Morning light washed over the harbor of Golden City. Buggy's ridiculous pirate ship was docked right beside the Bruma Jackson.
On the deck, Buggy sat there with dark circles under his eyes, listlessly chewing on a bitter melon sandwich. Beside him, Roger looked just as miserable, his face green as he held a cup of bitter melon juice.
"Hahahaha! Isn't that Buggy?" Reid blinked over to the bow in an instant. "I heard you flipped an entire street upside down yesterday?"
Buggy's nose twitched. Crumbs of bitter melon sprayed all over Roger's face. "Big Brother Reid! Let me explain!"
"No need," Reid said, patting him on the shoulder. Seeing the two of them in such a sorry state, Reid could not help enjoying it a little. This was wisdom gained from long experience. The blood mist formed a small hand that lightly patted Buggy's shoulder, then glanced at the bitter melon sandwich in his own hand.
"Pfft."
"You could not hold it in just now, could you, Big Brother Reid?"
"How could that be? I am your kind and gentle big brother, right?"
Rugi's voice drifted over from behind. "Little brother Reid."
Reid immediately straightened up. "Of course. Damaging public property is wrong. Buggy, you are punished to help Moria carry wine barrels!"
Buggy looked as if he had been granted a royal pardon. He split into a dozen pieces and rolled toward the warehouse with his limbs. Roger tried to slip away quietly, only to be grabbed by Reid.
"Brother in law, how does the bitter melon taste?"
If I do not kick you while you are down and mock you mercilessly, then I am unworthy of my own terrible sense of humor.
By noon, a banquet table a hundred meters long had been set up in Golden City's central plaza. The Charlotte Family's dessert towers rose like small mountains. Tesoro's golden attendants wove through the crowd, while Moria's zombie band played a bizarre waltz.
Suddenly, a commotion rose from the harbor.
"Gurararara! Little Reid! I brought my sons to drink for free!" Whitebeard strode over with Murakumogiri on his shoulder, Marco and the other commanders behind him, followed by dozens of captains from different pirate crews. Whitebeard's whole family had shown up, which gave Reid immense face.
What about Whitebeard's territory, you ask? Would it not be attacked while he was away? Attacking Whitebeard's turf today meant you had to consider whether you could withstand the indiscriminate retaliation of two Emperor crews and the largest allied nation in the world so far.
Golden City instantly boiled with excitement.
"Whitebeard?"
"Even the strongest man in the world is here?"
Reid's blood mist spread as he flashed in front of Whitebeard. "Yo, Whitebeard! You brought quite the entourage!"
Whitebeard laughed and slapped Reid on the back. "Gurarara! It is your niece's hundred day celebration. Of course I have to give her face!"
He looked at Reid. "What, not welcome?"
"Welcome, of course! I put a lot of effort into this banquet." Reid grinned.
When Garp's dog headed warship slowly docked,
"Hahahaha! Sengoku actually sent us!" Garp picked his nose and jumped off the ship. Three admirals followed close behind.
With just these few people, most of the Marines' top combat power had already been drawn out, yet Sengoku still felt it was not enough. This time, the World Government also sent a large number of CP9 agents to provide manpower and prevent unrest at sea.
Look at who had gathered here. Allied nations. Powerful pirate crews. If Sengoku did not have to stay at Marineford, he would have come in person.
"Well now, the atmosphere is pretty nice," Kizaru lounged on a deck chair with one leg crossed over the other. "Who would have thought Sengoku would let us attend a pirate banquet, right, Vice Admiral Garp?"
Aokiji's sleep mask slipped down to his nose. "He said that keeping watch is also part of justice."
Akainu folded his arms. "Disgraceful."
Behind them stood the vigilant Tokikake and Momousagi.
"Hahaha! Isn't this our beloved Marine hero?" Reid opened his arms to welcome Garp.
Garp's fist collided with Reid's blood mist with a boom, sending ripples through the air.
"Reid, I want meat!"
"No problem, and there is a donut eating contest too."
"That Mist Lord Reid is walking arm in arm with Vice Admiral Garp?" A king from an allied nation nearly dropped his jaw.
So this was the honor of the Marine hero.
As the king of the Blood Mist Kingdom, Reid ruled the largest allied nation. But no one forgot that he was also one of the two Sea Emperors.
Everyone assumed Reid was giving the Marines face. Garp's presence meant Reid had to welcome him, since Garp had treated him kindly before. This was probably Sengoku's calculation as well. He wanted to use this chance to raise the Marines' prestige.
See, even Reid treats our Marines with respect.
Akainu was so angry he looked like a red poodle. "Vice Admiral Garp! Please mind your position!"
"Hm?" Garp dug in his ear and turned around. "Sakazuki, want to try a Sky Island specialty, cloud cotton candy?"
Reid led Garp to his seat and then took the throne himself. After that, he no longer personally went out to welcome anyone else.
Buggy, who had been playing with the kids, suddenly froze.
"Hey, Uncle Buggy!" Ace poked his split arm. "What are you staring at?"
All of Buggy's body parts suddenly turned toward the harbor at once, snapping together with a whoosh like iron filings to a magnet. His pupils shrank violently, lips trembling as he spat out a few words.
"Red hair… that leg…"
The kids looked toward the harbor. Ships were coming and going, but they did not see any red haired crew.
"Uncle Buggy, you must be seeing things…"
Before long, the Red Force slowly docked. Shanks stood at the bow, his straw hat in hand.
"Yo, Big Brother Reid!" Shanks waved with a grin. "We are not late, are we?"
"Shanks!"
Buggy's roar echoed across the entire harbor. His body split into hundreds of fragments wrapped in purple Haki, sweeping across the docks like a storm. "Super Disassembly!"
Buggy's roar cracked space itself. The golden ground of the harbor shattered into neat cubes like biscuits. Shanks' pupils contracted sharply. The moment Gryphon left its sheath, Conqueror's Haki surged like scarlet lightning.
"Divine Evasion!"
When the two forces collided, Golden City fell into dead silence.
"Boom!"
The shockwave flipped three warships in the harbor into the air. The Charlotte Family's cake towers were vaporized by the heat wave, and with a wet splat, a chunk of cake landed squarely on Akainu's head, nearly knocking him over.
What a shame.
Kizaru drawled lazily, "Wow, young people are scary."
When the dust settled, Shanks' cloak was torn in several places, and half of Buggy's cloak was gone. The two men stared at each other across a ten meter deep chasm, then burst into laughter at the same time.
"You idiot. You are still alive."
Buggy used to hate Shanks.
But if Captain Roger was still alive, that was not so surprising. Buggy would prove that he was more worthy of the captain's position. Roger was more reliable than Shanks. At least for now, not counting Big Brother Reid.