The Big Top sailed toward Gravity Island through the hazy sea fog. Not far behind its stern, a Marine warship could be seen following in its wake.
Captain Nezumi stood on the warship's deck and ordered the helmsman to keep close behind the ship ahead. The thick fog over the sea concealed the warship's trail. It was as if even the heavens were helping him capture the detestable East Blue pirate.
From the information sent by Den Den Mushi carried by the scout, Captain Nezumi had learned that Buggy himself wasn't aboard the pirate ship, but was staying on an uninhabited island.
He chuckled. "I never would've guessed that, as captain, Buggy wasn't just absent from his own pirate ship, but had been living on an island for more than a year. He even left the pirates under him to buy food and supplies... Even as a retired pirate, he's doing a terrible job of it. Sergeant, why do you think he's doing this?"
The sergeant, whom he trusted as one of his closest men, answered cautiously. "Buggy is afraid his bounty is too high, so he wants to disappear from the Marines' sight for a while. Once enough time passes and the Marines stop paying attention to him, he'll start causing trouble again."
"Your words couldn't be further from what I'm thinking," Captain Nezumi said. "Besides, as a pirate, he's buying food and supplies from the people on nearby islands instead of plundering them. That shows he intends to stay for a long time and make his arrangements sustainable. As for why he'd be willing to do that, it can only be because the gains outweigh the costs, so..."
Captain Nezumi swallowed, his voice growing heated. "There's probably more than one pirate treasure on that island, or he's found a promising gold mine..."
The sergeant suddenly understood. "No wonder the infamous Buggy has stayed on an island for so long!"
Captain Nezumi trembled slightly. "Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Treasure, endless treasure, hee-hee!"
The four of them headed toward the edge of the island, feeling the gravity gradually weaken along the way as they slowly adjusted to the discomfort in their bodies.
About twenty minutes later, they finally reached the shore. They had adapted to three or four times normal gravity, and being under twice normal gravity made them feel light and airy, as if every pore in their bodies were breathing. It was a wonderful sensation.
The twelve pirates aboard the ship struggled to carry the supplies and food onto the beach. Even though they'd made the trip many times, the two- or threefold burden still made them miserable.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from the pirate ship. The pirates set down their supplies and looked up. More than a dozen iron grappling hooks had latched onto the ship's mast and rails, while four or five harpoon-like points were embedded deep in its hull.
The Big Top swayed from side to side, sending waves rippling across the sea.
What was going on?! All the pirates froze in place. Buggy furrowed his brow, while Shuma's eyes widened at the strange sight, as if he found it interesting.
The shadows of the chains attached to the pirate ship slowly came into focus. Through the sea fog, the Marine warship at the other end of the chains plowed through the waves and approached the shore.
On the Marine warship's deck, an officer wearing a mouse-shaped hat showed half his body and looked down at the pirates on the beach, who were too shocked to react. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain Nezumi of the Marine 16th Branch. Hee-hee."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pirates below, still frozen in shock, erupted into a commotion.
"Damn it, they followed us!"
"Those Marines! When did they start watching us?!"
"Our weapons are still on the ship. We're finished..."
Cabaji shouted in a deep voice, "Stop making noise. It's only one warship."
"Hee-hee." Nezumi found it interesting that this pirate wasn't trembling in fear like the others. He casually waved his right hand, and two or three soldiers poked their heads out, raised their rifles, and aimed at Cabaji.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets shot from the barrels in an instant, hurtling toward Cabaji too fast for the naked eye to follow. But because of the island's gravity, the bullets that had been aimed at his head veered toward his chest.
"Paper Art!"
Sensing the shift in the air currents around him, Cabaji casually leaned aside. His body bent like a thin sheet of paper fluttering in the wind, and he easily dodged the three bullets. Then he drew Sakura Blizzard and pointed it straight at Captain Nezumi on the warship, saying darkly, "I'll kill you."
Captain Nezumi's pupils shrank. He involuntarily took two steps backward. They were so far apart, yet why did the pirate's presence make his heart tremble? For a split second, he'd felt as if the sword in the man's hand were at his throat.
A few quick-witted guards caught Captain Nezumi before he fell. Suddenly feeling humiliated in front of his subordinates, he roared, "You worthless pirate! Open fire! Open fire!"
A large cannon at the bow of the warship took aim at the pirates on the beach. The fuse was lit, the cannon gave a deep rumble, and the cannonball shot out.
"Leave it to me." Mohji stepped in front of the others of his own accord and crossed his arms over his chest. "Iron Body: Impact Storage."
The cannonball came hurtling toward him and struck his crossed arms. It bounced off as if it had hit a spring-loaded cushion, returning along the same path at the same speed.
Boom!!
The huge cannonball crashed into the warship's hull, triggering a massive explosion. The ship lurched and swayed amid the surging waves.
"Lord Mohji is mighty! Lord Cabaji is mighty!" The pirates nearby cheered at the sight. Even a Marine warship would be hard-pressed to gain the upper hand against the two officers!
Cabaji frowned and glanced at Mohji. "Hey, I attacked first. Why are they praising you instead?"
Mohji said smugly, "Can a bullet match a cannonball? One-Eye, everyone can see whose attack was stronger!"
Cabaji said, "You idiot, always stealing the credit. If you hadn't gotten in my way, I would've cut that cannonball in half."
Mohji said, "So you're denying the fact that I'm stronger than you?"
"Hmph."
"What's that supposed to mean? You want to fight me?"
These two officers seemed to have gotten more hot-tempered as they grew stronger. Buggy tried to smooth things over from the side. "All right, all right, let's keep things peaceful. Mohji, you're being too rough. What if Captain Nezumi was only joking with us..."
The two officers turned away. "Yes, Captain Buggy."
Buggy continued, "That's more like it. Shuma, go 'invite' Captain Nezumi down, and make sure to give him a proper welcome."
"Okay..." Shuma stepped on the air with Geppo. With a whoosh, he kicked off into the sky and bounded onto the warship in a few steps, vanishing into the smoke that hadn't yet cleared after the explosion.
A commotion of panicked shouting came from the warship. In the blink of an eye, Shuma carried Captain Nezumi down like a helpless child, his face bruised and swollen and his two front teeth knocked out, then tossed him heavily onto the ground.
The two officers wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads. How had Shuma understood what Captain Buggy meant? And, Captain, there was no way that could be called "keeping things peaceful"!