Chapter 10: Betty!
The Kabas Kingdom in the North Blue, much like Distan in the East Blue, was a country backed by the Red Line. The difference was that the area connecting Distan to the Red Line was a primeval jungle, whereas the area connecting the Kabas Kingdom to the Red Line was a long, horizontal mountain range.
After crossing the Red Line, Buggy plunged directly into this horizontal mountain range. With his compass that never pointed north, as long as Buggy had a clear destination in mind, even if he knew nothing about the mountain range, exiting it was only a matter of time.
Two days later, Buggy, holding the compass, saw a small, shabbily dressed girl in a thicket. At that moment, the little girl was struggling to climb a short tree.
Looking up, Buggy's mouth instantly fell open. Because in his line of sight, a Devil Fruit was hanging on a branch of that short tree.
Without the slightest hesitation, Buggy flashed forward, stepping in the air a few times, and arrived directly in front of the Devil Fruit. After observing it carefully, Buggy plucked it.
"Bad man, give it back! I found it first! I'm hungry, quickly give it back!" Seeing the food that was just within her grasp snatched away, the little girl looked at Buggy with tears welling in her eyes and spoke.
Hearing the voice, Buggy then remembered there was a little girl nearby.
"Are you hungry? I'll roast some meat for you. But this fruit won't do; it's poisonous. If you eat it wrong, you could die," Buggy said as he tucked the Devil Fruit from his hand into his bag before continuing.
"You're a bad man! Other bad men tricked me like this before. A bad man also told Mommy not to want me anymore." Reaching this point in her story, the little girl burst into loud wails.
Seeing this scene, Buggy felt a pang of sadness. This is the world of the strong! Indeed, those who live well are incredibly comfortable, while those who can't survive are utterly miserable.
After a brief moment of reflection, Buggy squatted down, patted the little girl's head, and said slowly, "I'm not a good person, but I am a man. And a man keeps his word. I just said I'd roast meat for you, so I will. Don't cry anymore. We'll go hunting right now, and then I'll make you the most delicious roasted meat in the world."
Hearing Buggy say this, the little girl asked with a pitiful look in her eyes, "Really?"
"Of course, it's true! We'll set off right away. You'll have delicious food soon." Charmed by her gaze, Buggy patted his chest, then picked up the little girl. After sensing his surroundings for a moment, he dashed off in one direction.
Two hours later, beside a large bonfire, Buggy was speechless as he watched the little girl, whose stomach was already on the verge of bursting from eating, still drooling as she stared at the remaining roast meat on the spit.
"Alright, stop looking. When your stomach settles, Big Brother will roast more for you," Buggy said, feeling quite exasperated.
"Really?" the little girl looked up and asked Buggy.
"Really. By the way, little one, what's your name?" Buggy asked casually.
"I don't have a name. Bad men said if I can't help with anything, I'm useless. Useless people aren't needed by anyone, so they don't need names," the little girl shook her head and then said.
Completely unprepared to hear such words, Buggy was filled with emotion after listening. While Buggy heard the darkness of the world in the little girl's words, it was more because what she said reminded Buggy of a plot point he had seen.
Immediately, Buggy took out his magical compass and glanced at it.
"Little one, everyone born is a special existence and will have a reason for being. If you have meaning, you are useful. If you are useful, someone will need you. The only difference is whether you are needed by many people or just by one person. Those bad men don't need you simply because they are not the ones who need you; it doesn't mean you are not needed. The world is so big, sooner or later you will find someone who needs you. Do you understand?" Buggy sat down beside the little girl and said unhurriedly.
"Then, does Big Brother need me?" The little girl nodded as if she somewhat understood, then asked.
"Hehe, do you want to become someone Big Brother needs?" Buggy didn't answer but asked a question in return.
"I want to become someone Big Brother needs! I want to always stay with Big Brother, so I can have roasted meat to eat!"
"..." Alright, hearing this, Buggy was speechless once again.
"Oh, is that so? But it's not easy to become someone Big Brother needs. It will be tough, and very hard. Are you sure?" Buggy continued to ask.
"I'm not afraid!" For the sake of roasted meat, the little girl was ready to go all out.
"Are you really not afraid?" Buggy asked again.
"Not afraid!" the little girl answered very firmly.
"Then from now on, the only thing you need to do is listen to me, and only become someone I need. No matter how much others need you, you cannot pay them any mind. Can you do that?" Buggy asked the little girl with a very serious expression.
"I will only listen to Big Brother and become someone only Big Brother needs. I can do it!" Holding her breath and nodding, the little girl made the first choice of her life.
Hearing this answer, Buggy silently said in his heart: "Comrade Doflamingo, I'll be taking BABY-5 from your future crew. Perhaps there will still be a child codenamed BABY-5 among the orphans you raise, but it definitely won't be this girl who feels happy just by being needed anymore."
Thinking of this, Buggy took out the Devil Fruit from his bag.
"Big Brother, can this thing really not be eaten?" the future BABY-5 asked Buggy.
"It's not that it really can't be eaten, but some people shouldn't eat it. As for you, Big Brother promises to find you a tastier one. This one, well, let's leave it for someone else," Buggy patted the future BABY-5's head and replied.
"Oh, I understand!" she said with a slightly disappointed tone. It seemed the little one was still quite eager to taste this Weapon Fruit.
However, Buggy knew that if the little one followed him, this Weapon Fruit would have limited enhancement to her strength. It wasn't that the Weapon Fruit wasn't powerful; as long as it was augmented with Haki, any offensively oriented fruit would be very powerful.
It was just that Buggy's future design for the little one wasn't as a frontline main combatant, so Buggy planned to find another Devil Fruit for her.
As for what Devil Fruit to look for, Buggy already had some general ideas. The rest was just a matter of following the compass's guidance to find it. With this magical compass, there was no fruit Buggy couldn't find. Of course, whether he could obtain it was another matter entirely.
"Right, let's give you a name now. What should it be? Maria, Jessica, or Elizabeth? Which of these three names do you like?" Buggy continued to ask.
"Mommy used to call me Betty." Clearly, the future BABY-5 still preferred the name her mother gave her.
And in this little one's view, since she was now needed by someone, she was qualified to reclaim the name she couldn't use before.
(End of this chapter)