"I didn't expect the captain to be that powerful."
"Yeah, yeah! That fish-man Arlong couldn't even take a single hit from him!"
A raucous party filled the deck of a pirate ship flying the red-nosed flag. The crew of the Buggy Pirates was celebrating wildly.
This was Buggy — the very same clown-faced pirate who had just helped Nami defeat Arlong. Now, they were sailing full speed toward the Grand Line.
"Hahahaha! As long as I, Captain Buggy, am here, everything will be fine!" Buggy shouted, arms wide in drunken triumph.
Though his boasting was as loud as ever, there was no denying it anymore — Buggy had truly become powerful enough to back it up.
"Long live Captain Buggy!"
"Captain Buggy is the strongest!"
Voices praising their captain echoed across the ship, mixing with the roar of the waves and the clinking of mugs.
"...Who the hell are you?"
Kabaji froze, staring at a stranger sitting cross-legged at the banquet table — tearing into a roasted leg of meat as if he owned the place.
When had this guy even boarded their ship?
The man wore a black hat with a strange emblem — one side smiling, the other crying. Around his neck hung a black jade magatama pendant, glinting faintly in the lantern light.
This was none other than Fire Fist Ace, captain of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Ah, sorry about that," Ace said sheepishly, wiping his mouth. "Your food just smelled too good to resist."
Despite his rugged appearance, Ace bowed politely — a habit drilled into him since childhood.
"It's fine, eat up!" Buggy waved him off dismissively without even turning around. "I, Captain Buggy, don't sweat the small stuff!"
The other pirates chuckled and relaxed. Things had changed for the Buggy Pirates. They were no longer small-time crooks — they were one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, one of the three great powers that ruled the oceans.
And besides… Ace had been polite enough.
The banquet stretched deep into the night. By the end, Ace was laughing alongside Buggy's men, tankard in hand.
"Thanks again for the food," Ace said sincerely, standing to leave.
"No problem!" a crewman replied, waving him off.
They all knew now that Ace was a commander under Whitebeard — a living legend even among pirates.
But as Ace turned to leave, Buggy's eyes caught on something that made his blood run cold.
The black jade pendant hanging around Ace's neck — it was identical to the white jade pendant that Kaoru Tsubasa had once given to Yamato.
"Wait a minute, kid," Buggy said sharply.
Ace blinked. "Huh?"
"Where did you get that black jade pendant?" Buggy's tone had turned deadly serious.
Ace touched the pendant absently. "This? It's been with me since I was born."
He wasn't lying. Before Ace's birth, Kaoru Tsubasa had entrusted that pendant to Garp, asking him to give it to the child one day. Garp had assumed it was just a keepsake from Roger's crew.
Buggy's stomach churned. That meant the pendant was no coincidence.
"Mochi!" he barked. "Set a course for the nearest island — full speed!"
Before Ace could react, Buggy grabbed him by the collar. "You're not going anywhere until I sort this out."
The ship slammed against the shore of a deserted island. Buggy tossed Ace onto the sand and jumped down after him, his muscles swelling, aura burning like the sun.
"Hey, hey, hey, Captain! You're serious?!" Kabaji gawked.
Even when fighting Arlong, Buggy hadn't used that power — the blazing might of the Sun's Grace that Kaoru Tsubasa had once passed down to him.
Buggy cracked his knuckles. "Dead serious."
Ace looked confused but stood ready. "I don't know what's going on, but if it's a fight you want—"
He clenched his fists into pistols. "Then I'll give you one!"
"Cut the crap," Buggy growled, hurling a fireball straight at him.
It exploded with a roar — but Ace didn't even flinch. Flames licked harmlessly around him.
"You'll need hotter fire than that," Ace smirked.
Buggy's jaw tightened. So he really is Fire Fist Ace…
Ace pointed both hands forward. "Fire Gun!"
Twin bursts of flame shot toward Buggy. In an instant, Buggy split apart — his limbs flying in different directions to dodge.
"Two Devil Fruits?!" Ace gasped.
Buggy ignored him. His disembodied fist, coated in black Armament Haki, slammed straight into Ace's gut.
"Guah!"
Ace flew backward, skidding through the sand.
He has Haki too?!
Buggy stalked forward, face burning red. "You still think you're good enough for my Yamato?"
"Fire Fist!" Ace roared, throwing a blazing punch.
Buggy merely smiled. "Is that all?"
He drew a burning circle in the air with his fingertip. "Sun Realm."
A flaming mirror appeared, swallowing Ace's fire punch whole.
"What the—?" Ace gasped.
Buggy grinned. "A little trick I developed after fighting Kaido a few dozen times. Your flames can't even scratch it."
Ace's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Then let's turn up the heat."
"Firefly — Flame Lotus!"
Tiny sparks surrounded Buggy like glowing fireflies — and then exploded.
BOOM!
Smoke billowed across the beach. But when it cleared, Buggy was standing tall, untouched.
"Impossible…" Ace whispered.
"Pathetic," Buggy snapped. "You call that power worthy of Yamato's fiancé?"
"Flame Emperor!"
Ace hurled a blazing sphere the size of the sun itself.
Buggy swung his right hand in a single elegant motion. "Holy Sword — Escanor!"
A golden line of heat cut through the air. The fiery sun split cleanly in half — along with Ace's body.
But Ace reformed instantly, panting, shocked.
"That move… split my Flame Emperor?"
Buggy's power felt almost on par with Whitebeard's.
He stepped forward, wrapped his fist in Armament Haki, and punched Ace square in the face.
"Captain Buggy!" Mochi and Kabaji shouted, but Buggy didn't stop.
He kept punching — again and again — but with just enough restraint not to kill him.
By noon, he finally stopped. "Take him inside. Patch him up. Use the best medicine we have."
The crew scrambled to obey.
Buggy crossed his arms, glaring at the unconscious Ace. "You'd better be stronger next time, brat."
When Ace awoke in the ship's infirmary, Buggy was sitting beside his bed, arms folded.
"What the hell was that for?" Ace groaned.
Buggy didn't answer immediately. He stared at the jade pendant around Ace's neck.
"Do you know what that pendant means?" he asked finally.
Ace frowned. "Yamato told me… it's a symbol of her fiancé."
Buggy's eyes widened. "You met Yamato?!"
"Yeah," Ace said with a faint smile. "She showed me one just like this — white instead of black. I promised her I'd marry her the next time I came to Wano."
Buggy froze. Then his fists clenched.
Kaido let this brat meet my girl—and escape?!
He leaned over Ace, tugging at his bandages roughly.
"Listen up, brat," Buggy said in a low, dangerous voice. "If you ever hurt Yamato… I'll make you wish the sea had swallowed you whole."
Ace swallowed hard. "Y-yeah… got it."
Buggy tightened the bandages one last time and grinned. "Good. You'd better."
For the next few days, Buggy personally oversaw Ace's recovery — and then began training him relentlessly.
But after a week of Buggy's brutal regimen, Ace finally had enough. He slipped away on his ship, vanishing over the horizon.
Buggy just stood on the deck, arms crossed, watching him go.
He smirked. "He'll be fine."
After all — who would dare harm the future son-in-law of Buggy the Clown, backed by Whitebeard, Kaido, and a Warlord of the Sea himself?