Chapter 98: Jaya Island – Tactical Retreat

"Wait! Captain Buggy, hold on a second… This kid hasn't done anything to us. In fact, he just helped us," one of Buggy's crew members called out.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for him, we'd still be fighting those pirates from the town."

"Captain Buggy, please calm down. I hate to admit it, and I don't know what this kid's intentions are, but he really did help us out of that mess," another crew member added.

Hearing his crew speak up in Takumi's defense, Buggy hesitated. His body, which had been spinning toward Takumi in an attack, abruptly halted. The lower half of his body returned to his upper half, reuniting with his torso.

"Huh?" Buggy glared menacingly at Takumi, who was standing right in front of him. "Kid, I don't believe for a second that you helped us out of the goodness of your heart. Tell me, what's your real goal?"

Cabaji stepped up next to Mohji and whispered, "What's going on?"

Mohji shook his head, looking just as confused. "I don't know… but this kid is definitely suspicious."

Takumi stood still, staring calmly at Buggy, who was trying hard to look intimidating but came off as comical. In an even voice, Takumi said, "I need to borrow your ship."

Buggy froze for a moment. "Borrow… my ship?"

Takumi gave a slight nod.

"Pfft." Buggy couldn't hold back his laughter. He clutched his stomach and burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Borrow my ship? Kid, do you even know who you're talking to? You've got some nerve, asking me to lend you a ship. That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!"

After his laughing fit, Buggy quickly turned serious again. "There are plenty of small boats around. Why are you so fixated on my ship, huh? What's your real plan?"

Takumi pointed up toward the sky. "I'm going to Skypiea."

"Huh?" Buggy nearly tripped over himself in surprise.

Meanwhile, the rest of his crew couldn't stop laughing.

"Hahaha! Skypiea? That's a place from fairy tales, kid! Sure, you're strong for a kid, but believing in something like that? That's just childish."

"You really think there's a place in the sky? Haha, that's hilarious!"

"Hey, maybe if you attach wings to your ship, it'll fly you up there! Hahaha…"

The entire crew laughed heartily at the idea, except for Buggy, whose face had turned serious.

Skypiea. It was real.

No one knew better than Buggy. He had gone there once when he was still an apprentice aboard the Pirate King's ship, along with Shanks and the rest of the crew.

Buggy remembered it vividly. They had found a city made entirely of gold and a massive golden bell. For Buggy, who had always been obsessed with treasure, Skypiea was nothing short of a dream come true.

He had even asked Roger how they could take all the gold with them. But Roger's time was running out, and he had told Buggy that one day, he could return to claim the treasure when he became a captain.

Now that Buggy was the captain of his own crew, he still hadn't gone back to Skypiea. The journey there had been incredibly dangerous, and even now, the memory of it made his skin crawl. The Upstream Current wasn't something to take lightly—one wrong move, and it could mean certain death.

His plan to gather all the world's treasure was only just beginning. Even if he did want to return to Skypiea, now wasn't the right time. He needed to build up his crew and their strength before even considering another trip to that perilous place.

Staring at Takumi with a heavy expression, Buggy asked, "You're really set on going to Skypiea, kid?"

Takumi returned Buggy's gaze, his eyes unwavering.

Buggy's lip twitched as he tried to hold back his laughter. But after a moment, he burst out laughing again. "Hahaha! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You honestly believe in a place like Skypiea? Kid, you've clearly got no idea how the real world works."

Takumi stayed silent, unimpressed by Buggy's attempt to act tough.

You're not fooling me, Takumi thought to himself.

Before the conversation could continue, the noise from the shore grew louder.

The pirates of Mock Town had swarmed out of the town, fuming with rage at the sight of their destroyed ships.

"Damn it! Who the hell blew up my ship?" one pirate yelled.

"Isn't it obvious? It's gotta be those guys on the one ship that's still intact! Let's get 'em, boys!" another pirate shouted, rallying the mob.

"Kill 'em all! Let's show them who's boss around here!"

As the angry mob charged toward the dock, Mohji, standing near the railing of Buggy's ship, looked nervously at the approaching pirates. "Captain Buggy, the entire town's pirate crew is coming for us. What should we do?"

"Prepare the Buggy Bombs and blast them all to hell!" Buggy barked, completely unbothered.

Mohji looked uncomfortable. "Uh, Captain… We've already used the two Buggy Bombs we had. To fire more, we'd need to go back down to the ship's hold and get more ammo. I don't think we have time for that."

Buggy clenched his fists in frustration. "Useless! If we can't use the Buggy Bombs, then just fight them off directly! How many are there?"

"I'd say there are about three to five hundred of them," Mohji estimated.

"And how many do we have?" Buggy asked.

"Less than thirty…" Mohji answered sheepishly.

Buggy stood silently for a moment before turning to face his crew. With a calm, authoritative voice, he shouted, "Men, raise the anchor! Set sail immediately!"

"Huh?" Mohji blinked in confusion. "Captain, aren't we going to fight them?"

"Yeah, why are we leaving? You're here, Captain! You're the strongest one we've got!" another crew member added.

"That's right! We can't just run away! Let's fight them off, Captain Buggy!" The crew was getting more and more fired up.

"You idiots!" Buggy shouted angrily. "Don't you get it? This is what we call a tactical retreat!"

"A tactical retreat?" Mohji's eyes lit up in realization. "That sounds impressive…"

"Of course! Only someone like Captain Buggy could come up with something so brilliant!" another crew member agreed.

"Alright, you heard the Captain! Everyone, hurry up! Get the anchor raised and prepare to set sail!"

As the crew scrambled to get the ship ready to leave, the mob of angry pirates reached the docks. Buggy's ship had already begun to pull away, and though the enraged pirates hurled their weapons at the departing vessel, they barely scratched its hull.

"Damn it! They're getting away!"

"I swear, if I ever see them again, I'll kill them!" one pirate roared.

Buggy stood on the deck, his back to the shoreline, sighing in relief.

That was a close call. If they hadn't left when they did, things could've gotten ugly.

It wasn't that Buggy was afraid of the pirates in Mock Town. After all, he was a Devil Fruit user, and most of those pirates were nothing special. But their numbers were a problem. Most of Buggy's crew were still relatively inexperienced, and outside of Mohji and Cabaji, none of them were particularly strong fighters.

If he had another Buggy Bomb ready, he could've wiped out the town and all its pirates in one go. But as things stood, the best move was to escape while they still had all their treasure onboard.

That treasure was Buggy's top priority. He couldn't care less about his crew, but if his treasure fell into someone else's hands, he'd be devastated.

So, in the end, Buggy had made the right call to get out of there as fast as possible. As for his "tactical retreat," well, that was just something he made up on the spot. Little did he know, his crew completely believed him.

******

Support me on Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/gered to read up to Chapter 132