One Piece: The Silver Sovereign

About fifteen minutes after the Navy had left, the captain finally returned, stepping back using a technique similar to the Navy's Geppo (Moonwalk).

"How did it go?" As the captain landed back on the ship, Rayleigh tossed him a bottle of liquor and asked.

"He seems to have gotten even stronger." He took a big swig, wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and only after catching his breath did he speak.

"Haha, that's normal. Garp's been chasing you around the seas every day; he's bound to have had plenty of fights. If he didn't get stronger, that would be strange. Besides, haven't you also gotten a lot stronger?"

"Yeah. If I didn't work hard, who knows, maybe one of these days he'd catch me."

To celebrate the captain's successful return, the entire pirate crew held another grand banquet.

"Shanks, do you feel like we forgot something?" As everyone was having a great time, Shirakawa suddenly had a nagging feeling and turned to Shanks.

"Forgot something? Don't think so." Shanks, already drunk, answered without much thought.

"Hmm… then maybe not."

And just like that, poor Buggy was left forgotten in a corner by the two of them.

"Hahaha, Buggy, really sorry, we forgot about you."

In the blink of an eye, it was noon the next day. Buggy now stood in front of Shanks and Shirakawa, furious. Shanks scratched his head apologetically.

"Forgot me? You knocked me out and forgot me! You call yourselves human beings?!"

Faced with Buggy's accusations, both Shirakawa and Shanks could only respond with awkward smiles, because, truth be told, they were at fault.

As for how Buggy was found, we have to go back to that morning.

When Buggy slowly woke up that morning, he stretched out, only to realize he couldn't move, and his mouth was sealed shut. Then the memories of yesterday came rushing back.

And so, like a caterpillar, Buggy wriggled and crawled his way up to the deck until someone finally noticed him.

"Buggy, what are you doing? Trying out a new game?" Just as Buggy was about to collapse from exhaustion, a gentle voice spoke near his ear. It sounded like an angel to him in that moment.

"Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm! (Hurry up and untie me!)" Buggy quickly let out some muffled sounds and gestured toward the ropes binding him.

"You want to say something? Oh, I get it, you want to perform for everyone? No need. I mean, this is a very creative game, but honestly, it looks a bit too embarrassing."

The pirate shook his head and rejected Buggy's "request."

"Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm! Mmm mmm mmm! Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm! (What are you talking about?! Stop talking and untie me already!"

"Well, okay, since you're sincerely asking for help, I'll help you."

"Mmm mmm mmm!" Buggy nodded furiously. Finally, someone understands!

"Wait here, I'll go get some people. There aren't many awake right now, but I can gather enough to be your audience."

"Mmm mmm mmm mmm! Mmm! Mmm mmm! Mmm mmm mmm mmm! (Audience?! Hey! Wait! Don't leave!)"

As the man's back disappeared from view, Buggy's heart sank.

Just then, while lying on the deck, Buggy suddenly heard the sound of a commotion, footsteps. The hope that had just been snuffed out began to rekindle.

"Look! There's Buggy. He must be about to show us some new self-rescue technique!"

It was that same pirate, speaking to a group of confused crewmates he had dragged along.

"Oh, I see! Buggy, go ahead and perform!"

"Mmm mmm! Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm! (Perform?! Perform your grandmother's leg!"

Buggy was so furious that he passed out on the spot.

"Hey, Buggy, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Oh no! He fainted!"

And just like that, Buggy was finally rescued. You could say the whole scene that morning was quite the comedy.

And the culprits behind it all were still hungover and hadn't sobered up yet.

After a round of scolding, promises, and apologies, Buggy's anger finally subsided.

"What you two did this time crossed the line."

"Sorry, Captain. We know we were wrong."

It was Roger who had just reprimanded them. He could allow some horseplay on his ship, but only within limits. If Buggy hadn't been so tough, he might've been dead from rage by now.

"Don't worry, Captain. We won't do it again."

Shanks and Shirakawa responded in unison.

"Well, since verbal criticism isn't enough this time, because of how bad this was. I'm assigning you both to cleaning duty for a whole month. No problem, right?"

"Captain, no problem!"

"Good."

"Phew, finally dodged a bullet." After Roger left, the two let out a sigh of relief.

"Shirakawa, this is all your fault. If you hadn't forgotten, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"My fault? Why's it my fault? If you hadn't come up with that idea, we wouldn't have done it in the first place. And you forgot too!"

"I don't care! I'm blaming you! It's your fault!"

"Are you Shanks?"

Seeing Shanks throw a tantrum and roll on the ground, Shirakawa was stunned. He crouched down and pinched Shanks' cheek.

Although Shanks was usually pretty childish, that was just his personality, loud and carefree. But this behavior now was just like a little kid.

"Don't touch me! I'll tell you, I'm only thirteen. If you bully me, I'll tell the Captain!"

Shanks swatted his hand away.

"Thirteen? You're only thirteen this year?" Shirakawa exclaimed in shock.

"Of course. Come to think of it, we still don't know how old you are."

"I'm also thirteen," Shirakawa said with a straight face, though his eyes darted to the side, avoiding eye contact.

"Heh, at least come up with a believable lie."

Shirakawa was more than a full head taller than Shanks. There was no way they were both thirteen.

Shirakawa simply didn't want to admit his real age; he was much older than Shanks, yet not much stronger.

And so, Shanks and Shirakawa spent an entire month cleaning the ship. Honestly, it was even more exhausting than Shirakawa's usual training.

It was as if the ship had never been cleaned before. Aside from the parts exposed to seawater and the spots where they slept, nearly every surface was covered in a thick layer of dust.

And to top it off, they had to endure Buggy's constant mockery. At this point, Shirakawa wasn't just keeping score; he was planning on making Buggy pay him back with interest one day.

"Say, Shanks, who used to do the cleaning before this? I seriously want to file a complaint."

"Before? No one, I think."

"Thought so.