Evening. Orange Town Port.
Clang.
Several heavy sacks brimming with gold and jewels were tossed onto the expansive deck of the Black Eclipse.
Buggy wiped the sweat from his brow, his face still a map of bruises. But as he looked around at the ship's interior, his small eyes widened like dinner plates. The Iron Pine deck was polished to a mirror finish. The lounge was draped in silk carpets. Through an open door, he could see high-end leather sofas and a temperature-controlled wine cellar.
"Is this a pirate ship or a Royal Navy pleasure yacht?" Buggy swallowed hard. Even on Roger's ship, he'd never seen this much budget poured into "comfort."
Maybe this isn't so bad, Buggy thought greedily. If I show off a little navigation experience, I can snag one of those sofas and drink fine wine all day while these brats do the heavy lifting.
He straightened his back, cleared his throat, and prepared to march toward the lounge with the dignity of a veteran.
Plop.
A wooden mop and a bucket of seawater landed with surgical precision right at his feet.
Buggy froze. He followed the handle of the mop up to see Sabo, who was visibly vibrating as he tried to suppress a laugh. Beside him, Ace leaned against the cabin doorframe, tossing an orange into the air and catching it. He looked like a sunny, mischievous teenager—a far cry from the demon who had leveled the town square.
"Hey, Red Nose." Ace grinned, showing off a row of white teeth. "Since you brought in such a 'flashy' haul of treasure, I've decided to give you an exclusive title on this ship."
Buggy's eyes lit up. Exclusive title? First Mate? Combat Commander? He tried to look restrained. "Oh? And what would that be?"
"From this day forward," Ace announced with a booming laugh, "you are the Chief Steward of the Black Eclipse!"
"Chief... Steward?" Buggy blinked. He processed the high-end sounding name for two seconds before the reality hit him. "That's just a fancy word for CHORE BOY! I'm a ten-million-Berry man! I am the Overlord of the East Blue! You want me to MOP?!"
"Hahaha! Don't be so modest, Buggy!" Ace suddenly appeared beside him, slamming a broad palm onto the clown's shoulder with enough force to nearly buckle his knees. "Every great ship needs a Master of Logistics! It's a core position! It's the face of the crew!"
Ace stuffed the orange into Buggy's mouth, muffling his protests. "The deck is yours tonight. Do a good job and I'll give you an extra ration of rum tomorrow!"
As Ace walked away laughing, Buggy chewed on the orange, his eyes twitching. He looked at the mop. He looked at the cabin. Just you wait, brats.
Late at night. The open sea.
The Black Eclipse rose and fell gently on the dark waves. Silence reigned. In the shadows of the deck, a red nose cautiously poked out from behind a barrel.
"Stupid brats," Buggy hissed. He clutched a small cloth bag containing a handful of high-grade rubies he'd managed to pocket earlier. "Did you really think you could cage the Great Buggy-sama?"
He glanced at the cabin. Surely the two "idiots" were fast asleep in their silk sheets.
"I have the Bara Bara no Mi! My body is free!" Buggy grinned. "As long as my feet stay on the ship, my upper body can fly. I'll just float out into the night, find a reef to drift on, and I'm free!"
"Bara Bara—!"
Buggy's body split at the waist. His feet remained on the deck, looking perfectly natural, while his upper half drifted into the air like a ghost. He floated silently over the railing and out into the vast, moonlit night.
"Gahahaha! Goodbye, suckers! I'm off to find Captain John's—"
"Yo, Buggy. Out for a midnight stroll? The moon is pretty nice tonight, isn't it?"
A familiar, teasing voice came from his right.
"EEEEE—?!!!" Buggy's eyeballs literally ejected from his sockets for a second before snapping back.
Floating ten meters above the sea, right beside him, was Ace. He had no wings. He was simply standing in the air, hands behind his head, looking as relaxed as if he were lying in a hammock. Under his boots, muffled bang-bang sounds of air exploding echoed with every step.
Geppo.
"You—you—how are you standing on nothing?!" Buggy shrieked.
"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk," Ace grinned. He drifted closer and poked the flat, bloodless cross-section of Buggy's severed waist. "Wow, this really is like living LEGOs. Does it hurt?"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Buggy zoomed to the left, trying to put distance between them.
But no matter how he banked, turned, or dived, Ace followed him with the predatory grace of a black panther chasing a mouse. Every time Buggy looked over, Ace was right there, half a meter away, wearing that same playful smile.
"You're flying pretty slow," Ace teased. "Are you waiting for a tailwind? Or do you have a range limit? What happens if I kick your feet into the ocean while your head is out here? Do you just... sink?"
"DEMON! YOU ARE A DEMON!"
Buggy's mind snapped. He tried a barrel roll. He tried zig-zagging. But Ace just walked through the air beside him, effortlessly keeping pace.
Ten minutes later, dizzy and exhausted, Buggy's upper half stopped in mid-air, defeated. He realized the cruel truth: against a monster with infinite stamina, high-speed Geppo, and Observation Haki, his "great escape" was just a puppet show.
"Done running?" Ace asked, hovering beside him.
"I... I was just patrolling!" Buggy snapped his upper half into a stiff, trembling salute. "I was looking for... enemy snipers! Yes! Very professional!"
"Hahaha! I knew I picked the right man for the job! So professional!"
Ace laughed, grabbed Buggy by the back of his collar like a stray kitten, and began walking back toward the ship. "Let's get you back. You have windows to wash in the morning."
Thud.
Ace dropped Buggy's torso back onto his waiting legs. Buggy clicked back together, feeling a deep sense of humiliation.
"Go to sleep, Buggy," Ace said, rubbing the clown's blue hair affectionately. He didn't mention the stolen rubies. He didn't threaten him. He just turned and strolled back to the cabin, whistling a jaunty tune.
Standing in the cold night wind, Buggy looked at the bag of rubies in his hand. Ace had seen them. He'd seen everything. And yet... he let him keep them?
Buggy watched Ace's retreating back. For a split second, the way the boy walked—the casual strength, the infectious, world-ignoring laughter—felt hauntingly familiar.
"Captain Roger...?"
Buggy whispered the name, then shook his head violently. "NO! I won't be bought by a few rubies and a laugh! I am Buggy-sama!"
But as he picked up his mop, the Chief Steward of the Black Eclipse knew deep down... his life of freedom was over. And strangely, he wasn't as angry as he thought he should be.