The cold touch of a sword resting against his neck, combined with the chilling voice behind him, left Buggy frozen in place. Sniffling from the shock, he slowly turned his head and saw a smiling face.
"Weiss!" Buggy screamed, throwing his hands up as his body split into three parts in panic.
"Run, run, run! I'm dead, I'm dead!" Buggy spun around in a frenzy, only to find he couldn't escape—the only exit was completely blocked by Richie's massive body.
In fact, the moment Weiss appeared, Richie had already covered his eyes with his paws, leaving his huge rear sticking out of the alley. No matter how much Mohji tried to move him, the lion wouldn't budge.
Ironically, Weiss hadn't actually been looking for Buggy. He had just been wandering around when he noticed a giant lion's backside sticking out and remembered Mohji had one. On a whim, he decided to check it out—and, surprise! Just like those two Sea Kings, fate had brought him an unexpected gift.
That's when he overheard Mohji trying to convince Buggy to surrender, which honestly, was a first. Weiss had never seen a pirate trying to talk his own captain into giving up.
Seizing the moment, Weiss casually rested his sword against Buggy's neck—leading to the current scene.
"There's no way you'll escape at sea anyway, so you might as well surrender. I can still collect the 15 million Berries bounty. What a deal," Weiss remarked, suddenly remembering Buggy was worth money.
"You've got the nerve to talk to me about bounty money? If you hadn't stolen my treasure, would I have chased you all the way to Loguetown?!" Buggy's face darkened until he was practically nose-to-nose with Weiss.
"Back off, back off! We're not that close," Weiss said, stepping away with visible disgust. "If you hadn't fired cannons at my ship, I wouldn't have stolen from you. And if you hadn't tried to rob me first, I definitely wouldn't have fought back. I'm not unreasonable."
"I'm a pirate! I see a ship, I attack it!"
"Then I'm just stronger. If I beat you, it's only fair."
...
Buggy fell silent. Everything Weiss said was true. He made a mental note to prepare more Buggy Balls next time. If he had them now, he could've blasted his way to the sea and no one would've stopped him.
"Since you've got nothing else to say, let's go. Little lion, move. I'm taking your captain to serve his sentence."
The lion peeked at Weiss through his paws, then dashed off without hesitation, abandoning his master. Mohji was left awkwardly standing alone, unsure whether to follow or stay, completely uncertain of how Weiss felt about him.
"Don't even think about running, Buggy. You know how hard my fists hit."
The moment Richie ran off, Buggy really did consider making a break for it—until Weiss reminded him of the punch he'd taken before.
"Damn swordsman, why are your fists so damn hard?!"
With a sword still at his throat, Buggy seemed to give up resisting, though no one could tell what he was truly thinking.
"Hey, you! Lieutenant! Where's your commanding officer? I'm here to turn in a bounty!"
Weiss flagged down a squad of Marines. They instantly went on alert when they saw Buggy, but the squad leader recognized Weiss from a past encounter.
"You've captured Buggy? Thank you for your efforts."
Seeing the sword at Buggy's neck and his defeated expression, along with their earlier exchange, the captain believed Weiss and escorted him to the Marine base.
A squad of Marines stepped forward to cuff Buggy, while the lieutenant led Weiss to Captain Endless's office. As they walked, Weiss caught a brief flash of joy in Buggy's eyes, which made him pause.
"Lieutenant, Buggy's a Devil Fruit user. If you have Seastone handcuffs, you should use those."
"You bastard, Weiss! Damn you!"
Other than Captain Endless, none of the Marines knew Buggy had Devil Fruit powers—until Weiss revealed it. Buggy immediately tried to escape.
"You're not getting away."
A voice came from outside the base. In a flash, Captain Endless appeared before Buggy and snapped a Seastone cuff onto his wrist.
Clack!
Buggy's body instantly weakened. He collapsed, powerless, to the ground. His strength wasn't enough to resist the effects of Seastone. He wasn't like the Warlords who could still move freely while bound.
Buggy was done. He offered no more resistance as the Marines dragged him into the prison. Without the Seastone cuffs, he might've escaped using his powers—but now, it was over.
In truth, even if Weiss hadn't spoken up, Buggy wouldn't have escaped. Captain Endless had already identified him as a Devil Fruit user and had brought the cuffs just in case.
Back in Loguetown, the Marines finished cleaning up the pirates. Those trying to flee by sea were stopped at the exits. All that remained were wrecked ships, now resting at the bottom of the ocean.
Only a lucky few had dodged the cannon fire and escaped into the open sea—toward the Reverse Mountain. Whether they would survive the crossing was another matter.
Marine Base, Captain Endless's Office
"I've already ordered the bounty for Buggy the Clown to be brought up. It'll take a little time," Endless said, handing Weiss a cup of tea before sitting down on the couch.
"Thank you for your contribution to Loguetown."
"No need. We both got what we wanted," Weiss replied, not touching the tea. If it had been wine, maybe—but he was still young and didn't care much for health rituals.
"No, from what I heard, you didn't plan to arrest Buggy at first. It was only after he caused chaos that you made that choice."
"Sure, the chaos was partly his fault—but also due to my poor command. Once this report reaches HQ, I might be forced into early retirement."
"But no one can deny this: you are a man of justice. I hope you'll consider joining the Marines to uphold peace on the seas." Endless looked at Weiss earnestly. From his reports, Weiss had saved many and defeated even more pirates.
A man like him belonged in the Marines.
"No, you're mistaken. I just can't stand people using 'freedom' as an excuse to burn, kill, and steal. Even if your Marines cross my personal line one day, I won't hesitate to strike you down. I don't care about factions."
"As for joining the Marines? Forget it. Even Vice Admiral Garp invited me, and I turned him down."
...
Endless went silent and didn't press further.
Fifteen minutes later, a Marine arrived carrying two chests filled with 15 million Berries. Weiss took them and was about to leave when he turned to Endless.
"If you really stand for justice, go to East Blue—to Captain Nezumi's district—but do it as a civilian. Remember that: as a civilian."
With that, Weiss lifted the chests and walked out of the base.
---
Currently at chapter 440 on Ko-Fi
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27