https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-630-Good-Job-Stay-Sharp-and-Don-t-Embarrass-Us-/13464591/
Chapter 631: This Path Is Risky, But I'm Ready to Go Solo
Chapter 631: This Path Is Risky, But I’m Ready to Go Solo
Thud, thud, thud.
The sound of footsteps on the ladder made the pirates' hearts sink. Ignoring the shocking words, their eyes moved upward, and the first thing they saw was a pair of black leather boots with metal tips. The metal didn’t look like brass; it was likely real gold.
A bit higher, they saw legs descending with the ease of a leisurely stroll, followed by a black cloak with red-tipped fur that swayed behind. Then came a luxurious belt studded with jewels, and above it, a shirt adorned with intricate patterns, paired with a brown vest. And then, a bit higher...
Buzz!
Before they could see the face, the pirates, whose heads were gradually lifting, felt a heavy pressure that forced them to bow down, their bodies sinking to the ground on all fours.
“What did I hear? Swearing?”
The boots appeared in the field of vision of a thin, trembling man, accompanied by a voice.
“Were you cursing me?”
The thin man’s mouth moved, trying to shake his head, but under the heavy pressure, all he could do was tremble.
After a moment, the voice let out a light laugh, and the boots disappeared from his view.
Just as the thin man felt a brief relief, his vision suddenly spun, and after a dizzying blur, he saw the sky, clear and calm after the storm.
So blue...
Then he saw a headless body, still trembling, kneeling on the ground.
And a slender figure walked past, sword in hand, her golden hair shimmering in the sunlight, and a fragrance wafting through the air.
So beautiful...
His last consciousness faded, and his eyes froze.
Maria, standing beside Lily, glanced at the head on the ground and then looked around at the burly, fierce pirates. She smiled and said, “This is different. It’s like a sheep among wolves. He’s just an ordinary person.”
Lily replied coolly, “He’s one of the recent recruits of the Cross Guild. He must have been the one who took out T-Bone.”
“Ah, is that so? What a pity.” Maria smiled, then bypassed the kneeling men and followed Sagel into the tent.
Akin, who followed behind, paused at the head and said in a deep voice, “Without that willpower, his future would have been bleak. Dying now is a mercy. Being taken care of by Lady Lily, he didn’t even feel the pain.”
Inside the tent, the Cross Guild’s executives had already risen from their lounge chairs, cold sweat pouring down their faces.
“S-Sir Sagel.”
Mohji and Kabaji stuttered a greeting, and the lion behind them meowed, standing up on its hind legs and pointing to a room behind them.
Daz Bones lowered his head, unable to speak.
Arlong was as silent as a cicada.
The man with the '3' braided into his hair kept pushing up his glasses to hide his fear.
Sagel walked past him, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look at him, sizing him up. “Mr. 3?”
The famous Mr. 3 trembled and quickly said, “P-please, just call me Gal Dino. In your presence, I don’t dare use such a title.”
“Did you almost take out the Blue and Red Demons in the Small Garden?”
Sagel’s words made the others following him freeze, their eyes wide with surprise as they looked at Mr. 3.
Mr. 3 blinked, recalling the moment, and humbly waved his hands. “It’s not worth mentioning, just used my ability to deal with two Giants.”
“Ha!”
Sagel laughed. “The sea is truly amazing!”
Without waiting for Mr. 3’s response, he walked into the inner room, where the door, slashed by something sharp, had fallen to the ground.
Sagel walked in, and Akin, who had entered first, pulled out a chair at the table.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Sagel sat down casually, then looked at the three people still showing signs of shock, and finally turned to Buggy, who was battered and bruised. He chuckled, “What kind of sadistic game are you playing? Shocking, two men and a woman, treating a man with a missing body but inspiring words like animals?”
Buggy’s words over the intercom had been loud, and Sagel had heard them.
“Who’s calling me a red nose!!”
Buggy’s head, split into eight pieces, quickly reformed, and he snarled, his eyes white and his teeth sharp. Then, upon seeing Sagel, he quickly calmed down and cried out excitedly, “Brother! My best brother! Help me! They’re going to kill me!”
“Hmm? You want his help?”
Mihawk said coolly, "If you want to be the King of the Pirates, your biggest rival is him."
Buggy was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement, his demeanor becoming much more subdued.
"A mess!"
Crocodile cursed, glancing sideways at Sage, and exhaled a puff of smoke. "You just barged in like this? Even though you have a stake in this, the decision-makers are us. Your attitude is all wrong."
"It's too heavy."
Hancock raised her head. "Worldslider, I heard you fought Luffy-sama in Wano. Now you're exerting such a heavy presence, not even trying to hide your Haoshoku Haki. Are you planning to deal with me? After all, I am Luffy-sama's—"
As she spoke, her face flushed, and she cupped her cheeks, blushing coyly. "Luffy-sama! I can't take it anymore!"
"I'm not particularly interested in you, this Nika fanatic, especially since you're now a partner. Work harder. The more you do, the more I earn."
Sage shrugged. "As for the Haki, I'm not like Red Hair, who hides behind a mask. I don't suppress my own Haki. When I'm here, I'm here. What's the point of hiding?"
Suppressing Haki is a common technique, and when taken to the extreme, it becomes Kenbunshoku Haki.
Sage found it contemptible, so he wouldn't do it.
He wanted to make it clear to everyone that he was present.
He didn't deliberately use Haoshoku Haki; he just didn't hide his own presence. But that presence was something ordinary lackeys couldn't handle.
"Coming in and taking out our star, what are you planning?"
Crocodile snorted. "He was someone I specifically 'bought.'"
Sage shook his head with a smile. "What's the point of keeping a lunatic? If you want to insult me, show some strength. Otherwise, you'll just bring shame to your organization."
He was familiar with the concept of "buying a horse's bones", where any reward would be given for any wanted criminal to attract more people to the Cross Guild.
But that wasn't a reason for Sage to tolerate it.
His displeasure was enough.
"Besides, you have too many stars."
Sage pointed to Mr. 3 outside and laughed. "That guy is about to become famous across the seas. He nearly took down the Blue and Red Demons, making him a perfect new star."
The Aghored Incident saw the Giants Clan make an appearance, and the most representative Blue and Red Demons would certainly have new bounties set, and they wouldn't be low. After all, they were worth 100 million Berries a century ago.
Given the current inflation, 800 million to 1 billion wasn't much, and 200 million to 300 million wasn't insignificant.
Clearly, they would become famous again, and Mr. 3, who nearly took them down, would become even more renowned.
"Blue and Red Demons?"
Crocodile frowned. "I think I've heard of them somewhere."
"Giants Clan Pirates, the two leaders of the Giant Soldier Pirate Group who terrorized the seas a century ago."
Hancock looked at Mr. 3 outside the door in surprise. "He has such a record?"
As an ancient nation, the Nine Snake Island was perhaps not as familiar with current sea news, but they were well-versed in old news.
"Let's talk about that later. Sage, I invited you here to discuss a partnership."
Crocodile scoffed and kicked Buggy's head. "Get to work! Buggy, use your talents and throw a party."
"Smart."
Sage laughed heartily. "If you make me talk business in this hellhole, I'll flip the table, hahaha!"
Buggy wasn't much of a fighter, but he was excellent at setting the mood. After recovering his original form and resting a bit, he magically healed his injuries.
In fact, he hadn't been seriously injured, and most of the damage was on his body, which he could easily hide under his large cloak. As for his face, the three of them knew their limits and didn't hit him too hard.
On the second floor of the circus, the officers of the Calamity Pirates and the Cross Guild gathered, while the Pirates below, who had been intimidated by Sage's presence, were no longer afraid after Buggy said a few words.
There was nothing to fear, after all. Sage was a good friend of Buggy, and it was normal for them to be unable to withstand the pressure of a Yonsou.
On the contrary, the Yonsou 'Worldslider' ignored them, but the Yonsou 'Senryu Doika' treated them like treasures!
In comparison, their own leader was better.
Watching Buggy on the second-floor balcony, one hand holding a wine glass and the other detached from his body flying around, completely hyped up, Sage smiled, picked up his own glass, and clinked it with Crocodile's, drinking it in one gulp.
"Amazing, Buggy. His ability must be quite developed. Any major injuries to his body seem to be split off first."
Shattered into pieces, it’s not just a simple division. He’s not a doll with detachable parts.
Every part of his body can split, and all critical injuries are avoided by his ability, allowing him to quickly recover and be as lively as ever.
"Indeed."
Mihawk, who had the right to speak on this matter, was actually the one who found Buggy the most troublesome.
Because even a slash, even one imbued with Haki, is ultimately a small cut. As long as it’s a cut, Buggy can split and escape it.
It feels a bit like Kataguri, but not as strong. Sagel could sense that Buggy’s ability might be more passive.
"Before we talk business, I want you to meet someone."
Crocodile put down his glass and said to Daz Bones, who was sitting on the outer edge, "Bring him up."
The man, who had a skin tone similar to Akin and seemed to belong to the same race, had always been calm. He stood up without a word, went downstairs, and soon returned with a burly man.
"Captain Buggy!"
The man first shouted in adoration at Buggy, who was partying on the balcony, before approaching the group and excitedly said, "Boss Sand Crocodile, you’re finally going to send me on a mission!"
"Let’s skip the formal introduction, Everton. You probably won’t remember anyway."
Crocodile said, "Power Holder, the user of the Track Fruit, can designate a path for objects to move along, like laying down a track. Once the direction is set, no matter how hard the object, it will be pushed away. Similar to the Western Army Commander of the Rebel Army, he has the ability to break through the Red Line."
Hearing this, Maria glanced at him and smiled, "He’s also a lot like Reti."
"Let’s consider them the same type."
Crocodile nodded. "I called you here to discuss this. I have a rough idea of what you’re planning. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have targeted Red Port. Tsk! Pluton in Wano, you must have known about it all along. Were you just laughing at me back in Alabasta?"
The news of Wano being dismantled and disappearing had already spread. After all, a country of that size just vanishing was bound to be noticed. Combined with Sagel’s recent actions, he could guess what had happened.
A single strike to destroy an island, and an ancient weapon at that. If the island can move, then it can be considered a ship—definitely Pluton!
He had hidden in Alabasta for so many years, only to be embarrassingly defeated by the Straw Hat crew.
Even though he and Sagel were allies at the time, even if he didn’t want to say anything, couldn’t he have hinted that it was a futile effort?
This guy is from Ohara; he must have known long ago!
Sagel laughed, "I went to Wano with the resolve to die. It wasn’t that easy. That’s all in the past. Now, since you’ve guessed it, let’s talk about your plan. This path is risky, but I’m prepared to take it on my own. You don’t want to open another route in Red Port, do you? Those old men would never agree."
"I don’t expect them to agree, Sagel. Wouldn’t a small, private passage be better?"
Crocodile continued, "I don’t know what deal you’ll make with the World Government, but once they know, it means this passage will be under their control as well as yours. It could become as noticeable as the first half of the Gate of Justice."
"Doing business under their noses isn’t a good idea. We also have underground world operations. Instead of letting the World Government figure it out, why don’t we create our own small route?"
Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke, "Choose a place no one cares about, and make a hidden passage. Use it as a backup in case of emergencies. This can only be done with our cooperation."
Drilling through the Red Line is a massive undertaking. The World Government will definitely focus on Sagel, and they will also keep a close eye on all the officers of the Calamity Pirates.
But focus has its limits. By focusing on Sagel, they will inevitably overlook some other things.
And that’s Crocodile’s opportunity.
"The route will still be yours, but the underground world business will be mine. I’ll take thirty percent."
He didn’t play any games; he came straight with the biggest offer of sincerity.
Negotiating with Sagel wouldn’t be effective. He understood this guy. Sagel would definitely do business, but at this level, he preferred not to haggle.
Moreover, Sagel’s decisions were often based on his mood.
A good relationship and the utmost sincerity were enough to secure his agreement.
(End of Chapter)
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