He Needs Some Milk

While this commotion was happening, two of Roger's crew members had gone to explore...

"Buggy, did you hear that?" A redhead asked a boy who had a red nose.

"H-hear what?!" Buggy responded, cold sweat running down his forehead.

It had been a few hours since they've away from the party at the beach. Everything had been "Fight to win and steal their stuff" yet today, everything was "Hey, you want some booze?"

"I knew it! I so knew it! We shouldn't have gone exploring by ourselves! There could be beasts lurking around!" Buggy yelled frantically, looking side to side behind the red-haired boy.

Having heard that one of Whitebeard's crew members didn't need sleep was enough creepy stuff for today, but going to explore by themselves was going too far! However, he couldn't do anything now that he and his crewmate were deep in the island's forest.

The only reason he agreed to go with him was that he had said, "We could find treasure..."

"Shh! I thought I heard a baby cry. Looks like it came from that way, let's go!" The redhead sped towards the sound he had heard. "Was it a baby cry?" he thought.

"Shanks, wait up!" Buggy screamed as he chased after Shanks.

All around them were trees of different sizes and different shapes. Some looked like mushrooms, bananas, or they just looked normal. There were also different types of plants growing all over the place. Vines stretched from tree to tree, painting a strange picture of entanglement. However, it wasn't the first island they'd been to, so they weren't scared just curious. Well, for Shanks that is.

After a few minutes, the sky turned from green to clear blue and there was sand that came up to a crystal clear ocean. Not far from where they came out, there was a basket near the seashore line, baby cries emanating from it.

Shanks admired the view for a few seconds before spotting the basket.

"Hey, wait up, Shanks! What if I would've died back there?!" Buggy yelled at Shanks from behind, trying to catch up to him since he had been left behind.

"What could that basket be?" Shanks thought to himself as he went closer to the basket. The baby cries had stopped and that worried Shanks, so he hurriedly walked towards it.

"Shanks! Don't leave me!"

"Hurry up."

"Gah! You—" Buggy was taken aback by his nonchalant attitude and was ready to retort when...

"This basket is big, like, really big," Shanks said upon closer inspection. "And there's a baby inside of it, too! A big one!"

"Hey! What is it? Treasure?!" Buggy yelled behind Shanks, still catching up to him.

"It's... It's a baby...?" Even as he spoke he doubted what he saw. How could he not? He had gone on wild adventures with his captain, encountering weird phenomena all the time.

*Huff* *Huff* "What is it, Shanks? Treasure...?" Buggy huffed his question out, leaning forward with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"No, you idiot. It's a baby...for some reason. Not exactly treasure, at least to me," Shanks replied. He turned back to the basket and analyzed the baby inside. His face was red, his skin was covered in small rashes, and he looked like...

"Buggy! We have to get this baby to Crocus, now!"

Buggy came closer to see what Shanks was seeing. "Huh?! It isn't treasure? And what would a baby be doing out here all alone—"

"Buggy!" Shanks didn't have time to argue with his crewmate and quickly picked the basket up. "Ah, he's heavy."

"Ughh, fine let's go." Buggy reluctantly helped Shanks carry the basket. "Tch, no treasure, just a sick baby. What a letdown. You owe me big time, Shanks," he voiced his thoughts as they were engulfed by the wilderness.

"Oh, shut up, Buggy! And hurry, we have to get him to Crocus. Urghh, how heavy is he? It looks like he hasn't eaten in a few days, yet he's still this heavy?" Shanks rhetorically asked aloud. He wasn't kidding though, the baby was quite heavy. It took both his and Buggy's strength to lift the basket.

"You shut up, idiot! You owe by the way!" Buggy argued.

"You already said that."

"I did?" Buggy asked himself aloud. "Did I? No, wait. Did I, though? Wait just a second, he's trying to trick me!" he thought within himself before concluding...

"You're trying to trick me!" Buggy pointed at Shanks with his free hand, he thought that Shanks was tricking him.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Ughh, just help me carry this baby," Shanks dismissed Buggy and continued to carry the basket.

"Ohoho, no you don't!" Shank's dismissal didn't let the argument settle down. He then separated his left hand—he was using his right hand to lift the basket—from his arm and brought it closer towards Shanks, still using his pointer finger.

"This idiot..." Shanks thought while shaking his head. Buggy, that was a weird name, but one he wouldn't forget for a long, long time. He had been with him through both good and bad times, exciting and thrilling times. Exploring different islands on a long forever going adventure. Buggy was the type of person that wasn't smart but wasn't stupid either, at least, that's what Shanks thought. Buggy was a coward, a vain, and an egotistical person which made Shanks always exploit his weaknesses. That being said, he was his crewmate and a friend.

But then... "Hold on a second..." Shanks thought. "Hey, Buggy, you know if you point at someone you have three fingers pointing back at you, right?"

"Huh? That doesn't even make..." Buggy trailed off as he looked around, his gaze finally landed on his hand. "What the—! Shanks! I'm going to kill you!"

"Hahahah!" All Shanks did was laugh as Buggy glared at him.

And like that, they continued through the forest until they reached the beach where the "peace party" was being held.

***

"Huh? Where...am I?"

"There, he's better now. He had a high fever and rashes all over his body from the sun. However..."

"What is it, Crocus? Spit it out."

"He's hungry..."

"Yeah, and what about it?"

"He needs some milk, Captain."

"...oh, I see..."

Whispers erupted amongst the crew. Just a few moments ago, Shanks and Buggy had returned to the beach with a basket in hand. Some crew members had spotted him and, seeing as they carried something heavy, they went over to try and help them.

After doing so, they found that they were carrying a baby! Shanks explained that he had heard a baby cry when he and Buggy went out to explore and followed it, leading them to the shore on the other side of the island. And upon closer inspection, he noticed the baby's condition and hurriedly carried the basket towards this side of the island with Buggy's help, hoping that Crocus could do something.

"Is that Gol D. Roger?!"