Not long ago, on a seemingly unremarkable island in East Blue, a group of pirates were sweating as they wielded shovels and pickaxes, digging vigorously into the rocky ground below.
“Put more effort into it! There’s definitely treasure down there! The treasure map can’t be wrong!”
A man with a red nose was flying in the sky, directing the men below him.
This was Buggy the Clown, captain of the Buggy Pirates, with a bounty of 10 million Berries. As a former apprentice of the Roger Pirates and once close friends with Red-Haired Shanks, the disparity between his bounty and Shanks’ 3.6 billion Berries was clear.
No one would have guessed that this man, searching for treasure in East Blue, had such powerful connections. Even Whitebeard remembered his unmistakable red nose.
The way he was flying was unusual, as his body flying in the sky didn’t have feet; his two feet were still on the ground.
This was Buggy’s use of the Chop-Chop Fruit, which allows him to split his body into several pieces.
He was immune to slash attacks from sharp weapons, and the range of his ability was 200 meters, with his feet acting as the anchor point. Beyond that distance, he would lose control of his body.
Apart from his feet, the rest of his body could fly, and at this moment, Buggy was supervising from the sky.
He had many pirates under his command, but their quality…it was more like a sinister circus troupe than a pirate crew.
“Captain Buggy! The ground here is too hard, we can’t dig anymore!”
“Yeah, Captain Buggy, it’s all rock down here! Are we digging in the wrong place?”
“Huh? Are you questioning my ability to read a treasure map? Get back to digging… NOW!”
Buggy’s hands detached from his arms and grabbed one of his crew members by the collar. Thanks to his Chop-Chop Fruit ability, Buggy was practically invincible in the East Blue.
As a professional treasure hunter, there was no way he could have misread the map.
Just then, a News Coo flapped its wings and flew over. Seeing Buggy in the sky, it approached him while carrying newspapers.
To the News Coo, Buggy seemed like an excellent customer—he had even learned to fly up to get the newspaper.
Noticing the News Coo passing by, Buggy waved, signaling that he wanted a copy as well.
Though Buggy was a notorious pirate in East Blue, no one, aside from those on the brink of starvation, would dare harm a News Coo.
After placing some coins into the bird’s pouch, Buggy began flipping through the latest news. Sometimes, he could find clues to hidden treasures in the newspaper.
However, what he saw next was something he found it hard to accept.
[The New Emperor of the Sea—Red-Haired Shanks. The Era of the Four Emperors Has Arrived!]
Marines often gave pirates nicknames, but they didn’t typically create new titles for groups. Roger’s title of “Pirate King” came because he reached Laugh Tale, completing a magnificent feat.
The Shichibukai are powerful pirates enlisted by the World Government to maintain balance on the seas, so they were given prestigious titles. As for the initial “Emperor of the Sea” and the current “Four Emperors”, this was the result of Morgans sensationalizing events to grab attention.
Buggy often read the newspaper, but he only looked for things that interested him. After all, as someone who had sailed across the New World with the Roger Pirates, most news didn’t catch his eye.
Moreover, his relationship with Shanks was complicated. In short, he now resented the man who had crushed his dream. So, he hadn’t paid attention to the previous news until he stumbled upon this headline.
“Four Emperors… That b*stard Shanks ruined my treasure-hunting dream, and now he’s already made it this far!”
Buggy was so furious that he seemed to be splitting apart, and in fact, he did just that. His body in the sky kept splitting apart and recombining, performing all sorts of incomprehensible movements. A wanted poster tucked inside the newspaper fluttered down, leaving his subordinates below utterly dumbfounded.
“Captain Buggy! Are you alright? Is there something special in today’s news?”
“3.6 billion… That’s terrifying! Is this what the monsters of the Grand Line are like? But why is Captain Buggy so worked up? Does he know this big shot?”
“Mind your own business! Just hurry up and dig out that treasure!”
Hearing his crew refer to Shanks as a “big shot” further fueled Buggy’s rage.
Overcome with complicated emotions, Buggy joined the digging himself, channeling his emotions into physical labor. After their relentless effort, they finally managed to break through the rock layer, creating a hole. Suddenly, a black liquid started flowing out.
“Captain Buggy, there’s some weird liquid coming out! It’s not the gold you were talking about!”
“Impossible! The treasure map clearly said there’s gold flowing beneath this spot. Bring the cannon over! Blast it open! Let me show you the power of my newly developed Buggy Ball!”
Previously, he wasn’t sure of the exact location, but now that he had finally dug up the so-called treasure, it turned out to be nothing more than some unknown black liquid. Lacking Shanks’ kind of luck, Buggy decided to vent his frustrations on these things. As for the result…
“Wow, as expected from Captain Buggy! The Buggy Ball is insanely powerful!”
“Yeah, it blew up the whole mountain!”
“Quit daydreaming, you idiots! Now think about how we’re going to go down there!”
The Buggy Ball, a custom-made cannonball by Buggy, packed immense power. However, the explosion wasn’t entirely the Buggy Ball’s doing. Buggy had made a critical error in translating the treasure map. It mentioned “liquid gold,” but that didn’t mean literal gold.
The islands across the seas vary greatly in their stages of development, from prehistoric civilizations to futuristic technologies. The island Buggy’s map led to happen to be from the era of the Second Industrial Revolution. For them, oil was just as valuable as gold.
But Buggy hadn’t realized this, leading to the current chaotic situation.
Meanwhile, on Onigashima, Olga’s emotions were quite complicated as she stared at Shanks’ picture, who had now firmly established himself as an Emperor of the Sea.
“That little brat has grown up so fast.”
Shanks had already gained quite a reputation before, but in this post-Roger era, the Four Emperors were undoubtedly the peak of pirates. And let’s not forget, Kaido was also one of the Four Emperors.
Watching Shanks become someone on par with her own captain stirred up many emotions in Olga, especially since she had defeated him before.
“The times have changed, Olga. But isn’t it pretty good now?”
“Yeah, I suppose. But Elizabeth, have you heard anything about that red-nosed guy?”
“Red nose?”
“Yeah, the one who used to hang around the Red-Hair. Now that he’s an Emperor of the Sea, his friend should be doing pretty well too, right? Strange, I don’t seem to have heard anything about him.”
Pirates in the New World constantly gather intel to keep up with who’s doing well recently. But no matter how much she tried to recall, Olga couldn’t remember any information about Buggy.
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!