Chapter 5: The Clown Showdown
"I am Beast Tamer Mohji, a member of the Buggy Pirates. I'm here to bring you back to Captain Buggy, 11097, along with you're friends Pirate Hunter Zoro and the thief, Nami." The man boasted, sitting tall on his lion.
"That sure is a weird animal suit you got on!" Luffy said to him, taking in the mans strange appearance.
"How rude! This is my hair!" Mohji shouted, pointing to said hair as he did. Luffy only blinked while Nami hid safely behind Zoro and Zoro held onto the hilts of his swords, ready to pull them out if necessary.
"That's even weirder!" Luffy said, his swordsman nodding in agreement behind him while Nami facepalmed. Seriously, it was like these two wanted to die!
"Do you think you can rest easy because you've escaped once? You must not know my terrifying skill! There is no animal in this world that Beast Tamer Mohji can't tame!" Mohji told them as he got off his lion, walking up to a growling Chouchou and crouching in front of him.
"Shake!" He told the dog, holding his hand out expectantly. Everyone watched, expecting the dog to do as such, but it instead bit Mohji's hand, the man freaking out and shaking it in an attempt to get Chouchou off.
Once Chouchou let go, Mohji recomposed himself, standing tall again.
"Your bounty is alive only, but that doesn't mean I can't rough you up a bit. If you hand over Roronoa Zoro and the thief willingly, I'll reconsider, however!" Mohji told Luffy with a grin. The teen frowned at that, crossing his arms.
"No!" He said defiantly, watching as the beast tamers face and emotions changed to that of annoyance.
"Sic 'em Richie!" He shouted, pointing to the three. Nami shrieked in fear and dropped to the ground, covering her head with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut. Zoro unsheathed his swords, ready to fight the giant lion, while Luffy shifted into a fighting stance, lowering his body as the lion's paw descended on him.
Right as the paw came over him, ready to crush him, he put his hands up and braced himself, successfully holding the attack off. The lion blinked in shock and there was a momentary silence as everyone else watched in surprise. Nami peeked her eye open at the silence and was just as shocked as everyone else to see Luffy effortlessly holding off the lion's giant paw.
Shifting slightly, Luffy then pushed the paw up and off of him, knocking the lion off balance. It stumbled back a few feet, stunned, before growing angry once more and lowering its body, getting ready to charge again while snarling at Luffy. Before it charged though, it sniffed the air, eyes drifting to the pet shop behind them.
"Richie! I said get 'em! We can raid the Pet Shop after!" Mohji insisted, a little worried now after seeing Luffy effortlessly block the lion's attack. With a roar, the lion came running forward again, and Luffy let it, stretching his arms forward and twisting them together. Once the lion was within his grasp, he grabbed its head, jumping over it and landing behind it.
"Gum gum Hammer!" Luffy shouted, letting his arms unravel and begin twisting the lion, sending it into the air before landing it face-first into the ground, knocking it out and shocking Mohji.
"W-what are you?!" Mohji asked in fear. Luffy didn't bother looking at the man from where he was still crouched on the ground.
"I ate the gum-gum fruit. I'm a rubber man." He said to him while Nami stared in awe at the straw-hatted teen's strength, shakily standing up.
"A-a former Whitebeard Pirate with a devil fruit power..." Mohji said breathlessly, realizing exactly what he was up against now.
"A-alright! I peacefully apologize to you!" The man shouted, jumping away from Luffy and holding his hands up in surrender.
"You don't need to apologize now. You were going to take that dog's treasure. That's why I'm gonna kick your ass!" Luffy said, turning to face Mohji now with a deceptively calm look on his face. Nami watched on in shock while Zoro put his swords away, seeing the threat was neutralized for now.
Mohji began to back away, but it was useless as Luffy's arm stretched, grabbing his throat and pulling him towards the teen. Once close enough, Luffy used his other fist to punch the man, knocking him out as well and leaving him on the ground. He remained standing there for a minute before holding his hat and turning to face the others. Walking over, he felt Nami begin to grow furious, the woman walking out from behind Zoro and stalking up to Luffy with a glare. Zoro watched with a raised eyebrow, having noticed the angry look.
"Pirates are all the same, every last one! They take what people hold dear without a second thought!" She shouted, standing in front of Luffy now and keeping him from moving forward. Even though she knew the teen was strong, even though she knew he was a notorious criminal, she couldn't feel any of her previous fear as her anger pushed her to confront the man without any preservation for her life.
"As a pirate, you've probably already done the same, and will continue to do so! Maybe I should just call the Marines here right now before you can gather a crew of your own and attack people too!" She shouted, tempted to attack Luffy, but holding herself back, having enough sense to not do that.
"As if they could take me back," Luffy said with no emotion, walking around Nami and right to Chouchou. He sat beside the dog, looking toward where the downed lion and pirate lay.
"Good job, you kept your treasure safe." He told the dog, having noticed when the dog started growling at the lion, not backing down from the fight that could have happened.
"That bastard lion won't be coming back," Luffy told him, smiling widely to him. The dog looked at him for a second before barking once, Luffy laughing. Nami watched in surprise, her anger melting away in an instant and leaving her feeling ashamed of what she'd done, as well as a little fearful.
"Yeah! Good luck to you too!" Luffy told him before standing back up.
"That wasn't much of a fight," Zoro said, noticing that the 'fight' had clearly been one-sided. Not like he didn't expect it though, Luffy was a Grand Line pirate- a Whitebeard Pirate. He knew that meant he was pretty strong.
"That guy pissed me off," Luffy said with a shrug, turning as the Mayor's scent grew stronger, noticing the man was peeking around the corner of a building.
"You're alive?!" The Mayor asked in disbelief.
"Is it wrong to be alive?" Luffy asked in confusion, wondering why the man was so shocked about it.
"You just fought Beast Tamer Mohji and Richie and there's not a scratch on you!" He said as he scrambled over to Luffy, his eyes wide.
"What is your purpose for coming to this town? Why are you involved with those pirates?" He asked cautiously, realizing that Luffy was stronger then he had first thought.
"I just decided our purpose! To get a Grand Line map and a navigator!" Luffy said cheerfully as he grinned to the Mayor. Zoro grinned as well and walked up to Luffy while Nami continued staring, mouth agape. She hesitated, realizing that she had insulted the teen without realizing that he'd fought the lion for the sake of the dog rather than himself. Unlike everything she'd ever known about pirates, Luffy had done something for someone else rather than himself.
Walking over, she frowned, looking to the ground.
"I'm sorry," She started, Luffy looking at her in confusion, feeling her shame and regret.
"Huh?" He asked her, wondering what she was apologizing for.
"I shouldn't have yelled at you..." She elaborated. Luffy smiled to her and she felt some of her hesitation fade away.
"It's okay! You've been through a lot!" He told her knowingly, her emotions telling him as much. The navigator had gone through a lot of emotions in the short time they'd been together, and not to mention everything with the Buggy Pirates and whatever secret she was hiding too. He knew she must be at her wits end by now, like Ace whenever he had too many nightmares or narcolepsy attacks.
Nami smiled gently to him at his words, wondering just how wrong the news had been about Luffy being a monster. Sure, he was a pirate and she was still going to watch her every step around him, but so far everything he'd done had contradicted what she knew about pirates.
"I don't feel like hearing about it though," Luffy told her, hands behind his head as he turned to Zoro, the swordsman waiting for Luffy's instructions on their next move. Before they could begin to talk about that though, the Mayor spoke up, frustration and determination filling him.
"I'm pathetic! Chouchou and this young'un will fight so hard, yet why must I, the Mayor, sit by and watch our town be obliterated?!" He asked in a rage, fists clenched tightly. Nami ran around in front of the man, worry on her face as she held her hands up. Zoro moved in front of the Mayor as well, realizing the man was getting a little too riled up and wanted to keep him from running off and doing something stupid.
"Calm down, Mayor!" Nami told the man, hoping he'd listen. The mayor began ranting about the history of the town, telling them how the Buggy pirates had shown up, and how he was tired of it. When his rant ended, a loud explosion went off, knocking down the nearby houses and shops, one of them being the doctor's office.
"I refuse to let them get away with this! I can stand this no more! Some scum has no right to destroy our 40 years!" The Mayor said, fists now clenched at his sides.
"I am this town's Mayor. I will protect this town!" He shouted, but right as he tried to run off, Nami grabbed him, holding him back.
"Stop! Stop, Mayor!" She said, trying to reason with the man, but he wasn't having it.
"There are fights a man cannot run from! Isn't that right young'un?!" He shouted determinedly, pulling Nami forward as he struggled to get out of her grip. Luffy grinned at the man's words, laughing.
"That's right, old man!" He told him, Nami glaring at him as she continued struggling to hold the man back.
"Don't encourage him!" She shouted.
"What can he possibly do by going to see them?! It's reckless!" She yelled, realizing that she was trying to reason with both Luffy and the mayor at this point.
"I'm fully aware it's reckless!" The Mayor suddenly shouted, stopping Nami in her attempts to hold him back, everyone staring at the Mayor.
"I'm coming for you, Buggy the Clown!" The man said, running off without hindrance seeing as Nami had let go. The three watched him run, no one moving to stop him.
"The Mayor was crying..." Nami said softly, Luffy looking at her in confusion.
"He was? I didn't see it." Luffy said as Zoro placed a hand on his hip, his other arm resting on his swords.
"Looks like the party's gettin' more exciting!" He exclaimed, Luffy laughing.
"Sure does!"
"This is no time to be laughing!" Nami chastised, worry on her face again as the mayor disappeared completely from their sight.
"It's ok, I like the old guy! I absolutely won't let him die!" Luffy told her as he looked at her, grinning widely. The mayor had a strong, bright blue aura and good feelings. He would do everything in his power to make sure he stayed safe.
"In that case..." Zoro said, walking towards where the Mayor had run off, Luffy following.
"You're gonna go too?!" She asked incredulously, running after them a few steps before stopping.
"I can't let them get away with thinking I'm someone who runs from a fight!" Zoro told her, tying his bandanna to his head.
"Our destination is the Grand Line. So we're gonna steal that map back now!" Luffy said as he stepped up beside Zoro, Nami watching them in shock. Luffy turned around to look at her, still smiling as he let out a short laugh.
"Join our crew, Nami!" He told her as he held a hand out to her, wondering if she'd reconsidered on joining them or not. She had made it sound that way earlier, so he thought he'd ask one more time just in case.
"Pirates took the life of someone very important to me! As if I'd ever be one!" She started, a scowl on her face and Luffy was ready to call it a loss, finally realizing why Nami hated pirates so much, but then she grinned, slapping his hand.
"But how about we team up for our common goal?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"I won't let you destroy this town! Even if it costs me my life!" As Luffy, Zoro and Nami walked up to Buggy's base, they saw the Mayor being strangled by Buggy's disembodied hands, defiant.
"Fire!" Buggy shouted, ordering those at the cannon to once again light it. Before they could do so, Luffy grabbed Buggy's hands, separating them from the Mayor's throat and squeezing it tightly in his hands.
"Straw Hat?!" Buggy shrieked, paling at the reappearance of the pirate. Luffy grinned, looking over to him.
"I'm here to kick your ass, just like I promised!" He called to him, smile never faltering. Behind him Zoro stood in preparation for a fight he knew was going to happen while Nami stayed further back, not intending on engaging in the fight. Buggy struggled to have his hand return to him, but finally, Luffy let the appendage go, watching it fly back to Buggy's arm and reattach.
"H-how dare you just come waltzing back here, to Captain Buggy!" He shouted, and despite the nervousness and fear that Luffy could feel coming from the man, he still attempted to put on a confident front.
"Listen! All I want is the map and the treasure!" Nami told them, wanting to make sure they didn't expect her to fight.
"Yeah, I know," Luffy said, not even looking away from Buggy as he spoke. The mayor, who had been coughing on the ground, finally managed to speak.
"Young'uns... why are you here?! Stay out of this, you're outsiders! This is my fight! I will protect my town!" He yelled, grabbing his weapon and standing, a fierce look on his face.
"I don't need your meddling!" Before the man could run off like Luffy knew he was going to do, he slammed the man's head into a nearby wall, the Mayor falling unconscious immediately. Nami yelled out in shock, sweating again as she watched the rough treatment while Zoro didn't even blink.
"What the hell?! Why did you attack the mayor?!" Nami shouted behind Luffy in anger. Maybe she'd been wrong about Luffy being different than other pirates after all. Luffy turned to her with a smile.
"He was in the way!" He said simply.
"Good thinking. No doubt this old man's plans were to die otherwise. This is for the best." Zoro said, hand on his hip while Nami continued gaping at them.
"Don't be crazy! There were plenty of other ways you could've done it!" She shouted, but Luffy ignored her, instead walking closer to Buggy.
"Alright, here goes..." He said to himself, Nami glaring at his back as he walked away from her.
"BIG NOSE!" He screamed as loud as he could, everyone besides Zoro freaking out at the words.
"That's the one thing you shouldn't say!" Nami shrieked in fear, holding her face in her hands.
"Damn you, you flashy idiot!" Buggy growled out.
"Flashily fire the buggy ball!" He screamed, the pirates looking at him nervously.
"B-but Captain Buggy sir, h-his bounty-"
"Screw his bounty! I want this flashy idiot dead!" Buggy screamed at them. Without any more hesitation, the pirate ran to the cannon, aiming it at the three standing below them.
"Why'd you say that?! You idiot!" Nami shouted at Luffy, running away to hopefully avoid the blast from the cannon.
"Hey, Luffy! Run!" Zoro warned his Captain, he himself worried as he looked at the mouth of the cannon aimed directly at them. Luffy didn't move though, grinning as he watched the pirates getting ready to light it.
"That..."
"Time to blow up!"
"Won't work on me!" Right after Luffy's words, the cannon exploded, the red Buggy Ball shooting at both Luffy and Zoro at a fast pace.
"Gum gum..." Luffy inhaled deeply, his body expanding greatly as a result.
"Balloon!" He shouted, the Buggy Ball landing on his stomach as the pirates all watched in fear and shock.
"Don't tell me the Buggy Ball..." Buggy screamed, watching as Luffy bounced the cannonball right back at them.
"He bounced it back!" Buggy shouted, waving as it grew closer to him.
"Say something beforehand, geez!" Zoro said with a hand on his face, annoyed he'd been worried for nothing.
The cannonball landed right where both Buggy and his crew were standing, the roof of the building exploding and creating a large dust cloud. A blast of wind blew past them all and Luffy held onto his hat to make sure it didn't fly off his head, string or no. Nami was on the ground behind him, holding her head as she braced herself against the wind.
"Alright! Now there's fewer enemies!" Luffy cheered.
"What the heck are you?!" Nami screeched, her teeth sharpening and fists at her side as she yelled at Luffy's back.
"You really know how to freak people out..." Zoro said as he stepped closer to Luffy.
As the dust cloud dissipated, the remains of the flattened building showed the many pirates that had gone down from the attack.
"I knew something was weird from the time you fought that lion!" Nami shouted, finally standing as she continued yelling at Luffy. She hadn't seen most of the fight, too busy hiding behind Zoro and shielding herself, but she had sworn shed seen Luffy's arms stretching just a bit too far for a normal humans at one point.
"No human can do that! Explain yourself!" She demanded, Luffy looking at her blankly.
"What was that balloon-inflatey thing you just did?!" Nami continued.
"The Gum-Gum Balloon!" Luffy answered easily, smiling to her as he spoke.
"I'm asking what it is!" She shouted, teeth sharp again as her frustration grew.
"What are you, a monster?!" She asked, holding her fists up as she yelled. Luffy didn't have a chance to answer that as Buggy stepped forward, holding two of his burned up crewmembers in front of him with his disembodied hands.
"How dare you flashily try to do me in..." He said lowly, looking at the ground as his pirate hat shadowed over his eyes.
"He used his henchman as shields!" Nami said in disgust, arms folded over her chest as she glared at the man. Luffy and Zoro were both frowning at him as well, neither of them liking it either.
From the rubble, someone shot up, looking around in confusion.
"What happened here?! Ah! You!" Mohji screamed as he spotted Luffy. The teen smiled at him, raising his hand in greeting.
"Heya!" He called, watching and feeling as Mohji screamed in fear.
"The Straw Hat guy! Monkey D. Luffy! C-C-Captain Buggy! Be careful! He has devil fruit powers too! He's a rubber person just like the news said!" Mohji told his Captain, glancing fearfully to Luffy as he spoke.
"What?! I should have known those Marines were onto something!" Buggy said to himself.
"Rubber person?!" Nami asked Luffy, not having seen the articles mentioning it before.
"Yeah! See!" Luffy said, pulling his cheeks in demonstration. Nami backed up, hand to her mouth in a mixture of disgust and shock at the unnatural way they stretched.
"A devil fruit... That explains how he bounced the Buggy Ball back." Buggy said to himself as another person stood from the rubble, holding Richie the lion in the air.
"This is the greatest insult we've had since we hoisted our flag, Captain." The new person said with a frown as he looked to Buggy.
"Oh, Cabaji! I'm so angry I can't even fart..." Buggy told the man while Mohji became angry.
"Cabaji! What the hell did you do to Richie?!" He asked in fury as he observed his Lion that was now smoking from the cannonballs explosion.
"This cat? I used it as a shield to keep my clothes from getting dirty." He said, dropping the lion as Mohji shrieked out its name, running over to it. Richie woke up briefly, saw Cabaji, and hid behind a wall in fear, making Mohji even angrier as he attempted attacking Cabaji who merely kicked him away, sending him flying towards Luffy, Zoro, and Nami.
"Move out of the way!" Mohji screamed as he flew, not wanting to run into them.
"No, you move!" Luffy shouted back, Nami stepping out of the way as Luffy reared his leg back, kicking Mohji out of the air and into the neighboring wall, Nami watching with a sweatdrop.
"Captain Buggy?"
"Yes, Cabaji?"
"Please, leave this to me," Cabaji said to the Captain, watching the three carefully.
"Alright! Show them your acrobat show!" Buggy told the man with a devilish smile. Cabaji matched the smile as he jumped into the air, Luffy watching in awe and Nami watching in fear while Zoro watched on indifferently. When the man landed, it was on a unicycle, a sword in hand as he cycled towards them.
"I, Acrobat Cabaji, Chief of Staff, take on Captain Buggy's anger!" He shouted, aiming his sword for Luffy, only to be intercepted by Zoro who blocked the sword with his own. Luffy tilted to look over Zoro's shoulder, awe still on his face.
"I'll clash swords with you!" Zoro said, smiling at the chance to finally get into a real fight.
"Its an honor, Roronoa Zoro... To think I would get to slay you, as a swordsman myself." Cabaji said confidently. Luffy stepped to Zoro's side, observing the two swordsman's swords which were still fighting against each other, neither one budging from its spot.
"Ne, Zoro, I'm gonna fight Buggy now. You gonna be alright?" Luffy asked, grinning as he felt Zoro's confidence rising as well.
"Of course Captain, I'll finish this guy off quick." The green-haired man said, smile widening as he glanced to Luffy out of the corner of his eye.
The fight between the two swordsmen began after that, Cabaji starting off by breathing fire in Zoro's face and kicking him once the man was stunned. Nami shrieked, sweating as she stumbled away from the fight. Luffy only spared the two one more look before walking over to Buggy, but Nami stopped him, running up to him.
"Hold on, you're just going to fight Buggy now?! Without any help?!" She asked, nervous that even though the teen was strong, he was going to get himself killed. After all she'd seen, Luffy seemed to be pretty airheaded and she was actually surprised he hadn't been captured by the Marines yet.
"Yup," Luffy told her as if it were obvious.
"I can't go along with this! You pirates can injure yourselves for all I care! It doesn't matter to me whether you win or lose!" She said, throwing her arms up as she began to walk towards an alley. Luffy watched her go without expression while she turned to face him, grinning.
"I'm gonna use this chance to swipe their treasure and get outta here! Let's team up again if we ever get the chance!" She said to him, still smiling as she turned towards the alley again.
"See ya! Good luck with the fight!" She called, running off. Luffy watched her run with a smile, waving to her.
"Yeah! Thanks!" He called back, even though he could feel the lies coming from the woman, telling him she'd rather not see him again. Turning to check on Zoro's fight again he saw that there were a bunch of tops spinning on the ground and Cabaji was cycling up into the air, making him gape in awe.
"Cabaji! I'll hold Zoro down! Finish him off!" Buggy shouted, making Luffy realize that there was a disembodied hand flying towards Zoro.
"As you wish!" Cabaji shouted as he began descending, sword aimed to hit Zoro. Before Buggy's hand could grab Zoro though, Luffy stepped on it, making the clown scream in pain as he held his arm and allowing Zoro to dodge Cabaji's attack.
"Luffy," Zoro said, realizing what his Captain had done as he glanced over his shoulder to him.
"D-damn you!" Buggy shouted to Luffy as he continued holding his arm.
"Stay out of Zoro's fight!" Luffy said with a murderous glare, hat shadowing one of his eyes as he looked at the Clown. Buggy glared back at Luffy in annoyance, the two staring at each other until the fight between Zoro and Cabaji started again. Zoro, annoyed with all of Cabaji's fake tricks, told the man as much which only angered him into charging the swordsman. With one more attack, Zoro took down Cabaji, the man falling off of his unicycle and leaving Zoro without a scratch.
"Cabaji!" Buggy shouted in surprise, not having expected his swordsman to lose.
"Nice, Zoro!" Luffy told his crewmate, the man turning to grin at him.
"If I couldn't beat this excuse of a swordsman, I would have to give up on my dream to be the greatest altogether," Zoro told him, sheathing his swords as he turned to look at Luffy and Buggy.
"Right! I'll handle the rest!" Luffy told him, turning to Buggy and holding his bicep in his hand, grinning widely at Buggy who was a shade paler than before, though still glaring.
"A former Whitebeard Pirate, starting his own crew." Buggy said, glare never letting up.
"Yeah! We're going to the Grand Line, and then the New World, and then I'm gonna become King of the Pirates!" Luffy told him, the pirate gaping at the teen's confidence, before growing angry again.
"Get real, you flashy idiot! Former Whitebeard or not, the Grand Line and the New World are no joke! You, King of the Pirates?!" He asked, stepping forward in irritation as he yelled, Luffy giving him no expression as he listened.
"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates and obtain this worlds treasures! Quit your dreaming!" Buggy shouted.
"You're annoying. Just bring it on already!" Luffy said, shifting his stance and holding his arm slightly behind him. Buggy growled, knives appearing between each of his fingers.
"Seeing that Straw Hat of yours brings back memories of him and it irritates me! Memories of that damn cheeky red-haired man!" Buggy snarled, piquing Luffy's curiosity.
"Red-Haired?! Red Haired... does that mean you know Shanks?!" Luffy asked with a frown.
"Huh? Yeah, but why?" Buggy asked, confused as to why Luffy was asking.
"Where is he now?!" Luffy asked, wondering if the pirate would know. He didn't want to run into Shanks just yet- he didn't have a crew yet after all- so if he could avoid him for now, that would be good.
"Dunno! Maybe I know where he is or maybe I don't!" Buggy shouted with a smile. Luffy straightened from his fighting stance, giving Buggy a blank look.
"What're you talking about? Are you stupid or something?" He asked, not understanding what Buggy had said. Either he knew or he didn't, so why was he acting like he didn't know if he knew or not?
Luffy was getting a headache trying to figure it out.
"Not as much as you!" Buggy screamed before composing himself, raising his knives again and grinning.
"I ain't nice enough of a guy to just tell you what you want to know!" He said as if he hadn't been angry in the first place. Luffy lowered back into his fighting stance again, fist ready to fire as he grinned.
"Then I'll make you tell me!" He answered making Buggy laugh.
"I'll kill you before that ever happens! I don't care about your flashy bounty anymore, you've annoyed me far too much! I doubt rubber can bounce back from blades!" He said, kicking his shoe and revealing a knife that stuck out of the front. Luffy nodded in confirmation, lips in a thin line.
"Nope, it can't!" He confirmed.
"Idiot, don't tell him that!" Zoro shouted from where he leaned against a building, watching the two. Luffy blinked at the swordsman, not realizing why he shouldn't, but then he smelled Nami nearby again in the alley she'd left from. He couldn't confirm it with his eyes though because Buggy got his attack ready and he had to focus his attention back on the Pirate.
"Bara Bara Rice Cracker!" He shouted before jumping in the air, legs detaching and spinning like a wheel as they came right towards Luffy, knives still sticking out from the shoes. Luffy didn't move and instead waited, jumping over them unharmed.
"Cant move in midair, can you?!" Buggy asked from where he had remained floating without legs, detaching his hands next and sending them, along with the knives they held, after Luffy who was still falling from his jump.
"Can too!" Luffy called, grabbing a nearby pillar and using it to move out of the way.
"Oh, quite interesting!" Buggy praised.
"You too!" Luffy said back with a smile before readying his next attack.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" He shouted, attempting to hit Buggy in the face, but the man moved out of the way.
"Those are interesting abilities, but they leave you wide open!" He said, raising a knife as he watched Luffy's arm continue extending past his face.
"I'm gonna carve you up!" He shouted, about to slice the arm beside him before realizing what Luffy was doing.
"Bara Bara Quick Escape!"
"Gum Gum Sickle!" The two moved simultaneously, Buggy's head detaching from his neck as Luffy tried to grab it, his body shooting past the pirate and landing behind him.
"Not good enough, Gum-Gum!" Buggy taunted, Luffy frowning at the man and fixing his hat.
"Damn, you keep breaking into pieces." He said in slight annoyance. He'd hoped to fight the man without any haki- he wanted a fun fight, not a quick one- but it seemed he might have to use it if the pirate continued breaking apart like that. In the rubble behind him, he could feel some of the downed pirates' emotions becoming clearer, telling him they were waking up, but they made no move to join the fight, all of them continuing to play dead instead so Luffy ignored them in favor of focusing on Buggy, the pirate starting his next attack.
"Bara Bara Chop Cannon!" He called, letting his hand blast off of his arm, knives pointed out as it shot towards Luffy. Right before it could reach his face, Luffy grabbed the hand and held it back, the knives only centimeters from touching skin.
"Separate!" Luffy felt with his haki what was going to happen, but only managed to move enough to not get his face cut. Instead, the string and the brim of his hat were hit as the hand shot out of Luffy's own hand, the knives slicing the string off and making the hat land on the ground. Luffy blinked at it before a fury rose in him and he glared murderously at Buggy.
"You Bastard!" He shouted, the words chilling to hear. Buggy faltered slightly at that, almost having forgotten just who he was fighting, but the rage he was seeing on the young pirate right now reminded him that he was fighting a former Whitebeard, someone from not only the Grand Line, but the New World as well, and it made him hesitate in his determination to fight the rubber teen.
"W-what? Can't stand a little knick on that damn hat?" He asked, trying to keep up his confident appearance but failing as he shook slightly.
"How dare you... How dare you damage this hat!" Luffy shouted as he looked at the cut on the brim.
"Huh?!" Buggy asked, realizing that the pirate really was getting so worked up over the hat.
"This is my treasure! Whoever damages this hat must absolutely pay!" Luffy screamed, making the man step back from the ferocity of it.
"I-it would seem that hat has a history to it..." Buggy said in an attempt to calm Luffys sudden rage, but also to distract him as his disembodied hand rose from where it had landed after cutting the hat.
"That's right!" Luffy told him.
"Is it that important of a hat?" He asked, gaining back some of his confidence as he made his hand throw one of the knives, Luffy spinning out of the way.
"If so... then protect it better!" He screamed back, his hand flying forward with the three knives it still held and stabbing through the top of the straw hat that Luffy was still holding in his hand. Luffy watched in shock as the hat was ripped from his hand by Buggy's hand, the hand moving back to Buggy as it reattached to his arm, the Pirate Captain inspecting the hat.
"How is this old tattered hat a treasure?" Buggy asked in confusion, trying to find something about it that would make it valuable. Finding nothing, he laughed.
"Treasure refers to sparkly gold, silver, and jewels! You call this filthy straw hat a treasure? Cut the crap!" Buggy said, laughing again while Luffy seethed on the ground where he'd landed after the last attack.
"That's the hat Shanks and I swore over!" Luffy shouted, making Buggy falter again.
"What?! Meaning this is Shanks' hat?! No wonder it seemed familiar! He always wore this by my side!" Buggy shouted as he threw the hat to the floor. Luffy anger quickly morphed to surprise as he stood and looked at Buggy with wide eyes.
"You and Shanks sailed on the same ship?!" He asked. Pleased to have the boy's attention, Buggy grinned.
"Yeah, back when we were pirates-in-training. We were comrades. That damn detestable red-haired bastard!" He said, stomping on the straw hat, making Luffy's anger return quick as lightning.
"Shanks is a great man! You, his comrade?! Don't compare yourself to him!" Luffy shouted as he charged towards Buggy.
"Bara Bara Quick Escape!" Buggy screamed as he realized he may have gone too far. Instead of Luffy punching him like he had made it look like, Luffy swung his foot forward, kicking Buggy in the stomach rather than his now detached head.
"Never say you and Shanks are comrades ever again!" Luffy told him in anger as Buggy reattached his head.
"I can say whatever I want about Shanks!" Buggy coughed out. Luffy grabbed the man's face, pulling his cheeks as Buggy sweat from the close proximity to a very angry Luffy.
"Tell me! What happened between you and Shanks!" He demanded before dropping the clown and looking to his hat.
"Damn it! How dare you tear up my treasure!" He said in annoyance.
"Do you wanna know that badly?" Buggy asked as he sat up from the ground. He was quick to jump into the story of why he hated Shanks so much, telling Luffy about how he found his devil fruit and why he blamed Shanks for his eating it. Luffy listened on, his anger and confusion rising as he did, and when the story was finally over, he gave Buggy a blank look.
"That's why I won't let anyone who touches my treasure live!" Buggy exclaimed, torso detaching and rising into the air as he held his knives in his hands. Luffy watched him rise, noticing Nami's scent begin to move from behind him.
"Let go of my treasure!" Buggy shouted, his torso flying past Luffy and right to Nami who held a sack of treasure over her shoulder.
"Crap! He spotted me!" Nami yelled as she attempted to run away, Luffy feeling her fear strongly. Instead of chasing after him though, Luffy turned to the lower half of Buggy's body which had been left behind.
"Don't think you can escape me, Nami! I'm going to flashily chop you up!" Buggy screeched as he drew closer, but he never made it as he froze in the air, screaming in pain. Nami, who had frozen when Buggy got too close, peeked her closed eyes open and saw that Luffy had kicked Buggy in the place no one should be kicked.
"M-my balls... balls..." Buggy cried, torso falling to the ground as his legs began flailing in pain.
"You're still dealing with me!" Luffy told the man with a grin. Zoro, who had been watching silently still, winced at the attack, but said nothing.
"Hey!" Luffy called to Nami who looked over to him in surprise.
"Leave that treasure and get out of here! He'll come after you again!" Luffy told her, pointing to the sack.
"No! Leave the treasure and go?! Absolutely not! Why should I have to leave my own treasure behind?!" Nami shouted back indignantly. From the ground, Buggy slowly raised his head.
"Your treasure?!" He growled out.
"Duh! I'm a thief who only steals from pirates, and I just stole from one! Which means this treasure is mine now!" She demanded with an outstretched fist. Luffy nodded, following along with that logic.
"Ah, I see!" He said, placing a fist in his open palm in understanding.
"Nonsense! That's my treasure! Do you think stealing it makes it yours?!" Buggy shrieked.
"Honestly! What kind of upbringing did you have?!" Buggy chastised. Nami gave him an unimpressed look, still not moving from where she stood in front of the man.
"A criminal, trying to lecture another criminal? Ridiculous!" She said, turning her head at that.
"What?!" Buggy shouted.
"I haven't fallen so low that I need to be corrected by pirates!" Nami said with a smile, sticking her tongue out at Buggy at the end only making the Captain seethe.
"I hope you're ready to face the consequences, Nami... Bara Bara... Festival!" Buggy shouted, his entire body breaking into pieces, some of them hitting Nami who dropped the treasure, trying to defend herself. Luffy yelled in surprise as the bottom half beside him broke into pieces as well, all of them flying back to their owner.
"Just try and help your friend if you can, Gum-Gum!" Buggy yelled to Luffy as his body floated around in separate pieces.
"Damn, he broke into even more parts!" Luffy exclaimed. He didn't have a chance to do anything when he spotted Buggy's feet slowly walking back to Buggy himself.
"What the-?" Picking up the foot, he ignored the shouting coming from Buggy and Nami as he worked on pulling the foot out of the boot.
"Coochie, coochie, coo!" Luffy said as he tickled the foot, Zoro sweat dropping and sighing as he watched. Luffy then began pulling on the skin before realizing he needed to move on to more drastic measures.
"Geez, you're stubborn!" Luffy shouted, raising the foot into the air before slamming it into the ground. Behind him, Buggy screamed in pain, turning to look at him.
"Knock it off!" He shouted over to Luffy who only stared back.
"No, you knock it off!" Nami screamed as she swung the bag of treasure at Buggy. The pirate used this to his advantage though, grabbing onto the bag with his two disembodied hands and smiling to Nami, his head also floating by itself.
"Thanks for the treasure back!" He told her with a grin making Nami shrink back in disgust.
"Let go! Let go! That's mine!" Nami shrieked as she began swinging the bag around, trying to get the hands-off.
"Let go?! This is my treasure! You let go!" Buggy shouted at her. Annoyed, he let his hands go, each holding a single knife as they aimed at Nami.
"Die!" He shouted, trying to stab her with them, but was once again interrupted.
"I told you... you're dealing with me!" Luffy shouted, running over and kicking Buggys floating head into the bag of treasure, and admittedly using a bit of haki in the kick, wanting this fight to be over now. The bag ripped open, treasure spilling out all over the place as Buggy laid on the ground, Luffy feeling how much pain the man was in.
"Consider that a kick from the old mayor guy!" Luffy told him with a grin, Nami staring at him on shock from the ground where she'd fallen.
"T-Thanks, I owe you one..." She told him.
"Yeah, no problem!" Luffy told her with a smile before the two of them both realized something at the same time.
"Oh yeah! The map!"
"My treasure!" They said simultaneously, looking towards the scattered treasure to see Buggy's head back up and floating.
"This isn't over yet 11097!" Buggy growled in anger, making Luffy frown at the mention of his number.
"How dare you flashily do this to me! You'll pay for this! Assemble, Bara Bara Parts!" Buggy announced, but all that came back to him was his feet and hands, making him scream in shock. Buggy and Luffy stared at each other, the silence reigning as they both realized what had happened, neither making a move.
"Looking for these?!" Nami asked, tugging a rope that was tied around all of the parts Buggy had disassembled, her foot stepping on them to keep them down.
"My parts!" Buggy shrieked while Luffy laughed joyously, stretching his arms far behind him.
"Way to go thief!" He praised, Buggy's eyes widening in fear as he saw the incoming attack.
"S-stop!" He shouted in terror, Luffy only continuing to grin.
"Go flying, Buggy! Gum-gum..." His arms shot forward, flying past him and right towards Buggy who tried uselessly to defend himself by putting his floating hands in front of himself.
"Bazooka!" Luffy shouted, hitting the pirate and sending him far into the sky, no one able to see him.
"I win!" He cheered, arms raised in congratulations to himself as he laughed again. His first enemy pirate fight on his own and he'd won. Even if the fight had been annoying near the end, he'd still fought a pirate Captain all by himself and won without a scratch.
His joyous mood was quick to change though as he remembered his hat. Walking over to it, Zoro met him at the battered straw hat, the swordsman picking it up and handing it over to his Captain who took it with a frown.
"It's all torn up now..." He said softly as he examined the three large slash marks on the top of it, as well as the cut to the brim and the strings which were now gone after being cut off.
"Oh well. I can still put it on, plus I sent Buggy flying so I'm satisfied." Luffy said, putting the hat on his head with a small smile, still a little sad about the damage. From behind him, he felt Nami's turmoil, a sadness of her own flaring up momentarily before she spoke up.
"It's alright, I'll fix it for you later." She said, looking away with a small frown. Luffy blinked in shock as he and Zoro looked to the orange-haired woman.
"Eh? What?" Luffy asked, not having heard her seeing as she'd spoken too softly.
"Nothing! Hey, anyways, I split it into two bags, so carry half of it! It's too heavy for me!" Nami said louder to him, holding up a smaller bag of treasure to Luffy and Zoro.
"There sure is a lot!" Luffy said as he took in the size of the two bags.
"If anything, Buggy does know quality treasure when he sees it! All this should go for no less than 10 million berries!" Nami said happily, holding the bags to her cheeks. Luffy only smiled to her, feeling actually happy feelings in Nami for the first time since he'd met her.
Under Luffy's gaze, Nami's smile faltered though and she put the bags down, grabbing something from her pocket and holding it out to Luffy.
"Here you go." She said, confusing Luffy as he looked at the roll of paper.
"Eh?" He asked, not taking it yet.
"Its the chart of the Grand Line. Didn't you want it?" Nami asked in confusion, having heard Luffy many times as he adamantly claimed he was going to get the map and go to the Grand Line.
"You're giving it to me?!" Luffy asked in surprise, Nami turning her head away as he did.
"You did save me." She said, Luffy grinning again.
"Thanks, Nami!" Luffy thanked as he took the map.
"I finally got a map of the Grand Line! Hooray! Zoro, look! Look!" Luffy said, holding the map up to Zoro's face. The swordsman backed away from how close Luffy was but smiled.
"Nice work, Captain. I bet there's all sorts of adventure waiting for us there." He said, excited for more fights to come, as well as getting closer to reaching his own goal.
"Oh, does that mean you'll join our crew?!" Luffy asked, remembering that he'd wanted to ask Nami that. Zoro watched the woman, wanting to know her answer too because as nice as it was to have a map, it was useless if no one could read it.
"I told you, I'm never going to join a pirate crew!" She said with her hands on her hips, pausing in her words. Luffy only continued grinning, feeling her emotions were more of amusement then her previous hate whenever she'd said the words before.
"But okay! Staying with you guys seems profitable enough. But I'm only teaming up with you, just so you know! Always remember that!" She told him. Luffy smiled his D. smile and nodded.
"Yeah! Hear that Zoro?! We gotta navigator and a map of the Grand Line!" Luffy said, turning back to Zoro who rolled his eyes.
"I'm standing right here you know. I can hear everything you're hearing." He said, but like with Nami, Luffy only felt amusement coming from the man, making him laugh again.
"Alright, let's get going!" Luffy cheered.
"Now hold on! We have to go help the mayor!" Nami said to Luffy before he could run off.
"Oh yeah! We gotta wake up the old mayor guy now..." Luffy said as he looked over to the still unconscious Mayor.
"You there!" A new voice had all of them looking over to a large crowd of people armed with spears.
"Are you outsiders?!" The man in front asked.
"Yeah... who are you?" Luffy asked in confusion, wondering where all these people had come from.
"We're this towns citizens! Did the pirates have a falling out or something?! If you know anything, tell us!" The man shouted, Luffy Nami and Zoro frowning at them.
"Oh, it's just the citizens! I thought they were more of the pirates..." Nami said, smiling in relief.
"Oh, Mayor!" One of the citizens said as they saw the downed Mayor.
"Oh no! Say something!"
"Hey! Mayor!"
"He's out cold!"
"The pirates definitely did this!"
"How horrible!" The citizens all began talking one after the other. Nami and Zoro both looked away, Zoro whistling innocently while Nami smiled as she sweat. Luffy, however, didn't have the sense to do either of those things.
"Sorry! I kicked that old man's ass!" He said, making both Nami and Zoro stiffen in shock that he'd admitted it.
"What?!" All the citizens asked as they turned to him, anger rising in them that Luffy had to actively block out. So many people, all angry at once, made it harder to do, but he managed it.
"Hold on!" Nami shouted at Luffy in annoyance.
"You didn't need to tell them that, idiot!" Zoro shouted next.
"You two saw it," Luffy told them as he looked over his shoulder at them.
"Yeah, but you had an actual reason-" Nami started, before stopping when she saw the now much closer armed citizens.
"Why did you guys do this to our mayor?!" The man from before asked angrily.
"Don't give us your excuses!" Another shouted.
"Who are you?! Are you with those pirates?!" A third asked. Nami was watching in fear, realizing that the citizens were getting dangerously riled up, many of them holding weapons that could do damage to her.
"We're pirates." Luffy deadpanned honestly, not even trying to hide it. Nami began falling in shock while Zoro face palmed before laughing loudly at his Captain's words.
"Just as we thought!" The crowd shouted in unison
"You idiot!" Nami shrieked, Luffy shying away from the woman who had gotten extremely close in her rage.
"Its the truth!" He said in his defense.
"Pirates!"
"How dare you ravage our town?!"
"We won't show mercy just cause your kids!" Luffy ignored the yelling crowd and turned to Nami and Zoro, walking closer to them.
"What now? Doesn't look like they'll hear us out..." Zoro said, wondering what Luffy had planned next. He grinned to the both of them, his D grin, before running past them.
"Run!" He shouted, laughing as he did. Nami was quick to scoop up her two bags of treasure and follow while Zoro smiled and did the same.
"There's no escape!"
"How dare you hurt our beloved mayor!" The crowd quickly gave chase after the two, Nami looking behind them worriedly.
"Ugh! Why did you make things worse?!" She asked.
"This is a good town!" Luffy told her, confusing her.
"Eh?!" She asked, not knowing why he was saying that all of a sudden.
"Everyone's so mad just for the old mayor guy!" Luffy told her, making her look back with a frown.
"I think they'd get mad at any excuse we give!" Luffy laughed, Zoro nodding in agreement.
"We're turning here!" Luffy suddenly said, smelling the docks as he turned sharply into the alley beside them. Zoro and Nami both ran past it before backtracking, glaring at Luffy.
"H-Hold on!" Nami shrieked.
"Don't say that so suddenly!" Zoro shouted in annoyance. As they ran down the alley, they saw Chouchou at the end of it, sitting there unmoving. Zoro and Luffy both jumped over the dog before they trampled it while Nami ran around it.
"Chouchou!" She said in surprise.
"Dog!" Luffy said with a grin, having smelled the animal there already. They continued running though, and they heard as the dog began barking at the crowd that had attempted to follow them into the alley, stopping them.
"H-Hey! Move, Chouchou! Hey!"
"Those guys are bad pirates!"
"You're barking at the wrong people!"
"Why are you getting in the way?!"
"Chouchou! Let us through!"
"Chouchou!" Chouchou didn't listen though, continuously barking at the crowd as he refused to move. Luffy looked back at him, smiling.
"Later, dog!" He shouted to Chouchou as they reached the end of the alley.
Without having to worry about the crowd anymore, the three slowed their pace, and eventually, they reached the docks.
"That was scary! We managed to escape thanks to Chouchou!" Nami said, wiping the sweat from her forehead after placing the two bags of treasure in front of her.
"Why do we have to deal with this?" She asked, tired after everything she'd been through today.
"Does it matter now? We're done here anyway..." Luffy said to her.
"Maybe so, but-"
"Hey is this your boat?" Nami was cut off when Luffy spoke instead, realizing they were standing in front of a different boat than his.
"It's great!" Luffy said as he admired it.
"I don't think it's so great. I stole it from some idiot pirates." She said, hands on her hips as she looked at the boat.
"That's a big mouth ya got!" A voice said from the boat, three of Buggy's pirates poking their heads up.
"Been waitin' for ya thief girl!" The man said as they stood up.
"Never thought you'd run into us here, didja?!" The other pirate asked. Nami, still smiling, laughed nervously at them.
"You know them?" Luffy asked, feeling the recognition in Nami, but also the nervousness.
"Yeah... sort of!" She said, Luffy feeling it was the truth.
"Not sort of! We're bound by fate! So, you had friends, huh? Guess we'll hafta punish you too!" The pirate said as he and the other two stepped off the boat and looked to Luffy and Zoro. Once they took in Zoro, however, they jumped back in shock, all three of them screaming in fear.
With that, the three pirates ran off without another word, Luffy watching in confusion.
"What was that about?" Luffy asked, Nami also confused.
"Idiots being idiots," Zoro said with a shrug. Luffy and Nami shared a look before shrugging as well and getting ready to leave.
Luffy and Zoro got their small boat, tying it to Nami's larger boat and setting off together. With the sails down, they could see that Nami's ship was painted with Buggy's jolly roger.
"Isn't that Buggy's mark on your sail there?" Zoro asked from his and Luffy's boat. Nami, who stood on her boat, shrugged.
"Well, this is his boat. I'll get rid of it sometime!" She said nonchalantly.
"Hey! Wait! Young'uns!" A familiar voice shouted from the port they were slowly drifting away from.
"The old Mayor guy!" Luffy said as they all turned to look.
"Thanks! We're in your debt!" The Mayor shouted to them, tears falling from his eyes, but Luffy could feel that they were happy tears.
"Don't worry about it! Take it easy!" Luffy yelled back with a laugh.
"Hey, wait a minute, where's the other bag of treasure?" Nami asked as she looked for it.
"Oh, I left it behind," Luffy told her with a smile.
"What?! You left one of my treasure bags?!" She shouted, leaning over her boat's railing as she yelled at Luffy.
"Yeah."
"Just one is worth five million berries you know!" She screamed, leaning even further over the railing.
"But they need money to fix their destroyed town, right?" Luffy asked.
"That was my treasure!" Nami shrieked, leaning even further to the point that she was almost butting heads with Luffy.
"Do you know how much I suffered trying to steal it?!" She asked, grabbing Luffy's head and dunking him into the water in between their ships.
"Why did you do that?!" Nami asked in anger.
"Stop! I can't swim!" Luffy shouted whenever his head was above water. Even though that was true after a certain point, Luffy was mostly unpleasantly reminded of when Haru would shove both he and Ace into water tanks over and over.
It was harder to push those memories back then it should have been.
"That's the point!" Nami shrieked above him.
"If you want it, go back and get it then!" Luffy shouted, wanting to get out of the water, because every second he was forced into it, the harder it got to keep the memories back.
"I can't do that! You go there!" Nami shouted.
"No! Wahh, that's dangerous! I could die, you know!" Luffy shouted back, almost at the point that he couldn't hold it back anymore. Zoro began laughing behind him, finding it all amusing, and finally, Nami let him go. He collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and staring at the sky in relief, happy to be out of the water.
He wouldn't let the others know how much that had bothered him.
"Do that again and I really will throw you into the ocean!" Nami warned.
"Well, for better or worse, looks like a navigator joined our journey," Zoro said as he looked to the sky as well.
"Mm." Luffy hummed in agreement, smiling lightly.
Orange Town is over! Buggy has been defeated and Nami has joined- for now at least.
As mentioned in this chapter, Luffy didn't fight with haki because he wanted at least some of a challenge seeing as he- a New World Pirate- is in the East Blue- the weakest of the seas. His strength compared to everyone else's is enough to end fights before they even begin, hence the restriction he's placed on himself. I feel like Luffy would get bored if he wasn't able to have at least a little bit of a challenge while going through the East Blue.
Also, weekly chapters will be ending now. Even though this whole pandemic thing and isolation is still happening, I want to pace myself seeing as these chapters take up a lot of time to both write and edit. Hopefully sometime in the future I'll be able to continue weekly updates, but for now, it's back to biweekly.
Thank you all for the reviews, favorites and follows! You all spoil me with the love and support you show me and my stories!
Stay safe! I'll see you all in two weeks!