"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully completed your third Divine Check-in.
Check-in Location: Shells Town, East Blue.
Check-in Reward: Emperor Engine!"
[Emperor Engine]: Upon activation, it emits the terrifying engine-like vibrations of the strongest man alive. Any powerhouse in the world who hears it will be struck with fear!
"W–What? Emperor Engine?"
In that instant
Tsuneo was completely dumbfounded.
Could this even be considered a divine-tier reward?
From a certain perspective, it was something even more terrifying than divine-tier.
Because once that sound appeared
That thumping, rumbling engine noise
It symbolized the strongest man alive.
No exceptions.
Just from the name alone, it was obvious.
The word Emperor was not something just anyone could claim.
It represented absolute authority.
But…
That was it.
No follow-up.
No actual attack.
A divine ability that relied purely on overwhelming intimidation to deal damage
Especially effective against cautious, timid pirates or marines!
As long as they were naturally fearful or overly careful
Regardless of how strong or weak they actually were
They would all fall neatly into its grasp!
Ridiculous!
At this moment, no matter how many fancy words Tsuneo tried to use to dress it up for the system
He still had the overwhelming urge to politely greet the system's entire family tree.
Heh.
Was there really someone in this world who was absurdly powerful, yet cowardly by nature, hiding in the East Blue and too afraid to venture out?
Wait.
Suddenly
As that thought crossed his mind, a certain ridiculously strong yet extremely pathetic figure popped into Tsuneo's head.
Holy hell!
In the world of One Piece, there actually was such a person!
And at this very moment, he should indeed be somewhere in the East Blue
Not even that far from their current location!
That man was none other than
A former apprentice on the Pirate King Roger's ship,
The future Yonko Red-Haired Shanks' good brother,
The Chop-Chop Fruit user
Buggy the Clown!
Meanwhile
Orange Town, East Blue.
"Captain Buggy! The marine base at Shells Town has been wiped out! Even Axe-Hand Morgan is dead! This is a blessing from the heavens!"
The moment Buggy heard this, he jumped to his feet, his face filled with excitement and disbelief.
"Who did it?!"
"Captain Buggy, it was pirates! The leader seems to be someone named Tsuneo! Yes—he's the one the Marines are calling the most dangerous rookie pirate!"
"Tsuneo?"
Buggy smacked his lips and lifted his chin arrogantly.
"Tch! Some punk who popped out of nowhere. In the East Blue, can he really be more famous than me, Buggy the Great?
Calling him the most dangerous rookie pirate?
That's basically saying I don't exist!"
"Captain Buggy, that pirate crew just left Shells Town. If you don't like them, we could still set out now and intercept them!"
"Oi—are you insane?!"
Buggy exploded on the spot, leaping into the air, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"They're pirates who killed Axe-Hand Morgan! And you want me to intercept them?
Are you trying to get me killed?!"
"A–Ah! Captain Buggy, please calm down! I was wrong! Then what should we do now? Should we take some kind of action?"
"Of course!"
Buggy crossed his arms and snorted.
"Send two capable men to keep a close eye on them. Remember—no matter what, they must not be allowed anywhere near Orange Town!"
"Understood! Captain Buggy! But… what if Tsuneo's group still comes to Orange Town?"
"What if?"
At that moment, Buggy's expression turned icy.
Seen from the side alone, he actually looked every bit like a true powerhouse.
"Hmph! I, Buggy the Great, have already given them a chance.
If they insist on coming here… then we'll just have to wipe them all out!"
"Wow! Captain Buggy is so ruthless!"
"Yes! Captain Buggy is the strongest!"
When it came to posturing
Tsuneo might call himself second, and no one would dare call themselves first
Except Buggy the Great.
In this world, only Buggy possessed the strength to rival Tsuneo in sheer bravado
A perfect match!
At the same time
On the vast, endless sea,
Tsuneo and his group of big shots had just left Shells Town and were once again hopelessly lost at sea.
Yet strangely enough
None of the big shots under Tsuneo seemed worried at all.
After all…
Their captain always seemed to possess prophetic foresight!
At this moment, Tsuneo was completely drunk on irony.
The first two times were pure dumb luck, okay?!
Who told you guys I could predict the future?!
But…
Even if Tsuneo confessed now, would any of them believe him?
Third time's the charm, they said.
Still, Tsuneo silently swore that once this was over, he'd definitely go buy a damn sea chart.
Suddenly
Just as Tsuneo was nervously wondering when he'd once again luck into crashing into an island by accident
A small wooden raft appeared not far behind them.
On it sat two men.
One was a beast tamer wielding a whip
Mohji, vice-captain of the Buggy Pirates.
The other was a sword-wielding cyclist
Cabaji, the crew's chief of staff.
The moment Tsuneo turned his head, the two men on the raft began paddling frantically, as if afraid of being discovered.
It was painfully obvious.
Anyone with half a brain could tell
They were tailing them.
The sea was completely open and unobstructed
Even an idiot could see them!
And yet
Only the two of them remained blissfully unaware!
Tsuneo was utterly stunned.
Whose crew did these two idiots belong to?!
They were single-handedly dragging down the average IQ of pirates everywhere!
But none of that mattered now.
What mattered was this
After spotting the two of them, Tsuneo finally knew how to reach the next island.
Hahaha!
This method was guaranteed
Absolutely foolproof!
...