"Damn it…"
With his body thrown backward, Buggy flew into a pile of barrels and crates, smashing them to pieces.
Holding his head, he looked at the blood staining his hand. His face twisted in anger.
Usually cowardly and timid, someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong, this was the first time in years Buggy had ever fought someone head-on.
Yet even with his face swollen and bruised, he had no intention of backing down.
Pushing aside the shattered planks around him, he glanced at his crewmates charging forward. There was no doubt—they were no match for the Fish-Men.
After all, the pirates of the East Blue weren't that different from ordinary humans. When fighting Fish-Men whose physical strength was several times that of a human's, they often needed to outnumber them heavily just to hold their ground.
Especially against the shark Fish-Man Arlong.
Buggy was covered in blood from head to toe, his face bruised and swollen with several missing teeth. Looking utterly miserable, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Ptoo—!"
"You damn Fish-Man!!!"
He gritted his teeth as he watched his circus crew being beaten back step by step.
Then he suddenly waved his hand and roared,
"All of you, get out of my way!!!"
The crew members, battered and bruised themselves, immediately obeyed and cleared a path.
At that moment, Buggy kicked out his foot, and something like a small pill popped out from his shoe.
"Watch closely, you bastards—Buggy Ball!!!"
The Fish-Men, who had just been swaggering arrogantly, froze for a moment as the "pill" rolled toward them.
And then—
"BOOM!!!"
Under the gaze of a young Nami, the Fish-Men gathered outside Bell-mère's house were blasted into the air by a massive explosion.
Most were instantly incapacitated, and a few unlucky ones lay on the ground—whether dead or alive, it was unclear.
Drip...
Drip...
Buggy braced himself on his knees, gasping for breath as blood dripped continuously from his head.
From within the smoke of the explosion, a figure emerged from the very back of the Fish-Men formation.
Even though he had been blown far away, his vicious eyes still burned with fury as he walked out through the smoke, his clothes tattered and shredded.
It was Arlong.
"You bastard…!!!"
He clenched his razor-sharp teeth, glaring murderously at the clownish human in front of him, his fists tightening.
Buggy scowled, fully aware of how strong this opponent was.
This is bad…
He watched as Arlong walked toward him, his gaze like that of a beast about to devour its prey.
But then Arlong sneered cruelly and looked toward the nearby orange grove.
"You're a pirate, aren't you? You came here for these, didn't you?"
After losing so many of his "noble" Fish-Man brothers, simply killing Buggy and his men was no longer enough to quell his rage.
He poured all the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of humans into this moment.
BANG—
With a terrifying burst of strength, Arlong punched an orange tree, shattering its trunk into splinters.
The tree collapsed heavily to the ground, the ripe oranges bursting open as they hit the dirt, their juice splattering everywhere—splattering right onto Buggy's heart.
His eyes widened as he watched.
He remembered his crew cheerfully telling him once,
"Captain Buggy, the best oranges in the entire East Blue—no, maybe even in the whole world—come from Cocoyasi Village!"
And when they were kids, Orin had thrown an arm around his shoulder and laughed heartily, saying:
"Of course I believe in you, Buggy!!!"
The fire inside Buggy's heart erupted uncontrollably.
Ever since Orin appeared, Buggy's days of slacking off had grown fewer. He wasn't a complete weakling anymore.
"You bastard! Stop right there!!!"
Buggy's body instantly split apart—his upper half flying straight toward Arlong.
But Arlong didn't hold back either. He opened his huge mouth and bit down fiercely.
"Crunch!"
Buggy wasn't afraid of slashing attacks, but biting still hurt like hell. Yet this time, he didn't care.
Even with blood gushing from his torn shoulder, he raised his fist, face full of fury.
"Clang—"
For an instant, a faint black aura flickered over his fist. Buggy swung down hard toward Arlong's head.
"You damn Fish-Man! Don't underestimate the bonds of the great Buggy-sama!!!"
BOOM—!!!
A gust of air burst out, and the ground cracked open with a deep crater.
The once-arrogant Fish-Man Arlong lay inside it, eyes rolled back.
If Buggy could use even a trace of Haki… how could he be weaker than the early Luffy?
Everyone around stood frozen in disbelief.
That monstrous Fish-Man—who had beaten even Marine Bell-mère with ease—had just been defeated?!
Buggy ignored their shock. Nearly collapsing, he was caught and supported by his crew, barely managing to stand upright.
Bruised and swollen, he limped over to Nami's family. Looking at the badly injured Bell-mère and the two little girls, his expression turned fierce.
"Hey… from now on, this orange grove belongs to me, got it? Take good care of it!!!"
Bell-mère wanted to say something, but Nami suddenly jumped forward and agreed.
To them, the man who had just saved Bell-mère's life—what was one orange grove in comparison? Nothing was more important than Bell-mère's safety.
...
Buggy nearly collapsed again, groaning in pain as his men carried him away.
"OW OW OW OW OW—!!! You idiots! Don't touch Buggy-sama's wounds!!!"
Crates of oranges were being loaded up for transport. Buggy yelled orders at his crew between pained gasps.
"Don't crush Buggy-sama's oranges, you morons! Be careful with those!!!"
"Yes, Captain Buggy!!!"
Watching this bizarre group of pirates bustling about, Nami stood frozen, her gaze lingering on the crates.
On them was a unique mark used for maritime shipping.
The letters read: AOS.
The subordinates of the transportation company were responsible for storing such cargo and ensuring the highest freshness for their clients when needed.
Buggy had paid for it himself—the transportation company didn't bother with small orders from the East Blue.
As a seagull passed by collecting news, Buggy, despite still wincing from pain, suddenly froze.
Maybe Orin would see this later.
He stuck out his tongue and made a ridiculous face toward the seagull's camera, grinning like an idiot.
Nami watched them go, her eyes falling again on the strange symbol.
She didn't know what it meant—only that it felt special somehow.
But after that day, the already-poor family that survived by growing oranges found themselves in even greater hardship.
From then on, Nami began a life where she had no choice but to steal to survive.
...
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