Buggy Eats a Devil Fruit

Although Bullet didn't have the best relationships with the crew, he'd been on this ship for at least two or three years. Now that he was gone, a certain gloominess settled over the vessel.

Shanks and Buggy in particular felt it—after all, both of them owed their lives to Bullet.

"Captain, is it really alright to leave Bullet alone on that island?" Shanks asked with some concern. It would be a terrible waste if a powerhouse like Bullet perished in a shipwreck.

"Don't worry, don't you know Bullet's strength? Besides, Bullet can always go to the Kingdom of Mol and ask for a ship. I'm sure given our friendship with the Kingdom of Mol, King Caesar won't refuse."

"I believe everyone already knows the purpose of this voyage, right? That's right—we're heading back to the Grand Line to fulfill the regrets we left behind on the way here. For example, the legendary island: Sky Island."

Roger pointed a finger toward the sky. Though he looked rather ragged at the moment, his spirits were remarkably high.

"Captain, does Sky Island really exist?" a crewmate asked skeptically.

"I don't know, but I believe no legend comes from nothing. Every legend has some basis. Whether it's real or not—we'll find out by going to see for ourselves."

Roger spoke with fiery passion, igniting the enthusiasm of every crew member.

"They say the people on Sky Island all have wings—is that true?"

The crew below buzzed with discussion, each sharing their own tales about Sky Island.

"Otherwise, reaching the end of the New World so quickly would be pretty boring, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah!" the crew chimed in. Right now, they were the pirate crew closest to the end of the New World—Laugh Tale.

"Alright then, let's set sail anew!" Roger shouted loudly, and the crew below echoed his excitement.

"I never expected the captain to be so good at brainwashing," Shirakawa said, leaning against the railing as he watched the fired-up crew, speaking to Rayleigh beside him.

"True enough, but isn't Roger right? Leaving regrets in the final voyage—that would be a real regret."

"The final voyage?" Shirakawa murmured to himself. More and more people on the ship were learning about Roger's illness now. Before long, the whole crew would surely know.

"Is there really no way to cure the captain's illness?"

"Don't you know Crocus's medical skill? Even he is helpless—he can only suppress it." Rayleigh's voice carried a hint of sorrow.

"Sigh." Shirakawa let out a melancholy sigh as well.

Over the next month, the Roger Pirates encountered several battles, none of which were easy to get through.

Although Roger was known as one of the rulers of the New World, those who made it this far were no weaklings. Few people reached here on luck alone.

Sometimes, when facing a special Devil Fruit ability, even Roger risked capsizing.

Just now, after a grueling battle, the Roger Pirates' crew were holding a banquet to vent their emotions and grief—after all, no battle is without casualties.

"Hey, what's up with you two? Why are you both soaking wet? Did you fall into the sea?"

Shirakawa had just finished a glass of beer when he turned around and saw Shanks and Buggy, water dripping from their clothes.

"Bucky somehow drowned, so I jumped in to save him, and now we're like this."

"Shanks, it's all you, all you!" Buggy, having recovered, grabbed Shanks by the collar and shouted angrily.

"What's all me, Bucky? Explain yourself."

"It's you, Shanks! You made me lose a hundred million Berry and turned me into a landlubber!"

"Bucky, did you eat a Devil Fruit?"

Shirakawa asked in surprise. He hadn't noticed Buggy eating a Devil Fruit all this time. He thought his arrival had caused some butterfly effect—turns out the timing just hadn't come yet.

"That's right."

"So what does eating a Devil Fruit have to do with me?" Shanks said innocently.

"If you hadn't scared me from behind, how would I have eaten that Devil Fruit?"

"I was just calling you to the banquet. How was I supposed to know you were sneaking around doing something?"

Their argument quickly drew everyone's attention, since Devil Fruit users were very rare on the Roger Pirates.

"Bucky, what's your fruit's ability?" someone asked.

"How should I know?" Buggy was still fuming and had no mood to answer.

"We happen to have a Devil Fruit encyclopedia on the ship. Look it up and you'll find out."

Hearing this, Buggy calmed down. If it could boost his strength, maybe this wasn't such a loss after all.

So Buggy quickly pulled out the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and carefully matched it with the fruit he remembered eating.

"What the hell? It's the Paramecia-type Chop-Chop Fruit?" Buggy shouted in disbelief, his tone full of disappointment. This fruit seemed to let him down.

"Oh? The Chop-Chop Fruit—that's a very strong fruit." Rayleigh, overhearing Buggy's words, pushed up his glasses and said deeply.

"Really?" A glimmer of hope called "hope" lit up Buggy's eyes as he eagerly awaited Rayleigh's confirmation.

"Of course. The Chop-Chop Fruit is a swordsman's nemesis. No matter how much you're cut, you can't be killed."

"Really?"

"Why not give it a try?" Shirakawa stood up, drew the sword at his waist, and walked step by step toward Buggy.

"What are you doing, Shirakawa? Stay right there! Don't come any closer! If you come any closer, I'll get angry!" Buggy blustered, but inside he was scared out of his wits.

"Hehe, I'm just helping you test out your ability." Shirakawa put on a smile he thought was very benevolent, but in Buggy's eyes, it was the grin of a demon.

"No, no! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" Buggy wailed miserably, squeezing his eyes shut, too afraid to watch Shirakawa's blade come down.

"Wait, really? It really didn't do anything?"

Just then, Shanks' exclamation rang out beside him, along with the awed murmurs of the other crewmates.

Feeling no pain, Buggy slowly opened his eyes and spotted a hand lying on the ground.

"Whose hand is that? Isn't that my hand?" Buggy looked at the hand on the floor—it seemed familiar. Taking a closer look, he realized it was indeed his own hand. The shock sent him fainting on the spot.

"Hey, Buggy, what's wrong? Don't scare me!" Shanks shook Buggy's body vigorously, tears welling up in his eyes. It was clear how deep the bond between Shanks and Buggy ran.

"Move aside, let me take a look." Crocus walked over and spoke to Shanks.

"Oh." Shanks obediently stepped out of the way.

Crocus crouched beside Buggy, examined him carefully, and said, "Nothing serious. He just fainted from the shock."

"I see." Shanks let out a sigh of relief. "What about the hand?"

He pointed at the hand on the ground.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll have to reattach it after he wakes up." Crocus picked up the hand and studied it closely. For a doctor, this was a rare research specimen.

But when he placed the hand back beside Buggy, it reattached itself automatically.

"Truly astonishing." A gleam of interest flashed in Crocus' eyes as he looked over Buggy's entire body, looking eager to experiment.