373. Arlong

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Just a few weeks after the Clown Pirates continued their New World exploration, they get another big news. Arlong Pirates have come to East Blue. They haven't gone to Conomi Islands though, so Buggy decides to return to East Blue right now.

Even if he's sure that Bellemere and his friends on Conomi Islands can defeat Arlong, he just can't help but be worried. So he chooses to return and take care of this himself rather than sailing while being worried all the time.

The crew moves fast as usual and they reach East Blue just in a day even though they need to cross Red Line & Calm Belt from New World. There's still no news of the Arlong Pirates' attack on the Conomi Islands, so Buggy is quite relieved. But he still commands his crew to move as fast as they can.

They reach Conomi Islands in a few hours and the islands are still peaceful as usual. The crew's sudden visit surprises everyone there, but no one has a problem with it. Buggy's family is more than happy to see him return after a while.

"Dad, why are you returning without telling us anything?" asks Nojiko.

"Of course, it's to surprise you guys. It won't be fun if I always tell you when I'll return," says Buggy with a smirk.

"Then you also have surprise gifts for us, right?" asks Nami as her eyes turn into Belly symbols.

Buggy sweatdrops and says, "Of course, sweetheart."

He takes out some unique items that he collected on the islands he visited. Not all of these items are for children, but they all look interesting, so the kids like them. Nami is quite disappointed that he doesn't bring treasures, but she still likes these things.

When the kids are occupied with their gifts, Buggy is enjoying his time with Bellemere. It's been quite some time since they met, so they really enjoy this meeting. Arlong Pirates haven't come here, so Buggy can enjoy his family time for now.

A week passes, but Arlong Pirates haven't come to Conomi Islands. There's no news about them too, so Buggy gets very confused. He knows that things are different from the story, but this is way too strange because Arlong Pirates have come to East Blue, yet they don't show up again after being found.

Just when he thinks about that, he finally received the news about Arlong Pirates. The Fishmen suddenly appear in Shimotsuki Village just now. His men there called him immediately because they knew how dangerous the Fishmen can be.

Buggy calls his crew and they go to Shimotsuki Village immediately. No one questions him and they just follow his orders, leaving everything they did. The crew moves fast to Shimotsuki Village and they arrive in half an hour.

When they arrive there, they see a small war taking place at the port. On one side are humans while on another side are Fishmen. Both sides seem to be equal as they all have injuries and just stare at each other now.

Buggy can see Kyoushiro there along with some swordsmen and a few other fighters. Those few fighters and a few of the swordsmen are Buggy's men. They are members of The Caribbean who work in Shimotsuki Village, that's why they are strong enough to fight the Fishmen.

"Hey, they are not bad," says Enel while grinning.

"They were trained well, so they should be able to do something like this at least," says Palu.

"Their enemies are Fishmen who have rampaged on some islands in New World, so this is a great feat actually," says Cricket.

Buggy is also impressed by his men's power that can match Arlong Pirates with fewer people. He knows that the current Arlong Pirates are stronger than the ones that Luffy & co face. Just from the news and intelligence that Buggy got, he can conclude that there is a big gap of power between the current Arlong Pirates and the ones that Luffy & co fight

Transcended as Lord Buggy-Part 2Where stories live. Discover now