Participation

The Marine base in District 66 was bustling like never before.

Beneath the rigid concrete walls, a large crowd had gathered, drawn from various parts of the Sabaody Archipelago. They waved copies of the day's newspaper, published by the World Economic News, their faces alight with joy as if celebrating a grand festival.

Of course, to them, it was no different.

But to Sicily, the joyous sounds were more grating than any pirate's roar.

The Marines would never respond like this!

The news couldn't be allowed to spread further!

The expression on his face grew increasingly indifferent.

Sympathy, such an emotion would only affect a soldier's judgment on the battlefield.

However, what prompted him to make that decision was also an order from Marineford.

Expecting a colossal machine that had been operating for eight hundred years to change its immense inertia was a fantasy.

"Diouf, use the high-pressure water cannons to disperse the crowd!"

Sicily had no intention of handling something that would draw so much criticism himself.

"What about the newspapers?" Lizard Head asked.

"Someone will take care of them."

"Right, bring over your teams from the lawless zones too, and create some disturbance on the outskirts."

Sicily stroked his pointed beard, his tone growing more sinister.

He had to work hard now to protect his position.

Whoosh----

Water cannons mounted on the gray-white walls unleashed torrents onto the still jubilant crowd below.

A splash of cold water doused their foreheads directly.

"Is this... a little cruel to them?"

To Buggy's surprise, it wasn't Swan, who had only recently escaped slavery, but Jacques who showed a hint of sympathy.

This sergeant, who seemed obsequious yet tried hard to maintain his dignity.

What kind of cruelty?

Giving people a beautiful, false hope, and then extinguishing it.

"Don't hold onto gentleness in a cruel world, my Sergeant," Buggy advised kindly.

He had changed into a purple suit, a slightly tailored fit.

Jacques and the others had also changed into similar casual clothes.

The white Marine Uniforms were too easy to become the focus in the crowd at this moment.

"This is a survival rule I learned in an interesting city."

His tone carried a hint of nostalgia.

Gotham City, though also full of sin, at least didn't still have backward things like slaves.

Another difference was.

The citizens of Gotham City had a sufficient capacity to accept sin.

Well, even an old lady who shakily carried her laundry basket out of the laundry room in the morning might suddenly pull out an AK from it and start shooting.

"But I have an old friend who also taught me an interesting fact."

"A fact?" Swan turned her head, her bright eyes filled with curiosity.

Ever since leaving the Iron Cage, these eyes were no longer occupied by Despair, and had begun to actively explore.

As for the question of cruelty.

Swan felt all of Buggy's actions were correct.

She even secretly scorned the short-sightedness of the Marine Higher-ups.

"...Human Nature is like a spring; the tighter you pull it, the harder it rebounds."

Buggy's gaze seemed to fall somewhere in the crowd.

Then, someone exclaimed, "Someone's being attacked! It's the Slave Catchers!"

The crowd, which already lacked cohesion, began to instinctively Scatter outwards amidst the various disturbances.

As the crowded throng dispersed, some figures became clearer.

"You agree, don't you?" Buggy's gaze settled on a specific person.

"Trafalgar Law."

"Pirate!"

Jacques and the others' nerves suddenly tensed, their gazes also Locked onto the man wearing a white woolen Winter Hat.

Amidst the scattered crowd, this man who remained stationary immediately stood out.

Law slightly lifted the brim of his white winter hat, his eyes hidden in the brim's shadow filled with surprise.

"ROOM."

Without warning, a white wind ball suddenly appeared in the center of his palm. The constantly rotating typhoon-like cyclone within the wind ball instantly expanded to room size.

It perfectly encompassed Buggy as well.

His response was a slightly incongruous smile and several cracks appearing on Buggy's body, as if they had been smeared with mosaic and then repaired.

This is too strange!

Law's eyes were filled with disbelief.

This was the first time he had encountered someone who could still resist the cutting effect of his Ope Ope no Mi within his Room Domain.

Even more unbelievable was the other person's body...

Why were there so many explosives and daggers inside this person's chest cavity?!

And with his organs compressed like this, how was he still alive?!

Even the corpses in the morgue weren't this distorted!

Within his Devil Fruit ability, the Room Domain, Law could clearly sense any object inside and rearrange them at will.

As expected!

When Law's gaze fell upon Buggy's face, half of his inner doubts were resolved.

The muscles on the other person's face were also so uncoordinated.

Or rather, it was by using such uncoordination to fill out the more uncoordinated skin on the outside.

And the effect of resisting his ability...

Was it also some kind of Devil Fruit ability?

He was a little unsure.

"It's impolite to stare too much."

A faint voice fell into Law's ears, and at the same time, it brought immense shock to his heart.

The other person's speed, so fast!

This speed was even more apparent within his Room Domain's perception.

A small knife was stabbing at his chest.

But then...

Law's shocked gaze quickly turned into speechlessness.

Within his perception, this Marine Major, who had just appeared in the newspaper, had merely moved his mouth and the hand holding the dagger to his side.

Damn it, how could someone's mouth move so fast!

And that dagger!

It was a retractable knife!

Within the Room domain, Law could clearly perceive the simple structure inside the dagger.

This didn't stop three black lines from appearing on his forehead.

"My crewmate said he made a good friend."

The domain, like a wind-swept domain, disappeared as quietly as it had appeared.

Maintaining the domain itself consumed his stamina.

"That bear? My Mr. Reporter told me quite a few interesting stories about them."

Buggy's mouth returned to his body.

Unfortunately, Law didn't react with the expected fright, which left the Joker quite disappointed.

As for why the other party was here...

It wasn't unexpected.

Buggy immediately recalled the dispute between Law and Doflamingo.

He had burned down one of Doflamingo's auctions, so it wasn't strange for Law to come and check things out.

Moreover, Arne, the Friend of Animals, was also here.

The World Economic News had not concealed the source of the photos.

And then there was the sudden surge in combat power during the Wano Country arc.

All in all, he was a good Tool Person.

"There's a joyful game, are you interested in participating, Death Surgeon?"

"Tch." Law let out a cold laugh, "I'd better hope it's as you say."