Chapter 63: The Invitation!

Chapter 63: The Invitation!

It wasn't that he saw some particularly exaggerated card face, but rather that Buggy saw something like a few straws rise up in front of the cloaked man. In the next moment, the cloaked man gently pressed the card onto the suddenly appeared straws.

This fortune-telling scene was one Buggy was not unfamiliar with. Combined with the fact that they were in the North Sea, the identity of the cloaked man before him was all but revealed.

A few years from now, he would become a member of the Worst Generation, the Magician from the North Sea, Basil Hawkins.

Judging by Basil Hawkins's age, he should be 23 this year. In Buggy's view, this guy should have already formed his own pirate crew and been sailing the seas freely. How could he possibly appear in Oba Kingdom, still working as a fortune teller?

This is so unscientific!

Just as Buggy was racking his brains, Hawkins's voice rang out: "Dear customer, you will next encounter blood, the fires of war, and destruction. But the cards indicate that your journey will be smooth sailing. It's strange, but there's no need to worry. Everything will happen naturally."

Hearing Basil Hawkins finish, Buggy was stunned, then sat there unmoving, lost in thought.

After a long while, Buggy finally spoke: "My name is Buggy, and I am the captain of the Red Nose Pirates. I would like to invite you to join my crew. What do you think?"

Faced with Buggy's question, Hawkins didn't answer but instead collected the Tarot cards from the straws. He then shuffled them a few times, turned them over again, and placed them down one by one.

"Probability of being pestered if I refuse: 87%. Probability of being killed if I refuse: 13%. Probability of being able to escape if I refuse: 0%." At this point, Hawkins suddenly heaved a long sigh.

"Captain Buggy of the Red Nose Pirates, may I refuse?" Hawkins asked after sighing.

"I hold your fortune-telling talent in high regard, so I hope you will accept," Buggy said in a deep voice, looking at Hawkins.

"Isn't it because you value me as a Devil Fruit user?" Hawkins was quite surprised by Buggy's answer.

"Although I don't know if your divination ability is related to a Devil Fruit, I value the divination ability itself." If the subject were any other fortune teller, Buggy would have no interest in inviting them. But Hawkins was different. This guy's divination skills had a certain uniqueness. While not to be used as a guideline for action, they still had some value as a reference before taking action.

"You'll have to prove the strength of yourself and your pirate crew to me. If you are strong enough, joining wouldn't be out of the question," after considering for a moment, Hawkins gave a straightforward answer.

"No problem. Two days from now, I will let you know just how strong our Red Nose Pirates are. But before that, I have a question for you." Buggy indeed had a question for Hawkins.

"Please speak!" Hawkins replied unhurriedly.

"With your strength, it shouldn't be difficult for you to form your own pirate crew. Why are you here working as a fortune teller?" Buggy had some knowledge of Hawkins's strength and future path, so it wasn't strange for him to have this question.

"Two years ago, when I was thinking of forming a pirate crew, I suddenly had a whim and did a divination for myself. The result led me here."

Although Hawkins's answer didn't specify the details of his self-divination, Buggy didn't doubt it in the slightest.

Although he hadn't excessively interfered since coming to this world, his actions had certainly caused some things to deviate.

Whether this was a good or bad thing, Buggy wasn't sure, but at least for now, the good outweighed the bad.

Two days later, outside the noble district of Oba Kingdom, Buggy and Hawkins met as arranged.

"Today is the day you prove the strength of yourself and your pirate crew to me. I wonder how you plan to prove it? Why don't I see any other members of your crew?" Looking around, Hawkins didn't see anyone with Buggy.

"The proof is about to begin." After speaking, Buggy took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed a number.

"Hancock, are you all ready over there?" Buggy asked.

"We are ready," Hancock's voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

"Then begin!" Buggy nodded and replied immediately.

Hanging up the call with Hancock, Buggy dialed another number.

"Hey, Captain, why did you call so late? I couldn't wait any longer," Law's voice rang out before Buggy could even speak.

"Well, I'm calling now, aren't I? Go and vent to your heart's content. You'll feel much better after letting it all out." Knowing Law's state, Buggy said a few words and hung up the phone.

Watching Buggy make two consecutive calls, Hawkins vaguely sensed something, but before he could confirm it with Buggy, he saw Buggy striding towards the noble district.

"Just wait here. I'll show you a spectacular performance in a moment!" After speaking, Buggy's figure flickered. In the next second, he directly passed the guards at the border between the two districts and appeared inside the noble district. Before the guards could even react, Buggy's figure had vanished from Hawkins's sight.

Watching the departing Buggy, Hawkins was a little puzzled. But since Buggy had said so, Hawkins, with nothing else to do, stood on the spot and waited.

At the entrance to the noble district, the two guards had already reacted and hastily rang the alarm bell that was usually never used.

Once the alarm bell rang, it meant an enemy had invaded. The patrolling guards quickly began to converge on the east gate of the noble district.

However, their speed was far too slow compared to Buggy's.

In just one minute, Buggy, advancing straight along the main eastern road, had already reached the palace gates. At this time, the palace guards hadn't even had time to close the gates.

With a forward dash, Buggy rushed into the palace just before the gates closed.

Without stopping and without engaging any of the pursuers, Buggy's body was already soaring into the air. He flew diagonally upwards and quickly arrived directly above the center of the palace.

His hands turned pitch black as he infused his ability into them. In the next second, with his head down and feet up, Buggy shot straight towards the ground using Moonwalk.

A breath later, with a deafening "BOOM," the entire royal capital shook.

The countless soldiers and guards who had rushed over to surround Buggy had their formations broken by the tremor before they could even close the encirclement.

Just as all the soldiers were preparing to regroup, a shocking thing happened. Cracks began to spread out in all directions from where the intruder was. As they spread, the cracks began to grow wider and wider.

In less than a minute, as the surrounding buildings began to collapse, cries and painful wails echoed in the sky around the palace.

Standing outside the noble district, watching the extending cracks spread to a point not far in front of him, Hawkins's pupils suddenly shrank.

(End of Chapter)