Chapter 50: Funding Gap!
"Not long after you left with Hancock, Shakky called. It's a good thing the ability you brought Sandersonia is so convenient, otherwise Shakky or I would have had to make a trip. By the way, why does this child say she isn't your crewmate? If she's not your crewmate, why are you training her?" Gloriosa immediately voiced the question on her mind.
"I'm going to be a crew member on the Pirate King's ship. Brother Buggy said he never plans to be the Pirate King, so of course I can't follow him," Monet, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up.
"Uh, Elder Nyon, it's a bit complicated to explain. Simply put, this child and I were fated to meet. I felt she was very ambitious, so I gave her a helping hand."
Ahem, Buggy wasn't wrong about it being a "helping hand." In reality, if Monet hadn't been capable enough to find Shakky and eventually make her way to Amazon Lily, Buggy would have already forgotten about this green-haired girl he had sent to the small sky island of Weatheria.
"Alright, I don't understand what you're thinking, just like how you sent Paula to Marineford. Speaking of which, a month ago, Paula called me. She said Bonez was sent to the South Blue to be the commander of a certain base. Before Bonez left, he told her that the ship's weapon designs and manufacturing plans are all sorted out. The only thing missing is funding. If he has to rely on himself to raise funds and buy resources, it might take a very long time. So he asked Paula to ask you if you have a way to solve the funding problem. Hmm, the funding gap is about five billion Berries."
"Wow, Brother Buggy, what kind of ship are you building? It actually needs five billion Berries," before Gloriosa could even ask, Monet asked impatiently.
"Five billion Berries, huh? That's no small sum," Buggy said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"That's right, Buggy, five billion Berries is no small sum. What on earth are you building that costs so much money?" Gloriosa was also very curious about this.
"It's a special warship that can bring out Bonez's abilities. It's mainly the construction materials that cost a lot; other than that, it's not much different," Buggy replied casually, currently considering how to raise the funds.
Although five billion Berries was a large number, it wasn't insurmountable. In fact, it would be quite easy for Buggy to get such a sum of money.
For Buggy, there were at least four ways to quickly gather these funds at present.
The first method was to kidnap a Celestial Dragon. Those guys loved to wander around the Sabaody Archipelago for no reason, so there were plenty of opportunities for kidnapping. Buggy was absolutely confident he could demand a sufficient ransom, but the problem was that it would easily put him on the World Government's most-wanted list.
The second method was also related to the Celestial Dragons, but instead of kidnapping, it was to rob the annual Heavenly Tribute that the World Government's member nations gave to the Celestial Dragons. The advantage was that he could get enough funds for two, three, or even more ships at once. The disadvantage was the same as the first: he would be hunted down every day after that.
The third method was to go to the Jewel Ice Sheet in the New World, which was the treasure ground of the Happo Navy. The advantage was that there was more than enough money. The disadvantage was that it was a bit far, and transportation was inconvenient.
The fourth method was to return to Jaya Island, go to the sky island above it, and empty out the city of gold that had been buried for hundreds of years.
Buggy weighed his options. Among the four methods, two were feasible: the second and the fourth.
With the second method, as long as he silenced the witnesses in time, it wouldn't be so easy to trace back to him. But there was always a chance of failure, and Buggy couldn't guarantee it would be foolproof. Furthermore, a sudden large sum of money appearing on Bonez's end would arouse suspicion. It would be troublesome if the two events were linked.
Therefore, after some consideration, Buggy still decided to choose the fourth method and make a trip to the sky island, move the city of gold to the South Blue, and then have Bonez stage an "accidental discovery" of the treasure.
Having decided on his course of action, Buggy didn't leave in a hurry. Now that Sandersonia was the empress, Buggy could get permission to enter the city, so he naturally followed the group directly back to Kuja City.
Hmm, it actually wasn't a good thing for a man to enter a city full of women. Buggy discovered this the moment he entered the city. It was impossible not to notice, as he was surrounded three layers deep by a crowd of intense onlookers.
Not only were they watching, but the vast majority of them even ignored the empress's orders and directly came forward to grope him.
Seeing her man being molested by other women, Hancock could no longer care about her fellow countrywomen. She unleashed her ability, instantly turning the crowd of warrior women into a large pile of dolls.
This sudden change terrified many of the onlookers. Seeing a large pile of loudly crying dolls suddenly appear, the warrior women who were lucky enough to escape Hancock's clutches turned pale.
If Sandersonia using her ability to lift the island three thousand meters into the sky had earned her the recognition and respect of the city's inhabitants, then this move by Hancock left the warrior women with nothing but fear.
"Brother Buggy is my man. If anyone dares to come near him without my permission, you can live your life as a doll."
After making her domineering declaration and teaching these women who were desperate to see a man a good lesson, Buggy, with his arm linked with Hancock's, finally got some peace.
With a wave of her hand, Hancock changed the women who had become dolls back to normal, then linked arms with Buggy and followed Sandersonia and the others into the palace.
After enjoying a delicious meal of Amazon Lily's local cuisine, Buggy called Betty over.
"Brother Buggy, are you leaving again?" Having lived alone for seven years, Betty was no longer the little girl who knew nothing.
"Betty, the weak can't survive on Brother Buggy's ship. This Devil Fruit is what I promised you back then. Eat it, and you will gain a special Devil Fruit ability. After that, stay on the island and learn how to fight from Elder Nyon. I promise you, this time I absolutely won't abandon you for years. As soon as the ship is built, I'll come right back to get you, okay?" Looking at Betty's incredibly cute eyes, Buggy felt a lot of pressure.
In reality, it would have been fine for Betty to stay by his side, as Hancock could teach her. But Buggy still wanted to enjoy some more one-on-one time with Hancock, so he could only steel his heart and leave this little girl, whom he had always seen as a younger sister, behind.
Betty, of course, was not happy with this answer, but Buggy's expression was very firm.
After seeing that all her tricks of acting cute and spoiled were ineffective, Betty could only agree to stay behind with tears in her eyes.
After eating the Devil Fruit Buggy had prepared for her in a few bites, Betty's expression froze for a moment.
"How is it? Do you like the ability I prepared for you?"
(End of Chapter)