Pirate: I, Buggy, am the Emperor, the Emperor of the Clown King!

"You've come at just the right time." Bucky didn't let go, nor did he turn around.

Nami walked to the bedside, skillfully kicked off her shoes, and lay down on Buggy's other side.

Her movements were so natural that Nojiko simply shifted to the side without even raising her head.

Buggy's left hand rested on Nami's lower abdomen.

Nami paused slightly, then relaxed, leaning on his shoulder and holding the Den Den Mushi in front of him.

"Colonel Mouse called."

"What did you say?"

"Haven't answered yet." Nami's fingers traced the outer shell of the Den Den Mushi. "I'm waiting for you."

Buggy gently patted Nami's lower abdomen twice.

The fabric was very thin, and I could feel the skin under my palms getting slightly warm.

Nami's breathing became shallower, and her eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow on her cheek.

But she didn't move; she just adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable.

Since I've joined the Buggy Pirates, I'm naturally prepared for some things.

Nojiko and Nami didn't join on the condition of their own strength or resources.

Strictly speaking, the two of them were recruited by Pakistan out of gratitude.

As for expecting something in return for a favor, no one has any objection to it.

"Catch it," Bucky said.

Nami pressed the answer button.

The Den Den Mushi opened its eyes, its mouth opened and closed, and Colonel Mouse's shrill, obsequious voice came through the receiver:

"Lord Bucky the Clown!"

"I apologize for bothering you, but I have something very important to report!"

Although Colonel Rat didn't know much about Bucky, he was genuinely afraid of and respected him.

The fate of the Arlong Pirates was truly terrifying.

Colonel Mouse felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of being dressed up as a mouse and performing in an animal show.

Buggy's fingers traced circles on Nami's lower abdomen, slowly and deliberately.

Nami's breathing became somewhat erratic as her fingertips moved, but she bit her lower lip and remained silent.

Nojiko leaned on Bucky's other shoulder and held a piece of apple to his lips, her fingertips trembling slightly.

"explain."

Looking at the Den Den Mushi, Bucky wasn't worried about his private parts being exposed, because this kind of Den Den Mushi didn't have that function at all.

From the other end of the Den Den Mushi came the sound of Colonel Rat swallowing hard: "Y-yes, it's like this, Lord Buggy. Commodore Brinbrin of the 77th Marine Division, he... he's coming to cause you trouble!"

Bucky's fingers paused for a moment.

Nami looked up at him slightly, her eyes filled with a question.

Bucky didn't say anything, but just pressed her side with his thumb, signaling her not to move.

"Tell me in detail." Although he doesn't have a strong bloodlust, if there are any fools who don't know their place, they should be killed.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Colonel Rat's voice became even more urgent. "That guy, BrinBrin... said he'll personally capture you and bring you back to prove the Navy's justice!"

The Den Den Mushi amplified Colonel Rat's voice several times over; its shrill, laced voice, a mixture of fawning and fear, echoed through the cabin.

Buggy's hands started moving again, sliding from Nami's lower abdomen to her waist, his fingertips tracing along each of her ribs.

Nami's body tensed up, her breathing became extremely low, like a cat whose chin was being scratched, wanting to escape but unwilling to.

"How many men did he bring?" Bucky asked.

"No, not many! Just the few men in his 77th branch! That idiot Brinbrin thinks he's so great, he didn't even request reinforcements, and he just took his warships to your side! Lord Bucky, you must be careful, although he's not very strong, he's reckless..." Colonel Rat began to spill the beans.

"You did a great job." Bucky's lips curled up slightly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, then Colonel Mouse's voice came through again, this time with a hint of flattery and trembling:

"Lord Buggy, you flatter me! This is nothing but what I should do! You gave me my life, and serving you is..."

Although Colonel Rat didn't know why he was so afraid of Bucky, he didn't care.

That very first meeting left an indelible impression on Colonel Rat.

After all, the image of a clown naturally evokes a sense of fear.

It feels bizarre, eerie, and even frightening.

It's not just about being funny; it's the result of a combination of psychology, visuals, and culture.

You can't tell any emotion from their facial expressions at all.

Humans instinctively judge safety through micro-expressions, but the clown image directly deprives them of this ability, causing the brain to automatically determine: unknown = dangerous.

With its exaggerated bright red lips, pale face, and round nose, it imitates humans yet doesn't resemble them, resembling the uncanny valley effect.

Their behavior is also contradictory.

What should have been funny suddenly becomes quiet, stiff, and eerie; this contrast is what makes people uneasy.

"Alright," Bucky interrupted him. "Keep an eye on things, report back when you have any news."

"Yes, yes, yes! I will certainly..."

Buggy raised his hand, and Nami, understanding, hung up the Den Den Mushi.

The Den Den Mushi closed its eyes, and the cabin fell silent again.

Buggy looked down at Nami.

Her face was buried in the crook of his shoulder, with only a small section of her fair neck showing, and the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they were burning.

Bucky's fingers slid from her waist to her lower abdomen, and when he placed his palm on her, he could feel the muscles there were very taut.

"How much longer until we reach Loguetown?" Bucky's voice was calm, as if nothing had happened.

Nami's eyelashes trembled, and she lifted her head from behind her shoulder.

Her face still had a faint blush, but her eyes had regained their shrewdness.

Romantic relationships are merely a way to lighten the mood, not the main theme of life.

"It normally takes half a month to sail from Dragon Park to Loguetown," Nami said, her voice still carrying a hint of emotion, but she quickly composed herself.

"We've been sailing for seven days, and at our current speed, we have another seven days," Nami finally concluded.

Sailing on the high seas is very slow, especially since the Buggy Pirates' ship has sails instead of propellers.

Indeed, if Cocoyasi City, where Dragon Paradise is located, were close to Loguetown, Smoker would have gotten wind of it and killed it long ago.

"Seven days?" Buggy's hand stopped on Nami's lower abdomen.

"Hmm." Nami nodded, her gaze falling on Buggy's fingers before shifting away. "We'll be passing through two islands, and I plan to resupply on the second one."

"The ocean currents near Rogge are quite complex; if the wind direction is wrong, it could take up to eight days."

"But judging from the current weather, seven days should be no problem."

Nami's talent as a navigator is exceptional.

She is beautiful and has a daring and aggressive personality, but her biggest problem is that she lacks fighting skills.

Buggy thinks maybe they should kill Enel and take the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to make up for Nami's weakness?

But how do we take the fruit away?

There are only two kinds of impressions of Bucky.

①: When killing a Devil Fruit user, place fruit near them, with apples being the best choice. After the user dies, the surrounding fruit will transform into Devil Fruits, but the specific outcome depends on factors such as distance.

②: When other users of the Dark-Dark Fruit are dying or have just died, the user forcibly captures and transfers the fruit's power using darkness, skipping the process of "waiting for it to naturally attach to the fruit" and directly obtaining the power.

As for the old lady eating the nun, that's a special case, a unique circumstance related to the Soul-Soul Fruit, not a general method of stealing the fruit.

Buggy looked at Nami with a hint of admiration in his eyes. This was why he needed Nami.

Not only because she is beautiful and intelligent, but also because she is capable.

Was he the navigator of the Buggy Pirates in the past?

Not to mention.

"wind direction?"

"Southeast wind, force 3 to 4." Nami's voice grew steadyer. "It shouldn't change for the next couple of days. I checked the cloud cover and the seabirds' flight paths; the next week should be fine."

"What about supplies?"

"That's enough." Nami thought for a moment. "If we don't stop at that middle island, we can sail straight to Loguetown. But just in case, I still suggest we stop. There's fresh water on that island, so filling up our tanks will be safer."

Bucky tapped her lower abdomen twice with his fingers, as if he were thinking about something.

Nami's body trembled slightly with the two taps, but she bit her lower lip to suppress the reaction.

"That's settled then."

"Yes." Nami nodded and tried to sit up, but Buggy's hand remained on her lower abdomen, showing no sign of letting go.

She paused for a moment, looked up at him, and met his gaze with the slightly upturned corners of his mouth beneath the mask.

"captain?"

"Anything else?" Bucky asked. "Go on."

Nami's eyelashes trembled, and she leaned back against his shoulder.

Her voice lowered further, carrying a barely perceptible softness: "Loguetown is where the Pirate King Roger was executed, and Smoker the White Hunter is a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, he's not easy to deal with."

Bucky's hand slid from her lower abdomen to her waist, and then up her spine, his fingertips counting each vertebra.

Nami's breathing became shallow and rapid, and she buried her face even deeper into his shoulder.

"However..." her voice was muffled, trembling slightly, "with the captain's strength, there shouldn't be any problem... as long as we don't cause trouble..."

Bucky's hand stopped.

"Not causing trouble?" He laughed, a low, husky laugh carrying a certain inexplicable pleasure. "Nami, we are pirates."

Nami looked up, about to say something, when Buggy suddenly pulled his hand away from her waist.

Before she could react, she felt herself being thrown onto the bed by a force.

Noki let out a short gasp, the fruit plate slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor, scattering melons all over the place.

Buggy positioned himself between the two, one hand resting on the pillow above Nami's head, and the other on Noji's waist.

His mask reflected a faint light in the dim cabin, and the corners of his mouth beneath the mask were slightly upturned.

"Seven days," he said, his voice soft, like a lover's murmur or a hunter's whisper, "enough to do a lot of things."

Nami's breathing became completely disordered.

She lay beneath him, her orange hair spread across the pillow, her eyes half-open, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

She didn't know where to put her hands, so she finally placed them on Bucky's shoulder. It wasn't like she was pushing him away, but rather like she was confirming something.

Nojiko turned her head to the side and saw Buggy's other hand sliding up from Nami's waist.

Nami arched her body, and a very soft, almost inaudible sound escaped from her throat.

Buggy leaned down and pressed his mask against Nami's ear.

Nami could feel his breath, warm and carrying a hint of sweet fruit scent, which brushed against her earlobe, making half of her body go numb.

The atmosphere seemed to have reached a certain point.

"Seven days later~" Buggy's voice came from behind the mask, "Let's go visit the place where the Pirate King Roger died."

Nami opened her mouth, as if to say something.

But Bucky's hand had already slid down from her ear, pinched her chin, and shut her mouth.

"Don't talk." Buggy pressed his thumb against Nami's lower lip, giving it a light but firm press.

Nami closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings in the wind.

Nojiko turned to the other side, burying her face in Bucky's shoulder, her fingers clutching the hem of his clothes.

Buggy's hand moved away from Nami's chin, slid down her neck, past her collarbone, and stopped at the first button on her collar.

Nami held her breath.

The button was undone with a very soft "click".

Then the second one, and the third one.

Nami's fingers gripped Buggy's shoulders tightly, her nails digging into his skin through his clothes.

"Captain..." Her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Hmm?" Bucky laughed.

His hand moved away from her collar, slid down her waistline, and stopped at her last rib.

Nochiko buried her face in his shoulder, her breathing hot and rapid, like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck.

Bucky bent down to switch people, pressing the mask against Nojiko's ear.

Teasing Nami to that extent is enough; that's the joy of owning a cat.

Noki could feel the shivering caused by shyness mingling with the man's warm breath.

It's like ice and fire flowing through your veins at the same time—it's incredibly stimulating.

"As the older sister, you have to teach your younger sister well~" Buggy's voice carried a strange undertone.

Sisters are so interesting.

Nochiko did not answer.

She simply buried her face deeper and clenched her fingers tighter.

shy.

I'm so shy.

The cheers outside the cabin continued.

Mochi was calling out for the next show, the crowd was clapping, the iron cage was shaking, and the whip was cracking.

Sunlight streamed in through the porthole, cutting a thin strip of light across the floor. Dust motes danced in the light, along with traces of juice left by a rolled melon and three intertwined shadows.

Bucky withdrew his hands from the two women, propped them up on the pillow, and looked down at the two women beneath him.

Nami's eyes were half-open, her gaze hazy, her lips slightly parted, and the top button of her collar was undone halfway, revealing a small patch of fair and smooth skin.

Noki buried her face in her arms, her ear tips were as red as burning charcoal, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.

Buggy reached out and buttoned up the undone button on Nami's collar.

"What's that little glutton thinking about?" Bucky asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Go change your clothes~"

He sat up, straightened his collar, and walked towards the door.

He stopped at the door without turning around.

The door closed behind him.

The cabin remained quiet for a long time.

Nami lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling above her head, her chest still heaving.

"It's wet?" Nojiko lifted her face from the bed and saw that Nami's collar button had been re-fastened, and suddenly smiled.

"It's always like this, Captain is so annoying!" Nami said, blushing and a little embarrassed.

You seem pretty happy~

"Ahhhhh!"