Chapter 62: The Fortune Teller!
Monet was different from Mihawk. As just an apprentice crewmate, she had never expected this newly formed pirate crew to be so insane as to want to attack three kingdoms at once. Her face was grim with a hint of regret.
Mihawk's face turned grim, but not for this reason. Having decided to join the Red Nose Pirates, Mihawk would not object to any of Buggy's decisions. At this moment, Mihawk was simply thinking with his habitually stern face.
"Captain, do you have a plan?" After thinking for a moment and realizing he knew too little about the other members, Mihawk asked directly.
"There's only one plan: split into three groups. We will simultaneously attack the royal capitals of the three countries and take out the members of the royal families inside."
As soon as Buggy finished speaking, Monet finally couldn't hold back and shouted at him, "Are you crazy?"
Glancing at Monet, Buggy then said, "This act of revenge is merely a test. It's for me to examine the strength of everyone except Mihawk and Monet. To see what kind of return I get on my investment in you all."
"Captain, splitting into three groups, how do we divide them?" After understanding Buggy's purpose, Bonez immediately asked.
"I will go to Oba Kingdom alone. Hancock, you take Betty and Bonez to Sarkozy Kingdom. Mihawk, you take Law and Paula to Vonsale Kingdom. As for the remaining one, Monet, I ask you, are you still sure you want to continue interning on the ship? If so, I will take you with me to Oba Kingdom. If not, after we enter the North Sea, I will leave you on an island. You can wait for us to complete this objective, and then we will come and take you to the East Blue."
Faced with Buggy's question, a look of hesitation appeared on Monet's face, but it soon became firm.
"I've thought it over. I will not go to Oba Kingdom." In the end, Monet decided to pursue her own dream.
"Mm, understood. Bonez, let's set off, directly to the White Town."
A few days later, in the North Sea, at the ruins of the White Town, Law, stepping on his homeland once again, couldn't stop trembling from the moment he entered the ruins. A vicious aura constantly emanated from his body.
After walking around the ruins, Buggy didn't find any traces of the Revolutionary Army. It seemed it would be impossible to meet the leader of the Revolutionary Army here again.
Waiting was useless, so it was better to head straight for the destination.
Before departing, Buggy called Hancock and Mihawk aside and slowly instructed, "Although I don't know the strength of the other two royal families, I am very confident in your abilities. You will lead the teams, but try not to intervene. Mainly, observe their progress."
With Buggy having said this much, Hancock and Mihawk naturally understood.
Compared to Hancock's blind trust in Buggy, there was still a hint of doubt in Mihawk's eyes.
This wasn't strange. After all, he had saved Paula from Momonga's hands, so he naturally knew her strength. As for Law, he had only been asking him for swordsmanship advice since the crew was formed and had not revealed his abilities, so Mihawk wasn't sure if he could really complete the mission without intervening.
"Don't worry. On your route, Law is the main force. As for Paula, I estimate she most likely won't enter the battlefield directly, but will use some methods she's good at. You just watch over them. If it weren't for guarding against the unexpected, I wouldn't even need you to go along," seeing the doubt in Mihawk's eyes, Buggy said with a smile.
Nodding, Mihawk didn't say much more and strode towards Law and the others.
Immediately after, Hancock also set off with Daz Bonez and Betty.
After both groups had left, Buggy slowly began to walk towards Oba Kingdom.
There was no need to rush. Buggy had agreed on a time with Hancock and the others to make their move in a week. A week was enough time for Buggy to walk from the border of the White Town to the royal capital of Oba Kingdom.
In fact, even without rushing, Buggy arrived at the royal capital of Oba Kingdom on the fifth day. He used a Den Den Mushi to contact the other two groups.
Hancock's group hadn't arrived yet, the reason being that Betty's playing around had caused a considerable delay. As for Mihawk's group, they were even faster than Buggy and had already arrived yesterday.
If Mihawk hadn't been holding Law back, news would have probably broken by the time Buggy called.
Hanging up the phone, Buggy began to wander around the royal capital.
After a casual stroll, Buggy found out from inquiries that Oba Kingdom was not much different from Goa Kingdom in the East Blue. The city was divided into four main areas: the royal palace at the very center, the noble district adjacent to the palace, then the bustling commoner's district, and finally, the filthy peripheral area on the outermost edge.
Ultimately, without the unique geography of Goa Kingdom, Oba Kingdom couldn't clear out its garbage. Therefore, the peripheral area was a gathering place of filth, ugliness, darkness, and crime.
Although Buggy was a pirate, his soul was from the modern world. He had no love at all for a dirty and foul-smelling environment.
After understanding the general situation of Oba Kingdom, Buggy passed directly through the peripheral area and entered the commoner's district.
Just as Buggy was about to find a restaurant to solve his hunger problem, a queue of seven or eight young girls appeared in his line of sight. Following the end of the queue, he saw a gypsy-style tent set up on the side of the street.
The astrology sign hanging on top of the tent suddenly reminded Buggy of someone. Although he didn't think the person in the tent was that person, he became interested in astrology.
With nothing else to do, Buggy decided to have his fortune told before taking action. Of course, not right now; Buggy had no intention of waiting in line.
He found a restaurant and had a nice meal. By the time Buggy came out, it was well into the afternoon.
The relatively hot weather had reduced the number of pedestrians on the streets by several times. Walking back to the street where the fortune-telling tent was, he found that there was no one at the entrance of the tent now.
Good luck. Seeing this, Buggy, who originally thought he would have to wait until the evening when they were closing up, naturally walked forward.
"Is there anything I can help you with, customer?" a deep, but not aged, voice sounded in Buggy's ear.
Following the voice, Buggy only saw a man completely hidden under a cloak.
Hmm, the voice was male, that's for sure.
"I'd like to have my fortune told, to see if my upcoming journey will be smooth." Without intending to see who was under the cloak, Buggy casually stated his purpose.
"Please shuffle the Tarot cards three times, then return them to their original position." The cloaked man didn't ask much, just spoke in his usual manner.
Buggy didn't mind. After all, he didn't know anything about fortune-telling. He would just do as the cloaked man said.
After shuffling the Tarot cards three times, Buggy placed them back in their original position.
When the cloaked man took the Tarot cards in his hand and turned over the top one, Buggy's pupils suddenly shrank.
(End of Chapter)