The crew of Luffy, Bamia, Sonson, Draco, Ben, Zoro, and Kuina were sailing on their boat. As they did Draco went over to check the food storage.
"We should get to a new island soon before we run out of provisions."
"How long before we reach a new island?" Zoro asked.
"We're gonna need a navigator if we're gonna find any good places," Ben said as he took out a compass and checked it. "My compass can only help so much."
Luffy nodded. "Ben's right! We can't just sail along with the wind and waves or we'll never reach the One Piece."
"Are you telling me the guy who wants to be King of the Pirates can't even navigate properly?" Zoro asked incredulously.
"It's not as weird as you think, I'm only the captain. If Gol D. Roger was able to navigate on his own, he wouldn't need a whole crew." Luffy pointed out. "The point of a crew is to do all the things a captain can't. I can't navigate, I can't cook, I'm terrible with supplies, I don't like guns so I don't know how to fire one. Without a crew, I wouldn't last ten days in the Grand Line."
"None of us would!" Sonson added. "And Draco, Ben, and I are also the captains!"
"But Luffy, he's the top captain of this merry crew," Ben said. "He's the one who aims to be King of the Pirates, after all."
Bamia turned to Kuina. "Say, Kuina. Why did you and Zoro decide to become bounty hunters in the first place?"
"To have an excuse to travel the world and fight the toughest opponents. We set out to sea to find one particular man. But in the process, we lost track of our small village, so we became bounty hunters in order to make a living."
Luffy grinned cheekily. "So you're as lost as we are."
"Don't put it like that!" Zoro snapped, stamping his foot.
The boat started to rock suddenly and Luffy's straw hat flew off his head. The boy panicked but Zoro was able to grab it before it flew overboard.
"Sorry about that."
"Thanks. This hat represents a promise I made to someone. His name was Shanks." Luffy said.
"Wait, Red-Haired Shanks?!" Kuina gawked. "One of the Yonko?!"
Luffy smiled. "He happened to visit the town me, Bamia, and Sonson lived in when we were young."
"Shame I never got to meet him in person," Ben muttered. "Draco has met him on account of being the son of Whitebeard."
"I wonder how Uta is doing though..." Bamia said thoughtfully.
"Say, I kinda forgot, what happened to that Higamura guy?" Sonson asked.
"The Sea King coughed up his bones a few days later. We hung up in a cage as a warning to the other bandits, and they never bothered the island ever again." Luffy explained.
"Hark, I see floaters ahead!" Draco alerted everyone as they saw three pirates on a capsized dingy.
"Might as well pick them up. They might know where the nearest island is." Zoro said.
As the pirates got on the boat, they pulled out their swords on the crew.
"Listen up! We're crew members of Buggy the Clown! This boat is ours now!"
The seven looked at each other, as if they had heard something incredibly stupid….and then, with smirks on their faces, proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of the three pirates.
"This boat is ours. Now where's the nearest island?" Zoro demanded, beating a now pouting Ben to it.
"W-We'll tell you! We'll even row you there!"
"See, there was no need for violence." Ben cheekily said, a bone settling back into his body,
"Says the one who loves fighting almost as much as me." Sonson smirked.
"Just problems on top of problems..." One of the pirates grumbled as he and his mates began rowing. "If Captain Buggy finds out a girl stole our boat and treasure..."
"Who's this Buggy you keep talking about?" Kuina asked.
"That name sounds familiar..." Draco muttered.
"You guys never heard of Buggy the Clown? He's one of the most feared pirates in the Blue Seas!" One of the pirates said. "He ate one of the Devil Fruits and now commands a fearsome crew over five dozen strong with some of the deadliest officers any captain could ask for. His ship, the Big Top, is docked at the island we're heading for right now. I'd wager the nearby town is a ghost town at this point, with every villager hiding from him."
"I always did like clowns..." Ben hummed to himself.
"Uh...where did Luffy go?" Sonson suddenly asked.
Everyone quickly began looking around to see where Luffy had gone, only for Zoro to spot him hanging from the beak of a giant bird that had flown overhead.
"Seems he wanted to grab a quick bite and got more than he could chew." Sonson cackled in spite of it all.
"THAT BONEHEAD!" Ben cried out.
"Luffy..." Bamia sighed.
Draco then turned to the Buggy pirates, his arms now crackling with lightning and steaming from heat.
"Row. Now."
And they did just that.
-OP-
Meanwhile, on the island, Nami was running from a group of pirates with a map clutched in her hand.
"Get back here, you wench! That's our map of the Grand Line! We'll be killed by one of the captain's cannonballs if we lose it!"
"Well sucks to be you!" Nami called back. "I have greater needs than you do!"
However, the bird that had picked up Luffy was blasted by a cannonball, sending the rubber boy right down near Nami and slamming into the ground.
"What the heck was that?!"
Luffy picked himself off the ground, no worse for wear.
"Man, who's shooting cannonballs at me out of nowhere? At least I wound up on the island. Guess I'll just have to wait for the others to show up."
Nami just stared at Luffy in shock. Running into him again was one thing, but the fact that he had somehow survived a fall that had to be hundreds of meters was just beyond belief. Then she realized this was the perfect opportunity.
"Boss! You came to save me!"
Luffy looked over from Nami to the pirates that had been chasing her.
"Right, you head off. I'll handle these losers."
"You got it!" Nami said cheerfully as she ran for it.
"Hey, she's getting away!" A pirate with scars shouted.
"Relax, we still got her boss here." A pirate with a bandana said.
"I think you guys got it backward. I'm the one who's got you." Luffy said with a grin.
"You think you can take us, punk?!"
The scarred pirate punched Luffy, which did nothing due to his rubber body. But it did send his hat flying off his head. Angered, Luffy punched out the scarred pirate with one blow before catching his hat and putting it back on.
"Don't touch my treasure!"
The other two pirates charged him, but Luffy just pulled back his arms to stretch them.
"GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
His stretchy punches slammed into the two pirates, knocking them out. Nami, who had climbed up to the roof of the nearby building, was shocked at what she saw. Luffy took notice of her and climbed up to where she was.
"We keep running into each other….Nami, right?" Luffy asked.
Back at the boat
Bamia and Ben tensed, smiled…and then deflated.
"Why did he have to be so simple?" Bamia asked.
"…Idiot." Ben sighed.
The others looked on in confusion and shock, but Draco smiled.
"They must have senses Luffy failing at flirting." He mused.
"Oh, they have like…twin telepathy or something?" Kuina asked.
"Not exactly…." Sonson said, not sure how to explain it. "And in Ben's case, we think its cayuse he and Luffy think similar…"
Back in town
"Why were you running from those guys?" Luffy asked.
"Long story short, I'm a thief who steals from pirates!" Nami declared. "So, looks like you got split up from your friends…You wanna team up until you find them again?"
Luffy thought about it. On one hand, he'd be teaming up with a cute girl who had definite skills. On the other, she hated pirates, which he was aiming to become king of, so he couldn't ask her to join right off the bat, that'd be rude. Then again, Bamia would be happy he was interacting with a girl beyond solely friendship….
See, THIS is why he kept things simple! No mental gymnastics!
"I dunno if you'd want to team up with me, I'm a pirate, after all." He finally said.
"Well, you sure don't seem like one. At least not like the ones I've dealt with in the past." Nami said. "Actually, I could use your help with something."
-OP-
Meanwhile, in a large tent, Buggy the Clown himself was starting to get annoyed.
"They haven't caught our thief yet?"
"The Superhuman Domingos are already after her, Captain. They should be tracking her down before long." One of his crew members said.
"Good, but how did our map get stolen so easily in the first place? And after all the trouble we went through swiping it from the Marines. I was hoping to use it to return to Paradise on the Grand Line and go on a rampage."
"You want to find the One Piece?"
Buggy shook his head. "Hardly. I'm nowhere near Roger's level. But you haven't answered my question."
"Well, it turns out someone left the shack unlocked. We're trying to find out which idiot did that as we speak." The crew member explained. "But regardless, something like that meant that any of our foes-"
"WHO HAS A FAKE NOSE?!" Buggy snapped defensively.
"Foes, not nose!" The crew member clarified. "You know I'd never be so stupid as to insult your appearance, Captain!"
Buggy took a deep breath. "You better be. You know how I get when someone makes fun of my nose."
He then turned to check on his special 'guest'; a larger but elderly looking man with tanned skin in what looked like a four legged walker. He was in the tent next to Buggy's, with a clean bed, desk and papers, along with several small little models for inventions and a lovely looking meal.
"Still can't believe we found a New World scientist all the ways out her in East Blue.." Buggy mused to himself. "I hope you're comfortable, doc?"
The man turned and glared at the Clown pirate.
"My daughter will come back, Buggy." He promised.
"And I should worry about a little girl, why?"
"Haven't you ever wondered why Dr. Vegapunk demanded I be left alone?"
"…Brainiacs stick together?" Buggy guessed.
"…Well, not inaccurate." The man mused. "But no. But if you let me go, you'll stay ignoramnt."
Buggy laughed at that.
"And lose a bargaining chip and or genius like you in my midst! Like I said, you build me one, just one, Anti-Devil fruit or Anti-Haki device and you're free to go. Til then, I'll keep you living good but under watch….Pietro Polendina."
-OP-
Nearby, Nami and Luffy were sneaking around the town before entering one of the houses, which was completely empty.
"Where did everybody go?" Luffy wondered.
"Buggy and his crew scared them off. I was here getting a map of the Grand Line from him. But I got caught and chased by some of his men." Nami explained.
"Why are you stealing from anyone? Let alone pirates." Luffy asked. "That kinda thing is dangerous."
"It's because I need to get 100 million Berris for or something very important. I figured stealing from pirates would be the fastest and most moral way of going about it since pirates are criminals and tend to be loaded with treasure." Nami replied before looking at the map she had. "I figure a trip to the Grand Line will easily get me the money I need. And this map will help me navigate it."
"So you're a navigator?" Luffy asked.
Nami smirked. "You bet, and I'm one of the best!"
"That's perfect! My crew needs a good navigator!" Luffy beamed. "If you need money, I'm sure you could get plenty joining up with us."
A year ago, Nami would have flat-out refused to sail with a pirate crew. But she had come to realize that Luffy wasn't like other pirates. So she was now seriously considering the offer.
"I still have some obligations to finish. But I think I wouldn't mind sailing with your crew at least." Nami admitted before looking out the window and seeing the three pirates that had been chasing her before looking around. "Ugh, these guys are persistent, I'll give 'em that. You knocked all three of them for a loop and they're still trying to track us down."
Luffy nodded. "Yeah, looks like we'll have to do something about Buggy before leaving, but his crew is bound to be stronger than the last pirate crew I faced. So we'll need to buy time for my own crew to arrive. That should even the odds."
"I've actually got an idea, but it's kinda dangerous."
-OP-
"How did three of my best crewmen lose one lousy thief!?," Buggy demanded, angered when the Domingos came back after saying they lost Nami.
"Sorry, Captain! Her boss showed up out of nowhere and flattened us. By the time we recovered both of them were gone." The scarred pirate said.
Now Buggy was a lot of things, but he was also a captain who was good at reading his crew. Besides the fact that the Domingos had no trace of deceit in their voices, Buggy could see the imprint of a fist on each of their faces, which all looked identical save for one of them having it on the opposite hand. There was nothing to suggest they punched each other to make up an excuse.
"If this guy was tough enough to defeat you there's no point sending you back out. Wait for the report on the investigation of the shack where we had the map, and dole out punishment as needed." Buggy sighed in annoyance. "I'll send one of my officers to search for the thieves instead."
"No need, Captain. The thief came back on her own, with another guy tied up." Another member of the crew said as he came over.
Shocked, Buggy came out of his tent. Sure enough, Nami was approaching with a tied-up Luffy.
"Well, this is a surprise. The way my boys tell it, this guy was your boss." Buggy said. "Decide to turn on him to save your own skin?"
"Well, you seemed so determined to catch us, I figured there was no point running anymore. Also, I made sure to bring your chart back." Nami said.
"I appreciate the gesture," Buggy said as he took the map back. "Though why decide to turn on your boss?"
"We had a fight earlier about whether to fight or run. So I got fed up with him. Thought I'd join your crew instead."
Buggy's narrowed his eyes for a bit, but then just laughed in a good-natured manner.
"I like your sense of style, lady! A woman like you is welcome to join my crew anytime."
Nami relaxed. She wasn't sure if Buggy would buy the fib she just told. Luffy, for his part, kept a neutral face as he was locked inside a cage. He knew he could break out at any time using his rubber powers. Nami had deliberately tied him up in such a way that it was easy to undo.
"So, missy, I don't think I caught your name."
"It's Nami."
Buggy chuckled before turning to his crew. "Boys, let's hold a welcome party for our new crewmate Nami here! Break out the good booze and let's make this a flashy one!"
The entire crew cheered in excitement. As everyone was drinking and eating and enjoying themselves, Nami kept her eyes peeled for the right moment to swipe the map back. And perhaps snatch Buggy's treasure horde while she was at it.
"Let's really ramp up the flash!" Buggy called out after finishing his mug of rum. "Prepare TWO of the Special Buggy Balls!"
"What's the target, Captain?" the gunner asked.
"The other side of the island!" Buggy declared. "We'll celebrate in style with pirate-class fireworks!"
The crew cheered in agreement. The cannon was loaded with the red cannonballs emblazoned with the Buggy Pirates' Jolly Roger.
"So, what's going on here?" Nami asked.
"Just watch," Buggy smirked. "Alright, boys, light it up!"
Nami realized the cannon was aimed such that the Buggy Ball would blast through half the town. However, the real damage came from the explosion the Buggy Ball left in its wake, leaving almost nothing as it blasted across the island.
However, the second Buggy Ball never landed.
It just…vanished.
'…Too close.' The person responsible, covered by a hood, mused. 'But, based on the trajectory angle…at least I now know where Daddy is!'
And they then leapt upwards, moving behind the remaining buildinghs as they made their way to their destination.
-OP-
"What the heck was that?" Draco wondered.
"The captain must have fired off one of his special Buggy Balls! I feel sorry for anyone caught in that blast."
However, Ben couldn't help but notice the figure that had stopped the second Buggy Ball. His eyes were transfixed as it danced through the air before flying back down, green flames emitting from its feet, and upon closer inspection, butterfly wings coming out of its back that seemed to be made of glimmering jade crystal.
"Hey, you okay?" Kuina asked.
"Sorry, I was distracted," Ben said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
-OP-
"Now that's flashy. With the power of both these Buggy Balls and my Devil Fruit, I can rise to power in the Grand Line." Buggy chuckled. "A shame that old man's daughter is still being a goody-two-shoes."
"So you're heading for the Grand Line too?" Luffy asked. "Sorry, but I'm the one who's going to be King of the Pirates."
"King of the Pirates, huh? Well, you'll be happy to know that's not actually my goal." Buggy laughed as he knelt down to the cage. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I used to be part of Gol D. Roger's crew as a cabin boy back when he was sailing the Grand Line. Even laid eyes on the One Piece itself. If you hope to fill his shoes, kid, then you'd better know how big they really are."
"You've got a funny-looking nose," Luffy said bluntly and to the point. "Is that real?"
Buggy blinked before grumbling in annoyance.
"Okay, you obviously haven't met me before so I'll let this slide once. But yes, this nose is real. I've had it since I was born."
"And where were you born?"
"Outer space for all I know!" Buggy replied, throwing his hands up in frustration. "I've never met anyone with a clown-like visage like I have in my entire time sailing! Ain't that crazy?"
"Well, if you're a killer clown from outer space, where's the nightmare merry-go-round?"
Buggy and his crew whirled around to see Ben sitting on a cooler with a bottle of cherry soda in hand as he chugged it down before wiping his mug and throwing it over his shoulder.
Nami stood in shock as the entire crew looked at Ben like he had three heads and six arms. Buggy shook his head to get out of his stupor before pointing forward.
"Men! Give this interloper a flashy death!"
Several pirates charged at Ben, who was about to retaliate, only to be surprised when Nami pulled out a segmented staff and knocked the pirates away.
"What kept you!? I was half-worried they'd make me shoot at Luffy or something! Or maybe fill up his cage with water and have him drown!"
"Eh, the compass was on the fritz." Ben shrugged as he showed the compass in question. "Let's all have a bit of fun!"
Zoro leaped onto the roof they were on and slammed two of his swords into a few more pirates with the flat of the blades. Kuina soared down in her full bird form and struck a pirate into the air with her beak.
"BANZAI!" Draco shouted, having transformed into a large gorilla form, and slammed down. "BANANA SLAMMAH!"
"We're here to rescue you!" Sonson laughed as she jumped off several of the pirates' heads.
"Glad to see the crew's all here!" Luffy smiled. "No need to stay locked up anymore!"
The pirates were all stunned as Luffy easily slipped out of the ropes, and then slipped right through the bars of the cage.
"Wait, aren't those the pirate hunters Roronoa Zoro and Shimotsuki Kuina?!" One of the pirates called out.
"Why are they here of all places?" Buggy asked in confusion. "Here for my head or something?"
"Oh, we're not here as bounty hunters anymore. We decided to try our hands as pirates instead." Zoro said.
"But that doesn't mean we won't put you down!" Kuina added as she drew her twin swords.
Buggy just smirked and pulled out a couple of daggers.
"Let's just put that to the test, shall we?"
The clown pirate dashed forward, but Zoro and Kuina swiftly leaped at him and sliced him apart. However, Buggy continued laughing as everyone noticed his cut-up body parts were floating around.
The sight was bizarre, to say the least. Not only had Zoro seemingly bisected Buggy by the waist, but his right leg and left arm were completely dismembered. Buggy smirked as said arm started to come up behind Zoro, only for Kuina to notice and turn one of her arms into a wing and swipe it, sending out flaming feathers to make it dodge out of the way and avoid her friend.
"What the heck's going on with him? Is he immortal like the rumors say?" Nami asked.
"Well, to call me immortal would be an exaggeration," Buggy admitted as he pulled most of his body together. "But thanks to the Chop-Chop Fruit I ate, blades at the very least can't kill me."
"So that's what your Devil Fruit is, huh? Seems kinda lame..." Sonson said.
"You'll find my Devil Fruit isn't to be underestimated!" Buggy snapped. "With its power, I'll give you all a flashy death and WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING WITH ONE OF MY BUGGY BALLS?!"
Sure enough, Luffy had grabbed one of the Buggy Balls and loaded it into the cannon, now aimed right at Buggy's tent as he grinned at Nami.
"Care to get some payback?"
Nami was confused for a second, then realized what Luffy was implying and smiled. She got out a match and lit the fuse, freaking out the Buggy Pirates. The cannon fired, blasting the tent and burning up the Jolly Roger. As the Buggy Pirates scrambled to get out of the way, Luffy and his crew plus Nami hurried off.
"You guys are nuts, you know that, right?" Nami pointed out.
"That's the thing about pirates, we don't do things based on the whim of a single madman, but on our collective madness," Ben smirked. "What about you? What sort of madness drives you to be a thief?"
"Well, a pirate crew killed someone very dear to me, and then they took over our island. If I want to free the islanders I need to pay the pirates' captain 100 million berries." Nami explained. "Ever since that woman was taken from me, the only things I've cared about are money and tangerines."
"Then you need to find something else to care about, or paying a ransom is going to be the least of your concerns in life," Zoro said.
"I also found this poor old man. Looks like Buggy was keeping him hostage." Draco said as he was helping carry Pietro.
"Thank you…thank you." The man managed, half from shock of the Buggy Balls and half from the suddenness of his rescue; even if he was used to Devil fruits, it was still a shock to see so many in one place.
"Here." Sonson said, offering the old man some juice, which he graciously excepted as he saw Nami and Luffy examining his walker.
"Bulit that myself. But please don't touch. Anyone but me or my daughter gets shocked."
Nami lurched back; as impressive as this was, getting shocked? Not worth it!
"Oh, that;s fine with me! I'm made of rubber!" Luffy beamed, missing the intrigfued look on the old man's face.
"Really? So, the World Government did lose it after all…" He mused, then spied he was being looked at. "Oh, sorry! Been stuck with circus clowns for a weak, not used to speaking to actuial people. My name is Peitro Poledina, and…
"OOF!"
Ben grunted as he suddenly crashed into somebody and fell on top of them. Pietro's eyes widened as he recognized who it was while everyone stopped.
"Penny, so good to see you're okay!"
"Penny?" Ben asked before looking down to see a smiling girl underneath him and quickly jumped off with a cry of alarm.
"Sal-u-ta-tions!"
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Yup, Penny Polendina from RWBY is here! I told you before that there would be crossovers in this! Wonder how things will turn out for the rest of Orange Town from here!
What say you, Mrotrax?
Mrotax A/N:
Great work as usual, buddy!