Chapter 809: Surprised or Not, Unexpected or Not?
Ever since becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Buggy had taken the prisoners who escaped from Impel Down and established a pirate dispatch company. Leveraging the prestige of the Warlords, he occasionally sent out mercenaries to fight battles for others.
But for Buggy, the money he earned this way was just small change. What really thrilled him was digging up treasure and striking it rich.
So even after starting his business, Buggy never gave up his hobby. He frequently took his men around, digging, digging, digging...
Moreover, ever since becoming a Warlord and having subordinates under his command, Buggy had found it much easier to obtain treasure maps lately. There were always pirates trying to suck up to him, presenting him with legendary treasure maps one after another.
Naturally, Buggy was overjoyed by this. Whenever he had free time, he would take his men and run all over the world, digging for his treasure.
However, nine out of ten of these treasure maps turned out to be fake. They were just random drawings made to look old by those pirates, offered to Buggy as gifts. Their purpose, needless to say, was to borrow Buggy's Warlord status as a tiger skin to intimidate others. But Buggy was the one who suffered—over this period, he had dug up more than a dozen treasure maps and found nothing, not even a single hair, while exhausting his men to the bone.
And now, on a massive island within this strait, Buggy was once again digging for a treasure map.
Hundreds of pirates, carrying all kinds of tools, looked listless and weary as they dug across the island. By now, they had excavated a huge pit over ten meters deep, but so far, there was nothing.
As the boss, Buggy naturally didn't have to do the work himself. He sat cross-legged on a tall rock, holding a whip in his hand, acting as the overseer.
"Men!!" he shouted, spreading his arms wide. "Put all your strength into digging for me! If we find the treasure, you'll all get a share of the profits!"
"Yes..." The pirates' eyelids were drooping, and they responded weakly.
Not far away, Mochi and Cabaji, also standing with their arms crossed as overseers, were whispering to each other.
"Cabaji, do you think Captain Buggy will actually find treasure this time?" Mochi asked.
"I'm not holding out any hope..." Cabaji said with a pained expression. "I don't know where the captain got this treasure map, but it doesn't even look as old as the previous ones. It's probably fake too..."
"Seriously!" Mochi sighed. "Why is Captain Buggy so obsessed with treasure hunting? Back in the East Blue, he spent years digging. Then, after entering the Grand Line, he thought a certain cave had treasure, but it turned out to be a Marine base. He got caught and sent to Impel Down. If Boss Ian hadn't gone to rescue people, he might never have gotten out..."
Cabaji also recalled these events, and his pained expression turned to melancholy. Following a captain like this, sometimes it really felt unlucky. They had never even seen a speck of treasure, and they kept getting dragged into big blunders. Digging for treasure and ending up in a Marine base—if word got out, wouldn't everyone laugh them to death?
"Shut up, you two!" A voice came from behind. Mochi and Cabaji turned around and saw Alvita approaching, a spiked club resting on her shoulder. "Don't you think it's a good thing that he's so obsessed with digging for treasure?"
"How is that a good thing?" Mochi and Cabaji looked confused.
"Idiots!" Alvita pointed her club at them. "Haven't you read the news? If Buggy weren't digging for treasure, he'd probably have been conscripted by the World Government by now to fight against Kaido and Golden Lion!"
Mochi and Cabaji were stunned. They had, of course, seen the newspapers, and suddenly realized Alvita's words made perfect sense. They couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief. Digging for treasure might be exhausting, but it was still much better than facing off against the Four Emperors, right?
It seemed that Captain Buggy, the freeloading Warlord, did have his merits after all...
Just then, a pirate came running up, panting heavily, and shouted, "Captain Buggy! Someone's coming!"
Standing on the rock, Buggy let out a sly grin and stroked his chin. "Hmph, some clueless pirate, huh? Don't bother with them. Once they see my flag, they'll leave on their own!"
Buggy was confident in this. He had been here for two days now, and during that time, several pirate ships had appeared in the nearby waters. But just as Buggy said, once those pirates saw that it was the flag of Warlord Buggy, they immediately gave him a wide berth.
So Buggy wasn't worried at all about anyone disturbing his treasure digging.
However, the messenger pirate looked panicked and said, "N-no, Captain Buggy! The ones coming are a big deal too! It's... it's the Kuja Pirates of the Pirate Empress!"
Hearing this, Buggy froze. His hands flew out, grabbing the messenger pirate by the collar and lifting him up. "You dare lie to me!? The Kuja Pirates of Boa Hancock? How could they be here? Don't they always stay on Amazon Lily?"
This was the New World, the second half of the Grand Line. Even if the Kuja Pirates occasionally went out raiding, they would only do so in the first half of the Grand Line.
"No! I'm not lying, Captain Buggy!" The pirate, dangling in the air, quickly explained. "It really is the Kuja Pirates! That flag can't be faked!"
Alvita looked up from below and said, "Let him down. This might be true!"
Buggy released his grip, and the pirate fell to the ground with a thud. Buggy looked at Alvita and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Remember what the newspaper said?" Alvita said, hands on her hips. "That new biological weapon of the World Government, that giant dragon, supposedly caused damage to Amazon Lily during the battle. Maybe Amazon Lily was destroyed, so the Kuja Pirates left to find a new island to live on..."
Buggy's face fell. "That woman isn't eyeing this island, is she!?"
"Very possible," Alvita said. "It's not only uninhabited but also quite large..."
How could this be!? I, Buggy-sama, still have treasure to dig here! If Boa Hancock takes over this island, how am I supposed to dig?!
Thinking this, Buggy stopped worrying about supervising. He jumped off the rock and led his men toward the coast.
To be honest, Buggy was a bit intimidated by Boa Hancock. He knew he couldn't beat her, so on the way there, he had already made up his mind: he wouldn't start a fight with the Kuja Pirates.
Oh, right! She's also a Warlord, isn't she? Now that I, Buggy, am a Warlord too, we're equals. She shouldn't cause trouble for me, right?
Yeah, if worst comes to worst, I can always drop Ian's name. Boa Hancock seems to have some unclear relationship with that kid...
Along the way, Buggy's mind was racing, and he had already come up with a plan. Confident that he could persuade the Kuja Pirates to leave, he arrived at the coast full of self-assurance.
"Yeah, it really is the Kuja Pirates!" Buggy said, nodding slowly with an air of authority as he looked at the approaching fleet.
A pirate who had joined later, with a lecherous grin, rubbed his hands together and asked Buggy, "Captain Buggy, I heard the Kuja Pirates are all women. Is that true? How about we set a trap and capture them? Then... hehehe!"
Before he could finish, Buggy jumped up like a scalded cat and started beating the pirate mercilessly!
"Bastard! Bastard! Damn it! You guys are crazy for women, aren't you!? How dare you think about messing with the Kuja Pirates!?"
Buggy cursed as he hit him. These later recruits had no idea about the situation. Proposing such a dangerous idea—if the Kuja Pirates overheard, Buggy would be the one to suffer!
But as he was beating the pirate, Buggy noticed the strange looks from the other pirates around him. He quickly realized that he was coming off as scared of the Kuja Pirates. So he stopped, cleared his throat, and put on a show of bravado. "You idiots don't understand! It's not that I'm afraid of the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock. It's that she has a thing with my brother, the Four Emperors Ian. You know the saying—'A friend's wife is not to be trifled with.' Got it?"
Since Buggy had been rescued by Ian, many people assumed they were close friends. After Ian killed Big Mom and became a Four Emperors, many pirates who couldn't find a way to Ian came to Buggy instead. At first, Buggy was annoyed, but as more and more people flocked to him, he shamelessly started using Ian's name as a tiger skin to bluff...
Hearing this, the pirates suddenly looked enlightened.
"So that's how it is! Captain Buggy is truly a man of honor and loyalty!" The pirates quickly flattered him.
Buggy basked in the flattery, thinking to himself that Ian's name really came in handy. Still, he had to be careful not to get caught using his name to swindle people.
But just as he was thinking this, Buggy heard a shout from across the sea.
"Yo! Buggy! It really is you!!"
That voice sounded familiar. Buggy looked out toward the sea in confusion, and there, standing on the bow of the Kuja Pirates' flagship, was a familiar figure.
"I-I-I-I-I-Ian!!??"
The next moment, Buggy's eyes went wide. His big red nose started running with snot...
No Update Today
As stated, I was sent to Kunming on a business trip today. Just arrived, so I probably can't produce anything. Everyone, get some rest early.
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