The horizon of the East Blue was stained with the lazy smoke of a burning town, but as the ship drew closer, Buggy's silhouette became clearer. He stood atop a makeshift stage in the center of the plundered port, his flashy captain's coat billowing in the wind as he barked orders at a crew of circus-themed thugs.
Standing on the deck of their small vessel, Gol D. Roger narrowed his eyes. Even without his full strength, his intuition—his soul's ability to "hear" the presence of others—was as sharp as ever. He reached out with his senses, seeking the spark of the red-nosed brat he remembered from decades ago, only to find something that left him stunned.
He finally understood why the clown was spending his time plundering defenseless civilians instead of hunting actual pirates across the treacherous seas.
He was far too weak!
"Hmm... this is truly something," Roger murmured, leaning against the railing with a look of pure speechlessness. "How has Buggy fallen this far? He's even weaker than when he was an apprentice on my ship!"
Roger rubbed his chin, a look of pure speechlessness on his face. When he had first started catching up on the world's news and discovered that Shanks had become one of the 'Four Emperors,' he had assumed Buggy would at least be a Warlord of the Sea, some hidden powerhouse living under a pseudonym, or at the very least, dead.
But he never imagined Buggy had regressed to this state!
It was pathetic! Back in the day, the boy was at least capable of clashing with Whitebeard's sons, but now he looked like he might struggle against a complete rookie. Roger truly couldn't wrap his head around it.
Curious and nostalgic, he began waving his arm enthusiastically in Buggy's direction.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
"Hm? It seems someone has a death wish," Buggy muttered, a cruel smirk spreading across his face as he watched the approaching vessel.
"Let's show them what hell looks like! Prep the Buggy Ball! We'll give that fool a front-row seat to the greatness of Captain Buggy!"
He swept his arm out, and his subordinates quickly pivoted the cannons, loading a specialized Buggy Ball and lighting the fuse.
At that moment, Buggy took the telescope handed to him by a subordinate. "Let me see which idiot is so eager to meet his maker."
Because he had caught a glimpse of someone on that ship waving at him, Buggy wanted to savor their pathetic final expression and see exactly what kind of stupid face a fool like that possessed.
But the moment he brought the lens to his eye and focused on the figure, his entire world came crashing down.
"Ca-ca-ca-ca... CAPTAIN?!!"
He shrieked, his eyes nearly flying out of his skull. Actually, they did fly out; his eyeballs smashed right through the lens of his telescope, nearly tumbling into the ocean.
Amidst his absolute shock, his gaze caught the sight of the fuse—it was almost spent.
"STOP! SHUT IT DOWN!"
He screamed in a panic, lunging desperately toward the cannon, but it was too late. He was met only with despair as the cannon roared to life.
The specialized Buggy Ball shrieked through the air, and judging by its trajectory, it was headed for a one-hundred-percent direct hit right on the former Captain's head.
The sight was so infuriating that Buggy grabbed his subordinate by the collar and shook him violently.
"You bastard! Usually, when I tell you to hit a Marine warship, you miss by two hundred meters! Why the hell are you so accurate today?!"
He was losing his mind. Sure, Captain Roger was generous and took good care of his crew, but—that didn't mean an apprentice was allowed to open fire on his own Captain!
"I'm dead! I'm so dead!"
Buggy clutched his head, his mind already racing through every possible way he could beg for forgiveness.
"Seriously... you don't even have Observation Haki? Buggy, what on earth have you been doing?"
Roger watched the incoming shell and Buggy's ridiculous theatrics with a heavy sigh. He glanced toward the back of the deck; seeing that Li Ke still hadn't emerged from the cabin, he decided against using his signature technique. Instead, he simply delivered a casual, one-handed swing of his sword.
As he did, he let out a roar toward the trembling Buggy.
"BUGGY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
As a member of his crew, not even knowing the basics of Haki was an absolute embarrassment!
"IT REALLY IS THE CAPTAIN!!"
Buggy shrieked, clutching his head in despair. But then, a final shred of sanity kicked in. The Captain had been dead for over twenty years! This had to be an illusion! A hallucination!
"That's right! It's all a trick!"
He bellowed at the top of his lungs, turning to his men with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Fire! Kill my hallucination! Blast it out of the water!"
His subordinates stared at him with blank, confused expressions.
"Huh?"
If that ship was the boss's hallucination, how were they supposed to hit it? And if it wasn't a hallucination, how were they supposed to defeat a guy who could slice a cannonball in half with a flick of his wrist?
The crew shared a long, silent look and reached a unanimous decision.
Run.
This was clearly an opponent their captain couldn't handle! Within seconds, the members of the Buggy Pirates began scrambling for any possible means of escape.
"You bunch of traitors!"
Buggy froze as he realized his subordinates were abandoning ship. In all honesty, he wanted to run too, but his legs simply wouldn't move.
All Buggy could do was watch with wide-eyed terror as his dead Captain, Gol D. Roger, drew closer, and closer, and closer still!
Finally, as the ship pulled alongside the pier, Roger leaped into the air. He cocked back a fist and lunged toward Buggy with a roar.
"Buggy! You little bastard!"
Buggy caught a glimpse of the crackling red sparks of [Conqueror's Haki] and the pitch-black sheen of [Armament Haki] coating Roger's fist. He barely had time to wonder exactly how he had offended his Captain before the punch connected squarely with the top of his head.
"You've become utterly worthless! And your crew is pathetic!"
But Buggy never even heard the second sentence. The moment Roger's fist, wreathed in the overwhelming pressure of a King, appeared before his eyes, his brain simply shut down. He collapsed instantly, slipping into total unconsciousness.
Roger: "..."
He stared down in pure disbelief at the crumpled form of Buggy, and then at the rest of the circus crew who had all passed out from the mere aftershocks of his [Conqueror's Haki]. He scratched his head, genuinely baffled.
"Back in the day, didn't you used to tank the shockwaves when Newgate and I clashed? How could you..."
Roger remembered the legendary battles against the Whitebeard Pirates. The collision between his and Whitebeard's Haki had been a thousand times more violent than this tiny display. Back then, Buggy had been just a child—roughly equal to Shanks in strength—and even then, they had been able to withstand the pressure and watch the entire fight to its conclusion.
How was it possible that as an adult, he couldn't even handle a tiny thread of Haki?
Looking at Buggy, who was now foaming at the mouth on the ground, Roger sighed and shook his head.
"You really have fallen, Buggy."
In this world, a person's strength was inextricably linked to their Will and their Dreams. For those with a clear conviction and a burning ideal, as long as they put in the work, their strength would never be this pathetic.
But looking at Buggy like this…
Seriously.
Roger shook his head, feeling a surge of irritation. It was incredibly annoying to have built up all that steam and have no one strong enough to vent it on!
Before long, Buggy finally drifted back to consciousness. He looked up at the legendary Captain Roger, who was staring down at him with a dissatisfied scowl, and the floodgates opened. Buggy burst into tears, lunging forward to clutch Roger's leg, sobbing like a heartbroken child.
"CAPTAAAAAAAIN!!!"
Roger sighed, relenting as he ruffled Buggy's mop of hair, intending to make the brat explain himself once he calmed down.
Meanwhile...
"That thing just now... was that Conqueror's Haki?"
Li Ke rubbed his throbbing temples, still processing that sensation of staring directly into a primal abyss. He had been right in the middle of a "deep exchange" with Robin's clone when Roger's Haki swept over the ship. Robin had blacked out instantly, causing her clone to vanish into thin air and leaving Li Ke "high and dry" in a very painful way. He'd slammed into the headboard and spent the last three minutes reeling in discomfort.
He hadn't passed out, but he felt miserable. He stumbled out of the cabin to check on the real Robin.
Unsurprisingly, Robin was out cold. The Pirate King's Haki was still far too overwhelming for someone at her current level.
Seriously... maybe I should use Robin's...
Gazing at the deep curves of Robin's unconscious form, a "solution" to his physical frustration crossed his mind. He hadn't tried that particular style with her yet!
Without a shred of hesitation, his hand moved toward her chest. He pulled back her top, revealing her sun-kissed skin and the bountiful, swaying shape of her breasts. He eased down the zipper of her denim shorts; even though she had worn extra-thick lace underwear today, the area was already a complete mess. Even in her unconscious state, her body was visibly reacting, the "petals" of her garden twitching slightly.
It was obvious. Her body had been fully prepared for him, and she was clearly in a state of unsatisfied desire herself! Roger hadn't just interrupted Li Ke's fun—he'd cut Robin off, too!
"Mm, looks like I can go even further."
The idea of "awakening" her through a particularly intense style of play sent a jolt of excitement through him. "Perfect, let's do it!"
Li Ke began to trace the "pearls" and "strawberries" of her body with his fingers. He dragged her toward a shadowed corner of the deck, ensuring they were hidden from the townspeople on the shore. Just as he was positioning himself to appreciate her "garden" and solve his problem using her chest, a sharp cry rang out.
The sound of rushing air whistled toward the back of his head.
"YOU PERVERT!"
The moment he heard the voice, Li Ke spun around, drawing his blade with a metallic hiss. He parried the incoming strike and delivered a counter-kick in one fluid motion.
The kick was fast and precise, slamming the intruder back into the railing before they collapsed heavily onto the deck.
Only then did Li Ke realize his attacker was a woman—a woman with bright orange hair!
"Uh..."
Li Ke stared at the girl. Her spine looked crooked from the impact, and she was coughing up blood onto the wooden planks. He stood there, momentarily stunned.
Did I just kick Nami to death?!