The Cadre's Resolve

From the very beginning, Buggy had his own plans and ideas. Although he did not fear slashes, there was no need to get entangled with Zoro right now.

His true purpose was to make the two officers on his ship realize their own weakness more clearly, for in this world, one could accomplish nothing if they were weak.

Buggy placed Cabaji and Sakura Blizzard on the deck and ordered the only pirate on board who knew a bit of medicine—the one with the bulbous red nose—to take Cabaji away for bandaging and treatment.

Leaning against the ship's railing, he watched Zoro, who was rowing frantically as if possessed, shouting "Bastard" and "Don't run" from time to time. Finding it somewhat laughable, he beckoned a pirate over: "Go and pull the cannon over here."

"Yes, Captain Buggy." The pirate moved very quickly, dragging a cannon over and, under Buggy's instructions, fetching a Buggy Ball to load into the carriage.

Buggy held the torch himself, aimed the muzzle at the small boat, and lit the fuse. "Goodbye, Roronoa Zoro."

The Buggy Ball roared out the moment the fuse burned down, and the next instant, it accurately blew the small boat to pieces. Like a beautiful firework blooming, it stirred up waves in the surrounding sea, and thick black smoke rose into the air in the distance.

Seeing this victory, which had been a foregone conclusion, Buggy turned away. He did not believe that Zoro, known as the East Blue Monster, would be killed so easily; if he really died, then it was simply his destiny.

To avoid the opponent continuing to chase them and causing more trouble, this approach seemed the most efficient and secure for the time being.

Subsequently, Buggy ordered a headcount of the pirates on board. Excluding himself and the two officers, there had originally been forty-two pirates, but now three seemed to be missing, leaving only thirty-nine.

Buggy did not know if these three pirates, whose names he didn't even know, had died at Zoro's hands or for other reasons. He felt no great ripple in his heart; survival of the fittest was the cruel law of pirates. If they didn't want to die, they had to make themselves stronger.

Most of the pirates who guarded the ship or had returned early were injured by Zoro, all bearing some marks. Fortunately, there were enough bandages and herbs in the storage room, and after a day, the pirates' minor wounds began to heal slowly.

The pirates responsible for steering, cleaning the storage and deck, patrolling, cooking, and medical duties were mostly present. Although these people were unimaginably ordinary, they performed their respective duties, and Buggy had no intention of adding more hands for now; a streamlined model might be better.

The next day, Buggy summoned Mohji and Cabaji to the captain's quarters. Their injuries had improved significantly. Most of the named characters in the world of One Piece were not easy to kill. Even though these two were just bit players in the original story, in reality, no one who could stand out among thousands in this world was ordinary. Of course, this was also due to the unique environment of this world; in this regard, Usopp was a prime example of an ordinary person who could survive multiple near-fatal injuries—his tenacity was absolutely a textbook case.

Cabaji and Mohji sat on chairs to the side, no longer noisy as usual, heads bowed as they awaited Buggy's reprimand.

Buggy sipped a cup of hot tea and said, "Do you have anything to say?"

Cabaji and Mohji shook their heads in unison: "No."

A mere unknown bounty hunter had nearly picked this ship apart and defeated them completely; even they could not find any reason to excuse their failure.

"Since that is the case, let me tell you: in the East Blue, there are no shortage of monsters with strength similar to that bounty hunter, and on the Grand Line, they are countless." Although there was some exaggeration in his words, it wasn't far from the truth. Buggy frowned. "I can also tell you quite bluntly that my goal is to conquer the Grand Line. With our current strength, we wouldn't even make a ripple there."

"If you want to leave the ship now, I won't stop you, but... if you want to continue following me, then show me your drive. Before we head to the Grand Line, improve your strength as much as possible. Whether you choose the former or the latter is up to you."

After saying this, Buggy raised his teacup again, took a sip, and waited calmly for their answer. He only wanted to set up a tangible, visible opponent for the two, much like Zoro's challenge to Mihawk, though the current situation was not as tragic as Zoro's defeat by Mihawk in the original story.

Likewise, Zoro's strength would definitely leave a significant psychological shadow on the two. Once fear caused them to stop in the shadow of this trauma, it would mean they had no possibility of future growth.

Such crew members, even if brought to the Grand Line, would quickly be defeated. The world of pirates was, after all, a world of alliances; one could never achieve anything great by working alone. Whether it was Roger back then or the Four Emperors now, they were all teams composed of strong individuals joining forces. Only such teams could withstand the pressure surging from all sides, standing firm as a rock.

As a man with ambition hidden in his bones, Buggy had to know if the resolve of his two officers was enough to support his advance into the Grand Line. If they couldn't even manage this...

The process of waiting for an answer was long, and the process of choosing an answer was agonizing.

Cabaji looked up weakly, staring at Buggy in surprise. He felt that the captain he had followed for so many years had suddenly become different. He couldn't say exactly how, but there was an unfathomable quality to him. Perhaps this captain, who usually seemed unremarkable, cunning, selfish, and callous, only revealed his true face when displaying his ambition.

He lowered his head again. To go or to stay, to choose to surpass himself or to remain obscure—it all hung in this single thought.

Mohji didn't think as much as Cabaji. Usually, he just did whatever Captain Buggy said without considering why or what the consequences would be. But today, Captain Buggy wasn't giving an order like usual; he had thrown a fatal multiple-choice question at him, and he suddenly felt a bit of fear and bewilderment.

Buggy was waiting. If these two officers had the same desire to become stronger as he did, he wouldn't hold back; he would share the Six Powers from his notebook with them without reservation. But if they retreated here, their future was destined to be obscure, drowned in the endless tide of pirates.

Cabaji pondered for a long time, then knelt on both knees, solemn and resolute, swearing in the highest form: "I, Cabaji of the Buggy Pirates, swear to follow Captain Buggy to the death."

Seeing this, Mohji seemed to have made up his mind as well, and not to be outdone, he knelt down: "I, Mohji of the Buggy Pirates, swear to follow Captain Buggy to the death."