Chapter 106: Grandline's Third Island
Chapter 106: Grandline's Third Island
After holding a party to celebrate their new members, the Clowns go to the next island. They follow the Log Pose that Deon's group has. But because Deon's ship is broken, they go there with Little Hunter.
The ship can't hold every item from Deon's ship. So Palu made a raft using the wood of Deon's ship and attach it to Little Hunter. They put all the stuff there and go to the next island.
"SKY ISLAND?!" say the new members in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, our Log Pose pointed at the Sky Island. But we don't know the wat there, so we need to search for information on the next island," says Jude while showing her Log Pose.
"Is Sky Island even real?" asks Deon.
"It is. If there's something that you always need to believe in Grandline, it's your Log Pose. If it points at the sky, then there is an island there. Besides, Grandline is an absurd sea that defies logic. So an island that floats on the sky isn't a strange thing anymore," says Buggy.
The new members look at each other with a confused look. They still can't understand how an island can float in the sky. Even after encountering many strange things in Grandline, a floating island is still too absurd in their mind.
"You won't believe it unless you see it yourself. But only Deon will follow us to the Sky Island after this. You guys will have your chance after we have a bigger ship. For now, you just need to focus on getting stronger," says Buggy.
The new members nod in understanding and ask how they need to train. Buggy tells them to focus on training their physical power and battle skill. Those are the things that they lack the most.
He doesn't tell them about haki yet, because they're not ready for it. It will be useless to have haki if their battle powers are still low. They need to strengthen their basics first before training their haki.
The Clowns now have 30 people after they got 23 new members. Buggy's target is to have at least 100 members. He doesn't want a small crew, but not a very big one either. So 100 is the standard number for it.
Their new members get shocked too when they know about the main members' bounties. It's very shocking for them to know that the Clowns have 2 guys with bounties higher than 100 million.
They also tell the main members that Deon has a bounty of 47 million. It's higher than Manba who has the lowest bounty even though Manba is stronger. But it also makes sense because Deon was a Captain before, so his bounty is also his crew's bounty.
Deon has an epithet, 'Rainbow Hair' because of his hair color and his crew's name. He is the only one who has a bounty in their old crew. The other guys aren't threatening enough for the Marine, so they don't have any bounty.
Their crews' total bounty is 652 million, a very high number for a rookie crew. It makes the new members excited, but Cricket stops their excitement by saying that Admirals will start to notice them with such high bounty.
"Our bounties show our league and the strength of our enemies. Marine will send stronger people to face us from now on. At the very least, a Vice-Admiral's unit will be sent to us," says Cricket to the new members.
"Vi-Vice-Admiral?!" says a man with a shocked tone.
"Isn't that very bad? Vice-Admirals are one of Marine's greatest powers," says another man.
The new members now realize their grave situation. They've only fought a Marine Captain's unit before and they almost lose that time. But they could escape after Deon break the Marine ship's steering wheel.
"No need to be that worried. As long as you get stronger, then a Vice-Admiral's unit won't be a problem. You just need to focus on your training until we pick you up in a few months. We will make our names big in the world of pirates," says Buggy while grinning.
The new members get excited again and are determined to train seriously. They are very loyal to Deon and now they find loyalty to Buggy too. They know that Buggy thinks about them and their safety, that's why he orders them to train.
The Clowns leave that topic and talk more about casual things to get closer with each other. They arrive on the next island after 10 hours of sailing. It's night already when they get there, so they decide to rest first. The new members sleep on the deck because they don't have enough rooms.
The next morning, Buggy orders his crew to explore the town and find any information. He tells them to not be very clear about the Sky Island. It will just make the town's people laugh at them and might cause conflicts.
They all spread and start to explore the town. Buggy goes to the Blackmarket like usual to buy information. He takes Deon with him because Buggy wants to make Deon their information gatherer.
"Your devil fruit is very suitable for spying and infiltration. That's why I want to make you our information gatherer. I will teach you how to find information in Blackmarket first as a basic," says Buggy on their way to Blackmarket.
"Information? Is it really that important for pirates like us?" asks Deon.
"Of course, it is. Every day, many things happen in the world. If we don't update our information, then we can get in danger, " says Buggy.
Buggy then tells Deon that newspapers don't have enough information because they just tell big events. On another hand, the information that they buy from Blackmarket has a wider range & details.
With enough information, they can decide their next steps to avoid things that might endanger their crew. Having enough information can also put them one step ahead of their enemies.
Buggy is never stingy about using money to buy information. It is a crucial thing that can decide their life on the sea. Their lives are more important than some money.
They arrive in the blackmarket that located in a dark alley. It is disguised as a small bar, but experienced people will always know how to find it. Buggy tells Deon how to find the Blackmarket locations through some signs on their way here.
After some procedures that require them to talk in codes, Buggy & Deon finally enter a door on the back of the bar. They get into an underground facility and go to meet the broker inside a room.
"Buy or sell?" asks an old man which is the broker here.
"Give me all general information around the world that you have," says Buggy while placing his high-level member card on the table.
The old broker nods before taking some papers from the shelf behind him. Buggy takes the papers and splits the papers with Deon to read them together.
"Heh, Shanks has shown up, huh? It seems he has heard about me entering Grandline after my bounty raised," says Buggy while grinning.
"Shanks? You mean 'Red Hair' Shanks?" asks Deon.
"You know him?" asks Buggy back.
"Not really, I just heard about him once from the news. His epithet is similar to mine, so I can remember him," says Deon.
"Well, you'll hear about him many times after this. His crew will be our greatest rival from the same generation. Too bad that our route is different or we will face them before reaching Sabaody," says Buggy.
"Do you want to fight him that much?" asks Deon.
"Yeah, I want to know who is stronger now after some years. But well, I'm not in a rush for that. We will eventually meet again sooner or later," says Buggy while grinning.
Buggy puts the papers on the table before leaving the room. Deon follows him and they leave the Blackmarket. They don't find much information, but the news about Shanks is enough for Buggy.
Buggy grins as he walks and says, "Don't disappoint me when we meet later, Shanks."
______________________________________________________________
You can read up to 30+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
I've uploaded:
1. Chapter 125 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater
2. Chapter 136 of Transcended as Lord Buggy /CaptMermain
(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)