is that thing?"
Mohji tilted his head. "Looks like… a really boring statue?"
Buggy stepped closer, running his fingers along the smooth surface. The stone was cold, impossibly so, even in the heat of the island.
"Not a statue," he said finally. "It's a Poneglyph."
The word sent a ripple of confusion through the crew.
"A… pony-what?"
Buggy sighed. "Ancient stone tablet. Super old. Super important. And super unreadable."
Cabaji blinked. "Unreadable?"
"Yeah," Buggy grunted. "Only a handful of people in the world can read this crap. And unless one of you's been hiding a degree in ancient civilizations, we're shit outta luck."
The crew collectively shook their heads.
Buggy shrugged. "Fine. Then we'll copy it down."
He waved a hand. "Oi, you! The least illiterate one here, start scribbling!"
One of the deckhands gulped and pulled out paper and ink, carefully tracing the strange glyphs.
Buggy crossed his arms, watching.
So even the Sky People had these, huh? he thought. Wonder what this one says…
He smirked. "Guess we'll have to pay Alabasta a visit, huh? Crocodile's gotta still be around there..."
The crew looked confused. "Alabasta?"
Buggy waved them off. "Long story. Government. History. Treasure. The usual."
He turned away, already wandering toward another corridor. "Come on, we've seen enough rocks for one day."
The crew followed, somewhat reluctantly, the faint rumble beneath their feet returning, stronger this time.
Buggy's boots echoed through the dark passage, the torchlight flickering off the metallic walls.
He wasn't paying much attention anymore, his mind was spinning with thoughts of Alabasta, Sky People, and whatever the hell that stone meant.
Then he stepped on something.
Click.
A faint metallic plate sank beneath his boot.
There was a whirr, then a snap, a flash of light, and in an instant, Buggy's torso was neatly severed from his legs.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then his head floated up, blinking. "Huh…?"
He looked down at the perfectly clean slice across his stomach. "Oh. Neat trick."
Mohji screamed. "CAPTAIN! YOU'RE CUT IN HALF!"
Buggy looked closer at the thin slits now glowing on the walls, embedded shells faintly humming with residual energy.
He smirked. "…No way. Are those… Dials?"
Cabaji gaped. "Dials? Boss, you keep referencing things like we're supposed to know what they are..."
"Bah, you all are so ignorant! It's just sky Island weapon tech."
Mohji grinned wide, fascination glinting in his eyes. "Oh... That's interesting, they look like shells..."
Buggy just nodded, his upper body floated forward as his legs trotted to catch up, his laughter echoing through the chamber.
"Well boys," he said, voice dripping with manic glee, "looks like this circus just found new props!"
The temple rumbled again, louder this time, as if the island itself was laughing with him.