Buggy: Shanks, If You Want to Die, Don't Take Me With You

Jiaqi was not only rough-looking; he had a seriously sleazy heart too. No wonder Qiyuan did not like him.

Hey, whatever you do, don't tell Teacher Zehua or Zhiyuan. Checking things out was a secret between brothers.

Jia Ji said this to Mu Chen with a face full of righteous conviction.

But Mu Chen had no interest in any of this. He was only nineteen, and more importantly, he was still a virgin. Better forget it. "Fine, Jia Ji, you go have fun. I'm not blessed enough to enjoy it."

As Mu Chen spoke, he turned to leave. To be honest, he really did not want to stay in a place like this any longer.

"Mu Chen, don't, don't! What was that saying again? Good brothers have to sit together, carry guns together—we're carrying them now—or go to prison together. We probably won't get the chance for that."

"The third one is whoring around together, isn't it?"

"Whore your sister! Get the hell out of here!"

Mu Chen could not even be bothered to respond to Jia Ji. What the hell was this? He had even dragged out that whole line of nonsense. My sister, my sister, my sister...

"You mean those little sisters, right? Hehe."

"Uh... let's go, then. Together."

Mu Chen frowned deeply and covered his face. He did not want to say another word right now. How had Jia Ji become a future Marine admiral candidate? This was ridiculously unreliable.

Just then, at the turn connecting District 18 to District 19 in the distance, Mu Chen spotted a figure. The figure was not tall, probably only fifteen or sixteen, but the most eye-catching thing was the straw hat on his head. Shanks!

There was no mistaking it—this had to be Shanks. Mu Chen had not expected that he would run into Luffy's future godfather-like figure and one of the future Four Emperors while slacking off.

Well, this was interesting. Seeing him immediately got Mu Chen interested. What girls? They were nowhere near as important as a future Four Emperor. "Go by yourself. I saw someone I know. Once you've had enough fun, come find me." Leaving those words behind, Mu Chen hurried off without the slightest hesitation. He knew that running into Shanks now was no easy thing. What was more, Shanks was still just a kid. If he did not bully a future Four Emperor a little, would that not be a huge loss?

"Mu Chen, don't go! What acquaintance? I think you just want to have fun without taking me along."

"Fine, do whatever you want. Just remember to be back at the harbor before six!"

After Mu Chen passed the corner, he saw the straw hat moving through the crowd in the distance. There was no helping it—the hat was simply too conspicuous to miss.

Mu Chen quietly followed behind him. He did not know what Shanks intended to do. Roger the Pirate King's crew had already disbanded, and every crew member had gone their separate ways. In Mu Chen's memory, Shanks, as an apprentice crewman, should have been wandering alone during this period. Then, two years later, he would seek out Yasopp and form the Red-Haired Pirates that same year. Running into him now had to be a coincidence.

Mu Chen followed Shanks all the way to a secluded bar. Mu Chen was only wearing a T-shirt today, with nothing identifying him as a Marine, so he followed Shanks inside and sat at a table behind him.

Shanks ordered a glass of juice and waited quietly.

Who was he waiting for?

Someone from the Sabaody Archipelago?

Mu Chen suddenly thought of someone, but he was not certain yet.

Better not alert them. He only wanted to see what Shanks had been like as a child, and perhaps bully him a little. Bullying a future Four Emperor sounded exciting just thinking about it.

"Shanks, you bastard, I already lost! Stop coming after me!"

Suddenly, a boy dressed like a bar attendant appeared. He was about the same age as Shanks, and the most striking feature about him was his huge red nose. Buggy!

Mu Chen took one look and saw another familiar face. It was actually the clown. "Buggy, Buggy, I've come to you several times already. Have you thought it over?"

"Form a pirate crew with me."

The moment Shanks said it, Buggy immediately looked as though he faced a great enemy. He nervously glanced around and whispered, "Shanks, keep your voice down! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Don't forget, Captain Roger has already been executed by the Marines. The Marines might be looking for us right now so they can execute us too. I don't want to die with you!"

Buggy's cowardly nature was on full display. He was terrified that someone else might hear, but Shanks looked utterly unconcerned.

Then Buggy dragged Shanks into the alley behind the bar. Mu Chen followed after them and hid in a corner to watch the two.

"Buggy, what are you afraid of? You said it yourself—we were Roger's crewmen. We cannot disgrace Captain Roger."

"As the Pirate King's crewmen, if we cannot form our own pirate crew, we would be letting down his great name."

Shanks spoke proudly. He had always taken pride in being Roger the Pirate King's crewman.

Yet Mu Chen could still tell that after saying those words, Shanks's expression dimmed slightly.

Shanks also unconsciously touched the straw hat on his head. Mu Chen knew that Roger had left that straw hat to him.

It seemed Shanks was still deeply troubled by Roger's death.

"Shanks, stop talking nonsense. I just want to hide out quietly for a while. If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

Buggy only wanted to quietly lie low for a while. He had no desire to fool around with Shanks, especially because Shanks had forced him to eat a Devil Fruit. He had originally planned to take it off the ship and sell it for money, but Shanks had made him swallow it just like that.

He had spent time aboard Roger the Pirate King's ship and had seen what true strength was. True powerhouses would not give themselves a weakness, and all strong people knew Conqueror's Coating. It could be said that to become a top-tier powerhouse, one could eat a Devil Fruit, but one could not fail to know Conqueror's Coating. There had not been many Devil Fruit users on the ship, whether Roger or the vice-captain Rayleigh. So although Buggy had been cowardly back then, he had still possessed a desire to become strong.