Chapter 299: Are You a Stain on Roger's Ship?
"Who hired the circus?"
Before long, a circus tent had been fully erected in the open clearing at the entrance of Cocoyasi Village.
Cabaji was riding a unicycle across a taut tightrope, while Mohji cracked his whip, directing Richie the lion to leap continuously through a series of flaming hoops.
Buggy himself was directly utilizing the power of his Chop-Chop Fruit to perform the magic box trick, the human cannonball, and various other breathtaking spectacles.
The rest of his underlings acted as stage assistants, and they had even picked out someone with a silver tongue to act as the ringmaster.
"And now! The great Captain... I mean, Ringmaster Buggy will personally perform the flying trapeze! Please give him a big round of applause!"
Ever since being "sabotaged" by Shanks into eating this Devil Fruit, this was the very first time Buggy genuinely felt the Chop-Chop Fruit was incredibly useful.
However, this uninvited circus left Arlong feeling somewhat perplexed. He didn't recall hiring any circus troupe to perform.
Buggy's bounty of 7 million Berries was simply too insignificant in the eyes of the Ryugu Kingdom's intelligence network.
Firing a random cannonball in the New World could easily blow up a handful of pirates with multi-million Berry bounties. Combined with Buggy's incredibly fast sleight of hand in changing his crew's appearance, Arlong truly didn't realize these people were actually pirates.
"No idea, Arlong-aniki. They just suddenly showed up offshore and said they were here to put on a show. But their skills actually seem pretty good?" Hatchan scratched his head with two of his hands.
"Yeah, they really are. Having a resident circus stationed at the amusement park doesn't sound like a bad idea. Once their show is over, let's have a proper chat with them and see if they're interested in a partnership."
Having already prematurely "experienced"—no, inspected—all the amusement park rides, Arlong was currently standing near the circus tent, watching Buggy and his crew perform with genuine intentions of proposing a business deal.
Naturally, Buggy had no idea what Arlong was thinking. At this moment, a stiff, rehearsed smile was plastered across his face as he completely immersed himself in the role of a clown.
Seemingly terrified of being recognized, Buggy had painted his greasepaint on exceptionally thick, making his face look like a literal mask of solid paint.
The performance dragged on for quite some time, only ending when Buggy and his crew had exhausted their entire repertoire of standard circus acts and finally called for an intermission.
As the heavy curtains of the circus tent were temporarily drawn shut, a lackey ran up to Buggy holding a hat overflowing with Berries tipped by the audience.
"Captain Buggy, these locals seem really loaded! Looks like we're gonna make a massive killing here!"
"IDIOT! We are strictly here to perform a circus act!"
Buggy was slouched in his chair, but his floating right hand violently smacked the lackey over the head with a paper fan, aggressively punishing him for saying something so incredibly stupid.
"Huh? Captain Buggy, didn't you disguise us as a circus specifically so we could infiltrate and scout out their defenses?"
Many of the other lackeys nodded in agreement. They all assumed Buggy was executing a brilliant infiltration scheme, but looking at him now, it seemed he genuinely just wanted to run a circus.
This completely contradicted their established impression of him. In their minds, Buggy was a highly ruthless pirate who thought nothing of indiscriminately bombarding towns with cannon fire.
Combined with his terrifying immunity to all slashing attacks, Buggy held a powerful, fearsome image in their hearts. Did he suddenly grow a conscience and decide to perform charity shows here?
If it weren't for the audience tipping them, they really would be doing free volunteer work right now.
"Listen up, boys, I'm doing this for your own good! Did you see that massive statue on the mountain?! That man is an absolute, legendary titan even in the New World!
"You rookies might not know him, but among the older generation of pirates, there isn't a single soul who doesn't tremble at his name.
"He can obliterate an entire island with a single punch! And the man himself is a literal immortal monster!
"That is the King of Fish-Man Island! Didn't you see all those Fish-Men sitting in the audience?!
"This is HIS territory! Offending him will bring us absolutely nothing but death!"
Buggy carefully counted his "tips." Being a pirate obsessed with treasure, he was fundamentally incapable of resisting the allure of Berries. He had busted his ass performing those humiliating circus tricks for this cash; there was no way he was giving it back.
"Is that really true?! Captain Buggy, it's completely unbelievable that you actually know such an unimaginable big shot!"
The words sounded like praise for Buggy's vast worldly experience, but to Buggy's ears, it somehow felt incredibly insulting.
"Hmph! Back in the day, the great Captain Buggy was an official member of the Roger Pirates! I sailed alongside Captain Roger—"
Perhaps because performing so many circus tricks had momentarily short-circuited his brain, Buggy casually blurted out his true, legendary past, but he quickly snapped his mouth shut.
This was his deepest secret, and he had absolutely no intention of sharing it with these grunts. If Fleet Admiral Sengoku hadn't publicly broadcasted Buggy's resume to the entire world during the Paramount War in the original timeline, the vast majority of people would have forever assumed he was just an ordinary, low-level pirate.
It was precisely because the Fleet Admiral had announced it that it carried such terrifying credibility. Right now, hearing Buggy casually state this absolute truth, his lackeys didn't believe him for a second. In fact, they burst out laughing.
"Captain Buggy truly has an incredible talent for comedy!"
"Hahahaha! Yeah, right! How could our Captain possibly have sailed on the Pirate King's ship?"
The pirates from the Four Blues who had actually laid eyes on Roger were currently either dead, retired, or rotting in Impel Down. The ones still actively sailing the seas were all untouchable big shots in the New World.
To ordinary, low-level pirates, Roger's image was unimaginably mysterious, overwhelmingly powerful, and wildly heroic. They projected endless layers of mythical reverence onto their idolized Pirate King.
Placing the current, clownish Buggy on Roger's legendary ship would merely be viewed as an insulting stain on the crew's legacy. Naturally, absolutely no one believed him.
While his crew's disbelief brought Buggy a massive sigh of relief, it simultaneously made him incredibly pissed off. Just as he slipped several throwing knives between his fingers, preparing to violently teach them some respect, the tent flap opened, and Arlong walked in with a few subordinates.
"What are you guys up to in here?" Arlong asked, glancing around the backstage area.
"We... we were just getting ready to practice our blindfolded knife-throwing act for the next show!"
Glaring at the lethal daggers in his hand, Buggy's brain went into overdrive, instantly conjuring up a perfectly logical excuse. His lackeys immediately caught on, rapidly setting up a practice target prop.
Even though they didn't believe Buggy had been on the Pirate King's crew, they knew for an absolute fact that if Buggy was terrified of these Fish-Men, they stood absolutely zero chance in a fight. In moments like this, blindly obeying Buggy's lead was the only way to survive.
"You guys are remarkably dedicated to your craft," Arlong nodded approvingly. "Our amusement park currently lacks a professional circus troupe. Are you interested in staying on permanently? The salary and benefits are highly negotiable."
"Ahem... well, you see, we are wandering artists who love taking in the sights of the world. We don't plan on staying in one place for too long," Buggy coughed nervously.
Seeing Arlong attempting to permanently lock him into his "Clown" persona, Buggy hurriedly declined. He still had legendary treasures to hunt down! He had absolutely no intention of wasting his life rotting away in Cocoyasi Village!
"What a shame. If you ever change your mind, you can contact me. Here is my Den Den Mushi number," Arlong said, handing over a card.
"I can't speak for the rest of the world, but at the very least, within the East Blue, I can guarantee you a stable, incredibly lucrative income."
"Absolutely, absolutely! We'll keep it in mind!"
Buggy maintained his cheerful, painted smile as he politely escorted Arlong out of the tent. Internally, he had already fully made up his mind: the exact microsecond the sun went down, they were fleeing this island at top speed, and he was never setting foot near Cocoyasi Village ever again!
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