Chapter 155: The World Boils Over
Armor-Piercing Rounds.
One dagger-shaped bullet after another was loaded into the flintlock.
Buggy gripped the gun with trembling hands, took aim, and fired at a pirate ship that had crossed into dangerous range.
The projectile power far exceeded the flintlock's limit—dagger bullets pierced the ship's hull, and several struck true, causing water to gush in.
"Damn it! You're not taking down Lord Buggy that easily!"
Buggy screamed wildly, though his legs were jelly and tears threatened to pour from his red nose.
Freezing Rounds.
He leapt into the air, hovering midair thanks to recoil propulsion, appearing almost suspended in the sky.
A hail of freezing daggers exploded on impact, spreading frost and chill.
Dozens of pirates were frozen solid, and large portions of their ships were locked in ice.
"What a strange power. Isn't Buggy a Split-Split Fruit user? How can he fire weird bullets too? Is this the power of the Contract Fruit?"
From behind the Transponder Snail…
Red-Haired Shanks watched his former crewmate, expression calm, focusing on Buggy's unusual abilities.
Back when they served as apprentices on Roger's ship, they had fought, eaten, and slept side-by-side. They shared some genuine camaraderie.
To this day, Shanks never understood why Buggy held such a grudge. He had even saved the guy from drowning once—though perhaps he had done it in the wrong posture?
"Captain, that Buggy guy was your friend, right? Aren't you worried about him?"
"It's fine. Buggy once sailed with Captain Roger just like I did. No way he'd get taken out by some East Blue riffraff!"
Shanks laughed heartily.
He didn't think these East Blue small fries were any threat to Buggy—just like how he'd once endured humiliation from mountain bandits in Windmill Village without retaliation.
That was the kind of composure his old friend had now too.
"But still… that Game Merchant dares to openly mock the Celestial Dragons. What's he planning?"
Shanks was extremely curious—especially about those local East Blue "Contract Fruits" that gave regular people supernatural powers.
"Hahahahaha! Captain's getting tempted again!"
"Come on now, acting all coy! Since when did our Red-Haired Pirates have a lady for a captain?"
"..."
Amused by the teasing, Shanks burst out laughing.
He drew his sword, Gryphon, and with a casual slash, severed the anchor buried in the sea floor.
"Watching through a Transponder Snail just isn't enough! We're going back to East Blue—we'll see this sea-spanning Game Event in person!"
"Yeah!"
The Red-Haired Pirates—dominant figures of the New World—set sail for the world's focus: the weakest of the four seas.
...
East Blue, Trial Tower Region.
Fang Yi calmly rejected Buggy's desperate plea for help, smiling as he shook his head.
"Sorry, Mr. Buggy. The Game Merchant does not interfere in player battles. I cannot help you."
"It's all your fault!!"
Buggy crashed onto the deck, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.
After becoming a player, his four basic attributes had unlocked, and with them, a Health and Energy gauge.
In the world of pirates, Energy was linked to spiritual power.
Buggy hadn't even awakened Observation Haki—his Energy was painfully low.
After raining down Armor-Piercing and Freezing rounds, he'd managed to hold off the encroaching ships, but now his Energy was spent.
He was done.
Normal daggers wouldn't stop the wolves howling for his bounty.
Boom!
His final Buggy Bomb exploded, halting the enemy momentarily.
But the pirates and nobles saw through the charade—Buggy's forces were exhausted.
"Buggy's bounty is mine!"
"After him! That freezing ammo is spent. He's done—don't be afraid!"
They surged forward, bloodlust in their eyes.
Grappling hooks and ropes latched onto the hull of Buggy's ship, anchoring it.
Greedy nobles and pirates clambered aboard, cutting off all escape routes.
Buggy looked skyward and screamed,
"Damn it! Me, the great Buggy, am I really going to die here?!"
Just then…
A cloud of pale violet smoke slammed onto the deck, blocking a descending sword strike.
Smoker landed, frowning deeply, still clutching a Transponder Snail.
His eyes swirled with shock, confusion, calculation, and disbelief.
Even he didn't fully understand what was happening.
Raising his head, he looked up at the Game Merchant, still standing atop the black tower.
At last, Smoker spoke—
He repeated the order from Marine Headquarters,
"All East Blue branches, spare no effort to protect the World Noble… Lord Buggy!
Eliminate any who raise a hand against him!
Escort him safely to Mary Geoise for an audience with the Five Elders!"
The moment his words fell—
All Roguetown Marines dropped to one knee, expressing their respect for the "World Noble" Buggy.
Shock.
Amidst the chaos of the sea, everyone fell into stunned silence.
Only the wind brushing the waves remained audible.
Was this… a joke?
A pirate like Buggy?
A wanted man with a decades-old bounty of just over 10 million berries?
A small-time clown who never even dared step foot in the Grand Line?
Now a high-and-mighty World Noble?!
"Is this some Marine trick?"
The nobles from World Government nations glanced warily at Buggy.
They were lawful types with nations to back them—but also bound by restrictions. Even if the Marines were lying, they couldn't challenge it outright.
The pirates had no such concerns.
They glared murderously at Smoker.
"If Buggy's really a Celestial Dragon, would the Marines have put a bounty on him?"
Hypocritical dogs.
They claimed to protect peace, but they were nothing more than lapdogs to the World Government.
If Buggy was truly a Celestial Dragon, even the Fleet Admiral would roll out a red carpet.
So how did they explain that bounty?
Smoker didn't bother.
He didn't even fully understand this himself.
He raised a loudspeaker, hoisted a special Navy flag, and stated without emotion,
"This is an order from Marine Headquarters.
If World Noble Lord Buggy sustains so much as a scratch—
All East Blue Marines will be dishonorably discharged.
Escort Lord Buggy with full Celestial Dragon protocol to the Holy Land!"
The sight of that flag sent a jolt through the hearts of every East Blue Marine.
Within the Navy, flags marked orders by rank.
The one in Smoker's hand was the highest tier—direct from Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself.
That meant… this absurd command… was real?!
After receiving the Game Merchant's reward, "Celestial Dragon Bloodline,"
Buggy had truly become a World Noble recognized even by the Five Elders?!
At that moment…
The world boiled over.
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