Orange Town

In the Pirate World, the two things you should never do were reason with Luffy or eat with him.

The slightest hesitation, and Luffy would devour all your food, leaving you with nothing to eat.

Once Luffy set his mind on something, he would stick to it until the end. No one could stop him! Zoro could only sigh helplessly as the two rowed onward, searching for the next island.

Two hours passed just like that.

"Grrr..."

Luffy's stomach growled.

"Ah, I'm so hungry!"

Luffy shouted along with his stomach.

"You just ate, didn't you? What's your stomach made of?"

Zoro could not help complaining.

"He's a Rubber Man. Naturally, his digestive system is different from an ordinary person's. The more he eats, the faster it bounces back!"

Moonlight knew this, though he had yet to see Luffy make a move.

"Screech..."

Just then, an incredibly piercing eagle cry rang out. Above the three of them, an eagle spread its wings and soared through the sky.

"Ah, food! Food!"

Luffy's eyes instantly lit up. Ignoring everything else, he stretched out his arm and grabbed for the eagle!

"Watch me hunt for everyone!"

"Gum-Gum... Pistol!"

Luffy shouted. His arm immediately caught the eagle, and his entire body was pulled into the sky! "His arm stretched out... That's a Devil Fruit!"

Zoro was stunned. Though he was a Sword Maniac, he had heard the legends of Devil Fruits.

"That's right. He should be a Rubber Man! He ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!"

Moonlight nodded. Although he had known it all along, seeing it with his own eyes was an entirely different feeling.

The rubber fruit picked from the Magic Tree could turn a person's body into rubber, allowing it to stretch and retract at will.

In theory, this was the most extraordinary kind of fruit! "I see. The man worthy of being followed by an expert like you really isn't simple!"

Zoro could not help smiling, his eyes burning as he looked at Moonlight.

"Oh no, that idiot!"

But Moonlight looked toward the sky. Luffy had successfully landed on the eagle's back, but because he could not control himself properly, he fell flat onto its back and was carried away by the eagle instead.

"Damn it, chase him!"

Zoro was startled as well. He hurriedly rowed with all his might in the direction the eagle had flown! But how could their rowing speed compare to an eagle's flight? Before long, they lost sight of it.

They could only curse their bad luck and keep rowing forward.

"Help! Help!"

"Is anyone there? I don't want to die!"

"Ah, I'm about to drown!"

The two kept rowing, their little boat shooting forward like an arrow. But before they had gone far, cries for help rang out.

Following the voices, Zoro vaguely spotted three people drowning.

"Someone's calling for help. Could Luffy have fallen down?"

Zoro's heart stirred, and he hurriedly rowed over. But they turned out to be three fierce-looking strangers! "Please save us! We're drowning!"

"As long as you save us, all the Beli on us is yours!"

"Help! We'll give you whatever you want!"

At the sight of the boat, the three immediately began shouting.

But once aboard, their savage natures were revealed! "This is a robbery! Hand over everything valuable, or die!"

"That sword's pretty nice. Hand it over!"

"Hurry up, or the Buggy Pirates will kill you!"

The three snarled viciously.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After a little education from Zoro, the three immediately dropped to their knees and begged for mercy! "Aah! Sir, we were wrong! Spare us!"

"You're Pirate Hunter Zoro, aren't you? We can't believe we picked a fight with you. We were blind!"

"Sir, please spare us!"

"You said you're from the Buggy Pirates. Does that mean there's an island nearby?"

Moonlight asked calmly.

"Yes. There's an Orange Town nearby, and the Buggy Pirates are stationed there. We're all Buggy Pirates crewmen. Because we offended Captain Buggy, he sent us flying into the sea!"

The three did not dare delay and hurriedly explained.

"An island? Devil Fruits are cursed powers rejected by the sea. In that case, Luffy would definitely try to land on a nearby island!"

Moonlight looked at Zoro.

"Good idea. Row. Take us to the island."

Zoro nodded, holding his sword horizontally. "Yes, yes, yes."

How could the three dare resist? They immediately rowed with all their strength toward nearby Orange Town.

The boat was small, and five people crammed into it made it terribly crowded. Fortunately, the sea was calm and there were no waves. With the three rowing desperately, they soon reached Orange Town.

The two then prepared to go ashore!

But the moment they set foot on the island, the roar of a cannonball suddenly tore through the air and exploded in the sky!

"Screech!"

At the same time, an utterly miserable eagle cry rang out. The eagle had been hit by the cannonball!

"Luffy!"

Moonlight and Zoro exchanged a glance, then ran toward where the eagle had been struck.

At the same time, in the direction where the eagle fell, a figure dropped vertically from the sky, headfirst, and slammed into the street at the center of town like an inverted onion.

Meanwhile, over a dozen Buggy Pirates crewmen were pursuing a nimble figure!

"Damn it, stop right there! You dare steal from the Buggy Pirates? Are you tired of living?"

"You damned thief, stop right there! Everyone, hurry up! If Captain Buggy finds out, we're dead for sure!"

"Bastard!"

Dozens of angry shouts rang out as they closed in on the fleeing figure! "Hehe, now I've got both the treasure and the Grand Line sea chart. If I sell them, I'll make a fortune."

Nami looked at the sea chart in her hand and smiled in satisfaction.

She was Nami, a famous thief from the East Blue! A thief who specialized in stealing from pirates! As she ran, she searched all around for an escape route.

But just then, a figure fell from the sky and crashed onto the road in front of her, blocking her path! "Is that a person?"

Nami immediately screamed, frightened out of her wits!

Her feet came to a sudden stop! At that moment, the Buggy Pirates had already caught up and surrounded her completely!

"Thief, now you have nowhere to run!"

"Hand over our captain's treasure, and maybe you'll suffer a little less!"

"What a cute girl!"

Seeing Nami, they all sneered.

But at that moment, another figure fell from the sky and landed right in front of them!

They were all startled! "Huh? Someone fell from the sky?"

"Who is that? Is he dead?"

"He's definitely dead. Could a normal person survive a fall from that high up?"

They all said so.

They all believed Luffy was dead! "That hurt!"

But Luffy suddenly yanked his head out of the ground and appeared before everyone, crying out.

He was a Rubber Man. He would not die, nor would he feel pain.

It was just that the fall had been too high, so he could not avoid getting a little hurt!

"He's alive! He's alive!"

"Holy crap, he fell from that high and didn't die. Even if he's alive, he's definitely not normal. Who are you? Are you here to steal our captain's treasure too?"