Silence.
The vast lobby of the Marine Branch was utterly still—
not a sound could be heard.
The female officer was completely dumbfounded.
Beside her, the young sailor who had dragged Buggy inside was equally stunned.
He stared blankly at the bounty poster in her hands, then turned to look at Buggy, lying limp on the floor like a beaten dog.
"Th-this…"
His mouth opened, but no words came out. His mind was blank.
Good heavens.
It really was Buggy the Clown!
The infamous great pirate of the East Blue!
A man whose name alone struck fear in countless hearts.
Cruel.
Lawless.
A scourge of the seas.
"I'm… not hallucinating, am I?"
The young sailor swallowed hard, his heart pounding.
"If I remember right…
not long ago, Colonel Gerson himself led a massive operation to capture Buggy the Clown.
And yet, he failed.
Buggy escaped!"
The more he recalled, the more shaken he became.
And now, what did he see?
The very same pirate who had repeatedly slipped away from Colonel Gerson—
was now lying here in their lobby, half-dead, looking more like a dying stray dog than a pirate worth millions.
Was this really the same notorious Buggy the Clown?
A pirate worth twelve million berries…
reduced to this pitiful state?
Too miserable!
"Is this really… a pirate with a bounty over ten million?"
"How could he be in such a sorry state?"
"What on earth happened?"
The sailor's eyes bulged, his jaw slack.
Finally, he drew in a deep breath, turned to his colleague, and asked:
"Should we report this to Colonel Gerson? This is too big to ignore."
"A pirate worth twelve million Berries—no, not just any pirate, but the notorious Buggy the Clown! Colonel Gerson has tried multiple times to capture him, but failed every time."
The female officer jolted as if waking from a dream.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her hand trembling around the bounty poster as her eyes locked onto Buggy's battered form.
The man she thought was just a petty thief…
was actually a pirate.
And not just any pirate, but a great pirate worth over ten million!
"You two believe me now, don't you?"
Kai's voice cut through the silence.
The words exploded in their minds like thunder.
Now, finally—
they believed.
"This boy… he wasn't exaggerating from the start."
"He really did capture a pirate worth twelve million Berries?!"
"Is that… even possible?"
The female officer stood frozen, unable to believe what her own eyes showed her.
That infamous pirate with a bounty over ten million…
had been brought down by a four-year-old child?
It was like a dream.
Unreal.
"A four-year-old… took down a pirate with a bounty in the tens of millions?"
"No… impossible…"
"How could such a monster exist in this world?!"
Her heart trembled violently.
At first, she hadn't taken Kai seriously at all.
But now, staring at the broken figure of Buggy the Clown, she realized—
This boy was no ordinary child.
"Did you really take him down yourself?"
Her voice shook as she looked at Kai.
"Who else?"
Kai smirked.
"Do you think someone caught Buggy for me, then handed him over so I could walk him in here and claim the credit?"
"This…"
The officer was left speechless.
Still, she couldn't wrap her mind around it.
How could a child—only four years old—possess the monstrous talent needed to single-handedly capture a pirate worth over ten million?
Every pirate with such a bounty was a terrifying force in the East Blue—
true monsters among men.
And Buggy was one such monster.
A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user.
Powerful.
Cruel.
Merciless.
Yet here he was, beaten half to death, dragged into the Marine Branch by a boy barely tall enough to reach the desk.
"You'll need to wait a moment."
"This is too important—I must report it immediately."
The female officer took a deep breath, forcing her shock down.
"Don't keep me waiting long."
Kai waved dismissively.
"Of course. It won't take long."
She nodded quickly.
Then, her long legs carried her swiftly up the stairs to the second floor, until she stood before the door of a certain office.
Knock knock knock!
A crisp sound echoed.
Inside, a burly middle-aged man sat with his legs propped on his desk, a cigar clenched between his teeth. His sharp eyes glimmered beneath a calm exterior.
Hearing the knock, he straightened slightly, cleared his throat, and said:
"Come in."
This was Colonel Gerson, commander of the Loguetown Marine Branch.
A Marine Headquarters officer.
The strongest man stationed here.
Even pirates worth over ten million had fled in defeat before his pursuit.
Creak.
The door opened.
The female officer—Lilith—stepped in quickly, her expression still tinged with shock.
"Lilith, what's gotten you so flustered?"
Gerson raised a brow.
"Colonel Gerson, something… incredible has just happened!"
Lilith's voice trembled.
"I believe this requires your personal attention. No one else can handle it."
"Oh? Speak."
Gerson plucked his cigar from his lips and exhaled a thin trail of smoke, eyes narrowing slightly.
Lilith steadied her breathing and began:
"Just now, a four-year-old boy came to the branch. He told me he had captured a pirate and wanted to hand him over."
"I thought… he was just joking. Or maybe he mistook a thief or a thug for a pirate. So I didn't take it seriously."
"But then… something happened that shook me to the core."
She paused, then continued in one breath:
"I had someone bring in the man he'd captured. And after looking closely, I realized the truth."
"He wasn't a thief."
"He was really a pirate. Exactly as the boy claimed!"
"And not just any pirate…"
"He's a great pirate worth twelve million berries!"
"The one brought to our branch is none other than—
the infamous Buggy the Clown!"
Crash!
Gerson nearly fell out of his chair.
The cigar slipped from his fingers, hitting the tiled floor with a faint hiss as smoke curled upward.
"You—what did you just say?!"
"Buggy the Clown?!"
"A four-year-old child captured Buggy the Clown and brought him here to be locked up?!"
"Are you certain? Do you even realize what you're saying right now?!"
His eyes were wide with disbelief.
That same Buggy the Clown—
a pirate who terrorized the East Blue and whom Gerson himself had failed to capture despite numerous attempts?
And now, she was telling him a four-year-old had done it?
Impossible.
Unthinkable.
The more he thought, the more his heart raced.
"That's a pirate worth twelve million Berries!"
"And a four-year-old brat…"
"took him down?!"
"Are you sure you're not dreaming?"
His throat was dry as he protested.
At just four years old, a boy had captured a pirate worth twelve million berries?
What kind of monster could such a child be?
"It's the absolute truth, Colonel!"
Lilith's voice shook with conviction.
"I suggest you go and see for yourself. I swear, the man we have downstairs is Buggy the Clown—there's no mistake. He's identical to the bounty poster!"
"This—!"
Gerson was utterly stunned.
Looking at Lilith's serious expression, he could see no hint of deceit.
And in a matter this important, lying was out of the question.
Yet what she said was so shocking, so absurd, he could hardly accept it.
"Fine!"
"Take me to him. I want to see this four-year-old monster for myself…"
"And see if he truly has three heads and six arms!"
Gerson leapt to his feet, unable to sit still any longer.
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