Chapter 30: The Jester Joins the Army

While the navy soldiers were fervently discussing Garen’s strength, a clerk hurried over to Garp, carrying a stack of wanted posters. He snapped to attention and saluted smartly.

“Vice Admiral Garp!”

“After comparing the bounty notices, we’ve confirmed that the knight isn’t a registered pirate!”

“The only wanted pirate present is Buggy the Clown, with a reward of fifteen million berries!”

“That’s right!” Garen looked innocently at Garp and said, “I told you, I’m here to catch pirates.”

“That red-nosed fellow over there is the pirate you should be after!”

“Exactly!” Recovering from the shock of being captured by the legendary navy hero, Nami quickly put her acting skills to use, performing the role of a pitiful, innocent girl before the navy soldiers.

“We’re victims of a pirate attack… How could the navy just arrest people indiscriminately?”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her crystal-clear, light orange eyes, evoking sympathy and guilt among the less resolute navy soldiers.

Garp, however, was unmoved by Nami’s performance. He focused his attention even more intently on Buggy the Clown.

Garp stared at Buggy for a long while before finally speaking.

“Buggy the Clown?”

“I thought you looked familiar—the conspicuous red nose…”

“Hahaha…” Buggy waved his hands frantically, forcing a stiff smile as he tried to explain, “This nose is actually quite common, really…”

“So it’s you, isn’t it?” Garp suddenly stood up from his deck chair, towering above like a steel fortress.

“That red-nosed brat who used to hang around Roger?”

“Ah… huh?”

“Who’s Roger?”

Buggy continued to feign ignorance, but cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall.

Suddenly, silence fell around them. Apart from Garen, who had known all along, everyone present—navy soldiers, high-ranking officers, the reporter Wallace, and Cat Burglar Nami—fixed their gaze on Buggy.

Even Cabaji and Mohji, who had followed Buggy across the East Blue for years, now regarded their captain as if he were an alien.

The name Roger usually referred to only one man—especially when spoken by the hero Garp.

“Gol D. Roger.”

Garp finally called out the name clearly, turning to Buggy.

“I haven’t forgotten. You were the apprentice who followed Roger, along with Shanks!”

Buggy said nothing.

His words triggered an uproar.

“That red-nosed guy… he was a crew member of the Pirate King?”

The navy soldiers were so shocked their jaws dropped.

“Our captain… was a crew member of the Pirate King?!”

Cabaji and Mohji nearly popped their eyes out in disbelief.

“Shanks?” Wallace, catching wind of this colossal news, began analyzing it on the spot.

“Do you mean Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors?”

Wallace’s gaze toward Buggy burned with excitement.

“Buggy the Clown was the Pirate King’s crewman, a close friend of the Emperor Red-Hair?”

“He’s been hiding out in the East Blue—what sinister plot could he be brewing?”

“Wait…” Wallace suddenly noticed another newsworthy detail.

“Lord Garen…”

“He subdued Buggy the Clown with ease!”

“What?” The navy soldiers beside Wallace, who had previously commented on Garen, grew agitated.

“That man defeated the Emperor’s close friend so effortlessly?”

“My earlier judgment was clearly mistaken!” The analyst who had previously pegged Garen at “Rear Admiral” level now spoke in a deep voice.

“To defeat the Pirate King’s crewman and the Red-Haired Emperor’s friend—the knight must possess the power of a New World Emperor!”

“Nonsense!” Another analyst retorted passionately.

“If he had the strength of an Emperor, how could he have been captured so easily by Vice Admiral Garp?”

“I’d say he’s at best the level of an Emperor’s right hand.”

“No…” Analyst number three’s eyes gleamed with insight.

“That man is not a pirate. Perhaps he simply refrained from fighting Vice Admiral Garp to avoid causing trouble.”

“You mean…” The navy soldiers discussing all drew sharp breaths.

“He could actually rival Vice Admiral Garp?”

“Vice Admiral Garp is on par with Fleet Admiral Sengoku!”

One analyst reached a stunning conclusion.

“In that case…”

“That nameless knight must possess the power of a Navy Admiral!”

“Hmm…” Wallace’s enthusiastic pen halted mid-note. Even he, eager for sensational news, found the conclusion a bit far-fetched.

Meanwhile, Buggy, now the focus of the news, finally responded.

“That’s right…”

Buggy the Clown forced a determined expression, though his legs trembled uncontrollably.

“I really was a crew member of the Pirate King…”

It was meant to be a bold statement, but coming from Buggy’s lips, it sounded utterly weak.

“Hahaha!” Garp laughed triumphantly. “So it really is you!”

As he laughed, Garp’s gaze at Buggy grew increasingly odd.

“What are you up to?” Buggy asked nervously.

“I may have this background, but my bounty is only fifteen million berries!”

“Are you going to kill me?”

At this, Buggy’s body shook even harder. He’d originally thought he could spend a few years in jail and then escape, but Garp, an old acquaintance, had exposed his connection to the Pirate King.

Buggy, once a minor figure in the East Blue, suddenly became a legacy of the world’s most notorious villain, someone every navy member had to take seriously.

“Hm…”

Garp pondered for a moment, then broke into a hearty smile.

“Buggy! Join the navy!”

“No, don’t kill me!” Buggy cried out in panic.

…

“Huh?” Buggy suddenly realized what Garp had said.

Everyone present was stunned by Garp’s shocking proposal.

Even Garen, who had thought himself familiar with the plot and remained calm, was left dumbfounded by this unexpected twist.

“Join the navy!”

“Right by my side!”

Garp walked slowly up to Buggy, towering over him thanks to his height, looking down at the panic-stricken clown.

“That brat Red-Hair convinced my grandson to become a pirate…”

“So I’ll have his old friend join the navy! Isn’t that poetic?”

“This—this can’t be!” Buggy, suddenly emboldened, refused without hesitation.

“I was Captain Roger’s crewman! How could I betray him and join the navy?!”

He was, after all, a crew member of the Pirate King. If he switched sides and became Garp’s subordinate, how could he face Captain Roger’s memory?

But Buggy didn’t know…

Roger’s own son was working as Garp’s grandson.

“Is that so?” Garp stroked his graying beard, looking troubled.

“Then I have no choice…”

“A Pirate King’s crewman must be executed when captured!”

“Huh?”

The resolve on Buggy’s face faded instantly.

Garp glanced at Cabaji and Mohji.

“Also…”

“Your two subordinates probably won’t escape either…”

Cabaji and Mohji exchanged a difficult look, their faces grim.

“Almost forgot…” Garp added, “That lion counts too.”

“Roar?!” Richie the lion trembled under Garp’s gaze.

Moments later…

Cabaji stiffened, then bowed deeply.

“Sir Garp!”

“I’ve always been devoted to justice—I just strayed in my youth!”

“Every day on the pirate ship was torment for my conscience. I can’t bear it anymore!”

“Indeed!” Mohji, eyes brimming with tears, spoke up.

“It was only because I had no way to serve my country that I ended up on this path!”

Mohji, copying Cabaji, knelt and sobbed.

“Vice Admiral Garp, I want to join the navy!”

“Roar!” Richie the lion tried his best to look upright and righteous.

Garp nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Buggy, the true protagonist.

“You…”

Buggy’s expression changed rapidly.

His entire body trembled, as if furious at his subordinates’ betrayal.

That deep, terrifying emotion brewed inside him, finally erupting after a brief silence.

“Scoundrels!”

Buggy glared at his two subordinates, roaring in rage.

“You both feel that way?!”

Cabaji and Mohji trembled, burying their heads even deeper.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”

Buggy’s face twisted with regret, shouting in anguish.

“It’s only because I couldn’t bear to leave you, my old crew, that I never switched sides!”