A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

The exclamation interrupted the pirates who were still celebrating. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that their captain's face had changed drastically. He was sweating profusely, and his eyes, nose, and tongue were sticking out in fright.

Bucky stared at the newspaper in disbelief, his hands trembling slightly with excitement, his tongue slurring as he spoke: "Ro...Ro...Ro...Captain Roger...?!!"

"How is this possible?!"

Seeing Buggy's initial disdain suddenly turn into shock, the pirates were all filled with doubt and uncertainty: "Captain, what did the newspaper say?"

Alvida, the "Big Sister" known as "Little Big Mom," got up from the recliner and looked at Buggy curiously: "What's wrong with this guy all of a sudden?"

Ace, standing nearby, also stopped eating, looking at the people on the ship with a puzzled expression: With so many pirates on this ship, why did they only buy one newspaper?

Bucky ignored his crew, gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle, seemingly lost in deep memories. Two streams of tears flowed down his weathered face: "Waaah... How could this happen?! I never thought I'd see you again in my lifetime..."

Soon, everyone took the newspaper from Bucky's hand and saw its contents, and they all exclaimed in surprise.

"What?! Big Mom, one of the 'Four Emperors,' has been defeated?! She's one of the pirates who came closest to the One Piece! Who did this?! Could it be Whitebeard?!"

Because Ace had just joined their ship, this group of pirates, who had previously been in the East Blue and had only been on the Grand Line for less than two months, learned about the major powers on the sea from Buggy. They learned that the pirate closest to the One Piece was Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors.

But when they looked at Eileen's photo, they realized they were wrong! The white-bearded man was an old man, while the woman in the newspaper was a stunningly beautiful young woman.

In an instant, dozens of eyes turned into pink hearts that popped out of the pirates' sockets, as if they wanted to stick them to the photo in the newspaper.

"What a nice view!!"

Wow! That figure is so sexy!

"This woman is even prettier than the gang leader! It's decided, from today onwards, she's my goddess!!!"

"Hey guys! See that? One day, I'm going to marry a wife just as beautiful as that!!"

"You're dreaming!"

Hearing the undisguised praise for Eileen from the crowd, Alvida was filled with resentment. She raised her spiked club and slammed it hard on the deck, glaring at the group of lecherous old men in front of her: "You bunch of bastards, are you looking for death? You actually said I'm not as pretty as her???"

"I...I'm sorry!!" ×N

"No, you're definitely not! You're not only not as pretty as her, but you're also not as capable!"

The pirates were immediately shocked: Who dares to say such a thing to their boss's face?! While what she said wasn't wrong, their boss is right in front of them! That spiked club could easily smash a 500-pound boulder with a swing of her hand—are they courting death?!

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Ace who was speaking.

Ace? Sorry, it's nothing.

He's the second captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, backed by the world's greatest pirate. He doesn't even respect Captain Buggy, so why would he need to worry about the Big Sister?

"A bunch of idiots!! The point of this newspaper isn't 'the Four Emperors' being defeated,' okay? The point is here!!"

Just then, Chief of Staff Kabakki interrupted his men's clamor, pointing to the newspaper at the bottom about resurrecting the dead and driving them into battle.

The group of pirates were once again utterly shocked.

"Resurrected from the dead?! How is that even possible..."

"The Pirate King?! Is that person really the Pirate King?? The legendary man who conquered this sea, Gol D. Roger? He's been resurrected?"

"That man is Captain John? Isn't that the treasure Captain Bucky has been searching for? He's even come back to life? That's great news, Captain! Wouldn't it be faster to get the treasure location directly from him?"

"Hey kid, can't you broaden your perspective a bit? The owner of the One Piece is among those being resurrected, and you're only interested in Captain John's treasure?"

"Right...right!! Compared to Captain John's treasure, the Pirate King's One Piece is more important! We should go find Gol D. Roger and ask for the location of the final island!!"

"Idiots! How many times have I told you, perspective, perspective!! Where has your perspective gone?! Only children make choices. Adults like us, given the opportunity to encounter something like this, are definitely going to want it all!!"

"I see!! Truly worthy of being the Chief of Staff!!"

The pirates suddenly realized what was going on and began to praise Cabaji. They even compared him to Beckman, the vice-captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, who was rumored to be the "smartest pirate." They concluded that the two were equally intelligent and unfathomable.

Amidst a burst of nonsensical cheers, Ace's gaze was fixed on Roger's image in the newspaper, his pupils dilated, and his uncontrollable emotions ignited a blazing fire that turned the fork in his hand into molten iron.

At this moment, Ace had even forgotten about finding Teach; his mind was solely focused on heading to the New World, to the Torrent Sea, to find the resurrected Roger, and then to give him a good beating!

"Roger..."

Chapter 874 The First Diffusion of Captain Bucky

"My men!!"

"Set sail, let's go to the new world!!"

Buggy's order startled all the pirates on board. They looked at each other, wondering what their boss was up to, and finally asked, "Hey! Captain, are you kidding me?"

Alvida smacked Bucky on the head with her stick: "Are you blinded by greed? At this time, do you think we can go to a place like the New World??"

"No, let alone at this time, even at normal times, that place is not a place we can even set foot in! With our strength, we would struggle to even survive the first half!"

"Bucky, can't you wake up?! No matter how greedy you are for treasure, you have to be alive to take it and spend it!"

Her tone was sincere and her attitude was earnest; she truly lived up to her reputation as the leader of the Buggy Pirates.

"Captain Bucky, Big Sister is right!"

"I think we should just continue searching for treasure in the first half..."

"Exactly... What does it have to do with us if those great pirates in the New World are fighting each other? Can't we just focus on finding treasure?"

Upon learning that Roger had been resurrected and enslaved, Bucky was already filled with grief and indignation. Now, hearing everyone's words, he couldn't help but roar, "What do you know? I, Bucky, may be greedy, but I'm also a grateful person! How could I let those guys get away with offending the dead Captain Roger like that?!"

The air suddenly went still, and Buggy's voice echoed throughout the entire pirate ship. The pirates who had been arguing about Buggy's decision were now dumbfounded, staring at their captain in disbelief.

After a long while...

"Captain... what do you mean by 'Captain Roger'?"

"Are you a member of the Pirate King's crew??"

"Speaking of which, you just said you've been to the New World and even met Whitebeard..."

"But I remember the Pirate King was executed by the Navy 22 years ago, right? How old were you then, Captain? 15? Or 16?"

All the core members of the Buggy Pirates—Cabaji, Mochi, Richie, and Alvida—held their breath, stared wide-eyed at Buggy.

Even Ace, who had been sitting quietly to the side and remained silent, couldn't help but look up at his brother who had just been chatting happily with him.

Bucky blinked his eyes, which had shrunk to the size of soybeans, and pursed his lips tightly, not daring to speak. Two ridiculously long and short snot dripped from his round, shiny red nose, and his face looked like he was saying, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

However, in reality, he was panicking: Oh no!! He'd accidentally let it slip!!! Was his identity about to be exposed?!

Bucky was no longer the slightly drunk man he had been. The drinks he had just consumed had turned into cold sweat pouring down his body.

"Um... um..."

Just as Bucky was scratching his head, stammering, and trying to change the subject, Ace suddenly spoke up and asked, "Bucky, do you really know Roger?"

"certainly--!!"

The pirates gasped in surprise, their eyes practically gleaming: "Oh?!?!"

Oops, I blurted out the truth in my excitement!!

Buggy's face turned ashen, and he began to cough tactically: "Uh... I mean, who doesn't know One Piece?"

Impossible! Your expression and attitude just now are definitely not how an ordinary person perceives One Piece!!

"Hey Bucky! What kind of person was Roger?"

"Huh? Why are you asking this?" Bucky narrowed his eyes, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

While I'm grateful to Ace for changing the subject, that tone...

Wait! His name is Ace?? Captain Roger's sword is also named Ace!! Is it a coincidence?

Bucky suddenly realized something, his eyes fixed on Ace's face. Sure enough, he noticed that the heroic air between Ace's brows was somewhat similar to that of his own Captain Roger, and he was instantly shocked.

Could it be...?!

"Ace, how old are you this year?"

"20 years old, what's wrong?"

"No...it's nothing." Bucky shook his head, but inwardly he smiled bitterly, realizing he had been far too paranoid.

22 years ago, the Navy investigated, kidnapped, and killed almost everyone on the high seas who might be Captain Roger's child. How could Ace possibly be Captain Roger's child?

When Buggy first heard about this, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, younger than Luffy is now. He was just a hot-blooded idiot. He didn't know Roger had a child, and even if he did, he would have been powerless to do anything about it.

Seeing Ace's confused expression, as if he didn't understand what he was talking about, Buggy sighed inwardly: 'Perhaps I'm overthinking it...'

However, Ace, facing him, was inwardly turmoil: 'Buggy's question means he's suspicious of my identity, and judging from his behavior just now, he might have noticed something amiss based on my appearance—after all, Pops said I look somewhat like that guy—which means he really knows Roger, and not just in a normal way!!'

'Could it be that Buggy... is actually a member of that person's crew?! Someone with that kind of strength can get on his ship?!'

Ace was in turmoil, but he kept a composed expression on his face: "You still haven't answered my question. In your eyes, what kind of person is Roger?"

"Roger... Roger...??"

This was the first time Bucky had ever addressed his captain by his first name so directly, so he stammered a bit: "Without a doubt, he's a great man and treats his crew very well. Apart from being a bit childish in character, he has almost no flaws. In short, he's a very charismatic person!"

Bucky had no idea that his eyes were shining as he said those words.

'Very charming...is that so?' Ace remained silent, his heart churning. He casually adjusted his hat to hide his inner turmoil.

Bucky's henchmen were all dumbfounded, staring at their boss as if they were meeting him for the first time today.

Just how much does Buggy idolize the Pirate King?!

'That tone, that assessment… Bucky really does know Roger!!!'

"That's...that's so cool!! Captain Bucky, you truly are our leader!!"

'This is unbelievable! This man has that kind of past?! I wonder how he met me...'

Unbeknownst to Bucky, a group of his underlings had already filled in the blanks with his legendary past and were convinced that he was a hidden master.

After all, how could someone who knows Roger and Whitebeard be simple?

As for why he's acted like a weakling in front of us for so long? It's because Captain Bucky's true strength is too great, and once he uses it, it will attract the attention of the Navy!

It's understandable that he kept his identity hidden in the East China Sea for the sake of a grander plan and to have enough time and energy to find Captain John's treasure.

For a time, apart from a few trusted confidants who knew Buggy inside and out, the entire Buggy Pirates regarded him as an ambitious, unassuming, and opportunistic pirate waiting for his moment to rise, whose status and strength even rivaled those of the 'Four Emperors', and their gazes toward Buggy became fervent.

What's wrong with these guys? Why are they looking at me like that...?