Accepting the Challenge

Buggy quickly arrived at area 53 on Sabaody Archipelago, chose the shipyard recommended by Nilek, and went inside.

The observant boatman immediately put down his work and came over. A little while later, the shipyard owner also came over. He was an old man of about sixty years old with a white mustache and a very hearty smile on his face.

Buggy cut to the chase and stated his purpose directly. "I want to book three large ships with you."

"Three ships?!" Upon hearing this was a big deal, the old man quickly pulled out a notebook, his expression serious as he prepared to take notes. "May I ask what your requirements are, sir?"

"I don't have many requirements, just three points."

"Please speak."

"First, the materials used for the ship's frame, cabins, hull, and deck must be of superior quality; do not give me inferior materials."

"No problem, you can rest assured, guest."

"Secondly, the shipbuilders must be the best in the shipyard."

"This... should work..."

"Third, the deadline for completing the seagoing vessel is one month."

"Guest..."

The old man put down his notebook, looking troubled, and said, "To be honest, we've already taken on several orders, and those orders are already halfway through... We have to finish their orders first before we can take on yours. Besides, completing three large ships within a month is just too tight..."

"We can put other people's orders aside, that's not a problem. If anyone is dissatisfied, let them come find 'Buggy'..."

Buggy leaned closer. "Since a month is too tight, I can give you an extra ten days. The requirements for the shipwrights can also be lowered a bit, but you'll have to put all the manpower from your factory into it..."

Upon hearing the name "Buggy," the old man finally took a closer look at the face of the person beside him. Even with his vast experience, his body trembled, and he felt a lump in his throat, unable to catch his breath. This... this was the terrifying pirate who had participated in the Marineford War just yesterday!

Buggy said with a smile, "If there are no objections, then it's settled. The order for one ship is around three to four hundred million, and I can also provide a suitable subsidy for the price of these three ships, depending on how satisfied you are with me..."

This generous offer even made the experienced old man swallow hard, his mouth dry, and he stammered, "Then... then..."

"However, if I'm not satisfied with the ship that's built..." Buggy interrupted the old man, a sinister smile spreading across his face. He clenched his fist and punched the nearly thirty-meter-high gate of the shipyard. Instantly, the gate Chop-Chop, large chunks of it crashing to the ground with a thunderous roar!

He continued to stare at the old man, "Your shipyard... you can forget about staying here!"

The old man was covered in sweat, and he hurriedly wiped the sweat from his forehead, but after wiping it away, the sweat kept seeping out. He had been a shipwright here for thirty or forty years and had seen many storms. If an ordinary pirate had said these words, he wouldn't have taken them too seriously. However, this great pirate had even broken into Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, and joined forces with the Whitebeard Pirates to rescue the son of the Pirate King. Compared to that, destroying his shipyard was a trivial matter to the other party.

"Don't worry... I won't deliberately cause you trouble. Just do what I ask, and then I'll send my 'capable assistant' to discuss the ship's design with you." Buggy's expression returned to calm. "Then that's settled. I'll send the advance payment over soon, is that alright?"

Knowing he couldn't refuse, the old man could only smile wryly and say, "Leave this to me... I'll put aside my other work and try my best to complete your order within forty days..."

"Alright, I'll send people to guard this place and prevent those pirates from causing you any trouble," Buggy said. "You just need to focus on building my ship."

After agreeing on the ship's details, Buggy and Daoer left the shipyard. Since Daoer's men had been dismissed, only two officers were waiting outside the shipyard. When they saw Daoer come out, they followed him.

One of them said, "Chief Daoer, Chief Tink, and Jass Just have arrived in Area 50."

"Hmm." Daoer nodded and then looked at Buggy. "Shall we go, Chief Buggy?"

"What do you want?" Buggy asked as he walked.

Daoer smiled. "Well, I'll be honest with you too. After the incident with Weilan, Captain Jass and Captain Tink have always strived to catch up with you. However, at that time, we didn't know that Captain Buggy was a member of the [Pirate King's ] crew. It wasn't until we witnessed your prowess during the Marineford War that we were deeply impressed by your selfless spirit. I never imagined that there were such loyal and righteous people on this sea. Therefore, the three of us decided to lend you a hand..."

Buggy's eyebrows twitched involuntarily, but he feigned composure and said, "Is that so...?"

"Yes...but before that, we need to see if your strength meets our standards..." Daoer said. "I already felt the beauty of 'power' in your attack just now, so I've decided to give up challenging you. From now on, Chief Buggy, you just need to get Chief Tink and Chief Jass to acknowledge your strength. I think if it's you...it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Interesting..." Buggy's lips curled into a smile. "Let's go see these two!"

The two chatted for about half an hour before arriving at area 50. Under the Yarukiman Mangrove, a group of pirates stood. Besides the leaders Jass and Tink, there were several familiar faces from 'Little Sabaody Island', all of whom were pirates with bounties of around 30 million.

Jass, a large cigar dangling from his lips, said, "Buggy... long time no see."

Tink, shrouded in a black hooded sweatshirt, practically floated over like a ghost. His eyes, hidden beneath the hood, looked at Buggy and said succinctly, "You've gotten stronger again."

"Hmm..." Buggy smiled and got straight to the point, "I heard you're here to challenge me, right?"

Jass tossed his cloak to his men behind him, his gaze fixed on Buggy. "That's right, it seems Daoer has already told you our plans. While I greatly admire your loyalty, I only acknowledge those stronger than myself. If you can defeat me, I will willingly become your subordinate!"

"Me too..." Tink stared at Buggy with his dark eyes and said coldly.

"Since that's the case..." Buggy stretched his limbs slightly, a smile playing on his lips, "Then you can all come at me together!"