On the Buggy Pirates' ship.
Many crew members looked at Buggy, and their bodies seemed to ache just from watching.
Too miserable. Far too miserable.
Beaten half to death, flung over a thousand meters, even smashing into the mast.
If it had been an ordinary person, there would be nothing left of them by now.
It was only because of the monster physique common among pirates that Buggy could still speak at this point.
"Damn you, Cabaji, you useless bastard!"
Buggy collapsed on the deck, cursing.
"You analyzed everything so seriously, but it was all complete nonsense!"
Cabaji had confidently claimed that Caelan wouldn't be there, and that even if he was, Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit meant he had nothing to fear.
But in the end, all of it had been false, and Buggy had been beaten nearly to death.
"Tell me the truth. Are you trying to get me killed so you can take over my pirate crew?!"
Buggy glared at Cabaji suspiciously. Right now, Cabaji really looked like a traitor.
"Captain Buggy, how could I ever harm you?!"
Cabaji was full of grievance. Even if he had ten mouths, he couldn't explain his way out of this.
How could anyone have predicted that Caelan would suddenly change ships, or that they would be unlucky enough to run right into him?
And who would have thought that Caelan would be so terrifyingly strong?
The Chop-Chop Fruit was supposed to be the natural counter to swordsmanship, yet it had been completely useless against Caelan.
"Captain Buggy, Caelan is way too scary. Let's just stop being pirates."
Looking at Buggy's miserable state, Mohji hugged his lion Richie tightly, his face pale with fear.
This was supposed to be the Great Pirate Era. Why was there such a terrifying bounty hunter like Caelan?
This wasn't piracy. This was torture. Who wouldn't tremble at the sight of him?
"If you ask me, we should just disband."
Alvida couldn't help but sigh. What was the point of being a pirate anymore?
Sailing was supposed to be about freedom and adventure.
But now, with Caelan around, every day felt like walking on a tightrope.
They were lucky Caelan had let them go this time. But what about next time?
"What nonsense are you all talking about? I'm going to the Grand Line!"
Buggy's face filled with determination. He had made up his mind.
Caelan had swung three swords, and each one had brought him to the brink of death.
Ignore Caelan's warning? He, Buggy, really would die.
"You're seriously going to the Grand Line? Are you insane?"
The other pirates stared at Buggy like he had completely lost his mind.
He had almost died here in the East Blue. Going to the Grand Line would just be suicide.
"If you're afraid, why are you even a pirate?"
"I am Buggy the Clown, a man even Caelan had to acknowledge."
Buggy raised his head stubbornly, refusing to show weakness in front of his crew.
"Captain… did you hit your head too hard? When did Caelan acknowledge you?"
The crew looked at each other. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. He had been beaten senseless and still dared to brag like this?
"Of course he did. No pirate has ever escaped from Caelan before. But I did. Isn't that recognition?"
"He recognized my potential and gave me the chance to venture into the Grand Line."
"We'll meet again at the top and fight once more!"
Buggy spoke so passionately that even he almost believed it himself.
The crew fell silent. Somehow, they actually began to believe Buggy's nonsense.
Suddenly, a slash flew from the Wind Rider, landing in the sea right next to the Buggy Pirates' ship.
In an instant, massive waves surged, nearly overturning the ship.
Everyone gasped, drenched by the seawater.
Such a powerful slash had been sent from thousands of meters away.
If it had struck their ship directly, they would all be dead.
"Captain… is this what you meant by recognition?"
Several crew members looked at Buggy with confusion. This didn't feel like recognition at all. It felt like a clear threat.
"Hahaha! Yes! This is exactly Caelan's way of encouraging me!"
Buggy forced out a laugh, pretending not to care about the slash.
"Full speed ahead! Let's make a name for ourselves in the Grand Line!"
Buggy grabbed the helm himself and turned the ship toward the Grand Line.
The crew was shocked by their captain's spirit. None of them noticed his trembling legs.
Buggy knew very well that if he didn't leave now, the next sword would definitely hit the ship directly.
He was scared out of his wits. The only thing he could do was flee to the Grand Line as quickly as possible.
Facing Caelan again was something he absolutely did not want.
…
Watching the pirate ship rush off toward the Grand Line, Caelan sheathed his giant sword with satisfaction.
"Caelan, why would you let him go? That was easy money delivered right to your door."
Nami looked puzzled.
Buggy was so weak, and the bounty was 15 million Berries. Catching him would have been effortless.
That kind of money was a huge sum in the East Blue.
"Well… he was a trainee in Roger's pirate crew. He also has deep ties to Red-Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors."
Caelan couldn't help feeling the situation was a little absurd.
Buggy was such a useless clown. How did he end up connected to those kinds of people?
And his connections didn't stop there.
Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King, and even Whitebeard's crew had ties to Buggy.
Everyone said Red-Haired Shanks was the one who had the power of the Face-Face Fruit.
But in truth, Buggy was even more worthy of that title.
This was a man who, with no real strength, became one of the Four Emperors purely through connections and sheer dumb luck.
"With a background like his, we have to handle things carefully."
Nami nodded in agreement. No matter how useless Buggy seemed, anyone tied to the Four Emperors was not to be taken lightly.
Surely, even Caelan would show some respect to Red-Haired Shanks.
"Why do you think that? There's no one on this sea I'm afraid to face."
Caelan rolled his eyes at Nami. Did he look like the kind of person who would back down?
"What I mean is… Buggy might be worth more if we let him grow a little."
Nami quickly adjusted her words. She knew Caelan was not the type to shy away from a fight.
The Arlong Pirates had connections to the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but Caelan had wiped them out without a second thought.
Not a single fish-man had survived.
"That's right. With his status, his bounty could easily double to 30 million Berries."
"If we catch him then, the profit will be much higher."
Nami's eyes sparkled. This was a great deal.
A little patience, and they could double their earnings.
"Thirty million?"
"Too small. Far too small."
"Just based on his history as a trainee of the Roger Pirates, he's worth at least 1 billion Berries."
Caelan shook his finger. Nami still hadn't seen enough of the world to understand how valuable Buggy's background truly was.
In fact, Caelan was holding back. He didn't want to scare her.
"Wha—?! One billion Berries?!"
Nami gasped, her eyes widening in shock.
She couldn't even imagine that kind of money.
She had worked for eight years, tricking and robbing countless pirate crews, just to scrape together 100 million Berries.
One billion? That was on a whole other level.
Even the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the newspapers rarely had bounties that high.
"Buggy is only worth 15 million Berries right now. If he reaches one billion… that's…"
Nami counted on her fingers, calculating frantically.
"That's 66 times more!"
Nami's eyes turned into Berries. This was an investment worth waiting for!
She looked at Buggy's pirate ship in the distance as if she were staring at a golden mountain that would keep growing on its own.
Watching Nami's expression, Caelan chuckled to himself.
One billion Berries wasn't even Buggy's limit.
Who would have thought that this ridiculous clown would one day stand at the top of the Four Emperors, with a bounty of nearly 3.2 billion Berries?
The seed Caelan had just planted would one day bring him a return of 200 times.
"Stop daydreaming, little money-grubber."
"How long until we reach Loguetown?"
Caelan waved his hand in front of Nami's face, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"At this speed, we'll arrive early tomorrow morning."
Nami quickly gave her estimate.
"Perfect. We'll collect the bounties, then head straight for the Grand Line."
Caelan nodded with satisfaction. At this pace, they would reach the Grand Line the day after tomorrow.
(To be continued.)