"What was that sound?!"
A pirate who was carrying crates of alcohol abruptly stopped, instinctively lifting his head to look up at the sky.
And then he saw it—
In the sunset-dyed crimson sky, a bizarre silhouette was plummeting straight down toward their position!
!!!
The pirate's face drained of all color, cold sweat pouring down his face.
But by the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late!
Bang!!!
Inside the Buggy Pirates' base, a massive cloud of dust suddenly erupted.
"Huh?!"
Including Buggy the Clown himself, all the pirates were instantly drawn by the commotion and turned their heads toward the source.
A gentle breeze swept through, quickly dispersing the dust and revealing four very different figures.
Three men and one woman.
One stood upright with a foolish grin on his face.
Another lay face-first on the ground in a spectacular faceplant.
As for the third—though his landing posture wasn't exactly elegant, the fact that he was holding a young woman in a princess carry somehow made him look rather dashing.
"Phew~ We finally made it! Thanks for the system's reward!"
Landing properly for once under Luffy's reckless whims—and even managing to protect Nami in the process—made Red reveal a relieved and genuinely happy smile.
"Red! You woman-before-bros bastard!!!"
Nearby, Zoro, his face covered with clear scrape marks, staggered to his feet and immediately roared at Red.
Seeing this, Red quickly set Nami down and raised a hand to block the saliva flying from Zoro's shouting.
He gave an awkward laugh."Hey, don't blame me! I warned you ahead of time—it's your own fault for not paying attention!"
"Damn it! Who the hell would know that was your warning?!"
"Speaking of which—"
Zoro, completely enraged, turned around, ready to discipline a certain out-of-control captain.
But at some point, Luffy had already vanished.
He had run off to a pirate holding food and was now devouring it with wild enthusiasm.
"Damn it! Let people finish talking before you act!!!"
Veins bulged on Zoro's forehead as he experienced Luffy's recklessness on a whole new level.
Who just blurts out "I smell meat," then immediately ties everyone together, launches them into the air, and performs a free fall?!
"Alright, alright, calm down, Zoro.""Not worth it, really."
Red soothed him continuously, like an obedient little colt standing behind his teacher.
"Hey! I'm telling you—"
Just then, Nami—who had finally recovered from the terror of the sudden aerial drop—cut in quietly, rubbing her temples in exasperation.
"Can you idiots please look at the situation we're in right now…?"
"We're in the enemy's base!!!"
She let out a resentful sigh.
She knew they were here to fight the Buggy Pirates in exchange for a full meal…
But she never imagined she'd have to throw herself right into the middle of a battle!!!
Red chuckled lightly. "Relax. Just watch me."
"You bunch of brats!"
At last, the long-ignored Buggy the Clown snapped. He yanked several daggers from his waist and aimed them menacingly at Red and the others.
"Daring to trespass into my base and ruin my banquet…"
"Hey! You over there—stop eating!!!"
"Damn it! Stop eating already!!!"
"I'll make sure you die without even a body left!!!"
Seeing Luffy completely ignore him and keep stuffing his face, Buggy instantly flew into a rage.
Zoro, the second strongest after Luffy, immediately drew all three of his swords.
Their sharp blades glimmered coldly under the fading dusk.
But just as he was about to strike, Red suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"Wait, Zoro."
Red looked straight at Buggy. "You're not his opponent."
Then, instead of retreating, Red stepped forward, walking calmly toward Buggy under the ferocious gazes of the surrounding pirates.
He smiled faintly.
"Senior Buggy, I never thought I'd run into you here."
"Huh?" Buggy frowned, sensing something was off.
And then Red said something that made his pupils shrink violently.
"May I ask why someone who once sailed under the Pirate King Roger, and who is the sworn brother of Red-Haired Shanks—one of the Four Emperors—would choose to occupy such a meaningless town?"
Clang—
The sound of a metal basin falling to the ground rang out.
The entire Buggy Pirates crew fell deathly silent, all eyes locked on Red and Buggy at the center.
Zoro and Nami stared in shock.
"What?!"
"A former crewmate of the Pirate King?! A Yonko's brother?!"
"T-That's impossible, right?!"
"The Pirate King? Shanks?!"
Even Luffy, who had been eating nonstop, turned his head in confusion upon hearing those familiar words.
"Y-You… how do you know about that?!"
Buggy's lips trembled. Staring into Red's pitch-black eyes, he felt as though his entire being had been seen through.
These secrets shouldn't be known by anyone anymore.
Unless they were someone from that era…
Wait!
Buggy's gaze suddenly locked onto the straw hat behind Luffy—
And a flood of memories crashed into his mind.
A pain he could never erase.
Captain Roger had handed that straw hat to Shanks, placing his hopes on him instead.
For someone like Buggy, who had always wanted to compete with Shanks in everything, that moment was a lifelong defeat.
"You… you know Shanks?!"
Buggy's voice turned sharp with anger.
Yet Red only smiled casually."He's our captain's acquaintance."
"They seem to have made some kind of promise."
"With the straw hat as the symbol."
"…That does sound like something Shanks would do."
Buggy muttered to himself, the flames of resentment in his eyes burning even brighter.
Damn you, you bastard!
You were always at odds with me back then!
And even after all these years, you're still messing with me?!
Buggy unconsciously blamed Shanks entirely for his exposed identity.
To be honest, Buggy was starting to panic.
Not because he'd realized how dangerous Red's group was—but because he feared his crew would betray him and spread the truth.
He didn't want to end up running all over the seas in constant fear!
At this point, the only option left was to play dumb and deny everything.
But just as he was about to do so, excited cheers suddenly erupted from the surrounding pirates.
"What?! Captain Buggy was a crewmate of the Pirate King?!"
"That's nothing! Didn't that kid say Captain Buggy has a sworn brother at Yonko level?!"
"Unbelievable! We're actually following someone that great—this is amazing!!!"
"Captain Buggy forever!!!"
"..."
The pirates erupted in wild celebration, shouting and cheering as if they were at a festival.
The sight frightened Buggy so badly that he immediately split his upper body from his lower half and flew into the air, yelling at them furiously.
"Shut up! Shut up! I'm not that great!!!"
"That brat is talking nonsense!"
"Don't spread this crap around!!!"
"..."
But the pirates seemed enchanted, completely drunk on their own admiration of Buggy, unable to hear a word he said.
No matter how he protested, it had no effect.
"Damn it!"
Buggy dropped back to the ground, gripping his daggers tightly as he glared hatefully at Red.
"You little punk, you've ruined everything—I'll—"
Right then!
Whoosh!
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air.
A rock formed from Ancient Power flew past Buggy's cheek and slammed into the ground behind him, blasting out a crater over half a meter wide.
At the same time, clarity returned to Buggy's eyes.
Red stepped forward, smiling strangely at him, lowering his voice.
"Don't act rashly, Senior Buggy~"
"My ability just happens to counter your Devil Fruit."
"If a rock like that hit you, even with your body split apart… it'd still hurt, wouldn't it?"
"Y-You… what exactly do you want?!"
He knows my Devil Fruit ability!
Cold sweat instantly covered Buggy's forehead as he finally realized these people were anything but ordinary.
Red gently placed his right hand on Buggy's left shoulder, standing close at an angle as if they were old friends, and said with a smile:
"Relax, Senior Buggy."
"We're here to talk cooperation."