Ch. 19- True Treasure
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, Kovar, and Monkey D. Star © Me
After the smoke had cleared, the Straw Hats found themselves watching a new memory: it was Past Zoro, lugging Luffy around while he was still trapped in the cage, and Past Nami was following after them in concern. Past Zoro grunted in pain as blood dripped out of his stab wound, but he kept carrying Luffy through the empty streets of the town, anyway.
"Wow, Zoro," said Aika. "I can't believe you did that."
"Yeah, well," Zoro began, "he was the captain...still is."
"Back then, I didn't understand it," Nami spoke. "I just couldn't understand why a pirate would go so far for somebody else's sake." She then sighed. "Back then, I didn't realize how blind I was."
"Well, you're not blind anymore," Usopp said. "That's what counts, right?"
"Yeah," Nami smiled.
"Rrrrgh...!" Past Zoro grunted as he kept lugging the cage behind him. "Okay...I think we're far enough from the tavern. They probably won't catch up to us, anytime soon. We got away from them...for now, that is."
"Raarrgh!" Luffy growled as he tried to bite open the cage. "Dammit! These bars won't budge! I can't do anything if I'm stuck in this stupid cage!"
That's when Past Zoro collapsed on the ground.
"Ugh...it's no use," he groaned. "I can't go on...lost too much blood..."
"I'll say you have!" Chopper shouted as he glared up at Zoro. "If you pushed yourself any further, you would've gotten a hernia!"
"Look, will you drop it?" Zoro asked. "It's over and done with, now! I'm fine, see?"
"Uh...guys?" Franky asked. "Look."
The Straw Hats looked up and saw that sitting before Past Zoro...was a little white dog with scars on his body. Nami gasped, instantly recognizing him.
"Oh, my god...!" she whispered. "It's Chouchou!"
Blizzard tilted his head in confusion at this.
"Chou-who?" he asked.
"Pardon," Brook began, "but who is this 'Chouchou'?"
"Chouchou's this little dog we met," Nami answered. "...I wonder how he's doing these days."
"Maybe we should go back and visit him, sometime," Zoro suggested. "If that dog's as tough as Luffy says he is, he's probably still around."
"Hey, it's a dog!" Luffy exclaimed as he moved the cage toward the little canine, who just sat there, staring blankly with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"How come he's not moving?" asked Luffy. "Is it even real?"
"Who gives a damn?" asked Past Zoro as he lied against a support beam. "It can do whatever the hell it wants. We're supposed to be worried about what WE'RE supposed to do."
"Same old Luffy," Usopp said. "More focused on something irrelevant than his own situation."
"...Somehow, this seems familiar," Blizzard said.
"How do you figure?" Kumi asked.
"I wonder if it's dead," Luffy said as he poked Chouchou between the eyes...which prompted the dog to bite his face. "YOW! AAAH! LET GO OF ME, OUCH!" Soon, a short scuffle began.
"...Yep, I thought so," Blizzard muttered.
"You never poke a dog in the eyes," Aika said.
"You'd think he'd learn that when he met Snowy here," said Franky as he pointed at Blizzard, while Robin chuckled in amusement.
"LUFFY!" Past Zoro barked, accidentally sitting up too fast, which made more blood squirt out of his wound. "QUIT SCREWING AROUND AND GET SERIOUS!"
Soon, both he and Luffy collapsed to the ground.
"Damn dog..." Luffy cursed.
"I don't feel good," Past Zoro moaned while the dog sat quietly.
"What would you expect, sitting up so quickly like that?!" Chopper questioned.
"Let it go, Chopper," Sanji said. "Idiots will always be idiots."
"Wanna say that again?!" Zoro questioned, getting up in the cook's face.
"Got a problem with it, Moss-head?!" Sanji barked.
"Enough, you two!" Nami shouted as she pushed the two of them apart, but meanwhile, her past self appeared, and needless to say, she looked utterly disappointed.
"Wow," Past Nami said. "Look at you guys. Not to criticize or anything, but is the middle of the street really the best hiding place you could come up with?"
"Oh, look, it's our navigator!" Luffy exclaimed.
"I did not agree to that!" Past Nami shouted. "Look...I just wanted to say thanks for saving me, back there."
"Thanks?" Past Zoro repeated.
Just then, Past Nami dropped something on the ground: a metal key.
"Oh!" Luffy exclaimed. "It's the key to the cage! You stole it!"
"Yeah, I got the key," Past Nami said, "but I left the map and the treasure back there."
"I'm glad that you got the key for Big Brother, Big Sis Nami," Aika smiled.
"Thanks, sweetie," Nami began, "but I think you shouldn't count your chickens before they're hatched."
"Huh?" Aika asked.
Before Luffy could pick up the key, Chouchou picked it up and, to everyone's surprise, swallowed it.
"...Did he just..." Robin started.
"...Eat the key?" finished Usopp in disbelief.
"...I see I'm not the only one who swallows things he shouldn't," Blizzard muttered, remembering when he swallowed Shiki's Tone Dial.
"I wonder if it passed through him okay," Chopper said in concern.
"Rrrrrgh...!" Luffy growled before he broke into a furious yell and comically throttled the poor little dog. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID DOG! GIMME THAT KEY, THAT'S NOT FOOD! GIMME MY KEY, GIVE IT, GIVE IT, GIVE IT!"
"Big Brother, what are you doing?!" Aika questioned.
"...Okay, suddenly, I'm very scared," Kumi whimpered.
"Hey, you!" a voice shouted, causing Luffy, Past Zoro, and Past Nami to look up and see an old man wearing some sort of armor on his torso and arms, and strapped to his back was a spear. "What do you think you're doing?! Stop pickin' on poor Chouchou! Leave him alone!"
"Who's that?" Franky asked.
"That's Boodle, the mayor of the town," Nami answered.
Once Luffy left Chouchoue alone, Boodle noticed Past Zoro on the ground and saw his bloody wound. Realizing that the situation, the old man offered to take the swordsman to a doctor, but Past Zoro insisted her just needed to sleep it off. So, Boodle took Past Zoro to his house, instead, to rest.
"Jeez, Moss-head, you think sleep is gonna help you feel better?" Sanji asked. "That only works for Luffy."
"Oh, shut up!" Zoro spat. "You did the same thing, too, remember!"
"Hey, that's different, all right?!" Sanji questioned. "We were ALL exhausted and-"
"All right, all right!" Nami shouted. "Good grief, you guys!"
Meanwhile, Boodle put down a bowl of dog food for Chouchou, who immediately began to gobble up the kibble.
"So this dog's name is Chouchou?" asked Past Nami as she pet Chouchou on the head, which the dog allowed.
"That's right," Boodle answered.
"How come he's the only one here in town?" Luffy asked.
"Because he's guarding this pet store," said Boodle, pointing to the pet store behind him. "I only came here to feed him."
"So he's like a guard dog," Past Nami mused as she looked up at the store.
"10 years ago, his master and my best friend, Hocker, opened up this little shop," Boodle explained as he smoked a pipe. "They've got a lot of good memories in this place...and so do I." He then looked over at Chouchou. "See those scars, there? He's been fighting off the pirates to protect this store."
"I'm sure the shop means a lot to the little guy," Past Nami, "but...this is just plain cruel! Why didn't his master take him to a shelter with him or something?!"
"That's because Hocker's not around anymore," said Boodle, and hearing that caused Blizzard to gasp silently. "Poor old codger got sick and passed away a long time ago. He went to the hospital to get himself checked out, 3 months ago...but he never came back."
"...You mean...Chouchou's been sitting here, waiting this whole time?" asked Past Nami, sadly.
"That seems to be the consensus," said Boodle, "but I find that very hard to believe. Chouchou is a smart dog. I think he's known for a long time that his master's gone."
"If that's true, why does he stay here?" Past Nami asked. "Why continue to guard the store if he knows his master isn't coming back?"
"Because it's his master's store," Boodle answered, simply. "It's all he has left to remember him by and that's why he tries his damnedest to protect it...it's his...treasure."
"...Wow...!" Chopper whispered in awe.
"...So that's why that dog was sitting there," Zoro mused. "Who knew?"
"How loyal," Robin commented.
"BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHH~!" Franky sobbed. "WHAT A GREAT LITTLE DOG!"
"So brave, protecting that little store!" Usopp weeped.
"Indeed...!" Brook agreed, sniffling with tears coming out of his eye sockets.
"...Master...!" Blizzard whispered.
"Hmm?" Aika hummed as she looked up at the wolf-dog. "Blizzard, why are you crying?"
"Huh?" Blizzard muttered before he wiped his eyes and saw that he was indeed crying. "Oh...uh...don't worry about it, Aika."
Suddenly, the moment was interrupted when a loud roar suddenly shook the air.
"What was that?!" Past Nami questioned.
"Hey...I think that was a lion!" Chopper exclaimed.
"It WAS a lion!" Kumi confirmed, cowering as she covered her ears.
"Oh, crap!" Boodle cursed. "It's Beast Tamer Mohji! We gotta get outta here! RUN FOR IT!"
Not wasting a second, he and Past Nami bolted, leaving Luffy and Chouchou behind.
"I can't believe you just up and ditched Luffy like that!" Usopp exclaimed.
"To be fair," Nami began, "Boodle dragged me away."
Luffy sighed as he looked at Chouchou in a pleading manner. "Come on, puppy, something's coming this way. Can I please have the key back?"
Just then, something appeared in the memory: a rather large lion with pale green fur and a lavender mane, and sitting upon his back was a rather skinny man with what looked like a hat in the shape of bear's ears on his head.
"...Is that Mohji?" Sanji asked.
"I guess so," Usopp answered.
"Well, well," said Mohji. "What have we here? My name is Beast Tamer Mohji, and I am Captain Buggy's first mate."
"Wait, HE'S the first mate?" Zoro asked. "I thought it was that unicycle guy...what was his name? Cabbage or something?"
"Zoro, Cabbage is that guy with the white horse," Aika corrected.
"I think you mean Cavendish," Robin spoke.
"Looks like your buddies abandoned you, boy," Mohji said as he glowered down at Luffy, who was still trapped in the cage. "And after all that effort to get you this far, too. Captain Buggy is pretty pissed off. You guys sure caused a ruckus."
"Uh..." Luffy muttered. "What's with that weird bear costume?"
"THAT WAS RUDE!" Mohji shouted as she pointed to his bear's ears. "This is MANLY hair, you twit!"
"That just makes it weirder," Luffy countered.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Mohji barked.
"That's his REAL hair?!" Nami questioned.
"Wow..." Sanji said. "You learn new things everyday."
"You just think you're safe because you're in that cage," Mohji started, "but that's probably because you don't know who I am! There's no beast alive that I cannot tame!" He then pointed to Chouchou. "I could even tame that little mutt, right there! Here, I'll show you." He then got off his lion and approached Chouchou.
"Shake," he commanded...only for Chouchou to fiercely bite his hand. "OUCH!"
"Tame any beast, huh?" Franky quipped.
"I bet he couldn't tame bumblebees," Aika added.
Nami snickered and covered her mouth at this.
"You're nothing to me," Mohji glared. "Now...tell me where Roronoa Zoro is."
"Hell no!" Luffy shouted in defiance.
"Your funeral," Mohji said. "Kill him, Ritchie!"
With a loud roar, Ritchie lunged at Luffy's cage and bit it right open, thus freeing Luffy from his prison.
"Yes! I'm free!" Luffy cheered...only for the lion to slam his paw into his stomach and send him flying, right through a building. He was a little stunned at first, but of course, he got up and dusted himself off. "Phew! That sure surprised me!"
"Again, typical Luffy," Usopp said.
"Thinking back," Nami began, "this was actually pretty tame compared to the present day."
"Wish I could say the same for that house," Sanji said as he looked at the demolished house Luffy went flying through.
"Okay," Luffy said with a determined grin. "Time to kick the crap outta those clowns and make Nami our navigator!"
Not long after, Past Nami and Boodle soon appeared.
"Kid, you're alive!" exclaimed Boodle.
"How in the hell did you survive that?!" Past Nami questioned.
"Eh," Luffy shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"No big deal?!" Past Nami repeated. "You crash through and demolish a whole house, and you get away without even a scratch on you?! That's crazy!"
"Sometimes it's good to be a little crazy," said Luffy.
"It sure is," Nami smiled while the rest of the Straw Hats chuckled.
"Why did you come all this way?" Boodle asked. "Why fight the pirates?"
"Because," Luffy answered, "I just figured out why I'm here. I'm after the map of the Grand Line...and a navigator!"
"Huh?" Past Nami muttered in confusion.
"Anyway, I gotta get going," Luffy said as he turned to head back to the store. "That guy in the weird costume is looking for Zoro, so I better find him before he does."
"Psh!" Zoro scoffed. "Oh, please, like a weakling like him could kill me, even if I was half-dead."
"Are you nuts?!" Boodle yelled. "That lion's gonna rip you to shreds!"
But Luffy ignored him and walked on. It took him a little while, but he managed to get back to the pet store. However, when he looked up...he was shocked to find that the shop was on fire, and poor little Chouchou was barking and howling, tearfully. The Straw Hats could tell by the fresh claw marks on Chouchou's body that he was trying to fight Ritchie off...but he just wasn't strong enough to protect his treasure.
"...No...!" Usopp whispered in horror.
"How awful...!" Chopper gasped.
"...That bastard," Sanji cursed. "How could he do this?!"
"Unforgivable," Brook hissed, his fist shaking.
However, out of all them...Blizzard was the angriest. He growled viciously, his fur bristled up, and his fangs were bare for all to see. Saliva dripped from his mouth and veins appeared on his forehead. Aside from hurting Luffy in front of him...nothing Blizzard more angry than seeing another dog, especially such a loyal dog like Chouchou, have his most precious treasure being destroyed and leaving him to watch it burn. It was far too cruel.
As for Luffy, he just stood there, silent and seemingly blank...but the Straw Hats knew for certain...he was pissed off.
The memory shifted, and soon, it showed Mohji riding on Ritchie as he walked down the street, the latter holding a box of dog food in his mouth. As for Mohji, he was grumbling in irritation as he nursed a bite wound given to him by Chouchou.
"Dammit," cursed Mohji. "Can't believe that mutt actually bit me!"
"Hey," Luffy called, causing Mohji to look up and see him standing in his way.
"What the-?" Mohji questioned. "Hey, I thought I killed you, boy!"
"You really think that's enough to kill me?" Luffy asked.
"Enough of this," Mohji said. "This time, bite his head off, Ritchie!"
On that, Ritchie roared as he lunged at Luffy, but the Straw Hats weren't worried, and neither was he.
"I'm not gonna be beaten by a lion!" Luffy declared as he stretched and twisted his arms around each other, then grabbed Ritchie by the face before he began to spin him. "Now Gum-Gum...HAMMER!"
With that, Luffy threw Ritchie's head right into the cobblestone ground, causing Mohji to scream in horror with tears of fright in his eyes.
"RITCHIE~!" he cried. "WHAT KIND OF FREAK ARE YOU?!"
"...A long time ago," Luffy said, his eyes covered by his hair, since his hat went flying off, "I ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit."
"G-Gum-Gum Fruit?!" Mohji repeated in shock. "Y-Y-You mean you have Devil Fruit powers like Captain Buggy's, only yours make you rubber?!"
Luffy didn't respond...and it was that eerie silence that only scared the so-called Beast Tamer even more than usual.
"I-I'm sorry!" Mohji cried. "Just please, let me go!"
"What a coward," Nami said.
"I'll say," agreed Zoro.
"His lion gets beaten, and he turns into a snivelling baby," Sanji added. "What a joke."
"It's too late to apologize, now," Luffy said as he began to stand up. "Because of you, that dog will never get his treasure back." He then turned and sent a fierce death glare at Mohji. "And now...I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"Do it, Luffy...!" Blizzard hissed. "Break his damn jaw!"
As if he heard him, Luffy stretched his arm while reeling one fist back, then pulled Mohji toward him before he punched the Beast Tamer right in the mouth, sending him to the ground in seconds. After that one hit, Luffy turned and walked away from him.
"So, he's gonna just leave him there?" asked Franky.
"One hit was all it took," said Zoro. "Since he was knocked out, there was no need for Luffy to keep pummeling."
"And even Luffy wouldn't beat up an unconscious men," said Nami.
With Mohji and Ritchie vanquished, Luffy picked up the dog food and walked back to the remains of the pet store. There, he found Chouchou, as well as Past Nami and Boodle. For some reason, the former looked very angry upon seeing Luffy.
"So, you're still alive, are you, pirate?!" she asked. "I was actually hoping that lion would eat you!" She then tried to rush at Luffy, but Boodle held her back. "I should kill you, right here and now, so you won't be able to gather a crew and plunder another town!"
"Take it easy!" Boodle urged.
"...You didn't think that Luffy was the one who burned down the store, did you?" Usopp asked.
"I honestly did," Nami answered, remorsefully, "but...it was the next scene that actually proved me wrong."
"You can't stand a chance against me," Luffy said, sticking his tongue out at Past Nami.
"WHAT?!" she questioned. "Well, if that's what you think, then let's go! RIGHT NOW!"
"Calm down, will you?!" Boodle asked...and at that moment, Luffy approached Chouchou...and put down the box of dog food, to Past Nami's surprise.
"Here you go," Luffy said as he sat next to Chouchou. "Sorry, that was all I could get. That bastard lion ate the rest of it."
Upon seeing that gesture, Blizzard and Kumi felt their hearts soften, while Aika smiled in awe.
"That was the moment I finally realized," Nami began, "that Luffy wasn't like all those pirates. He had kindness and compassion...something I never thought I'd ever see in a pirate."
"Luffy sure can change the mindsets of some people, huh?" Robin asked.
"He sure changed mine," Nami said. "Slowly, but surely."
"You fought well," Luffy praised Chouchou. "Of course, I wasn't there to see it, but I could tell you gave it your all!"
A pause...but then Chouchou picked up the box, then got up and began to walk away. However, he turned around and barked happily at Luffy.
"What'd he say?" Franky asked.
"He said 'Thank you. I'll never forget you,'" Chopper said with teary eyes.
"Good luck to you, too!" Luffy called, and with that, Chouchou took the remainder of his treasure...and walked away.
"That was...beautiful...!" Chopper whispered.
"Man...Luffy just never ceases to amaze," Usopp said.
"All this for one dog," Brook added. "It's so heartwarming."
"You're tellin' me," said Sanji.
"BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH~!" Franky sobbed. "WHAT A GREAT, MANLY LITTLE DOG, THAT CHOUCHOU! AND THAT LUFFY IS JUST AS GREAT, DEFENDING HIS TREASURE LIKE THAT!"
"...Big Brother's so amazing," Aika said. "It's moments like this that make me so proud of him."
"You said it, kiddo," Zoro smirked.
As for Blizzard, he was utterly speechless. To think, he wasn't the only dog that Luffy went so far for. In fact, if he didn't know better, the wolf-dog felt that he and Chouchou were kindred spirits, in a way.
Just then, Past Nami approached Luffy, who blinked up at her before she smiled and said "Sorry for yelling at you like that...no hard feelings?"
A pause...but then Luffy smiled before he stood up and dusted his pants.
"Yeah, no hard feelings," he replied. "I know you lost someone close to you to pirates, so I can understand that. Not that I wanna know how it happened and all that."
Past Nami only sighed, while the current Nami smiled warmly. Robin, as if understanding, quietly put her hand on her shoulder, causing her to smile at the archaeologist.
"Rrrrrrgh...!" Boodle growled before he threw his head up to the heavens and roared in anger. "THAT'S IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
"Whoa, what's he off of?!" Sanji questioned.
"Hell if I know!" Franky answered.
"I can't stand those bastard pirates, ruining my town, anymore!" Boodle shouted. "Not after seeing how hard you and Chouchou fought back with such bravery! What kind of mayor just sits back and lets his town get demolished?!"
"Mr. Mayor, please!" Past Nami urged. "You have to calm down!"
"QUIET!" Boodle barked. "A MAN HAS TO DO WHAT A MAN HAS TO DO! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, BOY?!"
"Heh!" Luffy smirked. "You got it, old-timer!"
"Oh, boy," Blizzard said. "Why am I not surprised about this, at all?"
"Old man sure talks a lot of sense," Franky grinned.
"Another man, swayed by Luffy's craziness," Sanji added, though he sounded rather proud.
"Are you nuts?!" Past Nami questioned. "Don't encourage him like that!"
"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked.
Boodle then ranted on about how he and his townspeople founded the town 40 years prior, how it was nothing but a wilderness when they had first arrived on this island to escape from the town that pirates had destroyed long ago. Boodle rallied everyone together to create a new town, starting with just a few homes, but as time went on, the population grew bigger. People opened up shops and got jobs, and before anyone realized it, the town had become a thriving port.
"This whole town is our life's work!" Boodle exclaimed. "This town and its people...ARE MY TREASURE~!"
Luffy and Past Nami only looked at the old-timer with seemingly blank expressions while the current Straw Hats only stared in surprise.
"I'd be a sorry excuse for a mayor if I didn't protect my town!" Boodle shouted as he raised his spear. "I'M GONNA FIGHT!"
"Is he crazy?!" Chopper questioned. "He doesn't stand a chance against those pirates!"
"He knows that," Zoro replied, but before he could say much more, a huge explosion suddenly shook the memory, and before anyone realized what happened, another block of the town had been destroyed, among them being Boodle's house, where Past Zoro was resting.
"NO!" Boodle cried. "MY HOUSE!"
"OH, CRAP, ZORO WAS IN THERE!" Luffy yelled in alarm.
As the dust began to settle, an uneasy silence followed.
"There's no way the kid with the haramaki would've survived that!" Boodle said.
"You obviously don't know Zoro that well," Usopp spoke.
"Nope," Blizzard agreed.
"Zoro!" Luffy called out. "Are you okay?!"
At that moment, someone emerged from the wreckage, and it was soon revealed to be Past Zoro, who groaned as he put his hand to his forehead, groggily.
"Ugh...!" he groaned. "Damn, that was one hell of an alarm clock!"
"Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed in relief. "You're okay!"
"...How could anyone survive that?!" Past Nami questioned.
"That, I'm STILL wondering to this day," Nami said, as if empathizing with her past self.
"Dammit, that tears it!" cursed Boodle. "I can't take any more of this! I won't lost any more of this town to those damn bastard pirates! They show up here, thinking they can just do whatever they damned well please, but I won't let them destroy 40 years of hard work! I'M THE MAYOR AND I WON'T TAKE THIS LYING DOWN!" With that, he turned and ran off, although Past Nami tried to stop him. "IT'S TIME FOR ME TO FIGHT!"
"No, wait!" Past Nami cried. "Stop, Mister Mayor!"
"Let go of me, girlie!" Boodle shouted.
"Mayor Boodle, please!" Past Nami urged. "I know you're upset, but getting yourself killed won't accomplish anything! Please, don't be reckless!"
"YEAH, I KNOW IT'S RECKLESS!" Boodle yelled as he turned to Nami...with tears welling up in his eyes, to Past Nami's surprise while Luffy and Past Zoro stared blankly. Before they could stop him, the mayor ran off to Buggy's hideout.
"He was...crying?" Aika asked.
"But why?" asked Kumi.
"I see now," Brook said. "He was prepared to die for his town."
"Even though he actually didn't want to," Sanji said. "He loved this town so much, he hated to see it continue to thrive without him."
"The Mayor," Past Nami said. "He was...crying."
"Heh!" Luffy smirked. "Didn't look like that, to me!"
"Looks like things are finally getting interesting, eh, Luffy?" Past Zoro asked.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed with his hands in his pockets. "Yup!"
"How can you laugh at something like this?!" Past Nami questioned in disbelief.
"Don't worry about it," Luffy assured. "I like that old guy! I'm not gonna just stand by and let him get killed!"
"How can you say that with that smug grin on your face?!" Past Nami asked. "What do you have to gain out of any of this?!"
"Duh!" Luffy answered. "We're headed for the Grand Line! We'll get that map back and then we can all go together! You, me, and Zoro!" He then held out his hand to her. "So come on! Join us! You want the map and Buggy's treasure, right?"
A pause...but then Past Nami sneered.
"I told you before," she began, "I will NEVER be a pirate." She then sighed before she smacked Luffy's hand. "Let's just say we'll join forces, for now...since we both have a common goal."
"Works for me!" Luffy grinned.
"You sure were stubborn back then, eh, Nami?" Franky asked.
"Yeah, I sure was," Nami answered, although she had this fond smile on her face. "Sure, I realized Luffy wasn't totally selfish and barbaric, like most pirates are...but I wasn't totally convinced to join up with him, completely, back then."
Robin merely chuckled in amusement.
The memory shifted, once again, and Luffy, Past Zoro (who was wearing his bandanna), and Past Nami were seen walking towards the pub, where they saw Boodle confronting Buggy and his crew. However, it almost looked like Boodle was somehow being lifted up into the air.
"Is he floating?" asked Usopp.
"Nope," Sanji answered. "Take a closer look."
Upon closer inspection, they saw that Buggy was using his severed hand to strangle the poor mayor, who was struggling to get him to let go, while the Clown Pirate was ranting on about how all the treasure in the world belonged to him.
"Y-you...monster...!" Boodle gagged.
"Oh, no!" Chopper cried. "He's gonna die!"
"This isn't good!" Kumi yelled. "What are we gonna do?!"
"Big Brother's gonna save him, right?!" Aika asked.
"DAMN YOU, BUGGY!" Boodle cursed as blood spilled from his mouth. "GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"
"Please," Buggy said, completely unamused. "You're not worth the effort."
Before he could completely strangle the mayor, all of a sudden, Luffy appeared with Past Zoro and Past Nami standing behind him, and he managed to pry Buggy's hand off from Boodle's neck, to the Clown Pirate's ire.
"That boy in the straw hat again?!" he questioned.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy snickered before he glared up at Buggy. "I'm here to kick your ass, just like I promised I would, Buggy!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time on One Piece: The Fire Within!
Buggy: Damn you, Straw Hat!
Past Nami: You guys can handle the fighting, but I'm just here for the treasure.
Past Zoro: Fine.
Boodle: I told you all to stay outta this! This is my fight!
Cabaji: I'll cut you all to pieces!
Past Zoro: *blocks his sword* Back off, you circus freak.
Buggy: Time for you to die, Straw Hat!
Luffy: *holds up his hat* ...You bastard...!
Next time: Duel
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