Arriving at Orange Town

In the dead of night, Moya stood at the bow of the Yanhuang, lost in thought.

Under Moya's orders, the Yanhuang sailed through the night, with the crew even taking turns rowing in shifts to increase their speed.

The crew did not know why their captain was in such a hurry, but they could only obey his commands.

Moya knew that this was the only way to catch up to Luffy and Zoro, who had already been gone for a day.

Luffy and his companion's small boat lacked the speed of a sailing vessel, and they were relying solely on manual rowing.

Moya began to train his Devil Fruit ability on the deck, pressing both hands against the wooden planks.

"Glazed Slide Ground!"

A strange power emanating from the Slip-Slip Fruit within Moya began to alter the friction of the deck.

He had finally succeeded; Moya had progressed from only being able to affect himself, to affecting external objects, and now to influencing the surrounding environment.

Is this imagination? Or is it talent?

Sabo and Blackbeard both mastered the Mera Mera no Mi and Gura Gura no Mi in seconds—was that talent, or were they simply able to utilize the powers because they were already familiar with the techniques?

It was impossible to tell.

Lacking any training methods for martial arts, swordsmanship, or Haki, Moya could only devote himself entirely to developing the Slip-Slip Fruit and conditioning his body to enhance his physical strength.

After all, activating his ability consumed a massive amount of stamina.

"Ah!" A cry rang out—it was Rika.

Moya reacted in an instant. "Instant Slide!" He caught her before she could hit the deck.

Leaning in Moya's arms, Rika's face turned bright red.

"Big Brother Moya, it's late, you need to rest too! You shouldn't overwork yourself. Mom is still angry, but I've already comforted her. From now on, we can go on adventures together."

At Moya's request, Rika had changed her address for him from "Lord Moya" to "Big Brother Moya."

Aside from satisfying his own lolicon desires, he simply didn't want to hear a cute girl calling him by that island-nation honorific!

"Rika is the one who needs to rest early; that's how you grow up big and strong!"

Moya said with a smile, as if there were some hidden meaning behind his words.

"Mm, you too, Big Brother Moya!"

The innocent Rika, of course, did not catch the subtext in Moya's words.

Moya withdrew the power of the Slip-Slip Fruit, the deck returned to its normal state, and he set Rika down.

"Big Brother is a Devil Fruit user, so my constitution is already quite strong. I don't need that much rest. I just need to make myself stronger right now so that I can properly protect our little Rika!"

Hearing Moya's words, Rika asked, both shy and curious.

"Is Big Brother's ability just to make the ground slippery?"

"That's only one of my abilities. You'll slowly discover how amazing your big brother is in the future."

Moya replied, petting Rika's head with doting affection.

Dis and the rest of the crew watched this heartwarming scene, feeling quite moved. Although this captain was a bit more demanding than necessary, he was truly much better than Alvida.

Moya had already taken the Beli he brought back and distributed several hundred thousand to each person as pocket money, and he was preparing to standardize their attire.

He wanted every crew member to have a uniform exclusive to the Moya Adventure Group!

He could learn from Trafalgar Law, or perhaps go for a "Mafia suit thug" aesthetic.

"Alright, go get some rest!"

"Mm, Big Brother Moya!"

After Rika left, Moya said to the crew on duty: "Maintain our speed, and keep a sharp lookout!"

"Yes, Captain!" the crew responded in unison.

Noon on the third day...

"Captain, I see the island of Orange Town!" the navigator standing on the mast shouted down to Moya.

Moya clenched his fists tightly and whispered to himself.

"Luffy, this butterfly has begun to flap its wings. I wonder what your future will become!"

"Full speed ahead!" Moya commanded.

"Boom!" The sound of cannon fire echoed incessantly from the island...

"Captain, there are people fighting on the island!" the navigator reported, peering through his monocular.

Moya felt a tightening in his chest; he could only hope the battle had not yet reached its conclusion.

If Buggy were to be sent flying too soon, Nami might develop a deep bond with Luffy and end up joining him on his adventures.

"Full speed ahead!! Everyone, get to the oars!!"

Moya hurriedly issued the command.

"I hope we're still in time."

Moya watched with a grave expression as the smoke from the cannon fire billowed over the island.

On the other side, because Nami had stolen the navigation chart for the Grand Line, Buggy had flown into a rage and was wantonly firing Buggy Balls into the town to vent his frustration.

Later, unable to bear the guilt, Nami decided to return the chart and even tied up her "boss," Luffy, to hand him over to Buggy.

However, Buggy ordered the defecting Nami to kill Luffy with a Buggy Ball. When she refused, her ruse was exposed, but she was fortunately saved by the timely arrival of Zoro.

The swordsman Zoro did not know that Buggy was a user of the Bara Bara no Mi, which rendered him immune to blade attacks.

Careless, he was ambushed by one of Buggy's flying hands and suffered a severe wound—a slash to his kidney. Yes, his kidney.

Yet, even while wounded, Zoro was still able to fight the acrobat Cabaji to a standstill, neither side gaining the upper hand.

Seeing his first crewmate severely injured, Luffy was filled with rage and launched a frenzied attack on Buggy.

The Bara Bara no Mi and the Gomu Gomu no Mi—the two Devil Fruit users traded blow for blow.

However, upon realizing that the straw hat on Luffy's head belonged to Red-Haired Shanks, Buggy's demeanor changed.

Though still angry, he pulled his punches significantly, no longer aiming for Luffy's vital points.

After all, that hat was the one inherited from Captain Roger.

Luffy, acting like a blockhead, seemed determined not to stop until he had sent Buggy flying.

Meanwhile, Nami took advantage of the chaos to sneak into Buggy's treasure room once more in search of the precious navigation chart and gold.

Luffy and Buggy seemed to have truly lost their tempers, and Buggy ordered the Buggy Cannon to be prepared to blast Luffy and his friends to pieces.

The Buggy Balls were crafted from a formula Buggy had brought back from the Grand Line, possessing dozens of times the destructive power of standard cannonballs.

While the cannonballs were ineffective against Luffy's rubber body, they were tearing the surrounding buildings to shreds, making the situation increasingly perilous for Luffy and his companions.

Zoro, too, began to lose strength due to excessive blood loss.

Finally, the Adventurer successfully sailed into the port of Orange Town.

Moya glanced at the empty, massive pirate ship belonging to Buggy the Clown and the small boat belonging to Luffy and Zoro.

It appeared that the entire crew of the Buggy Pirates had gone to provide support.

Moya immediately issued his orders.

"Leave half the crew behind to secure the clown's ship, then move both the Yanhuang and the pirate ship to a position one hundred meters away from the port. Wait for my signal!"

"Understood, Captain!"

Dis, who had reached a state of absolute loyalty to Moya, replied.

Moya left Rika on the ship, selected the ten strongest crew members, and had each carry a medium-sized wooden barrel before quickly rushing toward the smoke-filled battlefield.

Although Nami had used Luffy and the others as a shield, she did not want them to die because of her.

Therefore, she hid nearby, watching the tide of battle and waiting for an opportunity to ambush Buggy.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

Luffy shouted as his arms stretched out, his fists flying like bullets to strike at Buggy.

"Bara Bara Senbei!"

Buggy split his body into several segments to evade Luffy's attack, while his flying hand, clutching a dagger, caught Luffy off guard and slashed him.

Just then, Buggy spotted Nami in the sky, carrying his treasure. Distracted and anxious, he turned his attention toward reclaiming his loot.

Seeing that Buggy's lower half was still grounded, Luffy immediately launched an attack, kicking his groin, grabbing his feet—he used every dirty trick in the book.

Even though his body was detached, Buggy could still feel the pain in his lower half, which brought tears to his eyes and left him in agony.

Nami also spotted her chance; she snatched up a portion of Buggy's torso and tied it up.

Luffy had already prepared his next move.

"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"

Luffy roared, stretching his arms back to build momentum, ready to blast Buggy away in one go.

At that moment, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed from afar.

The Moya Adventure Group had arrived on the battlefield.

"Fast Slide!"

Moya whispered to himself. His figure flickered, appearing instantly beside Buggy. He grabbed the clown's head and hands, darting aside just in time to dodge Luffy's Rocket attack.

Faced with Moya's sudden interference, Luffy couldn't help but shout in angry confusion, "Who are you! Why are you getting in the way of our fight!"

Moya moved rapidly to the crew members' side once more, sealing Buggy's hands into the wooden barrels filled with seawater that they were holding.

Buggy's entire body went limp instantly, leaving him at the mercy of Moya.

The other crew members began collecting the rest of Buggy's body parts, sealing them into barrels of seawater, and started binding the injured pirates of the Buggy Pirates.

They also stood in a standoff against the remaining uninjured members of the Buggy Pirates.

This was what Moya had instructed his crew to do beforehand, and it was the simplest and most effective method he could conceive of.

It was to scavenge the opportunity and restrain Buggy at the fastest speed possible, preventing him from harming his own crew!

After all, these trash teammates of his were nothing but combat-power-of-five weaklings; this was the only way to win through trickery and minimize battle losses.

He had to avoid a situation where even the people steering the ship ended up dead.

Only then did Moya turn around, looking at that familiar face of Luffy, and said with profound meaning.

"Hehehe~ Luffy, my name is Moya! I am truly glad to see you again!"