The iron bars of the cage dug into Luffy's shoulders as Zoro heaved it onto his back, muscles straining. The swordsman's breath came in ragged gasps.
"Move!" Zoro barked, already sprinting toward the nearest alley as Buggy's furious roar echoed behind them.
"Hey, who's the girl?" Zoro grunted, not breaking stride.
"I'm nobody," Nami snapped, keeping pace beside them. "Just a thief who picked the wrong pocket."
"She's gonna be our navigator!" Luffy announced from inside his mobile prison, grinning as if he weren't trapped in a steel box.
"I am NOT!" Nami shot back, but she followed anyway—because the alternative was facing Buggy's wrath alone.
Behind them, chaos erupted. Buggy's crew stumbled to their feet, discovering the empty space where their prisoners had been.
"The key!" one pirate shouted. "The cage key is gone!"
On a nearby rooftop, Buggy's face turned purple with rage. He could see them—three figures disappearing into the maze of Orange Town's streets.
"FIND THEM!" Buggy's voice tore through the air, raw and violent. "Tear this town apart! I want Monkey D. Luffy's head on a pike!"
He turned to his trembling crew, his eyes burning with manic fury. "You think this is a game? You think I earned my reputation by letting children steal from me?" He leaned in, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "This is war."
Just then, Mohji arrived atop Richie, the lion's mane matted with blood from earlier skirmishes. "Captain," Mohji said, a cruel smile on his face. "Let me handle the swordsman. I owe him for earlier."
Buggy's lips curled. "Do what you want. Just bring me Luffy alive. I want to watch the light leave his eyes myself."
---
Zoro's legs gave out first.
He collapsed to his knees in the middle of a deserted street, the cage crashing down beside him. Sweat poured from his brow, mixing with the blood from wounds he hadn't had time to acknowledge.
"Zoro?" Luffy's voice was uncharacteristically quiet.
"Shut up," Zoro breathed, trying to push himself up. "Just… need a second."
That's when they noticed the dog.
It sat perfectly still in front of a half-destroyed pet shop, so motionless it seemed carved from stone. Its fur was matted with dirt and dried blood, but its eyes were alert, watching them.
"Whoa," Luffy said, pressing his face against the bars. "Is it real?"
Before Zoro could answer, Luffy stretched his arm through the cage, poking the dog squarely on the head.
The dog moved faster than either of them expected. It lunged, teeth snapping shut on Luffy's extended finger.
"OW! Hey! That hurts!"
"You deserved that," Nami's voice came from behind a crumbling wall. She stepped into view, her expression tight with annoyance. "If you want to stay alive, you shouldn't be sitting in the middle of the road screaming."
She tossed something metallic that glittered in the afternoon sun. It landed with a soft clink in the dust between Luffy and the dog.
The cage key.
Luffy's eyes widened. "Nami! You—"
The dog moved first. In one swift motion, it snatched the key in its mouth and swallowed.
Silence.
Then: "GIVE THAT BACK!" Luffy screamed, arms stretching through the bars as he tried to strangle the dog. "SPIT IT OUT!"
"Stop it!" An old man's voice cut through the commotion. Mayor Boodle emerged from the pet shop, his face lined with grief and anger. "Leave Chouchou alone!"
Boodle didn't wait for explanations. "Inside. Now. Before Buggy's men find you."
---
The mayor's home was sparse, but it offered shelter. Boodle bandaged Chouchou's wounds with gentle hands as he spoke.
"That shop was his owner's dream," Boodle said quietly. "Opened it ten years ago. Chouchou's been with him since he was a puppy."
Luffy watched the dog, who had returned to his post outside, sitting vigil before the ruined storefront.
"Three months ago, his owner went to the hospital," Boodle continued, his voice thickening. "Never came back. But every day, I bring Chouchou food. And every day, he guards that shop. Even when Buggy's men tried to loot it. Even when they beat him. He won't leave."
Zoro's eyes narrowed. "The key…"
"Is in the dog's stomach," Nami finished, rubbing her temples. "Perfect."
Luffy stood suddenly, walking to the window. He watched Chouchou, sitting unwavering as the wind carried the sounds of searching pirates closer.
"We need another key," Zoro said.
"There isn't one," Boodle replied. "Buggy had it made special."
A heavy silence settled over the room, broken only by the distant shouts of Buggy's crew sweeping through the town.
Then Luffy smiled. It wasn't his usual carefree grin—it was sharper, more determined.
"Then we wait," he said.
"Wait for what?" Nami demanded. "To be captured?"
"For the dog to poop."
Nami stared at him. Zoro let out a short, surprised laugh.
But Luffy wasn't joking. His eyes were fixed on Chouchou. "He's protecting what his owner loved. We're not taking that from him."
The moment was shattered by the sound of splintering wood from the street below. Then a voice—slick and cruel—called out.
"Found you."
Mohji stood in the street, Richie at his side, both blocking the only exit. His eyes locked on Zoro through the window.
"The swordsman comes with me," Mohji announced. "The rest of you can surrender to Buggy. Or die here."
Zoro reached for his swords, but his hand trembled—the exhaustion from carrying Luffy's cage finally taking its toll.
Nami backed toward the rear door, only to see two of Buggy's pirates already circling around.
They were trapped.
Luffy rattled his cage bars. "Zoro, don't—"
"Stay back," Zoro ordered, stepping forward despite his shaking legs. He drew one sword. Then another. The third wavered in his grip.
Mohji's smile widened. "You can barely stand. How do you expect to fight?"
From his perch on the rooftop across the street, Buggy appeared, his grin splitting his face. "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."
He wasn't alone.
Behind him, twenty pirates fanned out, cutting off every escape route. Crossbows were leveled. Swords drawn.
Buggy's eyes found Luffy's through the window. "Time's up, Straw Hat."
Zoro took a stumbling step forward, putting himself between Buggy's crew and his trapped captain. One sword slipped from his grasp, clattering to the floor.
He was out of strength.
Out of time.
And as Buggy raised his hand, preparing to give the order to attack, the only sound was Chouchou's low growl from the street—and the distant, ominous rumble of something massive approaching the town.
Something that made the very ground tremble.
Buggy's smile vanished. His crew froze, looking toward the eastern gate.
Where the town walls exploded inward in a shower of stone and dust.
And through the cloud of debris emerged a figure so large it blotted out the sun—a mountain of muscle and fury with Buggy's own Jolly Roger tattooed across his chest.
"CAPTAIN!" the giant boomed, his voice shaking buildings. "I'M HOME!"
And in his massive hand, he dragged a broken, familiar form—a green-haired woman with three swords strapped to her hip, her head lolling unconscious.
Zoro's blood ran cold.
Because the woman was Kuina.
And she wasn't moving.