"Captain Buggy, stop!!!"
Buggy split into parts, leaving his two feet firmly on the ground while the rest of his body flew straight toward X.
Snap.
In an instant, the white-haired man swapped positions with Cabaji. In less than a second, the captain's blades pierced through the acrobat's shoulders.
"AAAGHHHH!!!" screamed Cabaji, feeling the blades of his captain sink into his flesh, tearing through his shoulders.
"Idiot! Why did you get in the way?!" shouted Buggy furiously.
"It's that guy's power... I had nothing to do with it," replied Cabaji in a trembling voice, gritting his teeth as he tried to hold his wound.
Fiu!
The protagonist whistled after noticing Buggy's strange ability.
"So you can separate parts of your body and make them float separately... interesting. But there's a downside to your Devil Fruit," said X, with a half-smile forming on his face. "Your feet can't levitate, which makes them a pretty easy weak spot to exploit."
Snap.
In the blink of an eye, Buggy's feet appeared in front of X. He stepped on them hard, causing the clown to twist in pain.
"S-Stop!" yelled Buggy, his face contorted in agony.
"I'll stop if you join me," X replied calmly.
"Never!" roared Buggy, struggling to break free.
"Analyze the situation carefully," said X in a tranquil tone. "Your subordinates have fallen, your officers are out of commission… and you're the one writhing in pain. If you join me, I'll make you stronger."
The white-haired man walked slowly toward Buggy, who remained on his knees, glaring at him with anger. When X reached him, he took his hands out of his pockets and extended one toward the clown, offering him the chance to shake it.
"With me, you'll be able to get whatever you want in this world. Don't doubt it for a second... I'll be the one who changes everything."
Snap.
Suddenly, the entire place began to warp. The ground and the sky twisted as if a black vortex had appeared and vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings turned completely dark. The only ones left there were X and Buggy.
"Where are we?" asked the clown in surprise, while his feet returned to his body. He slowly stood up, staring at the strange environment in shock.
"I can manipulate dimensions," explained X calmly. "That allows me to freely alter my surroundings, giving life to my imagination. In other words, I can change the universe around me and adapt it to my needs. Right now, we're inside the fourth dimension. If you look closely, it's like a 4D glass tesseract cube… full of fragments."
Buggy looked at him, frowning, completely confused.
"What?" he asked, not understanding a single word.
"In short," sighed X, tilting his head with a faint smile, "I can manipulate reality. Just stick with that."
"That's impossible!" Buggy replied in disbelief.
"But you're seeing it," X responded calmly.
Snap.
The room distorted completely again, and several floating screens appeared around them. On them, images were being played — the very moment Buggy had approached to attack X's ship: the cannonballs frozen in midair, his subordinates falling one after another… everything, up to the exact instant where he himself lunged forward to attack.
"It can't be..." muttered Buggy, his face pale. "What are you? A god? A Devil Fruit user?"
X shook his head, smiling serenely.
"I'm just an ordinary employee," he said, in that mysterious tone that characterized him. Then he extended his hand once more. "Join me, Buggy."
This time, the clown didn't move immediately. He stayed silent, staring at the hand extended in front of him. He hesitated for a few seconds, analyzing every word, every gesture. When he finally looked up, he saw in X's eyes a determination so real he couldn't ignore it.
At last, a wide grin appeared on his face. He took a step forward and firmly shook X's hand.
"Then from now on, I'm part of your crew, captain," declared Buggy with a defiant smile. "But you'll have to earn my respect."
"Of course."
Snap.
The dark environment began to fade little by little. The shadows dissolved, the distortion of space corrected itself, and in just a few seconds everything returned to normal. They were exactly in the same place as before.
"Captain Buggy! What happened?! You disappeared for an instant and then reappeared!" shouted Cabaji, with several drops of sweat running down his confused face.
Buggy looked at him for a few seconds in silence before replying in a firm voice.
"It's nothing, Cabaji. From now on, I... am part of this guy. The crew of the Buggy Pirates is dissolved."
There was no sadness in his expression, nor joy. It was a calm look — that of someone who had decided to leave his past behind.
Cabaji stared at him, speechless. But before he could say anything, Buggy threw him his cape, his blades… and his hat.
"From now on, you'll continue as the new captain. I'm leaving everything in your hands," said Buggy, turning his back while walking beside X toward the edge of the ship.
"But..." murmured Cabaji, his voice cracking, not knowing what to say.
Snap.
In the blink of an eye, both disappeared from the ship, leaving behind the officers and the unconscious subordinates, who slowly began to regain consciousness, without understanding what had just happened.
On the other hand, Buggy and X appeared on the other ship, which, as soon as they arrived, began to move along its usual course.
"Make yourself at home. Rest, Buggy, there are several rooms around here... When you're ready, I'll introduce you to another member of the team," said X as he walked toward the kitchen. He knew he had to give him space to think things through and not force him to adapt immediately.
Buggy stayed still for a few seconds before turning around and leaning his arms on the railing, watching as his former crew slowly drifted away in the distance.
"Hahaha... this is so funny. So funny..." he murmured with a smile that slowly faded until silence filled the air.
"CAPTAIN BUGGYYYYY!!!"
"HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY!!!"
His former crew shouted from afar. Buggy just smiled once more, while a single tear rolled down his cheek; he quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand.
"Those bastards... who do they think they are, making me get all sentimental?" he said sarcastically, forcing a crooked grin as he raised his arm to wave back at them.
"After all this time... I don't like romance, I hate it, hahaha. But now I'm letting myself get carried away... how horrible."
As he thought that, several happy memories from his childhood came flooding back — moments he shared with the former crew of Gol D. Roger. He also remembered Shanks, the one he was always arguing and fighting with.
He recalled that very moment when, while trying to sell the Bara Bara no Mi, the Devil Fruit, he accidentally ate it because of Shanks' interruption. Then, falling off the ship and being unable to swim because of the fruit's curse, he thought that would be his end. But then, that damn red-haired man he hated so much appeared… and saved him, sacrificing his life to do it.