Three people tumbled down the slope like rolling stones.
Roar!!!
The huge gray bear roared furiously and raced after them at a startling speed, completely at odds with its massive body.
At last, they reached relatively level ground. The three scrambled to their feet, covered in dirt, and fled into the jungle without daring to let their guard down for even a moment.
Buggy, who had lost both his momentum and the initiative, ran from the pursuing bear and irritably called to Shuma, sprinting alongside him. "Why did you do that?!"
"We can't. We can't hurt Lord Bear Spirit," Shuma insisted. "We absolutely can't!"
Buggy took a deep breath and looked ahead again, dodging a thick tree trunk in his path. He hesitated. Could he really bring this guy aboard?
Still, if it was a belief instilled in him from childhood, it wasn't impossible to understand. Forget it. Now wasn't the time to think about that...
Because of its enormous size, the bear shoved aside the disordered, obstructive trees with its huge paws. One after another, they crashed to the ground with a rumble. But the bear didn't slow down. The sound of falling trees drew closer and closer, inevitably filling them with a sense of danger.
Buggy glanced back. "Then what do you suggest? We can't keep running forever, can we?"
"Once it gets tired, it'll get hungry. Then we can make another pot of food. Isn't that a great idea? Hehe!" Shuma seemed dazzled by his own idea. His words, carried on the wind, were full of delight.
This natural-born idiot was beyond saving, Buggy thought. Of course, he wanted to steel himself and slip away right now, return to the ship, and set sail. He had already gotten a map of the nearby islands. Once he compared it with his own map of the sea and studied them, he should be able to find a viable route to their original destination, as long as their luck wasn't too bad.
But they were already at the final step. He was so close to bringing a boy with excellent physical abilities and impressive fighting strength into his crew. Buggy couldn't bear to give up now. In his previous life, as a man who seized opportunities, he'd hated nothing more than having to abandon a plan halfway through because circumstances forced his hand.
"I... understand..." Buggy ground out the words, helplessness and frustration mingling in his heart.
"Captain Buggy... Shuma..." As a beast tamer, Mohji was experiencing for the first time the deep terror of being at the mercy of a wild animal. His stamina and energy were nowhere near Buggy's or Shuma's, who had lived in the jungle for years. Now he was panting and drenched in sweat, but he didn't dare slow down. In the bear's eyes, gleaming with a murderous glare, he could read its thoughts: If I catch you, I'll pound you into a pulp!
Why? I'm a beast tamer—why am I being threatened by a beast? Mohji's heart wept as the image of the acrobatic swordsman appeared in his mind. The man grinned at him darkly. "You fool, Mohji. Just become my stepping stone, nice and honorably. I'll burn incense for you on the anniversary of your death!"
No! I can't lose to that flashy guy in a cape! Mohji felt an unknown strength surge through him. He ran with all his might. "I joined the Buggy Pirates first! I'm the first mate of the Buggy Pirates! How could I let a guy like you have your way?!"
Seeing Mohji suddenly overtake him, Shuma yelled excitedly, "So fast, so fast! Looks like Mohji the ingredient wants to race me for first place. I won't lose to him!"
Watching the suddenly fired-up Wind-Chasing Boy sprint ahead, Buggy had nothing to say. He stopped watching and analyzing the boy's behavior.
The hour spent fleeing from the bear was long and grueling. Buggy, who had badly wanted to leave a few scars on the beast, quietly put his dagger away. It was frustrating, but when he thought of adding another capable fighter to the crew, he gradually calmed down.
As for Mohji, he was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Ever since becoming first mate of the Buggy Pirates, he'd never exercised this strenuously. His head was spinning, and he could barely see the path ahead. I can't go on... I can't go on... I'm going to die...
"Did we come back here?" Shuma asked curiously, looking at the pot up ahead. It was still sitting right where they'd left it, but the steam was gone.
"Seems like we came full circle," Buggy replied distractedly. He looked back at the bear that had stubbornly kept chasing them, feeling rather resentful. What had that idiot put in the pot to make the bear so furious? And how much longer would they have to run...
Because of his poor physical condition, Mohji's pace gradually slowed until he had no strength left. He braced himself on his hands and knees and gasped for breath like a drowning man who'd suddenly found fresh air, wishing he could take his lungs out and use them separately.
Thud! Thud!
He stopped, but the bear behind him didn't. It didn't attack right away, instead teasing its prey as its heavy steps landed one by one, as if on Mohji's heart.
Mohji spun around quickly. After years of taming beasts, he knew that wild animals were far more frightening than people. People had compassion; seeing a pitiful, terrified person, they might let them go out of sympathy. But wild animals didn't. They saw only strength and weakness: fearing the strong and hunting the weak.
And he was the weak one in the bear's eyes!
"Don't come any closer!!!"
Mohji scooted backward, throwing a bundle of bamboo, the remaining wild game ingredients, and a neatly arranged set of cooking utensils at the bear. He was afraid of dying, and even more afraid of dying a humiliating death at the hands of a beast.
The bear casually swatted the flying odds and ends aside with its paw, sending them scattering in other directions. Then it continued forward, its massive form terrifying.
"Damn it!"
Buggy had noticed Mohji falling behind and seen what was happening. He frowned tightly. Mohji was a longtime officer of his. Even if he hadn't made great contributions, he'd still worked hard. Buggy couldn't stand by and let the bear kill him.
"B-Buggy..." Shuma didn't know what to do. His instincts told him that Lord Bear Spirit was sacred and must not be offended, but his reason told him that Mohji was a friend he'd made, someone unlike the people of his tribe.
"Don't stop me, Shuma!" Buggy's voice was colder than ever, leaving no room for argument. Even if he offended Shuma and the entire Kumat Tribe, he would stop the rampaging bear—even if the one he was saving was only a weak beast tamer.
Buggy raced forward, the dagger hidden in his sleeve ready to strike at any moment. If the bear dared to swing that stupid paw, its vulnerable neck would be exposed as its fatal weakness!
Staring at the brown bear before him, Buggy suddenly froze. Something unexpected had happened...
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