The sun over Marineford was merciless that morning.
Seagulls flew over the pristine white towers of the headquarters, their cries sharp and echoing across the harbor. The rhythmic clatter of boots and reports being exchanged filled the air—calm, methodical, routine.
Until a Den Den Mushi began to wail on the central communications desk.
"Urgent transmission! From the Grand Line, Base G-6!" a young officer yelled, panic leaking into his voice. "It's been… destroyed, sir!"
Within minutes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha stood over the communications array, dark hair gleaming beneath his cap, eyes like two anvils waiting to drop.
He listened. He didn't move. He didn't blink.
Only his jawline twitched as the officer continued, shaking, relaying what little the survivors could explain between the static and smoke.
"A Vice Admiral stationed there," the report began. "Vice Admiral Strawberry… incapacitated."
"The base… looted completely."
"Casualties were minimal, surprisingly, but the Marines were routed, sir. Equipment, records, eternal poses, gold, supplies, all gone."
The last words fell like stones into a pond that had gone deathly still.
Sengoku said nothing.
Behind him, Tsuru frowned deeply, folding her arms, the lines of experience creasing her calm face.
Beside her, Garp stood munching on a rice cracker, watching the scene unfold with half amusement, half annoyance.
"…And the one responsible," the young officer finally croaked, "is confirmed to be… Pirate Buggy the Clown, or the 'Bloody Jester'."
The silence that followed could have drowned an admiral.
Sengoku slowly raised his head, eyes narrowing as though trying to physically stare down the absurdity of what he'd just heard.
"...Buggy the Clown."
For a moment, the only sound was the distant caw of gulls and Garp's slow chewing.
Then Sengoku spoke, his tone quiet, his anger boiling beneath the surface.
"Repeat that."
The officer swallowed. "Buggy the Clown, sir. The same pirate who aided in taking down Crocodile in Alabasta. The one with the 350-million bounty."
Tsuru sighed. "I thought that man had vanished. He was reported to be missing for a few weeks..."
"He dropped from the sky," the officer stammered. "With a crew that included Nico Robin, the Devil's Child, his previous associates, and some sort of… winged monk."
That finally made Sengoku's temple vein twitch.
"Winged monk…?"
The report continued. "A large man, bald, winged, calling himself the Urouge. His power is estimated to be comparable to a rear admiral at least. He's part of Buggy's fleet now."
Sengoku's hand slammed down on the table, shaking the Den Den Mushi into silence.
The Fleet Admiral took a long breath, then exhaled through clenched teeth.
"…I suppose this is my punishment for underestimating clowns."
Garp grunted. "He's not just a clown anymore, eh? He was from the East Blue, right?" He seemed relaxed, almost amused.
"This isn't funny, Garp." Sengoku's tone snapped like a whip. "This is the first time since the Rocks Era that a pirate has successfully raided a Marine base in the first half of the Grand Line! Do you understand the precedent that sets?"
Tsuru's voice was calm but grim. "Panic will spread among our lower divisions. If word gets out that a base defended by a Vice Admiral fell, we'll have insubordination across the Paradise seas. It's… destabilizing."
Garp shrugged, still smiling faintly. "Could be worse..." But his tone then became serious. "But he still took the lives of marines in this raid. His actions are despicable..."
Sengoku rubbed his temples. "A circus... Tsk. A goddamned circus is trying to face us so brazenly."
Lowly pirates normally avoided Marines. That was the rule. Marines were the hunters; those unaffiliated pirates were the prey that got away.
But Buggy didn't seem too keen on respecting that rule.
"This generation is already bad enough..." The Fleet Admiral shook his head.
He gestured toward the stacks of bounty reports littering his desk, names like Monkey D. Luffy, Eustass Kid, Trafalgar Law, Basil Hawkins, X Drake, Capone Bege, and Jewelry Bonney all sitting at the top of the charts.
The next generation of pirates, the "Supernovas", they were all already rising through Paradise.
"They're all dangerous. All ambitious," Sengoku murmured. "But this Buggy… We may have treated him lightly before… But he's made a mockery of our authority."
He turned sharply toward Tsuru.
"Prepare a message. Immediate priority."
"Yes, Sengoku."
"Send word to all Warlords of the Sea within operational range of Paradise," Sengoku ordered, voice hard. "Buggy the Clown is to be hunted down. Immediately. Someone like him must not be allowed to reach the end of Paradise, let alone the New World."
Garp raised an eyebrow. "You're siccing the Warlords on him? For a clown?"
Sengoku's reply was low. "If this goes on he'll become a symbol. The type of chaos he exudes is too much. We need to set an example out of him... Besides, it is about time the Warlords did something to earn their titles."
Garp chuckled, biting into another rice cracker. "You always did hate circuses."
Sengoku glared. "All the more reason."
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Meanwhile, somewhere on the Grand Line...
On the deck of the Red Force, bottles clinked, barrels rolled, and the salty wind carried laughter loud enough to scare away the clouds.
Shanks was sitting cross-legged on a crate, newspaper in one hand, bottle of sake in the other. The latest bounties gleamed from the pages, faces of the new age staring back at him.
"Ahh, the brats are growing up fast," he grinned.
"Oi, Captain! What's got you grinning like that?" Yasopp called.
"Newspapers just hit," Shanks replied, waving the sheet. "Look at this!"
He held it up, showing Monkey D. Luffy – 100,000,000 Berries.Beneath it, another headline made even his men choke on their drinks.
'Bloody Jester Buggy – 500,000,000 Berries!'
There was a beat of silence.
Then, a collective:
"WHAT!?"
"Five hundred million!?" "IN PARADISE!?" "HOW!?" "THE WORLD GOVERNMENT'S LOST ITS MIND!"
Shanks nearly fell off his crate laughing.
"Pahahahaha! Oh, Buggy… What have you done this time?"
Benn Beckman exhaled smoke slowly, eyes scanning the bounty notice. "They didn't list any crimes. No incident reports. Just the number increase."
"Which means," Shanks said, wiping a tear from his eye, "He either did something egregious, or they're trying to make an example out of him. Hell, maybe both~"
"Example?" Lucky Roo asked around with a mouthful of meat.
"Of course!" Shanks said. "You don't hand out half-a-billion in Paradise unless you want every greedy Warlord and bounty hunter to chase him down. Sengoku's hoping someone else does his dirty work."
Beckman nodded. "Makes sense. He already had a rather high bounty for his corner of the sea... A bounty that high in Paradise will turn the sea into a hunting ground. And if Buggy survives…"
"…he'll come out the other end stronger than ever," Shanks finished, smiling faintly. "That's how fate works with idiots like him."
He looked out at the horizon, red hair whipping in the wind.
"Still, five hundred million… He's officially above most Supernovas, above even some Yonko's lieutenants."
Yasopp laughed. "The clown's outpacing the new age before it even begins!"
"Maybe," Shanks mused, "I guess he's trying to expand his Circus to overtake the whole world~"
His crew howled with laughter, sake spilling onto the deck.
"Hey, Buggy," Shanks murmured, looking at the bounty again. "You're really making me look bad out here."
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And Elsewhere, among the clouds
The world was wide. And above it, dancing along near-invisible threads of sky silk, floated a single, flamboyant silhouette.
String clouds shimmered, catching the sunlight like spiderwebs spun of gold.
Donquixote Doflamingo, dressed in his signature pink feathers and shark grin, was laughing to himself as he drifted between the clouds, Den Den Mushi pressed lazily to his ear.
The snail's voice crackled. "... orders from Sengoku. Buggy the Clown is to be hunted. Immediate threat status upgrade. Vice Admiral Strawberry defeated."
Silence.
Then came a low, musical chuckle.
"…Heh. A clown, taking down a Marine base…?"
The chuckle became a laugh.
Then a full, deep, unhinged roar that echoed across the sky.
"Fufufufufu~! Oh, this world never ceases to entertain me! A clown turns an entire Marine base into a circus act, and they call me unstable!"
He reclined midair, threads twisting lazily to carry him toward the New World's clouds.
"Maybe I should pay him a visit," Doflamingo mused aloud. "See what kind of clown can make the World Government sweat like that. Fufufu~ maybe even invite him to the show…"
He tapped the Den Den Mushi's receiver, ending the transmission, the snail drooping back into slumber.
As he floated higher, eyes glinting behind his tinted shades, the grin never left his face.
"Paradise won't survive this era. Too many jokers, not enough real conquerors around. But at least they'll make good subordinates in the New World~"
He stretched one finger, string snapping and anchoring to a cloudbank far above.
"Time to see if the clown is worth laughing at."
And with that, Doflamingo soared away into the bright horizon, his laughter scattering through the clouds like the echo of a devil's promise.