Several minutes later, Ahu came walking out calmly, wagging his tail with a certain pride as he lifted his paws elegantly, almost as if he were parading down a runway. Everything seemed normal… until, upon raising his gaze, he stumbled upon something unexpected: a clown standing right in the middle of the ship.
The two of them froze, staring at each other. The dog frowned (or as much as a dog could frown), while the clown tilted his head slightly, wearing a smile that didn't seem very friendly. They stayed like that for several seconds, without saying a word, their eyes narrowed, as if they were in the middle of an epic duel to see who could hold their gaze the longest without blinking.
"A dog?" muttered Buggy, raising an eyebrow, confused. But before he could think too much, the dog spoke again.
"Who are you?" asked Ahu, growling as he showed his fangs.
"WAIT!" exclaimed Buggy, jumping back with his eyes wide open. "DID YOU JUST TALK?!"
Ahu raised an eyebrow, confused, and stepped a little closer.
"Never seen a dog talk before?" he asked sarcastically, wagging his tail with attitude.
"Well, now that you mention it… I have seen a few, but not in this sea," replied Buggy, shrugging. A few seconds passed before he realized they were getting off topic.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" yelled Buggy, pointing at him dramatically.
"I should be the one asking that!" roared Ahu, showing his claws with a defiant glare.
"Damn mutt! Don't you know who I am?!" shouted Buggy, pointing at himself with his thumb and a proud grin.
"Eh?" replied Ahu, tilting his head curiously.
"I'm Buggy the Clown! With a bounty of fifteen million berries!" he exclaimed, puffing out his chest as if it were the most impressive thing in the world.
Ahu stared at him in silence for a few seconds, blinking slowly. Then he said, without a hint of emotion:
"No, I don't know you."
"W-WHAAAAAAT?!" screamed Buggy, veins bulging on his forehead and his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"I SAID I DON'T KNOW YOU! Besides, I don't like clowns!" Ahu shot back, baring his fangs.
The two fell silent. The air grew tense, as if the entire ship were waiting to see what would happen. It only took one step. And the next second, both lunged at each other.
Snap.
At the sound of the snap, both froze completely, unable to move a single inch. The kitchen door creaked open, and out came the white-haired man, looking like a zombie who clearly hadn't slept well because of all the commotion they were making.
"Ughhh, so sleepy… can't you two stay quiet for a moment?" muttered X, eyes half-closed, rubbing his face in annoyance.
Snap.
In an instant, both of them collapsed like sacks of potatoes, their faces bumping into each other midair before landing hard on the floor.
Thud!
"Ow, my nose!" grumbled Buggy, while Ahu let out a small whimper.
The white-haired man just sighed. "Seriously… I can't leave you alone for five minutes."
"X! Who is this guy?!" asked Ahu, frowning.
The protagonist, still in his pajamas and holding a pillow, yawned as he tried to stay awake.
"Leave it. He's our new crewmate… Buggy," he said in a half-asleep voice.
"So this dog was the one you said you'd introduce me to," exclaimed Buggy, crossing his arms with a confident grin.
"Well… I suppose I owe you an apology," said Ahu seriously, though his tail wagged nonstop, betraying that he wasn't actually upset.
"Come on, get inside. It's late. Night's already fallen," said X with his eyes closed, turning around and walking slowly toward his room.
The two looked at each other for a moment and nodded before silently following their captain.
Minutes later, in a room with two bunk beds, the three of them were there.
X slept deeply on the top left bunk, snoring as if no one else existed. Below him was Ahu, lying on his back, occasionally wagging his tail. Across from them, on the other bunk, Buggy sat with his arms crossed, unable to sleep, while the two kept chatting quietly.
"So, can you explain the situation to me again?" asked Buggy, still with his arms crossed, looking at Ahu, who was staring at the mattress above, where X was sleeping.
"As I told you before, skipping the earlier part, my city — Orange Town — was attacked by pirates. They wanted to loot everything, no matter if the townsfolk got hurt. We fought them for a long time… until X arrived and saved us. Afterward, we investigated the attackers and discovered they were Krieg's pirates."
Buggy stayed silent for a few seconds, listening carefully, before saying:
"Now everything makes sense… I heard rumors about a young pirate who wanted to save a dog. At first, no one paid attention, but when he said that city was full of treasure, everyone rushed there. Several crews went, but only one remained… Krieg's."
The dog, who had been calmly staring at the top mattress moments ago, suddenly turned toward Buggy with such a serious look that it startled him.
"Hey! Don't do that again!" shouted Buggy, annoyed, clutching his chest.
Ahu completely ignored his complaint and instead responded to the previous comment:
"What was that pirate like?" he asked firmly.
Buggy looked at him in silence for a second and then murmured:
"I see…"
He had noticed in the dog's eyes that he was thinking of someone important — perhaps the person who had once cared for him.
"Well… he was a young pirate, like I said. Around twenty years old, and from what I heard… kind of a crybaby."
"Where did you see him?!" asked Ahu suddenly, his voice filled with emotion.
"Like I told you, I only heard rumors from my former subordinates. I never saw him myself, nor do I know where he is… I hate to say it, but maybe he's—"
"Shut up! He's still alive!" roared Ahu, cutting him off. He wasn't angry at Buggy — it was pure helplessness. He didn't want to believe that person was dead. He still held onto the hope that somewhere out at sea, he was alive.
Suddenly, the top bunk — where X was sleeping — shook.
"You two, stop making noise," said the protagonist firmly. His face showed an unusual seriousness; apparently, he had heard the entire conversation.
"You'd better sleep. Tomorrow we'll reach our next destination: Gosa Village. We'll have to face that Krieg guy."
Both listened in silence, not daring to reply. Ahu just lay back and pulled a blanket over himself, letting out a faint sigh.
Meanwhile, Buggy took off his boots and dropped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. His mind kept spinning.
"How the hell…? Nah, we'll definitely beat him," he thought, letting out a small snort. "Though… with a big crew under his command… this'll be tricky." A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he turned his head, glancing at Ahu sleeping and then at X, who was completely out cold.
"By the way… who's steering the ship?" muttered Buggy, suddenly opening his eyes wide, alarmed. X let out a small smile and went right back to sleep.