Chapter 26: Tom's Workers!
Traveling with a burly man, it was impossible to use Moon Walk to rush their journey; after all, Buggy didn't have a habit of carrying men.
Thus, crossing the Calm Belt and then traversing the Red Line became completely unrealistic. The two of them headed towards the entrance of the Grand Line.
Actually, compared to crossing the Calm Belt into the New World and then traversing the Red Line to enter the Grand Line, heading straight for the Grand Line entrance was much more convenient.
Buggy had been relying on "Bus Route 11" (walking) all along and naturally had no ship. But this didn't hinder anything. They just found a random pirate crew, subdued the people on board, and the transportation problem was solved.
Don't underestimate the pirates of West Blue; they were considerably stronger than those of East Blue and certainly no less formidable than those of South Blue or North Blue. However, pirate crews with Haki experts were still not common.
This was because the vast majority of experts who understood Haki had long since headed to the Grand Line. Those who remained, even if strong, weren't *that* strong.
Daz Bonez, not yet a Devil Fruit user, naturally wouldn't fear such a pirate crew. But with Buggy added to the mix, it was just a matter of seeing how long they could hold out before singing the song of conquest.
After beating down a pirate crew called the "Demon Hoard Pirates," Buggy led his temporary subordinates towards the entrance of the Grand Line.
Rarely traveling by sea, Buggy didn't rush things this time but proceeded steadily and methodically.
It took a full three months for the commandeered ship to barely reach Twin Capes.
It wasn't convenient with a whole crew, so Buggy still didn't greet the old ship doctor, Crocus, and directly left Twin Capes, heading towards his set destination.
A week later, the ship finally stopped in a certain sea area in the first half of the Grand Line.
Setting the compass upright and looking at the needle pointing diagonally upwards, Buggy called Daz Bonez over.
After whispering some instructions in his ear, Buggy shot up into the sky, disappearing into the clouds before everyone's eyes.
"Boss Bonez, has that lord left?" the captain of the Demon Hoard Pirates asked cautiously.
"The Boss went to an island in the sky to take care of some business. He told us to wait for him here, saying he'll be down by tomorrow at the latest." Glancing indifferently at the captain, Daz Bonez looked at the sky with great envy.
He had heard of sky islands back in West Blue and originally thought they were just legends. He hadn't expected them to actually exist, nor had he expected it to be so simple for the Boss to ascend to one.
*Walking in the air – that's something an ordinary person can't even imagine, right? I wonder when I'll learn this technique of walking in the air.*
While Daz Bonez was lost in thought on the ship, Buggy had already passed through the cloud layer and arrived on an island made of white clouds and a small amount of land.
As soon as he set foot on the island, Buggy saw a cluster of buildings not far away, with some figures moving among them.
This wasn't Skypiea. Although it was also in the sky, Buggy knew very well this wasn't the sky island above Jaya.
Walking into the town, Buggy quickly found out the name of this island – Birka! It was the place that would be destroyed by Enel in the future after he obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
However, the island was currently peaceful. To protect this peace, Buggy resolved to personally eliminate the factor that would destroy it.
As for that future Thunder God, Buggy couldn't care less about his fate.
Following the compass's instructions, Buggy soon arrived at the place where the Rumble-Rumble Fruit grew. It wasn't hanging on any tree on the island. In fact, there were no trees on the island of Birka at all; on this island with pitifully scarce land, even shrubs were nowhere to be seen.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit naturally wouldn't be hanging on a tree; it was buried at the base of a white, hillock-shaped cloud formation outside the town.
Although Buggy didn't know how the future Enel managed to flip over a thirty-meter-high hillock, for Buggy, he just needed to gently stroke the hillock with his hand and then walk in through the crack.
Having obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Buggy didn't delay further. He quickly went to the edge of the island, then leaped down, heading straight for the ship in the Blue Sea below.
Five hours later, when Buggy handed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to Daz Bonez, the utterly manly Bonez accepted it with reddened eyes.
After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in a few bites, Daz Bonez, after a good while, placed his right hand on his left chest and knelt before Buggy on one knee.
This was a special ritual in the pirate world, signifying an oath of eternal, unbetraying loyalty.
Half a month later, two tall men arrived at the entrance of Tom's Workers in Water 7, Grand Line.
"Hey, who are you looking for?" A blue-haired young man, about the same age as Buggy, called out to the two from a distance.
"My name is Buggy. I'm here to see Uncle Tom about something," Buggy replied, taking a few steps forward.
"Follow me!" Looking at Buggy and Daz Bonez, the blue-haired young man didn't make things difficult and directly led them towards the Sea Train development site.
A short while later, Buggy once again met Old Tom.
"Uncle Tom, long time no see."
Hearing Buggy's voice, Old Tom, who was engrossed in his work, looked up, his eyes showing some confusion as he looked at Buggy.
"Uncle Tom, do you still remember the Oro Jackson? It's me, Buggy!" As he spoke, Buggy also pointed to his big red nose.
"Wahaha, so it's Buggy! Long time no see! I'm really a bit surprised to see you safe and sound. You know, a few years ago, there were reports that all of you had been captured. I didn't expect you to have actually escaped," Old Tom immediately laughed happily.
"Uncle, I was never captured. That news was just fabricated by the World Government people to publicize their achievements. In reality, if Captain Roger hadn't turned himself in, those idiots from the World Government wouldn't have been able to catch anyone at all," Buggy said proudly, shaking his head.
"So that's how it was? To be honest, I was quite shocked when I saw that news back then."
"Captain Roger? The Oro Jackson? Hey, hey, old man, this guy isn't a crew member from the Pirate King's ship, is he?" The blue-haired young man and the young man beside him were instantly shocked.
"Hahahaha, seven or eight years ago, I was just an apprentice on the Oro Jackson. I couldn't even accompany them on their final voyage, so if you're hoping to find out the whereabouts of ONE PIECE from me, you'll be disappointed."
After hearing Buggy's words, Franky, still a young man, fell unexpectedly silent.
"So, what business does a former crew member of the Pirate King's ship have with us now? Don't mention shipbuilding or anything like that again. Because of the Oro Jackson, the old man was almost sentenced to death," Iceburg said, his face grim.
(End of this chapter)