Buggy growled as he held the remains of his Jolly Roger.
"To burn another pirate crew's flag is a declaration of war. Mohji! Cabaji!"
A man with a beard that made him look like a koala approached with a large lion. Next to them was a man with green and black striped hair.
"You called us, Captain?" Mohji asked.
"Find the bastards who dared to threaten my crew and humiliate me!" Buggy ordered, "I want Zoro's head on a platter and Nami brought to me alive for punishment. Dump the rest into the ocean."
-OP-
"Salutations, once again!" Penny waved to the assembled gang.
"My, she's cheeful." Kuina mused with a smile. "Nothing like you, Zoro."
Zoro said nothing.
"This is my daughter, Penny." Pietro explained with a smile. "My pride and joy, first of her kind."
Those words made Penny look down at her feet in shyness.
"…A story behind you, I guess?" Sonson asked.
"I…I'm not a real girl." Penny said, prepping a speech.
"Could've fooled us!" Ben mused. "You speak, you care, you're adorable and brave…You're as real as Bamia, Sonson, Nami and Kunia, friend."
Penny stiffened and looked at Ben.
"…What did you call me?"
"Um…friend?" Ben asked, confused as the others were. "Is…is there a problem there?"
"You really did call me 'friend!'" Penny asked, as if she was shocked at that. "Am I…really your friend?"
The response was instantaneous.
"Sure!" Luffy beamed.
"No doubt." Bamia smiled sweetly.
"Absolutely!" Sonson grinned.
"Of course." Draco bowed,
"…I guess?" Kuina shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" Nami smiled.
Penny's face turned into a beaming grin.
"SEN! SATIONAL! I've never had friends before!
"..That is sad." Zoro said, only to be bonked on the head by Bamia, Nami and Kuina.
"HAVE SOME TACT, MORON!" They snapped, but Penny didn't seem to have registered what Zoro said, as she kept speaking:
"Now we can tell stories, go on adventures and talk about crushes like the boy in the bandana!"
"Eh?" Ben asked, pointing to himself. When no one else responded, he did it again. "EH? EEEEEH?! ME?! A crush?!"
"I ain't wearing my bandana." Zoro mused
Ben then smiled and gave Penny a bow
"Well, I must say I am most flattered a lovely being such as yourself fancies me. If and you'd let me, my colleagues and I would be delighted to escourt you and your father back home."
It didn't take a genius to realize that Ben was smitten with Ben, and the crew smiled knowingly as they realized all of them saw this.
'Well, he DID say I could tease…' Luffy pointed out.
But before anyone could react, they found themselves in front of a pet food store, with a small white dog standing guard.
"Hello, Chouchou!" Penny smiled as she petted the dog on the head.
"Pietro! Is that you?!" An old man's voice called out. "Ah, thank goodness! When those pirates kidnapped you last week, I feared the worst!"
Pietro smiled as he recognized the man. "Ah, Boodle! I see you decided to stand guard along with Chouchou, eh?"
"For the most part, yeah," Boodle said as he noticed the crew. "And who are your friends? I doubt they're with the Buggy Pirates."
"Got that right. If anything, I'm pretty sure he wants us dead right about now." Nami said.
"Boodle here is the mayor of Orange Town. He's been kind enough to help shelter me while I tried to find a way to rescue Father." Penny introduced the old man. "I've been protecting this town for the last week ever since Buggy and his crew arrived."
"So what's with Chouchou here?" Luffy asked, "Kinda weird for a dog to be just sitting in front of a random store like that."
"He's not just standing in front of a random store, He's guarding this shop. The owner's a good friend of mine, you see." Boodle clarified. "Sadly, he's not with us anymore. I've been taking care of Chouchou in his place."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Penny realized as she hurried inside and a few minutes later, came back out with some food for Chouchou, who began to eat.
"The owner...was he a victim of Buggy's attack?" Kuina asked.
Boodle shook his head. "No, Hocker died three months ago, long before Buggy even laid eyes on this island. He died of illness while in the hospital. And poor Chouchou, well he's now guarding the shop in his master's absence."
So he's been waiting for a master that will never come home?" Draco asked sadly.
"A lot of people think the same thing, but Chouchou's a smart dog. There's no doubt in my mind that he knows his master's dead. But this shop was Hocker's treasure, and Chouchou considers it his treasure as well. So he keeps it safe, in memory of his beloved master." Boodle said. "I've tried to get him to evacuate after Buggy's attack, but he just won't budge."
Sonson's eyes were already watering as she sniffled, Ben wiping a stray tear from his eye and putting a hand to his chest in respect. Luffy and Bamia both looked thoughtful while Pietro bowed his head with his eyes closed in sadness.
However, the group was shaken out of it when something caused the ground to rumble followed by a sudden roaring.
"Oh no! That's Beast Tamer Mohji!"
He quickly made his way for cover, Pietro giving Penny a worried look but she simply nodded toward him as he headed off along with Nami. The rest of the group soon found themselves staring down a large lion.
"Looks like one of your friends deserted you," Mohji taunted as he stepped out from behind his pet.
"I'm pretty sure anybody would run and hide at the sight of a ferocious lion." Ben sarcastically pointed out. "You must be Mohji, this here your friend?"
"Indeed, his name is Richie."
"I gotta say, that's a very expressive haircut." Bamia noted as she looked at the 'ears' on Mohji's head. "Are you secretly part Mink?"
"No, this is just an aesthetic choice!"
"Wow, Buggy's whole crew is one big circus." Draco chuckled.
Mohji sneered. "You're acting so nonchalant in the face of my good buddy here. You clearly don't know about my great skill. There's no animal in this world I cannot tame!"
"Well, I bet you can't tame Chouchou here," Ben said, crouching down and petting the dog. "He's only loyal to one master, even if said master has since ascended from this plane of existence."
"We'll see about that!" Mohji laughed as he held out his hand to Chouchou. "Shake!"
Seconds later, Luffy, Draco, Ben, Sonson, and Kuina were laughing as Mohji tried to get Chouchou to stop biting on his hand. Zoro also couldn't help but chuckle and Penny was giggling to herself.
"This is who Buggy sent to try and kill us? I'm actually insulted." Kuina said after finishing her bout of laughter.
"Richie! Get 'im, boy!" Mohji ordered before looking at the pet food store. "And after that, go ahead and raid that store for your lunch. I'm sure you must be hungry by now."
Richie leaped at the group only for Draco to let out a growl as his body changed via the power of the Kaiju-Kaiju Fruit, becoming robust and reptilian in nature with grey scales and a glowing blue dorsal fin that looked like it was made of crystal. His height also increased until he matched that of his father, Whitebeard.
"BEAT IT, SIMBA."
With a swing of his tail, Draco sent Richie flying, much to Mohji's shock while Boodle, Pietro, and Nami watched nearby in awe.
"He knocked out that big lion in just one shot!"
"These guys are monsters. Maybe they can help me with..." Nami began silently muttering to herself.
"I have to ask, my dear. Why did you come to this town?" Pietro asked Nami, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Well, I actually came here to rob the Buggy Pirates. And these guys..." Nami began to say before Luffy suddenly popped up beside her.
"We just wound up here. We didn't have a real reason to show up. Plus we needed to stop by somewhere to resupply anyway. This was just the closest island we could find." He then smiled at Draco. "Anyway, Draco's got a handle on that animal guy. We can leave this to him."
Chouchou was watching, remembering all the good times he had with Hocker. Helping him move inventory, eating together, playing together, and even bathing together. Chouchou did indeed realize that his beloved master had died, having heard it while guarding the shop. But it had been Hocker's last request, so there was no way Chouchou would let anyone damage the treasure they shared. And now here was this man, who could transform into a mighty titan, and definitely wasn't from the town, willing to stand and fight some monster trying to break into the store and eat everything.
"This store is a treasure shared by a lone dog and his late master. There's no way you're touching it!" Draco declared.
Mohji just stared at his pet lion, incensed that anyone would dare hurt Richie, much less be able to.
"You... Just what sort of monster are you!?"
Draco smirked. "I am a man who defied the rule of Devil Fruits! I ate THREE of them and lived to tell the tale! It is thanks to the souls of my siblings who died at birth who hold them inside me, protecting me from beyond the aether!"
"As for you..." Ben said as blood began pooling out of his hand and coalescing into a sphere. "We have no sympathy for someone eager to destroy someone else's treasure."
Mohji could barely react as Ben threw the blood sphere, which glowed brightly before exploding like a bomb, sending the animal tamer flying, knocked unconscious.
Chouchou walked up to Draco and nuzzled his leg as he turned back to normal. Draco chuckled and knelt down to pet Chouchou, with Nami looking amazed.
"These guys really aren't like other pirates. They hate causing destruction and even try to stop it."
Boodle was looking at his old friends shop with a smile on his face.
"Looks like it's still intact, Hocker. I hope you can see it from wherever you are."
"I'm sure he can, my friend," Pietro said as he moved up beside his fellow elder.
-OP-
"So Mohji was beaten by those punk kids?" Buggy said.
"I'm afraid so, Captain. They took out both Mohji and Richie with just one blow each. Neither Zoro nor Kuina even lifted a finger to do anything."
Buggy scoffed. "That straw hat kid has some crazy strong friends with him. Now I think he might be just as dangerous. He was able to slip out of the cage, after all. We can't risk it. Gather up all the Buggy Balls! We'll blow this whole damn town to smithereens!"
-OP-
"So, who else do you think Buggy will send after us? Sooner or later we'll have to fight him directly." Sonson asked.
"How are we supposed to beat him, though? That Devil Fruit of his makes him impossible to cut apart." Nami pointed out.
"Indeed, he is even able to move his pieces to avoid certain blunt force," Penny added.
"We'll find a way to give him a beating." Luffy grinned. "If there's a will, there's always a way!"
Meanwhile, Boodle was feeling angry at himself. "Here I am unable to defend my town while Chouchou and these young'uns fight so hard. I'm the mayor, damn it! I shouldn't just sit by and watch our town get obliterated!"
"Calm down, Boodle," Pietro said gently, putting a comforting hand on the mayor's shoulder.
"Forty years ago this island was nothing but a barren rock. But we all worked together, cleared the land, tilled the fields, opened stores, and built this town one building at a time." Boodle said, tears streaming down his face. "Orange Town is our treasure. Not just mine, but every citizen who lives here! I can't let those damn Buggy Pirates domineer over it anymore!"
Just then, they heard the sound of a cannon going off. Penny gasped and, much to everyone except Pietro's surprise sprouted the same jade crystal wings that Ben had seen when the rest of the crew had first arrived in town as green flames emitted from her feet as she took flight.
"She's that girl...!" Ben realized in awe.
"FAIRY GUN: WINTER SEASON!"
Penny unleashed a massive torrent of green and black crystalline bullets that pierced the Buggy Ball, causing it to explode in mid-air. The force caused her to fall down but Ben quickly punched the ground and created a skeleton hand to catch her.
"Careful there, love. You don't want to bruise that beautiful face."
"The trajectory...that Buggy Ball would have hit my house!" Boodle said in shock before clenching his fist in anger. "That's all I can stand! I'm not about to let some random scum destroy our forty years of hard work! I will protect this town!"
He grabbed his spear and was about to head out but Nami and Pietro stopped him.
"Whoa there! There's no way you can beat Buggy!"
"I have to try! Even if it's reckless, there are some fights a man cannot run from!"
And with that, he broke free of Nami's grip and ran off.
"We should probably make sure he doesn't get himself killed," Zoro noted, Kuina nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm really starting to like this old guy. He's a man who knows what a real treasure is." Luffy said.
Nami sighed. "In for a Berri, in for a bushel. I guess. And we do still need to get that map of the Grand Line."
-OP-
Buggy clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw Penny displaying her power in stopping the Buggy Ball.
"That damn brat must have a Devil Fruit herself...either that, or Pietro put some really good upgrades inside her."
"Should we load a second round?" The gunner asked.
"Buggy! Come on out and face me like a man!"
Buggy looked over to see Boodle standing below, spear in hand.
"I am Mayor Boodle of Orange Town! And I've come to protect our treasure, this very town!"
Buggy couldn't help but chuckle. "The old man's got guts, I'll give him that. He would have done well on my old captain's crew. Too bad he doesn't have the strength to go with it."
He popped off his hand to strangle Boodle, only for Sonson to leap in and slam her Ruyi Jingu Bang down on it, pinning it to the ground. Surprisingly, it turned out Buggy could still feel pain from his dismembered body parts. He looked down and saw everyone else had also arrived.
"Miss us?" Ben asked with a smirk.
"Like a bad hangover!" Buggy called back.
"We're here to kick your ass out of town! No one gets away with destroying another man's treasure!" Luffy declared.
"You kids..." Boodle said, shocked at seeing the group of nine help him out before shaking his head. "Listen, this is my fight. You young'uns are just outsiders."
"You should just accept the help. Risking your life for what's important to you is fine and all, but it's pointless if you dying is just going to result in your treasure's destruction anyway." Bamia said. "I'm sure the other villagers don't want to have to spend another forty years rebuilding everything from the ground up."
Boodle was shocked by Bamia's words but had to admit she had a point.
Buggy grimaced as he managed to retrieve his hand, flexing his fingers to make sure they weren't broken before looking up to see Penny approaching him, green flames emitting from the corners of her eyes.
"Thought you were…" Buggy started, then his eyes widened in shock. "Wait…A Zoan?!"
"Indeed!" Penny beamed as she flew upwards, almost invisible, butterfly like wings coming from her back as flowers bloomed midair and bright lights bounced around her. "I have consumedthe Fae-Fae Fruit, a Mythical Zoan which gives me the powers of a Nature Fairy."
The others' eyes widened.
"Another Mystical Zoan, eh?" Draco mused,
"Wait, didn't you say those are rarer than even Logias?" Sonson asked, getting a nod. "..So, how the heck did one get all the way out in the East Blue?"
"Oh, it was just a little something I came across some time ago." Explained Pietro. "Didn't even mean to give to Penny; but it just…disappeared in front of her and then she showed off her powers."
As Penny was doing right now, flying and evading many attacks while changing whatever hit her into flowers, water droplets or shiny rocks, all with a smile on her face.
"Ain't she amazing?" Ben swooned,
"Hey, Big Nose!" Luffy suddenly called out.
That got every member of the Buggy Pirates' jaws dropping in absolute shock at Luffy's audacity. Buggy recovered first and grit his teeth.
"You damn brat...FIRE THE BUGGY BALL!"
Luffy grinned as the cannon was fired, taking in a huge amount of air to blow himself up like a balloon.
"GUM-GUM BALLOON!"
Buggy was shocked when Luffy's rubber body cushioned the Buggy Ball and stopped it cold.
"Well, I'll be damned! Does every one of your friends have a Devil Fruit?!"
"Like hell I'd eat one of those!" Nami called out.
"I don't need one to master swordsmanship," Zoro stated. "Kuina doesn't really need to use her own Devil Fruit either. She's strong enough without it."
Kuina shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, I ate it by accident. Still, doesn't hurt to have some style, at least."
Luffy then bounced the Buggy Ball right back, blasting the roof the Buggy Pirates were on. Most of the crew was taken out as a result.
"I highly doubt that would take out Buggy." Sonson noted.
Ben nodded. "Indeed, a Captain doesn't go down that easily, after all."
Sure enough, Buggy pulled himself out of the rubble, still alive but looking very angry.
"Not gonna lie, I can respect a man who tries to take me out flashily. But as a captain, I can't abide you causing harm to my crew." He then turned to the rubble. "Hey! You bastards better be alive, you hear me?!"
"Urrrgh...what the heck just happened?" Mohji groaned as he got up first. "Something took out the crew?"
"That straw hat kid from earlier. Turns out he's tougher than he looks." Buggy explained before turning to Luffy. "Just what kind of Devil Fruit did you get?"
Luffy grinned. "The Gum-Gum Fruit! Thanks to it, I'm a Rubber Man!"
"Can't say I've ever heard of that one. But just from the name it's clear why you were able to bounce back my Buggy Ball." Buggy said.
Mohji was digging through the rubble and managed to pull out Richie, who happened to have fallen on Cabaji.
"This is the biggest insult we've suffered since we first hoisted our flag. Luckily Richie falling on me kept my clothes from getting dirty." Cabaji groaned as he picked himself up.
"Good to see you're still awake, Cabaji. Mohji! How's Richie doing? Can he fight?"
Mohji looked over his beloved partner, but the big cat was down for the count.
"No good, Captain. He's alive but I don't think he's getting up anytime soon. Looks like I'm useless in this fight."
"Okay, then get the rest of the crew to the ship. Me and Cabaji will handle these four." Buggy said. "Cabaji, it's time to show them while they call you Acrobat!"
Cabaji smirked as he leaped into the air, swords drawn. He landed riding a unicycle, juggling the swords the whole way.
"Is your whole crew just one big circus act?" Nami asked incredulously.
"When you start up a crew looking like I do, you might as well run with the theme. Sometimes the only way to get people to take you seriously is to let them laugh at you." Buggy said.
"You know...he's got a point." Ben said.
Cabaji raced at Luffy, only to get blocked by Zoro and Kuina's swords
"If you're a swordsman, then your fight is with us."
"The chance to clash with the famous Pirate Hunter Duo? It would be my honor to accept!" Cabaji grinned. "ACROBAT TECHNIQUE: OLD MAN ARSONIST!"
He launched a stream of fire from his mouth but Kuina was able to sprout her bird wings to block the blow and assimilate the flames into the feathers, which began glowing brightly. However, Cabaji quickly adapted and moved to kick Kuina in the side, making her stumble back as he made a move for Zoro.
"Seems to me you're not a real swordsman. Just a dirty cheater." Zoro noted as he blocked Cabaji's attack.
"Sometimes, you gotta improvise your act!" Cabaji smirked as he dug his sword into the ground. "ACROBAT TECHNIQUE: MURDER AT THE STEAM BATH!"
He started spinning his sword around to kick up a dust cloud. He tried to use it to strike at Zoro and Kuina, but the duo easily blocked the attack.
"Cheap tricks can only get you so far in this line of work," Kuina said as she transformed into her full hybrid form, flapping her wings and holding her swords in her talons. "If you're going to use acrobatic attacks, at least make sure they use actual acrobatics."
Kuina then flew forward and struck with her swords, which heated up as she transferred the heat she absorbed early to them.
"CROSSFIRE SLASH!"
Cabaji barely managed to dodge Kuina's attack but he grit his teeth as a searing pain cut through his shoulder, the swordswoman having managed to nick him there with her superheated blades.
Draco then noticed Buggy was only focusing on the fight. Subtly he poked Nami's shoulder, letting her know now was a good time to steal whatever she wanted from the pirates.
"Make sure you don't lose. There's a favor I'd like from you guys later." She whispered.
She quickly slipped off into a nearby alley. Penny noticed and moved to try and follow her, but was stopped by Ben, who shook his head.
"That mistress is on a mission, I say. Best let her complete it."
Nami snuck into the basement of Buggy's base. Inside was a locked door. Smirking, she took out her staff and struck off the lock, which was already busted from the blast earlier. Needless to say, she was near-orgasmic when she saw the large pile of gold Buggy had stashed.
"So much treasure! And now it's all mine!"
She then noticed a sword being pointed at her. Turned out one of the pirates had come to and spotted Nami's lamp.
"Just what do you think you're doing with our treasure?"
Luckily for Nami, the guard was completely drunk and more focused on his empty bottle. She quickly curled up in a ball, pretending to be hurt. The guard looked down, which got him a decent look at Nami's modest cleavage. The guard was so distracted that Nami was easily able to knock him out for real. She then noticed the ring of keys around his neck. One which opened the chest containing the chart Nami was looking for. Her eyes lit up when she unfurled it.
"Here it is! The map of the Grand Line!"
Meanwhile, Zoro had gotten tired of Cabaji's circus tricks and had ended the fight right then and there with his technique known as Oni Giri.
"You know I had him first, right?" Kuina pointed out as she turned back to human form.
"It was taking too long."
"Well, who wants to take Buggy then?" Ben asked. "Any takers?"
"Let me and Bamia have this one!" Luffy grinned.
"This won't be a fair fight..." His sister commented.
"Looks like I'll have to finish this myself." Buggy scowled as he drew his daggers.
"I think I recognize you now, actually." Draco noted. "Weren't you part of the Roger Pirates?"
"So someone else has actually heard of me?" Buggy asked before turning to Luffy. "And that straw hat you're wearing...Something about it just irritates me! Last time I saw a hat like that, it was being worn by that cheeky red-haired man!"
"Hold on... Do you know Shanks?" Luffy asked in surprise. "Do you know where he is right now?"
Buggy scoffed. "Hardly. We haven't been in contact for years. Not that it'll matter to you in a few minutes! I'll be killing you right here and now!"
"Kurukurukurukurukuru..." Bamia let out her emotionless laugh. "You'll find me and my brother are a lot stronger than you think."
"Most Devil Fruit users are," Buggy pointed out, revealing a couple of blades built into his shoes, "But every Devil Fruit has its weakness. Like how rubber can easily stop kinetic energy, but can still be cut apart by blades."
"Then how about mist?" Bamia asked quietly.
"CHOP-CHOP RICE CRACKER!" Buggy shouted after winding himself up, leaping into the air while sending his lower body spinning.
"TEKKAI!" Luffy shouted as he hardened his body while Bamia let the attacks phase through her effortlessly.
Buggy was shocked as he stopped his attack and recollected himself.
"So you seem to know Rokushiki...and your sister has a Logia." He realized. "Looks like I underestimated you."
Bamia suddenly moved, her body low to the ground like a snake as she delivered a finger strike to Buggy...but only managed to punch out a hole in him that he quickly retracted back to smack her forehead, making her stumble back and give him some room.
"I've had years to master my Devil Fruit! Not to mention I've gotten such a high bounty that plenty of would-be hunters have tried slicing me to ribbons, giving me plenty to work with." He then aimed his fist with the daggers between the knuckles. "CHOP-CHOP CANNON!"
Luffy barely managed to dodge the high-speed hand, but then noticed his hat had gotten knocked off. To his shock, it had been slightly torn from the blades. Bamia noticed this and immediately began to back away.
"Oh, he's done it now!" Draco said. "Damaging Luffy's hat is a great way to get yourself killed!"
"How so?" Penny asked curiously.
"That hat was given to him as a gift by the legendary Red-Haired Shanks himself, milady," Ben explained. "It's his treasure and anybody who dares threaten that treasure has earned themselves a right beating."
"You bastard! This hat is my treasure! Anyone who damages it will pay!" Luffy snapped angrily.
Nami happened to be returning with the bagged-up treasure when Luffy said this.
"Wow, I didn't think there was anything that could phase Luffy. That he was just a happy-go-lucky guy with romantic dreams of being a pirate. Guess he's more human than I thought."
Buggy, however, simply looked amused.
"So your hat is that important to you, is it? Then you should protect it better!"
His severed hand lifted up behind Luffy to throw a dagger at him.
"SORU!"
Buggy gasped as Luffy seemed to disappear in an instant, only to reappear right behind him.
"You've done enough damage already," Luffy said coldly as Buggy spun around, his jaw dropped and his eyes white with fear. "This is the hat that Shanks and I swore over!"
"Wait... Are you saying that's Shanks's hat?" Buggy asked, snapping out of his terrified state. "I was wondering why it seemed so familiar. He was given that hat by our captain shortly before we sailed into the Grand Line, just as Roger was starting to come into his own as a legendary pirate."
"That's right, Shanks used to sail with Gol D. Roger..." Draco realized.
Buggy chuckled. "It's funny, we used to be bosom buddies. We were just two young cabin boys brought into a world of adventure. Even after all this time, I wouldn't say no to sharing a drink with him."
However, Buggy didn't realize that Bamia had teleported with her Mist Gate and struck him with a palm strike before he could react, dealing a heavy-hitting blow and causing his head to fall to the ground next to his fallen body.
"Someone like you couldn't possibly deserve to be comrades with Shanks!" Luffy declared, "Not when all you do is cause mayhem and destruction!"
"Time has a funny way of changing people, kid. Back then Roger wouldn't suffer any chaotic pirates on his crew." Buggy coughed as he reattached his head.
"Then what happened?! Why do you suddenly hate Shanks so much?!" Luffy demanded.
Buggy sighed in annoyance. "I'll tell you. But I guarantee you'll think it's petty and stupid. The reason I hate Shanks so much... Has to do with how I got my Devil Fruit powers in the first place."
"Wait, I think Uta told me about that." Bamia noted, all eyes turning to her as she regailed them with what she could remember. "When they were apprenticing under the Pirate King, they came across a haul that included a map to a treasure…I want to say Captain Jon's…and a devil fruit. Buggy ate the fruit…"
"Huh." Draco noted. "Oh, sorry! Just…on dad's crew, if you find a devil fruit you get to eat it. Odd that Roger never cared…Sorry, continue."
Bamia did just that.
"…But apparently the fruit was a dud, or so the crew thought. Then Shanks came looking for Buggy who had kept the real fruit to sell…"
"Wait, you can sell Devil fruits?" Nami asked, suiddenly invested.
"Oh yeah, they go for millions of Berri, easily!" Luffy noted, missing the berry sign in Nami's eyes.
"They're also incredibly rare in the blue seas, lass." Ben cut in, deflating Nami's dreams.
"May I finish?" Bamia asked, annoyed.
"Sorry."
"Thank you…anyways, Buggy planned to sell the fruit to finance a treassure hunt, and he swallowed the fruit to cover up his tracks in shock."
…
…
…
"….T-t-that's it?" Sonson asked.
"Essentially." Bamia nodded.
"…And now I see why Roger never cared for Devil fruits." Draco noted.
"Sounds like it was just an accident. So why hold such a petty grudge?" Penny asked.
"See, I knew you'd think it was stupid!" Buggy snapped, veins popping in his head and his face turning red "That treasure could have set me for life and let me retire peacefully. Something I could have used after everything I went through in the Grand Line. Admittedly, suddenly gaining Devil Fruit powers did prove useful on plenty of occasions, which is why I'm not so mad that I've blocked out all the good times we used to have. And even if I wasn't able to obtain the treasures of the sea, I figured I could settle for obtaining any treasure I could find on land instead."
"Really, then why is a certain orange-haired lady making off with your ill-gotten gains right now?" Ben sarcastically pointed out.
Hearing those words, Buggy just now noticed Nami sneaking off with the bag containing all his loot, and suddenly saw red.
"Get your hands off my treasure!"
He split off his upper body and dashed at Nami with his blades at the ready.
"Oh, crap! Little help here, please!" Nami called out.
She ran off as Buggy tried to chase her. But Luffy was busy wondering why Buggy left behind his lower body where it was completely vulnerable. Just as Buggy closed in on Nami, he froze in midair, his voice squeaking and his eyes completely blank. Nami was confused.
"What just happened?"
As it turns out, Luffy had just slammed his foot right into Buggy's crotch, just hard to cause pain without crushing his unmentionables. Buggy's upper body dropped to the ground.
"How could you...?" he choked out, his voice still squeaky. "I'm not even in a position to bend over and hold them..."
"Don't take your eyes off the fight next time." Bamia pointed out.
Buggy grumbled as he started to pick both his halves up before splitting himself into multiple pieces, flying all over the place.
"CHOP-CHOP FESTIVAL!"
"Just how many people have tried chopping him up?" Sonson asked.
She then noticed Buggy's feet walking on their own instead of flying with the other pieces. She then smirked and took her Ruyi Jingu Bang and slammed it into his foot, making him yelp as he hopped up and down in pain.
"Knock that off!"
"How about you knock it off?!" Nami called out, slamming the treasure bag right into Buggy's head.
He grinned as he managed to grab the bag using his dismembered hands, prompting a tug of war between him and Nami. Buggy tried to launch his hands with blades in them, only for Luffy to kick Buggy's head right into the ground. All of his parts wound up dropping to the ground in an instant.
"You really need to refocus your priorities. Money can always be regained, so it's not a real treasure." Luffy said. "A real treasure is something that's irreplaceable."
Buggy growled as his head floated off the ground. "Alright, Straw Hat. You want me to focus on the fight. Well, you're gonna wish I stayed distracted!"
He pulled himself together, but something was wrong. Somehow only his hands, feet, and head wound up together. Draco couldn't help but laugh at the sight, and it wasn't long before Zoro, Kuina, Ben, Sonson, Penny and Boodle began laughing as well. Nami grinned as she finished tying up the rest of Buggy's parts.
"Consider this my contribution."
"Nice job, Nami! Now to finish this!" Luffy grinned as he stretched his arms back. "GUM-GUM BAZOOKA!"
He let fly with both stretched arms, slamming his palms into Buggy and sending him flying over the horizon.
"Looks like Buggy the Clown is blasting off again!" Sonson called out.
The rest of the Buggy Pirates had started to recover and were watching in shock as they saw their Captain be defeated.
"Well, all's well that ends well. And we got the map, plus I got a ton of treasure." Nami said.
"So why don't you all beat it and we'll call it even, savvy?" Ben told the Buggy Pirates, who promptly fled.
"Shoot, that reminds me. The rest of the townsfolk were waiting for me this whole time." Boodle realized.
"Where are they all?" Zoro asked.
"At a campsite, we set up to wait until Buggy's crew moved on. I told them I had to go feed Chouchou."
"Penny and I had arrived here last week, wondering why the townsfolk were away from the village," Pietro said as he came over. "Well, we sure got our answer when Buggy captured me."
-OP-
After the villagers learned it was safe to return, Boodle offered the budding crew a larger boat.
"This is the largest schooner we have. Should be enough for you and all your supplies."
"Thanks for your help, Mayor Boodle. A shame this town isn't big enough for a full-sized ship." Sonson said.
"You might be able to find what you need at the Gecko Islands," Boodle suggested. "The archipelago has several skilled shipwrights and likely even a few large ships for sale."
Nami sighed in frustration. "That means I'll need to give up a little of the treasure to help us along."
"Well, a fool and his money are soon parted." Bamia simply said.
Boodle smiled fondly. "Thanks for everything you've done for us. I was prepared to die defending my town, but you made that unnecessary. You restored the hope we've built up over the last forty years. Whatever the world may say about you, you'll always be considered heroes here in Orange Town."
"Awww g'wan!" Sonson gushed.
Off to the side, Penny stood by her father, who had just been informed a Marine vessel was coming to pick them up. He was grateful, but then he saw his daughter's sad smile.
"…Penny?" Peitro said, getting her attention. "..I think you should go with them."
Penny's eyes widened.
"Daddy…i…I mean…I can't! Who'll help you around the lab? Keep you safe?"
Peitro smiled sadly.
"My precious little girl. I had a feeling you'd want to see the world. I knew you would. Being stuck in my lap all day in and out…only books and lectures? That is no way to live. And…I will worry about you, I am your father. But I also know you and these pirates will always have each other's backs…which is less than I can see for the Navy and World Government, sadly. What father wouldn't want that for his little girl?"
Penny's eyes watered and her lips quivered. She then spied her father looking behind them to see the others standing there, Ben with an outstretched hand and another holding a hanky for Penny's tears,
The fae girl looked back at her father, who simply smiled and said:
"Go on."
And with a hug and whisperings of 'I love you', Penny accepted Ben's hand and cleared away her tears before smiling again.
"Room for one more, friends?" Penny asked as Ben helped her in.
"Always!" Was the universal response, Bamia and Nami helping Penny sit down with them, Sonson and Kuina.
Draco shot a look to Pierto and saw much of his own father in him; a proud man letting go, but wishoing nothing but the best.
"We'll keep her safe, as little as she may need help." He assured the scientist as he turned into a giant snake like creature and dove under the water to push the boat off the port.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today will be the day you almost caught Sparrow D. Benjamin!" Ben declared as the schooner set sail, Penny waving her father goodbye.
"Take care, Old Man! Let Chouchou know we say goodbye!" Luffy waved to Boodle.
Boodle smiled and nodded as Pietro gave a wistful sigh as he watched his beloved daughter sail with her new companions.
"Those kids have a bright future ahead of them. I just hope nothing causes it to dim."
Knightmare Lord A/N:
We have our first crossover crew member, the lovable Penny Polendina who deserved so much better than what Rooster Teeth gave her!
Of course, if you know One Piece, then you'll know this isn't the last we've seen of Buggy. And this time, he'll be learning from his mistakes when the time comes!
Anything on your end you'd like to say, Mrotax?
Mrotrax A/N:
Nothing too much on my end, hope everyone liked how we introduced Penny! Took inspiration for her and Pietro's final goodbye from Disney's Tarzan, and Draco, for you Kaiju fans, turned into Manda at this chapter's end.
See ya soon!