Chapter 29

"Where are your parents?" Nami asked. She couldn't allow the boy to roam freely in a town where there are pirates. 

"Home," Luffy said holding the glass of water which was given to him by Nami. 

"Why are you here then?" Nami asked the boy. Did the boy's parents leave him alone to fend for himself?.

"I got separated from my crew," Luffy said folding his legs on the chair.

Well.. That was shocking. The boy was travelling with a crew and his parents have let him. That was not a good sign. 

"..How many people are in your crew?" Nami asked curiously.

"Only one," Luffy said licking the plate for the sauces. "Is this your house?"

"No, I don't even know whose house is this." She told him, ignoring the fact that the boy was travelling with only one person. Well, it was not her business to mend into, right?

"So you are stealing from the empty houses!" Luffy said with his smile. 

"That's despicable!!!" Nami yelled banging her hands on the table. "I'm a thief who just steals from pirates!!" Nami rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming in. She hates pirates. She won't ever do things like them! 

"Don't even compare me with those robbers!" She saw the easy carefree smile on the kid's face and sighed, wanting to explain herself. "My goal is to get a hundred million beli. Then I'm going to buy a certain village!"

"Buy a village?" Luffy repeated. His mother had told him about Arlong Pirates yesterday about how they were disturbing a village in the East Blue. What was its name? Coco? Cocomati? Coco- "Is it Cocoyashi Village?"

Nami's mood darkened and she was about to yell her frustration on him, but the boy changed the topic and luckily, he got away from her wrath.

"How will you get that much?" Luffy seriously wondered.

"I've got a plan for that!" Nami said turning away from Luffy and bringing out a paper, which was a map. "This is the Grand Line map I just stole! I'm going to steal some treasure from Buggy and then off to Grand Line!"

"Are you a navigator?" Luffy asked with awe in his eyes and a smile on his lips. Nami nodded with a wide smile. She mentally thought if the boy's smile was infectious.

"You wouldn't find a better navigator than me!" She said proudly.

When she looked at the boy again, he was out of his seat and looking at her eyes directly. Her breath hitched and she felt her entire life being read by those soul piercing eyes. She felt herself like an open book in front of those eyes. She was snapped out of her musings when the brown doe eyes changed to golden red. She blinked and they were gone.

It could be a mirage, she thought. But all the condition for the mirage were absent.

"Woohoo!!!" The boy cheered breaking Nami out of her inner debates. "That's perfect! Do you wanna be our navigator?!" He asked, smiling widely.

"Really?" Nami returned a wide smile of her own. If the kid's strength was something then maybe she could use his and his other crew mate's help to gather more money! 

"Yeah! Join our pirate crew!" Luffy said with his signature smile.

Nami's mood turned from happiness to anger within seconds and she shouted. "NO WAY!!!"

She could see the confusion echoing though the boy's face.

"So, you are a pirate?" She asked, standing straight again.

"Yeah," He said and brought his hat in his hands. "I swore to a person who gave me this Straw Hat that I'd gather a crew and become a pirate! It's my treasure!" He said, smiling as he placed the hat back on his head.

Nami looked at the boy for a moment, and then stepped down from the table. She slammed her hands on the table causing the plate on it to clatter.

"There is nothing I hate more in this world than pirates!" She said fiercely to Luffy, forgetting that she was showing her anger to someone much younger than her. "I only like money and tangerines!"

Nami frowned in her mind. The one person she tagged as innocent and naïve was a pirate. But a stupid pirate! With bellies.

"Come on! Become our navigator!" The kid said again, with a grin.

"I said no already!" She yelled, when an idea struck her mind. She went in for her nonchalant mood as she looked at him. "Well, it looks like you are in a fix, so just under one condition I'll consider it."

"Really?!" Luffy asked with a beaming smile on his face. Finally, he will be getting another crew mate!!! "So what are the terms?"

"Go with me to where Buggy is that's all I want you to do," Nami asked lifting her finger. She felt guilty for using the kid, but heck if she cares! The boy is a pirate! He should have thought before when he had decided to be one. For a moment she felt that the kid would back off, but the boy walked straight to the door, with a bright grin lit on his face.

"Okay, let's go!" He said to her, making her turn back to him. "Where's Buggy?"

"Hang on a second!" She turned to the boy, stopping him in his tracks. She picked up the ropes which she had found a while ago.

"What's that rope for?" The boy asked, with his hands in his pocket.

"It's just a rope," She said giving him a smile. "You got a problem?"

Luffy felt that the girl was lying and was feeling a bit guilty. But well, he can overpower the girl any time he wants. They walked, and a few minutes later Nami said that they were nearing the bar where the Buggy pirates were staying.

That was when he felt himself being attacked by the girl. His Haki had already warned making him side step her, which made her stumble on her track.

"What are you doing?" He frowned at her.

"You will find out soon!" She said lunging on him again. He pouted and got away from her tracks again, making the girl shout at him to stay still.

"But why?" He asked with a pout. He certainly didn't like to be tied.

"It's just a rope. Are you afraid of it?" She asked him making him frown.

"Fine," He said standing still. The girl tied him up and he tested if he could get rid of it and found that he could break out of it easily if he wanted to.

"Let's go," She said and walked forward. He just followed her. The two made their way through the town. Once they reached their, he saw a man with blue haired man with a really big red nose.

Luffy looked over at Nami, whose nervousness was leaking to him, but mostly confidence as they paraded through the many pirates on either side of them.

"That's them!" One of the pirates Luffy had beaten up earlier exclaimed, pointing to them. "She is the one who stole the map!"

Nami grinned and pushed him forward, even if she hesitated a bit. Unable to catch his footing, Luffy fell and landed on the ground.

"I captured the thief and brought him back, Captain Buggy The Clown!" Nami said making Luffy look at her. "I'll return your map too!" She said as she walked up to the man, holding the map in her hand.

"I appreciate it. But why the change of heart?" The red nose asked from where he sat in his chair. Nami handed the map over before backing away back towards Luffy.

"My boss," Nami pointed to the tied kid, "Don't go on his size." She said before continuing. "We had a fight! I'm fed up with him. Please let me join your crew," She said with a smile.

"Fed up, huh?" Buggy laughed. "You're a pretty amusing girl! Okay! I'll let you join as part of my crew!"

Immediately, Luffy was picked up by two nearby pirates and thrown into a cage. Luffy frowned at the new place, but well he could break out of it easily, so no issue. He will let Nami play out whatever plan she had in her mind. After all, she will be their navigator!

"The stolen map of the Grand Line has been recovered!" Buggy yelled. "Further more, we have recruited a new crew member! Everything is going our way!" The blue nose yelled. "Now drink to your heart's content."

"YAHOOOO!!!" The pirates cheered raising their cups and drinking it. All the while, Nami was doing competition with the other pirates on drinking, showing her endless drinking capacity.

Luffy was feeling hungry at the sight of all the unreachable food, when Nami crouched before him to stuff his face. He grinned as the spicy flavor of tender meat hit his tongue, making him feel good.

"You are a nice person!" Luffy said with a grin.

Nami returned his grin and said, "Don't worry once my plans work smoothly, I'll open the cage's lock and help you run away since I have nothing against you."

"Then open it now," Luffy said with a little pout. He wanted more food and was feeling hungry.

"Bwahahahaha!!!" The red nose came over with a drink in his hand, which he recognized as the one Ace, Sabo and his Dad would drink sometime and won't let him. Well, he really doesn't like it, so it doesn't matter.

"You have got yourself a pretty good follower there! Thief Boss!!" Buggy laughed maliciously. Seriously, how was the red nose a Roger pirate?

"What are you talking about? She is not my follower!" He said looking at Buggy.

"Yes, yes. I know what you mean. She betrayed you, after all!" He drunk a swig from the jar. "Even though I got my map back it's still a terrible crime to steal from this man here! Your fate has been chosen for you."

Momentarily, Luffy felt that the man would let him go. "You gonna let me go?"

"Yeah, I am letting you go..." Buggy said not realizing what he said, making Luffy break his ropes easily.

"Thanks, man!" He said flexing his limbs and grinning at the big nose. "You are not that bad. See, Nami, a member of Roger Pirates can't be that bad." He said, freezing everyone- which was luckily only Buggy and Nami- in the vicinity.

Buggy stared with wide eyes and looked at the kid. "How do you know?" He asked giving him a glare, making the boy pout. If the word came out, his back will be painted with a big target and he won't be able to stay in East Blue anymore.

Buggy's eyes wandered to the straw-hat and he felt a stone drop in his stomach and anger overtake him.

"Seeing your straw hat reminds me of a guy I knew long time ago," Buggy gritted his teeth at the worst memory. "The impudent red haired guy!"

"Red haired?" Luffy asked sitting comfortably in the cage. "Right! You obviously know Shanks!"

"Did he tell you about me?" Buggy said narrowing his eyes at the boy who was rocking back and forth in his cage. A look on the orange haired girl showed her still frozen.

"Nope!"

"And the hat?" He asked his knife twirling in his hands, ready to strike.

"Ah," The brat brought out the hat for him to see. "Yep! It's of Shanks!"

"Is that so?" Buggy said with an angry voice, yet the brat didn't look at all fazed by it and kept grinning like an idiot. An idiot's hat is deserved by another idiot. He gritted his teeth. "I thought it looked familiar. Me and that guy used to be in the same pirate ship. We were comrades."

"Yep I know. Now can I leave?" The brat asked with a smile.

"You think I am that stupid?!!!" He asked getting furious. He turned away from him to look at his crew. "Boys! Prepare the Buggy Special Cannonball!!"

"The Buggy Special Cannonball is ready, Captain!!" Another pirate answered.

"Alright, show them!" Buggy said with a menacing grin on his face. "Show them it's power!" The cannon was pointed to the houses, making Nami's eyes widen. Lines and lines of houses got obliterated at once.

"The power is so great, this thing can wipe out the whole little village in one shot!" Buggy said with his menacing voice. "This and the powers I have gained from the devil's fruit assure my future success at the Grand Line!!" Buggy should be thankful that he was not heard by Luffy, otherwise he would be laying flat with his face on the ground.

"Now, shoot the cannon, Nami!" Buggy said pointing the cannon's mouth to Luffy, who was looking at the destruction. "And swear upon this, your loyalty and sincerity of the desire to rule the world with me! Get rid of your old boss once and for all!" Buggy lied. Once he would be done with the brat he would erase Nami. No one should destroy his vacation! He saw Nami shaking as she looked with wide eyes to him.

Luffy saw Nami sweating at the mere thought of killing him. "K-Kill that guy?! Me...?! No, C-Captain Buggy! I'm just fine! First let's... yeah! Sake! Let's drink some more Sake! Just forget about him." Nami knew that her distraction was not working and it was confirmed, when Buggy ordered once more to kill the kid, whose name even she doesn't know yet. Nami didn't want to face a Roger Pirate. Never. Never have she thought the guy would be one. If she would have known, she wouldn't have come alone!

Cheers followed through the crowd of pirates telling her to shoot. She was afraid. She couldn't shoot the boy, even if he was a filthy pirate! If she killed the boy then there will be no difference between pirates and her. She saw the boy's hat shadowing his eyes, as he looked at her.

"Nami! Stop spoiling the fun, just hurry up and light it!!" Buggy yelled, making her come out of her musings.

"Your hand is shaking," She heard the straw hatted boy say. "That's what you get, for only being half prepared to mess with pirates."

"Prepared? Prepared to take a human life so easily?" She asked, with beads of sweats rolling from his forehead. "Is that what it takes to be a pirate?!"

"No, its not!" She heard the boy say.

"Don't wait around!" The voices of the other pirates hit her, making her flinch.

"You gotta be prepared to risk your own life!" She heard the kid say.

"Shoot!" "Shoot!"

"Oi, new kid, stop wasting our time, don't you know how to light a fuse?" A pirate took over lighting a matchstick and about to light the rope. Her hands went over to the boo staff strapped to her thighs. She hit the pirate on his face, making him fall on the ground.

"What the?!!" She could hear the confusion coming from the pirates and she herself didn't know what compelled her to do as she did.

"Nami, you idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing! I actually gave you the honor of lighting the cannon's fuse because you're my new member!!" Buggy's yells caught her off guard as she backed to the cage where the guy was still sitting. "But now I think you should be the first one to be killed. I had kept you for the last."

"I knew it! You are good person!" The guy said with a full grin on his face, which shouldn't be there at least right now.

"Don't be stupid!" She shouted. "I only did that without thinking. I did it because... I don't even want to pretend to be one of these disgusting, hideous pirates!! Pirates stole the life of someone who was precious to me, I hate pirates more than anything!!"

Luffy felt the genuine hatred towards pirates in Nami and understood why she hated the pirates. But his attention caught the burning fuse.

"The fuse is burning!!!" He shouted, making Nami turn once to him, but she herself was in a situation.

"You tired to make a fool of me, you little bitch!" Buggy yelled, furiously. "Kill her, painfully!!"

"Die!!" The pirates lunged onto Nami, who was feeling overwhelmed. She hit the pirates with her boo staff and ran to the cannon.

"Behind you!" Luffy warned, sitting calmly with his freed hands holding the cage. If there will be any need of his, he will interfere. And right now, he didn't feel the need, as Zoro came and blocked the pirates aiming for Nami.

"Zoro!!" Luffy grinned at the swordsman.

"Zoro?" One of the fallen pirates screamed.

"You!" Zoro turned towards Luffy. "Is it all fun to you? You kept drowning, got caught by a bird and now when I finally find you, you are in a cage?!"

"Stupid!" He finished his rambling, making Luffy pout childishly.

"Hey, that guy.. Z-Zoro? Did he just say his name is Zoro?" Another pirate asked among each other.

"You definitely are Zoro 'The Pirate Hunter'. Are you aiming for my head?" Buggy asked coming from behind.

"Nope, not interested. I've stopped hunting pirates." Zoro responded patiently. What was up with these people calling him pirate hunter?

"But I have some interest, if I kill you, my name will become more famous," This time Zoro looked over his shoulder at the man, glaring.

"If you don't wanna die, just leave me alone," He said as a matter of fact.

"Ooooh!!" "Kill him, Captain!!" "Send Zoro off!!"

The pirates cheered.

"If you don't show your true skills now, you will soon be dead!!" Buggy said as he began flipping a knife in one hand and held four others between the fingers of his other hand. Zoro sighed.

"Fine, if that's what you want," Zoro said placing a sword in his mouth while Buggy removed the big orange cape he'd had draped over his shoulders. Within a matter of seconds, Buggy began charging at Zoro, but the swordsman didn't move and took another stance.

"Die flashily!"

Buggy didn't even hit Zoro as the swordman sliced the pirates limbs off, the pirates cheering as he did and Nami looking away.

"He died easily," He said sheathing his katanas.

"Zoro!" Zoro heard Luffy shout his name, making him turn towards him. "The guy has chop-chop fruit! He is not dead!!"

"What do you mean? He looks pretty down to me," He said, but as he did the surrounding pirates began laughing ominously at them. Zoro eyed them swiftly and unsheathed one of his swords again, his eyes glancing back to the fallen Captain.

Zoro was about to ask what was so funny, when he saw Buggy began to move out of the corner of his eye, the man reassembling as if he hadn't been cut in the first place. One of the hands didn't reassemble though and instead shot right at him. Thanks to Luffy's warnings and his own reflexes, he blocked the attack with his unsheathed sword.

"H-His arm!" Nami said in shock, hands to her mouth and pale as she watched the disembodied arm fly back to Buggy, and replace its self.

"As the kid over there said, I'm a splitting person who can't be cut!" Buggy exclaimed, the pirates cheering again at his words while Buggy laughed.

"He stuck his body back together! I thought the devil fruit's was just a myth!" Nami said in shock.

"Attacking from behind is unfair! Big nose!" Luffy shouted to Buggy, annoyed that the man had attempted to stab Zoro in the back. The pirates blanched around him at his words and froze in shock and fear.

"Who's got a big nose?!" Buggy shouted in fury, detaching his arm from his body to hit him.

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted as he tried to intercept the attack, but not making it in time. It didn't matter though as Luffy caught the knife with his fingers and broke it into two.

"Buggy! I will take you down!" Luffy said, his glare turning into grin. Buggy began laughing again at that, confidence filling him.

"Take me down?! You're hilarious! You three are gonna die right now on the spot!" Buggy yelled, making the pirates laugh at them.

"Everything is finished...!" Nami said with all hope dying within her. "We are dead!"

"I'm not gonna die!!" Luffy exclaimed before laughing, Buggy watching in surprise.

"Zoro! Run!" Luffy shouted to Zoro, who looked at him in shock before understanding dawned him.

"Hey! Your friend came to rescue you, but you are telling him to run away?!" Nami asked in confusion.

"Ok!" Zoro said. Nami was in shock and Buggy flew in rage.

"Stupid idiot! You think I'm going to let you go, Roronoa Zoro?!!" Buggy screamed in rage as his arms separated from his body. "Chop chop cannon!" Zoro hit the knifes easily and ran forward straight to the cannon. Getting near him, Zoro pushed it up, flipping it around to face Buggy and his gang. Nami ran up to Zoro, finally understanding what was happening and lit the cannon.

"Oh crap! The cannons pointed this way!" The pirates shrieked running hay way.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Buggy shouted. "There's still a special Buggy Ball in there! Nami, I thought you were on our side!"

The cannon fired, spreading smoke everywhere and giving Zoro, Luffy and Nami a perfect chance to escape the situation.

.

Luffy laid down in the cage, staring blankly ahead of him.

"How'd you know he wasn't done yet? How did you know his devil fruit?" Zoro asked as he dragged the cage.

"I just knew it," Luffy said while shrugging.

"Never mind," Zoro said in a resigning mood and thought about the girl who was following them. "Who was that girl anyways?"

"Our navigator!" Luffy said with a smile.

"That's some good news. Now we can go for Islands without getting actually lost!" Zoro said dropping the cage in the ground near a dog.

"What's up with this dog?" He asked, making Luffy sit up and look at the dog with a beaming smile.

"Dog!" He exclaimed happily, like a kid getting his favorite candy. He moved the cage by himself to the dog rocking it back and forth. He poked at the dog curiously making the dog bite him.

"Stupid dog! Leave my hand!" "Woof! Woof!"

And the two started fighting.

"You idiot, do you even know the seriousness of the situation here?!!" Zoro yelled at Luffy who stopped fighting with the dog and laid down again.

"Stupid dog!" He huffed, making Zoro chuckle.

"You two, what on Earth are you guys doing," Nami said approaching the reckless idiots lying on the open inviting Buggy's men to come over to attack them. "If you just lie around here in the middle of the street Buggy will definitely find you!"

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy grinned at her.

"I just came to repay my debt to you, because you saved my life back there," Nami said tossing the key to the ground.

"The key?" Luffy said with his signature grin. "You stole the cage key!"

"Yeah, even if I think so myself it was really a dumb thing to do because of that I couldn't steal any of the treasures." Nami said with a sigh. Zoro smiled and Luffy went to grab the key, but right as he was about to pick it up, the dog ate it.

Nami sweat dropped, Zoro frowned and Luffy became furious.

"Stupid dog! You ate the key!" Luffy said angrily shaking the dog, before leaving it.

"Fine," He grumbled as he flexed his fingers.

"Fine?" Zoro and Nami asked, looking at him.

"I'll just break the cage," Luffy said with a shrug as if it were obvious. He placed his hands on the two adjacent bars and stretched them wide, giving him enough space to crawl out of it.

"What the hell?!!!" Nami shrieked in surprise, not having expected it at all. Now that she thinks, the kid had broke out of her ropes too!

"You could do this the whole time, you jerk?!" Zoro asked, having half the mind to beat his Captain right there. He had carried the cage around the whole town for his idiot captain to break out of it easily!

"Shishishi! Yup!" Luffy gave his signature D grin as he stood tall. But he was even shorter than Nami. He pouted.

"Hey! You people!" A new voice shouted saving Luffy from the ominous doom which had hung on his head.

"Who are you mister?" Zoro asked.

"I'm the town's mayor, Boodle!" The mayor asked as he walked up to them. He looked at the cage, and took in the sight of the kids standing before them. One of them was trying to play with Shushu but the little dog wasn't even moving.

"Why is the dog just sitting here?" Zoro asked, eyeing at the dog on whom the Mayor's eyes were.

"It's guarding the shop," The mayor stated and started telling them the story of Shushu's previous owner and how he'd owned the pet food shop behind them. He told them of his theory on why Shushu still stayed, how the shop had been his previous master's treasure, and by the end of it he was sitting beside Zoro, smoking his pipe while Luffy watched Shushu with a small smile.

When the mayor was about to say more, a roar shook the town, making them all turn towards the sound.

"Wh-What is it, that roaring noise!!!" Nami shrieked in fear.

"Th-That is that guy!! The beast trainer Mohji!!" He shouted, freaking out behind Nami.

"What do you mean by it?" Nami asked, turning to the mayor. But the mayor was already running away from the place.

"W-Wait! Hold on!" She shouted at him but the man was already behind one of the houses, running into the alleys. Nami turned to the two monsters in front of her and contemplated her options. 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro has to be stronger to protect them as he had done. If she goes with the mayor, she wasn't sure that she would be safe from the other pirates.

Another rumble shook the ground, making her legs tremble. She shuffled closer to Zoro and Luffy who were both looking towards the source of the sound.

"Someone is coming," Zoro said unsheathing one of his sword. Nami hid behind him while Luffy gave a huge grin as a large lion came out from the corner, a man riding on top of it.

"Can I eat him?" Luffy asked already drooling pointing at the lion, who luckily didn't notice Luffy.

"You idiot!" Nami shrieked at Luffy, who was acting like a dummy. "Don't agitate him!"

The lion rider ignored the scrawny teen and looked at the brats in front of him. "I am Beast Tamer Mohji, a member of the Buggy Pirates. I'm here to bring you back to Captain Buggy." He said, remembering he hadn't asked the brat's name. "Ah, what's your name?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" The teen responded looking at his Richie, all the way drooling.

"I'm here to bring you to my Captain, Monkey D. Luffy along with your friends Pirate Hunter Zoro and the thief Nami." The man boasted, siting tall on his lion.

"What's the weird hood you are wearing?" Luffy asked, removing his eyes from the lion to the weird man.

"You idiot! Watch what you are saying! This is my hair!" Mohji shouted angrily pointing to his hair. Nami hid behind Zoro safely and Zoro held onto the hilts of his swords, ready to pull them anytime.

"That's even weirder!" Luffy said, his swordsman nodding in agreement. Nami was reconsidering on her choices. They will get killed if the boys kept on agitating the pirate and it would be them who would be the food of the lion not opposite!

"Shut up!" He shouted. "You don't know how scary I am! I'm telling you, there is no animal in this world that won't obey me!"

"That's so cool!" Luffy said with his eyes shining, wanting to see it. Zoro and Nami turned to see the boy, not believing that that should be said right now.

Mohji getting a proud smirk on his face pointed to the dog. "That includes that dog over there." Mohji told them as he got off his lion, walking up to a still Shushu and crouching in front of him.

"Shake!" He told the dog, holding his hand out expectantly. Everyone watched, expecting the dog to do as such, but it instead bit Mohji's hand, the man freaking out and shaking it in an attempt to get Shushu off.

"Aww, I wanted to see that," Luffy said with a pout.

"He was lying!" "Don't say that, idiot!"

His two new crew members shouted at him.

Once Shushu let go, Mohji recomposed himself, standing tall again, ignoring the comments of the brats.

"You are just a nameless thief," He said to Luffy. Then his attention turned to Zoro, who was standing proud and hiding the orange haired thief who betrayed them. "Come with me otherwise I will have to kill you three here!"

"Nope! Not coming right now!" Luffy said picking his nose and flicking the booger to the lion and his rider. "Nami, do you have anymore food?" He asked nonchalantly ignoring the enemies.

"And booze," Zoro added.

"We are going to die," Nami said with wide eyes, seeing the rider, Mohji, getting pissed off.

"Kill them, Richieee!!"Mohji shouted, pointing to the three. Angry that he was ignored. Angry that the brat had the audacity to flick his booger to him. Nami shrieked in fear and dropped to the ground, covering her head with her hands and squeezing her eyes shut. Zoro unsheathed his swords, ready to fight the giant lion.

But what the beast tamer was not expecting that Luffy was unpredictable. The lion whimpered with his one look over the kid, which his master had ordered him to kill. He wanted to listen to his master, but his instinct told the boy was odd and not someone he would want to mess with. He wanted to turn tail and run, when his master ordered again.

"Kill them, Richiee," His master said. Not wanting to disobey his master he did as he was said with closed eyes as fear painted on his face.

The paw came directly over to Luffy first, who got angered. "Don't waste my time!" He said holding it easily. The lion whimpered and wanted to run away from the incoming danger. Zoro smirked but still ready to fight if required. Nami was completely shocked.

"Or I would rather eat you!" Luffy said throwing the lion and breaking the momentarily silence which had fallen. Everyone watched as the lion got knocked off his balance and fell on his butt a bit far.

"Nami, can I have some more steak?" Luffy ignored the lion in favor of food. He was hungry.

"I-I..." Nami couldn't respond as the beast tamer growled in anger.

"Richie! I said get them! We can raid the Pet Shop after it!" Mohji insisted, encouraging the lion who was still sitting on his butt. With a roar, the lion dashed forward again, and Luffy turned towards it. He was pissed off it. Even Shushu was looking angry and growling.

"WHAT THE?!!!" Mohji shouted looking at the stretching hands. Nami was not even better she was really thinking if she made a right choice staying here. The boy in front of her is a monster and yet she willingly chose to stay with them!!

"Don't worry, Shushu," Luffy said stretching his arms forward and twisting them together. "I won't let your treasure to be destroyed!" He grabbed the lion's head and jumped over his head, not wanting to destroy the little dog's treasure.

"Gomu gomu no tsuchi!" He shouted, letting his arms unravel. The lion began to rotate, before Luffy sent it into the air, making it land face first in the ground, knocking it out.

"W-what are you?!" Mohji asked in fear. Luffy didn't bother looking at the man from where he was still crouched on the ground.

"I'm a rubber man." He said to him while Nami stared in awe at the straw-hatted teen's strength, shakily standing up.

"A devil fruit?!" Mohji yelled. "Just like Captain Buggy?!!!"

Luffy plopped his hat on his head and glared at him, making the man freeze. He took a deep breath as he realized that he can't stop everyone calling the fruits as devil fruits.

"I-I'm sorry!! Please forgive me! I'm sorry!!" The man shouted, jumping away from Luffy and holding his hands up in surrender.

"You don't need to anymore." He said shadowing his eyes. "You were going to take that dog's treasure. That's why I am gonna kick your ass!" Luffy said, turning to face Mohji and lifting his hat to show his anger filled eyes. Nami flinched at those eyes, while Zoro put away his swords instantly, seeing that there was no threat now.

The man began to run away, but it was of no use. Luffy stretched his arm, grabbing the man's throat.

"EEK!" The man let out a squeak.

Luffy pulled him towards him. Once close enough, Luffy used his other fist to punch the man, knocking him out as well and leaving him on the ground. He walked to his friends, and saw Nami coming out from behind Zoro and start to yelling about pirates. Zoro raised an eyebrow at her angry look but didn't make a move. He was waiting for Luffy to say something, but the guy ignored Nami.

"Pirates are all the same, every last one, regardless of their age! They take what people hold dear without a second thought!" She shouted, standing in front of Luffy and not allowing him to take a step further. Nami hated pirates and seeing one of them trying to take away Shushu's treasure was a salt sprinkled to her own wounds.

"I'll kill you here and now, before you get the chance to gather crewmates and attack towns like this one!" She shouted and was about to throw a punch to Luffy, when the boy just dodged with a little laugh.

"As if you could beat me," He poked his tongue out, making the orange haired more angry and charge him with her baton. Luffy turned his back to her, allowing her to try and kept dodging the attacks simultaneously. He went to Shushu, when Nami raised her hands to punch him again, but he dodged it easily again.

He could feel Zoro was staring with wide eyes and wanting to ask questions. Well, he can do that later.

He crouched in front of Shushu and patted his head. "You did a good job," He said with his signature grin. "You kept your treasure safe!"

"That lion is not coming back," He told the dog, who looked at him for a second before barking once, Luffy laughed at the words. Nami had stopped altogether, her anger melting away and leaving her feeling ashamed of her. She had directed others anger on somebody else. She realized that the teen had fought for the dog rather than himself or Zoro. Unlike every pirate, Luffy had done something out of selflessness. He hadn't kept himself first.

"Yeah! Good luck to you too!" Luffy told him before standing back up and turning to Zoro.

A/n:

So the new chapter is finally here! I don't know if it was boring or not, but just wait for one more week and you would surely get some spices in the story!

Have a good day/night till then!

Also I wanted to apologize if I am not able to respond to the comments soon enough. Life is just getting more and more hectic and above all of it, my network connection is betraying me on a regular basis!

I would try to reply soon whenever I can, but if I'm not replying soon then think my network connection is down for the count or I'm studying.

So, thank you and sorry once again for sticking with the story!