506. The Next Emperor?

The ship that approaches them isn't Black Pearl, but just a ship from the nearest Caribbean branch. Buggy asked for it because they were in a hurry to leave. Even though he could have just defeated the Marines if they were being chased, he rather avoided such a troublesome thing.

Now with a proper ship, they can sail faster and get more relaxed. Buggy asks for the crew to keep updating him on the situation in Punk Hazard. He wants to know what the Marines would do to Doflamingo.

"Sir, all the pirates except for the Donquixote Family members have succeeded in escaping the island. The 2 New World Kingdoms were helping them escape."

"I don't care about them, what about Doflamingo?"

"He is captured and they imprison him in Vice Admiral Tsuru's ship currently. She has the longest history against Doflamingo, so they put him on her ship. As for the executives and members of the Donquixote Family, they are imprisoned in other Marine ships. They separate the executives and all high-rank Marine officers are watching over them."

"They have enough ships to bring them all?"

"Yes, they use the Donquixote Family ships to transport the captured enemies too."

"Hmm, as I've thought. Well, it's a normal choice in that situation because the Donquixote Family has too many members. I guess Impel Down will be full because of them."

"The Marines are now investigating the whole Punk Hazard. They should find a lot of evidence about the slavery and toys unless they are stupid."

"Evidence doesn't matter at all. They all are pirates, so they should be imprisoned no matter what. That's what will happen to us too if they catch us. The trial in Enies Lobby is just a facade, a mere formality. In the end, no one would ever be released from Impel Down by law."

"Hmm, it makes sense."

"Enough about that, have you contacted the main crew?"

"Yes! We have called Ms. Dela and reported everything you told us to say. She said she would handle everything, so you just need to return as soon as possible."

"Heh, my assistant is always very competent. Alright, let's go toward Clownland at full speed."

"AYE AYE, SIR!"

The ship goes at full speed toward Clownland. They move through the New World's dangerous weather easily. This dangerous sea is their home now, so they are already used to its dangers and it's easy for them to sail here.

Also, they have a great ship that won't break even in the most extreme weather in the New World. All forces under Clown Pirates have been provided with powerful ships that are made with good materials and advanced research.

They are also equipped with good technologies and weapons that can't be matched by other pirate crews. The only forces that can match them in this aspect are the World Government and Marines.

But it won't be the case anymore soon because Vegapunk has left the World Government and joined Clown Pirate's group. That man was the core of the World Government's & Marine's powerful technology, after all.

Buggy's group finally arrives at Clownland after 2 days. Every member of Clown Pirates has been waiting at the port. They aren't here to welcome Buggy though. They are here to see their old mate that has just been saved.

""WELCOME BACK, FLINTSTONE!""

"Hahaha, long time no see, you motherfuckers!"

"Heh, you still know how to greet us. Seems like you've been fucked up greatly after you left us."

"Aye, I was fucked up big time Vice-Capt."

"Hahaha, at least you still have that spirit, mate."

Everyone is laughing as they mock Flintstone, but they are actually very sad about him. This is their way to show their relief that he is alright now and he knows it. He has predicted this, so he has told his wife about it, but she is still shocked to witness how they greet each other.

It's worse because she can't see their sad & happy expressions now with her eyes gone. But she can tell that everything is fine because she can hear her husband's happy tone while talking. It has been a long time since she heard him this happy, so she knows everything is great now.

"Alright, we can catch up later. Take Flintstone and his wife to the castle. Let's not wait again. They have been waiting for too long."

"What do you mean by that, Captain?"

"You will know soon. Just believe in us."

Buggy grins widely and so is everyone which makes Flintstone confused. He wants to ask more, but suddenly 2 people stab his & his wife's neck with syringes filled with liquid that makes them faint instantly.

"I hope you like our gifts when you wake up."

Meanwhile, the Straw Hat Pirates seem to be disappointed as they sail alongside Heart Pirates. They thought the war in Punk Hazard would be very intense. But then it ended very quickly and they didn't really defeat the enemies even though they won the war.

"So my dad was there and he was the one who defeated Doflamingo?"

"Yeah, he suddenly interrupted Straw Hat-ya's fight with Doflamingo. I don't know how they fought, but it was quick. He returned in a few minutes and Doflamingo has been in that state."

"Did you see my dad's fight, Luffy?"

"Just the beginning. But I still don't understand what happened at that time."

Everyone is surprised to see Luffy become very serious while talking. It rarely happens, so they know that the battle left a very big impression on Luffy. More like Buggy's power left a very big impression in his mind.

They ask him to tell them what happened and he doesn't hide anything. His story is short because he only saw some moves before the battle moved to another place after Buggy sent Doffy flying. But even that short story is enough to make everyone's jaw drop.

"So that's the level of an Emperor."

"Not just any Emperor, he's the strongest among them. But I guess the other Emperors can also defeat my brother so easily like that, even the old Whitebeard who's known to have gotten much weaker now since the war in Marineford."

"That old man is getting much weaker? What happened to him, Cora-chan?"

"You were in the Marineford war with him, right, Luffy? Then you should know that he was gravely sick already in that war. I heard that Clown Pirates' doctor who is known to be one of the best in the world, Dr. Manba has treated him after the war. He was cured of his illness, but his body can't fight time. Obviously, he is getting weaker now, but you need to remember that this is Whitebeard. A weakened Whitebeard is still much stronger than my brother."

"Yeah, just like how your grandfather, Vice Admiral Garp is still that strong even though age has weakened him. But he is still strong enough to fight an Admiral and still has a good winning chance. The same also happens to Whitebeard even though he must be getting weaker more than Garp because of his previous illness. Even so, he is still a monster. He would have lost his title as an Emperor if that's not the case because people challenged him for the title all the time."

The Straw Hats now finally understand the level of Emperors. But they are not discouraged and get even more motivated instead. They would need to surpass the Emperors if they wanted Luffy to be the Pirate King, after all.

"So, what's the plan now?"

Sanji asks to change the topic.

"As I've said, we need to make a name in New World and raise our bounties so we can build our forces because it's very important if we want to compete with the Emperors. The best way to do that is by challenging the Emperors. But some are joining them to build their power and it's also the safest way to survive in the New World."

"I guess joining an Emperor isn't an option for us, right, Luffy? You can't be the Pirate King if you join an Emperor because you won't be the real Captain anymore. That Emperor would be the real Captain and he would be the Pirate King instead."

"Of course. Emperors or anyone else, I will surpass them all and reach Laugh Tale first with you guys. Then I will be the Pirate King."

The Straw Hats smile because they know Luffy would answer like that. Then Law quickly resumes the discussion."

"Good, you all are thinking like that. Now we can talk about the Emperor we'll target. I heard that Kid Pirates, Hawkins Pirates, On Air Pirates, and Drake Pirates are forming an alliance. 5 supernovas are working together, but I don't know who their target is."

"It doesn't matter, we just need to think of who we'll target. If it happens to be the same Emperor as them, then we just need to fight them too. In the end, we all are rivals and will fight against each other sooner or later."

"I know, that's why we just need to choose an Emperor we want to fight now. My suggestion is to target Whitebeard. Not only he & his force have gotten weaker, but defeating him will also raise our value a lot. He was once called the Strongest Man in The World, after all. We will make a very big impact by defeating him."

Everyone thinks that it really makes sense. Even Leo agrees with it. His main goal is his father, but he knows it's still too early for him to challenge Buggy. He can't straight go challenging the boss.

"Soon, I will challenge you and surpass you. Just wait for it, you shitty old man."

________________________________________

You can read more chapters ahead of my fanfics and more pictures on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

Voting for this book is highly appreciate. Cover image is the MC, artist's ig: @fatmaqn_

I've uploaded Chapter 544. Failed Challenge

- Pictures of both stories (ex: bounty poster & magazine cover) by fatmaqn_

https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain

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