A Windfall

East Blue, Loguetown.

Known as the town of beginnings and endings, this island drew large numbers of merchants, Marines, and pirates preparing to head for the Grand Line all year round.

When the Eclipse's sleek black hull slowly pulled into port, it immediately caused quite a stir.

"Look at that pirate flag!"

At the harbor, several sharp-eyed bounty hunters looked up. Their faces instantly turned deathly pale, and they instinctively took several steps back.

On the high-flying main sail was an intensely striking design: at the center of the black cloth was a ghastly white traditional skull. But behind it spread a pair of reddish-gold wings, like those of a divine bird in flight, while a ring of dark red flames, like the corona of an eclipse, perfectly encircled the skull and wings.

Death, divinity, and flames that devoured everything.

This was the flag of the Eclipse Pirates, the Worst Generation crew that had just broken East Blue's record with a fifty-million-Beli bounty on its captain!

"Carina, Sabo. You two go browse the shops in town."

Ace stepped down the gangplank and casually tightened the dark red coat draped over his shoulders. He gave them their instructions. "Buy a few of the best Log Poses you can find. The magnetic fields in the Grand Line are chaotic. Without one, no matter how fast our ship is, we won't be able to sail through."

"Leave it to me, Captain." Carina patted the delicate little purse in her hand, her purple eyes gleaming with excitement at the thought of shopping. With Sabo, the thirty-million-Beli deputy captain, tagging along, she could walk all over town without a worry.

Ace turned to Buggy, who was preparing to sneak back to the quarters for an afternoon nap.

"Buggy, go to the market on the back street and stock the ship with a hundred barrels of rum and some juice, along with enough meat for half a month and premium spices. We'll meet at the central plaza this evening." Ace assigned the tasks in a matter-of-fact tone.

"A hundred barrels?! And half a month's worth of meat?!" Buggy's eyes bulged as he shouted. "I'm not a pack mule! Why am I always the one stuck with this kind of grunt work?!"

"You're the Eclipse's head steward. If you don't do it, who will?" Ace replied offhandedly, waving a hand. "Get moving. Don't hold up tonight's banquet."

"Tch, always ordering me around. What a rotten captain, with no respect for his elders." Buggy muttered complaints under his breath, but still obediently dragged a large handcart off the deck and trudged toward the market, grumbling the whole way.

Watching the three of them head off in different directions, Ace stretched and set off alone, his long strides carrying him toward an old neighborhood deep in Loguetown.

Half an hour later, on a secluded back street.

A run-down tavern, its sign nearly falling off, stood quietly in the shadows.

Ace bent down slightly, pushed open the low wooden door, and squeezed into the dimly lit room.

There were no other customers in the tavern. Behind the counter, an old man with graying hair was slowly polishing a glass. Hanging directly behind him was a giant skull pierced by a sword.

GoldRoger Bar.

"Boss, pour me your strongest drink."

Ace walked up to the counter and pulled out a tall stool.

The tavern owner, Rale, stopped polishing the glass and lifted his eyelids to look at the young black-haired man before him. He was imposing in stature, with a steady presence. Without a word, Rale turned around, poured a large glass of pungent, cheap liquor, and pushed it toward Ace.

"Judging by your build and bearing, you're no East Blue mediocrity."

Rale's aged voice rang through the quiet tavern. "These days, Loguetown is crawling with foolish pirates who gawk and shout at the execution platform. It's been a long time since a real monster visited this bar."

"Is that so?"

Ace picked up the glass, tilted his head back, and drained it in one go. The harsh liquor slid down his throat, leaving a coarse, burning sensation.

He set down the glass and calmly looked at the giant skull behind the counter with his deep black eyes.

"I heard that more than twenty years ago, the man known as the Pirate King used to be a regular here before setting out to sea."

"Roger..."

A complex memory stirred in Rale's cloudy eyes. He sighed. "That carefree bastard who laughed without a worry in the world certainly drank more barrels here than I could count. Too bad he started a great age with his death, but also drew in a bunch of cowards who only know how to cause trouble."

Rale looked up and studied Ace. "Young man, there's an ambition in your eyes that's just as frightening as that man's was."

Ace sat quietly without asking about Roger's past, as he had in the original story.

To him, that man was simply a pioneer of the old age. He didn't need to imitate him, nor did he need to resent him.

"Not bad."

A moment later, Ace rose calmly and flicked a gold coin from his pocket. It landed in the wooden bowl on the counter with a clink.

"But, old man, times change."

Ace looked at Rale, a confident, composed smile curling his lips. "The king of the old age is dead. Someone will have to take the throne in the new age."

He turned, pushed open the tavern door, and walked out into the sunlight, leaving Rale staring at the coin on the counter in prolonged silence.

Meanwhile, in the back alley behind one of Loguetown's underground black-market warehouses.

"I'm exhausted! Those bastards selling booze wouldn't even deliver! A hundred barrels of liquor and all that meat—do they think I'm Superman?!"

Wearing sunglasses, Buggy laboriously dragged a handcart piled high like a small mountain through the secluded alley, cursing all the while.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

Thanks to years of pirate experience, Buggy keenly sensed that something was amiss up ahead. He quietly poked his head out and looked at the open space at the end of the alley.

Two groups of menacing local gangsters were in the middle of a secret deal.

"Did you bring enough money? We got this from a gang of smugglers in the Grand Line. It cost us more than ten brothers to take it from them."

A scar-faced gang leader cautiously opened a wooden box lined with black velvet.

Inside lay a strangely shaped Devil Fruit. It was translucent and pale green, with unusual spiral patterns covering its surface.

"Of course we brought enough. We don't know what power it has, but any Devil Fruit is priceless on the black market!" The other gang leader swallowed greedily and patted the two large black chests at his feet. "One hundred million Beli. Not a Beli less!"

Buggy, hiding in the shadows, covered his mouth as his little eyes widened.

"A Devil Fruit?! And a hundred million Beli in cash?!"

Buggy's heart pounded. He'd only been passing by, and never expected to stumble upon a windfall like this!

In the past, if he'd come across a gang deal involving a hundred men, Buggy—always afraid of dying—would have turned around and run without a second thought. But things were different now.

For the past half month, he'd been forced to train every day aboard the Eclipse by those two monsters. And he was still wearing the Seastone weapons Ace had specially made for him.

Taking on two East Blue underworld gangs would be as easy as squashing two ants.

"My luck is unbelievable! I really am the chosen one! Hahahahahaha!"

Buggy stopped hiding and swaggered right out from the corner, bursting into an extremely arrogant laugh.

"Who's there?!"

The gangsters in the middle of the deal were startled. Dozens of pistols and cleavers immediately swung around to point at the Red Nose.

"That's Buggy the Clown, with a fifteen-million-Beli bounty! What's he doing in Loguetown?!" The scar-faced man recognized Buggy and paled. "Damn it, forget the questions! He's trying to steal our goods! Shoot him dead!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A hail of lead bullets tore toward Buggy.

"A bunch of frogs in a well who don't know how big the world is! I'll show you the strength of a pirate from the Grand Line!"

Buggy didn't dodge the barrage. His body instantly split apart, activating his Chop-Chop powers. His torso broke into dozens of pieces that darted nimbly through the air, and every bullet missed.

"He's a monster! Bullets don't work on him!" The gangsters turned deathly pale with fear.

"Chop-Chop: Flying Blade!"

Buggy sneered. His hands, wearing Seastone knuckle guards, shot through the air like a pair of cannonballs, tracing a fierce arc.

"Thud! Thud!"

The two gang leaders didn't even have time to react before Buggy's knuckles, wrapped in hard iron and Seastone, smashed into their faces. Their noses broke on the spot, and they passed out, rolling their eyes.

With their leaders down, the remaining gangsters were instantly thrown into disarray. Seeing Buggy's body parts flying through the air like a demon, they dropped their weapons and fled the alley on their hands and knees.

The fight was over in less than a minute.

Buggy's body reassembled. He brushed the dust from his hands, walked over to the wooden boxes, and happily stuffed the green Devil Fruit into his coat.

"One hundred million Beli in cash, plus a whole Devil Fruit! Now that woman Carina won't have anything to say!"

Buggy smugly picked up the two heavy money chests and tossed them onto the handcart loaded with rum. Humming an off-key pirate tune, he swaggered out of the back alley.

Two hours later, at the central plaza in Loguetown.

When Ace, Sabo, and Carina met at the edge of the plaza, Buggy came hurrying over with the handcart.

"Captain! Sabo! Carina! Take a look at what I scored today!"

Buggy sidled up to them, eager for praise, and pushed the wooden box and the two money chests right in front of them.

"Oh?"

Ace opened the wooden box and glanced inside. A knowing glimmer passed through his deep black eyes.

The Paramecia-type Barrier-Barrier Fruit!

Even if Buggy and the others didn't recognize it, Ace, who retained memories of his previous life, recognized the top-tier Paramecia Fruit said to offer "absolute defense" at a glance.

"Where did you get it?" Carina opened one of the chests, saw the full hundred million inside, and stared in astonishment.

Buggy puffed out his chest and vividly recounted how he'd openly taken on a hundred gangsters in the back alley and seized the deal.

As they listened to Buggy's tale, Sabo and Carina couldn't hide their surprise. Who would have thought that sending him out to buy booze would result in him casually bringing back a Devil Fruit and a hundred million in cash?

Ace closed the box and handed the fruit to Sabo to put away.

He looked at Buggy, a satisfied smile curling his lips. This was exactly why he'd insisted on keeping Buggy aboard. That Conqueror's Haki-level luck that brought him windfalls wherever he went really was irreplaceable.

"Good work, Buggy."

Ace praised him, then slowly turned and looked toward the center of the plaza.

There stood a towering iron execution platform, silently overlooking the bustling town.

"So we're finally here."

Ace gazed at the execution platform, a deep chill flashing through his eyes.

"Come on. Let's go take a look at that execution platform. We'll put a final end to this boring journey through East Blue."