Nami and Luffy ran in the direction Boodle had gone. Dust flew through the streets of the deserted town, while the ruins of buildings lined both sides of the road like silent witnesses to three full weeks of terror. Not long afterward, they managed to catch up with the mayor.
Boodle was already facing a group of pirates led by a man casually sitting on the back of a large lion. Hanging from the lion's mouth was a sack of dog food, stolen from the shop that had just been looted.
Boodle tried to block their way with his trembling spear held out in front of him. The man sitting on the lion frowned in displeasure. He was Mohji, one of the officers under Buggy's command.
"Move aside, old man. I'm in a bad mood today," Mohji muttered while looking at the bite mark that was still visible on his hand. He was still annoyed that the damn dog had dared to bite him.
"You're the one who destroyed the shop Chouchou was guarding, aren't you?" Boodle asked. His spear remained pointed forward. Although he was clearly afraid, he forced himself to advance. This town was his home, and he was determined not to let Buggy and his men do whatever they wanted anymore.
"Shop? Chouchou?" Mohji thought for a moment, recalling the shop he and Richie had just destroyed. His lips curled into a grin before he burst out laughing. "Hahaha, so what? Did you come here to get revenge?"
The group of pirates behind him also burst into loud laughter, as if they had just heard the funniest joke of the day.
"Hahaha, that's hilarious!"
"This old man is trying to fight us."
Boodle gripped his spear even tighter. He knew his chances of winning were almost nonexistent, but he continued moving forward because Orange Town was his home, the only thing he had left to fight for.
Right at that moment, Luffy walked closer and stood between Boodle and the large lion. His eyes were hidden beneath the shadow of his straw hat.
"So you're the ones who destroyed that dog's treasure, huh?"
"Yeah, so what? You're all going to die here anyway," Mohji replied casually while pointing toward Luffy and Boodle. "Richie, kill them all."
The lion dropped the sack of dog food from its mouth, then let out a savage roar. Its eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
"ROAAAR!"
Richie charged toward Luffy and Boodle. His fist slammed into the ground, cracking it, but it failed to hit anyone. The lion looked around in confusion, searching for his targets, who had suddenly disappeared.
Not far away, Luffy was already standing beside Boodle again, calm as though nothing had happened. Just before Richie's attack landed, he had already moved the mayor using Soru. His figure then disappeared again as if he had teleported, only to appear directly above Richie's head.
Mohji, who noticed him, hurriedly shouted, "Richie, he's above you!"
Richie looked up. Sure enough, Luffy was already floating in the air directly above his head. One of his hands stretched far backward before being pulled forward rapidly, striking the lion's head from above like a giant hammer.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
Richie's head slammed hard into the ground, creating a fairly large crater. The lion lay there, unclear whether he was still breathing or not.
'So what I saw back then was real. What exactly is this man, anyway? A monster?' Nami thought as she hid among the ruins of a house. She did not even blink as she watched everything unfold.
Meanwhile, the group of pirates who were still standing was blown backward by the wind caused by the impact. Before Mohji could be thrown away as well, Luffy had already grabbed the pirate by the collar. His hand stretched far backward again before being pulled forward rapidly.
"This is for destroying Chouchou's treasure."
Luffy's fist struck Mohji directly in the head, sending him flying into an abandoned house. The building immediately collapsed, with its rubble falling onto Mohji's already helpless body.
Nami, who witnessed everything from a distance, was stunned.
'He did all of this... just for that dog?'
"His arm stretched!"
"Monster!"
"Ruuun!"
The remaining pirates immediately fled in fear, leaving Mohji and Richie lying among the ruins.
After that, Luffy picked up the sack of dog food that Richie had dropped earlier, then placed it into his Inventory.
At the same time, Nami, who was still hiding, suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind. She immediately pulled out her tonfa and prepared to attack, thinking it was another one of Buggy's men.
A familiar figure emerged from the shadows.
Zoro walked casually while scratching the back of his head.
"Where the hell is this place, anyway?"
"Zoro!"
"Oh, Nami! Where have you guys been?" Zoro asked as he approached without a care in the world.
"I should be the one asking that! Where have you been?!" Nami shouted angrily.
The two of them eventually reunited with Luffy.
"Oh, Zoro, where have you been?" Luffy asked curiously.
"I went for a walk," Zoro replied casually, as though that were a perfectly reasonable explanation.
"Just say you got lost," Nami retorted.
Luffy merely laughed at that, having absolutely no intention of defending Zoro.
...
Meanwhile, the group of pirates who had managed to escape returned to their base to report, where their captain was waiting.
Buggy was sitting casually in his chair, enjoying a glass of beer with the other crew members when the group that had just arrived suddenly shouted hysterically.
"Captain Buggy! This is bad!"
"What is it?" Buggy stopped drinking for a moment and listened.
"Mohji and Richie were just defeated!"
"What did you say?!" Buggy immediately stood up from his chair, shocked. All the pirates in the room also fell silent, equally stunned by the news.
"Who defeated them? Roronoa Zoro?" Buggy asked curiously. Not long ago, he had heard the news that Zoro had just escaped from Marine Branch 153, and that the captain there had also been defeated. It was only natural that he immediately assumed the bounty hunter had come after his head.
"No, it was a kid wearing a straw hat. He can stretch his arms!"
"A straw hat..."
Buggy frowned in displeasure. Those words reminded him of someone he hated more than anyone else, Akagami no Shanks.
"He is probably a Devil Fruit user too, just like me."
"A Devil Fruit user?!" Buggy's men exclaimed in shock. They knew very well that their captain was a monster who had eaten a Devil Fruit, but they had never expected someone else like that to appear in this town.
Cabaji appeared beside Buggy.
"Captain, want me to take care of them now?"
"No need. They'll definitely come here on their own," Buggy said with a confident grin. "Even if one of them is a Devil Fruit user, they still won't be able to defeat me. Gyahahaha!"
"All of you! Let's continue the party!"
Buggy raised his glass high, followed by the cheers of his crew as they once again immersed themselves in the party, as though the news from earlier were nothing more than a minor disturbance that did not need to be worried about.