Gustave and Po were making painfully slow progress hauling their massive deer carcass back toward the Bamboo Staff, both men drenched in sweat from the grueling effort. Yang Chan skipped along behind them, providing enthusiastic moral support while clutching a bouquet of wildflowers Po had gathered for her during their brief rest stops.
"Come on, Brother Gustave! You can do it, Brother Po!" she cheered with infectious enthusiasm.
"This deer is impossibly heavy," Gustave groaned, his grip slipping on the makeshift rope harness they'd fashioned. His shirt was completely soaked through despite the forest's relatively cool temperature.
Po wasn't faring much better. Though naturally stronger than humans, his thick fur and substantial bulk meant he was sweating even more profusely than his cooking partner.
They'd managed perhaps fifty meters when Po suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The unexpected halt sent Gustave staggering forward as momentum carried the deer's weight into him.
"Po! A little warning next time!" Gustave complained, rubbing his shoulder where the carcass had struck him.
"Gustave, listen carefully," Po replied, his round panda ears swiveling with focused attention.
"What is it?" Gustave immediately dropped his complaints, recognizing the serious tone in Po's voice.
"I think I hear Luffy crying for help."
Po's head tilted as he concentrated on the distant sounds filtering through the forest canopy.
"Luffy? Are you sure?"
"Yes, that's definitely Luffy's voice calling for help!"
"Which direction?"
"Southwest!"
Without hesitation, Gustave located the tallest nearby tree and scrambled up its trunk with practiced agility. Even without his lightning powers, years of physical training had left him remarkably athletic.
Reaching a stable branch near the crown, he peered toward the southwest quadrant. Sure enough, flocks of birds were erupting from that section of forest in obvious distress—clear signs of some major disturbance.
Gustave slid down the tree trunk and rushed back to Po with urgent determination.
"You're absolutely right—something's definitely wrong over there! We need to rescue Luffy and the others immediately!"
"Let's go!" Po declared without a moment's hesitation.
Within the Moral Lord's restricted zone, everyone had been reduced to ordinary human capabilities. The forest that normally posed no threat to their superhuman crew was now genuinely dangerous territory. Faced with potential harm to their family, both Gustave and Po abandoned their hard-won prey without a second thought.
Po scooped Yang Chan onto his shoulders while both men grabbed their wooden spears and javelins, then sprinted toward the sounds of distress.
As they drew closer, Luffy's panicked voice became clearly audible, accompanied by another familiar shout:
"Luffy, get up that tree!"
"Shanks heard the commotion too," Gustave observed, pushing himself to run even faster. "Let's see what we're dealing with!"
They burst into a clearing to discover Luffy, Tom, and Jerry clinging desperately to the upper branches of a massive oak tree. Below them, an enormous wild boar paced in furious circles, grunting with murderous intent.
"Holy hell," Gustave breathed, taking in the beast's incredible proportions. "Did those three actually have the nerve to provoke something that size? That boar has to weigh at least a thousand kilograms—maybe two thousand!"
The One Piece world's fauna was notoriously oversized compared to other dimensions. While multi-ton wild boars weren't exactly common, they weren't unheard of either—especially in untamed wilderness like this.
The massive pig glared up at its treed victims, snorting threats that needed no translation. When intimidation failed to dislodge its prey, the beast's rage escalated dramatically. It backed up several paces, then charged the tree trunk head-first with bone-rattling impact.
The entire oak shuddered under the assault, causing all three refugees to scream in terror as they tightened their grip on whatever branches they could reach.
This particular boar ruled its section of forest with absolute authority. Even the local tiger king gave it respectful distance when their territories overlapped. The audacity of these tiny intruders—particularly the insult of being struck by Luffy's club—demanded blood vengeance.
Failure to punish such disrespect would destroy its reputation among the forest's apex predators. The boar's pride demanded satisfaction, no matter how long it took.
After the initial ramming attempt failed to shake loose its quarry, the beast retreated for a longer charging run. Its second impact was even more violent than the first, causing the massive tree to sway alarmingly.
"Help us!" Luffy wailed from his precarious perch, while Tom and Jerry hugged each other in cartoon terror.
By now, other rescue parties had converged on the crisis. Shanks arrived with Ace and Uta, while Beckman, Yasopp, and Chu Zihang approached from different directions. Everyone had heard the commotion and responded immediately.
The wild boar ignored the growing crowd of humans, maintaining laser focus on the tree containing its intended victims.
"Hey Gustave, got any bright ideas?" Tu Shanyan called out as she joined the group alongside Makino and several others.
"Me? What exactly do you think I can do in this situation?"
"Wait a minute," Gustave replied with pointed skepticism, "aren't you supposed to be fox clan royalty? Shouldn't a 'small' wild boar like this be beneath your notice?"
"Of course I'm not afraid of it under normal circumstances," Tu Shanyan replied with defensive pride. "But the Saint's restricted zone has reduced me to ordinary human levels. Even a skilled cook can't prepare meals without proper ingredients—and this ugly pig might not respect my royal bloodline when I can't back it up with supernatural power."
"This boar's size makes it genuinely dangerous," Yasopp observed, testing the draw on his improvised slingshot before shaking his head. "Conventional weapons might not penetrate that hide."
"Look, we've got numbers on our side," Shanks declared with characteristic confidence. "Even without our usual abilities, this many people working together should be able to handle one oversized pig."
"Shanks is absolutely right," Gustave agreed, studying their assembled force with tactical precision. "I see everyone managed to acquire additional weapons while exploring the forest. Here's what we'll do—Yasopp, Zihang, you maintain distance and provide ranged support."
Both men nodded, Yasopp hefting his slingshot while Chu Zihang tested his improvised bow.
"Shanks, you and I will lead the close-combat assault. We'll look for openings to deliver killing blows."
"Sounds like a plan," Shanks confirmed, checking his wooden spear's balance.
"Uta, take Chan'er and find somewhere safe to observe from," Gustave added, his protective instincts extending to both young girls.
"Okay, Uncle Gustave!" Uta immediately took Yang Chan's hand, and with Po's assistance, both girls climbed to safety in a nearby tree with excellent sight lines.
Fortunately, the tree Luffy had chosen for his escape was thick enough to withstand the boar's repeated charges. But even the sturdiest oak would eventually succumb to such brutal punishment if the attacks continued.
Before launching their coordinated assault, Gustave and Po decided to test their quarry's defenses. Both men hurled javelins with careful aim, watching as the wooden points penetrated the boar's bristling hide—only to fall away without causing significant damage.
"This is problematic," Gustave muttered, recognizing the tactical challenge they faced. The beast possessed not only devastating offensive capabilities but formidable natural armor as well.
"Hey, Shanks, Gustave—time for you to appreciate my superior planning!" Beckman announced with smug satisfaction.
He hefted a massive iron spear that stood taller than his own considerable height, its metal point gleaming with deadly promise.
Gustave remembered considering that same weapon during their initial equipment selection, but he'd chosen the machete instead for its versatility. Now he was beginning to question that decision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~