A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Bucky subconsciously noticed that his men's expressions were off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. So he simply went back to his seat and sat down, covering his backside with a blanket and cloak.

Back in his seat, Bucky felt a little more at ease. He raised his glass, took a swig, then spread his arms wide and declared, "No matter what, I'm definitely going to the New World this time!"

"Are you really crazy?!" Alvida and the others' expressions changed drastically, but before they could dissuade Bucky from his decision, his brainless henchmen instantly went wild.

"As expected of Captain Bucky! He's so cool!!"

"Lead us to write a new legend, Captain Buggy!! Lead us to seize the throne of one of the Four Emperors!!!"

"What Four Emperors?! It's the Pirate King!! How many times have I told you to broaden your horizons? Captain Buggy is the man who's going to find all the treasures! How could he possibly let the One Piece slip by?!"

Alvida, Mochi, Kabaji, and the others stared wide-eyed at the huge ship full of people in front of them, their minds already filled with countless "Holy crap" exclamations, as if they had just met them today.

They didn't expect that with just a few words, this group of guys would elevate Buggy to the status of someone who could rival the Pirate King.

Just how much faith do these people have in Buggy's abilities?!

'Why did such an idiot end up on our ship?!'

'They used to say I could compare to Beckman of the Red-Haired Pirates, but I wasn't quite there yet. Now I'm starting to believe it! Could I really be a genius?!'

Amidst the shouts of the crowd, the atmosphere on the ship grew increasingly intense. Bucky's alcohol kicked in, and he suddenly became incredibly bold. He couldn't help but slam his hand on the table, stand up on the chair, and then spread his arms, revealing an unprecedented aura of ruthlessness.

"I just can't do anything with you guys~"

"Alright! Since you've both said so, let's go!"

"Go to the world's greatest treasure, the income..."

Bang! ! !

Just then, a figure descended from the sky, landing directly on Bucky, interrupting his unfinished boast, and then buried himself on the banquet table.

Everyone: "?!!"

Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone on the boat, an unfamiliar middle-aged man climbed off Bucky. He brushed the food scraps off his body, looked around in surprise, and then a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

"Is this... the world beyond the spatial passage?"

Chapter 875 Gildarts and Ace

what happened??

Who is this man?

Why did he fall from the sky?

Is Captain Bucky alright?

What is this spatial passage he's talking about?

A series of questions arose in everyone's minds with the man's appearance.

The man was around forty years old, with short, reddish-brown hair, a short stubble, a strong and powerful physique, and a black cloak draped over his shoulders.

He looks like a middle-aged man who's not simple!

Gildas was very frustrated. He hadn't expected that he would be in the middle of the ocean after entering the space tunnel. Luckily, this ship saved him. Otherwise, he didn't know what he would have done on the vast ocean.

"Thank goodness... I should have been prepared before coming here."

The thought of falling into the sea with no one to rely on filled Gildas with lingering fear. He murmured softly, "It's fortunate that the old man didn't come in to maintain order. If he had fallen into the sea, he probably wouldn't have lasted long at his age, right? Hahaha..."

Amidst the laughter, Gildarts's gaze finally met that of Ace and the others on the ship, and the laughter abruptly stopped, creating an awkward moment.

"Hey buddy, do you still want this meat?"

Pirates: ??

"You're being way too familiar! Are all people on the high seas this rude these days?"

"Judging from his innocent and foolish look just now, he obviously doesn't know where he is, so shouldn't he have asked around about where he is first?!"

"Hey!! Uncle!! You just attacked our captain, we can't pretend nothing happened!!"

"That's right! You have to pay compensation!! You smashed our captain's face so badly it turned red!!"

Before his underlings could finish speaking, Bucky instantly jumped to his feet, roaring furiously, "Who are you saying has a big, red nose?!"

When the boss got angry, all the underlings could only lower their heads silently, meekly and daring not to speak.

Just then...

Gildas leaned closer to Bucky, examining his face from left to right: "Hmm?? They must be talking about you, right? Your nose is the only one here that's red and big, that's really strange..."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but reach out her right hand and gently flick her red nose.

Bucky: (Angry) ? ? !!

The henchmen: (Shocked) ? ? !!

"We're doomed! This guy actually said something taboo about Captain Bucky! He's dead meat now!!"

"No, look at him, he suddenly fell from the sky. Maybe he has some kind of background? Just like Ace, what if he's also a great pirate, or a member of a great pirate crew..."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! This ocean is so vast, and the number of great pirates is extremely small. How could we possibly encounter two of them in one day? What kind of luck would that take?!"

While Cabaji and the others were still in shock and uncertainty, Gildarts had already taken his seat at the banquet and was eating, drinking, chatting and laughing with Ace.

"Hahaha... So you guys are pirates? You're quite different from what I imagined!"

"Really? You've never been in contact with pirates before, sir? By the way, my name is Ace!"

“My name is Gildarts! In the past... I rarely came into contact with pirates, but I did encounter some merchant ships that engaged in human trade and the slave trade.”

“Slave merchant ships… there are many of them on this vast sea.” Ace’s voice carried a hint of melancholy.

With the arrival of the Great Pirate Era, more and more people became pirates and went to sea. As a result, more and more dark corners were exposed, leading to the perception that slavery had become rampant in the eyes of most people.

Admittedly, it is true that the Great Pirate Era has made the slave trade more severe, but this phenomenon cannot be entirely blamed on the Great Pirate Era!

Just because the Great Pirate Era caused the slave trade rate to rise from 50% to 70% doesn't mean that the 70% increase was all the pirates' fault.

In fact, the slave trade has a long history, but it was mostly hidden in the dark corners of the world, in places that most people could not see, before Roger started the Great Pirate Era.

Since humans mastered advanced maritime navigation technology, the slave trade began to flourish along the entire Grand Line and even throughout the four seas.

The weaker the place, the more people are captured and enslaved; the more noble the place, the more people are sold into slavery. And one of the biggest participants is the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, whose disregard for life is known throughout the entire sea.

However, as far as Ace knew, there was basically no slave trade in the Whitebeard Pirates' territory.

"What? Judging from your tone, it seems you've never done this before? I thought pirates did this kind of thing!" Gildarts looked surprised. He had originally planned to wipe out this group of pirates after finishing his meal.

"Not at all!"

Upon hearing Gildarts's prejudice against pirates, Estun immediately became anxious and turned around to show Gildarts the tattoo on his back that represented Whitebeard, saying, "The Whitebeard Pirates never do anything like buying and selling slaves!"

"Really? I misunderstood! I'm sorry..."

Now that he's middle-aged and in a new world, even someone as thick-skinned as Gildarts isn't as muddled as before. At the same time, his eyes have become sharper. He can tell at a glance that the guy named Ace isn't a bad person at heart; at most, he's just a hot-blooded idiot.

"Hey, do you two even respect me anymore?!"

Listening to the two chatting and laughing, Bucky felt furious: How dare these two laugh at my red nose on my ship, the ship of the great Bucky, and eat my food without restraint?

Arrogant! Absolutely outrageous!

Most importantly, this man named Gildarts gave Bucky a sense of déjà vu—his face, his aura, his way of speaking… he was almost identical to his lifelong nemesis, Shanks!

This is precisely why Bucky was so agitated and angry!

Just then, Gildas's exclamation instantly calmed Bucky's anger.

"What? A Devil Fruit? You can gain amazing powers by eating it? Such a thing actually exists in this world?!"

"Yes, uncle, didn't you know?"

Ace, while eating his seafood sauce noodles, looked at Gildarts with a puzzled expression: "You're this old, and you don't even know about Devil Fruits?"

Gildas chuckled and scratched his head: "Hahaha... because I just arrived in this world! I used magic before!"

"magic?!"

Ace suddenly remembered Natsu, whom he had met in Alabasta, and the news he had just seen in the newspaper, and couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, are you... a mage?"

"Yes!"

Gildas answered instinctively, but inwardly he wondered, 'Does this world also have magic and mages?'

Ace's eyes lit up instantly, and he pressed on, "Then do you know Natsu?"

"The Natsu you're talking about, is he the boy with cherry blossom hair, wearing a white dragon scale scarf, who doesn't seem very bright?"

Ace nodded excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes! He can eat fire, how cool is that!! Oh, and he has a blue cat that can fly and talk with him!"

"That's Happy! So you know Natsu??"

“Yes, I met him in Alabasta not long ago. He still owes me a meal!” Ace said with a bright smile, then lit a flame on his right index finger.

Gildarts finally understood: Natsu must have eaten his fire.

"I am a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, which allows me to unleash flames at will. That's how Natsu and I met."

"Hahaha...Is that so? Well, you're really unlucky to be facing Natsu!"

Gildarts laughed loudly, showing no intention of keeping a secret, and revealed all of Natsu's magic, "Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer Mage, and can convert fire into magic power and physical strength, which should be considered a complete counter to your abilities."

"That's right!"

Perhaps because of their compatible personalities, Ace wasn't angry when Gildarts said 'Natsu should restrain himself.' Instead, he recounted how he met Natsu, and then said with a tearful face, "That guy suddenly appeared and ate all the fire I created. I was really startled!"

"But I think he was probably afraid the fire would spread to the town..."

Ace said sheepishly, "Although it was to cover for my brother's departure to sea, it was indeed wrong of me to set fire to the town so recklessly!"

“No, I think Natsu is just hungry…” Gildarts waved his hand.

Would Natsu be worried about the flames burning down the town?

Are you kidding me?!