"Sorry to trouble you, but could you help me make a raft?"
"No trouble at all. Happy to help."
"You're really going to stay here?"
"Yeah. I'll stick with my companions."
"I see… Take care, then."
"You too, friend. Farewell!"
Buggy waved dramatically, eyes brimming with tears.
He shouted in his signature nasal duck-voice:
"Set sail!"
The patched-together scrap of cloth unfurled, and the tiny raft drifted forward on the breeze.
Carmon, the treasure chest old man, wiped the corner of his eye as he watched the raft float away.
Safe travels, Buggy…
But just then, the calm sea bulged upward.
A massive crab burst from below the surface—its claws easily large enough to snip the raft in half.
"Oh no! I forgot to warn him! There are strange creatures all over this area!"
Carmon nearly popped his eyes in horror. He had spent a lifetime trapped on this shore; warnings came too late now.
"Run, Buggy! RUN!"
The enormous red crab loomed overhead, claws raised.
A huge shadow fell across Buggy's tiny raft.
Buggy's bloodshot eyes widened. Sweat streamed down his face.
If he had his full body—
If he had his ship—
He wouldn't fear a creature like this.
But now?
Weakened, half a body, with only a flimsy raft beneath him?
He stood no chance.
"Look out, Buggy! Run! RUN!"
The distant cry reached him just as the crab's claw came crashing down.
Buggy managed to dodge—barely—
but the raft shattered instantly into floating debris.
The crab recovered and lunged again.
Buggy could only cling to a drifting log, gasping for breath.
"This is bad…"
Carmon was frantic, but helpless.
Just then, a small, inconspicuous three-masted ship appeared on the horizon.
"Huh? What's that?" Carmon muttered.
No pirate flag.
No merchant flag.
Not even a noble crest.
Just a plain, unmarked vessel.
"Damn…"
Buggy clenched his teeth.
Saltwater had sapped his strength; he could barely hold onto the wood.
Suddenly—
darkness.
A massive shadow enveloped him.
He froze, breath stuck in his throat.
The crab towered above him, claws raised again.
Its cold eyes glimmered with cruel amusement.
Damn it… Am I gonna die here?
—But at that instant—
A sharp slicing wind tore across the sea.
A massive wind blade struck the crab cleanly.
It split neatly in half.
"BOOM!"
Water exploded upward.
Waves surged violently.
Buggy clung desperately to the log, barely keeping himself from being swept away.
"I—I survived… Who saved me?"
He turned toward the approaching ship.
A boy stood calmly at the bow, wind lifting his black, tousled hair.
Refined face, youthful composure—
Buggy squinted.
"Who IS that?"
It was, of course, Davy—
following Alvida's memories straight to Buggy's location.
Davy stepped off the Ghost Ship, walking through the air on Geppo as if descending an invisible staircase.
He landed lightly on the floating log.
"Haha! Sorry about that. Thanks for killing that thing—I thought I was done for!" Buggy wheezed with laughter.
Davy smiled faintly.
"No need to thank me for such a small thing, Buggy."
He was in an excellent mood.
He had arrived just in time—one second later, and a giant crab would have claimed Buggy's head instead.
Buggy stiffened.
The stranger knew his name.
Buggy's posture tensed, eyes narrowing.
"How do you know who I am? Who are you?!"
Davy didn't answer.
He simply looked at Buggy—
a tiny half-body of a man, hardly reaching his knee in height, his oversized face making his proportions even more ridiculous.
"My name is Davy."
He reached out and grabbed Buggy by the front of his shirt.
"Gururururu—?!"
"Wha—what's he doing?!"
Carmon, who had been watching anxiously, froze in shock.
Because the young man who had just saved Buggy…
…was now pressing Buggy's entire upper body into the sea, smiling pleasantly while doing it.
Water splashed.
Buggy thrashed desperately—
but the curse of the sea drained almost all his strength.
Davy didn't budge.
He held Buggy beneath the surface until the water went still.
Buggy's limp form drifted like a drowned mutt.
"Still playing dead?"
Davy snorted.
He drew his blade.
One clean slash.
The water churned red as Buggy jerked, screaming silently beneath the waves.
More bubbles.
More blood.
Davy stabbed again, this time through Buggy's face.
At last, a faint green flame flickered from Buggy's skin.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The soul's shriek was piercing—
like ice plunged into boiling water.
The spiritual form began to crumble.
Davy swiftly pulled Buggy's body out of the sea.
The soul was almost gone—
faded to near transparency.
He summoned soul thralls to immediately stabilize it.
With the infusion of soul power, Buggy's spirit finally stopped dissolving and slowly solidified.
"Huh," Davy murmured.
"As expected of Buggy. He absorbed roughly ten points."
He had begun estimating soul strength into a rough "unit" scale.
For an average adult human, the baseline was 1 point.
Buggy's soul consumed the equivalent of ten.
This made him the strongest soul thrall so far—
but only by a small margin.
Barely stronger than Jim or Alvida.
Far below the reputation his name carried.
The "legendary Buggy"—reduced to such mediocrity.
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