Buggy Grand Fleet Established

"Attack together?"

Jass's body swelled up, a long crocodile tail sprouted from his back, and his body was covered in thick, bluish-brown scales. He transformed into a large crocodile wearing a black and white checkered shirt and a red tie, staring at Buggy with bloodthirsty eyes. "Since you're so confident, then I won't hold back!"

"It's been a long time since we've teamed up, big crocodile..." Countless black dots suddenly appeared around Tink, like black fireflies swirling and circling around, obscuring his figure.

"Hmph!" Jass snorted coldly, without uttering any more unnecessary words. His enormous body suddenly lunged forward, his right fist, covered in bluish-brown crocodile scales, smashing with immense force toward Buggy's head!

Buggy quickly covered his hands with Armament Haki and met the punch head-on without dodging or flinching. The two fists collided, and a gust of wind rippled outwards. Jass was knocked back four or five meters by the force of the punch, while Buggy also took two steps back before regaining his balance.

After this exchange, Buggy learned about his opponent's strength. Jass probably didn't know Armament Haki yet, but he was only slightly at a disadvantage in a battle of strength against Buggy's Armament Haki using his animal-like physical power, which showed that his strength was already considerable!

Jass was always very confident in his strength, was quite shocked after exchanging a punch with Buggy. He never expected that his most prized strength would be completely ineffective against Buggy and would instead be suppressed!

He was stunned for less than half a second before throwing another punch. At the same time, Tink raised his hands, as if two jet-black darts were hidden in his sleeves. In the blink of an eye, they shot out with a black light that was hard to catch with the naked eye!

Buggy glanced around, then his left hand spun and clenched in mid-air, instantly crushing the two hidden blades made of dark energy into countless black dots, which then returned to nothingness.

Jass, relying on his crocodile scale armor, made no attempt at defense and instead launched a frenzied, reckless attack. Tink, meanwhile, gathered a large amount of dark energy in the distance to constantly disrupt Buggy's movements and provide cover for Jass. The dark energy he created was mixed with negative emotions such as exhaustion, helplessness, and sensitivity. Even when dispersed, it would form even finer dark particles, like a layer of poison enveloping the surroundings and constantly eroding the opponent's spirit.

Although their teamwork wasn't perfect, the combination of close combat and ranged attacks made even Buggy feel a bit overwhelmed, and the battle immediately came to a stalemate.

"Don't underestimate us!" Jass's offensive intensified, and he said in a deep voice, "A contemptuous attitude won't convince us!"

"You are indeed much stronger than you were back in Weilan, that's undeniable..."

Buggy used his Observation Haki to anticipate Jass's next attack. Taking advantage of an opening in Jas's offensive, Buggy swept his leg across Jas's right side, sending him flying into a crowd of pirates more than twenty meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust!

"Since you're all taking this so seriously, I'll naturally give it my all in this battle..." Buggy looked at Tink in the distance, his body slightly bent, and after saying the last word, he instantly disappeared from the spot.

In that instant, Tink's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes, and he rapidly dispersed a large amount of dark energy to envelop his entire body. But in the next instant, a blurry figure appeared less than a meter in front of him, and a thunderous punch was about to smash into his nose!

He lowered his eyelids and used the power of 'Sleepwalking' to disappear from his original spot at an extremely fast speed, escaping to mid-air where he had perfect vision and was very safe. His hands gathered dense black particles like laser cannons, trying to find Buggy below and launch a sweeping attack. But in the instant he scanned downwards, he discovered a very serious problem... Buggy was gone!

Bang!!

Tink felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head by a heavy object, and he crashed into the ground like a comet, creating a crater ten meters in diameter!

Buggy landed smoothly from the air behind Tink, a faint smile on his face. "Want to continue?"

"No need..." Tink's voice rang out from the dust and mist as he emerged disheveled from the pit filled with flying rock dust, his black clothes torn and tattered.

Jass also returned to human form, looking somewhat disheveled, his shirt dirty and rumpled, but he nonchalantly lit a cigar for himself. "You are indeed much more capable than us. We haven't lost out by becoming your subordinates."

"That was our original intention, Buggy ... Captain," Tink said, then very consciously added two more words.

"Haha!" Buggy laughed heartily, his gaze falling on the group of pirates brought by Jass and Tink. "And what about you guys?"

The pirates exchanged glances and shouted without hesitation, "We pledge our allegiance to Captain Buggy!!"

After gaining the loyalty of Jass, Daoer, and Tink, Buggy took them back to the Zoroa Restaurant. He first introduced them to each of them, and the prisoners laughed and cheered with excitement. Although the three prisoners appeared nonchalant on the surface, they were more or less shocked and incredulous. Some of the prisoners present had bounties much higher than theirs, and Buggy must possess immense charisma and charisma to be able to gather such a force together!

Buggy then brought in Nilek and entrusted him with full responsibility for the shipbuilding project. Now that Daoer had brought in a large sum of money, Buggy would not be stingy in this regard. If a high-quality ship could be built, its use value would certainly far exceed its face value!

Since three pirate ships are to be built, three powerful captains must be selected to command them. Once the three captains are chosen, they will not be easily changed. Therefore, Buggy must select suitable candidates from among hundreds of prisoners based on their bounty, strength, reputation, and personality.

The intelligence regarding these prisoners was entrusted to Lilina for collection and organization. After three days of tireless work, the prisoner intelligence files were finally placed on Buggy's desk. He carefully reviewed the files and, referring to Lilina's words, ultimately selected three captains. These three prisoners, along with Tink and his two companions, made a total of six captains:

First ship captain [Man-Eating Bee] Jody Lane, a user of the Bug-Bug Fruit, Man-Eating Bee Model, has a bounty of 190 million Beli. He was born on a prehistoric island in the Grand Line. Because of a two-headed horse called 'Hefni' on the island, he was hunted by hunters. These hunters not only hunted 'Hefni' but also destroyed the island's environment. In a fit of rage, Lane killed nearly two hundred hunters, but was wanted by the Navy and eventually went into exile at sea, becoming a pirate. His solo combat ability is very strong, and he has escaped the encirclement of two Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral several times. However, he unfortunately fell into the water during a storm at sea and became a Navy prisoner, and was sent to Impel Down.

The second ship's captain, Louis Carl, the "King of the Dark Side," is a master of physical combat and Armament Haki, with a bounty of 162 million Beli. He was born on an island in the West Blue, where his father, Louis I, was the ruler and a notorious pirate who plundered other countries to enrich his treasury. Thus, Louis Carl was born both a prince and a pirate. Three years after Louis I abdicated in his favor, he was finally besieged by a large-scale, well-prepared navy. He managed to break through the naval encirclement with a small group of men and escape to the sea. Later, he was defeated and captured in a battle with Admiral Aokiji.

The third ship's captain, Moses August, is Paramecia Satan's Messenger Devil Fruit User and a martial artist. With a bounty of 153 million Beli, he is the founder of the Satan Cult in the impoverished kingdom of Namakura Island on the Grand Line. He is skilled at using his sticky ability to deliver back throws and waist-bending attacks. He set sail in search of Satan's truth, but after a disagreement with the Navy on an island, he inflicted a waist-bending attack on 302 Marines at Marine Base, paralyzing them all. He was ultimately classified as a pirate who caused serious harm, and the details of his arrest are unknown.

The fourth ship's captain, Tink [Shadow Man], is Paramecia Devil Fruit User. He currently has a bounty of 130 million Beli. He is a taciturn man who spent two years on Little Sabaody Island. He encountered Buggy and once teamed up to fight former Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Ghost General, but was defeated. He then stayed on Little Sabaody Island, where he and Jass dominated the island. After leaving Little Sabaody Island, he gained the attention of the Marines, and his bounty was quickly increased.

Captain of the Fifth Ship, [Big Crocodile] Jass, is Zoan Crocodile Devil Fruit User with a current bounty of 110 million Beli. He is decisive and ruthless. Due to his route being blocked, he was stranded on Little Sabaody Island for six years. He encountered Buggy and once joined forces to fight against former Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Ghost General, but was defeated. Afterwards, he stayed on Little Sabaody Island and, together with Tink, dominated the entire island. After leaving Little Sabaody Island, he was valued by the Marines and his bounty was quickly increased.

Captain Sherlock Daoer, the captain of the sixth ship, is a master swordsman with a bounty of 98 million Beli. He has a great love for treasure and possesses an extraordinary talent for treasure hunting. Due to a blocked route, he devised a plan, teaming up with Buggy, Jass, and Tink. They once fought against former Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Oni Ghost General, but were defeated. Later, while searching for treasure for Buggy, he was stranded in a certain sea area for seven months, but fortunately, he finally had a great harvest.

These six were among the best of the group. Besides them, there were five prisoners with bounties over 100 million, eighteen with bounties over 50 million, and a whopping 42 with bounties over 30 million. The rest were mostly pirates with bounties around 10 million. These prisoners were distributed evenly among the three ships by Buggy according to their strength and their own wishes. Buggy also valued Dino, also known as Mr. 3. Although his strength was not high, he was one of the few pirates who used his brain to make decisions. Buggy specially set him up as an "advisor" and gave him the right to participate in the planning and discussion of future operations.

The pirate crews brought by Tink, Jass, and Daoer consisted of more than ten officers with bounties over 30 million, more than twenty with bounties over 10 million, and several hundred crew members on each side.

The banquet lasted for three days and three nights. On the fourth day, Buggy summoned all the captains and prepared a feast for his adopted son.

Jody Lane, Louis Carl, Moses August, Tink, Jass, and Sherlock Daoer, as captains of their respective pirate crews, drank the sworn brotherhood sake without hesitation. After Buggy finished the last drop of the sake in the main bowl, the contract was officially formed, and from that moment on... the Buggy Grand Fleet was officially established!!

Aside from the crew of the Big Top, there are a total of ten pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million, almost comparable to the strength of eleven Supernovas. And there are countless others with bounties in the tens of millions. Compared to the Baroque Works founded by Crocodile or the One-Eye Family of Diderot, this force possesses nearly ten times more power!

After completing the sworn brotherhood, Buggy began to handle the transaction of converting the two billion on Daoer's ship into cash and to oversee the shipbuilding progress. However, he didn't need to do these things personally; he could leave them to his pirate crew.

Afterwards, Buggy visited Shakky's Rip-off Bar. Rayleigh had already left, presumably to take Luffy for Luffy. Shakky sighed helplessly, "Rayleigh doesn't usually like to come back, but he also doesn't leave Sabaody Archipelago. Now, because of your training, Buggy, he was away for eight months, and now that Luffy is away, I can only wait for him with my Vivre Card in hand."

Buggy could only smile along with Shakky. The two then chatted about the Marineford War. Shakky's eyes showed a hint of melancholy as she exhaled a smoke ring and said, "I remember when I was still a pirate, Whitebeard wasn't called Whitebeard yet, but he was already somewhat famous. Later, he slowly entered the world's view, and he was just then competing with the Pirate King Gol D. Roger... Think about it, the most famous Roger is dead, Whitebeard is dead, only the Golden Lion remains, his whereabouts unknown... In the blink of an eye, another era has passed..."

"This is an era older than me..." Buggy laughed. "The changing of the old and the new is the natural course of history. Even this era will eventually pass away..."

Shakky chuckled and said nothing. After smoking another cigarette, she enthusiastically made Buggy a cheesecake. Buggy didn't stand on ceremony and quietly ate the cake.

He then bowed deeply to Shakky, saying, "Sister Xia, thank you so much for taking care of me these past few days... If Mr. Rayleigh returns, please give him my regards."

"Don't mention it. I'll relay your message when Rayleigh returns," Shakky said with a smile. "Take care!"

Buggy got up, pushed open the small door of the bar, and went out, gently closing the door behind him.