"Captain Buggy!"
A group of pirates looked at their captain, moved to tears.
Even Mr. 3 Galdino's perspective changed as he witnessed Clown Buggy's actions. Along the way, he had seen how obsessed Clown Buggy was with treasure, but he didn't expect him to be so loyal!
"Captain Buggy."
Red Sand Sasori proactively stopped him and calmly explained: "What we want is this Golden Stele. We don't have enough manpower to take the other gold from this Golden Palace. You can take the rest of the gold..."
"Really?"
Clown Buggy quickly dashed over, his tongue extending long, drooling at the mouth, and even tears of emotion filled his eyes: "You're really going to share the gold here with us? It's worth a lot..."
"Of course."
Red Sand Sasori didn't mock Buggy's demeanor, his voice still mechanical and calm, lightly praising: "A hero who killed a Heavenly Celestial Dragon deserves the entire Golden Palace."
"Hahaha… actually, I didn't do anything significant…"
Clown Buggy scratched his head a bit bashfully, yet shamelessly accepted Red Sand Sasori's compliment, taking credit on the spot for assassinating a Heavenly Celestial Dragon, which he had always tried to avoid claiming.
"You've come at the right time."
Red Sand Sasori's gaze fell on the golden inscription beside him and softly inquired: "The entire sea knows that Captain Buggy was once a member of the Roger Pirates, followed Pirate King Gol D. Roger to the end of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale, and was once a Great Pirate who conquered the entire Grand Line..."
"Haha... hahahaha..."
Clown Buggy's laughter sounded a bit awkward and loud.
Such a thing…
How is he supposed to argue this!
Now, if he were to say he never actually reached the end of the Grand Line but got sick and disembarked early...
However…
The other party is praising him for conquering the Grand Line...
Clown Buggy could only accompany with awkward laughter, feeling that saying he never reached Laugh Tale would cause him to lose face!
Damn…
How on earth can he reveal this without losing face!
"Hahaha... this matter... you guys know it too... hahaha..."
Clown Buggy kept his wild yet awkward laughter, while in his heart a trembling little demon of fear dreaded his secret of not reaching Laugh Tale being exposed and feared abandonment and disdain from everyone!
"Just so happens..."
"We have a question..."
Red Sand Sasori pointed to the golden inscription before him, introducing its content: "This is the Golden Stele left behind by Nefertari D. Lili, Queen of Alabasta, who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago. It records the history of the Void Century and the truth about Laugh Tale..."
"..."
Clown Buggy pretended to read it.
Don't ask me... don't ask me...
While Clown Buggy looked at this golden inscription, considering how much gold it might have, he muttered in his heart: "Don't ask me... absolutely do not ask me... don't ask me about Laugh Tale..."
"Captain Buggy."
"You once reached Laugh Tale..."
Red Sand Sasori's words first reaffirmed Clown Buggy's identity, then emphasized the important status of the person who left the golden inscription: "Is it true, as the King of Alabasta from eight hundred years ago inscribed, that Laugh Tale seals the Goddess of Rabbit?"
"..."
Clown Buggy's heart suddenly beat a bit faster.
This...
How would he know something like that!
Clown Buggy was furious inside, cursing his sickly self from years ago that led him to such an awkward predicament now…
If he gets exposed…
Wait…
Why would he be exposed?
Clown Buggy's mind quickly became active, as he has always had an unusual talent for preserving his face!
This Golden Stele… looks valuable...
No…
This Golden Stele was left by the King of Alabasta from eight hundred years ago, who was one of the Twenty Kings and surely knows what Laugh Tale holds!
What's recorded on this Golden Stele must be true!
As long as he acts well, no one will discover his lie!
Clown Buggy pretended to attentively read the golden inscription, completely unaware that his actions at this moment symbolized the authority of a Pirate King crew member, signifying the testimony of someone who supposedly reached Laugh Tale...
While looking at the golden inscription, Clown Buggy strove to suppress the shock aroused in his heart, fearing that others would discover that this Roger Pirates crew member had actually never been to Laugh Tale…
"Hmm..."
"The contents are quite detailed..."
"But this Golden Stele doesn't have... ahem... doesn't have the grandeur of the Golden Stele recording history at Laugh Tale... Laugh Tale's Golden Stele is taller than this one..."
Clown Buggy feigned calmness as he nodded, fabricating wildly, constantly thinking whether his answers had errors, but seeing the Stele recording the sealing of the Goddess of Rabbit at Laugh Tale instead of treasure, he couldn't help a fleeting look of disappointment…
"Laugh Tale, indeed…"
"…seals a Goddess of Rabbit..."
Clown Buggy's brain frantically thought about every woman he's ever seen, his fingers tightly pinching his chin, trying to express through women he's seen that he truly came across the goddess sealed at Laugh Tale!
Hmm…
Seems…
I've reached a dead end here…
In order to maintain his radiant image, he had to continue fabricating…
Clown Buggy felt he had never been in such a moment of expansive thought for the sake of preserving his face, feeling as if inspiration struck, he remembered a white-haired woman he saw on the Konoha Pirates' ship!
Because…
The woman with long white hair…
More than any other woman Buggy has seen, fits the image of a god!
This can't be helped…
Clown Buggy has never seen an actual god and doesn't know what a god should look like...
"That Goddess of Rabbit…"
"She had long white hair..."
Clown Buggy took a deep breath and continued fabricating his lies, even extending his arms exaggeratedly: "Even though she had lived for over a thousand years, she didn't look like an old person at all, appearing cold and emotionless..."
Clown Buggy noticed the Konoha Pirates seemed unmoved, so he clenched his fist, deciding to sacrifice his most despised idiot of the past: "Idiot Shanks was so scared when she just looked at him that he couldn't move…"
"Stop the nonsense!"
A young voice, wearing a straw hat, stood at the door of the Golden Palace, pressing on his Straw Hat, his silhouette a shadow under the sunlight, firmly interrupted Clown Buggy's performance: "Shanks is strong and wouldn't get scared by someone else!"
Even though no one could clearly make out his appearance, everyone knew who the person standing at the palace entrance was.
The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy!
This sixteen-year-old pirate newcomer declared to everyone present peeking into Laugh Tale: "Buggy, don't casually tell your story, I won't believe these words coming out of your mouth, I'll head to the end of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale, and see the truth of this world for myself!"
"I will become the Pirate King!"