The Green-Haired Swordsman

Buggy furrowed his brow slightly. Green hair, three swords.

If nothing went wrong, the only person in the East Blue who fit that description had to be that guy. Going by the timing, he'd only just set sail around now. He couldn't believe he'd run into him. Sure enough, having pirates contact bounty hunters to collect a bounty was a terrible idea...

"Mohji's about to be killed?!" Cabaji looked astonished. That round-eared vice captain was about as strong as he was, and now he'd lost to some mere bounty hunter.

He grabbed the pirate by the collar, his face darkening. "Are you sure there's only one of them?"

The red-hatted pirate trembled all over as he replied, "J-just... one... one person."

Cabaji released the pirate's collar and muttered, "One person... Since when did the East Blue have bounty hunters this powerful?"

"Cabaji, don't underestimate these waters. If you let your narrow outlook hold you back, you'll never see the wider world." Buggy swished his extravagant captain's cape. "Let's go meet that green-haired swordsman."

At the port on the east coast of Gali Island, aboard the pirate ship Big Top.

A group of pirate underlings had been knocked unconscious and piled into a heap on the deck.

A green-haired swordsman sat in the lounge chair that had belonged to Buggy, flipping through the large stack of pirate wanted posters before him, one by one.

"So this is the famous Buggy Pirates of the East Blue? Hey, you said you were the vice captain of this ship, right? There isn't even a wanted poster for you here." The green-haired swordsman glanced sideways at Mohji, who lay on the deck with a bruised and swollen face, and Richie the lion, who was pretending to be dead.

"Damn it, don't underestimate me..." Mohji gritted his teeth, then fell to his knees in tears. "Sir, my head isn't worth much. Please let me go."

The green-haired swordsman drew a sword from his waist and pointed its tip coldly at Mohji. "I'm not interested in you. Your captain might be interesting, though. In the East Blue, where pirates are worth an average of three million Beli, a great pirate with a ten-million-Beli bounty might at least give me a surprise."

(ps: Bounties from two years ago were set at ten million.)

Mohji hurriedly scooted backward across the deck, putting on an ingratiating expression. "You're absolutely right, sir. Our captain will definitely surprise you."

At the same time, he thought darkly, Captain Buggy is a Devil Fruit User. You ignorant bounty hunter—you'll get beaten to a pulp by our captain and then tossed into the sea to feed the fish.

Buggy and his crew drew closer from the port. The red-hatted pirate beside Buggy shouted excitedly, "Mohji! Captain Buggy's back!"

The green-haired swordsman stood up from the lounge chair and walked to the edge of the deck. He surveyed the pirates before him, then fixed his gaze on Buggy and drew two swords from his waist. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Are you the Buggy known as the 'Immortal'?"

Buggy looked up. The green-haired swordsman wore three golden, teardrop-shaped earrings in his left ear and a dark green bandanna tied around his left arm. A green sash was wrapped around his waist, and three sword sheaths hung from his belt. He already held two large swords in his hands.

Roronoa Zoro. Buggy recognized him at first glance. The green hair and three swords made him impossible to mistake.

Buggy raised his chin and looked at Zoro, his voice calm. "I'm Buggy. I hear you killed one of my crew. I've never heard of such an impressive bounty hunter before."

After what had happened with Robin, Buggy found his interest in the Straw Hat Pirates had suddenly waned. Even the feeling of being a fan who'd met his idol was slowly fading.

"Sorry, I've only been at this for a month. But if I take your head, the whole East Blue should learn my name, right?" Zoro tilted the blade in his hand slightly, then leaped from the deck onto the beach. "As for these small fry, we left them breathing. They weren't worth drawing my swords for."

"C-Captain Buggy." After Zoro jumped down, Mohji finally dared to poke his head above the deck. Resting his head against his arm, he burst into tears. "I almost never got to see you again!"

Given Mohji's strength, it was no surprise he'd lost to Zoro. After all, Zoro was a swordsman who'd made a name for himself across the East Blue in just two years and had the potential to become a great swordsman.

"You white-haired freak, you're an embarrassment to Captain Buggy," Cabaji said coldly.

"What? You half-faced freak, how dare you look down on me!" Mohji suddenly came to life. Richie, who'd been pretending to be dead behind him, promptly woke up and let out an "Awooo," providing the background music.

"Bastard, what do you mean, half-faced?" Cabaji flew into a rage and swept the other half of his hair up. "You round-eared fool, stop making up words. My face is perfectly normal."

It was the first time Buggy had ever seen Cabaji's whole face, too. If he tied all his hair into a single ponytail, he'd look exactly like a wandering samurai. "Sigh... Cabaji, so this is what you look like."

Cabaji let his hair fall back down and said in a low voice, "A long time ago, a witch told me my left eye was the Demon King's Eye. It would keep absorbing the colors of this world, and the energy would eventually gather inside me and make my body explode. So I've kept this eye sealed."

"Cabaji, I never knew you had a past like that. I really underestimated you!" Mohji's expression stiffened, but he accepted Cabaji's story for the moment.

"What the hell are you idiots doing? How can you still be standing around so casually? I'm here to take your heads!" Zoro looked exasperated. These pirates had no sense of danger at all...

"So you're a swordsman, too." Cabaji gave a cold laugh, pushed his sword hilt upward, and stepped forward. At last, the atmosphere grew serious.

Buggy stretched out an arm to stop Cabaji and looked at Zoro. "Swordsman, would you be interested in joining our pirate crew?"

Zoro snorted. "Join your pirate crew? Don't make me laugh. Why would I become a pirate?"

Buggy lowered the arm he'd used to stop Cabaji. He'd really wanted to recruit this promising talent, but he wasn't like Luffy, who won people over with sheer charisma. And Zoro had no exploitable weaknesses. He had no choice but to give up on the idea.

"Cabaji, this bounty hunter is yours. Can you handle him?"

"Leave him to me." Cabaji drew the Great Grade Sword Sakura Blizzard from his waist and narrowed his eyes at Zoro. He... didn't have a single injury on him. It seemed he'd defeated Mohji with ease.

"That sword..." Zoro's eyes lit up. "Looks like a good one."

Buggy and his underlings walked right past Zoro and headed for the pirate ship. Looking back at him, Buggy wore a sly smile. "After you defeat my subordinate, I'll consider fighting you myself."

"A gauntlet?" Zoro was a little surprised by Buggy's choice of words. He turned his head to look at the latter. "Oh? What a strange pirate."

Just as his attention was fixed on Buggy, Sakura Blizzard thrust toward him without warning. The blade moved silently, making no sound at all.