One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 65

However, the expected excruciating pain did not occur.

Bucky cautiously opened one eye and discovered that although the blade had cleaved his body, it hadn't caused any damage. His body remained split apart under the influence of Haki, without even a red mark being left.

"Huh?" Buggy touched his slashed area, then reassembled, bursting into an even more exaggerated laugh: "Hahahaha! So this is all your Haki is capable of!"

He immediately regained his arrogance, hands on his hips, chest puffed out: "My Split-Split Fruit is invincible! What's the point of all that Haki? It's all useless against absolute power!"

Seeing this, the crew members, who had just quieted down, started a new round of jeers:

"As expected of Captain Bucky!"

"Not even afraid of domineering aura!"

"Female swordsman, now you know how powerful our captain is, right?"

"Now that you've lost, hurry up and kneel down and beg for mercy from Captain Bucky! You might even get to join us for the banquet!"

Bucky strutted around the deck smugly, occasionally deliberately breaking his body into pieces and then putting them back together, showing off his abilities in a boastful manner.

"How about it?" He leaned close to Guina, his red nose almost touching her face. "Now it's my turn to play with you, isn't it?"

Kuina stared at the blade, her brow furrowed slightly. She could indeed sense her opponent's strength, especially since the Split-Split Fruit seemed to have fundamentally altered her body's structure, rendering her attacks completely ineffective.

He's practically the bane of swordsmen!

"It seems..." she murmured to herself, "I'll have to find a different way to deal with you."

Bucky laughed even louder: "A different way? Are you going to tickle me, sir?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kuina's sword suddenly changed direction, its blade striking his abdomen with overwhelming force.

"Pfft!" Bucky was hit and bent over. Although he wasn't injured, the impact made him stagger backward.

"You, you dare to..." Bucky clutched his stomach, jumping up and down in anger.

Kuina brandished her sword: "Looks like while my Haki might not be able to cut you down, it can definitely beat you up."

Chapter 73: Get-together with Familiar People

Upon hearing this, Bucky immediately split his body into dozens of pieces with a "snap," his head, torso, and limbs flying nimbly through the air, perfectly resolving Kuina's next attack.

"Hahaha! Come and catch me, you idiot!"

Bucky's head spun triumphantly in the air, "I'm invincible from head to toe now!"

He made a face at Kuina with his right hand, while making an obscene gesture with his left. His torso danced a comical dance on the deck, and his legs swung arrogantly back and forth in front of her.

"Can't hit me~ Can't hit me~" Bucky's mouth floated alone, singing an annoying little tune.

The crew members also joined in the commotion:

"The captain is so handsome!"

"This move is invincible!"

"The female swordsman is out of options!"

Just as Kuina frowned, pondering a solution, Robin's cool voice came from afar:

"Guina, look at his feet."

Upon hearing this, Kuina looked closely and indeed discovered something amiss—among all the flying body parts, only the pair of feet wearing clown shoes remained obediently standing on the deck, never leaving the ground.

"I see..." A look of understanding flashed in Kuina's eyes.

Bucky's head panicked: "Hey! What are you looking at! I'm incredibly powerful!"

But it was too late. Kuina flashed forward, her longsword flashing with domineering power as it aimed straight for the pair of clown shoes standing in place.

"Wait! I surrender!" Bucky yelled in terror, and all his flying body parts quickly and rapidly returned to their original positions with a "crackling" sound. "The treasure is yours! Just don't touch my feet!"

He clutched his precious feet, huddled in a corner of the deck, trembling. His earlier arrogance had vanished, replaced by lingering fear.

The crew members stared in disbelief at their captain's cowardly behavior. Had this farcical battle ended in such an unexpected way?!

Kuina sheathed her sword, not even bothering to glance at Bucky, and gracefully leaped back into her small boat.

"Let's go," she said to Nami and Robin, "taking these comedic pirates too seriously will only lower our standards."

The small boat set sail and quickly disappeared into the vast sea.

Once he was sure they were really gone, Bucky jumped up from the deck, patted his chest, and let out a long sigh of relief: "That scared the hell out of me! I thought I was really going to die here!"

He instantly reverted to his arrogant demeanor, hands on his hips, shouting in the direction the small boat had disappeared: "You guys know what's good for you! You know you're no match for me!"

Upon seeing this, the crew immediately began to flatter and fawn over them:

"As expected of Captain Bucky! He subdued the enemy without a fight!"

"Those three women, they must be afraid of the captain's reputation!"

"Exactly! They ran away without even fighting!"

Bucky, flattered and elated, waved his hand and declared, "Let's have a banquet! To celebrate yet another victory I've won without a fight!"

Barrels of wine were carried onto the deck, and barbecue grills were set up. Soon, a joyful atmosphere filled the pirate ship. No one noticed that a man had somehow blended into the crowd and was quietly sitting in a corner, pouring himself a drink.

Bucky, glass in hand, weaved through the crowd, his face flushed from drinking. As he passed that corner for the third time, he finally sensed something was amiss.

He rubbed his eyes, leaned closer for a closer look, and saw the wine glass in his hand fall onto the deck with a "clatter".

"You...you..." Bucky pointed at the man, his voice trembling, "How did you get here?!"

Liu Jiu slowly raised his head, swirling the wine glass in his hand: "Just passing by, got a drink? It's been a long time, Bucky!"

The surrounding noise fell silent instantly. The crew members exchanged bewildered glances, unable to understand why their captain was so afraid of this strange man.

"What do you mean, 'long time no see'? Don't act like we're old friends! Even if we're both... cough cough, is that what I meant? I meant... why are you here? Kings don't meet, don't you know the rules?"

Bucky seemed dazed, recalling his days on Roger's ship years ago, remembering how this man, aside from mopping the floor, never interacted with the other crew members...

Ignoring Bucky's words, Liu Jiu picked up the bottle, refilled the glass Bucky had smashed, and shoved it back into his hand.

"Enough of that," he raised his glass, "It's a rare reunion today, let's drink until we drop."

Bucky stared blankly at the sloshing liquid in his glass, as those deliberately forgotten memories suddenly flooded back. He remembered the taciturn man on the Oro Jackson, always alone wiping the floor, his occasional gaze towards the sea unfathomable (as Bucky perceived it).

"Tsk..." Bucky curled his lip, raising his glass in one swift motion. "Fine, I'll drink! But I won't get drunk so easily!"

The two clinked glasses and drank together, while the surrounding crew stared in disbelief as their captain and the mysterious man exchanged toasts. After a few drinks, Bucky gradually opened up.

"Speaking of which..." Bucky hiccuped, "Back on the ship, I always thought you were a bit odd. All you did was mop the floor; I never saw you do anything else."

Liu Jiu smiled faintly: "It's still better than some red-nosed guy who's always thinking about treasure."

"Hey! Don't mention Red Nose!" Bucky protested reflexively, but then couldn't help laughing. "But back then... it was definitely a happy time."

The two men took turns drinking, chatting about everything from the amusing stories on Roger's ship to their own recent lives.

Bucky, slurring his drink, patted Liu Jiu on the shoulder: "If you ask me... why don't you come work for me now, I'll give you a job as a first mate!"

Looking at the already dazed-eyed Bucky, Liu Jiu gently shook his head: "I prefer mopping floors to being a cadre."

Bucky, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, pointed at Liu Jiu: "What a freak! All you do all day is mop the floor. Is the floor more important than your future captain?"

Liu Jiu slowly sipped his wine: "The floor won't steal the meat from the kitchen in the middle of the night."

"That...that was Shanks's doing!"

Bucky excitedly waved his arms, but his arm flew out with a "smack" and hit a juggling crew member in the face.

The crew member had a sudden inspiration and took the opportunity to perform a one-armed ball-throwing act.

Seeing this, the other crew members immediately displayed their unique abilities.

"Behold my fire-breathing technique!"

One of the crew members opened his mouth and breathed fire, which ended up setting his companion's beard on fire.

"And our... aerial acrobat!"

Two crew members attempted to perform a difficult maneuver by stacking themselves on top of each other, but instead crashed to the ground with a "bang."

Bucky laughed heartily, then turned to Liu Jiu and said, "See... my crew is so talented! Isn't it much more interesting than the floors you've been mopping?"

Liu Jiu calmly watched a crew member who was performing sword swallowing and ended up choking: "But it's still more dangerous than mopping the floor."

"Danger is what makes it exciting!"

Bucky slammed his hand on the table and stood up, only to have his legs snap off his body with a "crack," and he started tap dancing all by himself.

"Wow, this is amazing! Is this the captain's new show?!"

"Go Captain Bucky! Keep the music playing, keep dancing!"

Let's join in!

The crew immediately applauded and cheered.

Bucky's upper body floated in the air as he drunkenly said to Liu Jiu, "Seriously... if I had known you were this interesting back then, I should have dragged you in with me..."

Just then, a crew member pushed a wheelbarrow by, which was piled with barrels of wine.

Bucky's right hand suddenly flew out and grabbed a barrel of liquor: "Here! Keep drinking!"

That night, almost everyone had a great time and got completely drunk.

Liu Jiu also spent three unexpected days on the Pakistani ship.

This group of lively pirates always finds ways to amuse, from acrobatic performances to drunken singing and dancing, making the deck always bustling with activity.

On the morning of the fourth day, Liu Jiu's small boat was finally ready to set sail.

Bucky and his crew stood on the ship's side, each one of them sobbing uncontrollably.

"Do I really have to leave?" Bucky sobbed, his nose swollen and red from crying. "My feast has only just begun!"

"Lord Liu Jiu, don't go!" Some crew members even clung to his legs, wailing, "If you leave... who will come to watch our performance!"

Liu Jiu expressionlessly pried off the arms wrapped around his body and lightly leaped onto his small boat.

"Bucky, I'm leaving! Take care!"

Bathed in sunlight, he drove off into the distance without looking back.

Only after the figure completely disappeared on the horizon did Bucky wipe away his tears and raise his arms, shouting, "Alright! Men! Let's continue the feast and celebrate finally getting rid of that spoilsport!"