While the Navy soldiers were passionately debating Garen's strength, on Garp's side, a clerk rushed over holding a stack of wanted posters. He came to a halt, saluted firmly, and said, "Vice Admiral Garp!"
"After comparing with the wanted posters, we've confirmed that the knight is not a registered pirate!"
"The only wanted pirate present is the one with a 15 million Beli bounty—Buggy the Clown!"
"That's right!"
Garen looked at Garp with a perfectly innocent expression and said:
"I told you, I catch pirates."
"That red-nosed guy over there is the pirate you should be dealing with!"
"Exactly!"
Nami, having recovered from the shock of being personally captured by the Navy hero, also played her part with masterful acting, portraying the image of a pitiful, innocent girl in front of the Navy soldiers:
"We were victims of a pirate attack…"
"How can the Navy arrest innocent people?"
As she spoke, her sparkling light-orange eyes shimmered with teary brilliance, tugging at the heartstrings of the soft-hearted soldiers and making them feel a wave of sympathy and guilt.
But Garp wasn't buying it. He only grew more focused as he stared intently at the Clown Buggy.
Garp scrutinized Buggy for a long while before finally speaking:
"Buggy the Clown?"
"I thought you looked familiar from the start—that ridiculously obvious red nose."
"Hahaha…"
Buggy awkwardly waved his hands, forcing a stiff laugh as he tried to explain:
"This nose is actually quite common, really common…"
"So, it is you, huh?"
Garp suddenly stood up from his lounge chair like a towering iron structure rising from the ground.
"That little red-nosed brat who used to follow Roger around?"
"Uh-huh?"
"Who's Roger?"
Buggy kept playing dumb, but cold sweat was pouring down his face like a waterfall.
And then, silence fell over the crowd.
Everyone, except the already-informed Garen, turned to stare at Buggy: the Navy soldiers, the officers, journalist Wallace, and even Nami the cat burglar.
Even Cabaji and Mohji—Buggy's longtime companions in East Blue—looked at their captain as if they were seeing an alien.
Because the name "Roger" usually referred to just one man.
Especially when it came from the mouth of the Navy Hero, Garp.
"Gol D. Roger."
Garp finally said the name clearly, then looked at Buggy and added:
"I didn't remember wrong. You were that trainee following Roger, alongside Shanks!"
Buggy stayed silent.
And that statement caused an uproar.
"That red-nosed guy… was on the Pirate King's crew?!"
The Navy soldiers were so shocked their jaws practically hit the floor.
"Our captain… was on the Pirate King's crew?!"
Cabaji and Mohji's eyes bulged in disbelief.
"Shanks?"
Wallace, who had just stumbled upon a groundbreaking scoop, began analyzing on the spot:
"Do you mean the Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors?"
Wallace's eyes lit up as he stared at Buggy:
"This Buggy the Clown was not only on the Pirate King's crew, but also a close friend of one of the Four Emperors?"
"He's been hiding under a fake name in East Blue—what terrifying dark plan could he be plotting?"
"Wait…"
Wallace suddenly caught another explosive headline:
"Lord Garen…"
"He easily subdued Buggy earlier!"
"What?!"
A few Navy soldiers nearby, who had previously been analyzing Garen's power, instantly got worked up:
"That guy defeated a friend of one of the Four Emperors just like that?"
"I may have underestimated him!"
The analyst who had previously labeled Garen as having Rear Admiral-level strength now spoke solemnly:
"To defeat a crew member of the Pirate King, a close friend of a Yonko… that knight might actually possess strength comparable to a Yonko himself!"
"Nonsense!"
Another expert sharply refuted:
"If he was on the level of a Yonko, why would he surrender so easily to Vice Admiral Garp?"
"At most, he's probably on the level of a Yonko's right-hand man."
"No…"
The third analyst's eyes flashed with insight:
"That man isn't a pirate. He probably didn't fight back just to avoid unnecessary conflict with Vice Admiral Garp."
"You mean…"
The surrounding Navy soldiers gasped:
"He could actually be a match for Vice Admiral Garp?!"
"Vice Admiral Garp is on par with Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
One analyst drew a mind-blowing conclusion:
"That means…"
"That nameless knight… must have Admiral-level strength!"
"Ugh…"
Wallace's pen froze mid-sentence as he recorded his story.
Even a journalist who thrived on wild headlines thought that conclusion was just a bit too outrageous.
Meanwhile, Buggy—the other person in the center of all this attention—finally spoke up:
"That's right…"
Buggy tried to put on a brave face, but his legs were trembling uncontrollably:
"I was a crew member of the Pirate King…"
Despite the weight that statement should have carried, when it came from Buggy's mouth, it sounded utterly weak and unconvincing.
"Hahaha!"
Garp laughed proudly:
"Knew it was you!"
But as he laughed, Garp's gaze toward Buggy gradually grew strange.
"What are you planning?" Buggy asked nervously.
"I may have that kind of background, but my bounty is only 15 million Beli!"
"You're not going to kill me, are you?"
His trembling grew even worse.
Buggy had originally planned to just spend a couple years in jail and then find a chance to escape. He hadn't expected his old acquaintance Garp to expose his identity as a former crew member of the Pirate King.
In an instant, Buggy had gone from a small-time East Blue pirate to someone that every Navy officer had to treat as a surviving remnant of the most dangerous pirate in history.
"Hmm…"
Garp fell silent in thought for a moment, then suddenly broke into a hearty grin:
"Buggy! Join the Navy!"
"No, don't kill me!!"
Buggy yelped in panic.
"Huh?"
Then he suddenly processed what was said:
"You said what now?"
Everyone else present was also stunned by Garp's shocking proposal.
Even Garen, who thought he knew everything about the plot, looked completely dumbfounded by this unexpected twist.
"Join the Navy!"
"Be my subordinate!"
Garp stepped up to Buggy, using his height to tower over the panicked clown:
"That brat Shanks dragged my grandson into becoming a pirate…"
"So now I'll take his old friend and make him a Navy marine. Isn't that poetic?"
"This… this isn't right!"
Somehow summoning a bit of courage, Buggy refused without hesitation:
"I was a member of Captain Roger's crew—how could I possibly betray him and join the Navy?!"
After all, he had been on the Pirate King's ship. To defect and become a lackey of Roger's old rival, Garp, would be a betrayal of Roger's memory!
What Buggy didn't know… was that Roger's own son was already working under Garp as his "grandson."
"Oh, is that so?"
Garp stroked his white beard, pretending to be troubled:
"Then I guess there's nothing I can do."
"Pirate King's crew… once captured, has to be executed."
"Ah?!"
The resolve drained from Buggy's face.
Garp casually glanced over at Cabaji and Mohji:
"Also…"
"Your two subordinates probably won't escape punishment either."
Cabaji and Mohji exchanged a miserable glance.
"Oh, right."
Garp added:
"That lion counts too."
"Rawr?!"
The lion Richie trembled under Garp's gaze.
After a moment of silence, Cabaji's expression hardened. He immediately dropped to his knees:
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"I've always had a heart for justice—I just took the wrong path in my youth!"
"Every day on that pirate ship has been tormenting my conscience!"
"Yeah!"
Mohji, eyes filled with tears, chimed in:
"I only turned to piracy because I had no way to serve my country—I was misled!"
Mohji knelt beside Cabaji and cried dramatically:
"Vice Admiral Garp, I want to join the Navy!"
"Roar roar roar!"
The lion Richie tried his best to put on a righteous face.
Garp nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze back to the real star of the show—Buggy.
"You guys…"
Buggy's expression twisted with emotional turmoil.
His whole body shook violently, as if overwhelmed with fury at his subordinates' betrayal.
A terrifying aura surged inside him, brewing and building…
Then finally, in a burst of emotional release, he roared:
"You bastards!"
Buggy glared furiously at his two men and shouted in anguish:
"So, this is what you really think?!"
Cabaji and Mohji flinched, lowering their heads even deeper in shame.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"
Buggy's face filled with emotional regret, as he shouted painfully:
"It's because I couldn't bear to leave loyal subordinates like you behind, that I never turned to the side of justice!"
(End of Chapter)