227. Kozuki Oden

The strong presence is approaching fast so Buggy gets ready and prepares his swords. A moment later, a big & tall man with flat circular hair on top appears. The man has angry & haggard expressions as he jumps and swings his twin katana at Buggy from above.

*CLANG*

Buggy blocks the attack with his own twin Kopis swords. The clash creates a lightning-like effect and a strong shockwave. It makes the Clowns surprised because the last time it happened was when Buggy clashed with Hawk-Eyes a few months ago.

"Long time no see, Oden," says Buggy while grinning.

"You know me? Who are-?! Wait! That red nose, Buggyjiro!" says Oden in surprise.

Buggy is pleased that Oden remembers him, but the reason and the way Oden calls him are making him pissed. It makes Buggy has a big tick mark on his forehead and then he exerts more power on his swords to push Oden back.

"I TOLD YOU, STOP CALLING ME JIRO!" shouts Buggy as he swings his swords with more power.

Oden widens his eyes as he gets pushed by Buggy and flung back with high speed. He crashes onto the trees behind and destroys a lot of them until he stops himself. Buggy's strength has surprised Oden because it is much higher than a few years ago.

Oden runs back to Buggy while laughing, "Hahaha, you have become very strong, Buggyjiro. And you even dare to clash with me, unlike your old self who always preferred escaping. You are not the same cowardly boy as back then."

"Of course, it's been years since we parted ways. There's no way I will stay the same," says Buggy while sheathing his swords.

Oden smiles and says, "But I never thought that I would meet you again. It's been 5 years I think. You seem to be doing well."

"Yeah, my crew grows well these years. My years of experience as an apprentice in Roger Pirates are very useful. But I can't say the same to you, Oden," says Buggy as he looks at Oden's clothes.

There are many patches on Oden's clothes that make him look poor. It's very contrast with his status as a daimyo who should live in luxuries. Buggy knows the reason, but he acts as if he doesn't know anything.

Oden also has this haggard expression even though it's not too clear. What happened in Wano must have stressed him a lot. He has held off against Kaido & Orochi for years now. Buggy can't imagine Oden's feeling at all, it must've been very terrible.

They talk casually and Buggy introduces his crew but Deon is nowhere to be seen. Oden doesn't say anything about his country's problem while they talk though. Then some people who followed Oden finally arrived.

They are the Nine Red Scabbards, but there are only 5 of them who come here. They ran as fast as they could but Oden was just too fast, so they've just arrived now. The 5 of them are running out of breath, but they still take a battle position to fight the invaders.

"ODEN-SAMA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" asks Kin'emon.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Also, put your swords down, they're not enemies," says Oden while hugging Buggy's shoulders.

Oden introduces the 5 which are Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, & Nekomamushi.

Then he introduces Buggy & his crew to them and the 5 sheaths their weapons after knowing that Buggy was Oden's friend.

Inuarashi & Nekomamushi also finally remember Buggy even though they've just met for a short time in the past. Buggy is happy to see the cat & dog minks, they are very funny, after all. Then he looks at the other 3 and his gaze stops at Kanjuro for a moment. He wants to kill this guy now if he can, but that will just cause problems.

"Is there something wrong?" asks Kanjuro when Buggy looks at him.

"Yeah, your makeup is really thick. It makes my face itches & hot just by seeing it," says Buggy.

"This is not makeup, it's my real appearance," says Kanjuro while smiling stupidly.

"What?!" says Buggy & his crew in surprise.

Buggy gets genuinely surprised because he thinks that it's just makeup. He never thought that it was actually Kanjuro's real appearance. But then Buggy calms himself because it might be a lie too.

"Hahaha, even Buggyjiro who has seen many things out there is still surprised by this," says Oden.

"Well, the world is full of surprise, after all. And I haven't seen everything too, so some things will surprise me," says Buggy.

"You're right, there are always things you don't know out there. Anyway, let's go to my place that you're finally here. Toki and my kids must've wanted to see you. We'll throw a feast, just like the past," says Oden happily.

"Oden-sama, you can't! We don't have enough money & food to throw a big feast," says Kin'emon.

"Come on, Kin'emon, let's just spend a little," says Oden.

"We can't," says Kin'emon.

"Hahaha, don't worry, Oden. Let's use our food instead. We've just killed a giant seaking, so we have plenty of meat. You don't need to worry about alcohol too. Pirates like us always have a lot of alcohol stocks," says Buggy.

"Are you sure?" asks Oden.

"Yeah, no problem," says Buggy.

"Then, I'll accept it," says Oden while smiling.

Oden then orders Inuarashi & Nekomamushi to call his family & the other retainers. They will hold the party on the beach rather than at his residence now. There's no way he will ask the Clowns to carry the food to his residence after they gave it to him.

After the 2 minks left, they go to Black Pearl, and Buggy introduces the rest of his crew. The 3 guys are surprised to see Magnus, a giant because they have never seen one. Kawamatsu is also surprised to see some Fishmen like him so he talks to them.

Oden is impressed when he sees the ship and he is surprised when he knows that its base is made of Adam Wood, just like Oro Jackson. The feeling in this crew is also similar to Roger Pirates and reminds him of the past.

"You sure have many strange people here," says Oden.

"That's what makes this crew more interesting," says Buggy.

"You're right. Oh? They've arrived," says Oden while looking at the forest near the beach.

The 2 minks have returned with some other people. Among these people are Toki, Momonosuke, Hiyori, and the rest of Nine Red Scabbards. They are still on their guards now even though Oden said that it's safe.

Well, there is a pirate crew that suddenly appeared in their place, so they are very worried now. Not to mention, they have a bad experience with a pirate crew that has troubled them for years, the Beasts Pirates.

"Oh, it's really you, Buggyjiro," says Toki when he sees Buggy.

"Sigh, I told you to not call me Jiro," says Buggy tiredly.

"Fufufu, you still say the same thing. But where is Redtaro?" asks Toki while looking around.

"Shanks isn't here. We've moved separately since the Roger Pirates were disbanded. Now we run our own crews," says Buggy.

"Oh, so that's how it is," says Toki.

They talk while the others are preparing the party on the beach. Toki introduces Momonosuke & Hiyori to Buggy. He follows along and introduces his crew to them. Momonosuke is having lewd eyes when Buggy introduces the girls. It makes Buggy wants to hit the kid, but he holds it back.

After a few minutes, the preparation has finished and they start the party. Of course, the party is pirate-styled because the Clowns are the ones who hold it. But there are some Wano things mixed in as Oden's group also join it.

Mantis's cooks team & some cooks from Oden's group are cooking together. Brook's music team also plays together with some entertainers from Wano. The others are doing what they want and talking with each other, they hit off quite well at this party.

"So, Buggyjiro, can I ask why you come here? I don't think that it's just a coincidence," says Oden while drinking.

Buggy smiles and drinks his booze from its bottle. It's time to tell his aim to Oden and ask for cooperation.

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