After assigning everyone their duties, Ryuunosuke turned his gaze to the last person standing before him—Rem.
For a moment, he genuinely didn't know what kind of task to give her.
"Captain, what about me?"
Rem blinked at him, her voice soft and confused.
That's right—when there was no fighting to be done, Rem reverted to her innocent, gentle self.
Honestly, it was kind of a thing on the ship. Just look at Akame. Say the sweetest words, then strike with the deadliest blade. A walking paradox wrapped in cuteness and carnage.
"As I recall... Rem, you're pretty good at cooking, right?" Ryuunosuke finally said, tapping his chin.
"Mm-hmm!" she nodded, smiling brightly. "Do you want me to be the ship's cook?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Susanoo, Akame, and Tsukuyomi all turned their heads toward her in unison.
They were the ones currently handling the cooking.
"Akame, come here a sec," Ryuunosuke called out.
She approached with a calm expression, though something flickered behind her eyes. "Brother Ryuunosuke, do you want me to... deal with her?"
Smart as ever—she'd already figured it out.
Ryuunosuke had been bringing more and more women onto the ship lately, each with wildly different personalities and styles.
Akame wasn't the type to get jealous... or at least, that's what she told herself.
She didn't understand what the strange fluttering in her chest meant, or why it bothered her when he gave attention to someone else. It wasn't love—at least not a love she recognized.
So instead, she kept it all buried deep inside.
Genius in combat. Master of tactics. Absolute idiot when it came to reading a girl's heart.
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "Akame, I'll leave Rem in your care. Get her up to speed."
"The next few days will be focused on training and integrating everyone's strength."
Without another word, Ryuunosuke turned and walked away to begin his own training.
He couldn't shake the feeling—something felt off lately. Maybe it was the influx of new crew members. Maybe it was intuition. Either way, he knew he needed to get stronger. Fast.
With their captain setting the tone, the rest of the crew also began their respective training regimens.
Just like that, the day passed. And by the time noon arrived the next day—
"Captain! Pirate ship ahead! Looks like... it's the Buggy Pirates!"
Conrad's voice rang from the observation tower.
He was one of the sharpest scouts in the crew, and his report immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
"Buggy?" Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed. "That clown actually became a Shichibukai?"
He couldn't help but picture the guy's massive red nose.
Say what you will about Buggy—his strength wasn't exactly impressive, but you'd never forget him after seeing him once.
"Captain, do you want us to wipe them out?"
Najenda appeared beside him, arms crossed, her expression cold and calculating. "They're part of the World Government now. They could be tracking us."
She didn't know much about Buggy personally, but the title Shichibukai wasn't given to just anyone. Even if some of them were jokes—like Crocodile, Moria, or… well, Buggy—there was usually a hidden threat behind the title.
Ryuunosuke waved a hand casually. "Nah. If it's just Buggy, any one of our regular crew members could wipe them out."
He smirked. "Let's go say hello and ask what they want."
Buggy was infamous not for his strength, but for his ridiculous luck. The man had stumbled his way through history like a cartoon character blessed by the gods of survival.
Somehow, he'd escaped Impel Down, survived Marineford, and convinced half the prison's inmates that he was a god among pirates.
And with enough praise, even Buggy started believing it himself.
But his original crew? They knew better. Deep down, they all knew he was just a guy with a parlor trick Devil Fruit and an oversized ego.
Meanwhile, aboard the Buggy Pirates' ship...
"Great Captain Buggy! A pirate ship is headed our way!" shouted one of his crewmates, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Should we blast them out of the water?"
The other pirates gathered around, waiting for their captain's majestic decree.
After all, this was the man who once grabbed Shanks by the collar and screamed in his face! He must've surpassed even the Four Emperors by now—right?
Buggy lay lazily on a chair, his face buried in a fruit cocktail. "A pirate ship? Just some randoms? Don't bother me unless it's serious."
He didn't even open his eyes.
If swagger were a weapon, Buggy would've been top-tier.
"The ship belongs to the Dragon Hunter Pirates!"
Buggy sprang out of his chair so fast his body split into pieces mid-air.
"The Dragon Hunter Pirates?!"
His blood ran cold. These weren't nobodies. They were the lunatics who'd declared war on the World Government.
Even if his strength was real (which it wasn't), even if he was strong enough to fight Shanks (he wasn't), there was no way he could take on the Dragon Hunters.
If he backed down now, though, his men might see through him.
He'd lose everything—his rep, his title, and probably his life.
But if he charged ahead...
He'd be turned into paste.
"Captain Buggy, should I ready the men?" asked the eager crewmate, totally blind to the panic written all over Buggy's face. "They're just the Dragon Hunter Pirates, right? Should be easy!"
Buggy's eye twitched. The way this idiot was repeating "just the Dragon Hunter Pirates" like they were nobodies—
"Ahahaha! Y-yeah!" Buggy forced out a laugh. "They're just the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Nothing to worry about. Handle it however you like."
He'd just obtained a treasure map—his lucky break—and now the worst possible enemy had shown up to crush his dreams.
Mr. 3 stood off to the side, watching the disaster unfold. His face was pale.
"Why… why is he still acting?! He's going to get us all killed…"
But it was too late to run.
The Dragon Hunter Pirates' ship had already come into view on the horizon.
Their black sails fluttered like a death sentence in the wind.
Mr. 3 closed his eyes and muttered a silent prayer.
Maybe... just maybe... Captain Buggy could pull off another miracle.
But even miracles have limits—especially when you're facing them.
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