Chapter 98 – Marines' plan

Doll: "Tashigi, you are serving as a Marine in East Blue, right? How much do you know about that guy Buggy? Has he done anything exaggerated or noteworthy in East Blue?"

Tashigi: "Reporting to Vice Admiral Doll, I have seen some reports about Buggy's activities in East Blue in Loguetown. However, his activities have not shown significant danger. At most, he has only robbed some other pirates and some villages and towns."

Hina: "Hina has also heard about Buggy. Smoker once told me some things about him."

Doll: "Hina, how did Smoker evaluate Buggy?"

Hina: "Smoker once said that Buggy is a very dangerous pirate in East Blue and stated that if he had the chance, he would capture Buggy himself. However, the danger he mentioned should be relative to ordinary residents and his own perspective of danger."

Doll: "I see, so this man is hiding his true nature?"

Kujaku: "According to Arton, since Buggy was a crew member of the Pirate King, a friend to Shanks, and will become a Warlord of the Sea in the future, he must be hiding his true strength. Perhaps in the future, he will become a Warlord because he shows his true power."

Sadi: "Teach and Buggy, two new Warlords of the Sea. Does this mean that Impel Down might imprison two former Warlords in the future? This is truly exciting. Arton has revealed quite an interesting future."

Domino: "Not necessarily. It could be that two Warlords died in battle for some reason, so new Warlords were needed."

Gion: "What Domino says is possible. Perhaps some Warlords died during the Marineford War. Although it's hard for me to believe those guys would exert themselves fully in the war. But if Teach were the one who died, then it would be entirely possible."

Sadi: "Teach, that Blackbeard? Vice Admiral Gion, are you mistaken? Arton did say that his future is quite remarkable, and he also obtained the very powerful Dark-Dark Fruit, which can seize the abilities of other users."

Domino: "No, I think I understand Vice Admiral Gion's point. Teach could indeed be killed."

Sadi: "Even you, Domino? Why do you say that?"

Gion: "Based on Arton's previous diary entries, Teach is very likely to become a Warlord before the Marineford War begins."

Gion: "And, he becomes a Warlord by handing Ace over to the Marines. After that, the Marines might publicly execute Ace, which would draw the Whitebeard Pirates to rescue him.

Gion: "Although I don't know the specifics of the Marineford War, if my previous assumptions are correct, the battle between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates over Ace's execution will be a part of the war."

Gion: "Similarly, the Warlords of the Sea will participate in this war, which means Teach will participate. If he comes to fight, how do you think the Whitebeard Pirates will treat him?"

Doll: "If I were one of the Whitebeard Pirates, I would definitely seek revenge on Teach while rescuing Ace."

Hina: "Hina understands! Although we don't know which Warlord Teach replaced, it's possible that Teach will be killed by the Whitebeard Pirates during the Marineford War, leading to another vacancy among the Warlords.

Hina: "At that time, a new Warlord will emerge to take Teach's place. And that Warlord will be Buggy."

Ain: "I see... This reasoning indeed makes a lot of sense."

Sadi: "Does this mean only the Warlord replaced by Blackbeard might be imprisoned in Impel Down? From beginning to end, it's just this one Warlord's position that's being rotated, while the other six Warlords remain unchanged?"

Domino: "Exactly."

Sadi: "Damn, I'd rather see two Warlords imprisoned in Impel Down than just one."

Tashigi: "Is it really possible? Teach hid for so long to get the Devil Fruit he wanted. Moreover, Arton's diary suggests that Teach is a significant figure. Will he really be killed by the Whitebeard Pirates so quickly?"

Doll: "Arton's diary has never recorded Teach's final outcome. Although it's a bit unbelievable, Gion's deduction is plausible and does not contradict Arton's diary so far.

Doll: "Perhaps Teach will indeed be killed by the Whitebeard Pirates. After all, Whitebeard is still the strongest man in the world."

Gion: "This is just my guess. However, this Buggy is worth paying attention to. Additionally, Arton's diary needs to be continuously monitored and analyzed at all times."

Hina: "So, should we find a way to contact the pirate Buggy?"

Doll: "Although Arton only said that Buggy would become a Warlord in the future, since he can call Shanks his friend and was part of the Roger Pirates, I think Buggy's future might be more than just becoming an ordinary Warlord.

Doll: "This man is hiding much deeper than Blackbeard, and his purpose for hiding is likely grander and more sinister. His current strength is probably greater than when Blackbeard was in hiding."

Doll: "Or perhaps, his strength is comparable to Shanks'? I don't know if this is true, but in any case, we cannot underestimate Buggy. So, it's best that we do not directly contact Buggy for now."

Doll: "Our approach should be to investigate him covertly. After all, we still have more important matters to attend to."

Ain: "More important matters... It's still Arton, isn't it?"

Kujaku: "There's no other choice. Compared to Teach and Buggy, Arton is the most troublesome and dangerous. He targets the Celestial Dragons directly."

Gion: "Indeed, compared to Teach and Buggy, we need to focus more on Arton. Moreover, everyone has other tasks to do, so our time to monitor Arton is limited.

Gion: "Therefore, we should cherish and allocate our remaining time to Arton. For Buggy and Teach, a regular investigation will suffice."

In Gion's view, the possibility of Teach capturing Ace and handing him over to the Marines is beneficial to the Marines.

Thus, there's no need to stop Teach.

Just keep a certain level of attention on him.

At least, until Teach captures Ace and hands him over to the Marines.

As for Buggy, without understanding his strength and purpose, reckless contact might provoke Buggy to explode.

At that time, it would be quite troublesome.

It could significantly reduce their time to investigate and contact Arton.

In this situation, where every second counts to make Arton beneficial to the Marines, letting Buggy become a problem is an unwise choice.

After quickly sharing her thoughts through the diary copy group chat function, the female Marines all agreed with Gion's view.

For now, they do not plan to investigate Buggy too much.

All their spare time must be spent on Arton.

"Ahahaha, today is such a joyful day!"

"I didn't expect to learn so many embarrassing things about Shanks."

"When I see him again, I must give him a good talking-to."

"Here, Uta, don't be shy, enjoy your food."

Buggy laughed heartily as he handed a large piece of meat on the bone to Uta.

"Hehe, I've also learned many of Shanks' embarrassing stories from you."

"When the time comes, I'll give him a good talking-to as well."

Uta's cheeks were flushed as she accepted the large piece of meat from Buggy.

Clearly, she was quite happy to learn about Shanks' embarrassing childhood moments from Buggy.

It was no wonder, as Shanks used to tease Uta about her own embarrassing moments when she was younger.

Now, she had the chance to tease Shanks back about his childhood embarrassments.

This made Uta very happy.

Uta realized that being able to learn these things was not only due to Buggy but also thanks to Arton's help.

So, she smiled and handed the large piece of meat to Arton.

Arton was equally happy.

It wasn't just because Uta thought of him when she got something good to eat.

It was also because he heard all the things Buggy said about Shanks.

This gave him another reason to convince Shanks to allow Uta to marry him.

"Thanks, Uta."

After finishing the large piece of meat, Arton turned to Buggy and said,

"Buggy, thanks for the hospitality, but it's about time for us to leave."

Hearing this, Buggy's eyes lit up.

"You're leaving? Shall I see you off?"

In Buggy's eyes, Arton was a very dangerous person.

Hearing that Arton was leaving almost made him jump for joy.

"Sure, then you can see me off to Loguetown."

Arton said jokingly as he looked at Buggy.

"Uh, to Loguetown?"

Buggy was stunned.

Loguetown was nothing to Arton, but the Marines there were quite dangerous for Buggy.

He didn't want to go to Loguetown with Arton.

"Haha, just kidding."

"Forget about seeing me off to Loguetown."

"How about you give me your Buggy Balls instead?"

"Of course, that includes the method to make them."

"Consider it the price for firing cannons at me earlier."

Arton patted Buggy on the shoulder and smiled.

He could easily tell that Buggy's offer to "see him off" was just a joke.

He didn't need Buggy to see him off.

However, the Buggy Balls seemed like an interesting toy to Arton.

***

Enjoyed the chapters? Read 20 chapters ahead on Patreon

PATREON.COM/METARLN

500 power stones = 1 extra chapter