Planting the Seed, Awaiting the Harvest

Buggy Pirates.

The many pirates looked at Buggy, their bodies faintly aching in sympathy.

Too miserable. Truly too miserable.

He had been brutally beaten, hurled across a thousand meters, and even smashed through a mast.

An ordinary person would not even have scraps left by now.

Only with the monstrous physique of this pirate world could Buggy still speak despite no longer looking human.

"Damn it, Cabaji, you useless bastard!"

Buggy lay sprawled on the ground, cursing nonstop.

"You gave me all that analysis, and every damn word was wrong!"

You said Luo Wen could not possibly be here. You said I absolutely did not need to fear Luo Wen.

It was all lies. It got him beaten half to death, nearly costing him his life.

"Tell me, do you want me dead so you can take over my pirate crew?"

Buggy stared at Cabaji with suspicion. This guy really did look a little like a traitor.

"Captain Buggy, how could I possibly harm you?"

Cabaji felt utterly wronged. Even if he had ten mouths, he could not explain himself now.

Who could have expected Luo Wen to suddenly switch ships and run into them by chance?

And who could have expected Luo Wen to be that strong?

The Chop-Chop Fruit was clearly the nemesis of swordsmen, yet it had been completely useless against Luo Wen.

"Captain Buggy, Luo Wen is too terrifying. Maybe we should stop being pirates."

Seeing Buggy's miserable state, Mohji hugged his lion, still shaken by fear.

Was this not supposed to be the Great Pirate Era? Why was there a bounty hunter as terrifying as Luo Wen?

They really could not keep being pirates. Who would not tremble at the sight of that man?

"If you ask me, we should disband."

Alvida was equally speechless. What was the point of being pirates like this?

They had once been carefree, sailing freely and wildly across the sea.

Now that Luo Wen had appeared, they spent every day in fear and anxiety.

They had been lucky this time. Luo Wen had spared them, but what about next time?

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm going to the Grand Line!"

Buggy's face was full of determination. He had no choice but to go to the Grand Line.

Luo Wen had swung three times, and every slash had put him in a life-or-death crisis.

Disobey Luo Wen?

Buggy would truly lose his life.

"You don't want your life anymore? You still want to go to the Grand Line?"

The pirates looked at Buggy as though he were insane.

He had nearly died in the East Blue, yet he still wanted to head to the Grand Line to get himself killed.

"If you're afraid, what kind of pirates are you?"

"I'm Buggy the Clown, a man even Luo Wen acknowledges."

Buggy stiffened his neck and bragged. He would never show weakness in front of his subordinates.

"Acknowledged by Luo Wen? Captain, have you lost your mind!?"

The crew doubted their own ears. He had been beaten like a dead dog, yet his mouth was still this tough.

"Of course. No pirate has ever escaped from Luo Wen before. If this isn't acknowledgment, what is?"

"He recognized my potential and allowed me to venture into the Grand Line."

"We'll meet again at the summit and fight another round!"

Buggy spoke with impassioned conviction. As he kept talking himself up, even he was starting to believe it.

His crew was left completely stunned and actually believed Buggy's nonsense.

Suddenly, a slash flew over from the Windrider in the distance and struck the sea beside the Buggy Pirates.

In an instant, enormous waves surged across the sea, nearly capsizing the pirate ship.

"Gasp!"

Everyone was drenched like drowned rats and sucked in a sharp breath.

From a thousand meters away, he could still unleash such a powerful slash.

If that had struck their ship, they would all be dead.

"Boss, is this part of his acknowledgment too?"

The crew looked at Buggy. This was not acknowledgment at all. It was aimed at their lives!

"Hahahaha, that's right! This is Luo Wen's encouragement for me!"

Buggy laughed boldly, as though he had not taken that slash seriously at all.

"We set sail immediately and make our name on the Grand Line!"

Buggy snatched the helm and steered the pirate ship toward the Grand Line.

The pirates were stunned by Buggy's imposing spirit, not noticing his trembling legs.

He knew that if they did not leave now, the next slash would definitely hit the ship.

Buggy was scared half to death and could only desperately accelerate the pirate ship, trying to enter the Grand Line as soon as possible.

He absolutely did not want to face Luo Wen again. Someone that terrifying was not an opponent he could fight.

Watching the pirate ship speed toward the Grand Line, Luo Wen satisfactorily sheathed his greatsword.

"Luo Wen, why did you let go of such an easy windfall?"

Nami was thoroughly confused.

Buggy was so weak, yet he had a bounty of 15 million Beli. It was practically free money.

That was still 15 million Beli, a huge sum even in the East Blue.

"He was once an apprentice aboard the Roger Pirates and shares a deep bond with one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks."

Luo Wen also found it strange.

What had a useless fool like Buggy done to deserve connections with those two?

And his network did not end there.

Dark King Rayleigh and the Whitebeard Pirates both had connections to him.

Everyone said Red-Haired Shanks had the Face-Face Fruit.

Little did they know that Buggy fit that title even better.

With the strength of mere cannon fodder and such deep connections, he would become one of the Four Emperors.

"He has such a powerful background, so we should be somewhat careful."

Nami agreed deeply. He was someone connected to one of the Four Emperors.

No matter how useless Buggy was, Luo Wen should still give Red-Haired Shanks some face.

"Why would you think that? On these seas, there's no one I don't dare touch."

Luo Wen rolled his eyes at Nami. Did he look like the timid type?

"What I mean is, Buggy can become more valuable in the Grand Line."

Nami suddenly understood. She knew Luo Wen would not be afraid of trouble.

The Arlong Pirates had been closely connected to one of the Seven Warlords, yet Luo Wen had not hesitated in the slightest. Not a single fish-man from the entire Arlong Pirates had survived.

"That's true. With his status, his bounty should at least double to 30 million Beli."

If they caught him then, would they not make a fortune?

Nami's eyes gleamed. This was far too worthwhile.

They only needed to put in the effort once to reap double the profit.

"30 million?"

"Too little. Your vision is too narrow!"

"Just his identity as an apprentice of the Roger Pirates makes him worth one billion Beli!"

Luo Wen shook a finger. Nami had not seen enough of the world yet and did not know how formidable Buggy's connections were.

Even one billion was Luo Wen being conservative. He was afraid of frightening Nami.

"Gasp, one billion Beli!"

Nami sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widening in shock.

Nami could not imagine how much money that was.

She had worked hard for eight years, swindling and stealing treasure from numerous pirate crews, only to barely scrape together 100 million Beli.

One billion Beli was an amount she could never reach in her lifetime.

As far as she knew, even those Seven Warlords of the Sea featured in the newspapers did not have bounties of one billion Beli.

"Buggy is only worth 15 million Beli now. Compared to one billion Beli, that's an increase of..."

Nami held up all ten fingers, calculating furiously.

"An increase of sixty-six times!"

Nami's eyes turned into stars. This was way too valuable!

She gazed at Buggy's pirate ship in the distance as though it were a mountain of gold that could grow on its own.

Seeing Nami's astonishment, Luo Wen chuckled to himself.

One billion Beli was far from Buggy's limit.

Who could have imagined that Buggy the Clown would rise to become one of the Four Emperors and even reach a top-tier bounty of nearly 3.2 billion Beli?

The seed Luo Wen had planted would bring a terrifying return of two hundred times.

"Stop staring, little money grubber."

"How much longer until we reach Loguetown?"

Luo Wen waved a hand in front of Nami's face before she finally pulled her greedy gaze away.

"At our current speed, we'll arrive tomorrow morning."

Nami thought for a moment before quickly giving her answer.

"Good. Once we cash in the bounty, we'll head straight for the Grand Line!"

Luo Wen nodded in satisfaction. At this speed, they would reach the Grand Line the day after tomorrow.