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"Just like Luffy?"
"Chop-Chop Fruit?"
Nami and Zoro asked in unison.
Nami looked over at Luffy.
He grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out like rubber, saying, "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit. I'm a rubber man."
Nami thought: What even is this monster?
So Bai Ye had no choice but to give them another crash course on Devil Fruits.
Then he answered Zoro's question.
"Yep, Buggy ate the Chop-Chop Fruit. He can split his body into pieces at will. That's why slashing attacks don't work on him—people think he's immortal."
"Sugoi! That sounds awesome!"
Luffy's eyes lit up like a kid hearing about superpowers.
"He's immune to slashes?" Zoro's expression turned serious. He couldn't help thinking: if they fought, how would he beat someone like that?
This ability was practically a swordsman's worst nightmare.
"You actually know all this stuff?" Nami was stunned Bai Ye even had this kind of info.
"It's not that hard to figure out. I've just... seen more stuff than most people."
Bai Ye first said this to Nami, then looked at Luffy and Zoro:
"Since Luffy's already made the call, let's get going. Next stop—Orange Town Island."
Orange Town was an island in the East Blue.
About forty years ago, pirates burned it to the ground. The people rebuilt the town from the ruins.
Now, thanks to their signature orange crops, they were living peaceful, laid-back lives.
Until that day—a pirate crew arrived.
"We're finally here? Man, I'm so bored."
Luffy sprawled across the deck, totally lifeless. A guy like him, who thrived on adventure, couldn't stand the dull days of sailing.
"If it weren't for Miss Nami, we probably would've taken way longer to find this place."
Bai Ye also walked to the front of the ship, looking at the island ahead with a sigh.
If they hadn't run into Nami by chance, he really would've asked the 153rd branch Marines for help.
After all, they were the ones who told him where Buggy's pirate crew was.
"Hey, look over there. That pirate ship... that's gotta be Buggy's."
Zoro stood at the front, pointing to a ship flying a clown-themed skull flag.
It was the Big Top, Buggy the Clown's infamous ride.
Bai Ye nodded, then suddenly turned to Nami:
"Nami, wanna come ashore with us?"
"Eh?"
Nami blinked, caught completely off guard. "Who cares what you think? I'm not going anywhere!"
"Oh yeah?"
Bai Ye rubbed his chin and said:
"Well, I was thinking—if you helped us collect some of Buggy's treasure, we could give you a cut."
"EHHH?! Then please take me with you!!!"
The second she heard treasure and reward, Nami's eyes turned into literal Beli signs.
"Hahaha! Then let's move out."
And just like that, they boarded Buggy's pirate ship.
Luffy knocked out a few guards without breaking a sweat, and the gang started their treasure hunt.
Luffy, of course, rushed straight into the kitchen—not that he had any idea what treasure hunting actually meant.
Nami couldn't wait and shot off toward the treasure room.
Zoro? He wasn't really into sightseeing. Back in the day, he might've gone hunting for booze, but now that Bai Ye had the good stuff, all the cheap swill on this ship didn't interest him.
In the end, Zoro just wandered into the armory, hoping to find a better-quality sword.
Bai Ye watched them all walk off, then turned and entered a different room.
The most important room on the whole ship—Buggy the Clown's private quarters.
Buggy was, after all, a 15 million Beli pirate.
Compared to Alvida's ship, Buggy's captain's quarters absolutely blew it out of the water.
In the original story, Buggy always came across as this lucky scam artist. But there was something about his status that just never felt right—it always gave off a weird vibe.
So Bai Ye decided to check out the captain's cabin to see if he could dig up any secrets.
The room was pretty basic. Aside from a bunch of messy everyday stuff, there were treasure maps—loads of them. No telling how many of them were actually real, though.
After rummaging around for a while, Bai Ye didn't find any Grand Line charts…
But he did find a notebook filled with some pretty serious info.
No, not a diary. Who writes diaries these days anyway?
This notebook actually had training methods for Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
Bai Ye couldn't help being surprised.
He didn't know how to use Haki himself, but just from reading it, he could tell this was written by a real master.
And judging by how unwrinkled the pages were, it looked like Buggy barely even opened the thing after getting it.
What a waste of a treasure!
Bai Ye shook his head and flipped to the last page. One glance—and his pupils shrank a little.
Because the final lines were written loud and clear:
In this vast world, laughable dreams will guide your way forward.— Gol D. Roger
Wait... this notebook belonged to Roger?
Bai Ye muttered to himself, his eyes lighting up. "Now this is one hell of a gift."
After searching the room one more time, Bai Ye walked out and regrouped with the other three.
Nami had this huge bag slung over her back, looking like she was glowing with happiness.
Zoro was holding a sword—probably something he'd found on the ship.
As for Luffy… well, he looked stuffed. Bai Ye even wondered if Luffy had eaten literally everything edible on the ship.
"Looks like you guys didn't find the sea chart either, huh?" Bai Ye said, glancing at Zoro and Nami.
They both silently shook their heads.
"Huh? We were looking for a sea chart?"
Luffy finally caught on, then clapped his hands together. "Kitchen didn't have it either, but the meat was awesome!"
Bai Ye: ...
Zoro: ...
Nami: ...
BOOM!!!
Right then, the sound of explosions rang out in the distance.
Smoke was rising over the small town in the middle of the island.
"Those are Buggy's bombs," Nami said, suddenly remembering something. "There's a rumor that Buggy can make bombs with insane destructive power."
"Then he's probably in town right now," Bai Ye nodded. Of course, he knew those were Buggy's homemade Buggy Bombs.
"Alright, let's go!"
With Luffy's usual enthusiasm, the four of them set off for the town.
Orange Town wasn't rich, but thanks to its tangerine trade, the people lived pretty well.
But a town without any Marine presence and decent wealth? Of course it was gonna attract pirates.
A few days ago, one of the most infamous pirates in the region showed up—Captain Buggy.
At first, he didn't do anything after the townspeople handed over a good chunk of treasure.
But then something unexpected happened—Buggy said one of the kids had called him "red nose."
And he lost it.
No matter how much the townspeople tried to explain, he wouldn't listen. In fact, he threatened to blow up the entire town.
Luckily, the mayor acted fast and led everyone into the mountains behind the town, so no one got hurt.
Meanwhile, as the four of them headed toward the source of the explosions, they passed by ruined houses engulfed in flames, all bombed to bits.
No one said a word.
This was what a real pirate looked like.
"....."