บท 77: Chapter 77 : Cross Guild!!
In the waters near Marineford, Buggy and his crew sailed three enormous warships toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
When they first escaped from Impel Down, they had three warships filled to the brim with thousands of men.
But now, after the battle at Marineford, only a few hundred of them remained, leaving just one warship sparsely populated.
However, those who survived were the elite—powerful pirates with bounties worth hundreds of millions, like the Corrupt King, Bullet, the Crescent Moon Hunter, and the World Destroyer.
As they distanced themselves from Marineford, the bloodlust that had fueled them began to subside. Each person found a spot to lick their wounds, all while keeping a wary eye on those around them.
These people were not allies; they had come together purely out of shared interests. Now that the war was over and their common goal had vanished, their relationships reverted to the usual suspicion, rivalry, and competition.
At that moment, Buggy emerged from the cabin with Mr. 3, Bullet, and Shiryu. The eyes of those on the deck instinctively turned toward them. As for the massive Sanjuan Wolf, his size prevented him from squeezing in with Buggy and the others, so he stayed alone on another ship.
Buggy walked to the bow of the ship, turned to face the crowd, and clapped his hands, saying, "So, what are your plans now?"
"If Captain Buggy doesn't mind, I'd like to join your pirate crew!"
"Yeah! Whitebeard and the Fleet Admiral Sengoku both fell at Captain Buggy's hands! Captain Buggy is bound to replace Whitebeard as the new Yonko! Captain Buggy, please take me in!"
"Captain Buggy! Captain Buggy! Captain Buggy!"
As soon as Buggy finished speaking, many started to cheer, eager to officially join his ranks. As they said, Buggy's performance at Marineford was nothing short of dazzling. If nothing unexpected happened, he would undoubtedly rise to the position of Yonko.
These people were in this line of work for power and profit. And what could be more profitable than becoming a member of a Yonko's crew?
Besides, anyone with half a brain could see that while Buggy had the strength to be a Yonko, his influence was still lacking. So, he was sure to start recruiting on a grand scale.
By joining him now, they could secure a future as key members of Buggy's crew—an opportunity for rapid advancement.
Buggy smiled faintly at the cheering crowd, but he did not let their flattery cloud his judgment. He could see clearly that not everyone on the ship wanted to join him—at most, about half of them. The others were merely observing, waiting to see what would happen.
The true powerhouses on the ship—like Bullet, Blackbeard, Crocodile, the Corrupt King, and Vasco Shot—remained indifferent. These individuals were the real core of the crew, the ones who truly mattered.
Buggy raised his hand to signal for silence, and once the rowdy crowd settled down, he grinned and began to speak. "We've all been through battles together, and for those who want to join me, Buggy, in this journey, you're more than welcome!"
"And for those who wish to go their own way, I won't stop you. I wish you all good luck in your endeavors!"
"However, since we're still some distance from the Sabaody Archipelago, I have a proposition. I wonder if any of you would be interested in participating?"
Hearing this, Blackbeard and others who had different plans frowned, uncertain of what Buggy was up to this time.
On the other hand, those eager to join Buggy's crew began to cheer again, proclaiming their willingness to follow Buggy, no matter what he intended to do.
After a moment of silence, Blackbeard laughed and said, "Zehahahaha! Buggy, if you've got something to say, just spit it out! No need to keep us in suspense!"
Buggy chuckled, "Well then, I'll get straight to the point. I want to establish a mercenary guild called the 'Cross Guild.' I'm curious if any of you would be interested in joining?"
"Cross Guild?"
"Mercenaries? What is that? Like hired soldiers?"
"What exactly does a mercenary guild do?"
Upon hearing Buggy's words, everyone was puzzled. They had heard of hired soldiers who fought for money, but the concept of mercenaries was entirely new to them!
And a mercenary guild? They had no idea what that could be!
Buggy, aware that the concept of mercenaries didn't exist in this world yet, immediately explained, "Mercenaries are somewhat similar to the hired soldiers you know, but their range of services is much broader!"
"Hired soldiers only fight for money, but mercenaries do much more than that. Assassinations, eliminating targets, seizing territories, hunting for treasures, finding objects, locating people... the list goes on!"
"Of course, all these tasks come at a price! The payment could be in Berries, treasures, women, territory, Devil Fruits, and so on!"
"In short, as long as you can offer me something I want, I'll do anything for you!"
"That's what a mercenary is!"
"And a mercenary guild? Simply put, it's a place where we take on tasks, evaluate them, and then assign them to others!"
"When the Cross Guild is established, we will accept tasks from people all over the world and also issue tasks to people all over the world!"
"Of course, the Mercenary Guild will take a small portion of the reward from each mission as the guild's management fund!"
"So, I wonder if any of you are interested in getting involved in this venture?"
As Buggy spoke, he looked around at the group, though his gaze primarily rested on the more powerful figures like Blackbeard and Bullet.
Buggy had been planning this Mercenary Guild for a long time. It was a crucial piece in his strategy to overturn the entire world!
If everything went smoothly, the Great Pirate Era would soon come to an end, to be replaced by the Great Mercenary Era!
Perhaps when Luffy, after two years of hard training, came back to proclaim his dream of becoming the Pirate King, he would be shocked to find that the era of the Pirate King was already over—Mercenary Kings would be the new mainstream!
Buggy could hardly wait to see the expression on Luffy's face at that moment!
"Zehahaha! What you're talking about sounds very interesting!" Blackbeard, sensing the potential in Buggy's proposal for a Mercenary Guild, couldn't help but ask, "I'm quite interested, but how exactly do you propose we get involved?"
The others also turned their attention to Buggy, waiting for his answer.
They were just as curious as Blackbeard!
Buggy chuckled and held up two fingers, "Since everyone here is one of us, I won't beat around the bush. There are two ways to get involved!"
"First, you can become the first batch of mercenaries in our Cross Guild!"
"Second, you can become the founders of our Cross Guild!"
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