Nami's Worry, Lucky Buggy

"Roman, what are you busy with?"

"Feel the sea breeze, bask in the sun..."

"Lie!"

Roman's blatant lie was instantly exposed by Nami on the other end of the 'phone.' Before he could come up with a new excuse, Nami took the initiative.

"Then guess what I'm doing?"

?

I'm guessing for nothing—

"Hmm... let's eat?"

"No,"

"Bath?"

"No,"

"Sleep?"

"... Didn't you forget to say 'drink hot water'?" Nami on the other end of the Den Den Mushi Paper couldn't help but complain. "I'm reading the newspaper!"

"Read the newspaper—it's good to learn about world events and get real-time news..."

"Don't change the subject, Roman!"

On a small island next to the Red Line, Nami, leaning against a white chair and holding a newspaper, interrupted Roman's nonsense.

"You don't think I didn't notice, do you? You're with Luffy right now, right? Are you two planning something dangerous? Like:"

"Prison break!"

"No, that's not true."

Nami gave a cold laugh in response to Roman's denial.

"Hmph, have you forgotten my reputation as a genius navigator?"

"The Art of the Thief" allows me to pinpoint the distance to your location. A simple calculation on a nautical chart will tell me that you are currently at Marineford, the Marine Headquarters.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you abandoned us and ran off to Marine Headquarters to rescue people. If Zoro and Sanji knew, wouldn't they be furious?"

"... Listen to me, Nami."

Roman rubbed his temples. The series of remotely controlled puppets had left him pale and with dark circles under his eyes, giving him the look of a dashing young master, which suited his identity perfectly.

"You remember Rob Lucci, right? The CP9 Leopard Human from Water 7."

"His strength is only at the level of a Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters. There are already dozens of people like him gathered at Marineford! And the Three Admirals who used to beat us to a pulp are all here."

Even with the Straw Hat crew's current strength, honed through training under Roman's guidance, their fate in the Marineford War would be uncertain. If they encountered Elite Vice Admiral or even Admiral, they would be instantly annihilated.

"But you and Luffy..."

Roman patiently explained to Nami in response to her concerns.

"My identity goes without saying; I'm perfectly safe in the Navy. Besides, I won't get involved in combat; at most, I'll just play a minor role as the White Knight."

"As for Luffy, his grandfather is, after all, the legendary Vice Admiral Garp. Even if we don't care about Luffy, we'll respect him. Except for a few individuals, the Marines won't go so far as to kill him."

The only one who would go to such lengths is that Akainu.

"Do you understand? This place is dangerous, but for the two of us, it's only 'dangerous.' But it's different for you. If you come here, it's very likely..."

He died on the spot!

Even the skilled members of the Whitebeard Pirates who Two-Color Haki suffered heavy casualties. Sending the rest of the Straw Hat crew over would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

"Even Zoro and Sanji will understand. After the roundabout and Sabaody, everyone should have a certain understanding of the world's top combat power. Our Straw Hat crew does need some time to rest and train."

"It sounds like you and Luffy are planning to hold off on gathering everyone for a while?"

In response to Nami's insightful words, Roman rolled his eyes on the other end of the 'phone'.

"I am considering this, I'll discuss it with Luffy later..."

Well, after witnessing the power of a series of truly strong individuals, Luffy will likely come to the same conclusion. In Luffy's heart, his crewmates come first, and his dream of King of the Pirates only ranks second.

"... Okay, I'll wait for you here."

Nami sighed. In the end, it all came down to their own lack of strength. Going there would only be a hindrance to Luffy and Roman.

"Be safe."

"Don't worry, I am a Celestial Dragons."

After hanging up the phone, Roman's fingers unconsciously tapped the table beside him. Although he and Nami spoke casually, as if the impending battle was nothing more than watching a show or leveling up for Luffy, the truth was:

It's still extremely dangerous!

Let's not even talk about Luffy. Even if Garp has a lot of influence, when the fighting gets heated on the battlefield, who cares whose grandson you are? When it's time to kill, he'll still kill you! Anyway, he's not my grandson.

Roman himself, despite having the skin of a Celestial Dragons, was no match for Marine Headquarters. Sengoku, Garp, and the Three Admirals were all frequent visitors to Marineford; how could an ordinary Celestial Dragons dare to be arrogant in front of such powerful figures?

To put it bluntly, the Celestial Dragons are like the foolish sons of the emperor—noble in status but powerless. Facing these powerful individuals who can single-handedly form an army, what gives them the right to be arrogant? And if they get enraged... Therefore:

At that time, it would be best to stay a little Vice Admiral Garp.

On a warship.

"We don't want to go to Marine Headquarters..."

"What's the difference between that and suicide?!"

After escaping from prison, upon hearing that the ship was heading towards the Marine Headquarters where a major battle was about to take place, many prisoners immediately protested.

"Listen up, you fools—"

Having just had his true identity revealed by the Navy—a member of the King of the Pirates's crew, one of the Red-Haired Brothers, and someone who had been living in anonymity for over a decade— Buggy stood on the ship's railing with his arms outstretched. He had just come up with a brilliant idea:

"This ship is heading towards the heart of the war. Think carefully... The pinnacle of the world awaits us!"

"If you're a man, come chase your dreams with me!"

"Today, we will take Whitebeard's head, and we will stand at the top of the world!"

The sun behind him cast a golden glow on Buggy, and combined with his status as a member of the King of the Pirates's crew and a brother of Four Emperors, it made the newly escaped prisoners feel as if they were witnessing the romance of an era.

Yes, didn't he go to sea to stand at the top of the world? Now, look at him, only wanting to survive...

"Waaaaah, Captain Buggy!"

"Without realizing it, our fighting spirit has been worn down by the hellish Impel Down..."

"The most important thing has been forgotten: the gem called 'dream'!"

"Captain Buggy, we will always follow you!"

"Let's work together! You name who to chop up, and we'll chop them up—"

Amidst the fervor of the crowd, a prisoner timidly raised his hand and asked a question.

"While the weapons ship has no shortage, food and medicine..."

Keep in mind that these were prisoners who had been tortured to the point of near death in Impel Down. Having just escaped, they were starving, thirsty, and covered in wounds. Their fighting strength was less than half of what it usually was.

"Damn it! These things can be overcome with backbone!"

"Captain Buggy will definitely have a way!"

"That's right—"

Buggy, arms outstretched like a charlatan, closed his eyes, but inwardly he was thinking:

Food and medicine? What can I do out here on the high seas? Will they just fall from the sky?

Thump! Thump!

"Oh, oh, oh, it's meat!!"

"Captain Buggy... no, the God Buggy has appeared!"

"Praise be to the invincible, omnipotent Captain Buggy— "

???

Buggy opened his eyes and saw several huge packages surrounded by cheering prisoners, filled with food, bandages, and medicine. This made Buggy start to wonder if he had eaten a "Wish-Wishing Four-Point Separation Fruit"...

"What are these guys getting so excited about?"

The White Knight descended from the sky and looked at the group of prisoners before him, who were kneeling and praying, tears streaming down their faces. —Those who managed to escape Impel Down must be quite skilled, with bounties worth hundreds of millions. Why are they so excited about a little food and medicine?

You'd think he was a beggar from somewhere...

"It's alright, everything was part of the great Captain Buggy's plan!"

"My men, eat and drink to your heart's content! Then fight with all your might! — That's what pirates are all about!"

"Oh, oh, oh, cheers to Captain Buggy!" This...

Buggy, are you sure you didn't eat the 'Pyramid Scheme Fruit'... no, the Guts-Guts Fruit '?

The White Knight, who had just flown in and dropped the 'airdrop', shook his head. Too lazy to care about the eccentric Buggy and the group of prisoners who were doing the same thing, he walked up to Luffy and the others.

The White Knight previously used Bon Clay's blood to transform into Magellan and trick the Gate of Justice. If Luffy hadn't landed a flurry of punches on Magellan's face, Roman would have had no choice but to use 'Paper Dance - Painted Skin' instead.

However, the 'painted skin' skill can't be as perfect as Mr. 2 Bon Clay's transformation ability, and it's easy to expose flaws in front of familiar people—fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Of course, the White Knight was also lost in the control room of Impel Down, forcing Roman to send another 'White Knight' to bring supplies to everyone.

Brush,

A huge pile of high-end food appeared on the deck, Luffy water instantly.

"Everyone, have something to eat. We're in for a tough battle!"

At Luffy's invitation, Bon Clay, Jinbe, Crocodile, Okama King, Inazuma, Mr. 1, and others sat directly on the deck and began to enjoy the last supper of the escape team.

Regardless of what happens next, they most likely won't get together like this again.