I the King of bandits of the East Sea

"Navy, Navy, it's always the Navy!"

"Why do we keep running into so many Navy ships!"

Buggy angrily slammed his fist on the table, roaring in frustration.

Over the past few days, the Buggy Pirates had been relentlessly pursued by the Navy, chased down for several days.

At one point, they even crossed paths with a powerful fleet from Navy Headquarters, barely managing to escape through various dangerous and narrow situations.

"A Rear Admiral from Headquarters, specifically sent to the weakest East Blue to capture these small-time pirates—what are they planning?"

Buggy, with his broad experience, always felt that something was off about the Navy's movements.

On the surface, this large-scale East Blue operation seemed grand and fruitful.

But in reality, those captured were only some small-time pirates with bounties of a few million berries. Occasionally, catching a pirate with a bounty in the tens of millions was considered a big deal.

Deploying a Rear Admiral from Headquarters for such minor figures was clearly overkill.

"Could it be… my identity has been discovered? Are they coming specifically to hunt me, Captain Buggy?"

Cold sweat gradually formed on Buggy's back.

After Roger's death, the World Government had been zealously hunting anyone associated with Roger. Buggy, being a former crew member of the Pirate King, had been living in hiding, managing to survive until now.

"Captain Buggy, the only place we can head to now seems to be the Grand Line. The Navy's blockade has practically sealed off all other directions. Breaking through would be extremely difficult."

The crew's strategist, the swordsman Cabaji, said helplessly.

"The Grand Line, huh? It's not the right time yet," Buggy said with a grim expression.

Not only had he been to the Grand Line, but he had also been to the endpoint, Laugh Tale. He knew well how dangerous those waters were.

For the current Buggy Pirates, the difficulty was still far too high.

At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps approached quickly.

"Captain Buggy, there's a strange ship heading toward us. It's not flying a pirate flag!"

"What?"

Buggy's face immediately darkened.

Cabaji also frowned and said:

"That is indeed strange. Ordinary ships would never dare approach a pirate ship like ours. Could it be the Navy disguising a normal ship to ambush us?"

"Captain Buggy, should we fire a cannon to test them out?"

Buggy's face looked grim.

He stood up abruptly from his chair, step by step walking toward the pirate who had reported, his expression growing more and more sullen.

Then, without a sound, his hand split apart at the wrist, grabbing the pirate's collar and lifting him up, smashing his red nose directly into the man's face.

"Who did you just call red-nosed?"

"I… I didn't!" The captured pirate hurriedly denied it.

At this moment, the large sailing ship had already drawn close to Buggy's pirate ship, casting a shadow that enveloped Buggy as he held the crew member in his grip.

Instinctively, Buggy looked up and saw a man on the opposing ship, looking down at him with a blank expression.

"A pirate?"

Buggy's face darkened.

"Hey, in front of you stands none other than the great Captain Buggy, a notorious pirate with a bounty exceeding ten million berries. If you know what's good for you, get lost!"

Cabaji, sneering, walked to Buggy's side, gazing at Sig on the opposing ship. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any moment.

Unexpectedly, the next thing Buggy heard was the panicked voice of his own crew member:

"Captain, this guy looks like that top wanted man—Sig, with a bounty nearing two hundred million berries!"

"What?"

Both Buggy and Cabaji froze on the spot.

Taking a closer look at Sig's appearance, the two couldn't help but feel a chill.

Cabaji's hand, which had half-drawn his sword, trembled slightly. With a strained expression, he quietly stepped back.

 "Captain Buggy, my sword suddenly got stuck..."

The deeds of Sig attacking the Celestial Dragons had already spread throughout the East Blue. For the Buggy Pirates, Sig was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous figure.

Buggy's bounty was probably just a fraction of Sig's.

Could it be that they had already offended this Sig in front of them?

As Buggy stood frozen, not knowing what to say, the man on the opposite ship, who had been silently watching him, suddenly smirked, and his deep voice resounded:

"So, it's the legendary great pirate, Buggy."

"A crewmember of Pirate King Roger, an old friend of Yonko Shanks, and a man with the qualifications for Conqueror's Haki... Captain Buggy, a figure like you, hiding in the weakest sea of the East Blue? Surely, you're planning something monumental?"

These few sentences caused an uproar on both ships.

"What? He's a crew member of the Pirate King?"

"Could Sig have made a mistake? Buggy's bounty is only a little over ten million, isn't it?"

"Could he be, like Sig, a major figure who has been lying low for many years?"

The faces of the bandits aboard Sig's ship changed drastically.

And on the opposite ship, the pirates under Buggy's command were equally shocked.

"The number one wanted man with nearly two hundred million bounty, Sig, is calling our captain a legendary great pirate?"

"Captain Buggy was a crew member of the Pirate King?"

"Oh my God, our captain has such an incredible background?"

All the shocked gazes turned to Buggy, standing on the deck.

At that moment, Buggy became the center of attention.

"I'm not—you're wrong—don't make stuff up! I don't know any Shanks, and I was never on the Pirate King's ship..."

Buggy's eyes first flashed with panic as he hurriedly tried to explain.

But then he cleared his throat, put his hands on his hips, and said with a lofty demeanor:

"Sig, even though you've got the wrong person, and I'm obviously not a crewmember of the Pirate King, you certainly have a good eye. You were able to see that I possess the legendary one-in-ten-thousand potential for Conqueror's Haki!"

At Buggy's response, Sig's lips curved slightly, and he asked calmly:

"Am I wrong?"

"Then why have I heard that the Navy's sudden large-scale campaign in the East Blue is secretly targeting a former crewmember of the Pirate King?"

The smile on Buggy's face froze instantly, and two streams of snot dripped from his round red nose.

The Navy's large-scale mobilization... is to capture me? They even dispatched a fleet from headquarters?

Buggy's expression quickly darkened.

Could it be that his identity had truly been exposed?

Otherwise, how could this Sig in front of him reveal it so casually? Could the Navy have also initiated their campaign because of this?

As his mind descended into chaos, he heard Sig speak with a smile:

"Captain Buggy, I've already prepared some wine over here. Why don't we have a good talk?"

"Perhaps I can help you escape the Navy fleet's siege."

Buggy's face showed hesitation, his mind in turmoil.

Sig, who had just casually exposed his identity, seemed mysterious. With a bounty of nearly two hundred million, his strength was undoubtedly far superior. If he wanted to be hostile, he could've attacked directly.

Maybe... Sig really had a way?

Buggy glanced at the sword hanging by Sig's waist and felt a slight sense of relief.

When it comes to swordsmen, even if he couldn't win, escaping wouldn't be too difficult.

End of chapter...