Chapter 29

After Luffy had inadvertently aggravated Eden, causing his wound to bleed, he finally got serious and focused on dealing with Buggy.

Eden was still troubled by his inability to control his unknown Devil Fruit powers. What made it worse was Nami's incessant chatter beside him.

"Isn't your Devil Fruit ability completely useless? If that's the case, why did you eat the Devil Fruit and become a landlubber?" Nami looked at Eden's face, covered in red and orange stripes, and completely ignored his annoyed expression. "And this useless Devil Fruit power made you even uglier."

"My appearance has nothing to do with you, so stop nagging," Eden couldn't stand Nami's repeated comments about his ugliness. Although he didn't care much about his looks, he couldn't let a woman constantly criticize his appearance.

"I'm not interested in your appearance. I just think you shouldn't have eaten that Devil Fruit. Don't you know? Devil Fruits are very valuable."

Nami had heard rumors that Devil Fruits were extremely precious.

"Now that you mention it, that's true. A Devil Fruit can be sold for at least 100 million Berries," Eden said, rubbing his chin.

Nami was shocked when she heard this. She immediately grabbed Eden by the neck and shook him continuously. "You idiot! How could you eat something worth 100 million Berries? Spit it out, spit it out! You don't even use it."

There's no way I can spit it out!

Eden, being strangled by Nami, could hardly breathe and was constantly coughing, nearly suffocating. "Let go! There's no way I can spit out that Devil Fruit. Go find one yourself."

"How am I supposed to find one? It's a legendary sea treasure," Nami said, looking at Eden with amazement. "Huh? Your face is back to normal?"

"Really?"

Eden was delighted, but then he became frustrated. What was going on? Was his Devil Fruit power uncontrollable? Did it come and go as it pleased? This was ridiculous!

Seeing that she couldn't get Eden to spit out the Devil Fruit he had eaten, Nami reluctantly let go of his neck and huffed, "In that case, I'll add this to your debt. From now on, you owe me 400 million Berries. After all, I fixed your ugly face, so charging you a bit is only fair."

What?

You nearly strangled me to death and then claimed to have healed me, and now you're charging me? I'm already showing great restraint by not hitting you.

Eden was about to argue with Nami when he heard Buggy's arrogant laughter. "This shabby hat is considered a treasure?"

Buggy had pierced Luffy's cherished straw hat with three knives and was taunting him.

This hat... I'm leaving it with you. It's my most precious hat. I'll come back for it when you become a great pirate.

Luffy's face turned dark as he remembered the red-haired, one-armed man who had entrusted the hat to him ten years ago.

Filled with anger, he charged at Buggy. "That hat represents my promise with Shanks. It's my treasure. Anyone who damages it will not be forgiven!"

"What? So, this is Shanks' hat. No wonder I disliked it at first sight. No wonder you asked me about him; you two are connected."

Buggy threw the hat, now pierced by three knives, to the ground and spat on it in disgust. "I used to be on the same pirate ship as him, so we were comrades during our pirate apprenticeship."

Seeing Buggy spit on the hat, Luffy was furious. He shouted at Buggy, "Shanks is a great man. How could he be your comrade?"

Buggy, thinking Luffy was going to punch him in the face, quickly detached his head from his body. "Bara Bara... Emergency Escape!"

"You're not even worthy of being compared to him."

Luffy's punch landed squarely on Buggy's stomach, making his eyes bulge and tears stream down his face.

Bang!

Buggy's body was sent flying by Luffy's punch, crashing towards Eden, who then kicked him hard to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"He got so angry over that hat being damaged. I thought he didn't care about anything," Nami said, looking at the furious Luffy in a daze. She had always thought someone as carefree as Luffy didn't have emotions like anger.

It was also the first time Eden had seen Luffy so angry. He noticed Luffy's left hand was bleeding profusely, and his overall condition wasn't great.

Since Nami said his appearance had returned to normal, Eden felt even dizzier, and every movement brought unbearable pain. It was better to deal with Buggy quickly.

At that moment, Buggy, who had been punched hard by Luffy, struggled to get up. Covered in dust, his face darkened as he looked at the charging Luffy and Eden standing before him. "I've never been this angry in my life! You two reckless brats dare to anger me repeatedly. I'm going to kill you!"

Buggy was genuinely furious. In over twenty years as a pirate, he had never been insulted as much as he had today by Luffy and Eden. He hadn't managed to deal with them but had been beaten up by them instead. He couldn't take it anymore.

"You will die, Bara Bara Carnival!"

Buggy's body suddenly split into dozens of pieces, spinning rapidly in the air. Taking advantage of the chaos, his two floating hands holding knives flew toward the weakest Nami.

"I'll deal with you, the thief who dared to steal my treasure first!"

Buggy's hands with knives sped towards Nami, who instinctively raised the bag of treasure to shield herself.

"Big Nose, I've already said your opponent is me!"

"Red Nose, do you think I'm invisible?"

Luffy and Eden shouted angrily in unison.

Eden was annoyed that Buggy ignored him and attacked Nami, while Luffy was furious that Buggy left him to attack someone else.

"This kick is for the old man mayor!"

Luffy quickly reached Buggy's side and delivered a powerful kick to Buggy's left cheek.

At the same time, Eden punched Buggy's right cheek hard. "I don't care if you're angry, just get lost!"

Whoosh.

Buggy's head, floating in the air, was hit by both Luffy and Eden simultaneously, making his face contort and his eyes roll back. His head shot off like a rocket, crashing through several houses and streets before stopping.

Buggy's body parts, which had been spinning in the air, fell to the ground, lifeless.

It was clear that Buggy was completely knocked out. The hands holding knives that were about to attack Nami also fell to the ground.

"We make a great team," Luffy said with a smile, giving Eden a high-five.

At that moment, Luffy and Eden both laughed happily, but Nami's face darkened.

"It's not good at all! You two idiots, my treasure is all gone!"

Nami showed a terrifying shark-like grin and shouted at Luffy and Eden.

When Luffy and Eden worked together to send Buggy's head flying, Nami had just lifted the treasure bag to shield herself from Buggy's attack. The bag got knocked out of her hands and flew off somewhere. When she realized this, she found her treasure bag had disappeared.

"If the treasure is lost, we can find more. What's there to worry about, haha," Luffy laughed nonchalantly.

"It's your fault for not holding onto the treasure properly. What's not yours isn't meant to be," Eden said. He felt sore all over from punching Buggy and wanted to rest, so he didn't care about Nami's treasure.

Bang!

Nami quickly knocked Luffy and Eden to the ground. "Stop talking nonsense and go find my treasure!"

"Who dares throw a head and a bag of treasure at me?"

Nami had just yelled at Luffy and Eden when she heard a man's voice.

Turning around, Nami saw a green-haired man with three swords at his waist. "What treasure? And where have you been? Why are you only showing up now?"

"Hey? Isn't that Luffy and Eden? Why are you two lying on the ground? Did you encounter a strong enemy?"

Zoro, holding Buggy's head in one hand and a bag of treasure in the other, saw the two familiar faces on the ground and was surprised.

What shocked Zoro even more was that both Luffy and Eden, like him, had big bumps on their heads. It seemed like the three of them were quite destined for each other.

Earlier, Zoro, who had been wandering around, got hit in the head by Buggy's head and a bag of treasure, which came crashing through a wall, almost knocking him out.

After recovering, Zoro picked up the head and the bag of treasure, followed the path they flew from, and found Luffy and the others.

Soon, Zoro learned from their conversation why he got hit by Buggy's head and a bag of treasure.

"Sorry, it's because his punch was too strong that it affected you."

"Sorry, it's because his kick was too strong that it affected you."

Luffy and Eden pointed at each other and simultaneously apologized to Zoro.

"What did you say, you shirking responsibility idiot!"

Luffy and Eden started bickering and wrestling on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Zoro said, his forehead full of black lines, watching Luffy and Eden fight.

"Why does this bag of treasure feel lighter?" Nami, receiving the bag from Zoro, quickly checked it and noticed something was wrong.

"Maybe because the bag is torn and some treasure fell out," Zoro said.

Nami went crazy. "If the treasure fell out, why didn't you pick it up along the way? Are you an idiot?"

Treasures are such valuable things, and Zoro could walk past them without picking them up. This made Nami think Zoro was either crazy or stupid.

"Navigator lady, whether I pick up the treasure or not is my freedom, understand?"

Zoro turned his head and said coolly to Nami.

Bang!

Zoro was knocked to the ground by a punch from Nami. "Your freedom cost me my treasure. I'll beat you!"

Now Zoro finally understood why Eden screamed so loudly when Nami hit him on the head last time. It really hurt.

"Haha, Zoro, your bump is bigger than ours. Isn't our navigator interesting?"

Luffy even had the mood to compare the size of the bumps on their heads, making him laugh.

"Don't get it wrong. I just agreed to team up with you. I didn't say I wanted to be a pirate."

Nami looked at Eden resting on the ground and said to Luffy.

Luffy was about to say something when Buggy's voice rang out, "You guys still have time to chat?"

"Why aren't you dead yet?"

Luffy saw Buggy's head still floating in the air, with a long cloak on it. His left cheek was swollen beyond recognition.

"I'm the immortal Buggy. How could I die? You dared to hit me so hard. Now I'll send you all to hell."

Buggy looked at Luffy and Eden, then noticed Zoro with three swords at his waist and said with surprise, "What? Even the famous pirate hunter from the East Blue wants to take my head?"

"You're already just a head. I can take it anytime."

Zoro found Buggy's floating head very strange but still prepared to draw his sword.

"No, don't do it. I want to personally send him flying!"

Luffy stretched out his hand to stop Zoro and took a step forward.

"I'll make sure you all die without a grave!"

Buggy said hatefully, "Assemble, Bara Bara parts!"

"What?"

After Buggy reassembled his hands and feet, he was dumbfounded.

"Woof woof!"

Chouchou stood in front of Buggy, growling and ready to pounce. Buggy was so scared he backed up several steps.

At this moment, Buggy, with his hands and feet reassembled, was standing on the ground and was only as tall as an ordinary dog.

Luffy stared at the extremely short Buggy in a daze. "So, you're from the dwarf tribe?"

"No, you idiot! Where's my body?"

Buggy frantically looked around, trying to find his missing body.

"Are you looking for this?"

Nami had tied up Buggy's remaining body parts tightly, leaving him with only hands, feet, and a head. Buggy was now truly a dwarf.

"Wait, that's my body! Give it back!"

Buggy was really panicking. Without his body, what could he do?

"As expected of a professional thief, your hands are really fast. I'll take care of the rest."

Luffy laughed happily and stretched his hands back, saying to the panicking Buggy, "I'm going to send you flying now, Buggy!"

"No, please don't!"

As Buggy screamed, Luffy launched his attack. "Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"

"Ahhhhh!"

Buggy let out a scream and was hit directly by Luffy, flying diagonally upward, turning into a bright spot in the sky and disappearing from everyone's sight.

"He flew really far."

Eden, lying on the ground, looked at the direction where Buggy disappeared and murmured.

"Woof woof!"

Chouchou, beside Eden, also barked happily as if agreeing with him.

"Alright, now that we've sent that big nose flying, my anger is almost gone. Luckily, this hat can still be worn."

Luffy picked up the hat that Buggy had damaged, looking at the holes in it without saying a word.

"If that hat is really so precious to you, I can help you sew it up."

Nami, seeing how much Luffy cared about the hat, offered.

"Really?"

Luffy was overjoyed at Nami's words.

"Yes, for 100,000 Berries."

Nami smiled at Luffy. "I have no obligation to help you for free, right?"

"You're right, but I don't have that much money."

Luffy was anxious. It would be good for him if the hat could be repaired.

"Don't worry. I won't make things difficult for you. I also charged Eden 100,000 Berries for bandaging his wound earlier. Your bill can go on his tab. He'll pay for you."

Nami's words made Luffy feel relieved. He turned to the confused Eden and waved happily, saying, "Eden, you're the best!. Thank you."

Not understanding what Nami and Luffy had said, Eden saw Luffy thanking him enthusiastically and was full of questions. His already dizzy head became even more muddled.

"Alright, it's time to check on the mayor."

Luffy, seeing Chouchou guarding the unconscious Boodle, wanted to walk over and check on him but saw a large group of townspeople approaching.

"You guys aren't from the town, are you? What are you doing here? Where are the Buggy Pirates? Did they start fighting each other?"

The townspeople gathered around, questioning Luffy and the others. Soon, someone noticed Boodle lying on the ground with some blood on his head and ran over, asking, "Mayor, what happened to you?"

Seeing these townspeople with weapons, if they knew the mayor was unconscious because of them, it would be bad.

Nami thought this and then heard Eden ask Luffy, "Did you knock out the mayor?"

"Yes, he was just getting in the way, so I knocked him out."

Luffy answered honestly.

"What!"

The townspeople's faces turned hostile.

"Hey, why are you admitting it!"

Nami was about to cry. How could this guy be so honest?

"They only saw the result. You had a reason for doing it."

Nami was really angry at Luffy for telling the truth.

"It doesn't matter. They saw it anyway."

Luffy didn't understand why Nami was stopping him from telling the truth.

"They only saw the result. You had a reason for doing it."

Nami was almost in tears.

"You beat up the mayor. Stop making excuses!"

"Who are you people? Are you pirates?"

The townspeople, holding weapons, slowly surrounded Luffy and the others.

If they find out we're pirates and a thief, things will be bad.

Nami had just thought of this when Luffy said, "We're pirates!"

"Isn't there a thief too?"

Eden, lying on the ground, said instinctively. Luffy realized and said to Nami, "Right, you're still a thief now, but you'll be a pirate soon."

Nami really wanted to cry now. She wanted to beat Luffy and Eden up.

"Hahaha!"

Zoro laughed out loud, hearing Luffy and Eden's conversation.

"You really aren't good people. Let's get them!"

The townspeople, hearing Luffy's words, had no more doubts and prepared to attack.

Nami saw the situation was bad and shouted at Luffy and Eden, "You two jerks!"

"I wasn't wrong."

Luffy said righteously to Nami.

"Exactly."

Eden mumbled, still dazed.

Nami was speechless with anger.

"Run! Zoro, take Eden!"

Luffy put the hat on his head, turned, and started running.

Zoro lifted the dazed Eden onto his shoulder and ran after Luffy.

Nami, seeing the townspeople closing in, shouting for revenge for the mayor, had no choice but to follow Luffy, carrying the bags of treasure.

"Head for where Buggy's head broke through. We'll reach the port quickly."

Luffy pointed to the house Buggy's head had crashed through, laughing.

So, Luffy and the others took a shortcut.

Zoro carried Eden on his shoulder, and as they went through the small hole in the wall, Eden, unfortunately, got bumped several times, making him more awake. He said to Zoro, "Don't be so rough. I'm injured."

Eden was telling the truth. Zoro's muscles were hard as rocks. Being carried on his shoulder felt like being hit by something hard, very uncomfortable.

Bang!

Eden had just shouted at Zoro when his head hit the wall again, making him speechless.

"Shut up. It's your fault for being so badly injured. If you could walk, who would care about you!"

Zoro shouted back at Eden while running.

"It's all because of your nonsense that things turned out like this."

Nami carried the bags of treasure, feeling they were too heavy and slowing her down. She handed one bag to Luffy for help.

"These townspeople are so nice. Just because the mayor was injured, they got so angry. I like this town."

Luffy said, laughing while running. Hearing his words, Nami fell silent, looked back at the angry townspeople chasing them, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Woof woof!"

Chouchou stood in front of the townspeople, barking continuously to prevent them from chasing Luffy and the others.

This confused the townspeople. Why would Chouchou help the pirates? But with Chouchou's interference, Luffy and the others had already run far and were hard to catch.

After some time, Luffy and the others were on their ship, sailing away from the port.

"Hey, wait!"

Boodle, waking up and learning what had happened, ran as fast as he could. But by the time he reached the port, Luffy's ship had already sailed away. He could only shout to them, "Thank you! I will remember your kindness!"

As he shouted this, tears finally flowed from the eyes of the sixty-year-old man. He was very grateful to Luffy and the others. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have survived, and his beloved Orange Town would have been destroyed by the Buggy Pirates.

Initially, Boodle went to find Buggy with a death wish and utter despair. But in the end, the outcome was the best he could have hoped for.

He had many things to say to Luffy and the others, but in the end, all he could say was a simple thank you.

Luffy, smiling happily, shouted back at Boodle, "Don't worry about it. It's all over now."

"I have no words left..."

Boodle, his heart trembling, watched as Luffy's ship sailed further away, tears streaming down his face. He understood Luffy's meaning. The events of today were over. Now, the most important thing was to rebuild his Orange Town!

Is this what you meant, Eden, that pirates are not all the same?

Nami inadvertently looked back at Eden, who was lying on the boat sleeping. She remembered how Eden, despite his severe injuries, had fought Buggy to show her he was a pirate.

Her heart felt warm. Nami realized that Boodle's shout of thanks carried deep gratitude.

For the first time in her life, Nami discovered that not all pirates took pleasure in plundering and killing. She understood Eden's words that not all pirates were the same.

A little while later.

"What? You left the treasure on the shore!"

Nami's scream echoed on the ship. "I gave you one of the bags of treasure. That was worth five million!"

"I know, but the town needs money to rebuild."

On the other ship, Luffy replied to Nami on the other ship.

"But that's my money!"

Nami felt like she was going crazy. How could he just give away her money?

"If you want it, go get it back. Besides, we broke a lot of their houses. Leaving some compensation is only right, isn't it, Eden?"

Luffy asked Eden, who had just woken up.

Eden wiped his eyes, yawned, and casually replied, "That's right. If you break something, you should compensate for it. It's only fair."

As soon as he said this, Eden saw Nami's face turn as black as coal. Sensing danger, he quickly asked Luffy, "What were you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter what you were talking about. I'm going to teach you two a lesson!"

Nami grabbed Eden's head with one hand and pulled Luffy from the other ship with the other, dunking both of their heads into the seawater.

"Stop! I can't swim. I'll drown."

"You're crazy. I'm injured and could die!"

Luffy and Eden struggled helplessly under Nami's furious grip.

"That's why I'm doing this. You two should just die once!"

Nami yelled, "If you do this again, I won't let you off!"

Zoro watched from the side, laughing.

That night, after everyone on the ship had fallen asleep, no one noticed a sea horse-like creature suddenly jumping out of the sea and sticking to Eden's head.

A few hours later, in a secret marine research base in the New World, a figure shrouded in shadows in a dimly lit laboratory was excitedly saying, "I never expected to find something so interesting in the weakest East Blue. Although it didn't completely take that person's memory, these fragments are more than enough. If these memories are real, this is going to be very interesting. Hahaha!"

Outside the laboratory, a few marines were quietly chatting.

"Look, the doctor has gone mad again."

"Don't say that. Although he acts crazy, he has wisdom five hundred years ahead of the current world. Even if he is truly mad, he's a madman capable of toppling the world!"