Captain, we need to leave now. If we stay any longer, we could face a full military siege."
Kuro stood amidst the aftermath, surveying the bloody battlefield. He knew this wasn't a place they could linger—not after all that noise. It wouldn't be long before the upper echelons of the Illusia Kingdom took notice. Once they did, the army would descend in force.
Even though their crew was powerful, no one could guarantee victory against an overwhelming army, especially someone like him, who wasn't among the strongest. The danger was real. So, he wasted no time voicing his concern to Buggy.
Buggy glanced around, nodding slightly. He understood all too well. Staying here would only lead to trouble. This was, after all, the capital of a kingdom. They'd killed a large number of royal soldiers right in the city. There was no way the government would let that slide.
Even with his current strength, Buggy knew he wasn't invincible. All it would take was exhaustion… or a well-placed scheme. Dying here wouldn't just be pointless—it would be a waste.
"We're leaving. Head to the shipyard and prep the Brilliance—get her out of the dock and onto open water. We'll figure out the rest afterward."
They had to move the ship immediately. If they waited and the army surrounded the area, the Brilliance would be trapped—or worse, destroyed. That ship had cost him a fortune to build; losing it was not an option.
Without delay, Buggy led the group—including the unconscious commander—toward the shipyard, where the Brilliance was docked.
Meanwhile, news of the carnage and the slain royal soldiers quickly began to spread through the city—and into the ears of various powerful factions, including some very… interested parties.
Inside a lavish estate, a stern-faced elder and a brawny middle-aged man were speaking in hushed tones.
"Damn it. Who the hell are these people? I want them identified. How could the kingdom's elite be wiped out like that? They didn't even manage to take down one of them! Pathetic."
"My lord, what should we do next?"
"Mobilize another unit. Make sure they're wiped out. And those contact points connected to that old hag Lina? Burn them all. No loose ends. I don't want any more mistakes."
"Yes, my lord. I'll handle it immediately."
The subordinate understood perfectly: they were to erase everything tied to Lina. No survivors. No evidence. Even if Buggy and his crew had extracted intel from her, they wouldn't be able to trace it any further.
At the same time, chaos was brewing within the kingdom's upper ranks. What had happened today was a serious scandal. Someone had dared to massacre royal soldiers in the heart of the capital—an act of outright defiance.
Buggy and his crew were now seen as a ticking time bomb. No one could predict what they might do next. Left unchecked, they could jeopardize the very stability of the kingdom. They had to be dealt with.
Those in power began making calls. Armies were mobilized. Orders were issued from the top.
The city gates were sealed.
Soldiers flooded the streets.
Watchmen took positions along the walls.
Elite troops began patrolling block by block, hunting for Buggy and his crew.
But it was already too late.
Buggy's group had already escaped, leaving the city just before the lockdown. They had slipped into the shipyard and sailed out from the port undetected.
Now, drifting just offshore aboard the Brilliance, they paused. Buggy summoned Hogback to examine the wounded commander. After confirming the man wouldn't die from his injuries, Buggy hauled up a bucket of seawater and dumped it straight onto his face.
The commander groaned, eyelids twitching. As his eyes opened, his entire face twisted in pain. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth audibly ground together.
The pain nearly caused him to pass out again.
"Hey," Buggy said coldly, "who ordered you to come after us? Why send a Devil Fruit user just because we killed some human traffickers? Don't you think that's a bit of an overreaction?"
Buggy wasted no time. Now that the man was awake, he went straight for answers. The man was the fish. Buggy was the blade. Surely, he knew the rules here.
But instead of answering, the commander glared at Buggy with pure hatred, refusing to utter a word.
Buggy narrowed his eyes.
So, this guy was going to be difficult. He'd likely made up his mind to die before spilling anything.
That made things… annoying.
Buggy paused for several minutes, thinking carefully. He needed something that would break this man's resolve—something that would force him to talk.
Eventually, he settled on a tactic.
If brute force wouldn't work, then it was time to try the soft approach.
He decided to tell the commander everything they knew—the full scope of the trafficking ring, its massive scale, and the high-ranking officials protecting it. Buggy suspected the real puppeteers were embedded within the Illusia Kingdom's government itself.
This move served two purposes:
If the commander was involved in the trafficking, he wouldn't say a word, and Buggy would just kill him.
But if the man was truly ignorant, if he still had a conscience, and if he was being used as a pawn, then the truth might trigger a reaction. And if even then he refused to speak—that would prove his heart was just as rotten.
Buggy wouldn't let someone like that live either.
So he told him everything.
He explained the size of the human trafficking organization. He laid out their operations. He even revealed that their backing likely came from inside the very government the commander served.
As Buggy spoke, the commander's expression slowly changed. Anger crept onto his face.
He clenched his fists.
His breathing grew heavier.
He had not known the full story, and what he was hearing enraged him.
The idea that the kingdom harbored such evil—a massive trafficking syndicate backed by his superiors—was utterly repulsive. It was becoming clear to him: he'd been used. The mission wasn't about justice. It was about eliminating threats to someone's secrets.
Buggy could see it.
The man's hatred wasn't directed at him anymore.
It had shifted… toward the very people who had sent him.