One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 81 Sharing Glory in Victory, Failing in Defeat (I Don't Want That!!!)

Seeing Bucky foaming at the mouth, Roman quickly composed himself.

Ah, it seems I went a bit too far. I only meant to scare him, but I ended up making Bucky almost faint. That wasn't my intention at all.

Before even setting foot on the island, Roman's Observation Haki had already begun to sense it.

The truth was cruel; her domineering presence told him that there were many things that moved, but none that were alive.

Apart from the pirates who may have been kidnapped by Moria, there is no living life left on this island; all the bodies that sustain life have been transformed into Moria's horrific creations.

However, through her Observation Haki, she sensed a life form moving rapidly.

Thinking he might be a survivor, Roman immediately set off and found Bucky.

There's no way to ignore it; its iconic red nose is just too distinctive.

Since he was a Devil Fruit user with the ability to tear apart into pieces, Roman decided to use him to test his swordsmanship.

The result was encouraging: the head was severed, but the body didn't move at all.

In other words, her knife speed exceeded the reaction speed of her nerves, which is further strong evidence for her.

After discovering that the other party was faking his death to escape the enemy's sight, Roman ruthlessly exposed his disguise.

"Alright, wake up. Even though you're a pirate, I won't do anything to you since you don't have a bounty yet."

"Really?" Bucky, who was about to roll his eyes, immediately brightened up when he heard that Roman was going to let him off the hook.

"But you have to help me."

"What kind of help?" Bucky swallowed hard; he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I think you've probably realized by now that this island has become someone's playground of terror. As a member of the Navy, it's my duty to deal with this trouble, so I need to..."

"Hey, hey, hey, although I am indeed very powerful, you are asking too much of me. The guy in here is incredibly strong, and you actually want me to help you defeat him?" Bucky said with a look of resistance.

"Hehe, you're overthinking it."

If Roman really wanted to rely on Buggy for combat strength, he might as well just pack up and leave. Both were apprentices in Roger's crew, but their strength was worlds apart from Shanks'.

Shanks has already gone head-to-head with the Four Emperors, but Buggy remains unknown. However, Buggy has one advantage that even Shanks can't match.

"You don't need to do anything, just stay by my side."

"It's that simple?" Bucky was clearly incredulous.

"Yes, it's that simple."

Since he's a user of Conqueror's Haki, being with him might improve my luck.

Even though Moria is no longer at his peak, Roman isn't entirely confident he can defeat him; he might still need to rely on luck.

If Bucky gets a bit of luck, then maybe there's a good chance.

"Wait, I understand what you mean, but your goal is to take down the culprit here, right?"

"Yes."

"While I admit you have some strength, you're not facing just one person. This island is full of stitched-together monsters. Can you really manage on your own?" Bucky naturally wasn't concerned about the life of a complete stranger, but he understood perfectly well that if anything happened to her on the island, he, who was with her, would obviously not fare any better.

After listening, Roman scratched his head in a bit of distress: "Oh, that makes sense. How about this, if I win, you can witness my success with your own eyes. If I lose, then please come with me to the underworld. Let's make it a happy decision."

"What a joke!!! I still have to search for the world's treasures, if I were to die in a place like this..."

"So, you want to die right now?"

"...Since you've already said so, let's set off now." Seeing Roman's unfriendly expression, Bucky immediately changed his tune.

"I like guys like you who have good sense of things."

Will Bucky really obey?

Of course not. Although he's not exceptionally clever, Buggy is indeed a cunning pirate. If you actually believed him, you probably wouldn't even know how you died.

Besides, he doesn't seem to be very good at hiding his emotions yet.

A quick glance at Bucky's expression told Roman that he was definitely up to no good.

"Of course, for the sake of our pleasant cooperation, let's both show some sincerity. I can guarantee that I won't arrest you, but you must give me your foot."

what?

For a moment, Bucky thought he was hallucinating.

Then, a flash of cold light appeared again, and Roman chopped off Bucky's foot.

"Aaaaah!! You cruel bastard, what are you going to do to my body?"

"Quiet down. Aren't you a Chop-Chop Fruit user? You don't feel any pain, do you? Besides, screaming too loudly will attract monsters, and then I won't care about you."

Upon hearing this, Bucky immediately manipulated his arm to cover his mouth.

"Isn't that good? Don't worry, you came to this island for the crystal, right? If it's really possible, we can go and look for it. But all of this depends on defeating the guys here first, otherwise our bodies will become vessels for those zombies. Ah, as a Chop-Chop Fruit user, it should be difficult for them to operate on you. They might get angry and chop you up, then hang you upside down to feed the fish."

A sweet treat and a slap were enough to intimidate Bucky, who reluctantly agreed to cooperate, but repeatedly instructed Roman to ensure his safety.

After confirming that Roman really wouldn't hurt him, Bucky's courage obviously grew.

"You're almost as despicable as that bastard Shanks."

"Ah, you mean that redhead who's recently become famous across the sea? Is he someone you know? What do you think of him?"

"Cunning, treacherous, a complete bastard. He always has that smiling face, looking innocent and harmless, but that guy can't fool me. He must be plotting something in secret." Thinking about how the other party made him accidentally swallow a Devil Fruit and lose the treasure map, Buggy's resentment grew even stronger, and his voice involuntarily rose another eight octaves.

But this time, Roman did not stop him.

She didn't dislike Shanks, but she certainly didn't like him either.

While Shanks is undoubtedly a man of great kingly stature, his mind is too complex, and Roman still cannot fathom what he truly desires. Compared to him, most of the world's powerful figures are rather simple-minded.

As the future emperor, it's certain that he has grand ambitions.

As a two-dimensional character, he certainly has a lot of charisma, but as a real person, Shanks still poses a considerable threat.

Moreover, he can move freely among those in power, and is suspected to be a descendant of the Celestial Dragons. No matter how you look at it, such a person cannot be a simple individual.

Maybe that guy has been plotting all along.