Short Summary
Nami: Resolve to do what? To kill people like it’s nothing? Is that a pirates’ resolve?
Luffy: No. The resolve to put your life on the line!
Luffy and his first crewmate, Roronoa Zoro, find themselves unwittingly led to Orange Town. A small village under siege by the pirate captain, Buggy The Clown. Along the way the two meet Nami, a thief who manages to acquire a map of the Grand Line.Luffy: No. The resolve to put your life on the line!
—Chapter 10
Main Summary
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The arc begins with Luffy and Zoro in a rowboat, directionless and hungry.
As they try to figure out what to do, Luffy spots a bird in the air. He uses his powers to try to nab it for them to eat, but the bird catches his head in its mouth and flies away. Zoro rows after him and comes across some pirates in the water. They jump on his boat as he passes and try to hijack it, but some swift beatings convince them otherwise. They state that they're part of Buggy the Clown's crew and got stranded in the water after a girl tricked them and stole their boat, and a monsoon sunk the boat she was previously on, which they unwittingly boarded when they first came across her. Their crew is stationed at the nearby Orange Town, and Zoro heads there in the hopes of finding Luffy.
In the town, the bird flies overhead until it passes by Buggy's pirate ship, and Buggy, for no real reason, orders it to be shot down. His crew complies, which frees Luffy from the bird's mouth; he lands right in the middle of a chase between the girl described before and some pirates from Buggy's crew. The girl calls Luffy "boss" and runs off while the pirates attack Luffy, who easily beats them up. The girl, seeing this, introduces herself as Nami. She suggests a team-up, but when Luffy lets slip that he's a pirate, she changes her mind, instead tricking Luffy into letting her tie him up. She presents him to Buggy, from whom she stole a map (which is why she was being chased earlier). Buggy at first is angry over the theft, but when Nami states she wishes to join his crew after a "falling out with her boss," he throws a party instead.
Luffy is locked up in a cage during the celebration and things seem to be going according to Nami's plan...that is, until she is told to fire a cannon on Luffy after he insults Buggy. Nami can't bring herself to do it and has to defend both Luffy and herself from Buggy's crew. Zoro finds Buggy's ship and saves them both. But when he tries to slice up Buggy, it proves ineffective, as Buggy ate the Chop-Chop Devil Fruit and can survive being cut. Zoro is wounded, but manages to redirect the cannon to fire at Buggy and his crew while Nami and Zoro escape, with the latter carrying Luffy's cage. They reach the middle of the town, and Nami offers the key for the cage's lock, but it's eaten by a nearby dog. As Luffy tries to get the dog to cough it up, the mayor of the town, Boodle, appears and introduces himself, offering Zoro his house to rest in while he recovers from his wound. Luffy and Nami talk with him, and he explains that the dog's name is Shu-Shu; his owner was the man who built the local pet store. One day, his owner went away to the doctor to check on his health but never returned. Nevertheless, Shu-Shu has continued to guard the shop, even after the town evacuated when Buggy came around.
Buggy's first mate, Mohji the Beast Tamer, along his pet lion Richie, come into the area looking for Luffy, Zoro, and Nami. Nami and Boodle hide as Mohji confronts Luffy, demanding to know where Zoro is; Mohji wants to kill Zoro for the fame it would give him, but Luffy refuses to divulge his friend's location. Richie manages to break open the cage trying to get at him, and sends Luffy flying into some buildings. Believing him dead, they turn their attention to the pet shop, from which Richie wants some food. Shu-Shu tries to defend it, but is no match. When Luffy comes back into the area after recovering, the pet shop has been burned to the ground as Shu-Shu stands barking and crying in front of it. Luffy confronts Mohji and Richie once again and easily defeats them with his powers. He returns a box of dog food, the last remnants of the store, to Shu-Shu. This surprises Nami, as it's the first she's seen a pirate fight for anyone outside of themselves. This bravery inspires Boodle to confront Buggy, but it almost gets him killed. Luffy saves him and knocks him out to keep him from interfering before he, Zoro, and Nami confront Buggy themselves.
Buggy's second mate, Cabaji, fights against Zoro, and though he gets some attacks in by aiming at the wound Buggy inflicted on Zoro earlier, he is ultimately defeated, though Zoro lies down afterwards to continue napping due to his blood loss. Luffy fights against Buggy, and Nami sneaks away to grab Buggy's treasure while he's distracted. As they battle, Buggy mentions that he knows Shanks, as they were both on the same ship together when they were younger. Buggy actually hates him, as he claims that Shanks cost him some treasure in the water by accidentally causing him to swallow the Chop-Chop Fruit, which Buggy had stupidly put in his mouth to hide it from Shanks (as he was trying to steal it to sell it off). In the midst of the fight, Buggy manages to stab Luffy's straw hat, to the latter's anger. Buggy then spots Nami trying to make off with his loot, and goes after her. But splitting his body parts all over the place proves to be his undoing; Luffy kicks him in his now-defenseless groin, and when Buggy tries to reform his body, most of the pieces are tied up by Nami, allowing Luffy to send him flying away in his weakened state.
With the battle over, Nami agrees to partner up with Luffy for the time being. As they go to collect Zoro, the townspeople confront them and ask who they are. Luffy stupidly states they're pirates and admits that he's the one who knocked out the mayor (without explaining why), forcing them to run when the angered townsfolk chase after them. Shu-Shu aids them by keeping the townspeople at bay as Luffy's group reaches the port and takes some rowboats for their own. Boodle awakens and runs to the port as they head off, thanking the three for their help. Luffy reveals that he left Buggy's treasure behind so the citizens can rebuild their town, to Nami's anger. With the day won and a new member onboard, the three set sail for their next adventure.
As they try to figure out what to do, Luffy spots a bird in the air. He uses his powers to try to nab it for them to eat, but the bird catches his head in its mouth and flies away. Zoro rows after him and comes across some pirates in the water. They jump on his boat as he passes and try to hijack it, but some swift beatings convince them otherwise. They state that they're part of Buggy the Clown's crew and got stranded in the water after a girl tricked them and stole their boat, and a monsoon sunk the boat she was previously on, which they unwittingly boarded when they first came across her. Their crew is stationed at the nearby Orange Town, and Zoro heads there in the hopes of finding Luffy.
In the town, the bird flies overhead until it passes by Buggy's pirate ship, and Buggy, for no real reason, orders it to be shot down. His crew complies, which frees Luffy from the bird's mouth; he lands right in the middle of a chase between the girl described before and some pirates from Buggy's crew. The girl calls Luffy "boss" and runs off while the pirates attack Luffy, who easily beats them up. The girl, seeing this, introduces herself as Nami. She suggests a team-up, but when Luffy lets slip that he's a pirate, she changes her mind, instead tricking Luffy into letting her tie him up. She presents him to Buggy, from whom she stole a map (which is why she was being chased earlier). Buggy at first is angry over the theft, but when Nami states she wishes to join his crew after a "falling out with her boss," he throws a party instead.
Luffy is locked up in a cage during the celebration and things seem to be going according to Nami's plan...that is, until she is told to fire a cannon on Luffy after he insults Buggy. Nami can't bring herself to do it and has to defend both Luffy and herself from Buggy's crew. Zoro finds Buggy's ship and saves them both. But when he tries to slice up Buggy, it proves ineffective, as Buggy ate the Chop-Chop Devil Fruit and can survive being cut. Zoro is wounded, but manages to redirect the cannon to fire at Buggy and his crew while Nami and Zoro escape, with the latter carrying Luffy's cage. They reach the middle of the town, and Nami offers the key for the cage's lock, but it's eaten by a nearby dog. As Luffy tries to get the dog to cough it up, the mayor of the town, Boodle, appears and introduces himself, offering Zoro his house to rest in while he recovers from his wound. Luffy and Nami talk with him, and he explains that the dog's name is Shu-Shu; his owner was the man who built the local pet store. One day, his owner went away to the doctor to check on his health but never returned. Nevertheless, Shu-Shu has continued to guard the shop, even after the town evacuated when Buggy came around.
Buggy's first mate, Mohji the Beast Tamer, along his pet lion Richie, come into the area looking for Luffy, Zoro, and Nami. Nami and Boodle hide as Mohji confronts Luffy, demanding to know where Zoro is; Mohji wants to kill Zoro for the fame it would give him, but Luffy refuses to divulge his friend's location. Richie manages to break open the cage trying to get at him, and sends Luffy flying into some buildings. Believing him dead, they turn their attention to the pet shop, from which Richie wants some food. Shu-Shu tries to defend it, but is no match. When Luffy comes back into the area after recovering, the pet shop has been burned to the ground as Shu-Shu stands barking and crying in front of it. Luffy confronts Mohji and Richie once again and easily defeats them with his powers. He returns a box of dog food, the last remnants of the store, to Shu-Shu. This surprises Nami, as it's the first she's seen a pirate fight for anyone outside of themselves. This bravery inspires Boodle to confront Buggy, but it almost gets him killed. Luffy saves him and knocks him out to keep him from interfering before he, Zoro, and Nami confront Buggy themselves.
Buggy's second mate, Cabaji, fights against Zoro, and though he gets some attacks in by aiming at the wound Buggy inflicted on Zoro earlier, he is ultimately defeated, though Zoro lies down afterwards to continue napping due to his blood loss. Luffy fights against Buggy, and Nami sneaks away to grab Buggy's treasure while he's distracted. As they battle, Buggy mentions that he knows Shanks, as they were both on the same ship together when they were younger. Buggy actually hates him, as he claims that Shanks cost him some treasure in the water by accidentally causing him to swallow the Chop-Chop Fruit, which Buggy had stupidly put in his mouth to hide it from Shanks (as he was trying to steal it to sell it off). In the midst of the fight, Buggy manages to stab Luffy's straw hat, to the latter's anger. Buggy then spots Nami trying to make off with his loot, and goes after her. But splitting his body parts all over the place proves to be his undoing; Luffy kicks him in his now-defenseless groin, and when Buggy tries to reform his body, most of the pieces are tied up by Nami, allowing Luffy to send him flying away in his weakened state.
With the battle over, Nami agrees to partner up with Luffy for the time being. As they go to collect Zoro, the townspeople confront them and ask who they are. Luffy stupidly states they're pirates and admits that he's the one who knocked out the mayor (without explaining why), forcing them to run when the angered townsfolk chase after them. Shu-Shu aids them by keeping the townspeople at bay as Luffy's group reaches the port and takes some rowboats for their own. Boodle awakens and runs to the port as they head off, thanking the three for their help. Luffy reveals that he left Buggy's treasure behind so the citizens can rebuild their town, to Nami's anger. With the day won and a new member onboard, the three set sail for their next adventure.
Buggy The Clown Arc has the following tropes:
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Nami initially didn't believe in the curse of the Devil Fruit, until she sees Buggy split his body apart.
- Arc Villain: Buggy the Clown.
- Attack the Injury: During their battle Cabaji deliberately attacks the stab wound Zoro received from Buggy earlier in the arc in order to weaken him. Zoro is unimpressed and ends up making the stab wound bigger himself (in the manga) or allows Cabaji to get a clean hit on it with his sword (in the anime) in order to show that he can still win even with a handicap. He does so easily.
- Bad Boss: In a bit of a departure to how he would be portrayed later in the series Buggy has numerous moments like this in this arc. When a crew member accidental makes a reference about his nose Buggy kills him with a cannonball for his perceived insolence. Later when Luffy bounces one of his Buggy balls back at his base Buggy shields himself with two of his crew members.
- The Beastmaster: Mohji "The Beastmaster".
- Berserk Button:
- Touching Luffy's hat when he doesn't want you to first comes up here. Especially because it was originally Shanks'. Buggy realizes this, and because he hates Shanks, proceeds to piss Luffy off even more.
- Making fun of Buggy's nose is a very bad idea. He tries to blow up a town because of it. Worse, he tends to mishear things as insults about his nose, and irrationally gets set off because of it.
- Nami initially seems friendly enough with Luffy, until she finds out he's a pirate... though it's later subverted when he helps her.
- Blessed with Suck: Buggy is the first Devil Fruit user to be seen other than Luffy, and the first to complain about it. Even though, thanks to his powers, he easily withstands Zoro's slashes and gives Luffy a hard time during their fight, he hates the fact he can only limit himself to stealing treasure on the surface now that he can't swim because of the Fruit's curse.
- Bowdlerise:
- As detailed below, Buggy killing a crewman with a Buggy Ball is cut from the anime, and instead has him only threatening to use one on him if he gets angered again.
- The 4Kids dub toned down or outright removed some of the violence during the arc, such as editing out Zoro's stab wound and having Mohji's bite wound be covered with a (tiny) bandaid.
- A downplayed example happens during Zoro's fight with Cabaji in the anime. In the manga Zoro deliberately made his wound bigger in order to show up Cabaji's cheap tricks while in the anime he allows him to stab him in the wound. It ultimately amounts to the same result but it does lessen the Self-Harm aspect from the manga's version.
- Chased by Angry Natives: Luffy, Zoro, and Nami at the end of the arc.
- Chekhov's Gunman: In Buggy's flashback, there's a guy lecturing a young Buggy and Shanks. He turns to be really important in the Sabaody Archipelago Arc.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Luffy admires Mayor Boodle's courage and dedication to Orange Town, but after the old man proves no match for Buggy and still insists on driving off the Buggy Pirates by himself, Luffy knocks him unconscious so he won't get himself killed.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Luffy takes out Mohji and Richie with next-to-no effort.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Buggy acts as a legitimate threat here before slowly becoming more goofy as the series goes on. He's even a Bad Boss to his crew.
- The manga story marks a rare time where someone is killed outside of a flashbackspoiler, as Buggy kills one of his crew after mistakenly thinking he was making fun of his nose. The anime version changes this so the mook lives, with Buggy only threatening to blow him up if he gets angered again in order to keep everyone in line.
- Devil Fruits are treated as extremely rare and borderline mythical. Buggy's plan to steal the Devil Fruit hinges on his crew believing Devil Fruits aren't actually real, and they do. Later on, Devil Fruits become a fact of the setting that no one could really deny and Buggy's crew in particular had numerous confirmed encounters with Devil Fruit users. It is justified by Devil Fruits being rarer in the East Blue than the Grand Line.
- Enemy Mine: A friendlier example, but Nami technically only allies with the Straw Hats (Luffy and Zoro) and agrees to navigate them for a short period of time. She still very much hates pirates, but Luffy seems to be a bit of an exception.
- Groin Attack: Luffy manages to do one to Buggy when he's distracted by Nami.
- Guile Heroine: Nami is revealed to be one. When she's chased by a bunch of pissed-off pirates, she sees Luffy coming along and calls him "Boss" to get them off her tail.
- Handshake Refusal: After the battle is over Luffy offers his hand to Nami for a high five after asking her to join his crew again. Nami slaps it away since she still doesn't trust pirates but she says that she will stick around for now.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The townspeople think Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are the pirates who had destroyed their town, despite them being the ones who saved it.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Downplayed. When a Buggy Ball is shot his way, Luffy bounces it back and does a number on Buggy's crew, but Buggy protects himself (and his named minions) by using several Mooks to block the blast.
- Hypocrite: Nami takes offense at the notion she's looting the town, because she only robs pirates. However, she also mentions everything in the town has already been stolen by Buggy's crew and gets really angry when Luffy leaves much of the loot behind for the townspeople. Meaning that though she insists she doesn't steal from ordinary citizens, she's still entirely willing to take and keep their valuables for herself so long as someone else stole them first.
- Hypocritical Humor: The first of many occasions in the series where Luffy does this. When seeing Buggy's Chop-Chop powers in action for the first time, Luffy, who also has "weird" Devil Fruit powers, calls him a freak. This is promptly lampshaded by a text box pointing out that he himself is a Rubber Man.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: When Nami proclaims that she's joining Buggy's crew, Buggy lets her party around for a while... and then orders her to kill a captive Luffy as a test of loyalty.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Nami's internal rationale for not killing Luffy - she hates pirates, and killing in cold blood is something only a pirate would do.
- In the Back: Buggy stabs Zoro from behind after Zoro cuts him into pieces and turns away from him, not knowing about his Devil Fruit ability.
- Irony:
- Buggy was apparently a very good diver until he ate a Devil Fruit.
- Buggy's obsessions with treasure leads to him getting robbed himself by a teenage girl.
- Kick the Dog:
- Mohji burning down Shu-Shu's beloved store that belonged to his deceased master seemingly just because the poor dog got in his way and bit him.
- Buggy deliberately stabbed Luffy's beloved straw hat just because he stated that it was his treasure then stomped it after finding out it belonged to Shanks.
- Megaton Punch: What Luffy does to Buggy while the latter's body parts are tied up into pieces.
- Monster Clown: Played with in Buggy's case. He's a surprisingly dangerous adversary, but he's still very silly.
- Never My Fault: Buggy has this attitude about himself and Shanks, blaming the latter for cursing him when Buggy had put the fruit in his mouth in the first place.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- Buggy ends up accidentally shooting down the bird that scooped up Luffy, setting events into motion that would lead to his defeat.
- Mohji and Richie end up busting Luffy out of the cage he was locked in trying to kill him, allowing Luffy to get back into the fight.
- No One Could Survive That!: What Mohji (mistakenly) believes after Richie knocks Luffy through a house.
- Ominous Adversarial Amusement: When Zoro seemingly beats Buggy by chopping him to pieces, the rest of Buggy's Pirates start laughing, something Luffy and Nami find weird. Buggy then reveals his Chop-Chop Fruit powers by driving a knife into Zoro's side.
- Only Sane Man: Nami feels this way when observing Luffy's and Zoro's antics.
- Post-Victory Collapse: After Zoro defeats Cabaji, he needs to rest due to losing a lot of blood, and doesn't partake in any more fighting.
- Red Baron: Mohji "The Beastmaster".
- Shout-Out: Shu-Shu is a fairly obvious tribute to Hachiko, a dog who would wait at a train station every day for his owner, even years after his death.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Buggy acts as a legitimate threat at this point before he slowly becomes more goofy and less threatening as the series goes on.
- Super Gullible: Luffy allows Nami to tie him up with some rope and present him as her prisoner to Buggy when she says she has a plan against him. It takes awhile for him to realise that he is a prisoner now.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: In his flashback, when Buggy had stolen a Devil Fruit, Shanks tries to get him to join in the celebrations. Buggy immediately blurts out that he didn't steal anything.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Nami doesn’t really want to work with Luffy.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: In the manga, Buggy punishes a subordinate who he thinks insulted his nose by having a cannonball fired at him at close range.
- Twinkle in the Sky: Once the majority of Buggy's body has been tied up by Nami, the remaining pieces left (Buggy's head, hands and feet) are send flying through the sky by Luffy via his Gum-Gum Bazooka ending the fight.
- Undying Loyalty: Shu-Shu. It's even stated he knows his master is dead, but still guards the store regardless.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Buggy is revealed to be this to Shanks. In his flashback, when it was revealed that Buggy really did eat a Devil Fruit and he was sinking in the ocean, Shanks dived in and saved his life. However, he still blames Shanks for the whole thing... even though he was stupid enough to put the damn thing in his mouth in the first place.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Shanks and Buggy were this in their childhood. It later turned more sour as time went on... at least from Buggy's end.
- Worf Had the Flu: Defied Trope. Zoro already has his stab wound from Buggy when he fights Cabaji. And when Cabaji tries to take advantage of this, Zoro cuts his own wound, making it bigger and continuing the fight like that.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Nami pretends to be a starving young woman after coming upon a small ship of pirates at sea. She tells them that she'll give them some treasure if they can give her some water. When they come on the ship to steal it, they find that the chest is empty and look up to see Nami sailing off with their ship. Since this is the first time she's shown in the manga, it clues the audience into what kind of character she'll be.
Story Impact
- This arc introduces two major characters: Nami, who will become the Straw Hats' navigator, and Buggy, a former crewmate of Shanks.
- Buggy's flashback is of particular importance, as it is later revealed that he and Shanks were part of the Roger Pirates and that the man who punches them during their argument was the crew's first mate, Silvers Rayleigh.
- Buggy being part of the Pirate King's crew will help him become a leader of the Impel Down escapees before the Marineford Arc.
- This arc introduces the first Devil Fruit user Luffy meets: Buggy (Although he did fight Alvida in the Romance Dawn Arc, she did not have her Devil Fruit at the time).
- Buggy being defeated and flying away would start the mini-arc Buggy's Crew: After the Battle!
- It is the second time that Luffy becomes recognized by the authorities. After defeating Buggy, the Marines take Luffy's actions into account before issuing a bounty. It would not be until after the battle in the Arlong Park Arc that Luffy would receive his first bounty.
