Loguetown.
The bustling streets were full of life and energy.
Crowds of people came and went in an endless stream, laughter and chatter echoing from all directions.
Shops of every kind lined both sides of the road — dazzling, colorful, and overflowing with wares.
Clothing.
Jewelry.
Weapons.
Food...
Having just left the Marine Branch, Kai strolled leisurely down the busy street, heading back toward the harbor by the same route he'd come.
With over a million Berries in his pocket, none of the lurking thugs dared to even glance at him with ill intent anymore.
As he passed through the lively market, Kai sampled a few of Loguetown's specialties along the way, his appetite fully satisfied and his stomach pleasantly round by the time he made for the port.
In a dim corner of the street, a cluster of terrified eyes followed the boy's departing figure, their owners still trembling from the encounter.
This group of thugs—who normally committed every crime under the sun—had just been scared half to death by that "little brat."
"If I remember correctly," one muttered nervously,
"That kid walking down the street just now… wasn't he taken away by Blue-Haired Jack half an hour ago?"
"Then why…?"
"Why is he walking around alive and well?!"
Blue-Haired Jack's gang was infamous for extortion, and with Captain Buggy the Clown backing them, nobody they targeted ever walked away unscathed.
So how did that kid come back completely fine?
The group of thugs exchanged uneasy looks, unable to make sense of it.
Then, a timid voice broke the silence.
"H-Hey… is there a chance—just maybe—that Blue-Haired Jack's crew got wiped out?
By that little brat?"
At once, the entire alley went dead silent.
No one made a sound.
A long moment passed before someone stammered out a reply:
"Y-You serious? That's not funny, man. Blue-Haired Jack's a pirate worth millions of Berries!"
"And don't forget…" another added nervously,
"He took that kid straight to the Buggy Pirates' base. Are you saying that the entire crew got wiped out by a four-year-old brat?"
"Buggy the Clown himself has a bounty of over twelve million Berries—a bona fide big-time pirate, and a Devil Fruit user to boot!"
Their doubts echoed through the alley.
The thug who'd made the outrageous claim shut his mouth, unable to refute the logic.
After all… how could a four-year-old possibly destroy a pirate crew with a bounty in the tens of millions?
But then—without warning—
A runner burst into the alley, panting heavily.
"B-Boss!"
"Big news! Major news!"
"The Buggy Pirates—they've been wiped out!"
The words hit like a thunderclap.
The thugs froze where they stood, their faces blank with disbelief.
"What did you just say?!"
"The Buggy Pirates… wiped out? You sure this isn't a joke?!"
"That's Captain Buggy's crew we're talking about—one of the most dangerous bands in the East Blue!"
Someone quickly asked,
"Was it Colonel Gerson who led the strike?"
"N-No," the messenger stammered, "it wasn't him."
"I heard from a few men near the Marine Branch… they said the one who took down the Buggy Pirates was…"
"A four-year-old monster!"
"The entire Buggy Pirates crew was annihilated by a single child—only four years old!"
A deadly silence fell once again.
Dozens of thugs stared wide-eyed, utterly dumbfounded.
"Wh-What?! A four-year-old kid did that?!"
"Are you sure?!"
"That's impossible!"
But the messenger only nodded frantically.
"It's true! The whole Marine Branch is in an uproar! That kid took down Buggy the Clown himself and handed him over to the Marine s!"
Shock.
Dread.
Disbelief.
One by one, the thugs began to piece the truth together.
"Wait, wait…" someone whispered, voice trembling.
"That four-year-old monster… could it be the same brat we just saw?"
All eyes darted toward the distant figure of the small boy strolling casually down the bright, bustling street.
A chill swept through the group from head to toe.
Their faces went pale.
Their scalps tingled.
Their bodies shook.
"No way that's just a coincidence…"
"Half an hour ago, Blue-Haired Jack took him to the Buggy Pirates' base."
"Now, not even thirty minutes later, word comes that the entire Buggy Pirates crew has been wiped out—by a four-year-old!"
"This isn't a coincidence…"
"It's him!"
Gasps rippled through the alley as everyone instinctively drew back in terror.
"That kid's a damn monster!"
They could barely breathe.
Just imagining what would've happened if they'd tried to rob that "brat" themselves made their hair stand on end.
"T-Thank god it wasn't us…" someone muttered, pale as a ghost.
"If Blue-Haired Jack hadn't gone after him first, we might all be dead right now."
"You're telling me! That four-year-old flattened a pirate crew that even Colonel Gerson couldn't capture. Buggy the Clown himself has a bounty of twelve million Berries.—and that kid took him down single-handedly!"
The more they talked, the colder their blood ran.
The gang leader himself trembled uncontrollably, his hands cold and clammy, his face white as a sheet.
"We… we just cheated death."
"We should count ourselves damn lucky to still be alive."
As they watched the boy's small figure gradually disappear into the distance, none of them dared make a sound.
Not even their breathing broke the silence.
Only after Kai vanished completely from sight did they finally exhale, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads with trembling hands.
The leader swallowed hard and warned in a grave tone:
"From now on, before we go picking targets, make sure you've got your damn eyes open."
"Don't go poking at things we can't afford to provoke."
"Remember the Buggy Pirates—they're our warning."
He shuddered.
"Who would've thought… that the four-year-old we all thought looked weak and harmless… would turn out to be such a terrifying monster?"
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