Chapter 438: The Buggy Pirates
East Blue — somewhere at sea.
"Captain Buggy! Captain Buggy! You've been given a bounty!"
A crewman dashed over, waving a fresh copy of the Marine Times.
"Nani?!"
Buggy whipped his head around, eyes bulging.
The pirate breathlessly handed over the newspaper, clearly overjoyed.
"Captain! Look! You've got a 500 million berry bounty!"
The announcement drew everyone's attention. One by one, they swarmed around Buggy in awe.
Crocodile and Dracule Mihawk, however, stood off to the side, watching the scene unfold in silence.
> "Roger Pirate Crew's Buggy the Clown causes mayhem at the Pirate King's execution. Leads his Buggy Pirates in burning, looting, and rampaging through Loguetown. Bounty: 500 million berries — dead or alive."
Buggy stared at the paper, nearly fainting at the sight of that staggering number.
"F-Five hundred million?!"
Buggy shrieked.
Why?!
Panic and confusion twisted inside him. He was not built for this kind of spotlight.
But his men saw it very differently.
"Captain Buggy must be angry they only gave him five hundred million. He's a member of the Roger Pirates, after all! Should be at least a billion!"
Another crewman chimed in:
"No — two billion, minimum!"
The others nodded fervently, eyes blazing with admiration.
Buggy, overhearing their praise, felt his heart just about stop.
"T-Two billion?! I'll die for sure!"
His hands trembled as he looked back at the bounty — so many zeros. It made him want to crawl into a barrel and sink into the sea.
Suddenly…
Two additional bounty posters slipped out of the folded newspaper.
A nearby pirate picked them up, and his eyes widened in shock.
"Captain Crocodile and Lord Mihawk also got new bounties!"
That instantly drew more attention.
Even Crocodile and Mihawk walked over to take a look.
Their eyes narrowed.
> "Buggy Pirates Combatant: 'Hawk-Eye' Dracule Mihawk. Assisted the Buggy Pirates in escaping Loguetown and caused severe Marine casualties. Bounty: 460 million berries — dead or alive."
> "Buggy Pirates Combatant: Crocodile. Assisted the Buggy Pirates in escaping Loguetown and caused severe Marine casualties. Bounty: 350 million berries — dead or alive."
"Huh?! So Crocodile and Mihawk are Captain Buggy's subordinates? No wonder they helped us! Buggy is incredible! With such powerful crewmates, he's definitely the next Pirate King!"
The clueless pirates completely ignored the icy glares Crocodile and Mihawk shot their way, their eyes glowing with admiration for Buggy.
Buggy forced an awkward smile as the two bounty holders turned to glare at him.
He knew how strong they were. He'd seen it firsthand.
Without a word, both Crocodile and Mihawk grabbed Buggy by the shoulders and dragged him into the ship's cabin.
The others, witnessing this, drew... the wrong conclusion.
"Wow… Captain Buggy has such a strong bond with Mihawk and Crocodile! I wish I could join their crew too!"
The rest nodded in agreement, eyes sparkling.
---
Inside the cabin—
"So," Mihawk said, one leg propped on a table, looking at Crocodile, "what do we do now?"
"Easy. We get off this clown's ship at the next island," Crocodile replied, shooting a glance at Buggy curled in the corner.
Buggy immediately puffed up and stood tall.
"Oi, brat!" Crocodile sneered. "Go tell those idiots out there that we're not your subordinates."
Buggy swallowed nervously.
"Ah, yeah, sure! But the thing is… even if I say that, will the Marines believe it?"
He raised his hands in a pleading gesture.
SHING!
A flash of cold steel.
"AAAAH—!"
Buggy shrieked and split into pieces instinctively, his Chop-Chop Fruit activating.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes.
"A Devil Fruit user, huh?"
His gaze turned sharp and dangerous.
"I don't care how you do it — explain it to the Marines, do a public statement, whatever — I want no ties to your circus act."
He raised Yoru, his black blade, with a deadly glare.
"Same here," Crocodile added gruffly.
Buggy was on the verge of tears.
"What do you want me to do?!"
He tried to play it cool:
"Well, I mean, wouldn't it be kind of great if we officially joined up? You wanna be Pirate King, Crocodile, and Mihawk wants to be the best swordsman — I can help!"
Mihawk paused mid-drink. Crocodile froze, cigarette halfway to his lips.
Buggy's smile widened.
"I know the names and locations of powerful swordsmen across the world. And as for secrets of the Pirate King... well, as a former Roger Pirate, I know quite a few things."
The cabin fell silent.
Then, after a long moment—
Buggy swaggered out of the cabin, chin held high, confident and proud.
Behind him, Mihawk and Crocodile followed, deep in thought.
Then, they stepped outside — and were blindsided by the crowd.
"Captain Buggy, please let us join your crew! We pledge our loyalty to you!"
Over five or six ships' worth of pirates who had fled Loguetown were lined up on the decks, all shouting together.
Buggy, Mihawk, and Crocodile all froze.
Mihawk and Crocodile were stunned — what the hell happened while they were inside?
Buggy, after a beat of disbelief, grinned ear to ear.
"YEAHHHH HAHAHAHA! Welcome aboard the Buggy Pirates!"
He spread his arms dramatically.
"CAPTAIN BUGGY! CAPTAIN BUGGY!!"
They chanted his name like a rock star.
Buggy stood tall, hands on hips, laughing maniacally — for once, fully basking in the chaos he didn't understand but had somehow created.
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To be continued...
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