Chapter 38 Bucky the ClownLuffy paid, picked up the two oil-paper packages bigger than himself, pushed open the butcher shop door, and stepped back into the street where the fog was gradually dissipating.
The aroma of meat wafted through the narrow street, immediately attracting some ill-intentioned glances.
Several ragged men squatting at the alley entrance exchanged glances, stood up, and casually surrounded Luffy.
Luffy seemed oblivious, pulling another sausage from his package as he walked, taking a large bite.
Just as he reached a relatively open intersection, a sharp shout and a loud crash of something being smashed suddenly rang out from ahead!
"Hahaha! Loot it all! Take everything valuable! Chop off anyone who resists!"
"Long live Captain Buggy!"
"This town belongs to the Buggy Pirates!"
A group of strangely dressed pirates, wielding swords and muskets, were frantically ransacking a rather large general store at the crossroads.
The shop window was smashed to pieces, goods were roughly thrown into the street, and the owner, a gaunt middle-aged man, was being trampled underfoot by one of the pirates, his face covered in blood, pleading desperately.
The owner's wife and children huddled behind the broken counter, trembling and weeping.
The leader was a short, stocky man with a red nose, wearing a captain's hat and a garishly colored clown costume.
Buggy stood atop a cannon-like vehicle resembling a circus prop, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at the looted shops, laughing triumphantly:
"See that? You worthless bastards of Loguetown! This is what happens when you defy me, Buggy-sama!
I, Buggy the Clown, the future Pirate King! This town will henceforth be my territory!
My treasure! My men! My era has begun! Hahaha!"
Buggy laughed so hard he almost fell over, his red nose twitching.
"Men, hurry up! After we finish this place, we'll rob that jewelry store next to the Marine base! I heard they have some good stuff there!"
"Yes, Captain Buggy!" The pirates looted and vandalized even more vigorously.
Some civilians hid behind cracks in doors and windows in the distance, watching the scene with anger and fear on their faces, but no one dared to step forward.
Luffy stopped at the intersection, took a bite of a sausage, chewed slowly, and calmly watched the farce unfold.
His gaze fell on the red-nosed clown, then swept over the crying civilians and the shopkeeper trampled underfoot.
Luffy felt nothing. The law of the sea—survival of the fittest.
These civilians were too weak, so being robbed, even killed, was only to be expected.
That Buggy, though also weak, was stronger than these civilians, allowing him to act arrogantly.
Luffy could have ignored him and walked past.
But the fragrant meat in his hand, the cries from the other side, and Buggy's ear-piercing laughter, all mixed together, made Luffy feel… nauseous.
Especially the words "Pirate King." Although he himself aspired to that position, it was based on absolute future strength.
How dare someone like Buggy call that a title? It was an insult to that goal.
Luffy swallowed the last bite of his sausage and casually tossed the oil paper aside.
Then, carrying two huge meat buns, he strode straight toward the chaos.
Luffy's movements were unhurried, even leisurely, a stark contrast to the panicked fleeing around him, immediately attracting the attention of the Buggy Pirates.
A pirate wielding a machete blocked Luffy's path, the tip of the blade pointed at him, grinning maliciously, "Hey you, straw hat kid! Stop!"
"Can't you see Buggy's gotta do his thing? Get lost! Or I'll rob you too!"
Luffy didn't even glance at him, continuing on his way.
The pirate roared, "You're asking for it!"
He swung his machete at Luffy's neck! The blade was sharp and fierce, clearly the work of a ruthless killer.
Luffy still didn't look at the blade, nor did he dodge.
But just as the blade was about to strike, his free left hand flashed out, his index and middle fingers together, covered in a barely perceptible layer of black.
Armament Haki Hardening: Finger Pistol Modified!
Clang!
With a crisp, light sound, the powerful slash struck Luffy's two jet-black fingers, then came to a halt!
The pirate's sinister grin froze instantly, replaced by astonishment, then terror. He felt as if his blade hadn't struck flesh! The recoil split his hand, drawing blood!
Luffy flicked his finger.
Crack!
The steel-forged cleaver, starting from the point of contact with his finger, cracked like a spiderweb, then shattered into pieces!
Shards clattered to the ground.
The pirate, clutching the broken hilt, stared blankly at Luffy, as if he'd seen a ghost.
Luffy then looked up and glanced at him.
That look sent a chill down the pirate's spine! He screamed, dropped the hilt, and scrambled away.
The commotion finally caught Buggy's attention.
Buggy stopped laughing and squinted at Luffy.
"Oh? A fearless brat?"
Buggy sized up Luffy's ordinary attire and straw hat, and scoffed, "What kind of pirate are you pretending to be with that tattered straw hat? What gang are you from, kid? Haven't you heard of Captain Buggy?"
Luffy finally stopped, standing about ten meters away from Buggy's cannon truck.
He gently placed the two enormous meat buns at his feet, then patted the grease off his hands and looked up at Buggy on the cannon truck.
Luffy spoke, his voice drowning out the commotion: "I've never heard of you, but you just said you're going to be the Pirate King?"
Buggy puffed out his chest, his red nose flared high: "That's right! I'm the future Pirate King, Buggy the Clown!
Scared? Now kneel down and beg for mercy, offer up your valuables, and I might consider taking you on as a deck-washing underling!"
The surrounding pirates roared with laughter, looking at Luffy with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.
Luffy looked at Buggy and slowly uttered two words:
"You?"
His voice held no anger, only a disdainful contempt, like looking down on an ant.
Buggy's smug expression froze. He stared intently at the straw hat on Luffy's head, that worn yet familiar straw hat…
A flash of arrogant smile from a certain red-haired bastard deep in his memory!
It was that bastard Shanks' straw hat!
Back then, it was because of him that I mistakenly ate that damned Devil Fruit, ruining my glorious pirate career!
"That straw hat..."
"It's Shanks' straw hat! You brat...you're one of that bastard's men?!"
Buggy's voice trembled with extreme rage, his red nose twitched violently, and his eyes instantly became bloodshot.
Old and new grudges combined, and Buggy's fury reached its peak. He pointed at Luffy and roared hysterically:
"Shanks's lackey! Die!!!"
"Men, charge! Kill him! Chop him to pieces and feed him to the fish!"