East Blue
After sailing for four days, the three of them finally arrived at Orange Town, the place where Buggy now held control.
It had already been three weeks since the pirate first surrounded the town, forcing all of its residents to evacuate to the hills on the other side. The town, which had once been lively and full of life, had now become a dead town, silent without a single inhabitant. The buildings stood partially collapsed, their walls cracked and scorched from the barrage of attacks. It seemed that only Buggy and his men remained in the town.
As soon as they finished mooring the ship at the pier, they saw a plume of black smoke rising high into the sky from somewhere inside the town. Driven by curiosity, the three of them hurried over there. However, somewhere along the way, Zoro had disappeared without them noticing, turning in another direction without saying a word.
Luffy and Nami eventually arrived at the source of the smoke. In front of them stood a shop that had been burned down and partially collapsed, its fire having only just gone out. An old man was pouring the remaining water onto the ruins, wearing protective clothing made of brown leather that resembled pieces of simple armor.
Behind him, a dog sat silently, staring at the destroyed shop. Its body was covered in dust and dirt, with several scratches visible on its skin.
The two of them approached. The old man, who had just finished putting out the fire, noticed their presence. He immediately reached for the spear hanging on his back and pointed it warily toward Luffy and Nami.
"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked firmly, his hand gripping the spear tightly, suspicious that they might be part of Buggy's crew.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the person who is going to-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Nami hurriedly covered his mouth.
"Mmph mmph!"
Nami whispered something in a low voice, loud enough for only Luffy himself to hear.
"Listen, Luffy. This town is now controlled by pirates. If you introduce yourself as a pirate, that old man might immediately think we're enemies and attack us."
"So let me do the talking, okay?"
Luffy nodded in understanding. Nami removed her hand from Luffy's mouth.
Meanwhile, the old man, who had been watching their strange behavior, became even more suspicious. "I'll ask again. Who are you? What business do you have coming here?"
Nami stepped forward, answering in as calm a tone as possible. "We're just travelers who happened to stop here. My name is Nami." She pointed toward Luffy. "And this is Luffy."
When she was about to introduce Zoro as well, she suddenly realized that he was nowhere to be seen. 'Where did that idiot go this time?' she thought irritably.
The old man finally lowered his guard and returned the spear to his back. "Oh, so you're travelers, huh? I'm the mayor of this town. My name is Boodle. You'd better leave this place quickly. It's dangerous now."
"What exactly happened here?" Nami asked, her eyes shifting toward the remains of the shop and the dog that was still standing motionless in front of it.
"This is all the work of the pirate Buggy." Boodle clenched his jaw, then sat down on the remaining steps of the fragile building. His gaze fell upon the dog that was still faithfully waiting, whose name was Chouchou. He let out a long sigh before beginning his story.
The burned shop had once belonged to his close friend, and Chouchou was that friend's pet dog. They had run the shop together for ten years, filled with countless memories. Unfortunately, the owner of the shop had passed away some time ago due to illness.
Since his passing, Chouchou had continued guarding the shop every day, as if he considered it the most precious treasure he had left. Even when the pirates attacked, the dog had continued standing in front of the door, trying to protect it until the very end.
Nami crouched down and gently stroked Chouchou's head. "Poor thing. He must still be waiting for his owner to come home."
"No," Boodle slowly shook his head. "Chouchou is a smart dog. He must already know that his owner isn't coming back. Maybe that's exactly why he continues to guard this shop. Because this is where all the memories the two of them shared are kept." His hand clenched tightly over his knee.
Nami stopped stroking Chouchou's head.
For a while, no one spoke. There was only the sound of the wind sweeping through the gray ashes left behind by the fire, and occasionally the creaking of the wooden ruins as they continued shrinking from the heat.
Luffy, who had been standing silently beside Nami the entire time, finally stepped forward. He sat down on the ground, directly in front of Chouchou.
Nami turned toward him. "Luffy?"
Luffy did not answer. His face, which was usually filled with smiles, was now much calmer, almost melancholy. He looked at Chouchou, who continued staring blankly at the ruins of his shop.
Usually, Luffy would immediately become interested in something strange, laugh, or make some random comment. But this time, he simply remained silent, allowing the silence to remain.
Chouchou eventually turned around and looked directly into Luffy's eyes.
Several seconds passed without a sound.
"So you're staying here because this place is important to you, huh?" Luffy murmured softly.
Chouchou merely let out a small, quiet bark.
"Aouf..."
Nami watched the moment from the side. There was something about the way Luffy treated Chouchou, without unnecessary words, without excessive pity, simply sitting silently beside him, that made her secretly wonder what kind of person this pirate captain really was.
Right at that moment, Boodle stood up from his seat, gripping the spear tightly in his hand. Veins began to appear on his forehead.
"I can't hold myself back anymore. This town is also my treasure. I'm not going to let Buggy do whatever he wants anymore!"
Nami immediately stood up, trying to stop him. "Boodle-san, wait!"
But Boodle had already started running, spear in hand, shouting his challenge into the air. "Just you wait, Buggy!"
Nami could only watch the mayor's back as he moved farther away. She turned anxiously toward Luffy. "Luffy, we have to catch up to Boodle-san immediately. Otherwise, he could really die."
"Just let him go," Luffy said, standing up while brushing the dust from his pants.
"What do you mean? He could die, you know!"
"He won't die. Because we're going there too." Luffy walked past Nami, his face hidden beneath the shadow of his straw hat. "Let's go."
Nami stared at his back for a moment before finally following him. Somehow, that single short sentence was enough to make her feel a little calmer, as if whatever awaited them ahead, everything would be fine as long as she walked behind this person.