Ten minutes later, at Loguetown's eastern shore...
The Straw Hats stared at the bustling port, all of them feeling a mix of excitement and nerves.
"Whoa," Usopp gaped. "Just the port is this lively?"
Sanji grinned. "We're definitely going to find some great ingredients here. And maybe, just maybe, a fridge with a lock on it."
Luffy laughed, ready to charge ahead.
"Alright, crew—let's go ashore!"
Just as everyone was about to cheer, Ray and Nami both shouted at the same time.
"Wait!"
An awkward silence fell over the crew.
Ray, figuring Nami had the same concerns he did, gestured for her to explain.
Nami cleared her throat. "Okay, listen up. Usopp, Sanji, Chouchou, and I can go just like this. But Ray, Luffy, and Zoro... you guys can't."
Luffy tilted his head, confused. "Why not? I wanna go now! I don't care, I'm going!"
He started bouncing around, but neither Ray nor Nami moved.
It only took a second for Zoro and Sanji to figure out what was going on.
"You three have had wanted posters out for a month now," Nami continued. "Your fight with Buggy was big news all over the East Blue. If you just stroll into town looking like yourselves, even if the regular people don't recognize you, the Marines definitely will."
Everyone nodded in agreement—everyone except Luffy, who just pouted.
"So," Nami announced, "you three need disguises. Good ones. So good that no one can possibly tell it's you!" She stood up tall, taking charge.
"Usopp, you're in charge of Luffy."
Usopp started thinking hard
Luffy, now intrigued by the idea of a disguise, perked up.
"Sanji, you get Zoro."
Sanji's eyes lit up with a wicked gleam.
He met Zoro's glare with an even wider, more evil grin.
A thousand terrible ideas were already flooding his mind.
Zoro's face fell.
He had a very, very bad feeling about this.
"And finally, Ray..." Nami said with a mischievous giggle.
"...is all mine. Hehehe."
The glee in her voice made Ray extremely uneasy.
'Is this payback?' he wondered.
…
After an hour of chaos, the transformed trio stood on the deck.
Luffy was ecstatic.
He still had his straw hat, but now his head was wrapped in black cloth, with only his eyes showing.
He had on a black mask, a black shirt, tight black pants, and a flowing red cape.
His legs were wrapped in green leaves.
"I, Monkey D Luffy, am now Ninja Superman!" he laughed. "Hahaha!"
Usopp admired his work.
"Let's buy you some shuriken to stick on your legs later," he said.
"It'll be the perfect touch."
Luffy's eyes sparkled.
…
Zoro, on the other hand, looked completely broken, as if life had lost all meaning.
His disguise? He was a mummy, wrapped head to toe in green leaves, with only one sword visible.
The makeover process had involved several loud scuffles with Sanji that shook the entire ship.
In the end, Zoro had just given up to avoid any more trouble.
When he saw what Ray was wearing, his resentment flared up all over again, and he lunged at Sanji one more time.
Nami proudly led Ray out onto the deck.
"Wow," Usopp blurted out, "that ponytail is... kinda sexy."
He was immediately hit with a death glare from Ray that made him freeze up.
Σ(°△°|||)︴
Nami strutted around, trying to hide a little bit of drool.
'This is amazing,' she thought. 'Hahaha, I finally got you, Ray.'
Ray's glare made her shrink back a little, but the smirk on her face didn't go away.
With sunglasses, his silver hair pulled back into a high ponytail, and a casual blue-and-white outfit, Ray looked like a completely different person—and still incredibly cool.
Nami sighed to herself.
'I should've bought him a pink suit. The contrast would've been hilarious. Ah well. At least I got to touch his hair. There's always next time.'
Ray just adjusted his mood and said, "Let's go ashore."
"Alright, crew!" Luffy cheered. "Dock the ship! Time to land!"
Zoro: "Ugh..."
Nami, Usopp, Sanji: "Yay (＾Ｕ＾)ノ~ＹＯ"
"Oh, and Ray," Nami added, "cover up that crescent mark on your forehead. It's too noticeable."
Ray: …
Loguetown's western shore
A massive ship with a clown's jolly roger was approaching the coast.
Floating ominously behind it were dozens of enormous, square chunks of islands.
The patrolling Marines who saw it started trembling and immediately called Smoker.
Smoker's heart pounded when he got the report.
'No wonder Hina warned me about Buggy,' he thought. 'He really did awaken his powers.'
The pressure was on.
His own Smoke-Smoke Fruit wasn't even close to awakening.
If Buggy had awakened, his strength must have skyrocketed.
Smoker wasn't sure he could stop him anymore.
He blew out a cloud of smoke.
"Monitor Buggy closely," he ordered. "I'm on my way."
He leaped out of his office window, his lower body dissolving into smoke as he rocketed toward the western shore.
On the way, he grimaced.
If Buggy dropped those islands, all of Loguetown would be destroyed.
He had to intercept him, even if it meant dying in the attempt.
…
The disguised Straw Hats blended in perfectly with the crowds as they headed into town.
Suddenly, Ray stopped.
He could sense an immense power approaching from the west.
"You guys go on ahead," he said. "I'm gonna go check something out."
In an instant, he vanished, covering over ten meters with every step.
From high above, if anyone was watching, they would have seen three formidable forces—Ray, Smoker, and Buggy—all converging on the western shore of Loguetown.