The winds of Alabasta carried dust, smoke, and a fading echo of laughter, shrill, mad, and distant.
On a dune overlooking the capital, the Straw Hats stood watching the clown disappear into the sunrise. The last glimmer of red and blue against gold vanished beyond the horizon, leaving only silence.
Luffy held Vivi close for a moment longer, making sure she wasn't hurt. She was still trembling, but her eyes, sharp and royal, were already steady again.
He set her down gently, dusting off his vest, and said nothing for a long while.
Zoro crossed his arms, his swords rattling faintly as the desert wind whistled. "So that's that," he muttered. "The clown's gone. Flew off before we could land a hit."
Sanji flicked a bit of sand from his cigarette, jaw tight. "Can't believe that bastard held a knife to a lady's throat." His voice cracked like gunpowder, with anger and disbelief all mixed together. "He's lower than I thought."
Luffy's hat shaded his eyes. "I thought he was on our side," he said quietly. "He fought Crocodile's men. Helped Vivi. Even wrecked that casino." He clenched a fist, sand grinding between his fingers. "And then he just… turned."
Zoro gave a humorless chuckle. "He didn't turn. He was always looking out for himself, nothing's changed since the first meeting. He's the type of pirate that would loot a town for convenience. You just choose to ignore that."
Nami had been silent the whole time. She stood a few paces back, staring in the direction Buggy had vanished. "He's an idiot," she finally said. "A selfish idiot. But he's not cruel."
They all turned toward her.
"He used Vivi to escape, that's all. If he wanted to hurt her, he could've. But he didn't."
Zoro frowned. "You're defending him?"
"I'm not," Nami said quickly, shaking her head. "I just… I know what he's like. He's chaos, not evil." She rubbed the back of her neck, gaze distant. "He destroyed Arlong Park. Freed my village. I thanked him for that, and that's where it ends."
Silence settled again.
Luffy looked at his crew, at Vivi, at the ruins of Alubarna in the distance, and something hardened in his chest. "He wrecked Vivi's home," he said finally, voice low. "He scared her. I don't care if he helped us before. I'll find him." His hand rose to his hat, pulling it down over his eyes. "And I'll make him pay for what he did."
The determination in his tone left no room for argument.
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Back in the palace ruins, smoke still curled from the fissure that split marble and history alike. Marines scurried over rubble, carrying out the wounded, shouting orders into den-den mushi.
Smoker stood among them, coat torn, cigar still clamped between his teeth. The Transponder Snail on the table beside him mirrored his frown as he spoke into it.
"This is Captain Smoker, reporting from Alubarna. The situation's stabilized, Crocodile is in custody."
Static crackled from the other end, followed by the calm voice of Tashigi. "Sir, what about the palace? And that… explosion?"
Smoker glanced up at the ruin that had once been a royal hall, its roof caved inward, the desert swallowing its foundations. "Explosion's not accurate," he said grimly. "The palace was… cut. Split clean in two. By that damn clown."
There was a pause. "Buggy the Clown, sir?"
"That's right." Smoker took a long drag, exhaled smoke through his nose. "He used the princess as a hostage, tore half the royal grounds apart with his Devil Fruit, then escaped with his crew. Straw Hat's crew tried to pursue him, but he got away."
He turned his eyes toward the distance, where the sea shimmered faintly beyond the desert haze. "Every time he shows up, it's worse than before. The fool's becoming dangerous, and I don't think even he realizes how dangerous."
Tashigi's voice came quiet through the snail. "Should we pursue?"
Smoker shook his head. "No. Not yet. I'll file for a formal directive from HQ. He's found a new way to weaponize his devil fruit… He was dangerous enough before, but now?" He paused, flicking ash to the ground. "He's even taken down a warlord..."
The line went quiet. Smoker's eyes drifted to the far side of the rubble, where King Cobra was being treated by his guards. The monarch was bruised but alive, a small mercy.
"Your Majesty," Smoker said, stepping closer. "We'll rebuild communication lines with Marine HQ. You'll be safe now."
Cobra managed a weary smile. "Safe… thanks to a pirate's mercy and a Marine's diligence. Strange world we live in, Captain."
Smoker didn't answer. He just looked out over the fractured palace, the raw cut that gleamed under the sun, and muttered under his breath, "A clown's mercy is just a coin flip."
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Far from the desert, aboard a Marine ship cutting through calm seas, another prisoner stirred.
The brig was cold and silent, save for the rhythmic creak of chains. Crocodile sat on the floor, his wrists bound in seastone, his coat stripped, his cigar long gone. His smirk, however, had returned, thin and venomous.
He stared down at the reflection of the ceiling lights in a puddle of seawater and laughed once, low and bitter.
"That clown," he hissed, the word tasting like bile. "Revolutionary ties or not… he made a fool of me. Twice."
His eyes glinted in the dim light. "The next time I see him, I'll tear the paint from his face before I kill him."
He leaned back against the cell wall, the faint hum of the ship's engines vibrating through the air.
'Laugh while you can, Buggy the Clown. The world's full of bigger monsters than you...'
Outside, thunder rumbled across the calm belt, a storm forming far, far away.