"Ugh... The Grand Line... I, Buggy... will return... very soon..."
"Hehe... Treasure, all the treasure is mine..."
Inside the dim tent, Buggy lay reclined in a chair, sleeping so soundly he didn't even notice the drool dripping onto his clothes.
He muttered in his sleep, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed as cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "The treasure map! Where is my treasure map! Shanks! Give it back!"
Swoosh!!
He snapped his eyes open.
Once he recognized his surroundings, he let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"What? It was just a dream."
That said, something else crossed his mind, and he gritted his teeth. "That damn Shanks! If it weren't for you back then, I, Buggy, would have already claimed the world's greatest treasure!"
"Hmph, but you'd never imagine it—I'm about to return to the Grand Line and establish the strongest pirate crew! Hahaha!"
He laughed sinisterly.
"When that time comes, I'll show you that I am the true successor to Captain Roger as the Pirate King!"
As he spoke, he instinctively glanced at the treasure chest beside him, where he kept the nautical chart of the Grand Line.
That one look made his eyes bug out!
The treasure chest that should have been shut tight and locked was now wide open!
More importantly,
it was empty—there was nothing inside!
"..."
This sudden turn of events left Buggy completely dumbfounded.
'My... where is my nautical chart?!'
'The chart I worked so hard to get?!!'
Just then, a massive voice that rattled his eardrums and made the tent shake violently boomed from outside:
"HEY!!! WAKE! UP!!!"
BOOM!!!
For a moment, the world went quiet for Buggy, as if his soul was about to leave his body.
The next second, dust shaken loose from the tent showered down on him. Red-Nosed Buggy was instantly transformed into Black-Nosed Buggy.
Snapping back to reality, Buggy shook off the dust and charged outside in a fury.
"Who is it?! Who's making my ears ring like this?!"
He scanned his surroundings in a rage, only to see a kid standing there with his hands on his hips and a cheeky grin on his face.
He froze, a single question popping into his head.
'Where did this kid come from?'
By then, his subordinates were shaking their heads, waking up from their deep slumber, almost all of them looking utterly bewildered.
Only Cabaji, the Chief of Staff for the Buggy Pirates, remained calm. He scanned the area and locked his eyes onto the kid who had suddenly appeared.
"A kid? Is he an enemy?"
Glancing at his comrades who were still sleeping like logs—including Vice-Captain Mohji—he frowned and barked at the men who were awake, "Get some cold water and wake them all up!"
"Ah, yes! Chief Cabaji!"
Once the men left for the water, Cabaji approached Buggy. "Captain Buggy, do you know what's going on with this kid?"
Buggy shook his head. "No clue. Who knows where he crawled out from? Oh, wait, maybe he's from this town?"
Then, remembering something, he gritted his teeth. "One more thing, Cabaji... my nautical chart was stolen!"
"The nautical chart was stolen?"
Cabaji's pupils constricted; he knew exactly how much Buggy valued that chart.
"Yeah! And I don't know which damn bastard..."
As Buggy spoke, his gaze locked onto the brat in front of him.
"Could it be this kid?!"
At that thought, he snarled, "Hey! Brat! Did you steal the great Captain Buggy's nautical chart?!"
The kid, Goku, clasped his hands behind his head and grinned. "Nope!"
'Nami stole it, what does that have to do with me?'
Buggy paused.
'It wasn't him?'
Goku continued to beam at him. "Hey! That red nose on your face looks really funny."
!!!
As soon as he said it, the entire area fell deathly silent.
The pirates who were about to dump water on their comrades froze in their tracks, breaking out in cold sweat.
Cabaji's body stiffened, and he silently backed away from Buggy.
'It's over. Someone actually spoke the forbidden words to Captain Buggy.'
'And in such a mocking tone, too.'
'Captain Buggy...'
'...is going to explode!'
Buggy stood frozen, a dark, hellish aura seemingly radiating from his body.
His face was cast in deep shadow, making his expression unreadable.
"What... did... you... just... say?!"
He spat out each word individually, his voice trembling with monstrous rage.
Goku tilted his head curiously and repeated, "I said your red nose looks really funny."
"So, why do you have such a big red nose?"
...
Cabaji felt a chill run down his spine and backed away several more meters.
He offered a silent prayer for Goku.
'You're literally dancing on Captain Buggy's grave over and over again. You've got guts, kid, but I doubt you'll still be smiling after he's done with you.'
Buggy clenched his fists so hard his body seemed ready to burst with fury, steam practically radiating from him.
He looked up with bloodshot eyes, his face contorted. "How dare you mention my nose! How dare you mention my nose!!"
Goku scratched his cheek, puzzled. "What's wrong with your red nose? I mean, you have a red nose, don't you?"
"Stop saying it! Don't you dare say it again!!"
Livid, Buggy raised his arm, a sharp throwing knife appearing in his hand as if from nowhere.
With a whoosh, the knife flew straight at Goku.
"Huh?!!"
Goku dodged to the side, looking in shock at the knife that had just zipped past him.
No, rather, he was shocked by the fact that the knife was being held by a hand detached from the forearm!
"How is your hand detached?!"
He spun around in amazement, staring at Buggy with wide eyes.
Just then, Nami's voice rang out from behind him: "Goku!! Watch your back!!"
Swoosh!!
An almost inaudible whistling sound approached rapidly from behind.
Goku's instincts flared, and he leaped aside without a second thought.
A split second later, the knife—still gripped by the floating hand—grazed his hair as it flew forward, returning to Buggy.
"That was scary! What is going on?!" Goku patted his chest, his heart still racing, completely baffled by what had just happened.
"Heh heh heh! I, the great Buggy, am a Chop-Chop Human who ate the Chop-Chop Fruit!"
Buggy flicked his hands, six knives appearing between his fingers as he wore a mocking smirk.
"The Chop-Chop Fruit?" Goku looked astonished.
"So you ate a Devil Fruit!"
"Oh? You actually know about Devil Fruits? You're definitely no ordinary brat." Buggy narrowed his eyes, shifting his gaze to the woman who had suddenly appeared behind Goku to warn him.
"Now I'm even more convinced that you two stole my nautical chart!"
Hiding behind a utility pole, Nami waved her hands with a bright smile. "No, no, no! How could we have stolen any chart of yours?"
Unsure if Goku could actually beat Buggy, she decided to try and disarm him with words to lower his guard.
Unexpectedly, the simple-minded Goku turned around and looked at her in confusion.
"Huh? Nami, didn't you just say you stole his nautical chart?"
Nami: "..."
Buggy roared, "Aha! I knew it was you! Men! Capture that woman! We have to get that chart back at all costs!!"
"Yes, Captain Buggy!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]