Chapter 20 - Orange Town 5.
[Chapter Size: 1550 Words]
Third Person POV
Orange Town, East Blue.
...
...
"Is he going to be all right?" the mayor asked as he inspected the dog being bandaged by Lami's side.
"Yes, old man, you've asked that 12 times already. Worry about yourself and don't bother me anymore!" Lami was irritated with the old man, who was now wearing a cast on his broken arm but still concerned about the dog that the captain had asked her to take care of.
After that, seeing that her job was done here, she turned to her captain.
"Now we need to go over our next steps," Luffy announced, so she stepped back to see what Luffy had planned for them.
Arriving at a quieter spot, away from the screams coming from Buggy in the barrel, the crew formed a circle to listen to Luffy speak in the middle of it.
"First, we took some treasures from these pirates, but it's not enough," he said calmly.
"That's why I also want the bounty on their heads." As soon as he said these words, everyone looked confused.
"But we're pirates... I doubt the Marines would give us money, even if we turn in a pirate with a price on their head," Zoro said curiously.
"You're right, Zoro, I wouldn't be surprised if there's already a bounty on my head after I killed a Marine commander, took over a Marine base, and stole one of their ships," Luffy said calmly.
"But apart from Zoro and me, they have no knowledge of you guys, as hardly anyone here has been seen by the Marines as part of our pirate crew." Luffy reasoned and continued.
"In that sense, I'm going to have Lami and Bepo set up near a Marine base to turn in these men. They'll be known as bounty hunters, exchanging the heads of the pirates we capture on our journey until we leave this sea."
Lami understood Luffy's reasoning and nodded. Before she could ask about their next meeting point, Luffy continued, noticing her evident confusion.
"Don't worry about that, Yamato here will make vivre cards for us, so we can find each other anytime using them," Luffy said, raising some eyebrows while most of them didn't understand what he was talking about.
"Hm? Ah, this? Great idea, my Luffy!" Yamato said with a smile, as she could create vivre cards.
"Vivre cards?" Kuina asked, looking puzzled, as she wasn't aware of their existence.
"Also known as life cards, made from a part of someone's body, typically their fingernails, they move toward the person they represent no matter where you are in the world. They also represent the user's life, and if it starts to burn, it means the original person is nearing death. If the paper disappears in flames, it means the person has died," Lami explained calmly, earning many surprised looks. Kuina, Zoro, Nami, and even Shirahoshi had no knowledge of this.
"So I'm going to turn in Buggy's crew for their bounty and then we'll meet again with the paper, right?" Lami asked.
"Exactly, that way you'll become our unofficial bounty hunter," Luffy said with a smile, and Nami could be seen with dollar signs replacing her eyes at this idea.
After planning how they would do this, Luffy turned his attention to Chouchou, who had awakened as they discussed their plans. Nami was the only one who stayed quiet in the group.
"Yo, Chouchou!" Luffy greeted the bandaged dog beside the mayor after separating from his group, and the elderly man hadn't left the dog's side all this time.
"AU AU!" The white-furred dog, one of their saviors, barked.
"Luffy-Sama, do you really plan to recruit the dog?" Shirahoshi asked from the side with a happy look, as the dog had survived.
"What??!! He intends to recruit a dog?!" Lami exclaimed comically when she heard this.
"EHHH?!" Both Kuina, Zoro, Bepo, and Nami exclaimed in unison.
"Hahahaha. He seems to be quite strong!" Yamato commented enthusiastically.
"LOOK AT HIM, HE'S JUST AN ORDINARY INJURED DOG!" Nami made a comical face as she shouted in disbelief at both the captain and the vice-captain of the group.
"AU! AU! AU!" Chouchou didn't seem too happy about what was being said about him.
"Hey, buddy, calm down, let's talk, okay?" Luffy said calmly as he heard everything the dog was saying.
"Wait, can you talk to him?" Zoro couldn't help but ask with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know why, but yes, I can. I can't understand Megalo, but I can hear what Chouchou is trying to say..." Luffy said, scratching his head in this dilemma.
'Without the Voice of All Things, which is still locked, I can say that maybe it's due to my Mythical Zoan form, as in its final form, despite having the body of a human with horns and wings
, I also have a face that resembles a pitbull.'
"This is amazing, Luffy-Sama! I can't understand him very well, unlike Megalo."
"Sharky!"
"Megalo says he can understand Chouchou-Sama too," Shirahoshi said again.
"I see. Anyway, I'm going to talk to him." Luffy went to the injured dog and began to speak with him quietly in that corner.
To the onlookers, it appeared that Luffy was talking to the dog as if it were a person, and the dog was responding with barks.
*Whisper*
"AU, AU."
*Whisper*
"AU..."
*Whisper*
"Au! Au!"
"That's great!" Luffy exclaimed happily after some time.
While almost everyone was stunned by what was happening, the mayor standing nearby was conflicted.
"What's going on here..." Zoro exclaimed, looking lost.
"Hahahaha, we have a new crewmate right now!" Luffy celebrated in front of everyone as he stood up.
With the exception of Yamato, who had enhanced hearing and Observation Haki, the conversation was a mystery to all the others.
"Don't look at me like that; I just told him to join us. I'd help him get stronger; he lost the only precious thing to him, the store of his former owner, so he felt quite helpless. I offered my help to make him stronger so he never has to feel like that again, and to have the adventures he can have on our ship!" Luffy spoke with a smile.
"I understand, and what about him having a harem of female dogs?" Yamato asked, confused in front of everyone.
"DON'T MENTION THAT!" Luffy shouted with a bit of embarrassment when she brought that up.
"AU!"
"DON'T AGREE WITH HER!"
Everyone looking at this scenario facepalmed.
'THIS CAPTAIN IS REALLY CRAZY! OFFERING A HAREM TO A DOG SO THAT HE CAN JOIN THE CREW?' They all exclaimed in their minds.
'I DIDN'T EXACTLY OFFER THAT DIRECTLY; I JUST SAID HE COULD GET POWER, FAME, AND SOME FEMALE DOGS IN ADVENTURES ON MY SHIP!' Luffy lamented internally.
"Anyway, let's get ready to set sail; we have more islands to visit." Luffy ordered, and a part of the crew started dragging the prisoners onto the Marine ship.
Meanwhile, Luffy went to Buggy's ship and shrank it to fit in his pocket.
"Would Kaya buy this ship?" Luffy wondered as he stored the ship in his pocket.
Once everything was ready, they began to head back to the Marine ship with all the loot and prisoners.
As they boarded the Marine ship, they heard a voice from the direction of the island.
"HEY! YOU BETTER TAKE GOOD CARE OF CHOUCHOU, OR I'LL COME AFTER YOU AT SEA!" the mayor shouted from the port as they started to set sail.
"Don't worry, old man; the next news you'll hear about this dog will be his wanted poster!" Luffy replied, placing his hat on his head.
"AS IF A DOG WOULD GET A WANTED POSTER!" the mayor shouted comically.
"Goodbye, Mayor! See you next time." Luffy smiled at the only old man on the dock.
"AU! AU!" Chouchou was next to him, not forgetting to say goodbye.
"Now, what's the plan?" Lami asked.
"Let's head toward the island of Syrup Village. I don't know the exact direction because the Marine map is confusing, but I have a way to get to the location."
"Doesn't anyone here know how to navigate?" Nami muttered unconsciously.
"Wait a moment! You don't have a navigator on the ship?" Nami asked out loud in surprise, wanting to apply for the position since she was just a maid here, and while trying to steal from them, a better position would present a better opportunity.
Luffy had a playful gleam in his eyes when he heard this.
"Why would I need a navigator when I have Zoro?" Luffy teased Nami while pointing at Zoro.
"Zoro?"
"?"
"?"
"?"
"?"
"?"
"Me?" Zoro was also confused.
"Of course, pay attention. Zoro, where is Syrup Village? Do you know?" Luffy asked Zoro directly.
"Hmmm, I believe it's that way, Captain!" Zoro thought for a moment, scratching his chin, and finally pointed in a direction.
"You see? Bepo, go to the helmsman and turn the ship in the opposite direction of where Zoro pointed!"
"Hm?!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA"
"Ehehehe"
"SHISHISHISHI"
"SHAR SHAR SHAR SHAR!"
"Zizizizizizizi. I'M SORRY!"
"Hey, hey! This isn't funny!" Zoro turned red as everyone was laughing at him.
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