A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Luo raised an eyebrow in surprise, thinking to himself: 'These guys... they're clearly not that strong, yet they're completely unafraid of me? Could it be that they have complete confidence in their captain?! And Bucky's complete lack of reaction... are they already used to this situation?'

Thinking this, his gaze towards Bucky became more scrutinizing: 'How interesting! So, people capable of such great things are indeed extraordinary? I'll see just how strong this guy really is!!'

"Don't be so tense, Mr. Bucky, I mean you no harm!"

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Trafalgar Law, and I'm also a pirate!"

Law's eyes scanned Buggy closely. He couldn't see any aura of strength in Buggy and subconsciously assumed that the other party had reached the point where he could control his aura at will.

"I just came here to say hello and see what kind of person you are, who caused such a ruckus in the Sabaody Archipelago, beat up a Celestial Dragon, evaded the pursuit of a Marine Admiral, and made us pirates look so pathetic."

Chapter 966 The Legendary Person

Half an hour later.

"I was wrong! Terribly wrong!"

Luo's face was flushed red, and he was filled with shame and indignation. He felt a sense of regret for being deceived by the world and for his own stupidity. Bucky, who was drinking and having fun like an idiot, made him so embarrassed that he wanted to carve a polar diving ship on the deck with ghostly cries.

"This guy isn't some hidden master at all; he's just a complete noob!"

"While the Chop-Chop Fruit's power is indeed a strong counter to my swordsmanship, it also provides some immunity to the Op-Op Fruit..."

"Seriously! How could the counter-effects between Devil Fruits be this ridiculous?!"

After venting his frustrations to himself where no one could see him, Luo composed himself and returned to the banquet to take his leave.

"That's enough for now, I should be heading out. Thank you for your hospitality today, Mr. Bucky!"

Bucky, his eyes slightly glazed with alcohol, staggered forward and put his arm around Law's shoulder, his breath reeking of alcohol: "Huh?! You're leaving already? The party's not over yet!"

Please! We've achieved our goals, but still ended up with an extremely disappointing result. Who would be in the mood to hold a banquet here?!

Luo silently scoffed inwardly, but put on an awkward yet polite smile: "Let's postpone the banquet until next time! My crew might do something if they see me not returning for so long..."

Bucky, who had been drinking, was unusually hospitable: "Why don't we just invite them over for a party? You just said you only have three crew members on your ship, right?"

Who knew that Bucky's leader was so generous and enthusiastic? It seems that appearances can be deceiving... A guy who can do something like that is definitely not without merit!

Just as Luo was about to agree and make this friend, an arm suddenly passed right in front of them.

The two stared blankly at the arm that had appeared out of nowhere. Following its outstretched direction, they discovered that the arm reached all the way up to the mast and wrapped around it several times.

"Hmm? This is..." ×2

Before they could even utter the word "what," they felt a tremendous force strike them from behind, slamming them hard!

Boom! ...

The two men were thrown by the force of the impact and rolled seven or eight times on the deck until they came to a stop against the ship's side.

"An enemy attack?!"

Luo immediately scrambled to his feet, gripped the Ghost Crying Sword tightly, and turned to look at the spot where he had just been standing, only to find that there was no one there, not even his hand.

Immediately afterwards, he heard the unrestrained sounds of eating coming from the side, along with a remark that clearly came from someone who was heartless: "That's so unfair, Bucky! You guys have a party and you didn't invite me?!"

Luo stood there dumbfounded, his mind blank for several seconds before he finally realized who was in front of him: "You are... the Straw Hat Master??"

Oh right, I saw his ship nearby earlier, and it seemed to be with Bucky's gang??

"You damn straw hat!! What are you doing on my ship?!"

Bucky stood up and roared, "Don't just go and eat on other people's ships like that!!"

While tearing into the grilled meat in his hand, Luffy mumbled, "Sorry, I've finished all the food on our ship, so I have to eat here now."

"How can you say something like that so calmly?!"

"What does it matter? Aren't we friends?"

Bucky burst into tears: "You idiot, I'm not your friend! Get up right now, that's my seat!!"

"Hey? You want more? Okay..." Luffy changed seats and continued to eat heartily, commenting as he ate, "The food here tastes completely different from Sanji's..."

"If you don't like the food, then don't eat it!!"

"Oh no! I can't keep eating like this!"

Luffy suddenly stopped eating halfway through, and Buggy nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself that this bastard Straw Hat still knew how to restrain himself.

"Hmph! You know that much..."

"We need to invite everyone over to eat together!"

"You better stop now!!"

Law stared wide-eyed, completely stunned. He couldn't understand Luffy's behavior, but he was utterly shocked: "What's with this overbearing attitude?! Is this guy deliberately provoking me, or is he really that thick-skinned?!"

Just as Luffy and Buggy were wrestling and arguing about whether they could bring the people from the Going Merry over to eat with them, the sky suddenly darkened, and the shadow overhead brought their actions to an abrupt halt.

"What's going on? Is it going to rain?"

"Speaking of which, Nami just asked me to come and tell you that a huge storm is about to start..."

"Why couldn't you have said something like this sooner?!"

"Hehehe... Sorry! I was so engrossed in the smell of the food that I forgot for a moment..."

Buggy released Luffy and looked at Law, saying, "You heard that, didn't you, Law? A huge storm is coming! You'd better go back and get your crew ready!"

"Although Straw Hat is a bit of a scoundrel, his navigator is quite reliable. Since he said there's a big storm, I think he's right!"

Despite Bucky's long explanation, Law simply stared up at the sky, his pupils dilating rapidly, his face ashen and extremely pale. Only after Bucky stopped did he move his dry lips and say in a trembling voice, "I think the real trouble right now isn't the big storm..."

Buggy and Luffy exchanged a glance, clearly finding Law's behavior quite strange.

What are you looking up at?

Following Law's gaze, the two looked up and froze, for a gigantic pirate ship was hovering in the sky directly above them.

In an instant, Pakistani broke out in a cold sweat, his entire body trembling with fear: "This...this...this is..."

"Wow, that's amazing! There are ships that can fly in the air?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Law knew Luffy was probably clueless given his naiveté, so he turned to the more experienced Buggy and asked, "Hey! Buggy, do you think this might be...?"

"Yes, there's no mistake! I've seen this situation before! Although there's only one ship now, there's no doubt it's that man's ability!!"

Since the 'beating of a Celestial Dragon' incident, the Navy, in conjunction with the World Economic News Agency, has released Buggy's information. Now, anyone who reads a newspaper on the high seas knows that Buggy was once a member of Roger's pirate crew, so Buggy no longer hides his identity.

"That guy, Shiki the Golden Lion, one of the three legendary figures who stood alongside Captain Roger and Whitebeard more than twenty years ago!!"

"He's on the pirate ship right above us!!!" Buggy screamed in panic, unable to control his emotions.

The sight above him instantly reminded him of the Battle of Ett Wall more than twenty years ago, of that gloomy day, of the scene in that sea where the Oro Jackson was surrounded by the Flying Pirate Fleet and was almost in dire straits.

If it weren't for a lucky storm that saved Roger's crew, the legend of the 'Pirate King' might have changed hands.

Soon, the strange phenomenon overhead attracted the attention of all members of the Buggy Pirates, the Straw Hat Pirates, and the Heart Pirates.

A group of people on their respective ships looked up warily at the spaceships overhead, fearing that an island might suddenly fall and smash their pirate ships to pieces.

"Is it really the legendary 'Golden Lion'? Why would a man who disappeared more than twenty years ago suddenly appear here?!"

"Golden Lion? Is he that strong?" Luffy tilted his head and asked blankly.

"Isn't that obvious?! Were you even listening to what I just said?!"

Buggy gripped Luffy's clothes tightly, refusing to let go: "That guy is a man who could go toe-to-toe with former Captain Roger and now Whitebeard! He's also the only person in history to have escaped from Impel Down!!"

"Escaped from Impel Down?! Him??"

Luffy instantly realized the key point, his face lighting up with joy. "Then he must be very experienced there! In that case, I'd like to ask him to help me rescue Ace!!"

"Idiot Straw Hat! Don't dream! How could a pirate of that caliber possibly agree to help you?!"

Exactly! Buggy is right. How could a pirate of that caliber possibly agree to help you rescue 'Fire Fist' Ace...?

Suddenly, Luo froze.

He blinked, then suddenly looked down at Luffy in disbelief: "Straw Hat Master... what did you just say?!"

What, save 'Fire Fist' Ace? Did they just reveal some terrible plan...?

……

After the storm, the sky above the sea was clear.

Those who survived the storm may not be in a good mood.

At that moment, all the members of the Straw Hat Pirates, Buggy Pirates, and Heart Pirates were invited by Golden Lion to his pirate ship for tea.

At the head of the banquet, Golden Lion, with a ship's wheel stuck in his head, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a cloak hanging behind him, and two swords strapped to his legs, sat there swaggeringly, complaining endlessly to Luffy, Buggy, and Law about his old friend.

“That bastard Newgate actually rejected my alliance invitation, saying something like, ‘I’ll save my son myself, I don’t need your help…’”

"What a joke! He's an old guy who needs IV drips all the time, what gives him the right to look down on me?!"

You can glean a lot of information from just these two sentences.

One is that Shiki contacted Whitebeard to form an alliance, with the obvious aim of dealing with the Navy, but Whitebeard refused and probably even mocked him.

It's not hard to guess that Whitebeard's sarcastic remarks about Shiki were things like, "You're old," "You've been hiding for over twenty years," and "I'm Whitebeard."

"That bastard has been like that for decades. As a pirate, he's always talking about 'family' and 'son.' I really don't know what he's thinking!"

"Hahahaha!!! That guy has long lost his ambition to conquer the seas. There are no ships left for him to ride in! The future belongs to me!!"

Golden Lion turned his gaze to the three captains who had come to the banquet.

"I think you three have a lot of potential. How about coming aboard my ship?"

Chapter 967 The Golden Lion's Recruitment

One of the legends of the previous era, 'Golden Lion' Shiki, extended a recruitment invitation to Luffy, Buggy, and Law, but unfortunately, the results were not as expected.

Luffy ignored Shiki's complaints and ate and drank like a starving ghost.

Bucky curled up into a ball, pretending to be calm on the surface, but inside he was scared half to death.