Mohji’s face flushed crimson at Zoro’s light, dismissive jab.
He clenched his fists and glared at him.
“Y-You just wait!
Captain Buggy will never let you get away with this!”
Even as he spat out his tough words, his feet kept shuffling backward.
His eyes stayed locked on Luffy while he stole furtive glances at Lucian, who was clearly not about to let him leave.
The arrogance from before had long since evaporated without a trace.
“Thinking of running?” Zoro took half a step forward, his hand pressing down on the hilt at his waist, the blade seeming to emanate a cold gleam even through the scabbard.
Lucian edged forward too, gray mist churning in his palm.
He clearly had no intention of letting the man slip away just like that.
Nami hastily tugged him back and lowered her voice.
“Hold off for now—let’s get some information about Buggy’s side first.”
“Fine.” Lucian withdrew his hand.
On the other side, Luffy walked right up to Mohji, bent over, and fixed his eyes on him.
“Hey, you mentioned Buggy just now?
Perfect—I need to get a nautical chart from him.
Where is he?”
Mohji didn’t dare say a word.
He shook his head like a rattle drum, his foot slipping so badly he nearly fell flat on his backside.
Scrambling and stumbling, he retreated toward the door.
“I don’t know!
I don’t know anything!” Seeing that Luffy wasn’t stopping him, he spun around to flee.
But he’d barely taken two steps when someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck—it was Lucian.
“You think you can just leave without talking?” Zoro released his grip on his sword hilt and leaned back against the doorframe, watching with an amused half-smile.
Lucian had been ready to simply chop the man unconscious with a hand blade, but a fierce glare from Nami stopped him.
He ended up just hauling Mohji by the collar and flinging him back into the room.
Mohji slammed into the corner with a heavy thud, his face twisted in pain, but he didn’t dare let out so much as a whimper.
He huddled there, trembling, staring at the group closing in around him.
The old mayor set Chouchou down and walked over, looking at Mohji with a sigh.
“Buggy’s stronghold is in the tavern at the center of town, on the upper floor.
He’s turned it into his base.
His men are always hanging around that area.”
“A tavern, huh?” Luffy’s eyes lit up, and he tugged his straw hat down.
“Then let’s go right now!”
“Wait!” Nami hastily grabbed him.
“Shouldn’t we at least find out how many are inside first?
Sir, do you have any idea how many men Buggy has under him?”
The old mayor furrowed his brow, trying to recall.
“A few dozen or so, probably.
Besides Mohji, there’s also a swordsman officer named Cabaji…” Before he could finish, he noticed Mohji, who had been taking advantage of their conversation to creep toward the door on all fours.
Lucian’s head twisted a full 180 degrees with an audible crack, his hollow eyes locking dead onto the man.
In the very next second, he had already flashed behind Mohji.
His hand blade rose high, then came crashing down on the back of Mohji’s neck with a sharp crack.
A muffled grunt escaped Mohji’s lips, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
He crumpled to the ground, utterly motionless.
“I-Is he dead?” Nami shrank back, instinctively putting distance between herself and Lucian.
The way his head had twisted around had been genuinely terrifying.
“Not dead,” Lucian replied flatly, the gray mist seeping from Mohji’s body being drawn into his fingertips. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Luffy ambled over and poked the unconscious Mohji.
“Forget about him—let’s go get that chart!
Come on, Zoro, Lucian!
Nami!” With that, he stood up and headed out.
Zoro shrugged helplessly and followed.
Lucian fell into step as well, but as he glanced back, he caught the slightly evasive, wary looks in Nami’s and the old mayor’s eyes.
He paused for a beat, then continued onward.
Nami drew a deep breath and hurried after them.
“Wait for me!
At least let me finish explaining the plan first!”
The old mayor stood in the doorway, watching their figures sprinting toward the center of town.
He stamped his foot in frustration, then let out a helpless sigh.
“These kids…
please, let them be okay.”
He looked down and stroked Chouchou at his feet.
“You stay here at the pet shop.
I’m going after them to see what happens.” With that, he broke into a jog, trying to catch up.
Chouchou nuzzled his leg, as if he understood, and let out two sharp barks—as if cheering them on, or perhaps urging the old mayor to be careful.
Just as Luffy and the others were racing toward the town center, a sharp shriek tore through the air ahead of them—whoosh—like an iron arrow scraping across a stone road, setting everyone’s ears on edge.
Before any of them could even react, a thunderous boom rocked the ground beneath their feet!
A cannonball exploded several dozen meters ahead, fire and shattered stone erupting skyward in a towering plume.
When the dust began to settle, the sight before them made them all draw a sharp breath.
Half the street, which had been remarkably pristine moments before, now lay in ruins.
The wooden houses on either side looked like crumpled paper, their beams snapped into pieces and piled across the road.
Broken bricks and shattered window frames lay strewn everywhere, the air thick with the stench of gunpowder and dust.
“Those…
those bastards!” A voice, gritted through clenched teeth, came from behind them.
It was the old mayor, who had caught up.
He was bracing himself against a wall just to stay upright, his hair blown into a wild mess by the blast wave, yet his eyes blazed red as though they might bleed.
He stared deathly toward the town center.
“Every few days they bombard the town—do they think our town is some kind of toy?!” He suddenly straightened up, grabbed a broken wooden pole from the corner, and charged toward the middle of the road.
“I’ll fight them myself!
I’ll stake this old life of mine if I have to—I won’t let them keep trampling this town into the ground!”
“Mayor!
Wait!” Nami reached out quickly to stop him, but her fingertips only grazed the edge of his sleeve.
The old mayor acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
His steps were urgent and heavy, his gaunt shoulders trembling—he was clearly beside himself with fury.
Just as he was about to charge straight into the still-smoking wreckage, Lucian suddenly moved.
He caught up in a few strides, reached out, and took hold of the back of the old mayor’s collar.
With a gentle tug, he pulled the man two steps back.
The old mayor tried to lunge forward again, but Lucian applied just a little pressure and held him firmly in place.
His voice was low.
“Dangerous.”
“Let go of me!” The old mayor flailed and thrashed in desperation, swinging his arms wildly, trying to break free.
The old mayor struggled for a long while, until his strength was all but spent.
His movements gradually stilled, though his chest still heaved violently, his breathing ragged.
After a moment, he seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon.
His hands dropped weakly, and his head slowly lowered.
His gray-white hair hung over his forehead, and his shoulders trembled faintly.
When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and broken.
“I know…
I know I can’t beat them…
But this town is the place I’ve guarded my whole life.
Ever since I was young and became mayor, I’ve watched the children on these streets grow up, watched the shops pass from one generation to the next…
And now it’s been reduced to this.” Tears began streaming down his face, one after another.
Luffy stood beside him, watching the old mayor’s hunched figure, then glanced at the street collapsed into ruins.
He suddenly reached up and pressed down on his straw hat, his voice deeper than usual.
“Mayor, you don’t need to fight.”
The old mayor lifted his head and looked at him, his eyes still clouded with moisture, a trace of bewilderment in them.
“Those guys—we’re gonna drive them out,” Luffy said earnestly, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.
“I’ve decided.
We’re not just getting that nautical chart back.
We’re gonna make them give you back your town and put everything back the way it was.”
Zoro grinned off to the side, his hand resting on his sword hilt, a glint of keen interest in his eyes.
Lucian, though he didn’t fully grasp everything, found the corner of his mouth curving up ever so slightly too.
He nodded.
Nami let out a sigh, walked over, and patted the old mayor on the arm.
“Go back and wait for us.
When we have news, we’ll make sure you get an answer.”
“No!
How can the future of this town be placed on the shoulders of a handful of kids!” Though Luffy’s words had stirred a warmth in his heart, the old mayor only grew more frantic.
He was desperate to make them abandon the idea.
His chest heaved with the urgency that had just flared back up, and he stared at Luffy, his eyes brimming with anxiety.
“You might not understand—Captain Buggy is a big-time pirate with a bounty of fifteen million berries!
He’s not someone you can just deal with so easily!”
“Old man, we’re seriously strong!
That Captain Buggy or whatever—he’s no match for us.” Luffy clenched his fist, his eyes shining with unwavering certainty.
“Mm.
We’re very strong,” Lucian added, fixing the old mayor with his hollow yet earnest eyes, his tone firm.
“This works out perfectly.
Let’s see just what this fifteen-million-berry big-shot is made of.” Zoro bared his teeth in a grin, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
“Leave it to us,” Nami said, putting on a brave front as well, smiling as she patted the old mayor on the back of the hand.
“Let’s move!” Luffy was the first to step forward.
Seeing that they really intended to head straight for the town center, the old mayor chased after them, calling out, “Be careful on the way!
Don’t do anything reckless, whatever you do!”
“Got it!” Luffy, at the very front, waved his hand without looking back and pressed on.
“Please…
come back safely…” The old mayor stood where he was, watching the group’s retreating figures as they walked into the streets still thick with the lingering haze of gunpowder.
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