Pirate: I, Buggy, am the Emperor, the Emperor of the Clown King!

Chapter 67 This Crocodile... You don't want to either?

Nochiko took out an unopened bottle of red wine and two clean wine glasses from the cabinet next to her and placed them on the table.

Then she stepped back behind Bucky, clasped her hands in front of her, and bowed her head.

Alvida stood there, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on Crocodile, her face expressionless.

Bucky raised his hand and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Sit."

Crocodile stood there, a cigar dangling from his lips, his gaze fixed on Bucky's face: "You know who I am."

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile," Buggy said, his voice still unhurried. "The mastermind behind Baroque Works, the hero of Alabasta."

Crocodile's pupils contracted slightly.

He knew Bucky knew who he was.

The survivors of Whiskey Peak, cigars dangling from their lips, spread the word throughout Baroque Works: "Bucky the Clown is here."

The act of smoking a cigar is highly suggestive for the person in question.

Hearing Bucky utter the words "Baroque Works" and "Alabasta" still made his heart skip a beat.

This wasn't a regular threat; it was blatant provocation—damn bastard.

"What exactly do you want?" Crocodile's voice grew even deeper.

"What do I want to do?" Bucky tilted his head. "I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" Crocodile frowned.

"Yes." Bucky stood up from his chair.

His hands slid off the back of the chair, behind his back, and he stopped in front of Crocodile.

The two people were less than three steps apart.

The atmosphere became extremely strange, and Alvida and Nojiko clenched their fingers tightly in tension.

Bucky picked up the bottle on the table and unscrewed the cap.

Dark red wine flowed from the bottle neck and poured into the empty stemmed glass.

"Glug glug glug one—"

The wine swirls at the bottom of the glass, creating a small vortex.

Fill the container to seven-tenths full, then stop.

Bucky put down the bottle and pushed the glass toward Crocodile.

"please."

Crocodile glanced down at the glass of wine, and his lips twitched.

Crocodile believed his intelligence was normal; he would never drink any random beverage offered by some random person.

He knew all about what Bucky had been doing in Loguetown.

In fact, after discovering that Buggy was provoking him, Crocodile investigated all the information he could find about Buggy.

The conclusion is that drugging, ambushing, and using any means necessary are the hallmarks of Bucky Barnes, the Joker.

Crocodile himself doesn't mind using these methods, but he minds others using them on him.

Although this may seem like a double standard, normal people all have double standards, don't they?

"What?" Bucky tilted his head. "Afraid I'll poison you?"

Crocodile didn't speak, but the meaning was clear, wasn't it?

"Heh heh heh—Crocodile, do you think I would use such despicable means against you at this time, in this situation, and in this manner?" Buggy's smile faded, replaced by a calmer tone.

"I'm not threatening you, Crocodile."

"I'm just stating a fact."

"Your plan has reached a critical moment."

"You don't want anything to go wrong at this time."

"So you came."

"Because you had no choice."

Bucky directly revealed the situation between the two sides.

Despite Crocodile's seemingly arrogant and domineering entrance, Buggy is actually in control right now, which is why Crocodile has come looking for him.

Crocodile's mood worsened after hearing Bucky's words.

Or rather, it's not a question of good or bad, but rather quite terrible, almost like eating feces.

—I was never this conflicted when I ate the Devil Fruit back then.

"You know my plan?" Crocodile asked.

"I know," Bucky said. "I know what you're going to do, and I know why you're doing it."

Crocodile's pupils contracted again.

"But I don't care." Bucky turned around, walked back to his seat, and sat down.

He leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped over his stomach, his gaze fixed on Crocodile's face.

"Your plans, your ambitions, your goals—I don't care about any of them."

"I just want to make a deal with you."

Bucky: Crocodile, you didn't want your plan either—

Bucky knew from the beginning that Crocodile's plan was just empty talk, and that the Ancient Weapon Pluton was not in Alabasta at all.

Crocodile looked into Bucky's eyes, which were calm, composed, and unfathomable, as they peered through the mask.

Crocodile took a deep breath, took the cigar out of his mouth, and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

Then he walked to the chair opposite him and sat down.

He crossed his legs, leaned back in his chair, and clasped his hands over his stomach.

His gaze fell on Bucky's face.

"Speak," Crocodile finally agreed to negotiate.

"A bet—a bet." Bucky's lips curled up slightly.

"What are we betting on?"

"I bet you can get the Ancient Weapon - Hades."

Crocodile's expression changed; it wasn't fear or anger, but something more complex.

Although he didn't hide his purpose too much, according to the intelligence Crocodile found out, Bucky was always in the East Blue—how did you know that, you clown bastard, from so far away?

Crocodile's hands slowly clenched at his sides, his knuckles turning white—no matter how he thought about it, he just couldn't understand it.

"How did you know?" Crocodile asked, thinking hard. It must be some strange Devil Fruit ability, or the ultimate Observation Haki.

Point 1 is very likely.

However, point 2 is questionable.

Crocodile actually knew that Hades was not in Alabasta; he only wanted to obtain the ancient Poneglyphs about Hades' location.

Crocodile didn't know whether it was Bucky's misjudgment or an intelligence failure, but he didn't intend to correct it.

Bucky actually knows that the Ancient Weapon Pluto isn't here, but he won't say it directly.

At this point, both sides implicitly agreed that the Hades in the bet referred to Alabasta.

—It can only be said that both sides had ulterior motives in their negotiations.

—But that's normal, that's what pirates with their schemes and tricks are like.

—What kind of pirate is always so honest and doesn't use their brain?

"The wonder of this world is that—" Bucky paused, his smile widening, "secrets are never secrets."

Crocodile looked into Bucky's eyes, trying to read a clue. But those eyes were as calm as a stagnant pool, as deep as a dry well.

"Interesting," Crocodile said, his voice carrying an indescribable quality. "What if I got it?"

"If you get it—" Bucky said, his voice still unhurried, "then I'll always listen to you."

""

Crocodile raised an eyebrow.

"What if you can't get it?"

'

"I won't ask you to listen to me," Bucky said. "I'll add a condition: you'll only listen to me if I release you from the naval prison."

Crocodile's lips twitched.

What kind of bet was that?

The stakes are completely unequal.

He won; Bucky will always listen to him.

He lost; Bucky released him from the naval prison, and now he has to listen to Bucky.

In other words, if he loses but doesn't go to jail, the bet is invalid.

"You're very confident," Crocodile said.

"It's not confidence," Bucky shook his head, "it's self-awareness."

He paused, his gaze falling on Crocodile's face.

"Crocodile, do you know him?"

"There are some people in this world who always think they can control everything."

"They devised plans, they laid traps, they were masters of strategy."

"But they forgot one thing—"

"True strength never requires a plan."

"Because plans can be broken, schemes can be exposed, and strategic planning is nothing in the face of absolute power."

.

At least in the storyline that Bucky has seen, the ancient weapons that have been revealed so far are not very useful compared to the terrifying strength of the powerful beings.

It's powerful, but inconvenient to use.

Crocodile's face darkened.

He challenged Whitebeard.

He knew what absolute power was.

He also knew the gap between himself and those at the top.

But that's not a reason for him to give up.

—Especially this clown bastard in front of me, who seemed to be mocking me when he spoke.

"Are you done?" Crocodile's voice was low.

"I'm done talking." Bucky leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped over his stomach.

Crocodile stood up from his chair and looked down at Bucky.

"I accept your bet."

He turned around and walked toward the open window.

I walked to the window and stopped.

Crocodile didn't turn around. "But you have to prove one thing to me."

"What?" Bucky swirled the wine in his glass, the red wine swirling within.

"Prove you're qualified to gamble with me." Crocodile's voice came from the window, tinged with coldness.

"If you don't even have the ability to make me take this seriously, then I don't mind sending you to hell right now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Crocodile's body turned into a cloud of dust and rushed out of the window.

The dust swirls, spreads, and dissipates in the night sky.

Finally, it vanished without a trace.

The windows were still swaying in the wind, making a creaking sound.

This is Crocodile's challenge.

In the end, everything depends on strength.

When the strong bet on the weak, the specific details of the wager are actually not important.

After Crocodile left, the dust storm that had been blowing across the harbor stopped, or rather, blew into the interior of the island.

The room fell silent.

"Captain, he won't cause trouble, will he?" Nojiko stepped out from behind Buggy, picked up a bottle of liquor from the table, and poured Buggy half a glass of liquor.

"Yes, Crocodile isn't a good guy." Bucky took the glass, took a sip, "but he'll wait."

"Wait for what?" Nokiko asked curiously.

"Wait until I prove myself." Bucky downed the drink in his glass, placed the empty glass on the table, and stood up. "Only when I win will he truly accept the bet."

"You will win, Captain," Alvida said.

"I won't lose."

Bucky got up and walked towards the window.

He can fly, so being able to fly is really a useful ability.

And this challenge is about to begin tonight.