67. Hems Island

The Clown Pirates finally arrived on Hems Island the next day. This island is small and only has a small village on it. The Clown pirates dock their ship on the small port and they go to the village.

While walking from the port, they meet with some villagers. The villagers are very friendly that which makes everyone except Buggy confused. They are pirates, so normal people should be afraid of them.

"Captain, don't they know that we are pirates?" asks Jude.

"They know. They've seen our flag, after all," says Buggy.

"Then, why aren't they feel afraid of us?" asks Jude.

Buggy suddenly stops and says, "Because they don't need to, right?"

Buggy grins while looking at a man who stands in front of them. The man wears a black cloak and blocks the Clown Pirates' way. The Clown pirates stop and stand behind Buggy while looking at the man.

"What's a pirate crew doing here?" asks the man.

"Why don't you find out?" asks Buggy while unsheathing both his swords.

The man also takes a pair of battle axes from his sleeves. Then Buggy & the man rush to each other and coat their weapons with haki. Buggy swings his swords from above, while the man swings his axes from the sides.

Their weapons clash and it creates a booming sound. They get into a stalemate for a moment, but then Buggy gets fling away at fast speed and he crashes to a boulder and destroys it.

Buggy's crewmates get alerted and they all get ready to fight the man. They never saw Buggy got overpowered & defeated this easily before. They know they need to fight together now if they want to have a winning chance.

"*COUGH COUGH* Stop it, you guys! You won't stand a chance against him at all. Even if we work together, we still won't have a chance," says Buggy while walking back to his crew.

Buggy doesn't have many injuries and only feels back pain. Some blood also trickles from his mouth, but it's not from a big injury. He has covered his body with haki to reduce the damage.

"As I thought, I'm still far from your league," says Buggy while sheathing his swords.

"But your improvement in these 2 years is amazing. Captain will be proud of you, Buggy," says the man.

"I hope so. Long time no see, Gaban-san," says Buggy.

The man opens his cloak's hood and shows his face. He is none other than Scopper Gaban, a former member of Roger Pirates. His appearance doesn't change much as this is only 3 years since the crew's disbandment.

Buggy's crewmates are very surprised to see Gaban. After all, he is one of the legendary figures in Roger Pirates alongside Roger, Rayleigh, and Oden.

"Captain-san, the one that you mean will be able to help us, is him?" asks Dina.

"Yeah, you won't be able to find a better helper than him," says Buggy.

"Well, that's obvious. Maybe only the Dark King that can replace him," says Cricket.

Buggy just smiles and looks at Gaban, "As I thought, you're still here since we part ways. It has been 2 years since Captain's execution. Why haven't you return to your homeland yet? Are you that afraid of Marine?"

"You've become cheekier, Buggy. Sigh, I just want to enjoy some easy time here, without any disturbance. If I return now, the Marine will sniff my location and send many men to come after me. I'm not worried about myself, but the people around me," says Gaban.

"Hey, I'm just joking, no need to be that serious," says Buggy.

Gaban then invites them to his home on this island. It's just a small house made of wood on the outskirts of this village. They enter it and Gaban gives them a drink.

"So, why do you come here?" asks Gaban.

"Do I need to have a reason to come here?" asks Buggy while raising an eyebrow.

"If Shanks is the one who says it, maybe I'll believe it. But it's hard to believe you about this," says Gaban.

Buggy gets displeased and his crewmates are giggling at him. Gaban is the one who understands Buggy's nature the most in Roger Pirates. Even though that's the old Buggy, but the current him actually has a lot of similarities with the old Buggy.

"Fine, I'll get straight into business. Can you take care of these 2?" asks Buggy while pointing at Dina & Robin.

"Hmm? A mother & daughter?" asks Gaban while looking at Dina & Robin.

Buggy then explains Robin & Dina's situation. Gaban listens to it and understands why Buggy takes them to him. Gaban doesn't know a lot about the outside world except the newspapers. So he doesn't know the real situation of Ohara.

"Buster Call, huh? The World Government really took an extreme measure. Do you think this incident has a connection with our crew's achievement?" asks Gaban.

"I think so. After we, no, you guys found Laugh Tale and discover the world's real history, the WG seems to be more careful about this. They want to hide the history very badly, after all," says Buggy.

"U-Uhm, can I asks something?" asks Robin to Gaban.

"What is it, little girl?" asks Gaban.

"T-the history that you've found, can you tell it to me?" asks Robin with a hopeful expression.

Gaban looks at Robin seriously and says, "No."

"Eh? B-but-" Robin wants to say something, but Gaban cut her words.

"If you want to know about it, then go find it yourself! Did you learn all those knowledge to discover history right? If I tell you everything here, then won't your hard work so far become useless? You need to be patient.

What you will discover on your own might be different from what we discovered in the past. Besides, we were not trying to find the real history, so our finding might not be true. But if you insist, then I will tell you all of it now," says Gaban.

Robin looks down in disappointment. Gaban's words are similar to what Buggy said to her in the past. She thinks for a while and decides to not hear it. She will go on her own journey and find the answer by herself.

Dina smile and rubs Robin's head. "Your mother will be proud of you, Robin. She also went on her own journey to find what she seeks."

Buggy smile and then something flashed in his mind. He grins and pulls Gaban to the corner and whispers something to Gaban.

"Hey Gaban-san, you're still single aren't you?" asks Buggy.

"Huh? Why're you asking something like that?" asks Gaban confusedly.

"Hehe, then it's your chance. Dina is still single too. She & Robin will be with you for some years, so you will have a lot of time to get her heart," says Buggy while grinning.

"Oi Buggy, I haven't agreed to this," says Gaban.

Buggy doesn't listen to Gaban's answer and returns to his crewmates. Gaban calls Buggy but he ignores it and just walks away. It makes Gaban sigh and scratches his head.

"This kid is still selfish as usual. Well, it's not a bad thing I guess. It might relieve my boredom while I keep a low profile. I-I mean the part where I need to protect them, not the one about catching her heart. Yeah, it's certainly not that," says Gaban to himself while being flustered.

Then, it's finally decided that Gaban will protect Dina & Robin for a few years until Robin is ready to leave on her own.

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