"Damn it…"
Buggy's body snapped backward and flew, crashing into a stack of barrels and wooden crates, smashing them to splinters.
He clutched his head and looked at the blood on his hand, rage twisting his bruised face.
For someone who had always been timid and cowardly, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, this was the first time in many years that Buggy had gone head to head in such a hard fight.
Even with his face swollen, nose bruised, lumps all over his head and teeth missing, there was not the slightest hint of retreat in his eyes.
Shoving aside the shattered planks around him, he looked toward his men, who were throwing themselves forward in a chaotic charge. There was no doubt at all that they were no match for the fish men.
After all, East Blue pirates were barely stronger than ordinary humans. Against fish men, whose physical strength was naturally several times that of humans, they needed to fight one against many just to barely keep up.
Especially the shark fish man standing in front of him.
Arlong.
Buggy was covered in blood. His face was swollen to a pig's head, huge bumps rising under his skin, several teeth knocked clean out. He spat out a mouthful of blood that splashed dark and thick on the ground.
"Pah… damn fish men"
He watched as his circus crew got beaten back again and again and clenched his jaw tight.
Then he raised his hand and snapped out an order.
"You idiots, get out of the way"
His men were very obedient. All of them were just as bruised and swollen as he was, but they scrambled aside at once, clearing a path.
Buggy kicked his leg up and something popped out from his shoe. It looked like a little round capsule.
"Watch closely This is the Buggy Ball"
The savage fish men, who had been standing together looking smug and high and mighty, stared blankly at the "pill" arcing toward them.
A heartbeat later
"Boom"
Under young Nami's wide eyed gaze, the fish men gathered in front of Belle-Mère's house were blasted into the sky by a violent explosion.
Most of them were taken out in an instant. Some unlucky ones crashed back to the ground and lay there motionless, their life or death unknown.
Drip.
Drip.
Buggy braced his hands on his knees, panting hard. Blood was still dripping from the wounds on his head.
Through the smoke and dust of the explosion, a lone figure stood at the very back of the scattered fish men. Even though he had been blown far away, he pushed himself out of the smoke with a vicious glare, clothes shredded and burned.
Arlong.
"You… bastard…"
His steel jaws ground together as he glared at the clownish human in front of him, his fists clenched so tightly that the veins bulged.
Buggy's face twisted further as he stared back. He might be a coward at heart, but he had grown up on the Pirate King's ship. He knew power when he saw it.
This was trouble…
He could see the killing intent in Arlong's eyes as the fish man strode toward him, like a predator sizing up its prey.
But instead of rushing straight at Buggy, Arlong suddenly let out a cruel smile and turned his head toward the orange grove beside them.
"You are a pirate" he sneered. "You came here for these, didn't you"
So many noble fish men had fallen here. Killing Buggy and his crew was no longer enough to cool Arlong's rage.
All the humiliation he had once suffered at the hands of humans surged up in his chest, and now he would vent it on them.
Bang.
With the terrifying strength of a fish man, Arlong punched a tree.
The trunk shattered and split apart under the blow, and with a long creaking groan the orange tree, heavy with ripe fruit, tilted and crashed to the ground.
Dozens of oranges were crushed and smashed, juice bursting everywhere and soaking into the soil.
The sight hit Buggy square in the chest like a hammer.
His eyes went round as he watched the tree fall, the oranges bursting and rolling. In his mind, he heard his men's excited voices from earlier.
"Captain Buggy The best oranges in all of East Blue, no… maybe some of the best in the whole world, are grown right here in Cocoyashi Village"
And he remembered Ozz throwing an arm around his shoulders when they were younger, laughing freely and saying:
"Of course I believe in you, Buggy"
The anger inside him snapped its chains.
Because of Ozz's appearance, Buggy had had far fewer chances to slack off and play dead in recent years. Under all that "forced training," he was no longer a complete weakling.
"You bastard, stop it"
Buggy's body split apart in an instant. His upper half shot forward, flying straight at Arlong.
Arlong did not hold back either. He opened his jaws wide and bit down at Buggy's torso.
Rip.
Buggy's Chop Chop powers made him immune to slashing, but biting and crushing could still hurt him. Blood sprayed as his shoulder was torn open, but this time he did not flinch.
Even as flesh ripped and pain burned through his nerves, he lifted his fist high, face twisted into pure fury.
For a heartbeat, something faint and dark flickered over his knuckles.
"Clang…"
It was there and gone in an instant. A whisper of armament.
"Filthy fish man. Do not underestimate the bonds of Captain Buggy"
His fist crashed down on Arlong's skull.
Boom.
A shockwave burst out with the punch, sending dust and smoke into the air. The ground cracked beneath Arlong's feet, cratering deeply.
The fish man who had just beaten Belle-Mère like she was nothing, the monster who had terrorized the entire village, now lay in that crater, eyes rolled back white.
Arlong was out cold.
No matter how pathetic Buggy's reputation might be, he could at least barely bring out a trace of Haki now.
How could he possibly lose to the Arlong that Luffy had once fought
Everyone was frozen in place, stunned speechless.
The fish man monster who had toyed with the marines and crushed Belle-Mère… had actually been defeated
Buggy ignored them.
He nearly collapsed on the spot, but his men rushed up and caught him, forming a wall of supporting arms so he could stand, swaying unsteadily.
Bruised from head to toe, he walked over to Nami's family and frowned at the injured Belle-Mère and the two little girls.
"Hey… from now on, this orange grove belongs to me. Got it Take good care of it"
Belle-Mère opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
Nami jumped in front of her instead and agreed at once.
These people had just saved Belle-Mère's life. Compared to that, what was an orange grove Nami could not bear to part with the trees, but she could not bear to lose her mother even more.
She even wanted to run after them and say thank you.
But Buggy had no time for sentimental things like that.
He flopped back into the arms of his men, who hoisted him up like a wounded general.
He grimaced in pain.
"Ow ow ow ow You idiots Stop touching my wounds"
Crate after crate of oranges were loaded up and carried away. Buggy pointed and yelled at his men the whole time.
"Do not bruise my oranges Watch what you are doing, you morons"
"Yes, Captain Buggy"
Watching this bizarre group of pirates, Nami stared blankly at their busy figures. Her gaze dropped to the crates they carried, and she noticed the marking painted on the sides.
A symbol.
Shipping codes used for sea transport.
A few letters were written there:
AOS.
They belonged to the Shipping King's people. Those under that flag would be responsible for storing the cargo and making sure it stayed as fresh as possible until the client wanted it back.
This, of course, was an extra service Buggy had paid for himself. The Shipping King did not care about a tiny order from East Blue.
As a news seagull flew by, collecting stories from above, Buggy was still gritting his teeth against the pain.
But when he noticed the seagull's camera, he froze for a moment.
He suddenly thought that Ozz might see this photo someday.
So he stuck out his tongue and pulled a ridiculous grin, mugging right at the lens.
Nami watched the pirates leave and looked once more at that strange symbol. She did not know what it meant, only that it was clearly important.
What she did know was that after this day, the family that had already been living hand to mouth off the orange grove fell into an even worse situation.
After losing much of the harvest, and with debts and burdens piling higher, Nami slowly walked onto a path she had never imagined.
To keep herself and the people she loved alive, she would have no choice in the future…
But to steal.
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