“H-Holy crap!
Where are my clothes!?”
When Ian finally caught a strange-looking large fish from the sea and climbed back onto his boat, his eyes nearly popped out of his head!
At first, he thought some mischievous seabird had snatched his clothes away.
But when he spotted the Buggy Pirates’ ship in the distance and the small rowboat making its way toward it, he immediately realized what had happened.
For a moment, he felt like he had just been completely screwed over.
‘Damn it, running into a storm last night was unlucky enough, but now I’m getting robbed in the middle of the vast ocean?
Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed!’
Tossing the caught fish into the boat, Ian grabbed the oars and rowed furiously toward the distant pirate ship.
From this distance, he couldn’t clearly make out which pirate crew the ship belonged to.
However, Ian was currently burning with rage.
Among the stolen items were not just his clothes, but also the hat Uncle Bear had given him, along with the Transponder Snail he had hidden inside it.
They had taken everything!
Without the Transponder Snail, how was he supposed to contact Zoro to ask about Kuina’s condition?
Without the hat he had grown so accustomed to wearing, how could his bare head feel comfortable?
And losing his clothes was the worst part—even if he reached the shore, he would be forced to streak!
Unforgivable!
Ian was practically exploding with anger.
Exerting his maximum strength, he spun the two oars at a blistering speed…
Meanwhile, the pirate lackeys ordered to inspect Ian’s small boat had already boarded Buggy’s pirate ship.
Seeing them return, Buggy asked casually, “Well?
Did you find anything good?”
“Reporting to Captain Buggy!” A lackey wearing a circus hat stood at attention and replied, “We searched it!
No money, and no treasure!
There were just some clothes and a hat on the boat!
Oh, right, there was also a Transponder Snail inside the hat!”
“Oh!?” Buggy was a bit surprised.
In truth, he hadn’t held much hope for the items on that small boat.
He had only sent his men to scavenge it out of a ‘leave no stone unturned’ mentality.
Who would have thought there was actually something valuable?
Transponder Snails were quite rare.
He never expected such a thing to be on that tiny boat.
“Bring it here, let me take a look!” Buggy said, lounging carelessly in his chair.
“Yes, sir!” The pirate lackey in the circus hat hurriedly handed over Ian’s hat, saying sycophantically, “The Transponder Snail was right inside this round bear-ear hat…”
However, before he could finish, Buggy suddenly interrupted, “What did you say?
Say that again!”
“The Transponder Snail was right inside this round bear-ear hat…” the lackey repeated, confused.
Buggy instantly flew into a violent rage.
One of his hands suddenly detached from his body, flew over, and grabbed the lackey by the throat.
“Who are you calling a big round nose!?” he roared.
“I…
I didn’t!” The pirate lackey was on the verge of tears.
He knew his captain had misheard him again!
Because he was extremely self-conscious about his round red nose, Buggy hated it more than anything when people talked about it.
The mere mention of it would send him into a frenzy.
Over time, he had become incredibly sensitive.
Every pirate lackey on the Buggy Pirates’ ship knew their captain’s taboo.
The absolute worst keywords to mention were “round,” “red,” and “big,” or even any words with similar meanings.
However, knowing the rule was one thing; avoiding mistakes was another.
This pirate lackey simply thought Ian’s bear-ear hat looked quite cute and couldn’t help but describe it.
But alas…
the bear ears on the hat just had to be round…
For an uneducated pirate, he simply couldn’t find another adjective to replace the word “round”…
Ignorance was truly terrifying, and ignorance had to be punished!
Captain Buggy was furious.
If even his own subordinates dared to speak ill of him, how could he maintain his authority as captain without teaching them a lesson?
Thus, without even turning his head, Buggy ordered, “Ready the cannon!”
“Huh?
Ah!
Yes, sir!” The crowd of lackeys shuddered, but not daring to disobey, they quickly stood at attention and complied.
Buggy the Clown was actually quite ruthless.
Cannon execution was a staple event on his pirate ship, and his subordinates had witnessed it many times.
So, despite their panicked preparations, their movements were highly practiced.
“S-Spare me!” The lackey, suspended in mid-air by the throat, could barely breathe.
He desperately tried to pry Buggy’s hand away.
Perhaps because he wasn’t thinking straight, he was still clutching Ian’s hat in his hand.
At that moment, Buggy caught sight of the hat and suddenly froze.
The next second, Buggy’s grip loosened.
The lackey fell to the deck, staring blankly at Captain Buggy.
He couldn’t understand why he had suddenly let go.
Had he changed his mind?
Buggy paid him no mind.
His detached hand flew over, picked up Ian’s hat, and then flew back to reattach to his body.
Holding Ian’s bear-ear hat, Buggy murmured thoughtfully, “Huh?
Strange, I feel like I’ve seen this hat somewhere before.”
With that, as if recalling something, Buggy turned and ran into the cabin with the hat, leaving the crowd of lackeys looking at each other in dismay, unsure if they should continue the execution.
Logically speaking, since Captain Buggy had ignored the lackey, he should have been considered spared.
However, before he could even celebrate, a man riding a unicycle with a black-and-white checkered scarf around his neck approached.
This was Cabaji, the Chief of Staff of the Buggy Pirates.
The man, whose hair covered one of his eyes, said with a gloomy expression, “String him up!
The execution continues!
This is Captain Buggy’s will!”
“Yes, sir!” The lackeys quickly responded, scrambling to tie up the unlucky guy and hoist him over the side of the ship.
Then, they wheeled over the cannon, aimed the muzzle at the poor bastard, and raised a torch, right on the verge of lighting the fuse.
But right at that moment, a person suddenly vaulted over the railing, landing on the deck with a heavy thud.
The crowd stared blankly at this sudden arrival.
They noticed he wasn’t wearing any clothes, save for a pair of boxers.
His bare, soaking wet body dripped with water, his black hair was tied back, and he held a katana in his hand.
Indeed, the newcomer was none other than Ian.
The guy strung up over the side was incredibly lucky.
First, Buggy had let him go, and just as he was about to be blasted by a cannon, Ian boarded the ship.
Everyone’s attention was drawn away, allowing the guy to escape death a second time.
Today was definitely his lucky day…
Ian couldn’t care less about the teary-eyed, grateful look the suspended guy was giving him.
The moment he landed on the ship, Ian roared with towering fury, “Who stole my clothes and my stuff!?
Step forward!”
The lackeys on the ship exchanged bewildered glances before realizing what was going on.
It turned out the small boat from earlier wasn’t abandoned; the owner just hadn’t been on it!
Seeing how drenched this guy was, he had probably jumped into the sea at the time.
After figuring out the situation, the lackeys suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, clutching their stomachs.
This guy was truly an idiot.
Getting angry over stolen goods was understandable, but actually daring to chase after them to demand them back?
That was beyond the realm of ordinary stupidity!
Did he not see how many people he had on his side versus how many they had on theirs?
“Kid!
Has no one ever taught you how to recognize a pirate flag?”
“Haha, this is hilarious!
You dared to jump on board without even looking closely!”
“You can tell at a glance he’s a rookie who just set sail, right?”
Though the lackeys trembled in fear before Buggy, when facing an outsider, they displayed the viciousness expected of pirates, mocking Ian with sinister expressions.
By this time, Ian had gotten a clear look at the crowd on the ship.
At first, he just found it baffling.
The pirates in front of him didn’t look like pirates at all; they looked more like a circus troupe.
Just look at what they were wearing!
Hearing the pirates’ mockery, Ian instinctively looked up at the ship’s sail.
When he saw the emblem with the big, round red nose, he suddenly froze.