The sun was sinking low, painting Foosha Village in long, bloody shadows. Young Luffy thrashed in the dirt, throwing wild rubber punches that bounced harmlessly off Higuma's leather coat.
"You've got a loud mouth for a pipsqueak," Higuma sneered, pressing his heavy boot onto Luffy's chest until the boy gasped for air. "I kill anyone who gets on my nerves." Luffy tried to punch his leg, but it didn't bother the man. "APOLOGIZE TO SHANKS…NOW!"
"This kid has nerves!" Higuma laughed as he looked around his crew. He then withdrew his sword, about to strike Luffy with it, but a calm voice cut through the square.
"Listen to me, bandit." Shanks stepped forward, his eyes locking onto Higuma with a glare that felt like an iron weight pressing down on the square. "...Spill food on me, pour drink on me... I'll laugh it off. But nobody hurts my friends."
Higuma's nerve broke. Panicking, he slammed a metallic sphere onto the cobblestones. White smoke exploded in a blinding flash—
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" A booming voice snapped Luffy from his slumber. He blinked through a film of cold sweat, his blurry reflection staring right back at him. He was trapped inside a narrow glass cylinder—so tight his elbows were crushed against his ribs, and his hands were pinned flat to his chest. In front of him is a pitch-dark red; all of the glasses are.
"WHERE AM I? LET ME OUT!" He tried to flex his shoulders, but the reinforced shell gave him zero room to build momentum.
"This is your host once again, Mohji the Beast Tamer!" As he raised his hands, the crowd's forced screams rose on command. "Now… for the main star!" Mohji roared into the mic, cracking his whip against the dirt floor. "CAPTAIN BUGGY!"
"Welcome to the main event! The moment you've all been waiting for… the grand attraction of Buggy Land!" From the shadow of the main ring, a man stepped under the lights holding a gilded microphone. Thick white fur covered his shoulders, animalistic tufts sprouted from his head, and long whiskers drooped over his upper lip.
"This is your host once again, Mohji the Beast Tamer!" As he raised his hands, the crowd's forced screams rose on command. "Now… for the main star!" Mohji roared into the mic, cracking his whip against the dirt floor. "CAPTAIN BUGGY!"
The lights inside the Big Top snapped off, plunging the tent into pitch darkness.
THUMP-THUMP-CLAP. THUMP-THUMP-CLAP. A heavy, rhythmic thud reverberated through the floorboards underfoot as stamping boots echoed like a collective heartbeat. It was coming from the audience in the first rafter, but something was horribly wrong. Their mouths were peeled back into stretched, agonizing grins, yet their eyes were wide with sheer panic as tears streamed down their cheeks. Heavy iron shackles locked their ankles to the wooden bleachers.
The mayor was right. Buggy hadn't just occupied the town—he had captured its people and forced them to become his audience. In the elevated rafters above, crowds of Buggy's pirates hollered and gorged on stolen meat, casually twirling their cutlasses in the air like parade batons.
A sharp whistle pierced the dark, and a red spotlight slammed down onto the center ring. The circus floor parted with a low rumble as a small platform rose from the darkness below. Standing upon it, bathed in warm backlight and rising haze, was Buggy the Clown. Wrapped in a long coat, he stood in a commanding, wide-legged stance—his body silhouetted against the ambient glow of the rafters behind him. His face remained shrouded in deep shadow beneath the brim of his tall top hat, save for the faint, menacing glint of his round red nose. He leaned forward slightly, resting his hands casually over the head of a cane planted firmly between his boots, looking every bit like a theatrical ringmaster orchestrating a nightmare.
"Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for!"
Buggy snapped his body into a dramatic pose, freezing mid-motion before slowly tilting his head up into the spotlight. The harsh light finally washed over his features—stark white paint, exaggerated blue accents around his eyes, a large bulbous red nose, and long blue hair cascading down from beneath his top hat.
(Whoa!) The forced chorus from the chained audience below echoed through the big top like an orchestra. Up in the rafters, the pirates went dead silent, every eye locked on the performance below.
"Been searchin' in the dark, your blood soakin' through the floor!" Buggy sang out, his voice a booming, theatrical baritone.
(Whoa!)
"And deep inside your bones, there's a euphoria you can't ignore—"
He strutted off the small platform, leaning over the ring's barrier to gaze up at the rafters, an ear-to-ear grin stretched across his face.
"Takin' your breath, stealin' your mind! And all that was safe is left behind!"
He began to march in a precise, rhythmic cadence. As he moved along the perimeter, dozens of shadow-cast performer silhouettes materialized along the ring's edge in perfect synchronicity.
"Don't fight it, it's comin' for you, runnin' at ya!" The clown's face clenched as he waved his fist into the air.
"It's only this moment, don't care what comes after!"
"Your fever dream, can't you see my blades gettin' closer? Just surrender 'cause you feel the absolute joy takin' over!"
(Oh!)
"It's fire, it's gunpowder, it's burstin' open!"
(Oh!)
"It's a jester on the stage and your blind devotion!"
(Oh!)
"There's something breakin' at the wall of every ship that's holdin' all that you know—" Buggy leaped back onto the center platform, flinging his arms wide like a bird soaring over the crowd.
"—SO TELL ME, DO YOU WANNA GO?!"
BANG! Every spotlight in the tent ignited at once in a dazzling flash. The sudden illumination revealed a full line of circus performers struck in dramatic, frozen poses along the perimeter of the ring. Up in the upper rafters, the pirate crew slammed their heavy pewter mugs together and swung their cutlasses to the beat, their voices roaring together to meet the crescendo:
"Where it's covered in all the colored lights!"
The thunderous duet between the performers and the forced, terrified audience roared through the cavernous canvas of the Big Top. Below in the main ring, acro-dancers spun in wild synchronization, their bodies blurring into a dizzying display of circus madness.
"Where the bloody clowns are runnin' the night!"
High above the arena, Cabaji glided through the air on a swinging trapeze bar, his body twisting with the fluid, venomous grace of a viper. Clenched between his teeth was a single crimson rose. With a fluid flick of his head, he tossed the flower straight toward a female pirate perched on the upper rafters, flashing her a sly, deadly wink as she caught it with a thrilled shout.
"The impossible comes true, we floatin' over you—"
"OH, THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
Buggy snapped his gloved wrist skyward. On cue, three acrobats plummeted from the high rafters. Mid-air, their torsos detached at the hips, spinning through the void like razor-sharp frisbees while holding blazing firecrackers. Golden sparks rained down over the bleachers in a shimmering, blinding waterfall of light and fire.
"We light it up, your sparks come down!"
"And the Navy can't stop us now!"
Two performers hoisted towering iron hoops drenched in oil, sparking them into roaring rings of fire. Across the floor, two dwarf brawlers—their weathered, battle-scarred faces far from childlike—launched themselves off a springboard, soaring straight through the heart of the flames to land cleanly on the opposite side. The pirates in the stands erupted, stomping their boots to the heavy, infectious beat.
"Watchin' the dream come true, it's takin' over you—"
"OH, THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
("This is everything you'll ever need!")
"THIS IS EVERYTHING YOU'LL EVER NEED!"
The center stage began to rotate with a heavy mechanical groan. In the middle of the whirling platform, Buggy launched into an unhinged, high-octane dance. His limbs detached into a whirlwind of floating elbows and spinning boots, thrashing in mid-air like a chaotic tumbleweed before clicking back together as he leaped up and slapped his heels together in a flashy mid-air bow.
"It's everything you ever wanted!" (Hey, hey!)
"It's everything you ever needed!" (Hey, hey!)
"And it's here right in front of you—" (This is what you wanted!)
Around the outer perimeter of the tent, heavy brass cannons suddenly swiveled, locking their gaping iron muzzles directly onto the performing troupe below.
"THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED!" (Hey, hey, hey, hey!)
"THIS IS EVERYTHING YOU'LL EVER NEED!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The cannons detonated in unison. But instead of iron shot and tearing shrapnel, a dense wall of shimmering, violet smoke exploded across the entire arena, swallowing the ring whole. A stunned, breathless hush fell over the audience. The blaring brass instrumentation cut out dead.
In the sudden, suffocating darkness, only a heavy, solitary rhythm remained.
THUMP-THUMP-CLAP.
"When it's covered in all the colored lights!"
THUMP-THUMP-CLAP.
"Where the talented clowns are runnin' the night!" (Oh, oh yeah!)
High above, a massive mechanical winch groaned into motion. The peak of the tent parted in half as backstage crew hauled heavy iron chains, peeling back the canvas ceiling to reveal the swirling, blood-orange twilight sky above. The sunset clouds danced like living embers over the open arena.
THUMP-THUMP-CLAP.
"The impossible comes true, my blades are takin' over you!" (Hee-hee!)
THUMP-THUMP-CLAP.
"Oh, THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
A sudden gale-force wind blew the thick smoke away in an instant, revealing a sight that stole the breath from every throat in the house: Buggy's body had completely disassembled, dozens of severed torso segments, floating boots, and dagger-wielding gloves hovering across the vast empty air in perfect, suspended formation.
The entire audience erupted into absolute bedlam. Pirates leaped onto their seats, roaring at the top of their lungs and waving their cutlasses frantically in the air.
Outside, a battery of heavy Buggy Cannons launched a barrage skyward. Bright, cascading fireworks detonated against the twilight clouds, washing the arena in blinding waves of gold, crimson, and violet light.
"We light it up; your town burns down!"
"And the world can't stop us now!"
"Watchin' the nightmare come true, it's takin' over you—"
"THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
"When it's covered in all the colored lights!"
"Where the bloody clowns are runnin' the night!"
"The impossible comes true, I'm chopsawin' through you—"
"Oh, THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
From the darkness beneath the main platform, a massive, albino tiger bounded into the center ring with a bone-chilling roar. Perched atop its back was Mohji, holding a heavy iron torch. He threw his head back, exhaling a massive stream of lamp-oil that ignited off the flame, shooting a towering pillar of fire into the open air like a dragon's breath.
"We light it up; your town burns down!"
"And the Marine can't stop us now!"
"Watchin' our dream come true, it's takin' over you—"
"Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!"
"THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
"Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!"
"THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
"Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!"
"THIS IS THE GREATEST SHOW!"
On the final, booming orchestral note, Buggy's body snapped back together in mid-air. He landed cleanly in the center ring, extending his arms wide in a grand, statuesque pose as every performer on stage froze in perfect synchronization. High above, the mechanical winches rattled once more, sealing the canvas roof and plunging the ring back under the glare of the hot spotlights.
A deafening wave of noise crashed over the arena—a terrifying, surreal mix of cheering pirates, sobbing villagers, fanatical praises, and choked cries for mercy. Buggy didn't care to separate the applause from the horror. The weeping from the praise. To him, it was all the exact same sound.
All that mattered... was his absolute, magnificent greatness.
Down at the crowded piers, a heavy vessel glided into the main dock, its mooring ropes slapping against the wooden pilings. The gangplank slammed down, and dozens of figures poured out into the sea mist. Disguised in oversized pirate coats and smeared clown makeup, the militia blended seamlessly into the chaotic harbor crowds. Near the rear of the unit, a short female operative reached into her pocket and pulled out a baby Den Den Mushi, pressing the transponder shell.
"Mayor," she whispered into the receiver. "We're in position."
Back inside the Big Top, the curtain call had ended. The acrobats, fire-breathers, and dancers vanished into the shadows, leaving only Buggy and Mohji standing in the vast, dirt center ring.
"Now that our magnificent opening act has concluded," Buggy's gravelly voice rasped through the horn speakers, echoing over the lingering hum of the crowd. "It is time to introduce our special guest star for the night!"
Buggy dramatically ripped away the heavy silk cloth draped over the center platform, revealing the narrow glass cylinder underneath.
"TODAY'S PARTICIPANT IS NONE OTHER THAN THE RUUUBBBEEERRR BOY HIMSELF… STRAW HAT!" Metal horn-speakers mounted on high rafters shrieked with thunderous volume. Blinding spotlights snapped on, burning through the glass and searing Luffy's retinas. A wall of noise hit him—a deafening wave of screams and hysterical laughter echoing off the canvas walls. Buggy raised his microphone again, a wicked grin spreading across his painted face.
"And with our guest of honor right where we want him... we are going to play a very special game! A carnival classic played only once in Buggy Land history! It's the game of… drum roll, please!" A frantic, vibrating rattle of snare drums echoed up through the floorboards.
"The Game of Aim!" Buggy snapped his fingers. Two masked pirates dragged a wooden wheel into the ring. Bound to the spinning target was Nami, a bright red apple resting atop her head. Her charming facade had vanished, replaced by a cold glare locked onto the clown. "To start the carnival, a little target practice!" Buggy chuckled. He pulled a dark silk blindfold from his pocket and tied it tightly over his eyes. "And to keep it fun... I'll do it blind!"
"Hey! Clown! Let her go!" Luffy shouted from inside the tank, slamming his palm against the glass. The sound was muffled, barely a dull thump.
"Now the rules! First, the gunman—" From the bleachers, a terrified man broke down, his forced smile trembling as he sobbed aloud. "Please... spare us... my wife is sick in the back..." The clown froze, tilting his blindfolded head toward the crowd. "An unhappy audience member?" he whispered into the mic. "In my circus?" He raised a gloved finger. "Staff, bring the gentleman to the performance area."
Two Buggy pirates marched up the bleachers, dragging the pleading man down into the dirt ring beside Nami. Up in the stands, the rest of the villagers squeezed their eyes shut, forcing their mouths into even wider, desperate grins. The thugs shoved the sobbing man onto an overturned barrel, slapping a painted target across his forehead. The pirates above keep laughing, throwing bones and any leftover food towards the man.
"C'mon, let's not bully our special guests now!" screams my Mohji.
"He's ready, Captain!" a pirate called out. Without removing the blindfold, Buggy raised a heavy, brass-barreled flintlock and pulled the trigger.
BANG! The gunshot roared through the tent. The man's head snapped back, his body slumping into the dirt as blood splashed across Nami's cheek. The crowd gasped in collective horror, then immediately exploded into louder, wilder forced laughter, terrified that they would be next.
"Uh oh! Looks like I missed it!" Buggy pulled down his blindfold and laughed it off. His crew cheered hysterically, chanting his name as the clown soaked up the applause. He turned, raising a second pistol toward Nami.
"STOP IT!" Luffy roared inside his cage. He drew his fist back as far as the cramped space allowed and slammed his knuckles into the glass, but the naval frame didn't even creak. Buggy pulled the trigger. The lead ball whistled through the air, shattering the apple into red splinters. Nami didn't flinch, though cold sweat dripped down her neck.
"A DIRECT HIT!" the announcer bellowed, and the tent erupted into a booming cheer that echoed out into the ruined streets of Orange Town.
Meanwhile, in the damp backrooms behind the main stage, a choked scream echoed into the dark. Zoro hung upside down from the rafters, suspended by heavy iron chains wrapped around his ankles. Blood trickled down his chest, pooling at the crown of his head. Above him, a metallic screech echoed through the gloom as a winch rattled, dropping Zoro headfirst into a wide iron bucket brimming with ice water.
A mechanism held him, while Cabaji held a lever of it. He pushed it as the swordsman's full weight submerged into the bucket. Bubbles thrashed violently against the rusted rim. After two full minutes, Cabaji yanked Zoro up by his green hair. Ice water and blood mixed as it dripped from Zoro's chin onto the damp floorboards. Zoro opened one bloodshot eye, his chest heaving as he spat a mouthful of bloody water squarely onto Cabaji's polished boot.
"Is that... all you got?" Zoro grunted, a bruised smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. Cabaji's jaw tightened. Gritting his teeth in silent fury, he slammed Zoro's head back down into the freezing bucket. Seconds ticked away into minutes. The water sloshed wildly, freezing cold, meeting the burning fever of Zoro's freshly slashed back. When Cabaji finally hauled him up again, Zoro's bloodshot eyes weren't filled with fear—they were laughing at him.
"You're gonna have to… try harder than that," Zoro rasped, coughing up another lungful of water. Cabaji slammed him back under with a vicious curse.
Out in the main arena, the brass horns blared again.
"And now, for the grand finale!" Mohji announced, stepping up to Luffy's container and patting a heavy brass valve on the tank. "We present the Ultimate Interactive Game! The Drowning Man!
Buggy leaped off the stage, landing right in front of the terrified bleachers with his arms spread wide. "Here are the rules, my lovely audience!" Buggy yelled, his red nose gleaming under the spotlight. "If you vote for Straw Hat to DIE... I set every single one of you free right now! But if you vote for him to LIVE… Then I would turn you into our very own dummies!" A suffocating silence settled over the first raft, whereas the cheer and laughter of the pirates echoed into the second raft.
"NOW, VOTE!" Buggy roared. Terrified for their lives, the shackled villagers didn't hesitate. Hands shot into the air across every row.
"DIE! LET HIM DIE!"
"I WANT TO GO HOME! DIE!"
"PLEASE! KILL HIM AND FREE US!"
Thousands of messages, different meanings. Nami watched as the stretched grin of the pirates and the terrified faces of the civilians mixed into the noise like a toxic mixture. Her knuckles were white as she clenched into the boards she tied into. "You bastards..." she whispered under her breath.
Outside the circus tent, while pirates indulged in the rides and stalls, the mayor and three of his men slipped through the crowds unnoticed, disguised in oversized circus attire and smeared clown makeup.
"Watch my back," the mayor whispered, crouching low as he skirted the perimeter toward the far side of the tent. In his hand was a stick of dynamite. He scanned the area until his eyes landed on a wooden watchtower guarding the harbor. At the top sat a heavy iron cannon, surrounded by a stacked pyramid of crimson-painted Buggy Balls.
The mayor gestured to one of his men, pointing upward toward the tower. The man nodded, silently creeping through the shadows to the base of the ladder. He scaled the wooden rungs, rose behind the stationed sentry, and yanked the guard backward off the platform. The pirate shrieked, sliding down the ladder before managing to hook his arm around a rung.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" the sentry screamed. The mayor's man drove a heavy punch into the guard's jaw, shattering his grip and sending him plunging thirty feet to the cobblestones below. Reaching into his loose clothing, the man pulled out a pair of brass goggles, strapping them over his eyes to scan the main street below. Through the lens, he spotted the rest of their militia—dozens of armed townspeople disguised as pirates, waiting in the alleys for the signal.
Looking down, he flashed two fingers at the mayor. The mayor nodded as the man swung the heavy cannon on its swivel, aligning its sights directly with the pirate flagship docked in the harbor. He slammed a torch onto the touchhole.
BOOM!
The cannon roared at the exact moment the base of the tower detonated into a blinding inferno. The massive Buggy Ball tore across the water, smashing into the flagship's hull and detonating the ship into a towering fireball that consumed the surrounding piers and sent splinters raining over the carnival. He quickly descended the ladder below, as his feet hit the ground, the mayor immediately struck a match and lit his stick of dynamite, hurling it straight into the stack of volatile Buggy Balls at the base of the tower, as the three ran away into and slipped through the cracks of the building.
"Let's go to the tent!"
Inside the Big Top, Buggy threw his head back and burst into cackling laughter. "THE AUDIENCE HAS SPOKEN! MOHJI, HIT THE SWITCH!"
Mohji slammed the heavy iron lever down. A sharp click echoed, and a torrent of freezing water poured from the ceiling valve straight onto Luffy's head. The water rose fast, surging past his chest and slapping against his chin within seconds. The moment the saltwater covered him, the Devil Fruit curse struck. A crushing paralysis rippled through his muscles, draining his strength like sand through a net. Bubbles escaped his lips as the water submerged his face entirely. Dark, freezing water filled his vision, and the roar of the crowd faded into a dull hum as the darkness dragged his consciousness back twelve years...
A mile out on the open sea, Higuma rowed a small wooden dinghy as fast as his arms could move. At the bottom of the boat, Luffy lay bound in thick rope, squirming furiously.
"LET ME GO, YOU COWARD! SHANKS IS GONNA BEAT YOU UP!"
"Shut up!" Higuma barked, dragging Luffy up by his collar. "I only needed a hostage to get off the island. Now you're just dead weight."
With a harsh laugh, Higuma shoved Luffy over the side. Luffy hit the dark water like a stone. His strength vanished, and he sank rapidly into the blue abyss.
I can't move... I can't swim... Luffy thought in terror as bubbles escaped his lips.
Above him, the sea bulged upward. A colossal, serpent-like monster with glowing red eyes erupted into the sky. Higuma's laughter died as the beast swallowed him and his dinghy whole, then dived back down toward the drowning boy.
Through the murky water, Luffy saw the colossal jaw rushing toward him. I'm gonna die…
Suddenly, a hand shot through the surface. Strong fingers grabbed Luffy's shirt, hauling his waterlogged body up and pulling him tight against a warm chest.
"Hold on, Luffy!" Shanks barked.
The beast snapped its jaws down, and a crimson spray splashed over the waves. Shanks shuddered, a low grunt escaping his throat, but his grip on Luffy never wavered. Slowly, Shanks raised his head, locking a fierce glare onto the monster.
"GET LOST," Shanks growled.
The Sea King shuddered in pure terror before turning and fleeing into the ocean depths.
Silence returned to the sea. Luffy looked up, his small hands clutching Shanks' shirt, and noticed the blue water around them turning dark red. Shanks' left sleeve was shredded—and from the shoulder down, his arm was gone.
"S-Shanks..." Luffy stammered, tears bursting from his eyes. "YOUR ARM IS GONE! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"
Shanks gently rested his remaining hand on the back of Luffy's head, pulling him close and offering a small, warm smile.
"Don't cry, Luffy," Shanks said softly. "It's just an arm. I'm just glad you're safe."
Underwater, Luffy's eyes snapped open. The memory of Shanks' sacrifice surged through his blood, kindling a fierce, stubborn fire that defied the sea's weight. His arms were pinned. His legs were dead weight. But his neck was free.
BAM! Luffy threw his head forward, driving his forehead straight into the thick glass. A deep, heavy thump echoed under the water. A dull reverberation echoed underwater. Buggy paused his victory dance, turning his head slowly toward the tank. "What...?"
BAM! Luffy struck the glass a second time. A tiny hairline fracture split the surface where his forehead landed. I-Impossible!" Mohji stammered, scrambling backward. "He's underwater!"
Luffy gritted his teeth, ignoring the sea's paralysis and his burning lungs. He snapped his head back to the limit of his neck, pouring every ounce of his promise and his will into a single point.
BOOM! His forehead smashed into the fracture, shattering the reinforced glass outward. Hundreds of gallons of pressurized water burst into the arena, sweeping Mohji and five guards off their feet. Luffy tumbled onto the muddy floor, coughing up seawater as his energy flooded back. He dragged himself up, steam rising off his soaked skin, and locked his dark eyes directly onto Buggy.
"My hat..." Luffy's voice vibrated in his chest. Then he drew in a massive breath, roaring with enough force to rattle the metal beams of the tent:
"WHERE IS MY STRAW HAT?!"