Nami and Mayor Boodle rushed out from behind the house, their hearts still pounding from the lion's roar. They saw an incredible sight: the iron cage was smashed open, and the straw-hatted boy was still standing, dusting off his shorts.
"Impossible..." Nami stammered. "How did you survive that lion's pounce?!"
"Who are you?" Boodle asked, his voice full of suspicion and awe. "Why have you come to this town?"
Luffy turned, looking as calm as if being freed from a cage by a giant lion was an everyday occurrence. "Oh, I'm here to get a map of the Grand Line," he said. "And a navigator." He glanced at Nami.
But their conversation was cut short.
From down the street where the pet store was, the sounds of growling, defiant barking, and impacts echoed.
"Chouchou!" Boodle cried out, his face pale. He and Nami immediately ran towards the sound.
At the pet food store, a hopelessly uneven confrontation was taking place.
Richie, the giant lion, stood before the shop, snarling, revealing his sharp fangs.
And blocking its path, was Chouchou.
The small white dog, his body covered in scars old and new, was baring his teeth, his whole body trembling not with fear, but with fury. He was barking madly, a hoarse, defiant bark, determined not to let the monster many times his size pass.
"Get out of the way, you stupid mutt!" Mohji yelled from Richie's back. "Richie, go on in!"
The lion roared and lunged.
Chouchou, without a shred of hesitation, charged forward as well.
He was like a small white bullet trying to stop a rolling boulder. Richie only needed to swing a single forepaw; its casual slap sent Chouchou flying into a wall.
Thump!
Chouchou let out a pained yelp, but he immediately staggered to his feet, blood trickling from a new wound on his head. He once again stood guard in front of the shop door.
"He knows he can't win," Boodle whispered from a hidden corner, where he and Nami were watching in horror. "He's just trying to protect his treasure."
Richie attacked again. This time, he caught Chouchou in his jaws and shook the small dog like a rag doll.
But Chouchou didn't give up. He bit down on Richie's leg, holding on with all his might.
The one-sided battle continued. Chouchou was battered, scratched, and thrown around. But every time he was knocked down, he got back up, dragging his wounded body back to his guard post.
He would not surrender. He would never give up his treasure and the memory of his master.
Mohji was losing his patience. "Enough, Richie! Just burn the whole den down!"
He threw down a lit torch. The lion used its paw to bat the torch through the door of the old wooden shop.
Flames erupted instantly.
The greedy fire licked at the wooden walls, quickly turning the small shop into a sea of fire.
Chouchou was stunned. He watched the flames devour his treasure, his eyes wide with pain and despair. He began to bark, but this time, it was not a bark of defiance.
It was a bark of loss. A mournful, heart-wrenching sound that would tear at the soul of anyone who heard it.
Luffy, having left Zoro in a safe place to rest, was walking back. He saw the fire from a distance and heard the sounds of heartbroken barking.
He ran towards the scene, and the sight that met him made the smile on his face vanish.
The shop was burning to the ground. And the little dog was sitting there, watching helplessly, its whole body trembling as it let out cries of despair.
Mohji and Richie emerged from the flames, laughing cruelly.
"It was just a rundown old shop anyway," Mohji said.
Then he saw Luffy.
Surprise was written all over his face. "Y-you?! How are you still alive?!"
"Because I'm a rubber man," Luffy replied, his voice unusually low and cold. All of his carefree, goofy demeanor was gone.
Mohji shuddered under Luffy's gaze, but he quickly regained his arrogance. "Hmph! No matter what you are, you're dead this time! Richie! Kill him!"
The lion roared and charged at Luffy, its sharp claws extended.
But Luffy didn't dodge.
He stood his ground. And as the lion came within a few feet of him, he acted.
He shot his hands out, grabbing both sides of the giant lion's jaws just as it was about to bite down on him.
GRAAAM!
Richie's pounce was stopped dead in its tracks. The lion tried to clamp its mouth shut, but it couldn't. Luffy's arms, though they looked lean, possessed an unimaginable strength.
"I-impossible!" Mohji stammered. "He... he stopped Richie's pounce!"
"I told you," Luffy growled, the muscles on his arms straining. "I'm a rubber man."
Mohji realized. "A... a Devil Fruit! Just like Captain Buggy!"
Fear took hold of him. He quickly jumped off Richie's back. "W-wait! I'm sorry! Please, spare me!"
Luffy looked at him, his eyes void of emotion. "The one you should be apologizing to... isn't me."
He glanced at Chouchou and the burning store.
Luffy let go of the lion. Richie, feeling fear for the first time in its life, quickly turned tail and ran.
Then, Luffy stretched his arms far behind him.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
They latched onto two buildings on either side of the street.
He pulled his body taut like a giant slingshot.
"BAZOOKA!"
He shot forward, his two open palms slamming directly into Mohji.
BOOM!
Mohji the Beast Tamer was sent flying like a cannonball, soaring over the rooftops and disappearing into the distance.
When the fire had died down, Nami and Boodle returned. All that was left was a pile of smoldering ash.
Nami clenched her fists, her eyes burning with hatred. "Pirates... they're all the same. They only destroy... they only take away what's important to other people!"
"That's right!"
Luffy's voice startled her. He was standing there, his face smudged with soot.
Nami directed all her anger at him. "This is all your fault too! This all happened because of you pirates!" She lunged, trying to hit Luffy.
But Boodle held her back. "Wait, young lady! It's not his fault! Besides, even if you tried, you couldn't hurt him."
Luffy paid them no mind. He walked through the rubble and approached Chouchou. The little dog was still sitting there, whimpering in misery.
Luffy placed something down in front of it.
It was a bag of dog food, slightly scorched at the corner.
It was the only thing left of the store. The only thing Luffy had managed to dash into the flames to save.
Chouchou stopped whimpering. It looked at the bag of food, its only remaining treasure. Then it looked up at Luffy.
A silent understanding passed between the boy and the dog.
Chouchou let out a soft bark, but this time, it was a bark of gratitude.
Nami witnessed the entire scene, completely stunned.
Why? Why would a pirate, someone who should be selfish and cruel, risk his life to avenge a dog and save a worthless bag of food?
He... he wasn't like the pirates she knew.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in town.
Buggy stood on the rooftop, looking down at his subordinates. His patience had run out.
"Enough! I'm tired of this game of hide-and-seek!" he roared.
"PREPARE THE SPECIAL BUGGY BALL!"
"I'm going to blow this entire town off the map!"