Chapter 48: Invitation Successful!
"You are very mysterious, you know many secrets, and your understanding of Devil Fruits far exceeds that of others. If there is any way for Shanks to regain his fighting strength, it would probably only be through a Devil Fruit. Among the people I know, if anyone knows the answer, you are the most likely one, so I'm asking you. As for Shanks, progress in strength requires a very good opponent. He is truly a rare opponent, not a man who should be crippled like this."
Mihawk was a smart man and naturally understood what Buggy meant.
"Is it worth it?" Buggy confirmed again.
"Of course it's worth it. If you have a way, isn't it perfect? I estimate that for the duel you two agreed upon, that guy is definitely unwilling to fight you. I can正好 (zhènghǎo - just happen to be able to) take his place."
Hearing Mihawk's words, Buggy was suddenly speechless. It seemed his ability was truly disliked by swordsmen.
"In the second half of the Grand Line, there is an island called Dressrosa. The king there, King Riku III, has a very good relationship with the Tontatta Tribe on the nearby island of Green Bit. Well, strictly speaking, only the Riku royal family can come into contact with the Tontatta Tribe. The princess of the Tontatta, Mansherry, is a user of the Heal-Heal Fruit. By sacrificing a little bit of lifespan, she can restore anything. Restoring a missing arm is not a difficult matter."
Buggy's words had two meanings: one was the information about the cure, and the other was where to obtain the opportunity for the cure.
"The problem is how to convince King Riku, right?" Mihawk immediately understood Buggy's words.
"Yes, that's right. Because Dressrosa is a peaceful and free country, and such countries detest the profession of pirates the most," Buggy nodded and replied.
"So there's no chance at all?" Mihawk pressed.
"Not necessarily. I've investigated this country. Before King Riku's rule, this country was ruled by the Donquixote Family. 800 years ago, this family, along with 18 other kings and their royal families, went to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, established the World Government, and then became Celestial Dragons."
"Is there any special connection here?" Mihawk didn't understand what Buggy was getting at.
"Of course there's a connection. About thirty years ago, a strange one appeared among the Celestial Dragons. He actually believed that exploiting commoners was wrong and then left the Holy Land. This oddball who left the Holy Land was a descendant of the Donquixote Family. It's just that his ending was a bit tragic; he was actually shot and killed by his eldest son, who couldn't accept being oppressed by commoners."
"You're talking about Donquixote Doflamingo! What, does he intend to take back Dressrosa?" Hearing this, Mihawk had a sudden epiphany.
"Whether he does or not isn't important. What's important is that King Riku doesn't have the strength to resist him. He needs external support, a force that can stand against the Donquixote Family. To exchange a little bit of a Tontatta's life for the long-term peace of two nations, that king and that princess should make the right choice. Hmm, when you're persuading them, you might as well mention the strength of the Donquixote Family. I've done my homework. The regular crew members are nothing special, but the officers are basically all ability users. The weaker ones can reach the level of a 100 million bounty criminal, while the stronger ones are on the level of a Whitebeard Pirates commander. As for Donquixote Doflamingo himself, he awakened his Conqueror's Haki when he was only seven or eight years old."
At this point, Buggy paused and looked at Mihawk.
"After Red-Hair's arm is restored, I will come find you." Having received the information about the cure, Mihawk naturally wouldn't break his promise to Buggy.
"No need to rush to find me. When the pirate ship is built, I will find you."
Although there were some twists and turns, he had finally managed to invite the Great Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, who had not yet become a Shichibukai.
Confirming the vice-captain meant Buggy had taken another big step in forming his pirate crew. All that was left was the completion of the pirate ship and finding the remaining companions.
Among the remaining companions, aside from the musician and mascot who were yet to be determined, Buggy hadn't decided on a navigator either. Monet, who had been sent to the small sky island Weatheria, couldn't be considered Buggy's future companion.
It wasn't that Buggy didn't want to invite Monet; the actual situation was that little Monet's dream was to be the navigator on the Pirate King's ship, but Buggy had no intention of becoming the Pirate King at all.
Under such circumstances, it was really difficult for Buggy to ask, as he was not a person who liked to force others.
Because of this, Buggy still had to add a professional navigator to his list of people to find.
Leaving Jaya Island, Buggy continued to drift on the Grand Line with Hancock. Not in a hurry to find the remaining companions, Buggy was leading Hancock towards the end of the first half of the Grand Line.
This time, heading to the end of the first half of the Grand Line, Buggy wasn't planning to go to the Sabaody Archipelago to see Rayleigh.
He was simply heading to the Red Line. The Devil Fruit he had buried on top of the Red Line a few years ago should be retrieved.
As for the owner of this fruit, it certainly wasn't the soon-to-join Great Swordsman Mihawk, but Betty, who had been forgotten on Gourmet Island for several years.
From the year 1503, when Buggy brought Betty, whom he had picked up in the North Blue, into the Grand Line and dropped her off on Gourmet Island, it had been almost seven years since he had seen the little girl.
Yes, thinking about picking up Betty, Buggy couldn't help but feel emotional. From his rebirth in 1498 to the current year 1510, he had been in this world for twelve years.
The little girl who was only five years old back then and would only follow him around calling him "brother" was now twelve. Seven years had passed. He wondered how her cooking skills had progressed.
With a sense of anticipation, Buggy and Hancock hurried to the base of the Red Line.
Going up to the peak of the Red Line alone and finding the marked spot, Buggy once again retrieved the Devil Fruit he had buried seven years ago.
Looking at the Devil Fruit, which hadn't changed at all and was as fresh as ever, Buggy couldn't help but sigh. If ordinary fruits had the shelf life of a Devil Fruit, it would definitely be a blessing for all seafarers.
Carrying the Devil Fruit down from the Red Line, he was still passing through the clouds when the sound of cannon fire pierced through the clouds and into his ears.
There's trouble!
Reacting instantly, Buggy hurriedly accelerated, bursting directly out of the clouds and plummeting towards the sea surface.
As soon as he broke through the clouds, two ships appeared in Buggy's line of sight. One had no pirate flag; this was Buggy and Hancock's temporary vessel. The sail of the other ship had a distinct skull symbol fluttering on it; needless to say, it was a pirate ship.
(End of Chapter)