Just As Luffy and Zoro sailed away from Shells Town, their small but advanced vessel cutting smoothly through the waves, an awkward silence settled between them. Zoro leaned against the mast, arms folded, studying his new captain with quiet intensity.
"So," Zoro finally said, breaking the silence, "you're really going to be the Pirate King."
It wasn't a question, but Luffy answered anyway. "Yep! No doubt about it!"
"And this ship," Zoro ran his hand along the polished railing, noticing the subtle technological features disguised as ordinary woodwork. "Your friend made this?"
"Kai did! He's amazing with gadgets and stuff." Luffy's enthusiasm was infectious as he gestured around the boat. "Look at this!"
He pressed what appeared to be a decorative knot in the wood, causing a small panel to slide open and reveal a navigation system unlike anything Zoro had ever seen.
A glowing map displayed their current position with a pulsing dot, with a clear line showing their intended course.
"It knows where to go all by itself," Luffy explained proudly. "We just have to steer sometimes if there are other ships or rocks."
Zoro whistled appreciatively. "Your friend's no ordinary shipwright."
"He's not just a shipwright. He's..." Luffy paused, searching for the right words.
"He's kind of mysterious. But he's strong and smart and makes the coolest stuff!"
He adjusted the bracelet on his wrist. "This thing changes how heavy I am. Great for training!"
To demonstrate, he twisted a nearly invisible dial, and suddenly his movements became sluggish, as if fighting against an invisible force.
Zoro's eyes narrowed with interest. "That would be useful for building strength."
"Right? Kai said it helps muscles grow faster!" Luffy reset the bracelet, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch.
"And this holds way more than it looks like. I had three days of food in here!"
"Had?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"I got hungry," Luffy admitted sheepishly.
The swordsman chuckled, then gazed out at the open sea. "So, where are we heading?"
"First, we need to pick up supplies. Then we're going to a place called..." Luffy frowned in concentration. "Orange Town! That's what the map says."
Three figures watched from the shadows as the small vessel departed Shells Town harbor. They were an odd trio—one balancing on a unicycle, another with his hair styled to resemble a lion's mane, and the third wearing a bizarre cap with the kanji for "commander" emblazoned on it.
"That's the straw hat kid who took down Captain Morgan," the unicycle rider noted. "And that's Roronoa Zoro with him."
"Captain Buggy will want to know about this," the lion-maned man agreed, stroking his unusual hairstyle. "Especially since they're headed toward Orange Town."
"Let's follow them," the third declared. "Maybe we can capture them and present them to the captain as a gift!"
The other two nodded, and they slipped away to their hidden boat, setting a course to follow Luffy and Zoro—but at a safe distance.
Three days later, Luffy's vessel approached the small harbor of Orange Town. From their vantage point on the water, they could see the village was strangely quiet, with no people visible in the streets.
"Something's wrong," Zoro observed, his hand instinctively moving to his swords. "Where is everyone?"
"Maybe they're having a town meeting?" Luffy suggested optimistically.
As they secured their boat at the dock, a rushing sound caught their attention. Looking up, they spotted a small white dog running toward them, barking furiously.
"Hey, look! A dog!" Luffy crouched down, extending his hand.
"Hey there, buddy!"
The dog skidded to a halt just short of Luffy's outstretched fingers, growling suspiciously.
"Careful," Zoro warned. "That mutt looks ready to bite."
"Nah, he's friendly," Luffy insisted, slowly reaching to pet the dog.
Surprisingly, the animal allowed the contact, its aggressive stance softening slightly.
"Chouchou!" a voice called from nearby. "Don't bother the newcomers!"
An elderly man with what appeared to be improvised armor made from household items approached cautiously, carrying a spear that looked more decorative than functional.
"Who are you?" the old man demanded. "More pirates?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy introduced himself with a broad grin. "And yeah, I'm a pirate! This is Zoro, my swordsman!"
The old man paled visibly. "More pirates... that's all we need."
"What's going on here?" Zoro asked, noticing the man's makeshift armor. "Why is the town deserted?"
The old man—who introduced himself as Boodle, the mayor of Orange Town—explained that Buggy the Clown and his pirate crew had taken over the village.
The townspeople had fled to the outskirts, while Buggy and his men occupied the tavern at the center of town.
"These Buggy Pirates," Zoro's eyes gleamed with interest. "Are they strong?"
"Their captain has a Devil Fruit," Boodle explained gravely. "He can separate his body parts at will.
They call him 'Buggy the Clown, the Uncuttable.'"
"Uncuttable, huh?" Zoro smiled dangerously.
"Sounds like a challenge."
"We can't just let them take over a whole town," Luffy declared, his typical carefree demeanor replaced by determination. "Let's go meet this Buggy guy!"
"Wait!" Boodle protested. "You don't understand how dangerous he is!"
But Luffy was already walking toward the center of town, with Zoro following close behind, a predatory smile on his face. The white dog, Chouchou, surprisingly fell into step beside them, apparently sensing allies against the pirates who had invaded his territory.
Buggy the Clown stood atop the tavern roof, surveying the empty town with displeasure. His garish blue hair and large red nose would have made him comical if not for the cold calculation in his eyes.
"This town is so boring," he complained to his first mate, Mohji. "Everyone's hiding, and there's nothing worth stealing!"
"Captain Buggy!" A scout rushed up the stairs to the roof. "Two strangers just entered town! One's wearing a straw hat, and the other has three swords at his hip!"
"Three swords?" Mohji's eyes widened. "Could it be Roronoa Zoro, the Pirate Hunter?"
Buggy's painted lips curved into a malicious smile. "Interesting! Let's welcome these visitors properly. Ready the Buggy Ball!"
As Luffy and Zoro approached the tavern, they heard a loud mechanical cranking sound. Looking up, they saw what appeared to be a massive cannon being aimed directly at them from the roof.
"FIRE!" came a shrill command.
The cannon roared, launching a bright red cannonball that streaked toward them with frightening speed.
"Get down!" Zoro shouted, diving to the side.
Luffy, however, stood his ground. Stretching his arms backward, he called out, "Gomu Gomu no... BAZOOKA!"
His palms slammed into the incoming projectile, sending it hurtling back toward the tavern. The "Buggy Ball" exploded against the building's façade, creating a massive hole but leaving the structure mostly intact.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" came an outraged scream from the tavern.
"Oops," Luffy grinned. "I think we made someone mad."
Zoro stared at his captain with newfound respect.
"You really are full of surprises."
A bizarre figure emerged from the smoke—a man with blue hair and an enormous red nose, his body seeming to float in separate pieces before reassembling. Several other pirates followed, including a man with a lion-shaped hairdo and another balancing on a unicycle.
"WHO DARES ATTACK THE GREAT BUGGY
THE CLOWN?!" the blue-haired man demanded, his face almost as red as his nose.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy announced proudly. "And I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
There was a moment of stunned silence before Buggy erupted in laughter. "YOU? Pirate King? HA! That position is reserved for ME, you insolent brat!"
"Sorry, but I already decided," Luffy replied simply. "You'll have to pick something else to be."
Buggy's face contorted with rage. "Kill them both! Especially the straw hat!"
What followed was less a battle than a demonstration. Mohji and his lion attacked first, only to be knocked unconscious by a single punch from Luffy. Cabaji, the acrobat swordsman, engaged Zoro but found himself overwhelmed by the three-sword style, despite his circus tricks and dirty fighting tactics.
Finally, it was just Buggy himself, his crew defeated and scattered around the town square.
"You're pretty strong for an Red Nose pirate," Luffy acknowledged. "But we need to get going. So either leave this town, or we'll make you leave."
"Make ME leave?" Buggy's hands detached from his arms, floating toward Luffy with daggers between each finger. "I'm Buggy the Clown! I sailed with Red-Haired Shanks himself! I won't be ordered around by some rookie!"
Luffy's expression changed at the mention of Shanks. "You know Shanks?"
"Know him?" Buggy spat. "That red-haired bastard ruined my life! He made me lose a treasure map and eat a Devil Fruit! Because of him, I can never swim again!"
"Shanks... saved my life," Luffy said quietly, touching his straw hat. "This hat is his treasure that he entrusted to me."
Something in Luffy's tone made Zoro step back, sensing the coming storm.
"That's SHANKS' hat?" Buggy's eyes bulged with rage. "All the more reason to destroy it! Chop-Chop Festival!"
Buggy's body separated into dozens of pieces, swirling around Luffy like a deadly tornado of flesh and blades. One hand managed to tear the straw hat from Luffy's head, and Buggy's floating foot stomped on it triumphantly.
"THAT'S IT!" Luffy roared, genuine anger replacing his usual carefree demeanor. "NOW I'M MAD!"
Moving with speed that surprised even Zoro, Luffy grabbed Buggy's foot and hand, slamming them into the ground with enough force to crack the cobblestones.
Then he began systematically catching and punching each floating piece of Buggy's body.
"Gomu Gomu no... GATLING!"
His fists became a blur, striking with precision despite their speed, until Buggy was forced to reassemble himself to avoid further punishment.
"How dare you—" Buggy began, but Luffy wasn't finished.
"Gomu Gomu no... BAZOOKA!"
The double palm strike hit Buggy square in the stomach, sending him flying so far that he disappeared as a twinkle in the sky.
In the sudden silence following Buggy's defeat, Luffy walked over to his straw hat, picking it up gently and examining the damage. There were three small tears where Buggy's foot had stomped on it.
"It can be fixed," Zoro assured him, seeing the unusual distress on his captain's face.
"Yeah," Luffy sighed, placing the damaged hat back on his head. "Let's find the mayor and tell him the pirates are gone."
The celebration in Orange Town lasted late into the night. The villagers returned, amazed to find their town largely intact and the pirates gone. Mayor Boodle tried to reward Luffy and Zoro with a chest of gold, but Luffy refused.
"We didn't do it for a reward," he insisted. "We did it because those pirates were jerks."
Later, as they prepared to leave, the mayor presented them with fresh supplies instead—food, water, and navigational charts of the nearby waters.
"Where will you go now?" Boodle asked as they loaded the supplies onto their vessel.
"The Baratie," Luffy replied, consulting the map on their ship. "It's a floating restaurant. And Kai told me they have the best cook in East Blue there!"
"A cook would be useful," Zoro agreed, settling against the mast. "All this fighting makes me hungry."
As they sailed away, the citizens of Orange Town waved farewell, Chouchou the dog barking his own goodbye from the dock.
"Straw Hat Pirates," Mayor Boodle murmured, watching the small ship disappear over the horizon.
"I have a feeling we'll be hearing that name again."