After being tormented by Droopy for what felt like an eternity, Zoro finally accepted the cruel truth.
He was not dreaming.
The dog named Droopy not only spoke like a human, but also possessed terrifying teleportation-like abilities.
And the red rabbit he had seen earlier really was a monster.
It had wiped out the entire royal family of the Goa Kingdom and publicly sent a World Noble to a very peaceful death.
In Shells Town—
inside a ramen shop—
Zoro devoured bowl after bowl of noodles while listening to the conversations around him.
There were not many customers, but they came from all walks of life.
Two of them were Marines stationed at the local base. Sitting across from them were several bounty hunters. The rest were ordinary townspeople.
Even so, despite their different backgrounds, every single one of them was talking about the same thing—
the red rabbit that had thrown East Blue into chaos.
From them, Zoro heard all kinds of details about Da Hong's crimes.
He even got to see the bounty poster itself in the hands of one of the bounty hunters.
Five hundred million beli.
The number was so ridiculous it bordered on madness.
During the entire discussion, Zoro did not join in once.
Only after filling his stomach did he quietly take a deep breath, stand up, and walk outside.
Droopy was waiting for him in a dim, unremarkable corner beyond the ramen shop, holding a newspaper in both paws and reading it with remarkable focus.
Seeing that, Zoro no longer hesitated. He strode straight up to him and asked in a low voice, "There are so many bounty hunters in this town. Why did you have to pick me?"
"Those bounty hunters aren't reliable."
Droopy did not even look up from the paper.
"You seem easier to fo—" He paused for a fraction of a second. "—to work with."
Zoro's mouth twitched.
For a moment, he genuinely did not know what to say.
"You've eaten?"
Droopy folded up the newspaper and trotted excitedly over, rare enthusiasm shining in his eyes.
"Fifty-fifty. What do you say?"
"First, let's go see whether that red rabbit is still there."
Zoro cut straight to the point. "If he's still there, then—"
"He is, he is." Droopy nodded quickly, unable to hide his excitement. "Because we're good brothers. Well… in your world's terms, that should be called partners."
"You're partners?"
Zoro thought he had misheard.
He stared at Droopy in disbelief.
"He's your partner, and you still want to turn him in for the bounty?"
"Cough… well." Droopy's eyes shifted slightly. "The reward they're offering is just too much."
At once, Zoro grew wary.
"So when the red rabbit killed the Goa Kingdom royals and that Celestial Dragon… were you involved too?"
Droopy waved a paw dismissively.
"I don't like fighting and killing."
Zoro was not convinced.
Droopy, meanwhile, had already lost interest in explaining. He suddenly grabbed Zoro by the waistband and said briskly, "Let's go."
"Ahhh—!"
The moment the words left Droopy's mouth, Zoro felt his entire body lift into the air.
Before his yell had even finished, the streets of Shells Town vanished from his sight and turned into a forest.
At the same time, that familiar scritch-scritch sound of shoe polishing came from in front of him again.
The realization hit him instantly.
In less than a second, Droopy had brought him all the way from town back to the forest where he had first met the dog and the rabbit.
Zoro's scream died on the spot.
A shiver ran down his spine.
So Droopy could not only teleport himself—
he could bring other people along too.
"Da Hong, he agreed!"
Droopy strolled up to the rabbit at an easy pace, then—like a magician pulling props from thin air—produced a rope and a sack.
"What took you so long?"
Da Hong frowned slightly.
"Played a little game of cat and mouse with him."
As he spoke, Droopy began tying Da Hong up tightly with the rope.
Still, he deliberately left the rabbit's hands free.
After all, Da Hong liked reading newspapers and polishing his beloved canvas sneakers at all times.
More importantly, Droopy had no desire whatsoever to dirty those sneakers and accidentally trigger Da Hong's berserk state.
"Da Hong, bear with it for a while."
Once the ropes were secure, Droopy held up the sack and said carefully, "Until we get the money, you absolutely must not lose control. Just think of it as… doing it for Master."
Da Hong nodded.
Without waiting for help, he climbed into the sack himself and continued polishing his shoe inside.
"Come on, kid."
After tying the sack shut, Droopy turned back to Zoro, who still looked completely disoriented.
"Take Da Hong to the Marines. Fame and fortune are both waving at you."
"Oh, right—if the Marines ask questions, don't mention me. Just say you found Da Hong drifting weakly at sea and captured him while he was vulnerable. Don't mess that part up."
Zoro did not answer that directly.
Instead, he stared wide-eyed at Droopy and snapped, "You two are obviously partners. Even if you hate fighting, how can you sell him out for five hundred million beli?"
Zoro truly could not understand these two at all.
From his point of view, partners were supposed to share blessings and burdens alike.
If it had been him, then even if his partner had caused a disaster, even if the whole world turned against them, he would never betray them for a few hundred million beli.
"Don't ask. I just like money."
Droopy clearly had no interest in debating loyalty with him.
He cut straight to the point.
"Take Da Hong to the Marine base in Shells Town and hand him over. Find a Marine officer named Morgan. That was my original plan, anyway. Though you don't have to find him specifically. As long as you get the bounty, it's fine."
Zoro stopped trying to figure out what kind of bizarre trick the dog and rabbit were playing.
Then he answered cleanly, "I don't want a single coin of the reward. Once I hand him over and the bounty is paid, you're not allowed to appear in front of me ever again."
"Deal."
Droopy walked over to the tree, pulled out his newspaper again, and said lazily, "Go on, kid. I'll wait here for your good news."
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