Kumate Island, East Blue
In the forest of this island which is also referred as cannibal island, A certain inhabitant was having a bad time.
[
As always, I was minding my own business, picking berries from the trees but those pesky people disturbed my peace again, invading my territory.
How many times have I chased them out till now?
This is my half of the island. I was generous enough to give them the other half.
What a bunch of ungrateful animals. What did they call themselves again, Bear Claw Tribe?
Suddenly, as I was roaming the forest, I heard a loud shout.
'What are they up to now, hmph! When will they be refined like me?'
I went to check it out while swearing to kill a few. An example needed to be set. Though when I got there, the situation looked unusual.
'Who are these new people? Are these pirates? This is my first time seeing pirates.'
Among the pirates, there was one guy who was the loudest.
'What a strange guy, he has a big red nose, instead of a black nose like the Bear Claw Tribe.'
]
"Men, go all out flashily on these savages!!"
"Yes, Captain Buggy!!"
"Hahahaha! Now that the Marines are busy with Revolutionaries, it's our time to claim the former territory of that gangster, Don Krieg."
"Hell yeah, Captain! You are a genius!"
"Of course that I am!"
The fighters of the Bear Claw Tribe fell one after another; they were swiftly defeated by Buggy and his men's combined might.
As the clown like man was relishing in his own greatness and his men were busy dominating the tribesmen, his sight fell on something odd emerging from the bushes.
"Venturing into a forest, you see all kinds of flashy things, huh?"
In front of him was a wild man who wore nothing but crude armor made entirely out of wood and stone.
"Who are you? You don't appear to be part of this cannibal tribe." he asked..
"I am their neighbor, called Pearl. Why are you fighting them?"
"These ignorant fools! They were flashily targeting my men, Captain Buggy's men." Buggy recalled the events that lead to this, then his eyes fell back on the guy.
Looking more closely at Pearl's strange attire.
"Ohh!! You appear to be wearing some really expensive pearls. Hand them over to me and I will easily let you go."
Pearl; hearing this, naturally felt insulted. he was furious at being taken lightly by this stranger.
"Who do you think you are!" The stone knuckles he wore, collided together, ready for battle
Next, charging straight, he was expecting to mash the red-nose into fine paste.
But right at the moment when his stone knuckle was about to hit the clown's body, the body divided into pieces.
"I am a Chop-Chop Human; you can't hurt me with those regular punches!" Buggy announced.
"We'll see about that!"
Pearl swung wildly, striking again and again, but his knuckles met nothing but empty air as Buggy's torso kept drifting out of reach.
After a minute of this farce; Buggy, already bored with the encounter, used his floating hand; carrying a dagger and made a cut on the desperate guy's forehead.
It wasn't even a large wound, but seeing just a drop of blood, Pearl was scared out of his wits.
In a panicked state, his body ignited out of nowhere, though the flames didn't seem to harm him personally.
"Ohh!" Buggy's mouth made big 'O' in amazement, while he escaped the fire that had spread to the immediate surroundings.
Pearl tried to give chase, but seeing nothing work against the flying man, swiftly gave up.
"Huff! Huff! You are too strong, I admit defeat! Just don't hurt me, please!"
Buggy saw no reason to continue; rather, he complemented the guy.
"You are pretty flashy yourself. What do you say? Wanna join my crew? You can keep your flashy pearls..."
Having subjugated the inhabitants of Cannibal Island, Captain Buggy's name would go on to be even more infamous in this corner of the world.
***
Kuma had returned Sear back to East Blue.
It was only natural to do so, as it wasn't yet time for him to venture into those dangerous waters; better to first properly rigorously hone his skills before entering the Grand Line again.
Immediately after returning to Buster, Sear along with Saga were to be deployed somewhere. He readily accepted it; after all, the operation would take place in Loguetown.
Alvida and Gin couldn't come, they were required to train alongside the other new recruits at Buster.
As the two arrived at Loguetown in the motorboat, they were greeted by a familiar hustle and bustle.
Law and order was pretty solid at this place, as it was an important town leading up to Reverse Mountain, which was the entrance to the Grand Line.
Getting in touch with their Revolutionary connections in the town, they set up a temporary base in some inconspicuous building near the main plaza.
Then in his free time, early in the morning; Sear was randomly roaming the alleyways in the poorer sections of the town.
"Hmmm?? That guy!" A face among the passersby grabbed his attention.
"Aren't you Smoker?" Sear called out to the macho man, who was smoking two cigars at once.
Hearing his name being called, Smoker looked back and, meeting Sear's gaze, thought, 'Have I seen him before?!'
He hesitated before saying, "W-Wait... those horns... it's you! Didn't we meet during Gold Roger's execution?"
"We—we did," Sear stuttered while smiling.
"Yo, long time no see, man! But I forgot your name."
"It's Sear."
They greeted each other while grinning and asking the other what they have been up to, nowadays.
Sear's fake identity here was that of a small-time merchant. "Oh, I am just here for business. I operate a commercial guild. What about you?"
"Well, as you can see, I am a Marine now." Smoker spun 180°, showcasing the kanji for [Justice] on the back of his jacket, which he wore instead of a normal coat.
This implied he was a regular officer, which is a post given after completing the enlistment phase.
He went on speaking, "I am on patrol. You can find me here at this hour if there is any problem, or if I am not here, then go to the Marine base."
"I will keep that in mind."
"Okay, it was nice seeing you again." Smoker resumed walking.
Sear kept staring as the Marine's back disappeared into another alleyway.
'This is going to be difficult if he already ate the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.'