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

Chapter 97 (Free)

On the terrace of the temple of the gods.

Bucky closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

Nami stood beside him, holding a small notebook, reporting on each item one by one.

"As for the Shandians, Walpo has brought them back. The pro-war fighters who refused to surrender are all dead."

"The one named Wipa is more seriously injured. Doctor 20 is working with Walpo on mechanical modification experiments."

Nami had seen the vision design drawings that Buggy gave her; it was roughly a cyborg covered in Valbur alloy.

"Um."

"In addition, Ganfor is compiling a list of Shandians. There are forty-seven people in total, including thirteen adult warriors, and the rest are old people, women and children."

"Um."

"Also, they have a little girl." Nami paused, "She possesses extremely strong Observation Haki, allowing her to sense the emotions and dangers of the entire island. Gan Fall said her name is Elsa."

Unlike the Skypiea, where Observation Haki is referred to as "Mind Web," Nami prefers to use "Observation Haki" to describe it.

Bucky opened his eyes: "Bring her to me."

Nami frowned slightly: "—Captain, she's just a child—"

"—" Bucky's eye twitched. "Who do you take me for?"

"————" Nami looked at Buggy, wanting to complain, but said, "Yes."

After half an hour.

Elsa was taken to the terrace of the temple.

Lachi took her hand and led her up the steps one by one.

With each step she took, Elsa's body trembled.

She could sense it.

The person sitting on the terrace had an aura that was different from everyone else's.

It was a cold, flowing, bottomless darkness.

Laki stopped and lowered her head: "God—God—Elsa has brought you—"

Bucky's gaze fell on Elsa.

At nine years old, short in stature, with short brown hair, small white wings, wearing a fluffy little hat, a brown skirt, and barefoot, Elsa was born with Observation Haki, and her Observation Haki's range was second only to Enel's.

"Come here," Bucky said.

Elsa's body trembled violently, and she instinctively hid behind Rachel.

Rachi gritted her teeth and gently nudged her: "Go—the God won't hurt you—"

Elsa looked up and glanced at Rachel.

There was something indescribable in Lachi's eyes.

Fear, despair?

Elsa didn't know.

All she knew was that she had to get there.

Everything for the Shandians.

For the sake of their companions and their people, they absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must not offend the gods before them.

Elsa walked up to Bucky and stopped.

She kept her head down, not daring to look at him.

Bucky stood up from his chair, squatted down, and looked her in the eye.

"look up."

Elsa's lips moved, and then she slowly, little by little, raised her head.

Bucky's face appeared in front of her.

That black and white mask, those eyes looking out from behind the mask, that slightly upturned corner of the mouth.

Elsa's body froze, like a frog being stared at by a snake.

"Your name is Elsa?" Bucky asked.

Elsa's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

Are you afraid of me?

Elsa's tears flowed again.

"I—I'm not—I'm scared—"

The little girl spoke haltingly, clearly terrified, yet unwilling to admit it.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Bucky thought it was quite fun to bully children.

"I'm afraid—afraid of you—" Elsa's voice trailed off, "afraid you'll kill us—"

Elsa's Observation Haki instincts instilled in her extreme fear of Buggy, making her utterly unable to lie.

Bucky looked at her and remained silent for a long time.

So long that Elsa thought he wouldn't answer anymore.

"Do you know why you're afraid of me?" Bucky finally spoke.

Elsa shook her head.

"Because you can sense that I'm different from you." Bucky stood up, turned around, and walked back to his chair to sit down.

"Most people in this world strive for conformity." They want to be like others, their people like others, their country like others. Because "conformity" means safety, "conformity" means not being excluded, "conformity" means survival.

"But true strength doesn't require 'similarity'."

"True strength lies in being different."

"Because of difference" means transcendence, "different" means surpassing, "different" means...

"I am not in the same dimension as you."

Bucky's gaze fell on Elsa's face, and the corners of his mouth curved into a wider smile.

Bucky likes to show off, but unfortunately, the kids around him can't even make him pretend properly.

It's like a scholar telling a story to an illiterate person.

But this little girl in front of me is different.

Despite his young age and immature mind, he possesses extremely powerful Observation Haki.

That still-developing mind will fully reflect Bucky's terror.

The child in front of him has the highest level of control over him.

A deep darkness appeared in Bucky's eyes.

—Clown Magic Hypnosis Activated!

Although props weren't used to maximize the effect, hiding the effect within the speech made it even harder to detect.

"Your Observation Haki allows you to sense this difference." So you're afraid of me. Not because I'll hurt you, but because your instincts tell you that the person standing before you is someone you can't fight back against.

"This is not fear."

"This is reverence."

Bucky had an interesting idea.

When Bucky is alone, he can of course not care what everyone else thinks.

But what will happen to Skypiea after Bucky leaves?

"————" Elsa was a little confused, not knowing why Bucky was saying all this—after all, he was just a 9-year-old child.

Bucky took out a white handkerchief, waved it back and forth to show that there was nothing on it.

Then he put his hand inside the handkerchief, pulled out a piece of milk candy, and handed it to Aisha.

"Eat."

How should one begin when getting a pet?

Of course, it starts with sharing food.

Elsa took the milk candy, hesitated for a moment, and then put it in her mouth.

Bucky knew the little girl had never seen this kind of milk candy before, so he didn't put a wrapper on it when he gave her the candy.

The sweetness spreads on the tip of the tongue, with a faint milky aroma.

"Is it good?" Bucky asked.

Elsa nodded.

"From today onwards, you'll live here." Bucky leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped over his stomach. "Ratchet will stay too, to take care of you."

"From this day forward, you are the son of God."

"When I'm not around, you will be in charge of managing the entire Sky Island."

Bucky smiled with interest.

Overcoming the strong with the weak, and controlling the many with the few—this is the only way to succeed in management.

Ganford is in charge of managing the Sky Islanders who were originally from Sky Island.

Elsa is in charge of managing the Shandians.

Bucky will also leave Mochi and Kabaji behind, turning the entire Sky Island into a three-way balance of power.

Elsa looked completely stunned.

"!!" Laki was even more at a loss.

"!!!" Nami looked at Buggy as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything.

Elsa looked up at Bucky: "You—are you telling the truth?"

"Do you think I need to lie to you?" Bucky smiled gently.

Elsa fell silent; she knew Bucky didn't need to lie to her.

Because he can take everything he wants by force.

The strong don't need to lie to the weak, because it's pointless.

"————" Aisha didn't know how to answer, but she sensed from her mental network that Rachel's emotion was ———— joy?

So the girl did not refuse.

"I understand," Elsa said, her voice soft but firm.

"Very good." Bucky looked at her, his smile deepening.

"Nami."

"exist."

"Make arrangements. From this day forward, the warriors of the Shandians will be the guardians of the gods."

L

"Yes." Nami knew what the so-called Guardians of God were; they were cyborgs.

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