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

"what ever."

After saying this, Smoker's body transformed into a whirlwind of smoke, rose from the rooftop, circled once, and then flew away into the distance.

In some ways, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit is pretty cool, but unfortunately its destructive power is rather small.

However, Bucky believes that Smoker must also possess various powerful abilities.

Although Smoker's abilities are poorly developed in the anime, he only uses his Devil Fruit powers for close combat.

But in this world, I think Smoker shouldn't be that bad, right?

After all, the original author is just a human being and cannot imagine the plot 10 or 20 years in the future when drawing comics.

Normal humans can't do this.

When a comic becomes an extremely long story, it's inevitable that plot holes will appear at the beginning and end.

For example, something like domineering aura can't just suddenly appear later in the game.

Since the world has become a unified whole, this will inevitably appear in the early stages of the story.

Because the past and the future happen in the same world.

As an elite naval officer, a friend of Admiral Aokiji, and a disciple of former Admiral Zephyr, Smoker must possess both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.

At most, his domineering cultivation level isn't that strong.

After all, whether you can do it or not is one thing, whether you are proficient or not is another, and whether you can play it to a master level is yet another.

Smoker isn't the type to lose his spirit easily; even if he wanted to find a reason, he wouldn't, and he couldn't find one.

The plot of the original anime can be used as a reference, but it should never be copied exactly.

Baji stood on the rooftop, watching the smoke dissipate, and the smile on his lips widened even further.

He turned around and looked back towards the town.

The figure wearing a straw hat had already turned into the road on the side of the dock and disappeared behind the red and white tent.

Bucky took a step and walked down from the edge of the roof, unhurriedly, like a gentleman who had finished his walk and was about to go home.

Elegance in the darkness—that's me, the Clown King!

Inside the tent of the Pakistani Circus, it was as lively as a pot of boiling porridge.

The drums pounded loudly as Mochi cracked his whip on stage, an unlit cigar dangling from his mouth, his muscular physique forming a menacing grin.

Chirp lay on the ground, heading the ball, which rolled and bounced repeatedly, eliciting bursts of applause from the stands every now and then.

Luffy was sitting in the third row, holding a large bucket of popcorn, stuffing it into his mouth.

When he came in, the clown selling tickets at the door handed him a big bucket of popcorn, saying, "It's free."

So Luffy happily accepted it and didn't stop eating it from the very first bite.

As for Mochi on stage, have you seen him before?

Sorry, Luffy has already forgotten about Mochi.

Luffy is just that kind of carefree and absent-minded person.

In particular, the Pakistani Circus gave all the audience members various snacks and gifts today.

Luffy, seeing that everyone else was taking some, naturally had no suspicion.

That's just how frank and open-minded he is.

The problem is that while other people's snacks are fine, Luffy's snacks have been spiked.

It contains a lot of anesthetic.

"Is it good?" A plump woman next to Luffy asked with a smile.

"Delicious!" Luffy stuffed another handful into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out like a hamster's.

This is not a modifier, but the literal meaning.

"I heard the circus performance is almost over, so there are unlimited free snacks today." The woman slowly ate her popcorn while continuing to watch the performance on stage.

It's normal since the Pakistani Circus has always been very friendly.

Therefore, no one thinks there's anything wrong with the large amount of free snacks being distributed today.

You usually give out so much candy, is there a problem with giving out popcorn today?

"That's awesome!" Although Luffy glanced at the circus performance, he actually focused most of his attention on the popcorn.

"Popcorn is delicious!"

The performances on stage went on and on, and Luffy kept popping popcorn in his hands.

Their appetite was so enormous that they almost finished off all the free popcorn.

Even the pirate clown serving Luffy popcorn started to look strange.

This person has an enormous appetite; they can eat not only popcorn but also anesthetic.

The pirates added a lot of anesthetic to every serving of popcorn Luffy received.

As a result, Luffy ate one serving after another.

Now even the pirates are starting to wonder if the anesthetic has expired?

This pirate clown thought that if he also used expired anesthetic and failed to take down Luffy, he would probably be finished.

After all, this clearly disrupted Bucky's plans.

So when Luffy ate his 10th serving, the pirate clown watched Luffy leave and grabbed a handful to try it himself.

"Oh!" The pirate clown made a strange sound and then slumped onto the table.

"Idiot!" one of the pirate waiters cursed, then dragged the fallen pirate away.

As for the pirate clown being in charge of providing popcorn, naturally someone else would take his place.

Aside from wondering why the person had been changed, Luffy didn't take it seriously.

He continued to happily eat popcorn.

"One more, please!"

Therefore, if you want to take action against Luffy, force is the least desirable course of action.

Because with just a little bit of brainpower, Luffy can be defeated, making it ridiculously cost-effective.

Luffy was eating happily, completely unaware that his eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, or that his limbs were getting weaker and weaker.

"Hmm..." Luffy shook his head, the popcorn bucket in his hand tilted, and a few pieces of popcorn rolled to the ground.

"Young man, are you alright?" The woman next to him glanced at him. "You've been eating so much, you must be sick!"

The woman didn't think much of it when she saw Luffy eat several portions, after all, there are quite a few big eaters out there.

But after seeing Luffy eat one serving after another, they suddenly found it quite strange.

That appetite is terrifying.

"N-nothing...it's nothing..." Luffy shook his head again, trying to shake off the drowsiness, but his body wouldn't obey him.

His hand loosened, the popcorn bucket fell to the ground, and he slumped to the side, collapsing onto his seat with a thud.

"Oh dear!" The woman was startled and took a step back. "What's wrong with this young man?"

People nearby noticed and turned around.

Someone stood up.

Someone was looking this way.

Someone was muttering something under their breath.

There was a moment of silence in the tent, then a murmur of discussion rose up like a tide.

Mochi stopped whipping his whip on the stage and strode over.

He crouched down, pretended to touch Luffy's neck, then lifted his eyelids to look at him, before standing up and waving to the surrounding crowd.

"It's alright, it's alright! He just fainted!" Mochi shouted at the top of his lungs, a reassuring smile spreading across his chubby face. "We'll take him to the town clinic right away! Everyone, keep watching the show! There's more to come!"

He waved.

Two pirates dressed as clowns ran out from backstage and hurriedly lifted Luffy up, carrying him behind the curtain.

Luffy groggily opened his eyes and saw the swaying light bulbs above his head, the colorful patterns on the curtain, and the two clowns carrying him.

"You guys... are really good people..." Luffy muttered, then closed his eyes again.

There was no way around it; he had taken too much anesthetic.

Now that the anesthetic is taking effect, even Luffy's physical condition can't withstand it.

Due to Buggy's orders, the Buggy Pirates did not administer any strong drugs to Luffy; instead, they used a mild anesthetic.

The only problem is that the dosage of the anesthetic was a bit too high.

Mochi stood on the stage, his lips twitching as he watched the two pirates carry Luffy backstage. He was really not used to being praised as a good person.

—Mochi thought to himself: The plan works.

Then he turned around and gave the audience a big laugh.

"Alright, alright! That was just a little interlude! Let's continue!"

He cracked his whip, and the drumbeats rang out again.

Behind the curtain.

Nami was standing there with her arms crossed.

She watched as the two pirates carried Luffy in, a smile still on his face, which looked exceptionally young under the light.

Nami frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed.

She remembered that Luffy had tried to save her last time.

Unfortunately, since their last meeting, they are now on opposing sides.

"Pack your things," Nami said, her voice not loud, but clearly heard by the surrounding pirates. "The circus performance is over."

The pirates who were removing their makeup looked up and exchanged bewildered glances.

"Boss, aren't we supposed to perform for two more days?"

"The plan has changed." Nami turned around, her orange hair tracing an arc under the light. "Move the important things if you can, and leave the rest here."

No one asked why anymore.

Having worked under Nami these past few days, they've long since learned not to ask why—asking means paying interest, but not asking means getting treats.

In short, all these pirates were completely subdued by Nami.

in the corner.

Bucky was leaning against the cargo box, his arms crossed over his chest, half of his body hidden in the shadow of the curtain.

After separating from Smoker, Bucky has returned to the circus.

He watched as the two pirates placed Luffy on the ground, his straw hat slipping off his head and rolling to the side.

Bucky's lips curled up slightly, but he didn't move.

Compared to brute force, this was clearly a victory achieved through strategy.

If Luffy isn't rendered incapacitated, getting him to cooperate obediently will be very difficult.

Luffy's eyes suddenly opened.

A sense of unease made Luffy realize something was wrong, and something felt strangely familiar.

He immediately stopped being in a daze and opened his eyes.

Even with so much anesthetic, it can only knock Luffy out, not render him unconscious.

This level of physical fitness is probably outstanding among all humans in the world, right?

Luffy's basic stats are very high; the only problem is that Garp didn't teach him any advanced skills.

Luffy's gaze passed over the two pirates who were organizing their tools and the iron cage and toolbox piled in the corner, and landed directly on Buggy.

Even though he hadn't awakened his Observation Haki yet, he possessed an unimaginable intuition that allowed him to directly locate Buggy's presence.

Even if Bucky didn't deliberately hide it, he's still very impressive.

"You bastard! What are you doing?" Luffy recognized Buggy, after all, the impression from back then was still very deep.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt~" Buggy stepped out of the shadows. "Become a prop in my script performance~"

He walked up to Luffy, lowered his head and looked down at the young man lying on the ground, completely powerless.

Then Buggy bent down, reached out with one hand, grabbed Luffy by the neck, and lifted him off the ground.

"Aaaaaah!" Luffy's body was lifted up by that force, and his feet left the ground.

He tried to struggle, but his limbs wouldn't obey him, and he could only let that hand choke his neck and lift him into the air.

"You guys," Buggy said calmly, his gaze shifting from Luffy to the busy pirates. "If you leave too late, it could be fatal."

After hearing Buggy's words, the pirates worked even harder.

Buggy's gaze fell on Nami: "Nami and Nojiko, take the rest of the group and retreat."

Nami didn't ask why, she just nodded and turned to walk outside.

He took two steps, then stopped and looked back.

Buggy stood there, gripping Luffy's neck, half of his body hidden in the shadow of the curtain, the other half exposed to the light.

The black and white colors on the mask appear particularly eerie in the interplay of light and shadow.

Nami looked away and continued walking forward... ultimately saying nothing.

The situation is no longer up to her to decide.

Although Nami still remembers Luffy wanting to help her back then, unfortunately, the current Nami will not help Luffy fight against Buggy because of that.

Once Nami makes a decision and chooses her side, she won't change it.

Although Nami didn't know what Buggy was going to do, and Buggy hadn't told her what to do... in situations like this, it's best to just obey orders.

After all, what superior needs to explain everything to subordinates?

"Mochi, Kabaji." Bucky's gaze fell on Mochi and Kabaji, his voice carrying a strange mockery. "Take men and spread the word."

"I'm telling you—Buggy the Clown King is going to execute rookie pirate Monkey D. Luffy on the same execution platform where Roger was executed."

Bucky thought this way he could finally lure Alvida out, right?

If none of these work, then we'll have to resort to brute force to find it, which will be very troublesome.

Mochi paused for a moment, then grinned, tucked the whip into his waistband, and strode out.

Kabaji followed behind Mochi.

From this moment on, Buggy's Circus is coming to an end, and now it's Buggy's Pirates' turn to appear.

The lights inside the tent flickered, indicating to the audience that it was almost noon and they were getting ready for lunch.

Although the audience felt that they had rested a little early today, they didn't think there was a problem.

"It's rare to see you so obedient~" Bastion stood there, still holding Luffy by the neck with one hand, lifting him into the air.

"You damn clown!" Luffy's hand hung limply at his side, his fingers trembling slightly as he tried to raise it, but it fell back down weakly.

"This is what pirates are all about~ Not your pirate make-believe game~" Buggy looked down at him, the smile on his lips unchanged.

The lights flickered again, and the curtain was blown open a crack by the wind, allowing sunlight to squeeze in from outside and cut a thin strip of light across the floor.

The beam of light passed right between the two, leaving Buggy in the shadows and Luffy in the light.

Then the curtain fell and the light strip disappeared.

"Luffy~" Buggy said with a smile, picking up the straw hat from the ground and putting it on Luffy's head.

"The drugs were just the prelude; the real show is about to begin."

"Since you're so eager to become the Pirate King, then I'll let you experience the ultimate treatment of the Pirate King first~"

"Hahaha!"

"Loguetown, this is the execution site of the Pirate King~"

"What a nostalgic scene."

Buggy was also present when Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, was executed here.

It was here that Bucky and Shanks had a falling out.

Okay, this is just Bucky throwing a tantrum; Shanks doesn't actually have any particular thoughts.

In Shanks' eyes, Bucky is still a good brother.