Strange Island

Buggy snapped out of his daze, shook his head violently, and looked up again. These weren't real life forms, but rather illusions created by the strange light refracted through the fog.

He walked forward again, passing right through the black phantom. The surrounding light was crystal clear, like multifaceted crystal glass, shimmering and sparkling.

After walking for about an hour, a range of mountains appeared ahead. When Buggy reached the foot of the mountain, he immediately spotted a stone tablet half-buried in the ground. He went over and dug it out. Upon closer inspection, he saw two Ancient Script engraved on the tablet. Although he didn't recognize the Ancient Script, he clearly understood their meaning.

"Is this Uze... the place where Uranus resides...?"

He was utterly shocked. Looking up at the mountain peak that pierced the clouds, his curiosity grew even stronger, and he quickly climbed up the slope.

The island was shrouded in thick fog, obscuring the sky and making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night. Buggy climbed relentlessly until he reached the summit, where he could finally make out the entire mountain range.

There are four mountain peaks in total, which are like the four corners of a square, surrounding a huge valley in the middle. The valley is as big as a city, and when viewed from the side, it looks like a semi-circle with an inverted parabola.

The valley floor was obscured by a sea of clouds and mist like cotton balls, making it difficult to see clearly. Even with his Observation Haki Buggy activated, he couldn't detect any signs of life in the valley.

However, he still wanted to see for himself, so he took a few steps forward, stood by the cliff and looked down. He saw that the slope on the side of the valley was steep, almost at a 90-degree angle, and thousands of meters above the valley floor.

Buggy thought for a moment, made up his mind, went to the cliff, and jumped off.

His footsteps lightly touched the air, tearing space apart with the force of his Chop-Chop. The relative force released by the space cushioned his fall, allowing him to stroll through the air as if taking a leisurely walk.

Before his eyes was a Whitebeard Pirates, and vaguely, he felt a force encroaching upon him. Buggy was in a daze, and images suddenly rushed into his mind.

Images flashed through my mind, fleeting and ephemeral, like a revolving lantern. Finally, in the instant Buggy plunged into the valley, all the images vanished from my mind.

He stared in disbelief, frozen in place for what seemed like an eternity, before finally regaining his senses. A look of shock crossed his face as he thought, "Was that Uranus? So it's already gone..."

Gradually, Buggy's turbulent emotions calmed down. He looked around, but there was nothing there. However, he had the idea of exploring the place, so he walked forward, carefully observing the surrounding scenery and any unusual clues as he went.

Perhaps the entire island is like this, and the valley is also completely barren, without a single plant. If you were to walk in a straight line, it would probably take a whole day to reach the end.

Having traversed about a third of the valley without finding anything, Buggy finally gave up on continuing his exploration and turned back.

On the way back, instead of climbing straight up the cliff, they used their Chop-Chop force to create a hole about the size of a person in the mountainside and returned to the shore in a straight line.

"So this is Uze 'Uranus [nest]. With this terrifying sea fog, no wonder no one could find this island... But the [Uranus] isn't here; he's already left..."

On his way back, Buggy couldn't help but think to himself that in the memories that inexplicably flooded his mind, he clearly saw the entirety of Uranus, and he saw it hovering in the air before finally flying off in a certain direction. All of this probably happened hundreds of years ago.

He didn't know why he felt so immersed in the scene, but considering the mesmerizing fog on the island, it didn't seem like anything to be surprised about.

Finally, Buggy returned to the shore where the ship was moored. Without further delay, he braced his hands against the stranded Pale White and pushed it outwards with all his might, moving it more than ten meters off the beach. Then, he leaped back onto the deck.

He clenched his hands, and the power of Chop-Chop split the space not far away. The spatial energy convection created a sea breeze, which in turn stirred up waves that propelled the Pale White away from the island.

After gaining the Sky Split with Chop-Chop power, Buggy has developed a completely new understanding of how to use his Devil Fruit powers.

In the world Pirate King One Piece, there is an adjacent, independent yet tightly bound energy space. Blueno used the Door-Door Fruit to open a portal and enter this space.

If we compare this energy space to a water tank filled with water, normally, as long as a slight breeze blows, the calm surface of the water will ripple. However, if the water is stirred vigorously, it will form a whirlpool. The stronger the force, the stronger the whirlpool will be. When the pressure reaches the limit that the water tank can withstand, the water tank will be torn apart.

Buggy used the power of Chop-Chop to open a gap in this energy space, and then exerted force inside, disrupting the energy of that space with the power of Chop-Chop, before guiding the violent and terrifying spatial power out from the split space.

This disruptive energy varies in strength depending on the amount of power Buggy exerts, but he has not tested what kind of spatial turmoil would occur if it were activated at full power.

About half an hour later, the Pale White emerged from the red, blue, and yellow sea fog and was once again greeted by the warm, spring-like sunshine.

After leaving the sea fog, Buggy no longer needed to activate his ability to create it, and the surrounding sea breeze had become strong, carrying the Pale White forward.

The men on the deck all looked haggard and sallow, their lips were bloodless, their breaths were faint, and they were fast asleep with their eyes closed.

"Still not awake...?" Buggy frowned as he looked at the group, then sat down on the deck to wait.

Without a navigator, the Pale White drifted with the current, day and night alternating, and two days passed quietly.

On the third day, a News Coo flew in from the distant horizon and landed on the ship's railing. Buggy took out 100 Beli, exchanged them for a newspaper, and after watching the News Coo leave, he began to read the newspaper by himself.

He compared the dates in the newspaper and was shocked. More than six months had passed since he set off from the Festival Island, which meant that he and his companions had been asleep on that Uze Island for a full six months!

Buggy thought to himself, "Six months... does the time in the dream synchronize with real time...? No wonder I had no strength left when I woke up; I was completely exhausted."

He continued browsing and saw the latest news: the Blackbeard Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates, led by Marco and Ace, each occupied half of the territory formerly ruled by the Whitebeard Pirates. Although large-scale wars between the two sides were rare, friction continued.

After Whitebeard's death, the title of the new Four Emperors remained vacant. Although the Blackbeard Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates were powerful, they were still somewhat weaker compared to the true Four Emperors crews, and they always lacked a commander who could make the final decision.

Another interesting story is that Trafalgar Law contributed the hearts of one hundred pirates to the World Government, thus joining the ranks of the Shichibukai, and with that, all the positions of the Shichibukai were filled.

At that moment, a soft cough came from the deck. Buggy put down his newspaper, looked back, and saw Gild Tesoro slowly opening his eyes, looking very weak.

After a while, Mikuru also woke up, looking around with a bewildered gaze, before slowly recalling everything that had happened.

Buggy felt relieved and quickly went to the kitchen to get some food, which he placed in front of Mikuru and shared some with Gild Tesoro. The two of them devoured the food like starving ghosts.

"Give me some more food!"

Gild Tesoro, who had previously looked down on the poorly made food, no longer cared about such things. He quickly finished all his food and stared intently at Mikuru's plate of food, swallowing hard.

Buggy scoffed, then took some more food from the cabin and tossed it over, glancing at Gild Tesoro, whose eyes strangely held a few tears.

Buggy asked Mikuru, "Kitty, how are you? What happened to you?"

Mikuru ate his food, his expression somewhat dazed, seemingly lost in memories. "It's like the cat went back in time, received some training, and then suddenly came back..."

"Genius Jester, that fog... what exactly is going on..." Gild Tesoro looked up at Buggy with a puzzled and lost expression, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"I don't know either, it must be some kind of fog that can create hallucinations."

Buggy glanced at Gild Tesoro's expression, turned his back, and said indifferently, "The renowned Gild Tesoro seems somewhat dejected?"

Gild Tesoro paused, seemingly unsure how to vent the flood of emotions surging within him, and blurted out, "I went back in time, saw Stella again, earned enough money to buy her freedom, and she told me..."

He paused, sighed, and looked up at the sky in bewilderment, muttering softly, "Yes, Stella is dead at the hands of the Celestial Dragons. She can't possibly be alive... What I saw was just an illusion..."

He paused, then growled in a low voice, "It's an illusion, a damn illusion!!"

His eyes instantly turned red, and tears silently streamed down his face. "Bastard!" Seemingly feeling too ashamed, Gild Tesoro immediately raised his hand to wipe away his tears, trying to calm himself down and put on a cold expression.

Buggy tossed one of the newspapers and a wanted poster to Gild Tesoro, saying, "By the way, I just saw a news article; you're a pirate now too."

Hearing Buggy's words, Gild Tesoro's heart stirred again. He looked down at the bounty poster: Gild Tesoro, the Gild Tesoro, bounty of 480 million, life or death.

What's going on?

Gild Tesoro couldn't help but growl in a low voice, quickly scanning the news report in the newspaper without missing a single word. After learning the details of the matter, the veins on his forehead bulged, and he slammed his fist heavily on the deck. However, he was handcuffed with Seastone Handcuffs, and his fist was limp and powerless.

Buggy calmly replied, "The Gran Tesoro is overflowing with gold; even the Celestial Dragons, who claim to be the creators of the world, would be envious. Besides, your battle with Marine Admiral Fujitora gave the Celestial Dragons a convenient excuse. Naturally, they abandoned you, labeled you a pirate, and chose the priceless Gran Tesoro instead. In this way, the misunderstanding between the Celestial Dragons and the Navy is completely resolved, resulting in a win-win situation for both sides... Gild Tesoro, you should be able to see that."

Gild Tesoro's face was ashen. He closed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, then lowered his head. "Thousand Taels of Transformation, cooperate with me..."

"Cooperate?" Buggy asked. "What gives you the leverage to cooperate with me?"

"Don't underestimate me!" Gild Tesoro said. "I have businesses all over the world that can provide me with a lot of funds. Not only do I have intricate connections with mid-level officials in the World Government, but in the Underworld, my intermediary power is only slightly weaker than JOKER's. Furthermore, I have a group of loyal subordinates who are undoubtedly lurking in the shadows, ready to answer my call. All of this is my capital!!"

"Oh?"

Buggy didn't turn around; he just kept looking at the sea ahead. "So what is your purpose?"

"I will kill Celestial Dragons!!" Gild Tesoro said, each word distinct and filled with unwavering hatred. "If you cooperate with me, with my power, I can certainly provide you with a great deal of assistance!"

Do you think I'd help you kill Celestial Dragons?

Gild Tesoro took a deep breath. "You are Shichibukai under the jurisdiction of the World Government. I didn't expect you to do this. I will take action myself. But I need you to lend me a hand when I'm in trouble. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"No, the title of Shichibukai is merely a stepping stone for me to advance. Once the time is right, I can naturally shed this title. Therefore, the World Government doesn't hold much sway over me. Don't get that wrong."

Gild Tesoro paused for a moment, then said, "That's even better. Without the assistance of the World Government and the Navy, you'll need another helper, and that person can be me!"

"Although we weren't enemies before, why should I trust you?"

"It doesn't depend on me... but on your courage and boldness. Choosing to become a pirate who rose to fame in the Marineford War must mean you have great ambitions. I don't think you'll waste the power that's been handed over to you!"

Gild Tesoro said, "You used Seastone Handcuffs to restrain me, wasn't that for this purpose too!"

Buggy finally turned around, his expression calm as he looked at Gild Tesoro. Their eyes met for a moment, and he slowly said, "Indeed. Okay, I agree to cooperate."

Buggy walked over, took out a key from his pocket, inserted it into the hole of the Seastone Handcuffs, and then twisted it.

With a loud clatter, the Seastone Handcuffs fell onto the deck.

Seeing Buggy's decisive action, Gild Tesoro's eye twitched involuntarily, and he said cryptically, "Aren't you afraid I might suddenly change my mind and take action?"

Buggy snorted, a sharp, confident glint in his eyes.

"You are no match for me now."