Crying as He Signed His Contract of Sale, Buggy Was Dragged Off to Mine Coal

"Hey, Red Nose, did you just say you were going to teach me how to behave?"

Lei En's voice, like a devil's whisper, made Buggy, who was still rolling around on the ground, freeze all over.

The excruciating pain, mixed with bone-deep fear, instantly shattered his last psychological defense.

"I... I wouldn't dare! Grandpa! I was wrong! I'll never dare again!"

Tears and snot streamed down Buggy's face from the pain. There was none of his earlier arrogance left; he looked like nothing more than a thug who had been beaten half to death.

The pirates under his command had already been scared out of their wits upon seeing their captain in such a miserable state.

"Run... run! The boss is finished!"

Beast Tamer Mohji let out a shriek and was the first to turn and flee.

The remaining dozens of pirates came to their senses as well. Like they had seen a ghost, they threw down their weapons and scattered in every direction, screaming for their mothers and fathers.

"Trying to run?"

Lei En did not even turn his head. He merely raised his right hand casually and snapped his fingers at the sky.

Crackle—!

A not particularly thick but extremely wide-reaching net of deep-blue lightning shot from his palm in an instant, blanketing the entire square like a net cast from heaven.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

A wave of shrill screams rang out.

The pirates who had only run a few steps were like flies struck by an electric swatter. Their bodies convulsed, foam spilled from their mouths, and they rolled their eyes back before collapsing to the ground.

Lei En could not even be bothered to use high-voltage electricity. Basic static paralysis alone had taken down all these small fry.

After dealing with the cannon fodder, Lei En turned his gaze back to Buggy, who was still squirming on the ground.

"The physical strike was remarkably effective. Next comes the second stage of 'psychological counseling.'"

Lei En flexed his fingers, and blue arcs of electricity that made Buggy's soul tremble began dancing over his fingertips again.

"Y-you... what else are you trying to do?!"

Buggy shrank back in terror, both hands clutched tightly over his vital parts, his voice thick with sobs.

"I already admitted I was wrong! Please, let me go!"

"Let you go?"

Lei En smiled like an innocent angel, but his words made Buggy feel as if he had fallen into an ice pit.

"How could I do that? Didn't you say your Chop-Chop Fruit ability was invincible?"

Lei En crouched down and lightly tapped Buggy's signature big red nose with a finger crackling with electricity.

"Slashes really can't hurt you, but I'm the Lightning King."

"Today, I'll let you experience what a magical attack is!"

"Ten Thousand Volts: Blood-Circulation Package!"

"Don't—!"

Cracklecackle—!

The ear-piercing roar of electric current instantly drowned out Buggy's despairing screams.

Violent blue lightning, like countless bloodthirsty venomous snakes, burrowed madly into every cell of Buggy's body!

The Chop-Chop Fruit might make him immune to physical slashes, but against this kind of energy attack, it was completely useless!

Buggy felt as if he had been thrown into a microwave. From the inside out, every inch of flesh and every bone in his body was being frantically roasted by terrifying heat and electric current!

His whole body convulsed violently, his eyes rolled back, and drool spread across the ground. That big red nose he had always been so proud of was directly charred black by the current, giving off the burnt stench of scorched protein.

This inhumane "electrotherapy" lasted a full twenty minutes.

By the time Lei En finally mercifully withdrew the lightning, Buggy no longer looked human.

His entire body was charred black, and every strand of his hair stood straight up, making him resemble a giant black dandelion.

Rings of black smoke drifted from his mouth, and his eyes were unfocused. He had clearly been shocked so badly that he had forgotten even his own name.

"Mm, looks like the psychological counseling was a great success. He's completely obedient now."

Lei En nodded in satisfaction, pulled out a parchment he had prepared long ago from the system space, and casually tossed it onto Buggy's blackened face.

At the very top of the parchment, several large words were written in an outrageously domineering font—Heavenly Court Lifetime Labor Contract.

"Come on, sign this. From now on, you're mine."

Lei En nudged Buggy with the tip of his shoe.

Buggy struggled to open his eyes. When he saw the densely packed contract filled with all sorts of tyrannical clauses, tears instantly flowed down his face.

Things like "voluntarily relinquish personal freedom," "wages distributed according to the boss's mood," and "no overtime pay for overtime work"...

Was this a contract of sale? This was practically a slave contract!

"What? Got a problem with it?"

Seeing that Buggy had not moved for a long time, Lei En's fingertips flickered with dangerous electric light once more.

"N-no! I'll sign! I'll sign!"

Buggy jolted in fright, and his instinct to survive instantly overcame his dignity.

Ignoring the intense pain wracking his body, he scrambled forward and grabbed the contract. Crying so hard that tears and snot covered his face, he shakily bit open his finger and pressed his humiliating bloody handprint onto the parchment.

"Very good. Welcome to the Heavenly Court Coal-Mining Brigade."

Lei En put away the contract of sale and clapped his hands, in an excellent mood.

He took out a Den Den Mushi and directly contacted Enel, who was standing by aboard the Heavenly Court Thunder God.

"Hey, night watchman, bring the ship over and pick them up."

Lei En snapped his fingers, and a thick pillar of lightning descended from the sky, striking the center of the square and creating an extremely conspicuous marker.

"Pack up all the trash on the ground, including that Red Nose, and take them away."

Upon hearing Lei En's unquestionable order, Enel hurriedly nodded and bowed in agreement from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Yes, yes! Grandpa Lei En, don't worry! I'll be there right away!"

A few minutes later.

The massive golden ark descended over Orange Town.

Enel directed several Sky Island laborers to drag Buggy and all his still-unconscious subordinates onto the ship like dead dogs.

Buggy knelt on the deck, watching Orange Town grow farther and farther away, his heart filled with despair for the future.

"Lord... Lord Lei En..."

Gathering the last of his courage, he asked in an exceptionally humble voice.

"May I ask... where are we going?"

Lei En stood at the bow, facing the sea wind without looking back.

He pointed toward a barren island on the distant horizon, black smoke rising from it, and a cruel smile curled across his lips.

"There."

Lei En's voice drifted through the sea breeze. To Buggy's ears, it sounded like the death knell of hell.

"Heavenly Court's construction projects are short on ore right now. This batch of cheap laborers came at exactly the right time."

"Buggy, remember this."

Lei En turned around, devilish light glinting in his deep eyes.

"From today on, if you don't mine ten tons of coal every day, dinner will be ten thousand volts."