Chapter 11 - The Forgotten Buggy

About half an hour after the Marines left, the Captain finally returned, using a technique similar to Soru to step back onto the ship.

"How did it go?" Rayleigh asked, tossing a bottle of wine to Roger as he landed.

"He seems to be getting even stronger," Roger said after taking a swig and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"That's normal. Garp's constantly sailing the seas chasing after you, so he must have been in countless battles. It would be strange if he didn't get stronger. Besides, haven't you gotten stronger too?" Rayleigh replied.

"True. If I don't keep pushing myself, he might actually catch me one day."

To celebrate the Captain's safe return, the crew threw another grand feast.

"Shanks, did we forget something?" Shirakawa asked as everyone was enjoying themselves.

"What? No," Shanks, already tipsy, replied without thinking.

"Alright then," Shirakawa said, dismissing his concern.

And just like that, poor Buggy, still tied up and gagged, was forgotten in a corner.

...

The next day at noon, Buggy stood before Shanks and Shirakawa, fuming.

"Hahaha, Buggy, we're so sorry! We completely forgot about you!" Shanks apologized, embarrassed.

"Forgot? You knocked me out and then forgot about me? Are you even human?" Buggy raged.

Shanks and Shirakawa could only offer sheepish smiles. They knew they were in the wrong.

Earlier that morning, Buggy had woken up, unable to move with his mouth taped shut. He remembered what had happened and, like a caterpillar, wriggled his way onto the deck until someone noticed him.

"Buggy, what are you doing? Is this a new game?" a crew member asked, amused by the sight.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm!" Buggy desperately tried to communicate.

"What are you trying to say? Do you want everyone to see you like this? Don't be silly. Your game might be creative, but it's also embarrassing."

"Mmm-mmm-mmm!" Buggy's eyes pleaded for help.

"Alright, alright. Since you're begging so sincerely, I'll help you," the crew member said.

Buggy nodded vigorously, relieved that someone finally understood him.

"Just wait here. I'll go get some people. Even though most of the crew is still asleep, there should be enough for an audience."

"Mmm-mmm-mmm! (No audience! Wait, don't go!)"

Buggy's heart sank as the crew member walked away.

Just as he was losing hope, he heard footsteps approaching.

"Look, there's Buggy! He's probably about to show us how to escape!" the crew member said to his companions.

"Yeah, Buggy, give us a performance!"

"Mmm-mmm-mmm!" Buggy struggled to speak, but passed out from exhaustion.

"Buggy? Are you okay?"

And that was how Buggy was finally rescued. It had been quite a dramatic morning.

The culprits responsible for this fiasco hadn't even been awake yet.

After receiving a stern lecture from Roger, Buggy's anger finally subsided.

"You two went too far this time," Roger scolded Shanks and Shirakawa. He allowed his crew a certain degree of freedom, but there were limits. If Buggy hadn't been resilient, they might have traumatized him.

"We're sorry, Captain. We know we were wrong," Shanks and Shirakawa apologized in unison.

"While I appreciate the apology, your actions were unacceptable. As punishment, you'll be cleaning the ship for a month. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Good."

Roger left, and the two boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shirakawa, this is all your fault! If you hadn't forgotten about Buggy, we wouldn't be in this mess," Shanks complained.

"My fault? If you hadn't come up with the idea, we wouldn't have done it. Besides, you didn't exactly object," Shirakawa retorted.

"I don't want to hear it! It's your fault!" Shanks whined, rolling on the floor dramatically.

"Is this really Shanks?" Shirakawa wondered, kneeling down and pinching Shanks' cheek. While Shanks was usually childish, this was a whole new level of immaturity.

"Stop it! I'm only thirteen! If you bully me, I'll tell the Captain!" Shanks swatted Shirakawa's hand away.

"Thirteen? You're only thirteen?" Shirakawa asked, surprised.

"Of course. Speaking of which, we don't know how old you are."

"I'm also thirteen," Shirakawa lied, avoiding Shanks' gaze.

"Nice try. You can't even come up with a believable lie," Shanks said, unimpressed. Shirakawa was clearly older, being taller than him.

Shirakawa was embarrassed to admit his real age. He was significantly older than Shanks but not much stronger.

And so, Shanks and Shirakawa spent the next month cleaning the ship. It was more tiring than Shirakawa's training with Rayleigh.

The ship seemed to have never been cleaned before. Except for the areas exposed to seawater, thick dust covered everything.

To make matters worse, they had to endure Buggy's constant mockery, adding to Shirakawa's growing list of grievances against the clown.

"Shanks, who was in charge of cleaning before? I want to complain about them," Shirakawa grumbled.

"No one," Shanks replied.

"That explains it."