"Who said we were taking you back to become a Marine?"
Hina found it amusing. "You're just a little kid. Even if you wanted to join, no Marine Branch would take you."
"Stop lying! I said I'm not going back, so I'm not going back!"
"Really not going back?"
Noah looked at Luffy with a chuckle.
"I'm not going back!"
"Fine."
Noah nodded and waved a hand. "All right, then. Let's go."
"See you, Luffy."
"See you again sometime~"
Hina and the others followed without hesitation, smiling as they waved goodbye to Luffy.
Eh... eh?
They were just leaving?
Noah had not wasted a single word before turning around and walking off with the others, leaving Luffy completely stunned.
As he watched those uncles grow farther and farther away, Luffy's gaze fell back on the chicken bones in his hand. He struggled for a long time before finally making up his mind, but just as he stuffed them into his mouth, he caught another familiar scent of meat...
Looking up, he saw that somehow, where the handsome Marine uncle had just walked, there was now another huge, delicious-looking piece of fried chicken...
And none of those Marines had noticed it. Nobody had picked it up, either.
Luffy was overjoyed. With nothing in his eyes but that fried chicken, he quietly followed after them. After looking around and making sure nobody was paying attention, he snatched up the chicken and crammed it into his mouth at top speed.
Once again, he performed a magic-like instant deboning.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This one's even better!"
Only after swallowing it all did Luffy come back to his senses, his eyes sparkling.
This piece was the triangular cut of Original Recipe Chicken. Crispy on the outside and tender within, savory and juicy, with plenty of