I the King of bandits of the East Sea

On the vast sea, two pirate ships sailed side by side, gradually drawing closer.

In response to Sig's invitation, Buggy did not immediately agree. Instead, he stood in place, deep in thought, while observing the few people standing on the deck of Sig's ship from a distance.

"Kuro of a Hundred Plans? Why is this guy on Sig's ship?"

Buggy glanced at the layers of bandages wrapped around Kuro's hand, lost in thought.

In this era, Kuro was indeed one of the most notorious pirates in the East Blue with a high bounty, and Buggy could recognize him.

"Besides Kuro, there's also a strong fish-man, and a... beautiful woman holding a broom?"

Buggy's expression slightly changed, and he quickly averted his gaze, feeling even more wary of Sig.

Although his strength might not be top-tier, with so many years of experience as a pirate, he had a keen eye.

After hesitating for a long time, he tentatively spoke:

"Our Buggy Pirates just acquired a batch of fine wine a few days ago."

"Sig, since you want to drink, why not come aboard our ship?"

At this suggestion, Sig fell silent for a moment, feeling somewhat uncertain.

Buggy clearly still harbored suspicions about him. If he refused Buggy's invitation here, it might be difficult to continue the conversation.

"Wait here," Sig said to his crew, then leaped up and landed steadily on the deck of the Buggy Pirates.

Thump, thump, thump...

Amid the faint sound of the "Emperor's Engine," a subtle sense of pressure spread across the ship, causing Buggy, who had just relaxed, to change his expression slightly.

"Is he really here to drink? Not to fight with our pirate crew?"

Buggy's crew's expressions changed even more noticeably. As soon as Sig landed, they quickly backed away, leaving a large empty space on the deck, watching Sig nervously from a distance.

To their slight relief, the oppressive feeling gradually faded after a while.

"What are you standing around for? Bring the wine!" Buggy urged.

Soon, the crew brought several barrels of wine, and Buggy and Sig sat opposite each other, drinking.

"You have quite the capacity for alcohol!"

"You're not bad yourself!"

After a few cups of wine, the initially tense atmosphere gradually eased.

Sig tilted his head back and drank a cup, squinting at the increasingly lively Buggy Pirates.

Not only were he and Buggy drinking, but the rest of the Buggy Pirates were also busy, seemingly starting a small party.

The Buggy Pirates' setup was quite similar to a circus: the captain was a clown, the strategist was a juggling swordsman, and there were also animal trainers and acrobats.

For example, at that moment, Cabaji was performing juggling, and the animal trainer even had a lion jump through a hoop of fire. The atmosphere was cheerful, completely devoid of the initial tension.

"Buggy, your pirate crew really has a similar vibe to Roger's and Shanks' crews, always ready to throw a party at the drop of a hat."

Sig took the initiative to speak, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

They were still being pursued by the Navy fleet, after all. There was no time for a party.

Hearing this, Buggy, who had been smiling, suddenly turned serious and lowered his voice:

"You seem to know a lot about the Roger Pirates... although I wasn't a member of the Pirate King's crew."

Sig glanced at him indifferently:

"We can discuss that another day. For now, let's talk about how to help you, a great pirate mistakenly believed to be a member of the Pirate King's crew, escape pursuit."

"Buggy, how about joining forces with me?"

Sig asked directly.

If "God" Usopp can have a skill like "lies becoming truth," then perhaps Buggy really has "Conqueror's Luck"?

If it were true, then perhaps they could rely on Buggy's luck to escape the pursuit of the Navy fleet.

Even if they failed, Sig could at least try to verify Usopp's ability to turn lies into truth by interacting with Buggy, a key character in the story.

"Join forces?" Buggy was slightly stunned:

"Do you mean joining forces to escape the Navy fleet, or... joining forces to fight the Navy?"

When he mentioned the latter possibility, Buggy wrinkled his big red nose.

Sig had such a high bounty, so he might indeed have the strength to take on the Navy, but why would he want to team up with Buggy?

"Wait. What I mean by joining forces is..."

Sig continued:

"We join forces to directly cross the Calm Belt."

"Buggy, with your Conqueror's Luck... no, Conqueror's Haki, combined with my terrifying swordsmanship, we have a real chance of crossing the Calm Belt."

Pfft---

Buggy spat out his wine in shock and stood up, staring at Sig.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The Calm Belt is impossible to cross!"

"Is this your plan to escape the Navy's pursuit? By committing suicide in the Calm Belt?"

"Are you messing with me?"

Buggy became furious, and his hands detached from his wrists, flying toward Sig's collar as if he intended to grab him.

However, as soon as his hands touched Sig's collar, Buggy suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly let go, pretending nothing had happened as his hands flew back.

"Just now... there was something dirty on your collar. I wiped it off for you."

Buggy awkwardly tried to explain.

Sig glanced calmly at the two floating hands in front of him, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

His left hand reached for his waist, and in an instant, his folding knife was in his grasp. He swiftly swung it downward.

In a blur, Buggy's hands flew like lightning to the blade of the folding knife, clapping together in mid-air to catch the blade.

However, Buggy, who was standing in front of Sig, did not kneel as Sig had expected. Instead, he took half a step back, looking at Sig in horror:

"Wait, what did you do?"

"Why can't I control my hands? Did you use Seastone?"

Sig also found this strange and carefully examined Buggy.

Buggy's expression was one of terror, but he wasn't completely immobilized. He just couldn't control the hands that were catching the blade.

"Is this the result?"

While Sig was inwardly surprised, he heard footsteps approaching.

He glanced to the side and saw Buggy's crew members looking nervous. Some had their hands on their waists, while others had already drawn their swords, forming a circle around him from a distance. The atmosphere became tense once again.

Sig looked at this scene and couldn't help but feel a bit nervous himself.

The ability of the "Li Jing Card" had only suppressed Buggy's hands... So now, how was he going to handle this situation? How would he face the entire crew of pirates, as well as Buggy?

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

As the sound of his heartbeat echoed, the pirates surrounding him took several steps back, their expressions growing even more tense.

"Captain Buggy, my knife is stuck."

"Funny, mine too..."

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