"How do you plan to handle Bartolomeo?" Mr. 3 asked.
"Depends on his attitude when admitting his mistake. If it's good, we'll beat him half to death and disband his Pirate Crew. If it's bad, we'll kill him," Beckman said nonchalantly.
Fair enough... consistent with the usual style of pirates... "Then your relationship with the Straw Hat Pirates won't be affected, right?"
Bartolomeo's life or death had nothing to do with Mr. 3; he was only worried it might affect the unity of the Anti-Black Alliance.
"Of course not, unless the Straw Hat insists on standing up for Bartolomeo," Beckman said in a low voice.
The two discussed the alliance on the noisy battlefield, but Beckman somehow felt a sense of incongruity.
It wasn't until the discussion ended and Beckman went back to chat with another officer who hadn't participated in the battle, Limejuice, that Limejuice's words woke him up.
"Beckman, that guy across from you is quite like you, always pretending to be so serious..."
Beckman finally knew where the sense of incongruity came from; Gal Dino's words and actions were very similar to his own.
"What do you mean by 'pretending to be serious'? I'm just a steady man, okay?" Beckman said.
"If you say so," Limejuice didn't argue. "But Beckman, while watching the battle, I suddenly discovered a very serious problem regarding our Red Hair Pirates..."
"What problem?" Beckman was a bit surprised.
"Our Red Hair Pirates don't even have a single female crew member..." Limejuice said seriously.
Beckman fell silent for a moment, then pulled out his gun and pointed it at Limejuice. "You've been posing there all this time just to think about such a boring problem?"
"Just a reflection, why is a fifty-year-old man like you so angry?" Limejuice emphasized the phrase 'fifty-year-old man'.
"I feel like our crew has too many officers; we need to do some cleaning," Beckman said.
"Hey, he's been staring at you over there. Watch your image," Limejuice pointed forward.
Sure enough, Beckman found Gal Dino staring at him with rapt attention.
"What on earth does that guy mean? Is there something about me that attracts him?" Being stared at like that, Beckman felt a bit awkward.
The key was that they were allies, so he couldn't even get angry.
"Maybe he just wants to watch you quietly." Limejuice finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I really want to hit someone right now! Maybe I'll go find Bartolomeo; he's been active near Wano Country." Beckman felt a nameless fire and wanted to find a place to vent.
"It'll be over soon," Limejuice said. "I feel like the Captain is going to lose out!"
In the center of the battlefield, Shanks had already discarded his weapon and was fighting with his fists.
There was no other way; Gryphon had no effect when slashing at Buggy.
Seeing this, Buggy also dropped Shusui and competed with his fists.
But Shanks soon realized something was wrong; he only had one arm, which put him at a natural disadvantage.
Furthermore, Buggy's fists could split apart, making them very difficult to defend against.
By the time he realized this, Shanks had already taken several more punches.
"Stop, I'm done." Shanks could only shout for a halt.
If they continued, he would lose all his dignity.
"Now you remember the benefits of having arms, don't you, Shanks?" Buggy withdrew his fists and pulled Shusui out of the ground.
"Can't be helped, I traded it for something more precious," Shanks said.
"It's your own body part anyway, as long as you're happy."
"Alright, the welcome ceremony is over. Stop now," Buggy shouted. "Next, it's time to officially host our allies."
Both sides of the intense battle stopped.
A panting Lucky Roux looked at Jack, who was covered in wounds but still in high spirits. "Even if Zoan Devil Fruit Ability users are known for their toughness, you're being a bit too much."
Did this guy put all his ability points into tanking hits? Although Lucky wasn't injured, he was more exhausted than if he had been.
"You're not a good opponent," Jack also returned to his human form. "Why do you keep dodging?"
"Shut up, Jack. He was holding back." King flew over.
He had seen clearly from high above that Jack was no match for Lucky Roux at all; this fat man was a top-tier expert even within the Red Hair Pirates.
"Still have the mind to observe the battle elsewhere? It seems I didn't put enough pressure on you!" Yasopp also walked over. "Let's spar another day again."
"Not interested."
Yasopp's predictive attacks were too annoying; King could only rely on the flames of the Lunarian clan to endure them.
Of course, it would be a different story if it were a life-and-death battle.
In the end, except for Ushiohmaru and Loxterda, who were beaten quite badly, the others didn't suffer much damage.
This special 'welcome ceremony' allowed both Pirate Crews to understand each other'sstrengthsh, so their subsequent cooperation would naturally be on equal footing.
The group entered the Flower Capital in a grand procession, attracting onlookers.
"Wow! It's Commander Buggy!!!"
"Great Commander, we adore you!!!"
"You've governed Wano Country quite well, Buggy," Shanks noticed that the people here weren't afraid of pirates. "To be so popular."
"Because those who didn't welcome me have all been hanged," Buggy said casually.
"Haha, you're quite the joker. If that were the case, the people here should be afraid of you, not have this kind of attitude." Shanks thought Buggy was joking.
Only the members of the Buggy Pirates knew that, in a sense, Captain Buggy was telling the truth.
However, the one most popular with children was Jack; before long, a bunch of kids had climbed onto him.
"I wouldn't have guessed, little brother," Lucky Roux looked at Jack in surprise. "We share a certain fate; in our Pirate Crew, I'm the most popular with children."
"How about we cooperate? Let's find an officer from the Blackbeard Pirates and deal with him together."
Lucky Roux patted Jack's sturdy body; what a great meat shield. With him in front, he could just focus on attacking.
"I only follow the Captain's orders," Jack said in a muffled voice.
Meanwhile, Mr. 3 told Buggy the reason why the Red Hair Pirates arrived so quickly.
"Bartolomeo?" Buggy did remember this fanatical fan of Luffy's.
Speaking of which, the reason he started following stars was because of Buggy; born in Loguetown, Bartolomeo had watched Buggy's attempt to execute Luffy, which led him to view Luffy as his idol.
It seems that no matter which world it is, such fanatical fans are like time bombs.
Buggy somewhat understood why Shanks wanted to teach Bartolomeo a lesson.
If he dared to burn the Red Hair Pirates' flag now and was left unchecked, one day, such a fanatical fan might push his idol to the opposite side of the world.
Bartolomeo: Luffy, even if you become an enemy of the whole world, I will stand by your side.
Luffy: Why would I want to be an enemy of the whole world?
Bartolomeo: It's okay, I'll help you become an enemy of the world, because I'm your fan!
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A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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