"Are you dead? Are you dead?" He picked up a branch and poked Buggy in the red nose. "Hey, Red Nose, Big Nose, are you awake?"
— Who are you calling Red Nose? Are you looking for death?
Buggy's conditioned reflex kicked in as soon as he heard "Red Nose." Overcoming the pain, he stood up resolutely.
Buggy couldn't bear to hear people calling him Red Nose. Even in a deep coma, he would have been shaken from his stupor. The situation was absurd. After a brief burst of anger, Buggy's reason prevailed again, and their eyes met.
— (─__─) — Rodney.
— -_-# — Buggy.
The atmosphere instantly froze, awkwardness hanging in the air.
- Let's stop fighting and run quickly!
Buggy's body shattered into dozens of pieces, flying in all directions. The pieces didn't have time to fly far before they reassembled in the forest, forming a floating body minus two legs.
"My legs!" Buggy saw through the foliage that his legs were trapped under Rodney's.
Now that was a problem. Buggy's ability to tear himself apart was useless when it came to his legs. He couldn't fly, and his body couldn't be too far away from them.
- Fortunately, my uncle's abilities are invincible here.
Buggy, being invulnerable to blows, wasn't worried about the fate of his legs. He needed to find a way to get them back and save the crew. Despite constantly mocking the crew, Buggy cared about them.
Rodney looked at his trapped legs and smiled. Knowing that hacking at him was useless, he didn't bother using ninjutsu. He pointed at the remaining team members and said,
- Take the unconscious man to the boat, and then...
He turned to Buggy, smiling evilly and looking him in the eyes.
— What the hell is this guy up to?
Buggy hadn't yet memorized the information about Rodney, but he felt it was best not to mess with him. So he decided to wait and watch.
Under Rodney's threat, Buggy's crew obediently carried the unconscious men to the pirate ship. The way Rodney continued to stand on Buggy's feet made it clear he wasn't going to let him go. This irritated Buggy.
- How long are you going to trample on me?
Being crushed was unpleasant. At that moment, Rodney began to stir, kicking Buggy's legs one after another until he sent them flying onto the pirate ship.
"Not good! Wait..." Buggy couldn't control his body and was flying along with his legs. Any part of his body could disappear, but his legs had to stay in place.
"Launch the boat," Rodney commanded.
Frightened by Rodney's strength, the pirates obediently sailed away. They were cursing inside, but didn't dare show it outwardly. Buggy remained hanging behind the boat. While Rodney wasn't paying attention, he quietly climbed aboard.
"What's going on?" Buggy asked one of the crew members.
"I don't know, Captain. This guy wants us to sail to the nearest Marine detachment. What should we do, Captain Buggy?" asked a crew member.
The Buggy Pirates' greatest fighting power lay in Buggy himself, who wielded a Devil Fruit. Such men were rare in the East Blue. They always obeyed their boss.
Buggy thought for a moment and said:
"Let me think, but first you have to give this guy his legs back." He had to give him his legs back, otherwise his abilities would be limited.
"Here they are?" the hand extended two legs on one side.
Buggy took them without thinking and said with a smile:
"Yeah, that's what I need! You've done well, kid. I'll make you one of my team..." He put his legs on and smiled, his red eyes flashing.
Buggy: (⊙x⊙;)
- Hello, Captain Buggy.
"Kid, you... I remember those eyes. Are you that famous pirate hunter, Red-Eyed Rodney?!" Buggy shouted the nickname Rodney didn't want to acknowledge. "You bastard, are you already aiming for me? Damn it!"
The veins on Rodney's forehead stood out, but he was still smiling.
"Captain Buggy, call me Doombringer Rodney. I didn't mean to catch you, but now it looks like I'm sending you all to Loguetown, the city of beginnings and endings. It suits you just fine, doesn't it?"
Buggy's body trembled and cold sweat ran down his forehead.
— You... Could it be that you...
- Oh, I have a special intelligence system, and I know your personality very well.
"You... What do you want?" Revealing the crew's identity as members of the Roger the Pirate could have attracted the Marines, and his abilities were beyond their capabilities.
Rodney smiled slightly.
- I need to know this.
He punched Buggy, knocking him to the ground. Buggy, about to use his body-splitting ability, suddenly felt a cold sensation in his wrist. Then his entire body weakened, and he fell to the ground.
- It... It could be...
"Well, these are seastone handcuffs. Don't even think about escaping. I'll send you all to Loguetown one by one," Rodney declared.
He looked at the crew member who was eating a melon and said:
— What are you staring at? Why don't you sail away? If you don't sail away, I'll throw you into the sea to be eaten by the sea kings!
- Yes, yes!
The crew quickly got down to business.
"Well, the scenery here is quite pleasant. You might as well just stay here," Rodney said, turning his back on Buggy.
Even though Buggy's body was weakened, that didn't mean he didn't have a backup plan. Seeing Rodney's back turned, Buggy took the opportunity to activate his "Buggy Special Balls!"
A tiny cannonball erupted from the soles of Buggy's feet and hurtled toward Rodney at high speed. Reacting quickly, Rodney turned and drew his White Light Chakra Saber, infusing it with Thunder Elemental chakra.
He pierced the special buggy balls with his blade.
Boom!
Even though Rodney managed to cut them, the special balls still exploded. The powerful blast sent him flying. Buggy couldn't help but burst into laughter.
— Gyahaha! After you ate Uncle Buggy's special ball, you're definitely done for, right?!
Rodney's body flew out of the pirate ship, but instead of sinking into the depths of the sea as Buggy expected, he landed on the surface like a floating rock. He stepped onto the water and stopped.
His clothes were torn, his skin was burned in many places, his face was covered in soot, and his hair was singed.
Buggy: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
- This is a monster!
"How can he be alive after he got a special ball from Uncle Buggy?!" Rodney hissed, his eyes burning with fire.
He watched Buggy, whose life hung by a thread. Rodney felt anger and fear tangle in his chest. What should he do? Prepare to meet Captain Roger? But the treasure hadn't been found yet!
He cursed himself for using the special ball Buggy's uncle gave him against Buggy.
"Well done! You're something else, Buggy!" Rodney muttered through clenched teeth.
Pain pierced his body, but he activated his healing chakra, causing his palm to emit a cold light. A light that healed wounds, regenerated cells.
"What... What do you want? Don't come any closer!" Buggy retreated, but Rodney caught him, pulling a steel wire from his pocket. One end of the wire was attached to the seastone cuffs, the other to the ship's railing.
"Wait, you didn't mean to..." Buggy stammered, but Rodney interrupted him:
- That's exactly what you thought.
He threw Buggy overboard, dragging him along with him through the water.
"Gululu... Hold on... Gululu..." Buggy dragged himself along behind the ship, now floating to the surface, now sinking into the depths. He felt powerless, deprived of his abilities, resentment choking him.
"Keep an eye on him every half hour. This boy must not die. If you neglect your duty, or if I find out you brought him back, the same fate will befall you," Rodney ordered the group of pirates standing nearby. He laughed, and a shiver ran down their spines.
- It's clear!
Poor Captain Buggy. He was faced with spending days at sea, eating, sleeping, and enduring like an ordinary man who might otherwise perish in these conditions.
Rodney was careless. He didn't expect Buggy to be attacked so surreptitiously. The pain from the burns on his body lingered for days, and it would take even longer for his hair to regrow.