Chapter 27

"You can split your body into many pieces. At first, I thought your flying hand was fake, but you're actually a real monster," Luffy said, seeing Buggy's body split into multiple pieces during their fight.

"Shut up! You, a rubber man, have no right to call me a monster," Buggy retorted, clearly irritated that Luffy ignored his own bizarre abilities while criticizing Buggy's.

"Straw Hat brat, if that woman returns the Grand Line map and hands over those who oppose me, I might spare you," Buggy said, glaring hatefully at Eden and gritting his teeth.

"No way! We're heading to the Grand Line, and we're not giving back the map. We're pirates, so if you want it, you'll have to take it back by pirate means," Luffy replied, stretching his left arm and launching a punch at Buggy. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

"Bara Bara Ho!" Buggy quickly split his body into several pieces, dodging Luffy's attack. "You're too naive. The Grand Line is no place for nameless pirates like you."

"What are you going to the Grand Line for? A sightseeing tour?" Buggy's upper body floated in the air, taunting Luffy.

"I'm going to become the Pirate King!" Luffy declared with a determined expression.

Buggy, who had heard Luffy's declaration before, had initially thought it was a joke. Now, hearing it again, he was so shocked he couldn't even muster a laugh. His mouth hung open, and he looked dazed, almost petrified.

"Stop kidding me! You, the Pirate King? Then I'm a god! Only I can collect the world's greatest treasures!" Buggy roared, his face contorted with rage, an X-shaped white bone tattoo extending from his forehead to his eye corner, making him look even more sinister.

"Say whatever you want. The more I look at you, the more annoying you get. You say we can't go to the Grand Line, but do you think you, with that big red nose, can?" Luffy prepared to attack with his right hand, feeling the pain in his left hand from the previous fight with Eden.

"You called me big nose again! You and that guy are both so irritating!" Buggy roared, "Die! Bara Bara Carving!"

Buggy's right hand, holding several knives, flew straight at Luffy, who jumped back several times and dodged the attack. Luffy, being honest, said, "Your nose is not only redder and rounder but also blackened."

Luffy's words were true; Buggy's swollen red nose did have some blackened scorches. But hearing this, Buggy was driven to the brink of madness. Ignoring the truth, he launched a fierce assault on Luffy, "You brat, you remind me of an arrogant red-haired man I met when I was younger. I'll kill you!"

"Red-haired?" Luffy, surprised to hear Buggy mention a red-haired man, slowed his movements and almost got hit by Buggy's knives.

"Are you talking about Shanks? Do you know him?" Luffy asked, distancing himself from Buggy and pausing his attack, eager to learn about the man he admired, who had entrusted him with his straw hat.

"Why? You seem very interested. So what if I know him?" Buggy snorted, his face darkening at the mention of Shanks, stopping his attack as well.

"Where is he now?" Luffy asked urgently, sensing that Buggy really knew Shanks.

"Where? Well, I could say I know, but also, I don't really know..." Buggy rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. Before he could finish, Luffy, unable to understand, blurted out, "What are you talking about? Are you an idiot?"

"How dare you! First, you insult my nose, and now you call me an idiot! I'll deal with you first, then send your friends to hell!" Buggy, thoroughly enraged, decided to kill Luffy before dealing with Eden.

As Luffy and Buggy continued their intense battle, Nami and Eden were leisurely searching for Buggy's treasure in the ruins of the bombed bar.

"Look around here. If we find the treasure, I'll share some with you," Nami said, noticing that Eden's face had regained some color and was not as pale as before.

She found it strange how Eden, who had seemed on the verge of death, was recovering so quickly. If it weren't for this, she wouldn't have dragged him along to find the treasure.

She recalled how Eden's severe back injury had inexplicably healed last time.

To Nami, Eden seemed like a freak. A normal person wouldn't survive such severe injuries, let alone recover so quickly. Even though Eden felt dizzy and weak all over, a mysterious force seemed to sustain him.

"Are you listening to me?" Nami asked, finding the treasure buried under the rubble and packing it into a sack. She turned to see Eden's face half-covered in blood-red stripes and the other half in orange stripes. The sight left her speechless.

The stripes on his face moved like living things, making it seem like his face was covered in venomous snakes. It was a horrifying sight, especially his eyes—one blood-red and the other gold like a burning sun.

Instinctively, Nami stepped back, pulling out her nunchaku from her right leg and swinging it at the approaching figure, "Stay away! Eden, where are you? Save me!"

Unaware of the strange changes in his body, Eden saw Nami's terrified expression and approached her to ask what was wrong. Before he could speak, Nami hit him with the nunchaku.

"What are you doing? That hurt!" Eden, unprepared, took a hard blow to the head from Nami's weapon. Already weakened, the strike made him dizzy, and he fell forward.

Nami, in her panic, had grabbed the wrong weapon, using the nunchaku instead of the three-section staff she had prepared.

Not knowing how to use it properly, she also hit herself in the head. Dazed, she dropped the sack of treasure and fell forward.

Eden and Nami ended up collapsing onto each other. Buggy, who had been recounting his past with Shanks to Luffy, saw them fall and couldn't help but grin. He slowly approached them while keeping up the conversation with Luffy.

"I'll never forgive Red-Hair! Because of him, I ate the Devil Fruit worth 100 million Berries and became a landlubber, unable to seek the vast treasures hidden in the sea," Buggy said, his face twisted with hatred. If Shanks hadn't startled him back then, he wouldn't have swallowed the fruit he had schemed to get.

"So Shanks saved you when you fell into the sea," Luffy said, smiling, having learned from Buggy's story that Shanks had saved him from drowning after he ate the Devil Fruit.

"That's not the point!" Buggy almost spat blood in frustration. He had been trying to paint Shanks as the villain who ruined his life, but Luffy had turned it around, making Shanks seem like a hero who saved him.

"It's all because of that red-haired guy that my plans got delayed by ten years. I'm furious! Since I can't get the treasures underwater, I'll plunder all the treasures above it!" Buggy's upper body floated, glancing towards Eden and Nami. "Anyone who covets my treasure or opposes me, be it thief or pirate, won't be spared!"

Having said that, Buggy's floating upper body flew over Luffy's head, aiming for Eden and Nami. "You dare to steal my treasure? I'll deal with you wherever you run!"

Nami, regaining her senses, pushed Eden off and sat up, shaking her head to clear the dizziness. Seeing Buggy's upper body flying towards her with knives, she instinctively dodged, pressing herself down as quickly as possible. "I'm sorry, I…"

Nami's words were cut off as she and Eden accidentally ended up kissing. She froze instantly, unable to speak.

Nami had intended to say to Buggy, "I'm sorry, I didn't really want to steal your treasure." But the sudden turn of events left her speechless.

Eden, having regained his senses, was about to question Nami about hitting him with the nunchaku. He was angry about the unprovoked attack.

However, just as he was about to confront her, he heard Nami's apology and then found her suddenly kissing him.

Eden was stunned.

What a peculiar way to apologize.

Alright, I'll forgive you…