Conqueror's Haki Clears the Field, The Comedian Takes the Stage

East Blue, Orange Town.

This once-prosperous port town was currently shrouded in choking smoke and a deathly silence.

In the town's central plaza, a group of pirates dressed in bizarre circus attire were looting wantonly, their raucous laughter echoing through the ruins.

"Report, Captain Buggy! The town's vault has been completely emptied!"

A pirate minion riding a unicycle shouted his report.

In the center of the plaza, a man with a conspicuous red nose and a heavy captain's coat sat on an ornate chair, tossing a few gold coins in his hand.

"Well done! Move everything of value onto my ship!"

Buggy the Clown grinned triumphantly, preparing to order a retreat.

"Thump... thump..."

Just then, a steady, intensely oppressive sound of footsteps emerged without warning from the ruined streets at the edge of the plaza.

Buggy's movements faltered slightly; as a pirate who had once ventured into the Grand Line, his intuition for danger was exceptionally sharp. He whipped his head around to look toward the end of the street.

Through the swirling smoke, two tall, imposing dark silhouettes slowly emerged.

Walking in front was a terrifying man standing two and a half meters tall.

He wore a dark red trench coat, and his incredibly broad shoulders and explosive, solid muscles granted him a suffocating sense of oppression. His deep, cold black eyes were calmly looking down at Buggy, who sat on the chair.

Beside him was Sabo, also two point four meters tall, dressed in a deep blue tailcoat and holding a long alloy staff.

"Who goes there?! How dare you meddle in the affairs of the Buggy Pirates!"

Cabaji, the chief of staff for the Buggy Pirates, drew his long sword and shouted sharply. Beside him, the beast tamer Mohji patted Richie, the giant lion the size of a house, which let out a threatening low growl.

"Fire! Turn these two reckless fools into a honeycomb!"

Dozens of musketeers in the surrounding area immediately raised their flintlocks, preparing to pull the triggers.

Facing the encirclement of dozens of men, Ace did not even draw his blade, nor did he pause his stride.

He merely swept his gaze across the plaza with extreme casualness, and a flash of dark golden light suddenly flickered within his deep black eyes.

There was no sound, no gale.

But in that instant, a terrifying pressure—as tangible as if it could crush the entire sky—swept across the plaza like a crashing tsunami, centered entirely on Ace!

Conqueror's Haki!

After two years of honing, Ace's aura, belonging to a natural-born king, had long since reached a terrifying realm where he could control it at will, even exerting physical pressure.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

As if gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, the dozens of pirate minions who had raised their guns didn't even have time to let out a cry before their eyes rolled back and they collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

Following that, even Cabaji, Mohji, and the giant lion Richie, weighing several tons, let out a whimper under this irresistible pressure, their massive bodies crashing to the ground as they lost consciousness completely.

A mere two seconds.

In the vast Orange Town plaza, the hundred-man pirate crew had been wiped out.

Except for Ace and Sabo, the only one left in the entire plaza was the red-nosed clown, still barely sitting on his chair, his legs shaking like a sieve.

"Conqueror's Haki?!"

Buggy's eyes widened in terror, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets. As a former apprentice on the Pirate King's ship, he was all too familiar with this power!

But here in the East Blue, known as the weakest of the seas, how could a monster possessing the kingly qualifications found in one out of a million people possibly appear?!

"Hey, Red Nose."

Ace, hands in his pockets, walked up to Buggy; his massive frame was like a high wall, completely blocking the sunlight from above Buggy's head.

"My ship happens to be short a butler for odd jobs. From today on, you've been requisitioned by me."

"Are you kidding me?! This great man is the man who will find the treasure of Captain John! Chop-Chop—"

Extreme fear drove Buggy to act like a cornered dog. His body instantly split apart, and his hands gripped several sharp daggers, attempting to strike at Ace's neck from a blind spot.

But Ace merely tilted his head slightly.

His innate Observation Haki had already locked onto Buggy's main body. Ace raised his right hand, pitch-black Armament Haki instantly coating his palm, and ignoring the flying severed limbs, he grabbed Buggy's collar with extreme precision and brutality!

"Bang!"

Ace exerted force with one hand, slamming Buggy hard against the plaza's solid stone floor, sending gravel flying.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!!"

Giving Buggy no chance to utilize his Devil Fruit, Ace swung his Haki-coated fist with an expressionless face, landing a flurry of punches like a rainstorm onto Buggy's face and body.

He didn't use his divine fire; the pure, monstrous physical strength alone was enough to leave Buggy bruised, swollen, and weeping with snot and tears.

"Stop, stop, stop! I surrender! I'll be the butler! Can't I just be the butler?!"

Already deathly afraid and lacking any backbone, Buggy, after less than ten seconds of a brutal beating, simply clutched his head and shouted his surrender while wailing.

Ace stopped his fists and shook his wrists, looking down from above at Buggy, who lay on the ground like a puddle of mud, a flash of profound dark light flickering in his deep black eyes.

Sabo walked to Ace's side, looking at the comical clown on the ground, and frowned slightly: "Ace, this guy is pathetically weak. Although his fruit ability is somewhat interesting, is he really qualified to be our partner?"

"Sabo, you cannot judge a man solely by his surface-level strength."

A subtle, nearly imperceptible arc curled the corner of Ace's mouth.

He watched Buggy silently in his heart.

Who could have imagined that this comical clown, currently weeping and wailing to save his own life, would in the future trajectory become one of the Shichibukai, and eventually ascend to the throne of the Four Emperors?

The reason Ace insisted on dragging Buggy onto his ship was certainly not for his combat prowess.

It was for that Conqueror's Haki-level luck he possessed, a force so potent that even the will of the world had to give way!

In the memories of Ace's past life, after this man became one of the Four Emperors, even when facing the death threats of Crocodile and the world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk, he could still clutch his Den Den Mushi and shout that earth-shattering declaration to the entire world: "Do your lives not scream out!"

That near-metaphysical ability to survive desperate situations, that mysterious charisma capable of hoodwinking countless vicious prisoners into unwavering loyalty—these were the top-tier talents a monarch needed most when building a vast empire!

Let Buggy handle the chores, hoodwink the subordinates, act as the scapegoat, and even use his Conqueror's Haki-level luck to break through deadlocks at critical moments.

In this world, there was absolutely no one else more perfect for the role than Buggy the Clown.

"Listen, Red Nose."

Ace pulled back his thoughts, his gaze cold and sharp as he looked at Buggy on the ground, gesturing toward the unconscious Cabaji, Mohji, and the giant lion nearby.

"I won't kill your crew. However, the journey ahead takes us to the Grand Line, and even the most brutal New World. With this bunch of trash who can't even withstand a single glance from me, following you will only lead to a dead end."

Buggy froze. Looking at his subordinates on the ground—unconscious but still breathing—a complex glimmer flashed in the depths of his eyes. Though he feared death, he held genuine affection for the lackeys who had followed him for years.

"Disband them. Leave them some money."

Ace's voice brooked no argument. "Tell them that if one day they have the guts and the strength to survive and cross the gates of the New World, they can come to my banner to find you at any time."

Buggy gritted his teeth; he knew this man, who stood before him like a demon god, was not joking. If they truly went to the Grand Line, Cabaji and the others would never survive.

"Furthermore,"

Ace watched Buggy's devastated expression and cast out the final bait. "Stop obsessing over the pathetic pocket change of the East Blue. As long as you obediently manage the logistics and chores for me, I guarantee that the finest treasures and gold on this sea will be piled at your feet in the future. What is Captain John's treasure compared to that?"

Hearing the words "finest treasures and gold," the eyes that had been filled with tears instantly lit up with a greedy glint.

"Really? More than Captain John's treasure?!" Buggy swallowed hard, his previous terror seemingly suppressed by his greed.

"I never lie." Ace turned around, his dark red coat billowing amidst the smoke of battle.

"Take your money and get on my ship!"

Buggy scrambled up from the ground, wiped his nosebleed, and looked at Ace's back—vast and unfathomable as an abyss. He glanced one last time at the unconscious Cabaji and Mohji, then finally gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Cabaji, Mohji, Richie..."

Buggy muttered their names under his breath, then hardened his gaze, turning to frantically stuff the gold and treasures he had just looted into several large sacks.

Under the crushing weight of absolute force and the temptation of immense profit, the man who would one day shock the world as the "Thousand-Gold Clown" Buggy had officially become the proud Chief Chore-Master of the Eclipse Pirates.