Chapter 14: Lion-Brand Can Opener
"Hey! You brats! Don't you dare bully Chouchou!"
A vigorous roar interrupted everyone's thoughts.
A white-haired old man wearing armor and round glasses walked over aggressively, waving a broom in his hand, shielding the little dog named Chouchou.
"Huh? Who are you, old man?" Zoro asked with his arms crossed, a look of impatience on his face.
"I am the Mayor of this town, Boodle!" The old man stared warily at the group. "As for you, who are you? Why are you here?"
Luffy, lying in the cage, pressed his face against the bars, revealing a row of bright white teeth.
"I'm Luffy! I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
*Slap.*
Tatsuya, Zoro, and even Nami all facepalmed in unison.
This guy really has to advertise his pirate status everywhere he goes.
"What?! Pirates?!"
Mayor Boodle's face changed drastically, and his grip on the broom tightened.
"I knew it! You're just like Buggy's crew! Please leave immediately! Pirates are not welcome here!"
"Hey, old man." Zoro sighed helplessly. "We're not like Buggy's lot. We're just passing through, so relax."
"I'll never believe the lies of a pirate!" Boodle shouted stubbornly.
While the two sides were at a standstill, Tatsuya ignored the argument. He knelt down and reached out to give the little dog named Chouchou a good head rub.
The texture was nice—very fluffy.
"A pet, huh..."
Looking into Chouchou's determined, bead-like black eyes, Tatsuya's thoughts drifted into his mind as he opened the system's [Summoned Beast] interface.
As a Ninja, how could he not have a Summoned Beast?
However, when he saw the strings of numbers, his heart sank halfway.
[Ninja Hound]: Price 2,000 Ninja Points.
[Summoned Crow]: Price 3,000 Ninja Points.
[Mount Myōboku Toad (Medium)]: Price 5,000 Ninja Points.
[Kurama]: Price 10,000,000 Ninja Points.
"Hmm..." Tatsuya looked at his pitiful three-digit balance and silently closed the interface.
Forget it, I'll just catch one of the Sea Kings to make do later.
At this moment, Nami also walked over, gently patting Chouchou's head before turning her gaze toward Tatsuya.
"Hey, thanks for saving me earlier. That fire-breathing ability... did you eat a Devil Fruit too?"
Tatsuya smiled and placed a finger against his lips.
"Don't mention it, Miss Navigator. As for that... it's a magician's secret."
"Hmph, keeping secrets." Nami pursed her lips and changed the subject. "By the way, what is this dog doing just sitting here?"
"Watching the shop."
Perhaps noticing that Tatsuya and Nami meant no harm to the dog, Mayor Boodle's tone softened slightly.
He stepped forward and pulled a bag of dog food from his coat.
"Watching the shop?" Nami looked up. "Ah, this is a pet supply store, isn't it?"
"Yes, the owner of this shop was a good friend of mine."
Boodle opened the shop door, skillfully took out a food bowl, filled it with dog food, and placed it in front of Chouchou. "I'm feeding Chouchou in his place."
"In his place?"
"Yes." Boodle's eyes dimmed. "The owner of this shop passed away from illness three months ago."
Nami was stunned, looking at the little dog bowing its head to eat the dog food.
"Could it be... it's been waiting for its owner to return?"
"Everyone says so. But I think, perhaps to Chouchou, this shop is the most precious memory of its owner—a treasure it will protect even at the cost of its life."
Boodle looked at Chouchou, his eyes full of affection.
"Ah... that's so touching." Nami couldn't help but feel moved.
Right in the middle of this warm and touching moment...
*Gulp...*
An ill-timed swallowing sound rang out.
Tatsuya turned his head to see Luffy in the cage, face pressed against the bars, staring intently at the dog food in Chouchou's bowl, drooling all over the place.
"That looks so delicious..."
A vein popped on Tatsuya's forehead, and he couldn't help but say, "Luffy, that's Chouchou's dog food..."
"Has your diet expanded to this extent?"
Before he could finish, Tatsuya's expression suddenly changed.
He stood up abruptly, brows furrowed, his dark eyes instantly scanning toward the end of the street.
"What's wrong?" Nami was startled by his movement.
"Nami, take the Mayor and leave here first."
Tatsuya's voice turned cold.
Beside him, Zoro also keenly sensed something. His hand rested on his sword hilt, a bellicose smile curling on his lips.
"Yeah, some guys with killing intent are coming. Leave the rest to us."
"Enemies?" Nami's face went pale, and she immediately grabbed Boodle's hand. "Let's go! Mayor!"
Boodle still wanted to pick up Chouchou: "Chouchou! Come with me! It's dangerous!"
"Woof!"
However, Chouchou barked at the Mayor and stood firmly at the shop's entrance, refusing to leave by even half a step.
"He won't leave!" Boodle was sweating profusely with anxiety.
"There's no time!" Nami glanced at the dust rising in the distance, gritted her teeth, and forcibly pulled the Mayor toward the back alley. "Tatsuya! I'm leaving it to you guys!"
Just as the two of them evacuated...
"ROAR—!!!"
A deafening lion's roar echoed through the street.
Then, the ground vibrated violently.
*BOOM!*
A giant lion, as massive as an elephant, descended from the sky, slamming heavily onto the ground in front of Luffy and the others, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Whoa! A huge lion! It looks like it has so much meat!" Even in the cage, Luffy's focus remained bizarre.
The dust cleared.
Sitting on the lion's back was a Beast Tamer wearing a fur scarf and sporting a strange hairstyle.
Mohji looked down at them from above, flicking his whip with an arrogant expression.
"So you're that audacious red-eyed kid, and the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro?"
"Hmph, I didn't expect you guys to still be here. It saves me the trouble of looking for you."
"A nobody talking big."
Zoro snorted coldly and slowly drew the Wado Ichimonji. "Do you think you're invincible just because you're riding a big cat?"
"It certainly saves us the trouble of finding you, you stupid fuzzy-man."
Veins bulged on Mohji's forehead. "A nobody?! Fuzzy-man?! You are beyond arrogant! I am the Vice Captain of the Buggy Pirates, the Beast Tamer Mohji!"
"Ah! I want to eat meat!" Luffy shouted from the cage.
This completely enraged Mohji.
"Argh! Shut up! Richie! Eat them!"
Mohji swung his whip violently.
"ROAR!"
The giant lion named Richie let out a roar, kicked off with its hind legs, and its massive body soared into the air.
It opened its bloody maw, lunging at Zoro in the front with a gust of foul wind!
The strike was incredibly heavy, making the air boom with the force of the impact.
Zoro's eyes narrowed as he prepared to sidestep and counter with his blade.
"Excuse me."
A voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
Tatsuya didn't dodge; instead, he exerted force with both hands and hoisted the heavy iron cage containing Luffy.
Chakra erupted, and his strength was bolstered in that instant.
"Since you're a lion, help us open this can!"
Tatsuya shouted. Instead of protecting Luffy, he threw the iron cage like a bowling ball, precisely into Richie's path of attack!
"Huh?! Tatsuya, what are you doing!!" Luffy screamed in terror from inside the cage.
The next second...
*BAM—!!!*
Richie's massive lion paw, strong enough to crush boulders, slammed hard against the iron cage.
The once indestructible iron cage instantly deformed and twisted under the beast's monstrous strength.
With a piercing sound of metal snapping, it completely disintegrated!
"Wahoo! I'm out!!"
Luffy bounced out from the shattered cage, excitedly raising his hands in cheer.
"You're the best, Tatsuya! Finally free!"
However...
Before he could enjoy even a second of it...
Richie's paw didn't stop after crushing the cage. Carrying the residual force, the massive paw pad slapped right onto Luffy's face.
*SMACK!*
"Waaah—!"
The newly freed Luffy was swatted away like a fly, turning into a blur as he crashed into the nearby ruins with a loud bang.
Silence fell over the scene.
Mohji, sitting on the lion's back, watched the flying Luffy and snorted triumphantly. He slowly raised one finger:
"One."