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"I've heard about your deeds, Mr. Zyhark. You're the brave souls who captured several wanted pirates, aren't you?"
Mayor Boodle, looking old and worn, earnestly apologized, "Please forgive the rudeness of an old man from before."
He was much slower to receive news compared to the Buggy Pirates, who were pirates themselves.
Upon realizing the strength of the young duo before him, his eyes filled with hope.
Being insightful, Zyhark immediately saw through his intentions.
"Sorry, but we're just ordinary people running a sea restaurant. We're here for the Buggy Pirates only because they have something we want."
"If you're looking to bring peace to your town by dealing with Buggy, I suggest seeking help from the Marines."
Boodle was visibly taken aback by such a straightforward response, making all the arguments he had prepared seem pointless.
Indeed, his purpose for approaching them was to seek help in driving the Buggy Pirates out of Orange Town!
"Unfortunately, we're out of options."
After a few seconds of silence, Boodle sighed in resignation, his eyes dimming with despair.
He had contacted the Marines multiple times, but each time they came, the cunning Buggy Pirates would simply flee, avoiding direct confrontation.
They would return as soon as the Marines left, and since the Buggy Pirates weren't as brutally violent as other crews, the frequency of Marine visits dwindled over time.
"We're powerless against a fully equipped pirate crew."
Zyhark, undeterred, walked past Boodle with Aqua.
He wasn't the type to meddle in others' affairs; the town's problems were theirs to solve.
As Boodle watched his only chance slip away without even making a plea, despairing at the thought of the townspeople living forever under the shadow of the Buggy Pirates, he sat down, tears streaming down his face.
"How could this happen? We barely managed to gather five million Belly from the town. Is there really no hope for Orange Town..."
Suddenly, the light around Boodle seemed to dim significantly.
Lifting his head, he saw Zyhark and Aqua, who had walked away, returning and now standing right in front of him.
"Explain in detail," Zyhark asked.
"Huh?" Boodle was momentarily confused, not quite understanding what was meant.
"I mean, explain about the five million Belly reward," Zyhark clarified with a slight smile on his face.
Thinking they wanted a free service, but if they're willing to pay, they should have mentioned it sooner!
With their current combat abilities, Zyhark and Aqua could potentially take on the Buggy Pirates head-on on land, despite the difficulty.
And if they really wanted to deal with the Buggy Pirates, it didn't necessarily have to be on land.
"Alright, alright!"
Realizing what was being offered, Boodle jumped to his feet, excited.
After a few minutes of negotiation, an oral agreement was made regarding the Buggy Pirates' occupation of Orange Town.
Zyhark would drive the Buggy Pirates out of Orange Town completely, and in return, if successful, the town would pay six million Belly.
Additionally, the townspeople were required to join the Axis Cult, becoming followers of the Goddess of Water, Aqua.
Supposedly, this would protect them from any further harassment by the Buggy Pirates.
The true intention behind this, however, was known only to Zyhark and Aqua.
"Raising the five million Belly to six million, you'd make a great swindler, Zyhark!"
On their way to the Buggy Pirates, Aqua, her eyes slightly narrowed, expressed deep disdain for Zyhark's actions.
"Aqua, if you think this is immoral, we can cancel the Axis Cult condition right now."
With a casual remark, the hypocritical goddess instantly exposed her true nature, crying and clinging to Zyhark's legs.
"Don't! I was wrong, I was wrong! It's not easy to spread the glory of Lady Aqua in this world. Please, don't do that, Mr. Zyhark!"
Such shameless behavior made Zyhark question how someone like her became a goddess with many elite followers...
Caught in Aqua's frantic pleading, they soon arrived at the designated meeting place with the Buggy Pirates.
The location was in the center of Orange Town, an open square paved with stone bricks.
The Buggy Pirates were already waiting.
Surrounded by his underlings, Buggy sat on a luxurious sofa with the lion tamer, Mohji, holding an umbrella for him.
"Mr. Zyhark, you took quite a while. I thought you'd run away like a coward!"
Under Buggy's malicious gaze, Zyhark and Aqua stopped a few meters in front of them.
"The weather is hot; I thought Captain Buggy could use some sunshine to evaporate the water in his brain," Zyhark replied calmly.
"You!"
Buggy, used to having his way in the East Blue, was instantly enraged.
Remembering the precious treasure map was still in Zyhark's possession, he suppressed his anger and coldly asked, "Did you bring what I want?"
Zyhark pulled out an aged parchment from his pocket, waving it in front of Buggy.
"And what about what I want?" he countered.
Buggy's eyes lit up at the sight of the treasure map.
He snapped his fingers, and a pirate underling carrying a cannonball with a clown face painted on it stepped forward.
"Since you've come with the treasure map, I'll generously give you the special Buggy Ball first."
Buggy's clown-painted face revealed a sly smile.
Cabaji and the other officers, along with the surrounding underlings, couldn't help but smile meaningfully.
The underling, too, smiled as he approached Zyhark, offering the cannonball with both hands.
Zyhark unceremoniously took the cannonball, flicking the parchment towards Buggy, who barely caught it.
The trade was successfully completed.
However, the grins on the faces of the Buggy Pirates didn't fade but grew even thicker.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Zyhark," Buggy said, his face brimming with malice.
Yet, Zyhark stood still, weighing the "special Buggy Ball" in his hand.
"Captain Buggy, this isn't a special cannonball, is it?"
Just then, he had used his internal Wish Pond to scan the cannonball, which showed no reaction.
The result was clear.
"Ha, hahaha!!!"
Seeing Zyhark's serious face, Buggy couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
With their captain leading the way, the previously stifled underlings let out their deceitful laughter.
"Such a fool, to think we pirates would honor a promise!"
"Exactly! What I gave you is just an ordinary cannonball, hahaha!"
(End of Chapter)