After bidding farewell to Garp, the Oro Jackson set sail once more, heading toward the boundless ocean.
The atmosphere on the ship felt extraordinarily refreshing, as if washed clean by that storm.
"Hey! There's a ship ahead, and it looks loaded with loot!" Petermoo whistled from the crow's nest.
Everyone craned their necks to look. A garishly decorated pirate ship sat across their path, dripping with tasteless gold and glitter.
A grinning skull adorned the bow, encrusted with cheap gems that sparkled with bargain-bin brightness in the sunlight.
"Goo ha ha ha! Perfect timing—my hands were getting itchy! Boys, time to stretch our muscles!" Roger laughed heartily, showing no intention of taking a detour.
What followed could hardly be called a battle—it was more like a one-sided "resource recovery operation."
The enemy captain had barely finished shouting "Hand over your treasure!" when Rayleigh casually sent a sword pressure wave that knocked him unconscious on his own deck.
The remaining pirates couldn't even mount an effective resistance before Gaban, Nozdon, and the others swept through them like autumn wind through fallen leaves.
The entire process was easy, pleasant, and even somewhat comical.
Half an hour later, the Oro Jackson's deck was piled high with "confiscated" spoils from that unlucky ship.
Gold, silver, jewels, cases of rum, cured ham, and all sorts of bizarre collectibles.
"We struck it rich! We struck it rich!" Buggy threw himself onto a pile of berries, eyes glowing with happiness so intense he nearly fainted. "This is all mine! Nobody better try to take it!"
"Hey, Buggy, what do you think this is?" Shanks pulled something from an especially ornate wooden box.
It was a peculiar fruit, completely purple with spiral patterns covering its surface. Each protruding section looked like it had been neatly sliced and reassembled, giving off an eerie geometric beauty.
"Ew! What a disgusting color!" Buggy pinched his red nose in disgust. "Get that thing away from me, Shanks! It's definitely poisonous!"
"A Devil Fruit?" Rayleigh walked over, adjusting his glasses as he examined it. "Haven't seen this one in the encyclopedia."
The crew gathered around, pointing and commenting on the strange fruit.
"Those patterns... just looking at them makes me dizzy."
"Eating it won't give you diarrhea, will it?"
As everyone debated, Kyle pushed through the crowd and approached.
Seeing the fruit in Shanks' hands, a knowing smile flashed in his eyes.
What's meant to come will come.
"If I'm not mistaken," Kyle cleared his throat, successfully drawing everyone's attention, "this should be the 'Chop-Chop Fruit.'"
"Chop-Chop?" Roger also came closer, curiously poking the fruit. "That name doesn't sound very lucky. What does it do?"
"Its effect is... quite simple." Kyle's gaze swept over everyone before finally settling on Buggy, his lips curving slightly upward. "Eat it, and your body can split into pieces at will, and... any slashing attack becomes completely ineffective."
"Slashing attacks are ineffective?!"
This statement exploded like a bomb among the crowd.
Most of the crew were swordsmen—they understood exactly what "slashing immunity" meant.
Shanks was the first to react, staring in disbelief at the fruit in his hands, then at the sword at his waist.
Roger burst out laughing: "Goo ha ha ha! Interesting! But I don't need such flashy abilities—using Haki to blow away enemies along with their swords is a real man's romance!"
Gaban shook his head too: "Using an axe is all about enjoying that feeling of cleaving through everything. If the enemy can't be cut, that's just too boring."
Everyone on board were strong fighters accustomed to their own combat styles, and they weren't impressed by this seemingly strange ability.
As for Shanks, his life goal was to become a man who conquered the seas with Haki and swordsmanship like Captain Roger—naturally, he wouldn't consider it either.
The Roger Pirates weren't short on money, so selling this fruit for pocket change wasn't necessary either.
For a moment, this rare Devil Fruit found itself in the embarrassing situation of having no takers.
"Since nobody wants it, should we just throw it away?" Shanks joked, pretending to toss it.
"Wait!" A voice called out urgently.
Buggy climbed out of his treasure pile, eyes locked onto that purple fruit, his breathing becoming somewhat labored.
He'd heard it loud and clear—slashing immunity!
Kyle seized the moment, walking over like a tempting devil. He patted Buggy's shoulder and lowered his voice: "Buggy, think about it."
His voice was full of temptation: "Eat it, and Shanks' sword will never be able to touch you again. Every time he smugly swings his blade, you just need to split apart lightly to dodge perfectly, then hit him from an angle he'd never expect... Just picture that scene."
Buggy's Adam's apple bobbed as his eyes began to flicker.
Kyle sweetened the deal: "Think about treasure hunting. When you encounter narrow caves, you can disassemble yourself and crawl through; when you see a treasure chest on a cliff, you can make your hands fly over to grab it. You could even hide most of your body and just send a hand or foot to scout ahead—safe and efficient! This is practically a divine technique tailor-made for a future 'treasure hunter' like you!"
"Divine technique..." Buggy murmured to himself. He could almost see it: himself descending like a deity, ignoring all blade traps, moving freely through mountains of treasure while Shanks could only stamp his feet in frustration behind him.
"I'll eat it!" Buggy snatched the fruit from Shanks' hands, his eyes burning with flames of ambition and desire.
"Hey, Buggy, that thing looks really nasty!" Shanks warned.
"For treasure and my future! I'll endure it!"
Buggy steeled his resolve, closed his eyes, and, like swallowing poison, opened his mouth wide and took a huge bite.
The next second, his face instantly contorted into a color palette, features scrunched together as tears and snot poured out uncontrollably.
"Blegh—! What... what is this taste! Ugh!"
He clutched his throat, retching desperately. His expression of wanting to die made everyone burst into laughter.
"Goo ha ha ha! Buggy, your face right now is absolutely priceless!" Roger laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.
After finally recovering, Buggy wiped his tears, feeling like something new had appeared in his body.
He stood up, hands on his hips, struck what he thought was a cool pose, and beckoned to Shanks with his finger.
"Shanks! Come on! It's time to let you witness the true power of this great me... no, of Captain Buggy!"
"Idiot, what are you going crazy about now?" Though Shanks said this, he curiously drew his sword.
"Watch this!" Buggy took a deep breath and shouted, "Behold the man who cannot be cut!"
Shanks didn't hold back either. With a flick of his wrist, a sharp sword light flashed, slicing cleanly toward Buggy's waist.
"Ahhhh—!" Buggy instinctively screamed and closed his eyes.
However, the expected pain never came.
He opened his eyes in confusion to find his upper body floating in mid-air while his legs remained standing in place.
Shanks' sword had passed right through the gap where his body had separated.
The entire scene fell into deathly silence.
Then explosive, earth-shaking laughter erupted.
"Whoa! He really split apart!"
"Buggy, your legs are still down there!"
Buggy looked down at his floating body, then at his legs on the ground. His brain crashed for three seconds.
Then he exploded with unprecedented joy.
"I did it! I really did it! Ha ha ha!" He laughed like Roger, though his shrill voice made it sound somewhat comical. "Shanks! Did you see that? Your sword is useless against me!"
His upper body spun triumphantly in the air, then suddenly charged at Shanks.
"Die, you red-haired bastard!"
"Interesting." Shanks' eyes sharpened as he quickly retreated, dodging Buggy's "flying body slam."
Battle erupted instantly.
With his new ability, Buggy was like a tiger with wings.
He dismantled his body into scattered pieces—hands became flying fists, feet moved at high speed across the deck, coordinating with his floating torso in a dizzying three-dimensional attack.
"Take this! Chop-Chop: Flying Punch!"
"Chop-Chop: Carnival!"
Soon, Buggy's body parts were dancing all over the deck. He even threw knives and forks as hidden weapons, creating complete chaos.
At first, Shanks was indeed caught off guard by this unheard-of fighting style.
Several times, he nearly got grabbed from behind by Buggy's hands.
"How about it, Shanks! Surrender!" Buggy's head floated in the air, shouting triumphantly. "Before my fruit power, your precious swordsmanship is nothing but a joke!"
"Is that so?" Shanks' breathing gradually steadied. His eyes became focused and sharp again. "Your moves might be flashy, but they have way too many openings, Buggy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shanks suddenly accelerated. Instead of dealing with the flying limbs, he charged straight toward... the pair of striped-sock-wearing feet standing in place as the "command tower."
"What?!" The airborne Buggy was shocked.
He'd forgotten—his feet couldn't fly!
Shanks approached and didn't use his sword. He simply extended his foot and lightly tripped Buggy's ankle.
"Thud."
A light sound.
The standing feet lost their balance and tumbled forward.
This action was like a signal, instantly cutting off control to all the airborne parts.
So the crew witnessed an extremely comical scene:
Buggy's head, torso, arms, and thighs—which had been showing off in mid-air—suddenly lost all power like toys with dead batteries, clattering down from the sky and rolling into a pile on the deck.
The scene fell into eerie silence once again.
One second later.
"Pffft—Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"I can't... my stomach hurts... goo ha ha ha!"
"Buggy, you really... split into pieces when you fell!"
Roger laughed until tears flowed, crouching on the ground, unable to get up. Even Rayleigh couldn't help but chuckle, his shoulders shaking.
Shanks walked to the pile of parts and gently placed his sword tip on Buggy's still-fuming nose, unable to suppress his smile: "Hey, Buggy, you lost."
"Damn... damn it—!"
Buggy's roar came from the pile of parts, full of unwillingness and humiliation.
He'd felt like he was about to win, had already cornered Shanks, so how... how could he lose because he tripped himself?!
How wonderful.
The future Yonko "Red Hair" and the future Warlord of the Sea—their lifelong, peculiar friendship as both rivals and companions had turned a new page today aboard this ship called the Oro Jackson.
Though the opening chapter seemed just as... side-splittingly funny as always.