Chapter 179: Aoxi’s Star
As expected, after Roger made the request to hitch a ride, La readily agreed.
『I didn’t expect to encounter such an interesting little guy before arriving at Whole Cake Island.』
Looking at the two little ones who had just boarded and were still a bit reserved, La revealed a smile tinged with interest.
One red gem, one blue gem… Although compared to Zephyr and Teach, the two gems before her eyes were somewhat lacking in light due to being unpolished, their quality was still quite good.
As expected of the Pirate King’s ship, it produced two sparkling raw stones at once.
……
“Little guys, can you tell me your names?”
Seeing the two still looking around curiously, La walked right up to them, bent down slightly, and asked their names with a smile.
She was always direct and proactive about things that interested her.
“Bu, Buggy! My name is Buggy.”
Seeing La’s beautiful face right in front of him, Buggy got so nervous that he started stuttering.
『So, so pretty! Such a gentle sister!』
In contrast to his little partner’s awkwardness, Little Shanks, wearing a Straw Hat, seemed much more at ease.
After getting over the initial mild stress response to the unfamiliar environment, he had regained his usual calm and relaxed demeanor, and he answered with a grin:
“My name is Shanks, what about you, sister?”
“La, that’s my name.”
“La… huh.”
Little Shanks nodded and continued asking:
“So, Sister La, are you a pirate too?”
“Yes, I’m a member of the Beasts Pirates.”
La pointed to the Beasts Pirates’ emblem painted on the sail.
“Beasts Pirates?!”
Hearing that name, Rayleigh, who had been silent beside them, was somewhat surprised.
Because of Roger’s carefree nature, he hadn’t even asked La which faction she belonged to during their conversation, and Rayleigh had unknowingly boarded the ship as well.
Now, away from the captain’s influence, he began to carefully examine this somewhat eerie pirate ship.
Rayleigh had heard of Kaido; back in God Valley, though they hadn’t fought, they had crossed paths once.
However, since the Roger Pirates had focused on searching for Road Poneglyphs in recent years, he hadn’t immediately recognized the Beasts Pirates’ emblem.
After all, the Beasts Pirates had only been established for a little over a year, and their name had only truly started making waves in the New World in the last six months.
……
“Eh? Beasts Pirates?!”
“Isn’t that revolver pistol that Uncle Peteru treasures so much made by the Beasts Pirates?”
Hearing the name ‘Beasts Pirates,’ Buggy immediately thought of the revolver pistol that he and Shanks had begged for a long time to borrow just to play with for a bit.
“Pistol?”
“Ah~ You mean that one~”
Obei, who had been curiously staring at Buggy’s red nose, suddenly chimed in with a sly smile when he mentioned their own production of the revolver pistol:
“How about it? Red Nose little brat~ Do you want a pistol like that too?”
“Who are you calling red nose… Eh?”
Buggy instinctively reacted to the words “Red Nose,” but after hearing the rest of Obei’s words, he became excited instead.
“Y-Yes, I want one! I want it.”
“You want one… That’s fine~”
Obei’s words carried an undisguisable malicious intent, but Buggy, whose head had been turned by this sudden surprise, didn’t pick up on it at all.
“Really?”
“Of course it’s real~ After all, the maker of that gun is my sister.”
『Oh? The maker of that kind of pistol is actually a little girl?』
Rayleigh, who had been paying attention to this side, thought in surprise.
The Obei before his eyes was at most around ten years old, not much older than Shanks and the others, and her sister…
『A sister who seems to have a Mythical Zoan, and a sister who made that kind of weapon…』
『Beasts Pirates, huh…』
Regardless of Rayleigh’s swirling thoughts, Buggy was clearly tempted by Obei’s promise.
Imagining that he would soon have such a beautiful pistol of his own, he was so excited that his eyes sparkled, and even his nose seemed redder and brighter.
Seeing that he had taken the bait, Obei revealed a cunning smile and slowly said:
“But in exchange… I get to pinch your red nose~”
“Eh?”
……
In fact, ever since they boarded, Obei had been extremely fixated on Buggy’s big, round red nose.
『It looks just like a rubber ball—what kind of feel does it have~』
『I want it so bad~ I want it so bad~』
『I really want to pinch it!』
“How about it? Great deal, right~ Just let me pinch it and you get a free pistol~”
Obei continued her tempting whispers.
“Come on~ Say it.”
“Just say ‘I want it’~”
“Super simple, isn’t it~”
“Just nod and you’ll get a brand new revolver pistol right away~”
“Your little partner will be so jealous of you~”
Obei continued her gentle persuasion, like some purple-striped Stand.
And when she followed Buggy’s instinctive gaze to Little Shanks, her smile grew even wider, but her tone suddenly turned cold.
“Or do you not want it?”
“Gulp~”
Hearing this, Little Baki swallowed hard.
“R-Really, just pinch my nose… and you’ll give me the gun?”
“Hmph~”
“Hehe~”
Seeing him finally give in, Obei let out a delighted laugh.
“Yes, it’s a promise between us~”
“I’ll give you the gun.”
“…”
“Bu-But… I refuse!”
“No one touches my nose!”
Buggy clenched his fists and spat out the refusal with difficulty but determination.
This was a matter of his dignity.
He had always been very sensitive about his red nose; normally, even if someone just mentioned it or said something that sounded similar, he would get worked up, let alone let someone pinch it~
Even if the other party was a sister so beautiful it was unimaginable, even if he really wanted a shiny silver pistol, even if…
“Eh? Refusing?”
“N-No, that’s right! My nose…”
“How about a special edition?”
“Sp-Special edition?”
“Yes! A one-of-a-kind revolver pistol in the whole world, custom-made just for you~”
“It’s an absolute limited-edition gun of the highest rarity that you absolutely couldn’t find a second of even if you scoured the entire Sea~”
Obei was going all out; she was determined to pinch that red nose today!
Worst case, she’d swallow her pride later, hug her own sister’s leg, and beg her for it.
“…”
“…”
“Gulp~”
“Al… Alright, fine!”
“You can pinch my nose!”
“But I want two pistols.”
His fists clenched and unclenched several times.
Finally, as if thinking of something, Buggy closed his eyes and shouted out in pain but resolve.
“Hmph hmph”
“No problem~”
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Obei smugly hummed twice but didn’t immediately reach out; instead, she shouted toward the cabin:
“Obei, come out quick! There’s a little fan of yours here~”
“Come meet him~”
As Obei’s words fell, the intermittent “sizzle” sounds from inside the cabin suddenly stopped, replaced by the “creak” of a door opening.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a delicate-faced little girl with somewhat messy hair walk out from inside, holding something in her hand.
Seeing her own sister, separated by just a door but not seen for many days, Obei grinned and walked over to greet her.
“Yo~ Obei, long time no see.”
“What’s that in your hand? Let me—”
Bang!
Before Obei could finish, a beam of light hit her forehead directly, snapping her head back.
“Eh?!”*3
This sudden scene startled the three new guests on the ship.
Amid the Roger Pirates trio’s bewilderment, the blue figure scratched her head, looked irritably at the object in her hand, and spoke:
“Tch~ The power is a bit less than I expected.”
“Energy loss is too severe… Sure enough, it’s the raw materials, huh.”
