86. Volcanic Island

The Clowns are looking at the active volcano and sigh. They don't have any choice but to go there because their Log Pose won't get charged if they don't get on the island.

"Let's sail around the island first. Maybe we'll find something on the other side," says Buggy to his crew.

The others nod and get close to the island. They sail around the island rather closely and already feel the intense heat from the volcano. There's no cloud too in the sky and there's only smoke.

The volcano is quite big because it takes them 15 minutes just to get on the other side. Surprisingly, the other side of this volcano has a wide range of forests, filled with green trees.

It also has a wide beach with the shape of a crescent moon, similar to Marineford. Then, along the beach line are buildings and people. There is a rather big town on this volcanic island.

"Phew, I thought we won't find anyone here. They're actually living on the other side of this island," says Jude in relief.

"But how could such thick forest grow in this place? And people even willing to live here," says Mantis curiously.

"Volcanic materials are rich in minerals that are needed by living beings. This forest is also quite far from the volcano's crater and the lava that erupts doesn't go here. So the plants can grow quite well," explains Manba.

"But the volcanic eruption should cause earthquakes & some other damages. How could they keep staying here?" asks Mantis.

"If you want to know, then ask them. We won't find out anything just by guessing," says Buggy.

"That's right, I want to know how they made their buildings. Those buildings should have an earthquake resistance system. It makes me curious," says Palu excitedly.

The Clowns then land ashore to visit the town. There are some other pirate crews too in here. But the town's people aren't wary of them at all.

It makes Buggy's crewmates confused because usually, civilians will be wary of pirates even if it's just for a little. But Buggy knows that the reason is that this is still the first island.

Most pirate crews here are rookies and have just entered Grandline. Most of them don't want to create trouble because they don't want to receive Marine's attention yet.

Even if there are some stupid crews, the others will beat them up first before the Marine does. No one wants to get captured as soon as they enter Grandline, after all.

Besides, the rookie crews who have just entered Grandline need information about this sea. Where's the best place to know it if not the first island.

The first islands also have underground forces protecting them. They've built their business here because there are many pirate crews. Also, the most important thing is that the first islands usually have many bounty hunters.

"Bounty hunters? Do they want to catch the rookie pirates who already have bounties?" asks Manba.

"Yeah, most rookies in the first islands have bounties after making names in their sea. But most of them are clueless about the strength in Grandline. This place isn't called Pirate's Graveyard for nothing," says Buggy.

"Hmm, so the first islands have their 'protectors', huh? Then we are the bounty hunters target too," says Cricket.

"Don't worry, they won't dare to target anyone with a crew with a total bounty above 50 million. All these bounty hunters are the weakest in Grandline. If they're strong enough, they will hunt for bigger bounties. But that also means their enemies are far stronger," says Buggy.

Buggy looks to the left where some people are looking at them from an alley. Those people are holding some posters and checking the Clowns' bounties. They widen their eyes when seeing Buggy's bounty and give up instantly.

100 million before entering Grandline has proved that Buggy is too dangerous for them. Even pirates in New World don't always have bounties above 100 million. But Buggy has got it before he even entered Grandline.

However, there will always be people that are stupid enough to do it. They will see the Clowns as their chance to be rich for the rest of their lives. 100 million is not a small sum of money.

"Are you sure, boss? The Captain has 100 million, while the first mate has 35 million," asks a man to his leader.

"Of course, even if he has 100 million, but it is not Grandline standard. He must be too much for Blues' Marine to handle, that's why he got that bounty," says the leader.

"Boss is right, we have 50 men, while they only have 6. They're also not used to Grandline yet. So if we attack them on the sea, it will be easier," says a woman.

"Oh, that's a good idea," says another man.

These guys are the bounty hunters who are stupid enough to target the Clowns. They're confident in their number which is many times from the Clown's number. They're also confident in their experience to sail on Grandline and will use it against the Clowns.

The Clowns don't realize that some people are targetting them. They're just strolling around the town and asking many things to the people there. Well, it's not like they care if some people want to attack them.

The Clowns then split to do what they want in the town. It will take 3 days for their Log Pose to get charged on this island. So they can enjoy their first island for 3 days at least.

Buggy orders them to learn about Grandline as much as possible on this first island. It will be a lot different from learning it when they were not on Grandline. He also let them do what they want while he will do what he wants here.

Cricket goes with Mantis to learn about this island's food. Jude goes alone to learn about Grandline's weather & all she needs to know about Grandline's navigation.

Manba wants to learn about medical things on this island. Palu wants to learn about the buildings on this island and how they built them. Buggy goes to Blackmarket like usual to find information about Grandline.

They all aren't acting like pirates, but more like explorers. Well, their goal is to explore the world, not treasures or fame like what other pirates want. For the Clowns, those things aren't interesting enough.

Buggy buys information in Blackmarket, but it is all basically the same as what Crocus told them. He leaves the Blackmarket and goes to the volcano. He's always wanted to see a volcano's crater by himself.

Buggy walks alone to the volcano while looking around. Buggy walks through the forest that separates the town & volcano. He finds many unique animals that have adapted to this island's condition.

"Hmm, I'm curious about their meat's taste. Maybe I will catch some later and ask Mantis to cook them," says Buggy while looking at some animals.

Buggy keeps walking and he reaches the mountain foot soon. The ground here is very contrast with the forest. The soil and rocks are charred blacks and there are some burnt trees & grass at the forest's border.

He starts to climb the volcano and feel that the ground is warm. The ground keeps getting warmer as he climbs higher. Buggy finally feels the ground becomes too hot as he climbs 3/4 of the volcano.

"OUCH! OUCH! HOT! HOT! HOT!" yells Buggy panicky as he jumps around because of the hot ground.

Buggy finally runs back to the forest as fast as he can. His shoes get burnt and he needs to cover his feet with armament to protect them from being injured. But armament can't protect him from the heat, so he still runs to the forest.

He immediately put his hot feet on the cold grass. His feet are so hot that the grass gets dried and died. Buggy needs to jump around here & there to cool down his feet using the cold grass.

He finds a small puddle and immediately jumps there. The water in the puddle steam upon contact with Buggy's feet. But Buggy finally feels relieved because his feet have cooled down.

"Damn, I never thought that it will be that hot," says Buggy while wiping his sweats.

Buggy looks up at the volcano and raised his fist in anger. He gets pissed & says, "Just wait for me, you damn volcano. This Lord Buggy will certainly conquer you."

______________________________________________________________

You can read up to 30+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one in my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

I've uploaded:

1. Chapter 105 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater

2. Chapter 116 of Transcended as Lord Buggy

https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain

(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)