Buggy's Awakening, Setting Sail.

The night banquet began as scheduled.

In the central square of the shelter, bonfires illuminated the night, the air thick with the aroma of roasted meat. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and the others wolfed down meat and guzzled alcohol, reveling alongside the townsfolk.

Even the little dog Chouchou had a piece of meat in its mouth, chasing and playing with the children.

After the banquet started, Can Yue slipped away unnoticed to a nearby hilltop, sipping his wine and occasionally glancing down at the crowd below.

'Not bad. Quite beautiful.'

Before his transmigration, Can Yue had lived in a chaotic era and had never personally experienced such a harmonious scene.

Just then, a lifeless figure crashed down beside Can Yue.

A closer look revealed it was the Black-Nosed Clown, one of the duo who had tried to rape the Pig Butcher's wife.

"I already know what he did, so I executed him."

Clown Buggy's voice came slowly.

"Mind if I have a sip of your wine?" Buggy asked Can Yue while reaching for his flask.

Can Yue frowned and slapped Buggy's hand away. "I definitely mind!"

"Kahahaha, you bastard, pirates are always carefree with each other. Just like back on Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson."

As he said this, Buggy's expression turned a bit dazed.

If this scene were Can Yue reminiscing under the moonlight, it would probably look damn cool. But Buggy, with his vacant stare and a smile plastered on his face, came off more like a creep.

"People can't be shackled by the past forever," Can Yue said, looking at the slightly dazed Buggy.

"Ah, I know. If I hadn't met you, I might never have snapped out of it. Thanks."

"Mm. What's your next move?"

Buggy paused for a moment, then pointed down at the townsfolk. "I'm going to apologize to them!" He snatched Can Yue's flask, took a big gulp, tossed it to the ground, and jumped down without a care for Can Yue's face, which had turned black as charcoal.

"I'll kill you, Buggy!" Can Yue slashed the flask Buggy had defiled into pieces with his sword, then nearly swung out an Azure Dragon Break at him. In the end, he let out a long sigh and stopped himself.

"Next fight, I'll chop you into pieces!"

Down below, Luffy ate meat and made funny faces, getting tugged on by curious townsfolk who stretched his body like a rubber band.

Nami showed off her terrifying drinking capacity, earning shouts of admiration as a heroine among women.

Zoro was his usual self, guzzling booze and leaving a trail of collapsed men in his wake.

Just then, a laugh rang out.

"Kahahaha, everyone's having a great time. Mind if I join in?"

Clown Buggy's voice reached their ears.

The carnival-like atmosphere gradually quieted down.

Zoro's sword was already drawn, and Luffy stood straight as a rod, both of them staring intently at Clown Buggy.

Nami, pale with fear, forced herself to speak to Buggy. "What do you want? Can Yue is nearby. Aren't you afraid he'll kill you?"

Buggy landed on the ground and waved his hands lightly to signal the three to calm down.

"Don't be scared, you three. Look at the townsfolk's reaction."

Confused, they heard the Mayor's voice.

"Buggy, you can eat, but remember to write an IOU."

"Yeah, and add the IOUs for the recent damages to the town too."

"And your underlings caused trouble and scared us—that needs compensation too."

Buggy's lips curled up, and he suddenly burst into laughter. "Kahahaha, no problem. Tell me everything else that needs compensation—I'll write IOUs for all of it."

The townsfolk didn't show any sign of distrust toward Buggy, directly replying, "Come have a drink, then."

"Coming, coming."

Everyone chimed in, leaving Luffy and his two companions at a loss.

What the hell? They're this familiar? The townsfolk aren't afraid of Buggy at all?

Only Can Yue, watching from above, wasn't thrown off. After all, the Pig Butcher had already mentioned Buggy's situation earlier—this guy really was easy to deal with.

Or rather, as expected of a member of Roger's crew.

Naturally, Buggy joined the frenzy of the banquet.

After a few rounds of drinks, Buggy, seemingly tipsy and unsteady, suddenly stood on a rooftop. Swaying, he shouted down at the still-reveling townsfolk.

"I, Buggy, owe you all an apology!"

Because Buggy's voice was loud, the lively banquet gradually quieted down. Everyone wanted to hear what Buggy had to say.

"I'm a crew member of the Pirate King, but I'm too cowardly. I don't have the confidence to rule like Shanks does in the New World. If I can't make a name for myself, I'll disgrace my captain. I can't let Roger down, so I holed up in the weakest sea, the East Blue, hiding in Roger's hometown."

"Burp," Buggy let out a drunken hiccup and continued.

"I'm a pirate. If I don't claim territory, I'm not a real pirate, so I took over this Orange Town. Before, I'd comfort myself by saying, sure, I've taken over your town, but I'll protect you too. With me around, no murderous, looting pirates can get in and hurt you."

"Kah-hahaha, but dammit, that was just my cowardly excuse."

"Mayor, Pig Butcher, and all you townsfolk, I, Buggy, owe you an apology. All these years, I've been a pain in your ass."

With that, Buggy bowed to the entire town.

The townsfolk looked at him with disgust, muttering that the guy really couldn't hold his liquor, spouting all kinds of nonsense.

But Buggy ignored their jeers and kept talking.

"I'll definitely compensate the town for the damages. I've got money in my warehouse—I'll go get it for you. After I settle the bills, I'm setting sail!"

"From now on, Orange Town will be under the protection of the next Four Emperor, the great Buggy-sama. No pirate will dare mess with this place. You all live your lives without worry from now on, kah-hahahaha."

Buggy staggered toward the warehouse at his base. He was probably too drunk to notice that his so-called money no longer belonged to him—it was all stashed with Nami.

Buggy's little speech got Luffy all fired up.

"Wow, so Buggy was a crewmate of the Pirate King! And he knows Shanks!"

"And he doesn't seem like such a bad guy after all."

Zoro didn't take the bait on Luffy's comment. He took a sip of his drink and turned to Nami.

"Looks like Buggy doesn't know you stole his money yet. What's the plan?"

Nami thought it over, figured they had Can Yue backing them up, puffed up her courage, and put her hands on her hips.

"My job is a thief who steals from pirates. So stealing pirate money is literally my line of work. That big bag of treasure is money I earned on the job—it's my salary. Reasonable, justified, legal income. No way I'm giving it back."

Luffy and Zoro mulled over Nami's words. At first glance, it sounded reasonable, but something felt off.

By then, Can Yue had walked over and settled it with one sentence.

"That's Nami's commission for us. It has nothing to do with Buggy."

Luffy slapped his forehead and shouted, "Oh yeah, that's right!"

"Hehehe, then, boys, before Buggy figures out what's really going on, we set sail!"

"Agreed!" The one who chimed in was Nami, still a little worried about Buggy's revenge.

Can Yue naturally saw no need to hide from Buggy—if Buggy tried to cause trouble, he could just rob him again on the spot.

On second thought, this reason for setting sail was pretty amusing, so he didn't object.

And so, the four of them turned down the townsfolk's pleas to stay, ran to the shore, swiped a sailboat from Buggy's crew, and set off into the night.