Sea Circle Calendar 1508, some month, some day. Sunny weather. Mood... no, this great man's mood is terrible!
This was the seventh day that I, the great Thousand-Piece Clown Buggy, had been forced to become an honorable miner. (Honor my ass!)
I hate this!
I hate that demon named Lei En!
Not only did he defeat me with utterly despicable methods, he stole all the treasure I had painstakingly accumulated, then threw me and my men onto this godforsaken Mine Island!
Every day, we had to get up before dawn, carry pickaxes thicker than my waist, and dig damned coal in those pitch-black mine shafts!
Ten tons!
A full ten tons!
Was that even an amount a normal person could mine in one day?!
That overseer named Enel was a complete and utter lackey too!
He had clearly been beaten into submission by that demon himself, yet now he was strutting around as an overseer!
As long as we moved even a little too slowly, or tried to slack off and take a sip of water.
"Rumble!"
A modest little Lightning Strike—one definitely powerful enough to fry someone crispy—would accurately strike us right on the ass!
Look at my proud red nose. It was practically charred black from all the shocks!
Dignity!
Where was this great man's dignity?!
Back then, I, Buggy, was someone who had called Gol D. Roger and that redhead Shanks brothers aboard the Pirate King's ship!
And now I had actually fallen so low that I was mining coal alongside this bunch of small fry?!
What a humiliation!
If I didn't avenge this grudge, I swore I wasn't human!
But who was I?
I was Buggy!
How could such a minor setback possibly defeat me?
I had already devised the perfect Prison Break Challenge!
The third tunnel in Area B of this mine had relatively soft ground.
I had joined forces with Mohji and Cabaji. We were planning to use the Chop-Chop Fruit's power to secretly dig a tunnel downward, straight to the shore!
As long as I could escape back to the sea, I would immediately head to the Grand Line and find that redhead Shanks!
I would make him avenge me!
Just wait, Lei En!
This great man would be back soon, and I would blow your shiny golden wreck of a ship—and that arrogant face of yours—straight into the sky with a Special Buggy Ball!
Thief hahahahaha... no, Buggy hahahaha!
Sea Circle Calendar 1508, some month, some day plus one. Sunny turning cloudy. Mood... I want to die.
The escape plan had failed.
At dawn today, the tunnel we had painstakingly dug for seven days and seven nights had finally broken through!
Just as I excitedly poked my head out of the hole on the beach and took my first breath of free air.
What did I see?
I saw that demon!
That demon named Lei En was actually crouching beside the hole with a smile, holding a steaming cup of black tea!
Behind him, that lackey Enel was holding paper and pen, apparently recording something.
"Yo, Red Nose. Good morning."
That demon flashed me an exceptionally "kind" smile.
"Congratulations. You have successfully triggered this mining area's hidden instance—'Prison Break Challenge.'"
"As a reward..."
Before he could finish speaking, the sky darkened.
A terrifying blue lightning pillar thicker than a water barrel descended from the heavens, blasting me, the tunnel behind me, and that stretch of beach into one enormous glass crater!
That feeling...
I never wanted to remember it a second time for the rest of my life.
Right now, I was hanging upside down at the entrance to the mine, being "admired" by all the miners.
That lackey Enel had even solemnly erected a wooden sign beside me. It read—"Those who don't mine coal diligently have ideological problems. Those who escape improperly leave their loved ones in tears."
The face of the great Buggy had been utterly disgraced.
I swear, I would never try to escape again.
Really.
On the deck of the Heavenly Court Thunder God.
Lei En lay on a beach chair, listening to Enel vividly report Buggy's "miserable diary" through a Den Den Mushi, and couldn't help laughing.
"Well done, Enel."
Lei En praised him. "To deal with scum like Buggy, you need to hit him both mentally and physically."
"Hehe, it's all thanks to your excellent guidance, Lord Lei En!" Enel laughed like a blooming chrysanthemum on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Enough. Stop kissing my ass."
Lei En waved his hand. "I'll leave the mine entirely to you. Hand over enough ore every month. If you're even one pound short, I'll let you try the new Five Hundred Thousand Volts package."
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
After hanging up, Lei En stretched lazily.
They had lingered on Mine Island for several days. It was time to set out again and look for the next bit of "fun."
"Kuina."
Lei En called toward the cabin.
Before long, Kuina emerged in a neat kendo uniform, carrying a plate of sliced fruit.
"My lord, what are your orders?"
"Check the map. Where are we now?"
Kuina set down the fruit plate, walked over to the navigation table, and carefully compared the pointer with the chart.
"My lord, according to the Log Pose, we have already approached the waters around Gaimon Island."
Kuina paused, then raised her head and looked at Lei En with clear eyes.
"If we continue along this route, the next island with a large village should be... Syrup Village."
At the sound of that name, an extremely amused curve instantly appeared on Lei En's lips.
He picked up a piece of watermelon and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes gleaming with the excitement of a hunter spotting prey.
"Syrup Village..."
Lei En narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself.
"I wonder whether that future 'Sniper King' is still sitting in the big tree at the village entrance, bragging to a few little brats?"
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