Chapter 22 : Call Sabo??

"Wait! Are you saying that Monkey D. Luffy, the Straw Hat Kid, is the one you're talking about?"

Buggy was about to speak when Inazuma suddenly raised his hand, cutting him off with a confirming gesture.

Buggy was momentarily stunned, then seemed to recall something, and said, "Yes, it's Luffy, the Straw Hat Boy! Has he done anything significant recently? Considering the timing, he and his crew should almost be arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago by now! If I'm not mistaken, Luffy must have already clashed with the Celestial Dragons!"

Inazuma nodded and said, "You're right! In the three days you were asleep, two major events happened outside! One of them involved the Straw Hat Kid!"

Inazuma then pulled out two newspapers from his coat pocket.

He showed Buggy the front page of one of the newspapers and said, "This newspaper was published yesterday. The headline reports that the Straw Hat Pirates and their crew attacked the Celestial Dragons at the Sabaody Archipelago auction house! After being repelled by one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma, their current whereabouts are still unknown!"

Buggy briefly glanced at the photo of the Straw Hats and their bounties attached to the newspaper before losing interest and looking away.

Buggy had watched the animated adaptation and wasn't interested in the textual commentary filled with speculation.

Seeing this, Ivankov frowned and said, "You don't seem to care much about the Straw Hats' situation? Shouldn't they be important to you as the 'trigger'?"

Buggy chuckled and said, "Don't get me wrong; the 'trigger' of the Straw Hat Kid Luffy really doesn't concern me much!"

"I'm not like that Shanks guy!"

"Shanks is someone who has fully inherited the will of Captain Roger. Both he and Captain Roger believed in waiting calmly for the wind to change. I, on the other hand, just want to be the wind that turns the windmill!"

"So for me, it doesn't matter if the 'trigger', the Straw Hat Boy, has an accident or not! I can be the 'trigger' myself!"

Ivankov gave Buggy a penetrating look after hearing this and admitted that he had been a bit short-sighted.

Ivankov had previously thought that Buggy, like Shanks, was a remnant left by Roger the Pirate to influence the 'tides' decades ago. 

After all, someone like Buggy wouldn't have been able to stay hidden for so long otherwise. But now it seemed that Buggy's previous inactivity might have been merely waiting for the right opportunity—to ride the wave of the so-called general trend.

The depth of scheming in such a person is truly daunting!

Let's hope he won't become an enemy of Buggy in the future! Buggy wasn't aware that Ivankov had just mentally transformed him into a cunning mastermind!

Even if Buggy knew, he wouldn't care. According to the original plot's development, he's destined to become one of the Four Emperors, and Ivankov's mental projections are irrelevant. 

Buggy looked at the other newspaper Inazuma was holding and said, "Let's discuss another earth-shattering event. I'm more interested in that!"

Although Buggy had already guessed what the other big news was, he wanted to know the details. Inazuma didn't refuse and displayed the front page of the other newspaper in front of Buggy.

"This is the newspaper published the day before yesterday, and it reports that the Navy Headquarters has issued a notice to the world!"

"They're going to publicly execute the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace, at Navy Headquarters Marineford in seven days!"

"This is undoubtedly a direct challenge to the Whitebeard Pirates! War is imminent!"

"Oh, and by the way, seven days is the time it took for the newspaper to be published, and now two days have passed! So, to be precise, the war between the Navy Headquarters and the Four Emperors will begin in five days."

Buggy didn't respond immediately, instead scrutinizing every line in the newspaper.

At last, Baki found the crucial information he had been searching for: "Fire Fist Ace is now in custody at the Navy Headquarters"! It seemed clear that his own actions had caused this mishap. Ace, who was originally slated to be transferred to Impel Down, was now being held at the Navy Headquarters instead.

In other words, Luffy wouldn't be heading to Impel Down this time! If Buggy wanted to escape from prison, it would have to be on his own.

Buggy pondered for a moment before turning to Inazuma. "Can you give me this newspaper?"

Inazuma was momentarily taken aback but handed the newspaper to Buggy without hesitation.

It was just a newspaper—nothing too remarkable. But Buggy's interest in it surprised both Inazuma and Ivankov. Ivankov couldn't help but ask, "Buggy, what do you need this newspaper for? Does this have something to do with you?"

Buggy tucked the newspaper away and replied, "Of course it does. This is a major event that's capturing the world's attention. How could it be that only the Navy Headquarters and Whitebeard are in the spotlight?"

Ivankov furrowed his brow and asked, "You want to get involved in this war?"

Buggy nodded. "Yes, I do."

Ivankov pressed further, "Why? We shouldn't get involved in something like this without a good reason. The Revolutionary Army isn't suited for such a conflict!"

"And the agreement we made only covered helping you escape from prison. It didn't include participating in the war at the Navy Headquarters!"

"Of course!" Buggy responded nonchalantly. "You just need to help me escape from prison. There's no need to join the battle."

After a brief pause, Buggy added, "By the way, here's a piece of advice: if you have time, you should definitely head to the Navy Headquarters. Not to fight, but to rescue your chief's son! Otherwise, the Straw Hat Kid might end up dead!"

Ivankov was taken aback and asked in disbelief, "Do you know where the Straw Hat Kid is right now? Could it be that he was also captured by the Navy? But wasn't he sent flying by the big bear?"

Buggy shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter where the Straw Hat Boy is right now. Once he hears the news, he'll rush to Navy Headquarters without a second thought!"

"Because Fire Fist Ace is his older brother!"

"Wait!" Ivankov interjected, raising his hand to stop the conversation, astonished. "Fire Fist Ace is the Straw Hat Boy's brother?! Isn't Ace also the son of a dragon?!"

"No, that's not it!"

"If Ace was also the son of the dragon, wouldn't that mean the Navy Headquarters is declaring war on both Whitebeard and Dragon simultaneously?"

"Is the Navy Headquarters out of their minds?!"

The sheer amount of information was overwhelming, pushing Ivankov to the brink of panic. Seeing this, Buggy quickly added, "Don't misunderstand. Ace isn't the son of Dragon. He and Luffy are sworn brothers, not blood-related siblings!"

"Not blood-related?!" Ivankov was taken aback once more, but then he realized the situation and said, "I see! You almost scared me to death. I thought the Navy Headquarters had lost their minds!"

At this moment, Buggy recalled something else and reminded, "By the way, just a friendly reminder—if you can still contact your people outside, it's best to inform Sabo about this news!"

Ivankov frowned at this and asked, "You know Sabo? Why should I tell him?"

Buggy smiled and replied, "Because Sabo is also their sworn brother! If Sabo misses out on this, he might regret it for the rest of his life!"

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