Chapter 18

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East Blue – Organ Islands 

Orange Town 

"That was cool, what you said, Luffy", Nami says, approaching Luffy, still crying. 

"Huh, why are you crying, Tangerine?", He looks around and says, "Tell me who made you cry, and I'll beat up that idiot." 

"No one made me cry, Luffy", Nami says, wiping away her tears with a small smile on her face. 

"Where is he? I'll beat the crap out of this 'No One'", Luffy says, cracking his knuckles. 

"I'm not crying, Luffy", Nami says, her smile growing because of his silliness. 

"Huh, so what's happening to your eyes?", Luffy asks, confused. 

"They're just watering", Nami says, trying to change the subject. 

"Ohh, that makes sense now", Luffy says as if he's solved a mystery. 

"By the way, where's Zoro?", Luffy asks, changing the subject. 

"Wasn't he with us?", she asks, looking around. 

"I don't think so." 

"...Sigh... How does that guy manage to get lost so easily? I swear to God, he could get lost walking in a straight line", Nami says, rubbing her forehead. 

"Shishishi, true, I bet he could get lost and end up on the moon by accident." 

"Yeah." 

"This chat's nice, but let's go beat up Boga", Luffy says, cracking his knuckles with a grin. He then turns to Mayor Boodle and says, "Bye, old man, take care of yourself." 

"Goodbye, I'm going to check on Chouchou", Boodle says before leaving. 

"Alright, Tangerine, while I'm beating up Boga, you grab the map and steal whatever you want, then we'll look for Zoro afterward", Luffy says before heading toward the town's center, where he sensed many presences gathered in one place. Coincidentally, he also felt Zoro's presence nearby. 

"Alright, the map and treasure should be on his ship, but where did they dock?", Nami asks before Luffy can walk too far. 

"Eh, I feel some presence coming from that direction by the island's coast, probably a port." 

"Is it a lot of people?" 

"No, just about six", Luffy says, shaking his head. 

"Alright then, after you fight Buggy, find Zoro with your Haki and meet me at our ship in the port, okay?", Nami asks, coordinating their plans. 

"Okay, take care, Tangerine, and knock out anyone who gets in your way." 

"Will do." 

The two then go their separate ways. Luffy reaches the place where he feels the gathered presence, which turns out to be a bar. 

Luffy enters without a care and heads straight for the stairs to go up to the rooftop, where the strongest presence he sensed was. 

Naturally, his actions catch the attention of all the pirates filling the place. They follow him, curious to see how things will unfold, already predicting that this idiot will be killed. 

When Luffy reaches the rooftop, he sees Buggy lounging on a throne, resting his chin on his fist. 

"Sir, this brat just barged in and came straight up here", one of the pirates informs his Captain. 

"Wow, what a huge nose! How many tons of air do you breathe per day? Is it naturally red, or do you have to paint it all the time?", Luffy asks, impressed by Buggy's big nose. 

"Who do you think you are to talk about my nose, you little brat? You're in the presence of Lord Buggy, the Star Clown, show some respect, or I'll kill you... sigh... You're lucky I'm in a good mood today", Buggy says, irritated but trying to calm down, remembering that he finally has the Grand Line map he's wanted for a while. 

The map was safely stored on his ship along with the rest of his treasure, and he thought that just being on his ship was security enough because, let's face it, who would be stupid enough to try to steal from him? 

"Relax, Boga, I was just curious about that titanic, ugly thing you call a nose", Luffy says, noticing that Buggy is a bit annoyed. 

"Buggy, my name is Buggy, you little punk, urghh, you know what, you've completely ruined my mood. Men, kill this kid!", Buggy says, practically foaming at the mouth from rage. 

The pirates can't get close because Zoro suddenly appears, slicing through them. 

"Captain, do you know how long I've been looking for you two? By the way, where's that witch?", Zoro says, dodging an attack and cutting down the attacker right after. 

"Oh, Tangerine's stealing the map from this big-nose while we're talking", Luffy says nonchalantly amid the chaos, pointing at Buggy. 

"Whatttttt? Men, quickly, go protect the ship before these idiots succeed", Buggy says, panicking, never imagining someone would actually dare to steal from him. 

"Relax, Luffy, take care of this big-nose, I'll handle the rest", Zoro says, standing in front of Buggy's entire pirate crew. 

Giving a thumbs-up to Zoro, Luffy turns to Buggy and says, cracking his knuckles, "Alright, ready to get beaten up, Boga?" 

"Buggy! The name's Buggy! MY NAME IS BUGGY, DAMN IT!", Buggy shouts, furious at Luffy's disrespect. 

"...Sigh... And why exactly do you want to fight me? You and your friends could've just stolen the map and run away, and I wouldn't have even noticed if you were fast enough." 

"You and your men are destroying this town, and I don't like you, so I felt like beating you up." 

"That's it? You want to beat me up because you felt like it? Gyahahahahaha, that... that's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard in my life." 

"People have been beaten up for less, but alright, Air-Sucker, are we gonna fight or what?", Luffy says, adjusting his hat on his head. 

At that moment, Buggy notices Luffy's straw hat and says, "Strange, that hat looks familiar. It looks like the one that damn Red-Haired guy used to wear." 

"Red-Haired? Are you talking about Shanks?", Luffy asks. 

Meanwhile, Zoro easily defeats Buggy's pirates, now facing Cabaji, though "facing" is a strong word since, well, it takes less than two seconds for him to be defeated. 

"How does a kid like you know that damn Red-Haired guy?" 

"Shanks stayed on my island when I was younger. He gave me this hat; it's my greatest treasure. I promised to return it to him when I became a great pirate", Luffy says, holding his hat with a smile. 

"Ehhh? That crappy hat is your greatest treasure? Are you serious? Gyahahahahaha, treasure is gold, jewels, that's a real treasure, not some stupid straw hat", Buggy says, laughing hysterically. 

"Shishishishi, you know, you're not helping yourself. I'm getting more and more eager to beat you up", Luffy says, not planning to drag things out. 

"You insolent brat! Do you really think you can defeat—", Buggy doesn't get to finish his sentence because he's sent flying like a rocket by a punch from Luffy covered in Armament Haki. 

"Is this guy serious? He sailed the New World in Roger's crew and was still too weak to defend himself from such a simple punch?", Luffy murmurs to himself, impressed by how weak Buggy was. 

Looking around, Luffy sees that Zoro has already finished off all the pirates. He takes the opportunity to gather some Buggy Balls, thinking maybe Usopp could reverse-engineer them in the future. He then turns to Zoro and says, "Alright, let's head back to the ship. Tangerine was going to meet us there." 

They head back to the ship and find Nami already waiting for them with two large sacks full of treasure by her side. 

"Finally, you guys are here. Come on, help me carry these sacks onto the ship. By the way, I got the map", Nami says as she boards the ship. She could have tricked them, stolen the map and the ship, and sailed off alone, but for some reason only she could explain, she didn't. 

As Luffy picks up one of the sacks, a crowd of citizens appears, led by Chouchou and Boodle. 

"Hey, old man, I already beat up Boga, so you don't need to worry. He won't be a problem anymore." 

"Yeah, I saw, kid. Me and the folks who came to look for me, because I was taking too long to return, had gone to help you guys, but by the time we arrived, the pirates were already fleeing with their tails between their legs", Boodle says with a smile. 

"Shishishi, no need to worry. I'm really strong." 

"Thank you for everything, kid, really." 

"Nah, no problem. Oh, and don't tell Tangerine about this. Here, you'll need it to rebuild the town", Luffy says, whispering the last part as he hands the sack of treasure to Boodle. 

Chouchou then stands in front of Luffy and says, "Hey Luffy, is there any room in your crew?" 

"Shishishishi, there is, but first, what's your dream, Chouchou?", Luffy asks with a big smile on his face. 

"Someone once told me to make my life worthwhile so that I could face someone dear to me when I die. I want to live my life to the fullest, that's my dream", Chouchou says, looking directly into Luffy's eyes. 

"Shishishi, what are you waiting for? Get on the ship, our adventures are going to be wild", Luffy says, holding his hat and laughing while imagining the craziness awaiting them in the future. 

"Take good care of Chouchou", Boodle says with a smile on his face. 

"Don't worry, old man", Luffy replies with a grin. 

As soon as Nami sees Chouchou on the ship, she asks while petting him, "Huh, what's Chouchou doing on the ship?" 

"Who's this little dog?", Zoro asks, confused. 

"Guys, this is Chouchou, our newest crew member", Luffy says, introducing the dog. 

"You didn't kidnap him, did you, Luffy?", Nami asks, concerned. 

"No, he joined the crew on his own", Luffy says, standing with his hands on his hips. 

Nami then crouches in front of Chouchou and says, "So you decided to become a pirate, huh, little guy? I think you and Luffy are the only pirates I like", she whispers the last part so no one else can hear. 

"This crew just keeps getting weirder", Zoro says with a smile before falling asleep. 

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(AN: 1,683 Words)

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