Chapter 13: Run After Showing Off
"Tatsuya! I can't believe you actually found this place!!"
Looking at the black-haired youth standing on the perimeter wall, Luffy, inside the cage, pressed his face against the bars and shouted.
"Hurry up and get this cage open! I want to get out and punch that red-nosed guy!"
Zoro, following close behind, arrived panting as well.
He looked at Luffy, who was trapped in the iron cage like a monkey, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch violently.
"Hey, Luffy, what kind of new game are you playing now?"
"Hee hee hee! I actually think it's pretty fun," Luffy said, showing absolutely no sign of self-reflection.
At that moment, Tatsuya jumped lightly down from the wall, shielding the still somewhat shaken Nami behind him.
He turned around and gave Nami that signature smile.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Nami. I am your Vice Captain, Tatsuya."
Nami looked at the boy before her, who had just used a single move to instantly defeat over a dozen pirates, and forced herself to calm down.
"Hey! Don't act so familiar!" Nami took a wary half-step back. "I never said I'd join you guys! Don't think that just because you saved me, I'll agree to become a pirate!"
"Hey!! You red-eyed brat!!"
An angry roar interrupted their conversation.
Buggy stood on the high platform, so enraged that his split-apart body was trembling as he pointed at Tatsuya and cursed.
"Who do you think you are?! Don't you know this is the territory of the great 'Buggy the Clown'?! How dare you blow away my subordinates!"
Tatsuya completely ignored Buggy's impotent rage.
He maintained his smiling expression but leaned down to pick up the match the pirate had dropped on the ground earlier.
Then, under the horrified gaze of all the pirates, he grabbed the barrel of the massive Buggy Cannon with one hand.
*Creak—*
The muzzle slowly rotated until the dark, hollow barrel was pointed straight at Buggy and his crew on the platform.
"Zoro! Forget about the cage for now; carry Luffy and this lady and get out of here first."
Tatsuya waved his hand without looking back at Zoro.
"I'll be right there after I perform one last show for the audience."
Zoro took one look at the muzzle that was ready to fire and instantly understood Tatsuya's plan.
"Tsk, what a reckless Vice Captain."
Without another word, Zoro hoisted the heavy iron cage containing Luffy and then spoke to Nami.
"Let's go! If you don't want to die, run faster!"
"Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing?! That thing is loaded with a Special Buggy Ball!!"
Looking at the dark muzzle aimed at him, cold sweat instantly soaked Buggy's back, and his eyes nearly popped out in terror.
The other pirates raised their hands in panic to stop him.
"Stop!! You'll die! People will really die!"
"Oh? So you guys also know that getting blown up leads to death?"
Tatsuya struck the match, the flame reflecting in his emotionless eyes.
"I just wanted everyone to experience the weapon you're so proud of. It's just... a little role reversal."
As he spoke, he loosened his fingers, and the burning match drifted down, igniting the fuse.
"Stop right now, ahhh!!!" Buggy screamed in despair.
At the moment of ignition, the Chakra beneath Tatsuya's feet erupted, and he retreated backward at extreme speed.
The next second.
*Boom—!!!*
A roar even more deafening than before resounded through the sky.
The power of a Special Buggy Ball exploding at close range was terrifying.
The entire top floor of the bar was instantly swallowed by red flames, and the solid masonry turned to ash like crumbling tofu.
The skull flag, the symbol of the Buggy Pirates' authority, was also instantly vaporized by the explosion's shockwave, leaving nothing behind.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the air.
While retreating, Tatsuya looked back at the brilliant "fireworks" and couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Is this the power of the Buggy Ball? I almost want to swipe a few to take back."
[Ding! Used a "Buggy Ball" to heavily damage the Buggy Pirates.]
[Combat Evaluation: A (Giving them a taste of their own medicine).]
[Ninja Points Obtained: 200 points.]
Hearing the system notification, Tatsuya smiled with satisfaction and waved toward the ruins.
"Hehe, no need to thank me. Red-nose, Captain Buggy."
After speaking, he fled the scene quickly without looking back.
That "Fireball Jutsu" earlier had cost him a full quarter of his Chakra.
Right now, he was still just a "Genin" with a short mana bar.
Taking on the entire frenzied Buggy Pirates crew alone would actually be quite taxing.
Tatsuya's Rule Number One: Run after showing off—it's a real thrill.
...
On the other side, in the streets of Orange Town.
Zoro was sprinting down the street, carrying the massive iron cage as if it were a bag of cotton.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
Nami was panting as she chased from behind. "You're running too fast!"
Hearing this, Zoro slowed his pace slightly.
"Hey, Luffy." Zoro pointed at Nami behind him as he ran. "Who is that woman? Is she the companion you were looking for?"
"Hee hee hee, that's right!" Luffy sat in the jolting cage, still laughing happily. "She's Nami, the Navigator we've been looking for!"
At that moment, Nami finally caught up and immediately retorted upon hearing those words.
"Hey! I never said I'd join you... Hey! You green-haired moss-head!!"
Nami suddenly pointed at Zoro and shouted.
"Huh? What?" Zoro stopped in his tracks.
"Why are you heading that way? That's a dead end!"
Nami pointed in the opposite direction in frustration. "Aren't we supposed to be escaping? It's this way!!"
Having triggered his passive lack of direction, Zoro's face flushed red.
"Tsk, the layout of this town is just too weird. I was just trying to scout the path."
Nami rolled her eyes and helplessly led the way. "Keep up and don't get lost!"
The three of them ran for a distance, and after confirming there were no pursuers, they slowed down.
"Hey, that red-eyed man just now... who is he exactly?" Nami couldn't help but ask. "That ability to breathe fire, is that also a Devil Fruit?"
"That bastard is our Vice Captain, Tatsuya," Zoro grunted.
"Hee hee hee, Tatsuya is really strong! And he's an interesting magician!" Luffy laughed loudly. "Don't worry, he'll definitely catch up."
"I told you I'm not joining you! And I wasn't worried about him!"
Shortly after, the three of them finally arrived in front of a seemingly ordinary Pet Food Shop.
Squatting by the shop door was a small white dog, guarding the entrance motionlessly.
"Phew... we're here. This place should be safe for now."
Zoro set the massive iron cage down heavily on the ground. "Let's wait for Tatsuya here for a bit."
"Wow! A puppy!"
Luffy couldn't sit still even while locked in the cage; he squirmed like a caterpillar, rolling the cage all the way to the little dog named Chouchou.
"Hey, doggy, I'm hungry. Do you have any meat to eat?"
"Woof!" Chouchou barked fiercely.
Nami watched this ridiculous scene and sighed helplessly, then, as if remembering something, she slapped her forehead.
"Ah, speaking of which, I completely forgot."
Nami reached into her shirt and pulled out a shiny key, dangling it in front of Zoro.
"The key to the cage. I actually stole it on my way out."
Total silence.
Zoro looked at the key, his forehead covered in black lines, and he couldn't help but roar.
"If you had the key, why didn't you say so earlier!! I carried this damn cage halfway across town for nothing!!"
"You didn't ask," Nami said, spreading her hands defensively. "Besides, the situation was so urgent back then."
"Also, don't get the wrong idea. I just don't want to owe that Tatsuya guy a favor. Since he saved me, I'll release your Captain to call it even."
With that, Nami casually tossed the key toward Luffy.
"Catch, Luffy."
"Hee hee hee! Great! I'm saved..." Luffy excitedly stretched his arm out to catch it.
However, just as the key traced an arc through the air and was about to land in Luffy's hand.
Chouchou, who had been sitting still nearby, suddenly displayed incredible jumping power.
*Chomp!*
Chouchou leaped high and precisely caught the key in mid-air with its mouth.
Then it landed, maintaining that same expressionless guarding posture.
"..."
Luffy froze.
Zoro froze.
Nami also froze.
The three of them looked at the dog, falling into a long state of daze.
"'Anything that falls on the ground is mine'—is that what it's thinking?!" Zoro shouted in frustration.
"Ah!! Dammit, dammit!!"
Luffy snapped out of it, reaching out to grab Chouchou and shaking him frantically.
"That's not dog food! That's my key! Spit it out! Spit it out, you stupid dog!!"
"Woof woof woof!!"
In the midst of this chaotic scene, a figure dropped down from the roof.
Tatsuya had finally caught up in a hurry.
He looked at the scene of Luffy fighting a dog for a key, and his mouth twitched slightly.
He had clearly changed so much of the plot. But this key... was still swallowed by this dog?
"Is this the so-called... world's self-correction force?"
Tatsuya shook his head helplessly, walked over to everyone, and waved his hand.
"Hey, I'm back. Seems like I missed a good show?"
...
Meanwhile.
The former Buggy Pirates base had been reduced to ruins.
Black smoke billowed.
Buggy sat on the ground looking wretched; his originally magnificent clown suit was torn and tattered, and his red nose was covered in black soot.
Although he had relied on the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit to avoid fatal injuries in the explosion,
the sense of wretchedness and humiliation made his entire body tremble.
"Unforgivable... absolutely unforgivable..."
Buggy's face was grim, his eyes burning with the fire of revenge.
"Those brats... they are declaring war on me! How dare they blow up my castle!"
Suddenly, a soul-shaking lion's roar came from behind the ruins.
"Roar—!!"
A Beast Tamer riding a giant lion slowly emerged from the smoke and dust.
"It seems you've run into some trouble, Captain Buggy."
Mohji, the Beast Tamer with the strange hairstyle, took one look at the carnage around them and spoke calmly.
"You're here, Mohji." Buggy looked up, his gaze cold.
"Can I go and take the heads of those brats, Captain Buggy?" Mohji stroked the mane of the giant lion, Richie. "My Richie is starving."
Buggy picked up a broken throwing knife from the ground and stabbed it fiercely into the earth.
"Go. Tear that Straw Hat brat and that red-eyed bastard... into pieces!!"