Buggy D Clown

Buggy raised three fingers. "First, I need a brand-new rice crop. The yield per acre of this crop should be several times higher than that of the current rice varieties in the world. Second, I want hydroelectric, wind, and thermal [power generators. I want the Crimson Empire to enter the electrical age!"

"And third..." Buggy paused, smirking. "Well, you'll find out soon enough."

Vegapunk, in a hurry, interjected, "I can handle the first two conditions, but the experiments will take time. I'm afraid the spy will get to me before we even finish!"

Buggy waved him off. "That's simple. I'll help you find the spy first! Do you think that's difficult for me?"

He spread his hands. "Just help me complete the research on your end. When the World Government decides to make a move and kill you, I'll whisk you away. We can do all that without interrupting your other projects. It's a win-win!"

Vegapunk's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. "Okay, it's a deal! When are you going to help me find the spy?"

Buggy grinned, "I haven't even mentioned the third condition yet, and you're agreeing already?"

Vegapunk smiled back. "Based on your first two conditions, I can guess that your third one is also related to the development of your Crimson Empire. As for technology to help with national progress, I'm confident I can assist with that. We can start working on the third condition once I understand your capabilities. In the meantime, I'll help with the first two. Before you come to deal with the internal traitor, be sure to bring the soil, food, seeds, and water samples from your Empire so I can analyze the samples."

With a snap of his fingers, Buggy grinned. "Happy cooperation."

"Happy cooperation!" Vegapunk replied, raising a finger. "This is a holographic '833' projection device, exclusive to me—the only one of its kind in the world. Be sure to keep it safe before I arrive in your Crimson Empire."

"No problem," Buggy nodded.

With that, Vegapunk's hologram disappeared in a flash.

After Vegapunk disappeared, Gabban, standing to the side, said, "Buggy, you said you were going to help Vegapunk find the mole? What's going on here? If Redfield was here, we could use his special observation haki to do it. But we don't even know where he went, and after the Marineford war, he didn't come looking for us! For all we know, he's already dead somewhere!"

Buggy chuckled to himself. Red the Aloof Died? he thought. Maybe next time he shows up, he'll be younger than you!

Suppressing his thoughts, he glanced around at his crew, who were frowning in thought. Unable to help himself, he said, "It has been some time. Let us pay a visit to Violet."

At the mention of her name, everyone was momentarily stunned before quickly reacting. They had almost forgotten about Violet's royal status. Looking at it now, Buggy seemed to have quite a few queens and princesses around him. There was Hancock by his side, and in a few years, Robin might even become the first queen of the Crimson Empire. Then, Violet's niece, Rebecca, might follow and become the second queen of Dressrosa!

Tsk... four at once!

It wasn't that they didn't know—it was just shocking!

"Good guy," Gabban muttered under his breath, eyeing Buggy with a strange look. When he saw Buggy was a little puzzled, Gabban cleared his throat and patted Blueno on the back. "Blueno, open the door. Looks like we're heading to Dressrosa."

With a nod, Blueno immediately created a space door that opened to the Dressrosa palace hall.

Under the surprised gazes of the Dressrosa guards, Buggy, and his crew stepped through, nodding at them. "I'm looking for your queen. Please inform her."

"Yes! Buggy-sama, wait here for a moment!"

The guards exchanged looks, then called out excitedly and respectfully. They recognized Buggy as the savior of their kingdom, and there was no way they would act with anything less than the utmost respect.

Ten minutes later, Violet, dressed in a glamorous queen's gown, and Rebecca, in a pink princess dress, rushed over from the hall.

"Buggy!"

"Buggy-sama!"

Ignoring the surprised gazes of everyone around them, Violet, the queen, and Rebecca, the princess, threw themselves into Buggy's arms. Fortunately, Buggy had a strong enough build to easily catch both of them.

"Hehe!"

"Ahem!"

"Someone is eager."

As the two women collapsed into Buggy's embrace, three distinct voices came from behind. Buggy immediately felt a chill run down his back. Three stern gazes were fixed on him—undoubtedly from Boa, Robin, and Kalifa.

"Hmmm!"

Buggy quickly released the two women, coughing awkwardly. He smiled and said, "Violet, how are things going with the government affairs?"

"It's going very smoothly. My father and some of the ministers have been helping me," Violet replied, blushing at the sight of the others behind Buggy. She quickly adjusted her clothes.

"And Rebecca? What have you been up to lately?" Buggy asked, glancing at the pink-haired girl. Well, she didn't look so little anymore.

"I've been practicing swordsmanship with my father every day!" Rebecca said excitedly.

Buggy listened with a smile, taking his time and not rushing. Violet, noticing the atmosphere, first greeted Robin and Kalifa. After all, they had a shared history, and their relationship had a solid foundation. After exchanging pleasantries, Violet turned her attention to Hancock, who was glaring at Buggy with clear hostility.

Robin, smiling, explained Hancock's position, and Violet quickly understood the Empress's identity. She adjusted her approach and began conversing with Hancock more amicably. After all, they were both queens.

Once the greetings were done, Violet, ever the practical one, didn't linger. She looked at Buggy and asked, "Buggy, I heard from the guards that you have something to discuss with me. What is it?"

"Is the Giro Giro no mi still developing in the way I suggested?" Buggy asked, seemingly off-topic.

"Of course!" Violet nodded seriously. "Unless someone is very powerful with Haki, I can now see the inner thoughts of ordinary people just by glancing at them from a distance."

"Very good!" Buggy grinned. "I need you to help me identify a spy. Do you have time now?"

"Of course I do!" Violet smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling. "I've been thinking of taking a break. I'll ask Grandpa and the others for some time off!"

"Don't take any 'breaks'! The old man's in a hurry!"

Buggy hugged both Violet and Rebecca, then jumped into the space door with a loud laugh.

"Let's go! Hahaha!" The two girls screamed in surprise, then laughed joyfully, their voices ringing like silver bells. Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. Buggy's behavior was so unpredictable, it made him hard to figure out.

Brrrring!

Buggy and the others had just returned to Onigashima when the phone bug rang.

Click!

He answered the phone bug directly, and Neptune's voice came through from the other side.

"Hey, Buggy? Are you there? We're all set! There's actually a complex of palaces and buildings under the water, and they're all remarkably well-preserved. It's simply incredible! Do you have time to come down and join the search party?"

"Eh?!"

Hearing Neptune's voice, both Violet and Rebecca exhaled in shock.

"Hahaha! It looks like you came at just the right time!" Buggy waved to everyone and grinned. "Come on, brothers, forget about Vegapunk for now. He won't be dead anytime soon.

Let's have a party! Let's check out the underwater world of our Crimson Empire!"

The crew couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, then paused for a moment in silence for Vegapunk.

Except for Violet and Rebecca, everyone else had witnessed Gabban controlling Noah and the Fish-Man Island, flying to the sea area behind Onigashima.

That was when they realized that Gabban had actually eaten the Fuwa Fuwa no mi!

The strength of their entire crew had increased significantly, which made everyone extremely excited.

Fuwa Fuwa no mi!

This was the same ability used by the infamous pirate admiral, Golden Lion Shiki, who once roamed the seas and overshadowed the Roger Pirates! With Gabban's strength already on par with a Marine Admiral, the fact that he now possessed another hax devil fruit was nearly unbelievable.

Soon, they all arrived at the beach. However, when they reached the shoreline, a few of them were surprised. Guy scratched his head and said,

"Captain Buggy, we're all Devil Fruit users here. How do you expect us to get into the water?"

Indeed, there were twenty or thirty people in their group, and nearly all of them were Devil Fruit users! If they tried to enter the water, almost everyone would end up sinking like stones.

Buggy turned to Gabban and asked, "What do you think? Gabban, why don't you show off your skills?"

"It's not impossible," Gabban grinned, clearly eager to give it a try.

Everyone was curious: how would Gabban's ability get them into the water? Doesn't the Fuwa Fuwa no mi make everything float?

Soon, they would understand. They watched as Gabban stood at the shore, stretched out his hands, and made a peeling motion toward the sea in front of him, simultaneously muttering, "Divide the sea!"

Whoooosh... whoooosh...

To their astonishment, the area of the sea behind Onigashima suddenly split open, creating a massive crack with a five-meter diameter. The deep sea before them was now visibly divided, and the water on both sides was pushed apart!

They could even see fish swimming along the sea walls on either side.

Seeing this, Buggy patted Crocodile on the back and said, "Crocodile, build a road."

Crocodile twitched the corner of his mouth and grumbled, "Didn't you say we were here to relax? Now you want to build roads?"

Despite his complaints, Crocodile stepped forward, placing one foot onto the uneven, five-meter-wide path that Gabban had created in the sea.

Poof!

With each step Crocodile took, the rocky ground beneath him quickly transformed. The water drained away instantly, and under the power of his sand ability, it solidified into a dry, solid surface.

In mere moments, the road ahead, stretching hundreds of meters, became a wide, hard gravel path, still five meters in diameter.

"Wow!!!" The crew erupted in surprise.

Although they knew that Crocodile's infrastructure skills were formidable, they had never witnessed it in person until now. Even Gabban and the members of the neo-marines were taken aback.

Crocodile, with a cigar dangling from his mouth, couldn't help but smirk. Kakuzu, walking behind him, felt a cool breeze as he followed.

Zephyr sighed, "I understand now why your Crimson Empire and the rural people live in two-story sandstone houses! No one would have thought that the Sand-Sand Fruit could be so convenient in this regard! It's no exaggeration to say it's the most important weapon of the country."

"Right!" Buggy replied as he walked. "That's why I plan to make Crocodile the second-in-command of the Crimson Empire."

"What?!"

Zephyr, Ain, Binzi, Shuzo, and even Violet and Rebecca, who were walking alongside, were all shocked. They never imagined that Buggy would hand over such a pivotal role in the empire he built to someone else. They all turned to look at him in disbelief.

"Hehe, don't be so surprised," Buggy said with a grin. "The government system I've established here, where the capable take charge, is a bit different from the traditional kingdoms you're familiar with."

Buggy briefly explained the political structure of the Crimson Empire. After hearing this, the group looked at him with even more admiration.

Zephyr couldn't help but marvel, "Very impressive! It seems I made the right choice. A man like you is truly worthy of leading the Neo Marine with full trust."

Buggy smiled at Zephyr and said, "With words like that, I feel much more at ease."

They continued their conversation as they walked, and the path behind them slowly narrowed and disappeared, eventually leading them to an island surrounded by a giant air bubble under the water. Everyone stared in amazement.

Violet, Rebecca, and Robin were particularly awestruck. The underwater world before them was nothing short of enchanting. Mermaids swam gracefully around, and vibrant, colorful coral reefs adorned the surroundings.

The island itself appeared to be suspended in the water, with half of it submerged, surrounded by the sea. On the other side of the island, there was also a large ship wrapped in a bubble—Noah was being used here as well.

Originally, I had been worried about there not being enough houses, but now, underwater, there's an entire series of palaces wrapped in bubbles.

At this moment, numerous Fishmen from the palace complex were coming in and out, cleaning and maintaining the area. But when looking at the structure of the palaces, it was clear that they were extremely sturdy. Despite being submerged for so many years, there was no sign of decay. The materials appeared to be something similar to seastone, though from this distance, it was too difficult to tell for sure.

When Buggy and the others arrived at the outskirts of Fishman Island, Neptune, along with the three princes, Shirahoshi, and a group of Fishmen and mermaids, came out to greet them. They were all incredibly grateful for the new living space Buggy had chosen for them.

The place was nothing short of breathtaking! Not only was the water crystal-clear, but the residents could swim out to the open sea and watch the sunset anytime they wanted, all without the concern of being overwhelmed by too many people. This area, situated between Onigashima and Wano, was almost isolated. On the Onigashima side, there was a steep cliff, and on the Wano side, another cliff, with only a small, unused port that seemed to be a place for Wano fishermen.

Buggy planned to gradually improve the port over time.

"Master Buggy!!!"

"Ah, it's everyone from the Buggy Pirates!"

"Thank you so much!!!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I love you so much!"

"Robin is so beautiful!"

As soon as Buggy and the others entered Fishman Island, they were surrounded by cheers from countless Fishmen, all expressing their immense gratitude. The cheers rang out like a tsunami.

The cadres of the Buggy Pirates all wore serious expressions, clearly trying to maintain their composure. Meanwhile, Buggy, who walked behind them, had no such reservations. He teased Shirahoshi now and then, adjusted Rebecca's breathing, and occasionally chatted with Kalifa in front.

Life was truly beautiful!

...

Meanwhile, Naval Headquarters was left in a state of bewilderment as Buggy and his crew threw a party on their new Fishman Island.

Naval Headquarters was in the middle of a meeting about NEO Marine's move to the Crimson Empire when suddenly, an intelligence officer rushed into the room.

Swish!

Upon entering, the officer was met with the intense gazes of so many powerful figures. Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead. However, recognizing the gravity of the situation, he gritted his teeth and spoke up.

"Marshal Sakazuki is in trouble!"

"What's going on? Speak!" Akainu demanded, his tone sharp.

He knew that when an intelligence officer behaved this way, something truly significant had occurred. The others immediately felt their hearts race in response. Even Garp, who usually indulged in senbei, paused and gave the officer his full attention.

"The Fish-Man Island... The Fish-Man Island has disappeared!"

Crack!

At those words, the senbei cracker from Garp's hand fell and the room fell silent as everyone's faces drained of color.

 ---

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