On the endless, shimmering expanse of the sea, a small fishing boat tore through the waves as if fleeing for its life.
Luffy glanced back at the Marine patrol ship relentlessly pursuing him, his face a mixture of frustration and disbelief.
"Damn it!"
He rubbed his cheek, still tingling with pain from the solid punch delivered by a hawkish Marine colonel just moments ago.
The sensation was eerily reminiscent of Windmill Village, of the terrifying lessons his grandfather had imparted with his "Iron Fist of Love."
Why, he wondered, could a rubber body not withstand a fist?
It made no sense!
Luffy could not fathom it. All he knew was that the Marine officer on his tail was absurdly strong.
His fist was black as midnight, heavy and unyielding when it slammed into Luffy.
The small boat zigzagged under Luffy's frantic control. However, when he rounded a massive reef, his eyes widened in alarm.
Ahead, another identical Marine patrol ship loomed, blocking the entire channel and cutting off any escape.
"Crap! I'm surrounded!"
Luffy glanced back at the pursuing ship, then toward the outline of a small port town nearby.
"There's only one way!"
Without hesitation, he turned the bow and sped straight for the harbor.
On the Marine patrol ship, two officers stood side by side, their posture rigid, eyes sharp and piercing as an eagle's.
"Enclose him according to plan. Don't let him escape again."
The two patrol ships spread apart, pinching like iron clamps to completely seal the harbor entrance.
As Luffy's small boat crashed onto the sandy beach, the officers leapt from their decks, leading squads of Marines, their eyes gleaming with lethal intent.
"Search! He won't get far!"
"Clack clack clack "
Luffy darted left and right through the narrow alleyways of the harbor, but the sound of footsteps behind him grew louder and closer.
"Stop, pirate!"
"Damn! I can't shake them!"
He reached a dead-end, seeing a rusted iron wall directly ahead. Both alleyways to his left and right were blocked by Marine figures.
"No way out!"
Acting instantly, he stretched his right arm back.
"Gomu Rocket!"
He hurtled forward like a cannonball, smashing through the wall and rolling into a dimly lit warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, a group of oddly dressed people slumped helplessly on the floor.
A man in a beast-tamer outfit clutched a gaunt lion, which gnawed weakly at a rotting piece of wood.
A unicyclist performer sat slumped; the tire flat, the man too weak to even balance himself.
And at the center, a man with a captain's hat and an enormous red nose stared blankly at the ceiling.
Captain of the Buggy Pirates "Clown" Buggy.
"Damn… damn it…"
Buggy muttered weakly, his stomach growling in protest.
Ever since that monster named Hawk had razed the East Blue, the good days for the Buggy Pirates were over.
That maniac accepted no surrender and left no survivors.
Anyone flying a skull flag sank to the bottom to feed the fish.
The Buggy Pirates no longer dared raid, not even approach a port, fearing Marine patrols at every turn.
They had hidden in this abandoned warehouse, surviving only on stolen provisions.
Now, even those were gone.
Buggy's stomach pressed painfully against his chest. He felt as if his nose had shrunk from hunger.
He, Captain Buggy, once an apprentice in the Roger Pirates and even a close associate of the Red-Haired Shanks, had now fallen to the brink of starvation.
That monster Hawk!
As Buggy cursed silently in his mind, the warehouse wall suddenly exploded.
A straw-hatted figure rolled through the gaping hole.
"Hmm? Who are you guys?"
Luffy stared curiously at the bizarrely dressed group.
Instantly, all the slumped figures in the warehouse stiffened.
Buggy's eyes widened as he pointed at Luffy.
"Who are you?!"
"Why are you trespassing in my territory?!"
Luffy opened his mouth to respond.
"Bang !"
The warehouse's front doors were violently kicked open. A squad of armed Marines poured in, guns trained on everyone inside.
"Ma… Marines?!"
Buggy's anger evaporated instantly, replaced by sheer terror.
He saw the two leading officers the colonels. Their shoulder badges glinted ominously in the dim light.
Colonels from Marine Headquarters?!
And there were two of them?!
How had the Marines found them when they had been hiding so well?
"Wait!!"
Buggy spun around, glaring furiously at the innocent-looking straw-hatted boy.
It was him!
He had led the Marines here!
"You straw-hat bastard!!!"
Buggy trembled with rage, shouting at Luffy.
"I've hidden here perfectly, and you brought the Marines to me! You want me dead?!"
Luffy scratched his head, bewildered.
"Huh? I led them here? Sorry about that!"
"Damn it…"
Buggy's frustration almost choked him.
"You…!"
"You're the 'Clown' Buggy with a bounty of 15 million Berries…"
One of the colonels stepped forward, eyes cold, scanning everyone in the warehouse.
"No wonder you survived Vice Admiral Hawk's sweep. You were hiding here all along."
"However, today, your luck runs out."
The colonel's right fist slowly rose, black energy creeping over its surface.
The other colonel drew his sword, the sharp blade gleaming ominously.
"…!!!"
Buggy's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Just as the colonels prepared to strike, a loud creaking noise echoed from the warehouse ceiling.
A massive, long-neglected beam, already weakened by Luffy's earlier collision, snapped under the strain.
"Rumble !"
The entire abandoned warehouse began collapsing before their eyes.
The colonels had no time to attack. They covered their troops and retreated from the falling structure.
"Evacuate!"
Dust and debris filled the space instantly.
When the chaos settled, the warehouse lay in ruins.
"Report casualties!"
The colonels frowned as they surveyed the scene.
"Sir! No casualties reported!"
"And we captured several pirates!"
Soldiers dragged the Buggy Pirates' lieutenants from the wreckage, all covered in dust, their expressions wretched and pitiful.
"What about that straw-hatted boy and Buggy?"
"Sir! None were found!"
"…."
The two colonels exchanged glances. The warehouse collapsed while they were about to act?
This luck…
Unbelievable.