The sun shimmered over the endless blue as the Big Top drifted toward a sprawling city that seemed to rise straight from the sea.
Towers, bridges, and aqueducts glimmered in the distance, white stone kissed by sunlight and salt spray.
Water 7, the City of Water, jewel of shipwrights and carpenters, a place where the sea itself seemed to live and breathe.
After almost two months of aimless sailing, no, backwards sailing, Robin stood near the railing, arms crossed, the salty wind brushing through her hair.
Her eyes wandered from the rippling horizon to the ridiculous man balancing on the ship's bowsprit, one foot forward, cape flapping in the wind as if he commanded the world.
"Backward… We're just travelling backwards on the Grand Line," she murmured to herself. "How fun..."
The logic of the Grand Line was strict for most pirates, the Log Pose could only record the magnetic field of the next island forward. Never back. The sea guided you forward through chaos, not reverse.
But unlike most pirates, Buggy had resources; with eternal poses scavenged from Marine Base G-6, the clown had decided that logic didn't apply to him.
And somehow, it worked.
Robin sighed softly. "Of course it worked."
From the bow, Buggy struck a heroic pose. "Ah, behold there it is in the far horizon! Civilization, at last! The City of Ships! The watery stage fit for the greatest performer alive!~" He had decided to give himself that title in his mad ramblings at some point.
Behind him, Mohji clapped like a trained seal while Richie let out a confused growl. Cabaji balanced on his unicycle with both cutlasses crossed at his chest, nodding solemnly.
"You think they'll have booze that doesn't taste like rusted cannon barrels?" Cabaji muttered.
Urouge, massive and serene as ever, stood near the mast with his hands clasped together, wings slightly twitching in the wind. "The city looks blessed," he said with a calm smile. "Perhaps a good place to rest and repent for a week or two."
Buggy spun around dramatically. "Repent? We're not here to repent, my pious powerhouse! We're here to revel! To rebuild! To make this ship shine so bright it'll blind the Marines the next time they dare look at us!"
He struck another pose, cape flaring. The crew cheered half-heartedly, more out of habit than belief.
Robin only sighed again.
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Later that afternoon, the crew gathered around a table in the galley as Buggy unfolded the latest bounty posters he'd received by pelican post.
"Let's see, let's see!" Mohji said, leaning over with greasy fingers.
Buggy smirked, tapping the top of his own poster.
'BLOODY JESTER BUGGY - 500,000,000 BERRIES'
Mohji and Cabaji froze. Urouge just raised an eyebrow.
Buggy grinned from ear to ear. "Fufufufu~! Expected, really. I am the most fabulous and feared pirate this side of the Red Line! The Marines finally recognize true genius when it explodes right in their faces."
Robin's lips curved slightly. "Modest as always, Captain."
He took it as a compliment. "Of course! And look—" he tossed two more posters across the table.
'MOHJI THE BEAST TAMER - 30,000,000 BERRIES'
'CABAJI THE ACROBAT - 30,000,000 BERRIES'
Both men blinked, eyes going wide as their mouths dropped open.
"Thirty million!?" Mohji gasped, gripping his poster like treasure. "I'm worth thirty million!"
Cabaji flicked his bangs dramatically. "Finally, justice is served. The world recognizes true art."
Buggy crossed his arms, chin up. "You've earned it, my brilliant underlings. My influence uplifts all who serve under my divine banner."
Then Urouge quietly set down his own bounty.
'THE MAD MONK UROUGE - 50,000,000 BERRIES'
Buggy froze. Cabaji squinted. Mohji's jaw dropped again.
"…That's more than both of us combined," Mohji muttered.
"That's not true you ingrate! Did you get hit in the head a few too many times?!" Cabaji shouted at him, all mad, then pointed an accusing finger at Urouge. "Also, it's not fair, he just got here!"
Urouge smiled faintly, folding the poster. "Blessings of battle, my friends. I suppose I hit the Marines a little too hard."
Buggy twitched, glaring at the poster. "Fifty million, huh? That's… fine. Perfectly fine. A high bounty crew makes for a high bounty captain! The Marines fear my subordinates too!"
Robin chuckled quietly under her breath. "Mm. That's certainly one way to see it."
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Training became a daily sight aboard the Big Top during those long days between islands.
Buggy, instead of his usual workouts or sword drills, sat cross-legged in the middle of the deck, eyes closed, muttering to himself.
Mohji whispered to Cabaji, "Is he sleeping?"
Cabaji shook his head. "No, he's doing that weird 'willpower' thing again."
Buggy's gloved hands trembled slightly, faint black mist gathering around his fingers before vanishing. His brow furrowed. "Tsk… Come on, come on… harden, damn you!"
The mist flickered again, barely coating his knuckles before dispersing with a pop.
Robin watched him from afar, expression unreadable.
He'd begun to take haki seriously after his encounter with Vice Admiral Strawberry — both Armament and Observation. Urouge, curious and gifted, followed his example. The two sparred often, shaking the deck and terrifying the others.
Robin found the concept of haki fascinating — the idea that willpower alone could manifest into reality. But she never joined their training. Not once.
Perhaps she didn't see herself as a warrior. Or perhaps… she was beginning to see Buggy's world for what it was.
One evening, as the sun bled orange across the sea, Robin leaned against the railing while Buggy practiced tossing knives that whistled through the air, each one striking empty bottles lined on a barrel.
"Your control has improved," she said softly.
"Of course!" Buggy tossed another knife, slicing a bottle clean in half. "Precision and flair, that's the essence of performance!"
Robin looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, I've been curious… you speak about the world, about history, about the government, as if you know more than most. How much do you know about Ohara?"
Buggy froze mid-throw.
He didn't turn around, didn't show a hint of tension, but his tone was light, almost too light. "Ohara, huh? I guess I did tease you with that before, huh? Course I know if it, it's the little library island the Government burned down because they were too afraid of what people might read."
Robin's gaze hardened slightly. "So you do know."
"Of course I know! Everyone who's been around long enough heard whispers. The World Government's scared of people with brains, that's why they hate you, Robin." He laughed, spinning a knife on one finger. "But don't worry your pretty head. You've got the protection of the great Buggy the Clown!"
Robin smiled faintly, but it didn't reach her eyes. "That's… reassuring."
Buggy didn't notice the irony. "Ha! You're welcome!"
She turned her gaze back to the horizon, the smile fading.
He wasn't cruel. He wasn't completely heartless. Back on that Marine Base, he could have killed hundreds more. But he had still taken the lives of plently, and didn't show much care for it.
He just didn't think the way most men did. There was no grand plan in him, only chaos wrapped in bravado and red paint.
And that, she decided quietly, might just be too dangerous for her future.
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When they finally docked at Water 7, the city towered over them like a marble dream. Canals weaved through the streets, bridges crisscrossing like threads of glass. Massive sea trains groaned in the distance. Shipwrights hammered away in harmony with the ocean's song.
The crew disembarked in a wave of color and confusion.
Buggy pointed dramatically. "Men! Disperse! Find me the finest shipwrights money can buy! Tell them the Bloody Jester demands a ship fit for a god!"
"Uh… are we buying or fixing?" Mohji asked.
Buggy blinked. "Fixing! For now. But if they've got a ship better than ours, maybe I'll buy that too!"
Cabaji groaned. "Here we go again…"
Urouge chuckled softly. "Let us hope the carpenters of Water 7 have patience for divine comedy."
Robin remained silent. She lingered on the edge of the dock, watching as the crew scattered into the city, her eyes thoughtful.
This was her chance.
A place bustling with trade, canals, and anonymity, the perfect place to slip away unnoticed.
She had no ill will toward the clown or his circus. But staying here, under the growing shadow of his bounty, meant inviting death.
"Goodbye, Captain," she whispered under her breath, before stepping into the crowd.
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Elsewhere in the city, the hum of carpentry mixed with murmurs from a quiet corner café. Inside, a tall man in a black suit adjusted his tie while sipping coffee. A woman with blonde hair and glasses flipped through a ledger beside him.
"Unusual activity at Dock 3," Kalifa said smoothly. "Pirate ship, unusually large, and carrying multiple wanted individuals."
Blueno nodded, closing his Den Den Mushi. "Confirmed. Vice Admiral reports cross-check complete, names match."
Kaku leaned forward, whispering, "And among them?"
Kalifa slid a sheet across the table, a recent bounty poster.
'NICO ROBIN – DEVIL'S CHILD – 79,000,000 BERRIES'
Blueno's expression didn't change. "So the rumors were true. She's alive."
Kalifa's glasses gleamed. "The World Government's most wanted archaeologist, casually walking into Water 7 under the banner of a clown."
"Fitting," Kaku said with a small grin. "The circus brings its own tragedy."
Kalifa continued, "As for the clown himself, Buggy the Bloody Jester… bounty, five hundred million."
That made Blueno raise a brow. "Five hundred? In Paradise? Ridiculous."
"Indeed," Rob Lucci said. "We'll mark him as dangerous, but irrelevant. His bounty was just raised because the marines want him dead, not because he is 'that' strong. Our mission remains the same, locate and retrieve the blueprints and now... Capture Ohara's only survivor."
Kaku nodded, standing. "Understood."
The agents rose one by one, fading into the bustling streets of Water 7 like shadows in daylight.
Outside, the waves lapped quietly against the docks. The sounds of laughter echoed faintly from the ship named Big Top.
And somewhere in the maze of canals, Nico Robin walked alone, unaware that the hunters of the World Government had already set their sights upon her.