Chapter 28: Paula!
"Understood. Continue to keep an eye on him. Notify me immediately if there's any movement." The teenage girl waved her hand, then extended a finger. After her finger sharpened, she directly pierced the roasted meat on the rack, skewered it, and then unhurriedly brought it to her mouth, taking a small bite.
While chewing slowly, she considered how to deal with this person who had suddenly arrived on the island.
To be honest, about ten minutes ago, when Monkey ran over and told her that a guy had run over from the sky, she had been greatly startled.
Sky Walk? Is this something a human can do? Or is this guy who ran over a special ability user like herself?
Whether he's an ability user or not, let's not consider that for now. As long as he's not here to cause trouble for me, it's fine.
"Young lady, the roasted meat you're holding smells quite fragrant. Could you share some with me?"
Just as the piece of roasted meat was about to be finished by the girl, suddenly, an unfamiliar voice sounded in Paula's ear.
"Big Sis Head, that man suddenly disappeared..."
Monkey, running over, saw Buggy standing beside Paula. The word "disappeared" (了 - le, a particle indicating completion or change of state) didn't even fully leave his mouth before he choked it back.
"Take some from the rack and eat!" Forcing herself to remain calm, Paula's face still showed obvious panic, and her voice trembled as she spoke.
There was no helping it; Buggy's appearance was too bizarre. It had truly given Paula a fright.
Following Paula's finger, Buggy didn't stand on ceremony and directly took a piece of roasted meat from the rack, wolfing it down.
After devouring the roasted meat in a few quick bites and wiping his fingers with a piece of paper, Buggy then said to Paula, "Young lady, you're a Devil Fruit user, aren't you!"
"That's right!" Seeing Buggy staring at her fingers that had skewered the roasted meat, Paula, after slightly calming her panic, replied in a deep voice.
"What a coincidence, I'm also a Devil Fruit user!" After speaking, Buggy split his head slightly and then joined it back together.
Watching the man in front of her whose head suddenly split in two and was still looking at her with a grin, Paula's face instantly turned somewhat pale.
"Weren't you able to walk in the air? How can your ability be this?" Startled again, Paula, on the contrary, became interested in Buggy.
"Are you talking about the way I travel? That's called [Moon Walk]; it's one of the Rokushiki of the Marines. It's a skill that can be mastered as long as one is willing and able, not a Devil Fruit ability."
Receiving Buggy's answer, Paula was surprised for a moment, but then immediately asked, "Are you a Marine?"
"It's not only Marines who know Rokushiki. I am a pirate! A future captain currently searching for companions to form a pirate crew," Buggy replied readily, shaking his head.
"Then what business do you have on this island?" Paula continued to ask.
"Originally, I was just passing by. But after seeing you, I now have business. I think you have great potential and want to invite you to become a member of my crew. Are you willing?"
Staring at Buggy with some astonishment, Paula hadn't expected Buggy to invite her directly.
"Why should I accept your invitation?" Without refusing directly, Paula asked in return.
"Why? Hmm, that's really a bit hard to answer. Let's put it this way: if you accept my invitation, then I will take you away from here and to a special place for training. If things go smoothly, I can guarantee that after your training ends, you'll be able to take out a Marine Admiral in a surprise attack, at a relatively small cost."
"Marine... Admiral!"
Including Paula, everyone around was shocked by these words.
"Big Sis Head, don't believe him! He's definitely lying! How powerful are Marine Admirals? Even if Big Sis Head becomes incredibly strong, it's impossible to take out a Marine Admiral!" Before the others could react, Monkey was the first to clamor.
"Shut up, idiot! Are you doubting my strength?" Paula was instantly displeased.
"As a pirate, although I'm not a good person, I am a strong person. I might deceive those stronger than me, but there's no need to deceive the weak." With extreme confidence, Buggy glanced at Monkey with disdain.
"Do I really have the potential to kill a Marine Admiral?" Seeing Buggy's confident expression, Paula's heart couldn't help but race.
"Well, let's put it this way. Right now, you actually have a chance to kill a non-Logia type ability user among the Marine Admirals, for example, the current Marine Admiral Sengoku. If you're willing to sacrifice your life, I can tell you a way to take him out."
"I don't want to die," Paula immediately shook her head after hearing Buggy's words.
"Hehe, I said that just to tell you that you don't understand the abilities of the Thorn-Thorn Fruit you've obtained," Buggy said with a smile.
"You know my ability is the Thorn-Thorn Fruit? Does this fruit have other abilities?" Paula was instantly intrigued.
"I've already told you the condition for telling you. Your decision will determine whether I tell you or not! Will you continue to muddle along aimlessly on an obscure little island in West Blue, or will you follow me and step into the world of the strong? You need to think carefully. But before you decide, let me first show you what a true strong person is. Attack me with your ability. You'll understand after one attack."
As soon as Buggy's voice fell, Paula's other hand, with its five fingers, instantly became long and sharp,刺向 (stabbing/piercing) directly towards Buggy's face.
In the next second, with a "clang," Paula stared in shock at the palm that blocked her fingers.
The palm, which was unremarkable just a second ago, had now turned pitch black and exuded a peculiar metallic luster. If she hadn't just seen Buggy's body split in two, Paula would have thought this was Buggy's ability.
"This shouldn't be a Devil Fruit ability, right?" Paula desperately wanted to confirm this point.
"Of course not. This is called Haki. It's the sole benchmark for measuring the strong in this world. Although everyone's body contains this energy called Haki, very few can truly master it. And only by mastering this energy can one truly step through the gates of the strong."
Hearing about Haki for the first time, Paula found it hard to imagine just how powerful Haki was. But seeing that it could resist her attack and how highly this man before her praised it, she couldn't help but feel it sounded impressive even if she didn't fully understand (不觉明历 - bù jué míng lì).
"Is it enough just to agree to become your crew member? There won't be other conditions, right?"
Suspected by Paula's suggestive gaze, Buggy was quite speechless.
Do I look like some indiscriminate beast that devours anything?
(End of this chapter)