"Boss Buggy, did you really just give that man the Buggy Balls that you worked so hard to develop?"
"Yeah, that was your hard work. Isn't just giving them to him showing too much weakness?"
"Even if that man seems very powerful, you're the friend of Emperor Shanks. Isn't just handing them over a bit disgraceful?"
"Captain Buggy, just say the word. If you order us, we'll go up there and defeat them right away."
A group of Buggy Pirates crew members stood around Buggy, looking at Arton and the others on the Sylvan, and voiced their opinions.
"Idiots, shut up!"
"That was something I willingly gave to a friend."
"What are Buggy Balls compared to friendship? I'm willing to give them for free for a friend."
Buggy shouted at the pirates around him, fearing that their words would reach Arton and provoke him into turning back and punishing them.
The surrounding pirates thought he had great power.
When Kaya attacked earlier, Buggy had only held back to keep a low profile and hide his true strength.
And now that Buggy's identity was exposed.
It was clear that Buggy no longer needed to hide his strength.
Arton and the others had returned to their ship carrying Buggy's prized creation.
So now was the perfect time for Buggy to show his strength and stop Arton and the others.
However.
Even though the surrounding pirates believed this, Buggy knew he couldn't think like that.
A man knows his own limits.
Buggy understood his own strength well.
Fighting Kaya was already tough enough for him.
Let alone fighting Arton.
Faced with Arton's demand for Buggy Balls, no matter how much Buggy was unwilling.
He had to grit his teeth and hand over his unique Buggy Balls to Arton.
"I see, Captain Buggy considers Arton and the others as friends, so he gave them the Buggy Balls."
"I knew it, Captain Buggy wouldn't be afraid of those guys. Captain Buggy is the friend of Shanks."
"Actually, this is a good thing. There's Shanks' daughter on the other side, so really, we're all family, there's no need to fight."
"That's right! At the beginning, Kaya came over, it could be seen as playful fighting."
"Captain Buggy is amazing. It didn't take long for him to become friends with that seemingly strong Arton."
"Yes! I swear, I will follow Captain Buggy for life."
The group of pirates raised their hands excitedly and shouted.
They didn't notice that, upon hearing their words, Buggy's mouth was twitching continuously, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.
Meanwhile, Alvida glanced at Arton and the others on the Sylvan, then at Buggy, and fell into deep thought.
Although the crew of the Buggy Pirates firmly believed that Buggy had great strength, Alvida didn't think so.
The Smooth-Smooth Fruit didn't just make her skin smoother.
Even her brain seemed to have been enhanced by the Smooth-Smooth Fruit.
The original Alvida might have been described as foolish and rough.
But the current Alvida had an extremely delicate mind.
Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, a light flashed in her eyes.
She quickly walked to Buggy's side and whispered something in his ear, audible only to him.
Buggy was initially puzzled, but by the end, his eyes were also shining with excitement.
"As expected of you, Alvida. Let's do that."
Praising Alvida, Buggy used the powers of the Chop-Chop Fruit to separate his upper body and let it fly towards Arton's ship, the Sylvan.
Alvida smirked and followed Buggy, jumping onto the deck of the Sylvan.
"Buggy, Alvida, we already said our goodbyes, didn't we?"
"I think you don't need to come to see us off."
Noticing Buggy and Alvida's arrival, Arton turned around with a smile and said to them.
He was looking for a place to test the power of the Buggy Balls.
As for Buggy, he no longer served any purpose to him for now.
"Wait, Arton, actually, there's something I want to share with you."
Buggy rubbed his hands together, laughing as he spoke to Arton.
Then he turned to look at Alvida.
"Could it be you have more embarrassing stories about Shanks?"
Uta's eyes lit up, looking over curiously.
"No, no, it's about treasure."
Buggy shook his head.
"What, not about Shanks?"
Uta pouted, showing a lack of interest.
However, Carina, who had been helping Arton carry a crate of Buggy Balls, immediately stopped in her tracks when she heard the word "treasure."
This was no surprise, as Carina was someone who could team up with Nami.
And being able to team up with Nami to steal treasures meant that, even if Carina wasn't as obsessed with money as Nami, she was still very close.
"Ho, let's hear it."
Arton's mouth curled up as he looked at Alvida with interest.
His sharp eyes could easily see that Buggy came back because of Alvida.
"Actually, it's like this, Arton."
Alvida stepped forward, a faint smile on her face:
"Not long ago, we heard a piece of news."
"It is said that on a deserted island not far from here, there lies the treasure of a legendary pirate."
"When we encountered you, we were just about to go there."
"It must be fate that we met. Why not go together?"
Upon hearing this, Arton looked at the smiling Alvida, then at Buggy, who was looking at him expectantly, and the smile on his face grew even wider.
He knew Buggy very well.
This guy was very keen on treasure hunting.
If there was treasure, he would never be the type to share the news.
For Buggy to be willing to make such a decision, there must be something fishy going on.
Similarly, Arton also suspected something fishy about Alvida.
"Buggy, Alvida, you two should just tell the truth."
"Otherwise, I don't plan to change my sailing route."
"Right now, I'm very eager to try the food at the Baratie, the sea restaurant."
Arton shook his head and said.
"As expected of Arton, you're indeed smart."
"Actually, it's nothing much. I just want to spend more time with you, Arton~."
Alvida swayed her waist seductively as she walked towards Arton.
When she reached Arton's side, she even took the initiative to reach out and grab his arm.
As she reached out, Alvida said:
"Arton, weren't you curious why my clothes didn't slip off despite my smooth skin after eating the Smooth-Smooth Fruit?"
"Actually, I'm very curious about that too."
"Just in time, we can study it thoroughly while treasure hunting together."
"What do you say, Arton~?"
Seeing Alvida's hand reaching out, Arton took a step back and stood between Uta and Kaya.
Kaya's eyes flashed with understanding. She recalled Arton's previous disdain for Alvida and immediately understood his intention to retreat.
She chuckled softly, raised her hand to embrace Arton's arm, and nodded politely at Alvida.
On Arton's other side, Uta took Arton's hand, raised it, and demonstrated to Alvida what interlocking fingers looked like.
Like Kaya, even though Uta and Kaya were not as intelligent or knowledgeable as Carina, both could see Arton's dislike for Alvida.
As Arton's companions, Kaya and Uta naturally wanted to be a shield to prevent Alvida from getting close to Arton.
Sure enough, after seeing Uta and Arton's tightly clasped hands and Kaya holding Arton's arm close, Alvida's face turned cold, and she retreated with a cold snort.
She had convinced Buggy to invite Arton to treasure hunt together to have more time to charm Arton.
But now, Arton not only wasn't attracted to her charm, but also showed closeness to Kaya and Uta.
This naturally made Alvida quite unhappy.
Arton smiled at Uta and Kaya, then looked at Buggy:
"Tell me, Buggy, why do you want me to go treasure hunting with you?"
"If you don't have a good reason, I'm not changing my course."
In Arton's memory, Buggy's treasure hunts were not very successful.
Many times, Buggy returned empty-handed.
There were even times when he ended up stumbling upon Marines working in tunnels.
And that Marine wasn't just anyone, but Garp's adjutant.
Arton didn't want to encounter Garp's adjutant now, as that would likely mean meeting Garp.
Therefore, Arton had little intention of cooperating with Buggy.
"Well..." Buggy glanced at the cold-faced Alvida and sighed.
"Actually, we've already been to that island once."
"Since you've been there already, why seek me out? Are there troublesome enemies there?"
"Not exactly enemies, but there are many fierce and huge beasts."
"Beasts?"
"Yes, there are tigers, bears, leopards, etc., but they are much bigger and fiercer than ordinary ones."
"I see, so you were scared off by those ferocious animals?"
Arton raised an eyebrow, speaking thoughtfully to Buggy.
Beasts larger and fiercer than ordinary animals.
This made Arton immediately think of a certain individual.
"The Flying Pirate's captain, the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki."
"Could it be this guy?"
Arton pondered in his heart.
***
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