One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 90: Just tell me if he counts as money or not.

It's pretty much as I expected.

The basement, which should have been used to store fine wine, was filled with groups of people who couldn't get up. Most of them were strong young men, covered in injuries and delirious.

However, judging from the skull symbols on their bodies, it can be inferred that some of the people here are pirates.

When Roman placed the old hand lantern in front of the group of people, a clear shadow appeared.

It seems the Devil Fruit's power has become ineffective.

Looking at the huge operating table not far away, surrounded by various surgical tools, the blood on the sheets had not yet completely dried.

"Hey, Roman, where is the treasure you're talking about? This is just a slightly scary operating room, isn't it?" Bucky searched around unwillingly.

"Ah, maybe these guys will find out." Bucky glanced at the half-dead guys, grabbed one of them, and, mimicking their actions, slapped him a few times. The man was starting to wake up.

"Ah, there are monsters here! How did you get here? That Moria is a demon, my shadow..." The man's consciousness was still in a state of confusion, as if he had just regained consciousness.

Bucky interrupted him impatiently: "Hey, hey, that Moria has already been defeated by me, relax. Now I just want to know where that guy's treasure is."

"How is this possible?" The man stared at his palm in disbelief and trembling, then suddenly noticed that the shadow of his palm was changing in the candlelight.

"He's back, he's really back!!! You actually defeated him, ah!!!..." The man, now fully recovered, screamed in fright when he saw Bucky floating in this state.

"Quiet down. Who do you take me for? I'm the famous pirate Buggy! Moria is nothing!" Buggy's boasting habit kicked in again.

"Ah, thank you so much, Lord Buggy. I would give my whole life to repay you."

"Really? Then you'll have to..."

Looks like he's about to win over another group of his little fans.

Bucky's persuasive skills were average, but the effect was surprisingly good.

Roman shook his head. No, no, this is his unique personal charm.

As more people gradually awaken and discover that the shadow has returned to its original form, more and more people begin to praise Bucky.

To have no shadow means to live in darkness for the rest of one's life and never be able to touch the sunlight again—a truly terrifying punishment for a human being.

However, it seems that this criminal law could be applied to those who have committed heinous crimes.

However, Moriah himself was also extremely wicked.

This small island was almost completely wiped out. To prevent information from leaking out, everyone except those he controlled was probably killed. Pirates with bounties over 100 million would require the deployment of their own admirals to put them in a fighting chance. In other words, the branch's navy was likely completely annihilated.

The cruel reality of the survival of the fittest strengthened Roman's resolve once again.

Meanwhile, Bucky, once again blinded by the constant praise, laughed wildly and unrestrainedly.

"Hahaha, if you really want to be my subordinates, I'll reluctantly agree. My boys, call me Captain Bucky." Bucky immediately struck a cool pose.

"Yes, Captain Bucky!" all the underlings immediately shouted, their spirits lifted.

Reality is always more absurd than animation.

"Can I ask you a question? Who among you has a bounty on their head?" Seeing that the atmosphere had reached its peak, Roman couldn't help but interject.

Although he was puzzled about who the kid next to him was, he couldn't afford to lose at a time like this, especially in front of his future captain.

“I, I, I am Reginal Mfila, with a bounty of 560 million Berries.”

"I am Flora Reid, with a bounty of 900 million Berries."

"And me, Kugin, with a bounty of 1350 million Berries."

……

In an instant, dozens of people raised their hands, revealing their net worth, afraid of being a step behind others.

Although Moria lacked ambition, his strength had not declined too much. He defeated almost all of these pirates by himself. Because he still needed their shadows, he spared their lives.

Hahaha, destiny is on my side! Although I haven't found the treasure yet, I've suddenly gained so many subordinates, so I can now form the complete Buggy Pirates.

"Alright, Bucky, don't be too sad. I think we've found the treasure."

"Where, where?" Upon hearing about the treasure, Bucky became serious again.

……

"I did the math, and it's estimated to be 132,064,000 Berries." Roman quickly knocked out the pirate who had just made the "bid," then dusted off her hands. However, to prevent a commotion, she knocked out even those without bounties; it was a simple matter, no trouble at all.

Covered in wounds, exhausted, and lacking strength, they hadn't had a good few days under Moria's command. Moria merely ensured they wouldn't starve; the rest was up to their own survival.

"This is the treasure you were talking about?" Bucky stared in disbelief.

"Tell me whether they're worth anything or not. It's just a matter of going through a process of monetization."

"Hey, you're a Marine, I'm a pirate! Which Marine branch would give us a bounty?" Buggy yelled.

Do you have a reward?

"No……"

Years later, Buggy was just a pirate with some fame in the East Blue. Now? Probably not many people would recognize him.

"That's fine then. Just think of yourself as a pirate hunter. Anyway, some pirate hunters will become pirates in the future, and some will become marines. Don't be so rigid. There are methods to getting things done."

"But they are crew members I just took on."

"I think you're courting death. Do you even have the strength to suppress those pirates? Don't look at them in such a sorry state now. Several of them are experts who have been to the Grand Line. They just happened to run into Moria."

“You…” Bucky was very unwilling, but after thinking about it carefully, Roman’s words seemed to make sense.

After the captain's death, he wandered the East China Sea for several years, witnessing many incidents of pirates on the same ship killing each other, including fights for treasure, beautiful women, and the captain's position.

"But you can consider those without bounties. Since you have done them a favor, it would be easy to use them to form a pirate crew."

That seems like a good idea.

Bucky thought with satisfaction.

"But not now. I have other plans for you. Also, I suggest we run away."

Feeling the commotion in the surrounding sea, Roman sighed. As expected, the commotion was still too great.