Buggy the Clown—A man who embodied both absurdity and outrageous luck!
Though he had once been a mber of Pirate King Roger's crew, he never possessed the overwhelming talent or commanding presence of his fellow apprentice, Shanks.
On top of that, his Devil Fruit stripped him of the underwater prowess he once took the greatest pride in. Then ca Roger's death, Shanks's apparent cowardice, and a series of unforeseen upheavals…
All of it eventually drove the now middle-aged Buggy to willingly degenerate into nothing more than a workhorse pirate scraping by in the East Blue.
But…
A lack of strength didn't an Buggy was worthless.
Even though Red hadn't followed later One Piece developnts in great depth, when he once saw a video by a content creator—where Buggy was being stepped on by "Old Sand," yet still loudly declared his intent to join the battle for the One Piece—
Red couldn't help but be moved.
From a certain perspective, Buggy possessed a "protagonist halo" that was no less dazzling than Luffy's.
Just lying down and winning his way through life, he sohow slept his way into becoming an Emperor of the Sea…
That kind of fortune was truly sothing ordinary people couldn't hope to match.
A great man once said:Unite all forces that can be united.
Red believed this wholeheartedly.
And so, for a pirate as valuable as Buggy, Red preferred to take control of him himself.
After all, a clown wasn't rely a symbol of cody—
Among all the cards in one's hand…
He could very well be the trump card that decided the final outco.
…
…
"Kid, say it already—what kind of cooperation are you proposing?!"
Inside the Buggy Pirates' base, after driving off a crowd of brainless flatterers, Buggy sat at the head seat with his two right-hand n, Mohji and Cabaji, glaring down at Red as he questioned him.
In truth, the sane-minded Mohji and Cabaji had long since realized how dangerous Red was and wanted nothing to do with this conversation.
But under Buggy's authority, they had no choice but to remain.
Opposite Buggy stood a ridiculously styled red reception table.
Fresh fruit, food, and a bottle of sake rested atop it.
Red sat calmly at the table, enjoying treatnt befitting a VIP.
Zoro and Nami flanked him on either side, much like Mohji and Cabaji did for Buggy.
As for the Straw Hat Pirates' actual captain?
That idiot was currently outside, happily brawling with the Buggy Pirates, enthusiastically joining the celebration titled "Captain Buggy Is a Subordinate of the Pirate King."
At this point, he had probably already shoved chopsticks up his nose, performing one of his signature tricks for the crowd.
"Don't keep calling 'kid.' That's pretty rude, Senior Buggy."
Sitting upright, Red smiled faintly and lifted his cup for a small sip before introducing himself.
"You can call Red. That's my na."
"These two beside are Zoro and Nami. As for the weirdo outside…"
Red's tone suddenly shifted, and he sighed deeply.
"As much as I hate to admit it, that guy is our captain—Monkey D. Luffy."
"D!?"
Buggy's brows knit together as he instantly latched onto the key point.
After all, as a forr crew mber of Roger's ship, even if he'd spent years loafing around the East Blue, his knowledge far surpassed that of many powerhouses in the New World.
Seeing the reaction he expected, Red grinned and continued aningfully:
"That's right, Senior Buggy."
"Luffy—like Pirate King Roger himself—belongs to the D. clan, known as the Natural Enemy of the Gods!"
"I believe that as a forr mber of Roger's crew, you understand the weight of that information."
"I do understand it," Buggy muttered, his gaze drifting as if recalling sothing from the past.
But soon, he smacked his lips dismissively.
"So what if he's from the D. clan?"
"Throughout history, countless mbers of the D. clan have appeared on the seas. If you think a na and so bloodline alone can shake the world…"
"Then you're being far too naive!"
"That's true," Red said without refuting him.
But the very next mont, he raised the stakes sharply, flashing Buggy a grin.
"However, Senior Buggy—what if I told you that Shanks never beca Pirate King because he was waiting for Luffy?"
"How would you respond to that?"
"..."
"What did you say?!"
Buggy froze for several seconds before his red-nosed head suddenly detached from his body and flew straight toward Red.
"Brat, you'd better know exactly what you're saying!"
"Don't think that just because you have Devil Fruit powers, you can toy with !!!"
Two white-gloved hands flew over as well, gripping Red's collar tightly.
Clearly, so topics were enough to shatter Buggy's fear and make him stand tall again.
Yet Red simply pushed Buggy's head away in disgust, preventing his saliva from splashing onto him, and said leisurely:
"Of course I know what I'm saying, Senior Buggy."
"After all, I ca here with full sincerity—to invite you and your pirate crew to co under the banner of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Hey! Brat! Don't push it too far!!!"
Even while being held in Red's grip, Buggy twisted his mouth and spat angrily,
"You expect to join so rookie pirate crew that just left the nest?!"
"That's impossible!!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Buggy flatly rejected Red.
If Red hadn't already said things that piqued his interest, this insulting proposal alone would've earned him a knife in the gut.
Yet in the face of Buggy's outright refusal, Red rely smiled calmly.
"There's no such thing as impossible, Senior Buggy."
"Do you rember the day Roger was executed—your falling-out with Shanks?"
"Don't you want to know why Shanks suddenly changed like that… and disappointed you so deeply?!"
"You—!"
Buggy's head snapped around, his gaze locking onto Red's eyes—eyes that looked as though they controlled everything.
"Why do you know about this?!" he asked in a trembling voice.
Red smiled lightly.
"Of course I know."
"Because…"
He slowly raised a finger and tapped the corner of his eye twice.
"I possess eyes that can see both the past and the future."
"..."
Buggy stared intensely into Red's eyes and pressed on,
"Is that… your Devil Fruit ability? Or sothing else?!"
In this world, there were many inexplicable powers.
So ca from Devil Fruits. Others were innate.
So even soone who could see the past and future didn't shock Buggy too much.
What he really wanted was the truth Red held.
Knowing this, Red didn't answer directly. He simply curved his lips upward.
"You can think of it that way."
"In short, Senior Buggy—I know many things about Roger, about Shanks…"
"And about you."
"Do you want to hear them?"
"..."
Buggy's gaze flickered.
After a brief silence, his head suddenly flew backward, reconnecting with his body.
Truth be told, the confidence in this young brat's eyes was overwhelming—so much so that Buggy was starting to believe he really did know sothing.
And when it ca to Shanks, Buggy himself had countless unresolved questions, ones he still hadn't figured out even now.
"I want to hear what kind of nonsense you can co up with," Buggy snorted at Red.
Red's lips curled into an inscrutable smile as he raised his head and said,
"Senior Buggy, I know you've always harbored resentnt toward Shanks—blaming him for making you eat a Devil Fruit and for losing an important treasure map."
"But in truth…"
"The real reason you hate him is because you saw the one most favored by the captain give up his chance to compete for Pirate King—and you felt disappointnt born of unfulfilled potential. Am I wrong?"
"Hmph."
Buggy snorted, neither confirming nor denying it.
But the tension clearly visible on his face showed Red had struck straight at his heart.
At the sa ti, this only reinforced Buggy's belief that Red truly possessed so special ability.
After all, Shanks would never tell anyone these things.
And then, the words that followed made Buggy's heart feel as though it were being viciously squeezed by an invisible hand.
"But what you don't know, Senior Buggy…"
"The reason Shanks made that choice was because he heeded Captain Roger's advice, wasn't it?"
"What did you say?!"
Buggy shot to his feet again, gripping both armrests tightly.
But Red continued regardless:
"The Pirate King Roger—who used his life to usher in the Great Pirate Era—knew very well…"
"That what this world truly needs is not another Pirate King."
"That's why, before his death, he entrusted everything to Shanks."
"And burdened with that responsibility, Shanks spent all these years playing the pirate 'make-believe ga' you speak of—protecting even more weaklings along the way."
"However, Senior Buggy, what you don't know is that Shanks has actually been waiting for an opportunity…"
Red's gaze burned like a blazing sun as it locked onto Buggy. His lips moved slowly.
"An opportunity to completely overthrow the World Governnt and the rule of the Celestial Dragons!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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