On Orange Town's shore, a silver figure seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll.
But if anyone had been present, they would have noticed that every step he took carried him more than ten meters forward.
The figure moving forward was naturally Can Yue. He knew battle would soon come, so he had to uncover Buggy's true strength as quickly as possible. His speed was therefore extremely fast.
In less than five minutes, Can Yue had reached Orange Town's western shore.
This was a temporary settlement built by the townspeople. The entire area was filled with tents, bonfires, fences, and other things. Anyone unfamiliar with the town's situation might have thought it was a campsite for picnics and outings.
According to Can Yue's sense of smell, all the townspeople should have gathered here. The direction of the explosion was saturated with the stench of pirate booze and meat, reeking of extravagance and debauchery without the slightest trace of everyday life.
But when he saw all the townspeople gathered in this place that resembled a temporary shelter, Can Yue realized something was wrong.
Farmland lay in front of the shelter, and many townspeople were working the fields. The explosion from earlier did not seem to have caused them any panic. They looked more accustomed to it than anything else.
There was also almost no smell of blood anywhere in the town.
They only loot and don't kill? Or are they doing this for sustainable development?
I need to find out about the relationship between the Buggy Pirates and the townspeople.
Thinking this, Can Yue calmly entered the townspeople's "shelter."
Just as Can Yue entered the shelter's entrance and passed a pig slaughter stall, a soft, lovestruck voice suddenly rang out.
"Wow, what a handsome man!" A pretty woman spotted Can Yue approaching. Her eyes gradually went blank, then practically turned gooey.
"Hey! What kind of demon are you? What sorcery did you use on my wife?" The bearded, burly man cutting meat beside her immediately sensed trouble. He grabbed a butcher knife and pointed it at Can Yue as he questioned him.
Can Yue sighed helplessly. He had been fairly handsome before crossing over, but not to such an outrageous extent.
Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru... you're a disaster to nations and their people.
Speechless, Can Yue adjusted his mood and was about to ask his questions when the Pig Butcher Man spoke first.
"Are you from the Buggy Pirates, here to collect meat today? Hand over the IOU."
An IOU? Buggy was interesting. Did he really intend to pay it back someday, or was this just empty formalism?
After a brief thought, Can Yue shook his head and denied it. He then asked, "I ended up here after a shipwreck. Seeing all of you gathered on this shore, I wanted to ask what happened."
As the Pig Butcher Man hesitated over how to answer, the lovestruck young wife beside him suddenly shouted.
"Handsome, I'll tell you! Come on, let's talk inside. Take this—the salty pig hand of a young wife!"
With that, the gooey-eyed young wife reached for him. The Pig Butcher beside her seemed to transform into Zoro, drifting through a vast green sea with his mind utterly blank.
A moment later, the Pig Butcher shook his head, raised his knife, and charged.
"I'll slaughter you, you pretty-boy demon!"
Can Yue watched the couple from the meat stall rush at him and sighed. His gaze turned icy as a wave of killing intent burst forth.
The two suddenly felt cold all over and could not move an inch.
"Calmed down? Tell me about Buggy!" Can Yue's cool voice slowly entered their ears. The butcher couple felt as if Death itself had fixed its gaze upon them. They did not dare argue and immediately nodded, beginning their explanation.
Inside the tent behind the meat stall, the couple had already told Can Yue about Buggy.
While eating stir-fried rice noodles with pork, Can Yue confirmed, "You're saying Buggy has never killed a single townsman?"
"Yes. At first, they took one-tenth of the entire town's food. Whenever they came for food afterward, they would leave IOUs, though we haven't seen any repayment yet."
"Our food and clothing haven't been affected either. Before they came, the town would produce roughly one-fifth more food than we needed every year, which we stored away."
"But he drove all of us out and turned the town we worked so hard to build into a bomb testing ground!"
"Mm." After hearing this, Can Yue fell into thought. Since Buggy had arrived, he had not killed anyone, left IOUs when taking things, did not destroy the farms, and even ensured the townspeople had enough to eat.
That isn't something an ordinary pirate would do. Can Yue came to a preliminary conclusion: Buggy definitely had some goal or ambition that no one yet understood.
Then he may indeed be hiding his strength. I must treat him cautiously, Can Yue thought.
Just then, an ill-timed voice came from outside the tent.
"Boss, the Buggy Pirates are welcoming a new beautiful female member today. We're throwing a banquet soon. Bring us two hundred jin of pork. Here's the IOU!"
Two pirates dressed like clowns shouted outside the meat stall. Without a second thought, the Pig Butcher got to work, apparently highly familiar with the process.
But just as the Pig Butcher finished cutting the pork and placed it in a cart, a sudden change occurred.
A pirate wearing a black fake nose abruptly pressed a knife to the burly Pig Butcher's neck.
"Heh-ho-ho, boss, your big brother told you before to lend your wife to us brothers for some fun. Have you thought it over?"
Naturally, the burly Pig Butcher refused. He replied without much concern, "Buggy doesn't allow you to bully the townspeople, so stop trying to scare me. It won't work."
"Heh-ho-ho, refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit? So what if we bully you? Don't forget, the emperor is far away and heaven is high. The previous person in charge died in an accident, and now this stretch of the western shore is under my command!"
The other clown-dressed pirate chimed in, "That's right. We only need to make up any old excuse. Captain Buggy treats us like brothers. Hee-haha!"
"And naturally, you husband and wife shouldn't make any more sounds afterward."
Hearing that, the Pig Butcher Man immediately sensed something was wrong. These two seemed serious.
Though the two pirates looked thin and weak, they were still far stronger in combat than a burly man who only knew how to slaughter pigs.
Cold sweat dripped down the Pig Butcher Man's forehead, but when he thought of his beautiful wife about to suffer violation, fear immediately turned into rage, and he shouted.
"Don't even think about it! I'll fight you two beasts to the death!"
A series of clatters rang out, and unsurprisingly, the Pig Butcher Man collapsed to the ground, barely able to move.
"Hee-haha, you pig butcher can lie there for now. Once us brothers have had our fun, we'll deal with you!"
"Heh-ho-ho, the young wife is in the tent, right? Big brother is coming in!"
The lewd voices of the two pirates drew closer and closer, becoming increasingly clear.
The young wife was terrified, hiding behind Can Yue and trembling.
Can Yue gently pulled her hands from his sleeve and offered a brief reassurance. "Don't be afraid. I'll handle this. Your husband isn't dead either."
With that, Can Yue rose and walked toward the tent's entrance.
Just as the two clown pirates were about to reach the tent's awning, Can Yue stepped outside.
"Hm? Who's this pretty boy? Why does he look a little familiar?"
The other clown-dressed pirate had no impression of Can Yue. His lust had rushed to his head, and he roared at Can Yue, "Where did this pretty boy come from? You want to stop us brothers from having some fun too? Then die!"
With that, he raised his knife and slashed at Can Yue.
At that moment, the Black-Nosed Clown suddenly recognized Can Yue.
"Don't attack! He's the White-haired Swordsman Can Yue, the great pirate with a twenty-million-berry bounty in the East Blue!"
Before you continue