Lorne trailed far behind, found a sturdy branch to sit on, and watched the scene with great interest.
For a nine-year-old Luffy to be able to outrun a herd of wild boars was a constitution that hardly seemed human.
Lorne marveled inwardly, but on second thought, if his constitution weren't good, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand his Marine hero grandfather's "Fist of Love."
While Lorne was thinking, he saw the fleeing Luffy suddenly stop. He let out a roar and grabbed two distant tree trunks with both hands.
His arms stretched dramatically in a way that defied physical common sense, his body pulled taut like a fully drawn bow.
"Gum-Gum—"
"Bazooka!"
Luffy roared, using the immense recoil generated by the rubber's contraction to turn himself into a human cannonball, slamming violently into the lead wild boar.
*Bang!*
With a dull thud, the wild boar that took the direct hit let out a cry of pain, its massive body rolling back several times before crashing heavily to the ground.
However, the wild boar was thick-skinned and fleshy, so that seemingly powerful blow dealt quite limited damage.
Only a few seconds later, the wild boar shook its dizzy head and stood up again, its blood-red eyes staring fixedly at Luffy.
At the same time, the other wild boars took the opportunity to swarm forward, instantly surrounding Luffy.
Luffy's desperate counterattack had instead caused him to lose any chance of escape.
Seeing the tusks approaching from all directions and hearing the malicious grunts, the courage Luffy had just mustered vanished instantly.
He let out a "Waaah" and burst into loud wailing on the spot.
"Waaaah, Ace, where are you? Come save me..."
Watching from the tree in the distance, Lorne couldn't help but sigh.
This poor kid!
He was running just fine, but he just had to turn back and fight. Now look, he's been cornered!
Although he knew that with Luffy's protagonist aura he certainly wouldn't die, he couldn't just watch the future pirate king get gored by a pack of wild boars; that scene would be too painful to watch.
Well, consider it a daily good deed!
Lorne's figure flickered slightly, and an almost imperceptible ice crystal flower bloomed beneath his feet and shattered instantly.
In the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot without a trace.
*Swish!*
Lorne's figure appeared beside Luffy without warning, the slight breeze fluttering the straw hat on Luffy's head.
The wailing Luffy was startled by this sudden turn of events, his crying cutting off abruptly.
A moment of confusion also flashed in the eyes of the wild boars surrounding them.
They didn't understand how this stranger had appeared, but that didn't stop them from categorizing him as prey as well.
The herd of wild boars became restless again, closing in on the center and tightening the circle.
Lorne was just about to deal with these nuisances when he suddenly noticed that the aggressive wild boars' movements froze.
Then, as if they had encountered a terrifying natural predator, the large herd of wild boars let out panicked screams, scrambled to turn around, and fled into the depths of the dense forest in terror, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Hmm?
Lorne found it strange; he hadn't even released his aura yet, so how could they be so frightened?
Was there an even more intimidating presence in this forest? He hadn't felt anything!
Just as he was wondering, a powerful voice filled with obvious displeasure and complaining came from above his head without warning.
"Where did this brat come from! Taking it upon yourself to save someone!"
"Do you have any idea how much effort I put into finding this herd of wild boars?!"
This voice!
Lorne's whole body stiffened, a chill racing from his spine to the crown of his head.
When?
He hadn't felt any presence approaching at all!
With his current refined perception of magic, his range covered over a thousand meters!
Lorne instinctively looked up sharply.
He saw the sunlight above blocked by a massive shadow, and a fist larger than a sandbag was coming straight down toward the crown of his head!
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