Two days after Buggy's defeat, the news had spread.
Since Buggy had been the big boss of the East Blue for over a decade, his defeat sent much bigger shockwaves through the world than Morgan's.
Naval Headquarters – Bounty Division
A green-haired Vice Admiral was wrapping up a meeting.
Just as he was about to announce the final decisions, a Commander burst into the room and whispered something in his ear.
"What? Buggy was defeated?!" the Vice Admiral exclaimed, his brow furrowing in deep thought.
The other officers in the room immediately erupted into discussion.
"Buggy wasn't as simple as his bounty suggested."
"He was the one keeping the balance in the East Blue's underworld."
"Exactly! We kept his bounty low on purpose. We let him rule the sea so that any hot-headed rookie pirates would challenge him first, and he'd crush them for us. It kept things stable."
"Of course, we always knew we could take him down if he ever got out of line."
"And he never did anything too crazy, so the system worked."
"This was the unspoken rule of the East Blue, and now someone has broken it."
"Even for us, taking down Buggy would have been costly."
"So, who the hell actually beat him?"
The officers debated back and forth, all of them dying to know who had managed to topple Buggy.
Finally, the green-haired Vice Admiral stood up.
"The ones who defeated Buggy," he announced, "are the same pirates who killed Captain Morgan last week—the Straw Hat Pirates."
The room was filled with disbelief.
"They have that kind of power?"
"Buggy was way stronger than Morgan."
"I'm more interested in how they beat him. Was it a group effort, or did one of them actually manage to take him down alone?"
That last question was on everyone's mind.
The Vice Admiral had been wondering the same thing.
Their intel suggested the strongest member was the white-haired swordsman, Ray, who had killed Morgan in a single strike.
However, eyewitnesses said that when he dueled the pirate hunter Zoro, he didn't seem to have a huge advantage
. It was a shame the island was too remote to have any video Den Den Mushi.
It's more likely they ganged up on him and used some kind of trick, the Vice Admiral concluded.
He'd also heard rumors that they had just recruited a new female member.
That guy was on the Pirate King's crew. There's no way a rookie could beat him one-on-one.
With that in mind, he made his decision.
"Alright. We're raising the bounties for the entire Straw Hat crew. Here are the new numbers…"
Once again, wanted posters were sent flying to every corner of the world.
…
East Blue, in a random tavern.
A group of burly pirates were drinking and laughing.
"You think that new Straw Hat crew will run into Buggy?"
"Hahaha, I hope not, for their sake! If a rookie crew meets Buggy, their journey is over before it even starts."
"Heh, we saw what that guy can do back in the day. It's crazy to think he's just hanging out in the East Blue."
"Yeah, but he doesn't kill civilians and even leaves IOUs. He doesn't act like a pirate at all."
"I heard he's got a secret deal with the Marines. Wonder why he never became a Warlord."
"Tch, probably just a government dog."
"Hey! You wanna die?! Don't say that crap out loud and get us all killed!"
Just as a fight was about to break out, a skinny man ran into the tavern, holding a newspaper.
"Guys, big news! That clown Buggy… he's been defeated!"
"Huh?!"
…
Buggy's defeat might not have made waves in the Grand Line, but for anyone in the East Blue who knew his true strength, the news was absolutely shocking.
Marine Base, Loguetown.
A white-haired man with two cigars jutting from his mouth stood frozen, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Buggy the Clown was defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates?" Smoker growled.
"Dammit! I was supposed to be the one to catch him!" He took a deep drag from his cigars.
"Does this Straw Hat crew really have that kind of power?"
Beside him, a bespectacled Marine, Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, studied the newspaper.
"Captain Smoker," she said, pointing to a detail in the report. "It says here they used 'allied forces' and 'strategy.' I doubt their strength is anywhere near Buggy's. Capturing them should be easy."
Smoker let out two streams of smoke.
"Doesn't matter who they are," he declared. "If they're pirates, they get brought to justice."
Just then, Tashigi answered a call on a Den Den Mushi.
"Captain," she said, her voice filled with frustration. "HQ has denied our request to mobilize against Buggy!"
"What the hell are those bastards in Marineford thinking?!" Smoker roared.
"They didn't give a reason, sir."
"Bastards!"
"Captain Smoker, what should we do now?" Tashigi asked.
Smoker took another long drag.
"Forget what HQ thinks. Have our men keep an eye on Buggy. If he steps out of line, I'll deal with him myself. In the meantime, track the Straw Hat Pirates. We need to be ready to capture those villains at a moment's notice."
…
Meanwhile, Ray, Luffy, and the others had no idea their bounties had gone up again.
They had already landed on Syrup Village.
An hour earlier, they'd met a boy with a long nose named Usopp, who tried to convince them he was the captain of a pirate crew with 80 million men.
Ray, Zoro, and Nami just stared at him.
Only Luffy and Chouchou believed him.
Ray briefly regretted saving the little dog. Its intelligence was clearly on par with a husky's.
Now, the four of them and the dog were eating at a small restaurant.
Luffy asked Usopp if he knew where they could get a ship.
When the mansion on the hill was mentioned, Usopp panicked, made up an excuse, and ran off.
Ray knew Usopp didn't trust them yet and was afraid they'd cause trouble for his friend, Kaya.
But to get a ship and recruit Usopp, who knew a thing or two about repairs, Ray knew what he had to do next.
He had to deal with the butler at that mansion—the man who was secretly the pirate Captain Kuro, plotting to kill Kaya for her family's fortune.
Just then, Usopp's three little followers barged in to confront them.
In the end, Ray, the others, and the three kids all ended up heading toward Kaya's mansion together.