"What Joy Boy? What destiny?!"
Buggy shouted, his face and neck flushed red, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Captain Roger could've lived to see his child—why didn't he wait just a few more months?!"
"Oden-sama had the strength to fight Kaido—why didn't he strike?!"
"And Shanks—he threw away his left arm, just to firm up Luffy's resolve?!"
"And now even you, Rayleigh… all of you—what are you doing?!"
"Why go so far for Joy Boy? Why throw your lives away for this so-called destiny?!"
"Any one of you—if you had become Pirate King, I'd have no complaints! But why hand it over to that kid?!"
"Isn't it supposed to be like with Captain Roger—earning it through great deeds, through achievements that shake the world? Why him? Why decide he's Pirate King before he's even done anything?!"
Buggy cried out, clutching at his blue hair, sobbing uncontrollably.
Everything about it made him feel sick, as if he'd swallowed filth.
"…Buggy." Rayleigh reached out and patted the arm of the weeping clown. "Joy Boy already achieved something great long ago. He's simply waiting for his bloodline to reclaim what is his."
"I don't believe in that kind of destiny!"
Buggy suddenly wiped away his tears and snot. His voice had gone shrill with fury.
"That mermaid said the same thing—that Ace was destined to die, that the prophecy would come true… I refuse to accept it! I refuse to believe that the men I've always respected—you—believe in this too!"
"What are you planning, Buggy?" Rayleigh frowned.
"Rayleigh! I'm going to save Ace. Whether you and Shanks come or not—I'm saving him!" Buggy's eyes blazed with fire. "There's no such thing as fate set in stone from the beginning. I'll make sure he lives!"
"How he dies in the future—I can't control that. But I won't let him die like Captain Roger did! Not this time! He won't die—I swear it!"
Faces flashed in his mind—Roger, Kozuki Oden, Shanks, Ace—until finally his thoughts fixed on that pallid, tentacled visage.
Captain Davy Jones… I'll find him.
I need power. Power that can shatter the chains of destiny.
"Horohorohoro—"
Perona, her hair in twin tails, floated through the gloomy, eerie castle in her ghostly form.
She drifted through walls, wandering aimlessly. Passing through a grand hall, she spotted Captain Davy Jones speaking with Crocodile.
To be honest, they were the two people she feared most—then came Kuro.
Her favorite person, of course, was Alvida, who had helped decorate her beloved princess room.
Not wanting to be noticed, Perona floated quietly past—but then she caught part of their conversation.
"…Fishman Island has gotten used to our presence. Next is to expand our influence."
Crocodile knew this routine well. He had done the same in Alabasta. It had only taken longer back then.
"Many pirate crews are eyeing Fishman Island," Crocodile continued. "We can wait—until they come to us for help."
Davy Jones removed the pipe from his mouth. "Or they could seek help from someone else. 'Big Mom,' perhaps? Why must it be us?"
"Which is why we need a chance to prove our strength," Crocodile said, twirling his golden hook. "Why look far afield? We're a better fit for Fishman Island than either Charlotte Linlin or Kaido."
Perona pouted. Ugh, boring. Just more talk I don't care about. Better leave…
Both Davy Jones and Crocodile had sensed her ghost with their Haki, but neither bothered with her. They simply let her drift on.
But then, Davy Jones suddenly set down his pipe. His tentacles stirred.
"…We have an unexpected visitor."
Crocodile blinked. There were few people left in the world who could move the captain. He grew curious.
After a pause, he walked over to the hall's window and peered outside.
His face twisted in surprise. "Buggy… why has he brought that man here?"
"That man?"
"It's Silvers Rayleigh—Roger's right hand." Crocodile's expression shifted several times. "I met him a few times when I was young. I never thought, after all these years, he'd still be alive."
Perona, halfway through the wall, froze.
The words "Roger Pirates" and "Rayleigh" made her black-pearl eyes go wide.
Curiosity tugged at her. She slipped back inside, hiding in the corner, crouching behind a bookshelf.
This has to be big gossip. Alvida will want to know. She giggled silently.
Neither Davy Jones nor Crocodile paid her the slightest attention. They simply sat on the sofa, waiting for Buggy to bring in the guest.
At last, the grand doors swung open. Buggy hurried inside.
Behind him walked an elderly man with an easy, refined air. His face was lined with wrinkles, his hands clasped behind his back, his smile warm and unhurried.
His eyes met Crocodile's first—then moved to Davy Jones.
So that's Rayleigh? Roger's right hand? Perona stared, startled. He just looks like some ordinary old man… even wearing slippers. So casual.
Rayleigh nodded politely to Davy Jones, then to Crocodile, and finally turned his smile toward Perona's hiding spot.
Eh?! He noticed me? Perona jolted. But my disguise is perfect! Even Davy Jones and Crocodile ignored me…
In truth, her presence was like a firefly in the night—only someone as blind as Buggy could fail to notice.
"Captain!" Buggy rushed to Davy Jones, dropping to one knee without hesitation. "I am willing to serve as your crewman aboard the Terror Ghost for one hundred years—if only you grant me one request!"
From his coat he produced a bracelet, holding it out with both hands. "This is Captain John's treasure bracelet. Please accept it."
Rayleigh frowned slightly at Buggy's desperation, his smile fading.
Sigh… Buggy is still so stubborn.
Crocodile, however, was stunned. First—why had Buggy brought Rayleigh here of all places? Second—why had Buggy suddenly changed his mind, seeking a hundred-year contract with Davy Jones?
What was his relationship with Rayleigh? What had driven this shift?
One of Davy Jones' tentacles reached out, plucked the bracelet from Buggy's hands, examined it briefly, and set it aside.
"I recall you had only a handful of 'Buggy Bombs' left before fulfilling your last contract, didn't you?"
"Thirteen more," Buggy replied instantly. "But I want a new contract. I need your help."
Buggy's unusual determination stirred something in Davy Jones' memory.
Long ago, a pirate named Jack Sparrow had traded his soul for the chance to captain the Black Pearl.
If only that man had shown even half the humility Buggy displayed today, perhaps Davy Jones might've shown leniency—granted him a few more years of freedom.
"What do you seek in exchange?"
"Captain, I want you to help me save Portgas D. Ace." Buggy's eyes shone with intensity. "I want him to live—at least not die in this war."
Crocodile and Perona both froze in shock.
They knew very well: Ace was the linchpin of the coming clash between Whitebeard's forces and the Navy.
One side was desperate to rescue family. The other saw him as the bait to shake the seas.
Neither would yield. Marineford would be a meat grinder, a living hell.
Which was why they understood the weight of Buggy's request.
This would mean Davy Jones himself intervening in a war between two titanic forces—to save a man doomed to die.
Even Rayleigh shook his head.
Davy Jones had no connection to Ace. A stranger. Why would he risk himself for one man's wish?
Buggy, you're still too naïve. You don't understand how pirates really are…
But Rayleigh's thoughts were shattered when Davy Jones spoke:
"Ace, is it? Very well. One soul in exchange for another—fair enough."
Rayleigh blinked, wondering if his ears had deceived him.
Not only him—Crocodile and Perona both gaped in disbelief.
Buggy, on the other hand, was overjoyed.
"Captain, I knew it! I knew you'd agree!"
He thrust out his arm eagerly.
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