The Joker

"Hah..."

"Cough! Cough!"

"Hah... Hahahaha!"

In the damp and gloomy cabin, three criminals were locked in three sturdy-looking cages lined up side-by-side.

One was huddled in the corner of a cage, the one in the middle had a dejected face full of gloom.

Another lay on a metal plate, his body hunched, yet he let out gasping, eager, joyful laughter.

How could he not laugh?

Buggy turned his head, moonlight shining on his face through a round window.

A bone "X" was drawn on his forehead, his red nose was conspicuous, his painted lips bright red, and his beard was scruffy.

He pulled at the corners of his mouth with two index fingers, laughing intermittently.

"Hah... Hah..."

So happy!

Something so interesting, so wonderful had happened in the world!

It was so delightful!

Buggy's face twisted on the floor, his mind now containing three people.

One was a college student working part-time as a clown at an amusement park, trying hard to make a child in front of him laugh.

The child frowned, finding the adult too immature.

One was a patient at Arkham Asylum, the patient called himself Jack, but the outside world preferred to call him the Joker.

In his memory, Jack was looking in a mirror, adjusting his tie, trying to force a smile onto his face, which had been completely corroded by chemicals.

A radio nearby was broadcasting news about a terrorist attack on a bank in Gotham City.

And the last one was the famous Clown Emperor Buggy from the Grand Line.

The Clown Emperor!

The original owner of this body.

While leading his subordinates on a treasure hunt, he accidentally stumbled into a secret base belonging to the Navy, where he encountered several familiar-looking children and a fat person wielding a great axe.

And then he was arrested on the spot.

The memories of the three people were like kneading filling, two parts Buggy's, five parts Jack's, and three parts part-time College Student's.

Mixed together, stirred vigorously in one direction.

Then beaten hard.

Until the three were completely kneaded together, with a gelatinous texture.

What a magical and joyful thing this was!

Buggy's heart was filled with an indescribable sense of fulfillment.

It was like the first time the Joker saw that extremely twisted, contradictory, and incredibly interesting Leather-Clad Guy in the newspaper.

It was also like the first time the College Student used his part-time wages to reward himself with a Big Mac Meal at the Golden Arches.

He had lost the fun of one city, and gained the fun of a world.

So happy.

"Shut your mouth, you scum!"

The Gloomy Man looked up, revealing a ferocious expression.

In the gloomy and stifling cabin, this cheerful laughter was too jarring.

If his hands and feet weren't bound by handcuffs and he wasn't locked up alone in this cage-like slave cage, he dared to guarantee that he would definitely catch that red-nosed guy and use him to fish for a Sea King!

"Sorry, hahaha, sorry..."

"I just, can't help it!"

Buggy sat up, waved his hands, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and apologized sincerely, if he didn't have a grin on his face.

"Thinking that we're about to go to Impel Down, I can't help but laugh!"

"Aren't you looking forward to it? The legendary prison from which no one can escape, Level One, Level Two, Level Three..."

He pointed a few times at the Gloomy Man next door and another man huddled in a dark corner, whose appearance couldn't be seen clearly, as if assigning them a Prison Cell.

"Crimson Hell with its Sword Tree Forest where leaves are like blades, Beast Hell filled with all sorts of Vipers and ferocious beasts, Hunger Hell which is incredibly hot and devoid of water and food..."

Buggy described the scenes in hell with an extremely exaggerated and expectant tone.

The noisy words made the Gloomy Man's expression turn extremely grim, his slightly trembling arms causing the iron handcuffs to make a swishing sound.

Impel Down, the absolute nightmare for all pirates who roam these seas!

Their extreme fear stemmed from endless torture and a security system that made escape utterly impossible!

And they were on a transport ship heading to Impel Down.

They were all criminals being escorted.

"Don't... don't say it anymore!"

"I told you not to say it anymore!"

Behind the Gloomy Man's fierce expression was extreme fear.

Being in hell was painful, but the process of slowly falling into hell, waiting quietly for the blade to fall on one's neck, was a torment that gnawed at the heart.

"Yo, you're scared, aren't you?"

Buggy tilted his head, a friendly smile on his face.

His observation was sharp.

Putting on a brave face despite being terrified, trying to appear deep and ruthless, there were faint stitching marks on the arm with the Cross Tattoo, and his complexion subtly changed when he raised his hand.

This kid was definitely hiding something.

Something that could be hidden in the flesh without being discovered was most likely some kind of flat, sharp object...

If the other party hadn't been trembling uncontrollably due to fear, Buggy might not have noticed.

It seemed his luck was good.

Buggy narrowed his eyes, ideas flooding his mind one after another.

In such an interesting world, if he were to stay in a cage like this, be imprisoned in Impel Down following the plot from his memories, and then wait for some hot-blooded kid to cause a ruckus before escaping, wouldn't that be too boring?

Unchanging.

That would be too much of a betrayal of the miraculous change that had happened to him!

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly lunged to the edge of the cage, his ferocious expression directed straight at the Gloomy Man, and said in a sharp, grating tone:

"Since you know fear, since you don't want to go to hell, then give me what you're hiding in your arm!"

"You don't want the guards to know you're hiding something either, do you, my dear Cellmate?"

Buggy was also very familiar with intimidating people like this.

In Gotham City, with its Simple Folkways, there were many such Thugs.

You just need to use words as hooks, to draw out the uncontrollable fear in his heart, destroy his outward pretense, and then add a little sudden and direct scolding...

"You... how do you know!"

The Gloomy Man's eyes widened, his palms covered in cold sweat.

His right arm had once suffered a severe knife wound, leaving a clear scar. Later, he had a sudden idea, using a tattoo to conceal it while hiding a sharp blade within.

As his final trump card.

As expected...

Buggy's smile grew brighter, his eyes narrowed, and he even habitually stuck out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth.

Without the corrosion of chemicals and the糜烂 (mí làn - decay/rot) from the knife cut, he was still a little unaccustomed.

"Take it out for me, or I'll have the Marines shoot you right now."

"We all know, this thing, whether now or in Impel Down, won't do anything. Otherwise, you wouldn't have kept it until now..."

"Right?"

Buggy's words were like Devil's Whisper, one after another, canceling out the Gloomy Man's inner resistance.

A blade, let alone in the legendary Impel Down, even on the warship they were currently on, wouldn't be of much use.

Not to mention the hidden threat in the other party's words...

He lowered his head, preparing to tear open the wound with his mouth.

"Bounty Fifteen Million Belly, Pirate Buggy."

"Heh, the Marines really underestimated you."

The Prisoner, who had been shrinking in the corner, suddenly spoke.

At the same time, he slowly turned around, allowing the Moonlight to discern his features.

"The... Bounty Fifty-Seven Million Belly... Musah the Vicious Dog!"

Musah looked up, a light laugh on his scarred face.

"It's me!"

"So, you should also understand, who... the thing should be given to."

"This Great Pirate... is the one who has the chance to take you all out of here."

His smile gradually became arrogant.

Musah held a tough tone, but inwardly, he held no hope of escape.

His hands were cuffed with Seastone Handcuffs, the pure metal dog cage was Locked, and he was on a Navy Warship personally escorted by a Commodore.

How could he escape?

It was just that Buggy's and Arne's behavior amused him.

What was slightly strange was that a pirate with a bounty of Fifteen Million Belly was qualified to be imprisoned alongside him, the great Musah the Vicious Dog.

The Navy really had nothing better to do.

As for what the other pirate might be hiding...

Such things were common among pirates.

At most, they'd sneak in a Wire or a blade, what use could that possibly be?

However, if he reported it, he might even get a good meal in return!

Newbie on the road!! Get out of the way, everyone!!