One Piece: Buggy the Great King of the Sea

Honestly, completing 20 laps was the best possible outcome for Buggy. He had been completely exhausted after just 15. The last five laps were run purely on willpower before he finally collapsed, unable to move a muscle.

Rayleigh was both satisfied and dissatisfied with this result.

He was pleased with Shanks' performance—the kid hadn't slacked off, and his usual discipline showed in the way he completed all 50 laps. That kind of stamina couldn't be faked and showed promising strength.

He was also pleased with Buggy's determination. Even after his body was pushed past its limits, he'd gritted his teeth and pushed for five more laps. That level of mental resilience was commendable.

What Rayleigh wasn't pleased with was Buggy's overall condition. He and Shanks had started on equal footing, but their training results were miles apart. That could only mean one thing—Buggy hadn't been putting in enough effort until now.

Over the following month, their training followed a strict schedule:

Every morning, Rayleigh increased their running distance by five laps per day. No breaks were allowed until they finished the full run.

In the afternoon, he taught them swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.

Rayleigh was, of course, a master swordsman, so sword training was a must. But his physical combat skills were also no joke. After all, no one becomes a top-tier swordsman without an elite-level physique.

For physical techniques, Rayleigh chose to teach them the Six Powers (Rokushiki) of the Marines. It made sense—members of the Pirate King's crew had access to such secrets.

Though the Marines guarded Rokushiki closely, the techniques could leak. Many former Marines had defected and become pirates. Some were captured and tortured for information. For the top fighters on the seas, learning the Six Powers wasn't hard—it was a matter of knowing where to look.

During this time, Buggy made great progress. For some reason, his recovery rate was astonishing. Even if he collapsed one day from utter fatigue, the next morning he'd wake up full of energy as if nothing had happened. His stamina improved rapidly, and the gap between him and Shanks slowly began to close.

"Slowly" being the key word.

Because while Buggy was improving fast, Shanks was improving just as quickly—maybe faster. His recovery speed was impressive, and the more he ate, the more stamina he seemed to have. His energy levels were off the charts.

This month, both of their sword skills also improved significantly.

Buggy had always used a short sword. Even though he wasn't especially skilled, his attachment to the weapon showed his passion for swordsmanship. After awakening in this world, he found himself increasingly dissatisfied with the short blade and eventually switched to a long sword.

He was fascinated by swordsmanship. The idea of slicing a ship in half or splitting the sea with a single slash—that kind of power was irresistible. He might not dream of becoming the World's Strongest Swordsman, but he at least set his sights on becoming a true swordmaster.

Still, Shanks' talent for the sword was superior. He grasped techniques quickly, and by the end of the first month, after reinforcing his basics, he had already broken through to the Iron-Cutting Realm (Zan-Tetsu no Kyōkai)—a key milestone marking his official entry into the Way of the Sword.

Buggy placed great emphasis on physical training, especially mastering Rokushiki. He had a very specific goal in mind—one he never said out loud.

That goal? Fixing his red clown nose.

He'd always hated it. If it weren't physically impossible to remove, he'd have chopped it off ages ago.

But if he could reach the peak of Life Return (Seimei Kikan)—a Rokushiki technique said to allow total control over the body—he might be able to reshape it. It was rumored that with enough mastery, even severed limbs could be regrown. If that were true, then reconstructing his nose might not be impossible.

Thanks to his efforts, Buggy soon mastered two of the Six Powers:

Moonwalk (Geppo) – enabling temporary flight.

Tempest Kick (Rankyaku) – a ranged slicing attack formed from a kick.

He had planned to learn these two first. One gave mobility, the other gave offensive power—both were practical and versatile.

Buggy also began developing his Devil Fruit abilities in his spare time. The Bara Bara no Mi (Chop-Chop Fruit) wasn't weak at all. If pushed to its awakening stage, it could potentially rival even Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi.

However, Buggy didn't focus too much on fruit development in the early stages.

Why?

Because Devil Fruit mastery is limited by stamina. No matter how well-developed your abilities are, if your body can't keep up, you'll burn out fast. Great abilities meant nothing if you collapsed after using them once or twice. So, for this first year, Buggy decided to focus mainly on physical conditioning, swordsmanship, and martial arts.

Still, his fruit had improved somewhat. He'd previously only been able to split his body into upper and lower halves. Now, he could separate individual joints in his arms—a clear sign of progress, though not yet up to the original Buggy's level.

Buggy also discovered something troubling: the Chop-Chop Fruit consumed an absurd amount of energy. In his past life, the original Buggy's limited development likely came from poor physical endurance. That's probably why he remained weak and couldn't even beat a rookie like Luffy.

Shanks, naturally, excelled as well. With his solid foundation and quick learning, he soon mastered the Six Powers techniques he aimed for.

By the end of the month, Rayleigh's presence on the island became less consistent. He was barely around in the mornings when they did endurance training. In the afternoons, he'd show up occasionally to offer a couple of hours of guidance.

Buggy could guess what was happening.

Rayleigh was back in honeymoon mode with Shakky. There was no way he could stay away from her for long.

Time flew, and soon three months had passed.

One morning, Rayleigh showed up unexpectedly at dawn.

He was very pleased with their progress.

Buggy, who had once collapsed after just 20 laps, could now run 200 without falling over. His stamina was nearly on par with Shanks now. And Shanks? He could still finish 200 laps with ease.

Their swordsmanship and physical techniques had also greatly improved. They had nearly mastered the entire Rokushiki set, though their execution still lacked polish.

Even Buggy had reached the Iron-Cutting level, and Shanks wasn't far from reaching the next milestone: the Anything-Cutting Realm, the domain of true swordmasters. With his current rate of growth, he could reach it in another year or two and become one of the top swordsmen of the seas.