“Boom——!”

A sound like a drum echoed through the air.

Lily's face flushed red as she lowered her head and said nothing.

Considering the time they spent escaping, they had gone a whole day and night without food, so it was inevitable they would be hungry.

Sarg looked at the water below and sighed, “Well, I…”

Whoosh!!

“Ahhh!!!”

Before he could finish his sentence, a white smoke suddenly appeared on the horizon, speeding past with a piercing screech.

“A bird?” Sarg's face lit up with joy.

Perfect, no need to go into the sea.

He stepped forward, soaring into the air, and with his other hand, he reached up and grabbed a round object, pulling down the fast-flying thing.

“Hmm?”

As soon as he grabbed it, Sarg felt something was off; it didn't feel like feathers, and the color...

“Red?”

“Who are you calling a red nose?!”

A loud voice shouted from the front, and he saw two white-gloved hands flailing about. Below those hands, what Sarg was holding was a round red nose, beneath which was a human face, and below that, a small creature hanging down, baring its teeth.

It was a person...

He wore an orange captain’s hat and a red-and-white striped outfit, but his body was disproportionately small compared to his head and limbs, as if he were missing a torso—just a head, arms, legs... and a distinctly large nose.

This obvious feature, along with that face...

“Buggy?” Sarg asked uncertainly.

He had seen this face on a wanted poster.

A bounty of fifteen million Berries for the ‘Clown’ Buggy.

“Do you know who I am?!”

Buggy shouted, “Then hurry up and let me go; my nose is killing me!”

“Oh...”

Sarg loosened his grip, and Buggy quickly pulled back, hands on his hips, raising his head with a grin, “That’s right, I am the great captain of the Buggy Pirate Crew, ‘Clown’ Buggy, and you...”

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt something was not right.

Under the clear blue sky, looking ahead, he could see the horizon of the sea; the wind blew through the wheat on his hat, making him shiver involuntarily.

He didn’t look down but instead fumbled with his small feet on the ground, and mucus dripped from his large nose as he blankly asked Sarg, “High altitude?”

Sarg nodded.

Buggy gave him an awkward yet polite smile, “Could you please help me...”

Whoosh!

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly plummeted down.

Below was the ocean; if he fell in, it would be over!

Smack.

But at that moment, a hand grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him up.

Buggy gasped for air, wiping the sweat from his face, and then he saw Lily, who was also being held up by a hand, flashing her white teeth as she greeted, “Hey, how are you!”

Lily: “……”

Sarg lifted Buggy a bit higher. “Is this how you look? This doesn’t seem right...”

Buggy gritted his teeth and said, “Of course I don’t look like this! If it weren't for that damned straw hat...”

If he hadn’t been bound and thrown away by that straw hat kid, how could he have become so small!

After finally making a raft to go to sea, he ended up being eaten by a giant bird, and the key point was that it spat him out because it didn’t like the taste!

“Anyway, thanks!” Buggy said. “Let’s have a welcome party; I’ll repay you well!”

“Why didn’t you show up earlier?”

Sarg clicked his tongue, “If I had run into you a couple of days earlier, my life trajectory would have changed; fifteen million Berries...”

“Hmm?”

Buggy’s nose twitched as he thought of something, his pupils dilating, and he shouted, “Is it that damned bounty hunter?!”

Then his hand detached from his wrist and flew out, causing Lily’s eyes to widen.

But before that flying hand could reach Sarg, Sarg loosened his grip...

“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, I didn’t mean to attack.”

Buggy, who had been caught by the nape of his neck again, rubbed his hands together, showing a flattering smile, “This is my Devil Fruit ability; I’m a Splitter who ate the ‘Split Fruit,’ and my whole body can split apart. I was just putting on a show for you.”

“I’m no longer a bounty hunter...”

Sarg said, “Now, like you, I’m a pirate.”

“Oh!”

Buggy's eyes lit up, completely relaxing, “So you’re a pirate! You should have said so earlier; I’m really sorry for the sudden move! But... why are you in the air? Don’t you have a ship to go to sea?”

“We just became pirates and don’t have our own ship yet.”

Lily said, looking at Buggy curiously, “Devil Fruit? I’ve heard of it; I thought it was a legend! I didn’t expect it to be real. Is it because you ate the Devil Fruit that your body is so weird? Your nose is also very red...”

“Who are you calling a red nose?!”

Buggy rolled his eyes, becoming sharp-tongued as he shouted, “Say that again and I’ll kill you!”

Clang!

Lily’s expression turned cold as she drew her sword.

Sarg tugged at the corner of his mouth, “Alright... when you flew over, did you see any land or ships?”

“Land?”

Buggy rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and said, “When I flew over from that direction, I seemed to see a few islands.”

“Thanks!” Sarg finally showed a smile.

Not easy...

Finally, there was a direction for the islands.

Buggy looked at them for a moment and proposed, “Since you just went to sea, do you want to join my pirate crew?”

These two guys, let’s not mention the woman for now, but this man seems strong. He’s actually using the Moonwalk? But why is he staying in the air for so long... he seems formidable.

Not to mention, he saved his life.

“I don’t have a habit of being someone’s lackey, so forget it, and... with your current state, you shouldn’t be saying such things,” Sarg said.

His dream was to be a wealthy landlord, to rule and exploit others, not to be ruled and exploited.

“Is that so?”

Buggy didn’t get angry and smiled, “No matter what, you saved me, so you are my brother. I will definitely remember this favor! Once I find my crew, I’ll definitely treat you to a feast!”

Sarg raised an eyebrow; if he remembered correctly, this guy was quite lucky...

Taking him along, they might really find people; it’s definitely more reliable than looking for islands without food.

But before that...

“Lily, get ready to go into the water,” Sarg suddenly said.

“?” Lily’s head popped up with a question mark.

Sarg took both of them and stepped on the air, heading straight for the sea surface.

The Moonwalk’s ability to stay in the air has its limits; after holding it for over a day, Sarg could no longer maintain it.

If he kept it up, he would fall directly down; it was better to enter the water now and take it slow.

“Hope your luck is really good!”

Sarg quickly descended to the sea surface, tossed Lily into the ocean, and then kicked with a start, diving into the water with Buggy.

“I’m a land duck!” Buggy shouted in terror as he entered the sea with Sarg.

But it wasn’t long before Sarg’s head broke through the water, and he raised his arm, pulling up a spluttering Buggy who had swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater, while his other hand caught a fish.

A fish!

A lively fish floundered in his hand, making Sarg’s eyes shine. He glanced between the lively fish and Buggy, his obsessive gaze causing Buggy to break out in a cold sweat.

“W-what’s wrong?” Buggy stammered, “Uh, my body is missing; I don’t have a butt... no, even if I do, I don’t like this setup—gurgle gurgle!”

A vein appeared on Sarg’s forehead as he stretched out his hand and shoved Buggy under the water, “My sexual orientation is completely normal!”

“Cough cough cough!”

Buggy was pulled out of the water, coughing violently, shouting, “Are you trying to kill me?!”

Sarg ignored him, focusing intently on the fish in his hand...

Fish!

He finally caught a fish!

When he first started his business, he could see schools of fish when he wanted to fish, but they never bit.

It made him so angry that he was ready to catch fish by hand, but just as he had that thought, the fish disappeared.

Like Schrödinger’s boat, to him, that was also Schrödinger’s fish.

But now, going to sea with Buggy, he actually caught a fish!

This luck... balanced out his bad luck!

He looked at Buggy and asked, “Hey, Buggy, do you want to join my pirate crew?”

“Oh? Inviting me?”

Buggy laughed heartily, then his voice turned serious, “Sorry, I have my own dreams and won’t be in a subordinate position!”

Ever since that guy didn’t want to inherit the captain’s will, he had decided to go his own way.

“Although we are both captains, we will definitely be brothers on this journey...”

“Sarg!”

While Buggy was still talking freely, Lily suddenly poked her head up from the water, looking very scared, “There’s something under the water!”

Bang!

Just as she finished speaking, a huge splash erupted beside Sarg, and the water splattered down like heavy rain.

Sarg felt his grip loosen, and when he looked up, a gigantic sheep's head appeared on the surface of the sea, directly biting down on Buggy’s lower half.

“Hey! No! Don’t eat me!” Buggy pounded the strange sheep's head with all his might, but his fists were as weak as a baby’s compared to its size.

The sheep's head was about to suck him in when it suddenly sensed something, showing a clear look of disgust, and its mouth puffed up.

Buggy noticed this too and shouted in exasperation, “Am I hard to eat? This is the second time; I have dignity too!”

The sheep's head began to blow out air...

Buggy shook his head, revealing a carefree smile, giving Sarg a thumbs up, “Brother, I won’t forget you!”

Puff!!

With a sound, the sheep's head spat Buggy out, turning him into a shooting star in the air.

Everything happened too quickly for Sarg to stop it; he could only watch as his lucky star disappeared.

He pursed his lips and sighed, “Still couldn’t escape...”

The reason he was unwilling to go into the water was that it was for a reason.

His unfortunate physique couldn’t catch fish, but it attracted sea beasts.

Even in the near sea, Sarg had encountered sea kings...

Those gigantic creatures bigger than islands, something even the North Star Fist couldn’t handle.

He had just thought that since he caught a fish, he wouldn’t run into those strange things.

Unexpectedly, he still couldn’t escape...

Fortunately, this was just a sea beast.

Buggy, your luck is still there!