Steam rose from Luffy's soaked skin as he stood in the center of the shattered glass, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with absolute fury. Buggy, having leaped back to avoid the tidal wave of water, landed smoothly on the wooden stage. He dusted off his velvet coat, his painted smile twisting into an expression of sheer annoyance.
"Throw that ungrateful guest away from my tent!" Buggy screamed, raising his white-gloved hand and snapping his fingers with a sharp click. Dozens of pirates surged forward from the shadows, drawing cutlasses, axes, and guns, roaring as they closed in. Luffy didn't even flinch. He planted his feet into the damp dirt. His arm whipped back, stretching far past the limits of a normal human socket, locking his eyes onto the clown's mocking face.
Before the pirates joined the fight, several pirates stormed through the tent door. Their face stretched into a permanent doom.
"C-CAPTAIN! THE SHIPS IN THE HARBOR GOT DESTROYED! SOME SAY ONE OF OUR WATCHTOWER SHOOTS IT!" Buggy's eyes bulged. His smirked smile vanished with the exchange for a foul scowl. The pirate above hears the news. As everyone looks at each other, then into the buggy.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YA SAY?!"
"OUR SHIPS… ARE DESTROYED?!
As growing murmurs and grunts echo into the tent, one scream destroys it.
"BUGGY HAD SET YOU UP!" Everyone looks into the source of the voice— tied into the round board, is Nami.
"I SAW THEM EARLIER… PLANNING TO ROB 'YA!"
"THAT'S WHY HE BOUND ME HERE! HE WILL USE YOUR WEALTH TO FUND HIS GODDAMN SH—" before Nami could finish, Mohji punches her in the face, and blood splatters onto the ground. "What are you saying!"
"Heh, got you," she looks at him with a determined smirk, as blood drops into her lips. That goddamn old man! What could he do outside?! shit, this will take time
It took less than three seconds for her lie to curdle the air inside the circus tent. Up in the bleachers, a hulking pirate captain with a scarred face stood up, slamming his heavy mug against the railing. "Y-YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU SENT YOUR CREW TO WATCH THE EXECUTION OF RORONOA ZORO… YET YOU GAVE US THIS, NOBODY! As he pointed to Luffy, who's looking around, utterly confused.
"You trickster bastard!" another rogue captain screamed, drawing a heavy broadsword. "You brought us to this island, fed us cheap wine, and locked the gates just to butcher us for our loot!"
Wooden mugs, half-eaten turkey legs, and empty glass bottles rained down from the stands, crashing onto the central stage. Buggy didn't even flinch as a glass bottle shattered against his shoulder, but his painted smile twitched. His pupils shrank into pinpricks.
"L-Let's not make some assumptions, people! We are under attack! And someone is using my likeness to trick us! We should—" but as he was speaking, one pirate lunges at one of the buggy pirates standing near him—a teen girl. He pulled a knife and stabbed him with it. As Buggy watched it, his eyes twitched. His hand trembled as veins began to pop in his makeup-covered forehead.
"KILL THAT MOTHERFU—" before the man could announce himself, Buggy formed his hand into a gun and pointed it at the man. Then, as he raised his finger gun, his thumb flicked, and a blinding object shot through it as it hit the man. The man stumbled into the ground. His brain splattered into the tent. His one finger had vanished, as the object flung came back to him—his index finger.
"SILENCE, YOU WORTHLESS INSECTS!" Buggy roared, his voice booming louder than the tent's loudspeaker system. He took a heavy step forward, dusting off his velvet coat with a composure that even his own crew was surprised by. He looked around at the hundreds of screaming, armed pirates like a god looking up at ungrateful ants.
"Do you really think I need your petty gold?!" Buggy's voice echoes through the tent. "I am Captain Buggy! I rode the seas with legends! I am destined to conquer the Grand Line, to carve my name across the bloody world! You should be on your knees, thanking me for letting you stand in my presence! MY CIRCUS! You think you can threaten me? I could slice every single one of your throats before you take another breath! I am the king of this circus, and you—"
Before his whole speech could fully form, Luffy's shoulder snapped forward. His fist exploded through the air. The impact sounded like a cannon firing at point-blank range. Luffy's fist caught Buggy square under the jaw. The force severed the clown's head instantly from his collar, sending it spinning through the air across the arena like a kicked ball. The charging pirates froze in mid-stride. Weapons lowered. Jaws dropped as they watched Buggy's head arc across the high rafters and crash into the wooden bleachers.
Up in the front row, a young boy sat locked in iron shackles, his forced smile quivering with terror. THUMP. Buggy's severed head landed in the child's lap. The eyelids were shut tight, and the white face paint was smeared with soot and dirt. For two agonizing seconds, complete silence fell over the big top. Suddenly, Buggy's eyelids snapped open. His bloodshot eyes stared up into the boy's face.
"BOO!" Buggy shrieked.
"EEEEEEAAAGH!" The child screamed, bursting into genuine, hysterical tears, recoiling as far back into the wooden bleachers as his chains would allow.
"Gahahahaha!" Buggy's head roared with laughter, floating up into the air and hovering above the horrified audience. "Did you really think a simple punch would work on me?!"
Down in the ring, Buggy's headless body casually straightened its velvet coat. The torso reached up, caught the floating head by its top hat, and screwed it back onto his neck with a wet CLICK. Buggy cracked his neck, flashing a wide, cruel grin at Luffy.
"Another Devil Fruit user?!" the crowd murmured, the rising hum of panic rippling through the grandstand. Pirates who had been eagerly raising their blades began to tremble, their bloodthirsty snarls melting into sheer terror.
"Y-YOU TWO… YOU TWO ARE DEMONS!" one pirate shrieked. Before he could turn to flee, the man beside him kicked him hard in the back, sending him tumbling over the railing to crack his skull on the floorboards below.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" a veteran pirate roared, stepping over the fallen crewmate. He drew a pair of broad cutlasses, his thick maroon coat snapping in the draft while his grey beard bristled with rage. "YOU BECAME PIRATES, YET YOU'RE TERRIFIED OF A GODDAMN CLOWN AND A RUBBER MAN?! ROGER DIDN'T DIE FOR YOUR PATHETIC COWARDICE!"
He thrust a blade toward the stage. "A POWERFUL PIRATE MEANS A HIGHER BOUNTY! KILL THEM ALL!"
The rally hit the crowd like a foul spell. Their terror instantly inverted into ravenous, bloodthirsty fury. Pirates leaped into the rafters with bared steel, while others turned their blades on the chained townspeople just for the sport of it. Luffy's face darkened, his jaw set in a hard, dangerous line. He dropped from his perch, sweeping his leg out in a wide, elastic arc.
"GOMU GOMU NO... WHIP!" His stretching leg swept through a dozen thugs like a scythe, blasting them straight through the canvas walls into the open square. Luffy stepped through the torn opening into the sunlight—and froze. Spread across the fairgrounds was the raw degeneracy of human violence: burning stalls, blood-stained cobblestones, and slaughtered pirates and Buggy's pirates alike. Luffy's eyes widened, his flexible frame going rigid as concrete. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned ghost-white, his dark eyes buried beneath the shadow of his brow.
In the center of the carnage, a handful of rebellious crewmen tried to turn on Buggy. One pirate leaped from behind, slicing Buggy clean in half at the waist. But Buggy merely cackled as his upper torso hovered in midair. His floating fist shot down, chokeslamming the attacker into the stones. With his other hand, Buggy formed a finger-gun, shooting a sharp wooden projectile straight through another pirate's jaw. As Buggy's waist snapped back into place, he threw his head back, laughing hysterically
A stretched fist whistled through the air from behind, driving into Buggy's face with thunderous force. The impact launched Buggy across the square, slamming him into the reinforced iron tank where Luffy had been held earlier. The heavy structure shattered into a shower of metal shards, and the remaining water poured onto the tank. Luffy landed smoothly beside Nami, his fingers making quick work of the ropes binding her wrists.
"Go help the civilians," Luffy commanded, his voice low and devoid of its usual cheer.
"B-But I don't have any weapons—" Nami stammered, staring at the surrounding chaos.
"JUST DO IT!" Luffy roared, his glare cold enough to pierce steel. Nami flinched, turning on her heel to sprint toward the panicked townspeople. Water dripped from the twisted iron frame as Buggy slowly pushed himself out of the wreckage. He wiped a streak of blood from his red nose, a dark, manic grin twisting his face.
"So you ate a Devil Fruit too, eh?" Buggy sneered, stepping back toward the main ring. "You're a total party pooper, kid. And I hate party poopers!"Without warning, Buggy launched his right fist straight toward Luffy's throat. Luffy reacted instantly, whipping his arm out to swat the floating fist away. The collision kicked up a cloud of dust, but when Luffy looked back to where the clown had been standing, the ring was empty.
"Use your eyes!" Luffy snapped his neck up, spotting Buggy perched near the top corner of the big top, right beside a massive, hand-sewn curtain that swayed gently in the draft.
Luffy gritted his teeth, his hand reaching out across the dirt floor to grab the clown. "GIVE BACK MY HAT!"
Luffy sprinted forward while smacking some of the pirates who tried to attack him. He then launched himself into the air with his arms wide open. But before his fingers could snag the cloth, Buggy's body split cleanly at the waist. His upper torso detached from his legs and shot straight into the air like an eagle, his cape billowing as he hovered far out of reach.
"Up here, idiot!" Buggy taunted, soaring beneath the high rafters. Buggy launched both fists downward, striking Luffy square in the face and stretching his neck back. Before Luffy could recover, Buggy detached his floating head, sending it hurtling down like a cannonball for a crushing headbutt. The shockwave rattled the support beams. Pulling his floating limbs back to reattach at the waist, Buggy landed lightly on his feet, doing a quick, mocking dance as the straw-hatted boy crashed into the dirt.
"GET BACK HERE!" Luffy yelled. Blinded by fury, he scrambled up and charged straight across the open floorboards. Nearby, Nami paused, her eyes widening as she noticed an unnatural swell in the loose dirt directly in Luffy's path. Her eyes darted lower, catching the faint glint of a steel tripwire hidden in the dust.
"LUFFY, WAIT!" Nami screamed, her voice cutting through the din. "IT'S A TRAP! DON'T STEP THERE!" Luffy blinked, trying to dig his heels in to slow his stride, but his momentum carried him forward.
"Gotcha!" Buggy's voice boomed. The clown landed near the edge of the shadows, grabbing a thick velvet drape that covered a massive platform. With a theatrical flourish, he yanked the sheet away to reveal a brass-trimmed super-cannon, its thick barrel aimed squarely at the center of the ring. Rigged to a complex array of iron gears, heavy springs, and a mechanical firing pin, the modern engine of war required no match. Buggy slammed his boot onto the brass trigger lever.
CLACK-CLACK—BOOM! A blinding flash of orange fire erupted from the barrel. The sheer force of the scarlet-painted Buggy Ball—emblazoned with the same red-nosed skull logo Luffy had seen back in Shell Town—slammed into Luffy's chest before he could even raise his arms to guard. The blast wave shattered the surrounding floorboards, ripping a colossal hole straight through the canvas wall of the big top. Luffy was launched into the sky like a stone from a catapult. Mid-air, the volatile shell detonated, sending a massive shockwave through the district that shattered glass across Orange Town and nearly collapsed the circus tent entirely, as able to send pirates to their knees, along with the mayor and his backups.
Smoke rolled thick off the cannon's mouth. In the center of the clearing, Buggy threw his head back and offered the burning ruins a manic, theatrical bow. Pirates who were fighting each other and chasing the two stopped. Their eyes widened as they saw the large mechanical cannons.
"AND THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS HOW YOU CLEAR THE STAGE! ENJOY THE SHOW, AND GOODBYE! Uggyy howled with laughter, sweeping his wide-brimmed pirate hat in a grand arc before snapping it back onto his head. He skipped and danced through the settling dust, completely in his element. In the shadows nearby, a surviving pirate raised a trembling pistol, aiming it straight at the back of Buggy's head. Before the trigger could click, Buggy's white-gloved hand detached, darting through the air like a striking cobra. The floating hand clamped onto the gunman's wrist, violently twisting the barrel back toward the pirate's own chest, and forced his index finger down.
BANG! The pirate crumpled dead onto the stones.
Across the ring, Nami worked furiously, her fingers picking at the heavy iron locks binding the captive townspeople. As she freed a young mother, a pirate sneaked up behind her with a cutlass raised high. One of the newly unchained civilians leaped forward, grabbing the attacker's wrist with all his strength. The thug growled, swinging his off-hand to drive a heavy fist into the civilian's jaw, dropping him.
Nami caught the glint of steel from the corner of her eye. Reaching to her waist, she unclipped a compact metallic cylinder. With a sharp flick of her wrist, the device hissed, snapping outward into a full-length, reinforced steel bo staff. She spun the staff in a blinding arc, driving the weighted end squarely into the pirate's temple with a crack. As two more thugs charged, she swept their legs out from under them and brought the heavy metal staff down, knocking both cold.
Watching a young girl stand her ground, a spark ignited in the hearts of the freed townspeople.
"DON'T LET THEM TOUCH HER!" a man roared. Grabbing cutlasses and heavy iron locks from the floorboards, the civilians rose as one, smashing their restraints against the stone and joining the fray.
In the stone backrooms behind the arena, the screams and clashing metal echo into the deepest back of the circus. Cabaji and his staff froze, looking at the entrance to the main tent.
"What happened?" He whispers. Then, shadows flashed into the linen tent of the circus around them. Zoro watches as hundreds of swords pierce the linen wall as dozens of pirates rush inside. One pirate rushes to Cabaji with a chained mace over his head. Cabaji spun around, jumping into the man and clasping his leg into the man's neck, choking him out. Cabaji then picked up his sword, slashing several pirates who dared to touch him. Zoro watches as a horde of pirates, cutlasses raised, rush into where Zoro is hanging.
Using his body, he swings it like a punching bag, dodging each slash.
"DIE, YOU PIRATE HUNTER!" The pirate screams, about to stab him in the head. Zoro redirects his head and bites the pirate's hand. His bite removed one of the pirate's fingers, as he quickly pivoted his body and bit the handle of the falling cutlass in the air.
Zoro uses his full strength to lift his body up, then turns his neck and slashes the rope binding his legs. He falls onto the floorboards, thrashing like a worm. With a gut-wrenching roar, he flexed his forearms against the hemp ropes binding him to the post. SNAP! The fibers tore apart under raw physical force. The friction shredded the skin around Zoro's wrists, leaving deep gashes, but he did not flinch.
He pushed himself up, striking his shoulder to one pirate's head as he grabbed one of his swords. Zoro kept slashing and slashing the pirates who ran towards him. Their blood spilled onto the floorboards and into the exposed soil of the circus. Zoro saw Cabaji effortlessly dancing through four attacking pirates, mocking them as he sliced their limbs like a butcher. Zoro didn't sneak up. He walked straight into Cabaji's blind spot, his boots thudding hard against the dirt, and let out a guttural growl that made the acrobat's ears ring.
Cabaji whipped around, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the bloodied Pirate Hunter holding a stolen cutlass. "You—!"
Cabaji lunged with a lightning-fast thrust, but Zoro didn't even blink or dodge. He stepped directly into the blade's path, bringing his stolen cutlass up in a heavy, upward slash. CLANG! The sheer force of Zoro's wrist blow shattered Cabaji's guard, sending his saber spinning into the air. Before Cabaji could recover his balance, Zoro closed the distance, reversed his grip on the cutlass, and slammed the heavy iron pommel of the hilt directly into Cabaji's temple.
CRACK! Cabaji went flying sideways, crashing through a row of wooden bleachers before slumping unconscious into the splinters. Zoro stood over the debris, throwing the chipped cutlasses into the ground as he grabbed his three swords leaning nearby. "Told 'ya"
Outside, Buggy shoved aside the heavy velvet curtain. He froze. His painted lips twitched. His once-thriving circus town was reduced to a smoking hellscape. The air reeked of copper, soot, and burning timber. Dead crewmates lay scattered among shattered carnival stalls. Rogue pirates were rampaging through the streets, torching the townhouses he had seized and turned into hotels, throwing firebrands into the Ferris wheel, and laughing as the wooden frames collapsed into ash.
A high, breathy wheeze bubbled up from Buggy's throat. It started as a quiet stutter, then twisted instantly into a hysterical cackle. "Gah... ha! Hahahaha!"
His head tilted at an unnatural angle. The muscles in his cheeks spasmed violently beneath his white greasepaint, making his smile look like a bleeding wound. He pulled at his own blue hair, yanking it so hard a few strands tore out, but he didn't stop laughing.
In the center of the main thoroughfare, Luffy lay embedded in a shallow crater carved into the cobblestones. His chest heaved, covered in dark soot and gunpowder. A small pack of rogue pirates stood over him, weapons drawn. "Who the hell is this kid?" one pirate muttered, raising his cutlass over Luffy's face. Before the blade could drop, a terrified screech echoed down the street. "THE CLOWN! THE CLOWN IS OUTSIDE!"
The mob turned, roaring as they charged at Buggy with axes and sabers. Buggy didn't even slow his stride. He walked straight through the frontline, his eyes wide, bloodshot. Steel whistled through the air. A broadsword sliced cleanly through Buggy's neck, severing his head—but instead of falling, the head simply floated upward, smirking down at them as a fit of giggles escaped his throat. Swords and thrusting spears passed through his torso like blades plunging through water, his flesh separating in smooth, bloodless seams before snapping back together.
"A D-DEVIL FRUIT?!" a pirate gasped, his jaw dropping. Another pirate lunged, driving a heavy fist toward Buggy's face. Buggy's hand shot out, catching the man's wrist in an iron grip. Without missing a beat, Buggy snapped his leg upward, driving his boot into the pirate's chest and launching him through the wooden wall of a nearby game stall, shattering it into splinters.
"Pathetic!" Buggy cackled. He detached his right arm, splitting it lengthwise into four floating, razor-ribbed segments. With a flick of his wrist, the floating pieces swept through the air like a lethal whip, slamming into the remaining pirates and sending them hurtling twenty feet back into the cobblestones, unconscious. Buggy reattached his arm with a wet CLICK and strolled casually toward the crater, his whole frame vibrating with an erratic, unnatural tension.
He hovered over the crater, bringing his iron-capped boot down directly onto Luffy's chest, grinding his heel deep into an open gash across the boy's torso. A heavy, agonized grunt tore from Luffy's throat. Hearing that sound, Buggy's laughter abruptly cut off into a breathless, terrifying silence.
"You… heheh… You destroyed everything I built!" Buggy whispered, his voice oscillating wildly between a guttural, demonic grunt and a high-pitched, manic giggle. He stomped down harder, listening with utter delight to the sickening creak of Luffy's ribs under his boot. Thump.
"Do you have any idea how long this took?!" A thick vein throbbed violently on his forehead as his rage flared into pure hysteria. He pointed a trembling, white-gloved hand toward a burning carousel. "MY FERRIS WHEEL! MY COTTON CANDY STALLS! MY BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT CIRCUS!" He bent down, bringing his face inches from Luffy's, his breath hot, ragged, and smelling of copper. The twitch in his left eye was uncontrollable now, his painted red nose gleaming under the firelight.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH BLOOD I SPILLED JUST TO BUILD THIS FUCKING PLACE?!" Buggy shrieked, popping his eyes open so wide the whites were webbed with red. "AND YOU CRUSHED IT! Hahaha! YOU STEPPED ON IT! You smashed my rides! You burned my hotels! HEHEHAHAHAHA! IT'S HILARIOUS! IT'S SO GODDAMN HILARIOUS!!!" as the clown screams into Luffy's face. His voice turns into a monstrous growl while saliva flies into Luffy's face.
He then pulled a long, curved trench dagger from beneath his blood-stained coat, pressing the flat, freezing steel against Luffy's cheek, slicing a thin line of red near the corner of his lips.
"Do you know what it's like to wear a permanent smile, kid? Let me show—"
BANG! A heavy gunshot shattered the air. The high-caliber bullet grazed Buggy's dagger, shattering the steel blade into a dozen flying shards before whistling clean through the side of Buggy's floating head. The bullet hole in Buggy's cheek instantly sealed itself back together, but the kinetic force jerked his head sideways. His twitching eyes snapped toward the smoke at the end of the street.
Standing at the edge of the plaza was Mayor Broodie. A sharp, metallic CLACK-CLACK echoed through the quiet air as Broodie racked the bolt of a heavy Marine-issue rifle, pointing the smoking barrel straight between Buggy's eyes.
"I spent twenty years as a Captain in the Marines," Broodie spoke, his voice dropping into a raspy gravel that cut through the roaring noises. "I used to lock up scum like you… Even killed the. You picked the wrong town, you goddamn animal."