One Piece: Buggy the Great King of the Sea

After the battle, Moriah enthusiastically invited Buggy to a feast.

During the celebration, Buggy got a glimpse of the young Moriah's charisma.

He was someone who could easily earn the trust of others, someone who people naturally wanted to befriend. There was even a hint of simplicity and sincerity in his demeanor. This Moriah was completely different from the one Buggy remembered from the future. Perhaps it was the eventual annihilation of his crew that turned him into the person he would become.

The feast was lively, and Buggy had a great time.

During the meal, Moriah even invited Buggy to join his crew, offering him the position of vice-captain.

Buggy, of course, refused.

He had his path to walk.

He had already turned down an offer from future Yonko Shanks, so how could he possibly say yes to Moriah?

But Moriah didn't seem upset in the slightest.

He simply laughed and continued drinking with Buggy as if nothing had happened.

When the feast was over, Buggy took his leave, bringing with him the information Moriah had shared about Crocodile's whereabouts.

Before departing, Buggy offered Moriah a serious warning:

"Until you've gained absolute strength… don't challenge Kaido.

And if you ever do, make sure you leave yourself an escape route—one that ensures your safety, and the safety of your crew."

This was the only warning Buggy could give.

He couldn't possibly reveal the truth—that in the future, Moriah would indeed challenge Kaido, only to lose everything.

That he would be left alone on an island, consumed by grief and vengeance, obsessively creating zombies to seek revenge…

That his strength would decline so much that he'd lose to a rookie like Luffy and become a shadow of his former self.

Buggy couldn't say any of that.

Even if they were close friends (which they weren't), nobody would believe such a story. He had no way of explaining how he knew the future. So instead, he gave Moriah that indirect but heartfelt warning.

Moriah was left visibly confused by Buggy's words, but Buggy didn't explain any further—he just told him to remember it well.

After that, Buggy left Moriah's crew and went off in search of Crocodile.

With the information Moriah had provided, he eventually tracked him down on an island in the East Blue.

At this point, Crocodile still had both arms and hadn't yet equipped his iconic hook.

Other than that, he wasn't too different from his future self in appearance.

He didn't have any subordinates yet.

When Buggy found him, he was training alone, relentlessly refining his Devil Fruit abilities.

This dedication was something that would likely make the future Crocodile feel ashamed.

Buggy directly stated his intention to challenge him.

Crocodile's response was immediate and aggressive:

"You must have a death wish.

If you're here to fight me, don't blame me when you end up dead."

Buggy wasn't bothered.

That kind of response was well within his expectations.

The two didn't exchange any more words—they simply began their battle.

Although the island wasn't a desert like Alabasta, Crocodile's Suna Suna no Mi (Sand-Sand Fruit) still proved terrifying in combat.

The vast waves of golden sand he summoned carried a suffocating pressure.

Even Buggy felt a deep sense of danger.

The two fought for an entire day, with Buggy only managing a slight upper hand in the end.

But he still couldn't defeat Crocodile outright.

Even knowing the fruit's weakness to water, Buggy couldn't capitalize on it.

Logia users simply had too many inherent advantages. If Crocodile wanted to flee, there was no way Buggy could stop him.

On the other hand, Crocodile couldn't beat Buggy either.

In the end, they both agreed to end the fight in a draw.

The battle earned Buggy Crocodile's respect.

Afterward, Crocodile stopped using his arrogant tone and began treating him as an equal.

The two shared some drinks at a local tavern and spent some time talking.

Crocodile, at this stage in life, hadn't yet become the scheming mastermind he would later be.

He was still genuine, even charismatic in a unique way—something that made Buggy's impression of him improve significantly.

Once the meal was over, it was time to part ways.

Crocodile was the first to make an offer:

"Join my crew."

Buggy, of course, declined.

Then Buggy made a counteroffer of his own:

"How about you join my crew?"

Naturally, Crocodile refused, too.

And so, the two parted ways on that island.

Buggy learned of Dracule Mihawk's location from an information broker.

He found Mihawk at sea, drifting on that coffin-shaped boat of his.

When they met, Buggy issued his challenge and introduced himself as a swordsman.

As expected, Mihawk didn't turn down the duel.

He drew his sword and accepted the challenge with the pride of a true swordsman.

At this time, Yoru (Mihawk's iconic sword) was still not yet a "black blade", nor had it been classified among the supreme-grade swords. It was still considered a high-grade sword, but not yet peerless.

Their first duel ended in a one-sided defeat for Buggy.

Mihawk had already reached the level of Swordmaster, while Buggy was still only at the "Iron-Cutting" stage. There was simply no comparison.

Buggy lost badly—so badly that Mihawk left a deep slash on his abdomen.

The duel ended there.

They introduced themselves properly afterward, and even traveled together for a short time.

During their time together, Buggy challenged Mihawk again—this time using everything at his disposal, not just swordsmanship.

With his Chop-Chop Fruit, Rokushiki techniques, and Haki, Buggy managed to hold Mihawk to a draw.

His Devil Fruit ability was a natural counter to swordsmen—no matter how skillfully Mihawk swung his blade, it couldn't harm Buggy.

Eventually, Mihawk sighed in frustration and ended the fight himself, realizing it was pointless.

During their travels, the two continued to spar with swords only.

From these duels, Buggy learned a great deal.

He felt that his swordsmanship had improved significantly and that within the year, he might even break through to the Swordmaster realm.

But their time together didn't last long.

After spending some time in the East Blue, Mihawk bid farewell to Buggy and departed for the wider sea.

Following that, Buggy focused on digesting all he had learned from his battles with Moriah, Crocodile, and Mihawk.

He also continued to take on bounty missions, hunting down vicious pirates that plagued the East Blue.

In doing so, his reputation exploded.

The name "Clown" became known across the entire region, and in Loguetown, it was on everyone's lips.