Chapter 35: Legend!
"Elder Nyon, what exactly counts as a 'sufficiently powerful' Devil Fruit?"
"It's simple. The premise is that it must be able to protect the citizens. That is to say, just by eating the Devil Fruit, one must gain the strength to protect the citizens. Buggy, it's best not to bring Animal-type Devil Fruits. Then, you also need to factor in the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt. The Empress will verify this later, and if necessary, there will be a confrontation, with the opponent definitely being a Sea King. That's about it."
Gloriosa had made it very clear. The Devil Fruit's ability had to be powerful enough to defeat a Sea King even if one's Haki wasn't strong.
As for why Haki wouldn't be strong, Buggy understood clearly. Hancock's two younger sisters were at most only 16 years old now. Even if they had awakened Haki, it wouldn't be that strong; after all, they weren't possessors of Conqueror's Haki.
This strict standard made Buggy quite troubled.
After considering for a full two hours and comparing all the Devil Fruits in his memory, Buggy suddenly felt a bit regretful.
Needless to say, the Weapon Fruit that was sold cheaply back then would definitely count as a powerful Devil Fruit.
Go looking for trouble with the Vinsmoke family?
Buggy immediately shook his head. On this matter, Buggy truly couldn't bring additional trouble to Amazon Lily, especially since the ones who would consume the Devil Fruits were confirmed to be Hancock's two younger sisters; he couldn't afford any unexpected factors.
Then, among the remaining Devil Fruits, one was essential. With that one, the current Kuja Empress definitely couldn't find fault. As for the other one, it could only be a different specific one.
Having confirmed the Devil Fruits he needed to obtain, Buggy, after packing up, set off towards the Grand Line.
Three days later, at Tom's Workers on Scrap Island in Water 7, Buggy arrived at his first stop.
Standing up from a pile of materials, Daz Bonez, upon seeing Buggy arrive, greeted him with an excited tone, "Boss, long time no see!"
"Mm, it has been a while. How has Uncle Tom been lately? Has Bonez's craftsmanship improved?" Buggy immediately asked Old Tom who was beside them.
"Hahahaha, Bonez is progressing very quickly! With his help, not only has our work advanced a lot, but our workload has also been greatly reduced," Old Tom replied happily.
"That's good. Uncle Tom, I've come this time to take Bonez away for a period."
As soon as Buggy finished speaking, Daz Bonez immediately walked over and asked, "Boss, you're here to take me away?"
"I came specifically to find you because I need your help with something," Buggy said with a serious expression.
"Go ahead. But Bonez, when you have time, it's best to study the knowledge I mentioned; it will be helpful to you." Seeing Buggy's expression, Old Tom didn't try to make Daz Bonez stay but merely gave a few instructions and waved his hand.
Bidding farewell to Old Tom, Buggy boarded a small boat that Daz Bonez had acquired, said to be a practice work by Franky.
"Bonez, you're not even going to ask me what it is?" Just after leaving Water 7, seeing Daz Bonez silent all the way, Buggy took the initiative to speak.
"Boss, if you're willing to tell me, you'll tell me even if I don't ask, won't you?" Clearly, Daz Bonez had already grasped the essence of "silence is golden."
"Ah, I forgot about your personality. To be honest, this time, another crew member has run into some trouble, and solving her problem requires two Devil Fruits. One of them is manageable, but the other one is very difficult to obtain. It's hard for me to get it on my own, so I need your help." Buggy didn't give a long-winded account but briefly told Bonez the gist of the matter.
"You say, I do," Daz Bonez nodded and replied very calmly.
"How has your mastery of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit been these past few years?" Buggy didn't say anything else but instead asked this question.
"The moves you mentioned to me, I've basically mastered them all." Daz Bonez was very confident about this. After all, he had endured considerable hardship these past few years to master the abilities of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
"Very good! This gives me some confidence. It's also a good opportunity to test yourself in actual combat."
As soon as Buggy finished speaking, Daz Bonez, hearing the word "combat," immediately became interested and asked, "There's a fight?"
"Of course, there's a fight, and it might even be a big one. This time, our target is a legend. We're going to hunt a legendary figure. Have you heard of this guy?" As Buggy spoke, he pulled out a clearly somewhat old wanted poster from behind him.
Looking at the blond-haired man on the wanted poster, who had a ship's helm stuck on his head, making it look like a cockscomb, Daz Bonez's brow furrowed.
"Pirate Fleet Admiral, Golden Lion Shiki. Is he our opponent this time?" Daz Bonez's unfurrowed brow and tone clearly showed some excitement.
"Yes, he is our target for this hunt," Buggy said, looking at the wanted poster and nodding with a grave expression.
"Boss, you're hunting him... your target isn't his Float-Float Fruit ability, is it?" Daz Bonez asked, his voice tinged with slight surprise, finding it a bit hard to believe.
"That's right. I want his ability," Buggy admitted this directly.
"But..."
Understanding what Daz Bonez wanted to say, Buggy waved his hand and interjected, "Only one of any given Devil Fruit ability will appear at the same time. To obtain the Float-Float Fruit's ability, killing him is only the first step, but it is a necessary one. Bonez, this battle is no small matter. You also know this guy is an old-school powerhouse. Although he cut off his own legs when he escaped from the impel down, with his Float-Float Fruit ability, his strength probably hasn't decreased much. Don't be careless for a moment!"
"I understand."
It wasn't that Buggy didn't want to tell Daz Bonez his own conjectures about Devil Fruits, but Buggy felt it wasn't appropriate to say it out loud yet. After all, the conjectures hadn't been confirmed, and saying them too early wouldn't mean much.
Once Shiki was dealt with, Daz Bonez would naturally see when they manipulated his corpse; that would be much more convincing than empty words.
And as Buggy headed to a certain secret realm in the Grand Line to prepare to hunt the legendary Flying Pirate, on an island in the New World, a red-haired man was dueling a man dressed like a ranger with a Western sword. The direct and sweeping slashes had already torn the island's environment to shreds.
The booming explosions seemed to be the cries of the crumbling island, only wishing for these two bastards wreaking havoc on it to finish quickly and leave.
Pirate history has such a record for the special year 1508: this year was the year of the 'Legend's' beginning and end.
(Author's Note: There is no specific time for the great battle between Red-Hair and Hawkeye; it is set in 1508 according to the needs of the plot.)
(End of this chapter)