Clouds exploded beneath them.
The two ships, Buggy's Big Top and the Mad Monk's vessel, floated on the White Sea like twin islands of chaos. The first cannon shot had gone off like a thunderclap, splitting the silence of heaven itself.
Buggy was already standing on the figurehead, grinning widely, coat fluttering in the thin air."Alright, boys! Let's give our new friends a proper circus welcome!"
The Buggy Pirates roared, charging forward with blades and rifles. The Mad Monk's crew, hulking men with tribal tattoos and battered armor, shouted prayers and swung massive clubs.
Boards were raised, creating makeshift staircases as the Mad Monk's men started trying yo board the ship.
Alas, it just wasn't written in the cards, in less than a minute, it was over.
"Seis Fleur - Clutch."
Dozens of arms bloomed like flowers across the battlefield, arms belonging to Robin.
Calm and elegant, she stood on the upper deck, one hand resting on her hip. Her duplicated limbs twisted and folded, dropping half of Urouge's men in a symphony of cracking joints and surprised yelps.
In seconds, a dozen groaning monks lay neatly piled on their own deck.
"...Well," Cabaji muttered, sword still drawn. "Guess that's that."
Mohji nodded. "Didn't even get to swing once."
Buggy, meanwhile, didn't seem the least bit annoyed that his crew's warm-up had been stolen. He was far too amused by the look on Urouge's face, a mixture of shock and indignation.
"Oi, oi…" Buggy called out, balancing on the very tip of the bowsprit. "Don't tell me your boys are this fragile. We haven't even started the show yet!"
Urouge's grin faltered. The massive man towered over his own fallen crew, muscles glistening beneath the tattered remains of a monk's robe.
His skin was dark and weathered, and a pair of small angelic wings twitched behind him, relics of the Sky Islands he hailed from. Across his shoulder rested his weapon: a massive hexagonal pillar of steel and stone, taller than any man alive.
"No need to mock us, clown," Urouge rumbled, his deep voice carrying easily across the cloud-sea. "My men may have been careless, but I am not so easily humbled."
Buggy stretched his arms wide, his grin never fading. "Oh, I'm counting on that, Father Flex. Tell you what, how about we make this fun?"
The monk raised an eyebrow. "Fun?"
Buggy hopped lightly onto the rail, balancing like a tightrope walker. "Yeah! Let's make it a proper Davy Back Fight! Winner takes all, the loser discards their Jolly Roger and serves under the winner. Sound fair?"
A ripple of surprise ran through both crews.
Cabaji blinked. "Wait, he's serious?"
Robin smirked faintly. "From the little time I've spent on the ship... Yes, he is usually serious when he sounds insane."
Urouge barked out a laugh, the sound booming like thunder. "You'd wager your crew on just one battle?"
"Oh please," Buggy said, waving a hand. "You don't think I'm that stupid, do you? I'm wagering your pride, not mine. I've got nothing to prove here. I am an infamous menace in the first half of the Grand Line, you're a no-name nobody, who's clearly got something to prove~"
That hit home. The monk's grin turned sharp, a vein pulsing in his temple.
"Very well then, clown," Urouge said, his wings unfurling. "Let's see if heaven favors fools or jesters today."
The two ships drifted closer until their decks almost touched. The White Sea hissed beneath them, a blank canvas for madness.
Urouge stepped forward, weapon resting across his shoulder. His sheer presence made the planks creak beneath his feet.
Buggy cracked his neck, then pulled off his red coat and tossed it to Cabaji. "Hold that for me, will ya? Don't want it getting blood on it, mine or his."
Cabaji caught it, blinking nervously. "Uh… Captain, you sure about this?"
"Relax," Buggy said, rolling his shoulders. "He looks like a brute, but I've seen plenty of those. This'll be a piece of cake."
Robin crossed her arms, studying Urouge. "You might want to avoid taking hits. He looks like he can snap you in two~"
Buggy grinned. "Oh, please, have some confidence in your glorious captain~" The clown moved over to the Mad Monk's ship, landing on it and choosing it as the stage for his next performance.
When Urouge moved, the air shook.
He lunged forward with inhuman speed, his pillar whistling through the air. Buggy ducked just in time; the massive weapon crushed the deck where he'd just landed, leaving a crater that nearly split the deck in half.
"Good grief!" Buggy laughed, flipping backward in midair. "Are you trying to sink both of us, or just overcompensating?"
Urouge growled, muscles bulging. "Just hope your feet are as quick as your mouth, clown."
"Part of the act!" Buggy shouted, his torso splitting apart in midair. His upper half whirled around Urouge like a tornado of limbs. "Let's dance!"
His detached hands and boots flew in from all directions, hammering the monk with rapid punches and kicks.
Wham! Whap! Whack!
Each strike landed cleanly, knocking Urouge's head to the side, staggering him a half-step, yet each one also fueled his growing rage.
The monk's skin flushed red, veins bulging, muscles swelling by the second. His laughter deepened into something monstrous. "Hah… Hahaha! Every strike you land only makes me stronger!"
Buggy zipped backward, floating with his parts spread wide. "Oh, trust me, I'm counting on it."
He rocketed back in, fists spinning like propellers. Urouge's massive pillar swung upward to block, and Buggy caught it.
Gasps rippled through both crews. The hexagonal pillar was easily several tons, a weapon no normal man could even lift. Yet there was Buggy, gripping it with both hands, legs skidding across the deck as his boots carved grooves into the planks.
"Now now," Buggy said, voice strained but mocking all the same. "No need to be so feisty… we've got plenty of room for you under the Big Top~"
Urouge's grin widened, the weight pressing down. "I won't bow to some weakling!"
He shoved harder, the sheer power forcing Buggy's arms to tremble. The clown's teeth were gritted, but he didn't yield.
Then, suddenly, Buggy split apart.
His arms detached, still holding the pillar in midair, while his body zipped around behind Urouge. A boot slammed into the monk's ribs; a detached fist punched him square in the jaw. Then another. And another.
Urouge spun, swinging wildly, but his pillar hit only empty air. Buggy's pieces darted and danced around him like angry wasps, every hit making the monk stronger, angrier, bigger.
Robin watched calmly from afar. "He's toying with him."
Cabaji frowned. "Captain is usually like that..."
Mohji grinned. "Yeah… Always fun to watch too."
Soon, Urouge towered over the deck, nearly double his original size, muscles coiling like ropes. His laughter boomed across the sky.
"Hahaha! You're no match for me now, clown! I'll crush you and send your painted ship back to the Blue Sea where it belongs!"
Buggy landed lightly on a shattered mast, tilting his head. "...You done?"
Urouge roared and charged, a mere footstep of his cracking the deck. The pillar was all but tossed aside like a toy, as his massive fist came down towards Buggy like a cannonball.
Buggy sighed. "Guess playtime's over."
He crouched, touching the deck with one hand.
"Chop Chop~"
The world split.
For a heartbeat, there was silence, then the ship simply fell apart.
A clean diagonal cut tore through the entire hull, splitting it from bow to stern. The two halves began to drift apart, groaning under their own weight as the White Sea hissed and surged beneath them.
The remaining monks screamed, grabbing rails and ropes to keep from sliding into the cloud ocean.
Urouge froze mid-swing, staring in disbelief at the ruin around him. "You… what—"
Buggy floated in front of him, arms crossed, grin devilish. "You really thought dodging's all I can do? That's adorable."
The monk's massive body swayed as the deck beneath him gave way. With a loud crack, one half of his ship began to sink into the clouds.
"Consider this," Buggy said, tipping his hat, "your initiation."
Urouge scowled. "Initiation…?"
"Into my circus. Congratulations -you just lost the Davy Back Fight."
The deck collapsed, and Urouge fell—though Buggy's scattered hands caught him midair, suspending him long enough for the defeated monk to realize just how outmatched he truly was.
'If he could cut the ship with just a touch... Doesn't that mean he could've killed me with any one of his attacks?'
Buggy leaned close, his painted grin reflecting in Urouge's shocked eyes.
"Don't worry, big guy," he whispered. "You'll get used to the smell of old rum and greasepaint eventually."
Then, with theatrical flair, he snapped his fingers.
"Show's over."
-
-
-
A short while later, the Big Top floated peacefully among the clouds, dragging what remained of the Mad Monk's shattered vessel behind it.
Most of Urouge's men were unconscious or tied up on deck; no one had fallen to the lower sea thanks to Robin's help. They were now all crewmates after all.
A few of the Mad Monk's comrades who remained awake stared at the laughing, colorful crew around them in pure disbelief.
Cabaji nudged Buggy, who was back in his captain's coat, sipping from a cup of tea like nothing had happened. "So… we really taking them in?"
Buggy grinned. "Of course! Every circus needs its strongmen, doesn't it?"
Mohji scratched his head. "Captain… you realize that guy could probably bench-press our entire ship, right?"
"Well, only is he gets smacked in the head enough," Buggy said, leaning back with a smirk. "Still, he'll make for a great attraction."
Robin sat nearby, elegantly reading a newspaper she'd retrieved from a News Coo. Her calm voice broke the laughter for a moment. "You certainly have a… unique recruitment process, Captain."
Buggy raised his cup in salute. "What can I say? A man's got to build his legend somehow."
He looked skyward, the vast white expanse stretching endlessly above.
"Besides," he murmured, eyes gleaming with ambition, "A great circus needs to be filled with all sorts of characters~"
The crew laughed again, and the Big Top sailed onward. Through the endless sea of clouds, carrying its mad captain, his growing band of lunatics, and one very confused monk who'd just joined the strangest show in the sky.