Chapter 156: 156. Sabaody Archipelago
After Magnus agreed to join, the crew split as they've planned. Buggy, Cricket, Mantis, and Deon will go to Sabaody while the rest go to Water 7. They move immediately after checking everything they'll need.
On the way to Sabaody, Buggy uses all his navigational skills. It is not easy to navigate in Grandline, but it is also not too hard for him. He has seen Grandline's weather and learned it a lot, so he can handle it.
It takes them 3 days of troublesome sailing before they reach Sabaody Archipelago. The sight of this place is really stunning even for Buggy who has a memory of it. But that's the original's memory, not him.
"I can't believe that those aren't actual islands," says Deon.
"Yeah, they look just like normal islands with tall trees. But these Yarukiman Mangroves are the ones that actually made this Archipelago, not the other way around. They grow from the bottom of the sea and created this Archipelago," says Buggy.
"Damn, just how tall are these trees?" asks Cricket.
"I don't know, it's based on the depth of their growing place. But the shallowest seafloor is around 5 km if I'm not wrong," says Buggy.
"That's still very deep," says Cricket.
They move to the Archipelago and go to the Lawless Area. There are 79 Grooves and Lawless Area is from Groove 1 to 29. But the outer area is Groove 20 to 29 and they choose Groove 27 to dock their ship.
"I want to go to Groove 13, but the ship can't move past the low bridges and small passages. Well, let's just dock it here and walk there. Cricket, Mantis, you two guard the ship for now," says Buggy.
Cricket & Mantis nod, then Buggy leaves with Deon to Groove 13. He doesn't know whether Shakky's rip-off bar has been there or not, but he needs to check it. That place is the fastest way to find Rayleigh, after all.
"Should I move to find information?" asks Deon.
"No need. We will get everything in the place that we'll visit if it exists now," says Buggy.
Deon is confused, but he shrugs it off and just follows Buggy. On their way to Groove 13, they are attacked by some bounty hunters. A head with the price of 500 Million is too tempting for these bounty hunters.
Buggy let Deon takes care of these bounty hunters while he just stay back and help if needed. They are good training opponents for Deon as they are quite strong. Battle is the best way to polish his fighting skills and also his Observation Haki.
"Your Observation Haki is getting better, so I'll teach you Armament on the way to Water 7. I hope you have better talent than Jude & Manba at this. They're not the types who like to fight, so it became harder for them to learn Armament," says Buggy.
"Really?! Finally!" says Deon excitedly.
Deon is the only one who hasn't been taught Armament. He has just learned Observation Haki, so Buggy wants him to have a good mastery of it first before learning Armament. Training both types at the same time will just make his progress slower.
But it's not easy to learn Armament because Jude & Manba still can't use it even after months of training. They just don't like to fight that much even though they can. So maybe that's the reason why they still haven't activated it.
Enel has learned it since they left Birka, but he also hasn't shown any sign of activating it. Armament is just much harder to train than Observation Haki. Turning something spiritual into physical is a very hard thing to do.
Buggy & Deon keep walking to Groove 13 while fighting some people. Deon gets more spirited after Buggy promised to teach him Armament. He fights better now with his spirit lifted.
'His usage of his devil fruit is better now. His camouflage is very good that it looks like he is really disappearing,' ponders Buggy.
They continue to walk and find another problem in Groove 17. Some slave traders are catching a Mermaid, it's a young female Clownfish Mermaid. She must've been very curious about this place and swimming too close to the surface.
"What a strange coincidence. I am called the Clown and she is a Clownfish," says Buggy as he gestures at Deon to help the girl.
Deon nods and attacks the slave traders alone. There are 7 of them, but it's easy for Deon to defeat them. None of them can see him when he camouflages using his Cameleon power.
"Are you okay?" asks Deon to the girl, but she runs away and jumps to the sea before disappearing.
Deon scratches his head and says, "Am I that scary?"
"She's just afraid of humans and has a very bad day, ignore it. Let's go," says Buggy.
They walk again and now they don't get attacked again. Shortly after that, they reach Groove 13, and Buggy grins seeing what he looked for. Shakky's rip-off bar is there, so it will be easier to find Rayleigh.
"Shakky's rip-off bar? What a strange name to choose," comments Deon after reading the sign.
Buggy ignores him and just enters the bar. He sees the interior to be the same as what he saw in the series. He looks around and doesn't see anyone though. But then, a woman comes out from the back and welcomes him.
"Welcome. Oh, a big star is here," says Shakky after she sees Buggy.
"What do you mean by a big star? I'm not an entertainer. 2 glasses of rum," says Buggy as he sits on a chair.
Shakky takes his order and Deon walks in after finishing his inspection about the bar's name.
"Where's Rayleigh-san?" asks Buggy very suddenly.
Shakky puffs her cigarette smoke and looks at Buggy before saying, "It seems you know about us."
"I know one thing or two. It's not hard to get information in Blackmarket. Even more so when you live in Sabaody, it's a very open place, after all," says Buggy.
Shakky just smiles and says, "Well, I don't know where he is. He might be gambling or looking for girls somewhere."
'This answer is just like what she said to Straw Hats. She has been like this since then, huh?' ponders Buggy.
Buggy just wants to open his mouth before he stops. "It seems I don't need to search for him. He comes on his own."
*Tring Tring Tring*
The doorbell rings as someone opens the door.
"Long time no see, Vice-Captain," says Buggy while turning around.
"Hmm? Ooh, Buggy! You're here," says Rayleigh excitedly.
Buggy smiles and says, "Of course, I-"
Rayleigh cuts him off and taps his shoulder while saying, "Hahaha, I never thought you'll make it this far. I won't be surprised if Shanks do it, but I never thought you will do it."
Buggy has a tickmark and says, "I'm not supposed to say this, but you're pissing me off."
"Hahaha, don't be like that, Buggy, we all know the reason for that. You weren't training as hard as Shanks and quite a coward back then. Besides, you were a treasure hunter and didn't have big ambition at that time," says Rayleigh.
"Can't you keep your mouth from talking too much? There's my crew here, you know. You're embarrassing me," says Buggy pissedly while pointing at Deon who stays still like a statue.
Buggy & Rayleigh are confused and try to call him out.
"D-Da-Da-DARK KING RAYLEIGH!" says Deon with a shocked tone as he jumps back.
The others are stunned by it, especially Buggy. He has told why they came here and now suddenly Deon acts like this.
"Should I buy him a new pair of ears?" ponders Buggy while looking at Deon who hides behind a table.
Deon peeks a little from the table and has a very amazed expression now as he looks at Rayleigh. Buggy has a dark face when he sees that, "He is like Bartolomeo."
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You can read up to 35+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
Clicking that power stone/like also seem to be a good choice, hehe.
I've uploaded:
1. Chapter 180 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater
2. Chapter 191 of Transcended as Lord Buggy
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