76: Chapter 76 Swordsman! The Pursuing Pirates"Ouch!It hurts!It hurts so much!"
Luffy screamed in pain and shook his hand violently.
But the puppy's bite force is amazing.No matter how much Luffy swings it, even if he swings his hand like a windmill because of its rubber body, the puppy still holds on tightly, as if it were grown on it.Even when its body is swinging wildly in the air, it will never let go!
"Stop!You're not allowed to bully Xiuxiu—!"
Just then, an old but powerful voice came from the side.
An old man with gray hair, wearing reading glasses and dressed in old but neat clothes stood up from behind a pile of rubble, his face showing anger.
Zoro cautiously placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, scrutinizing the old man: "Who are you?"
The old man walked over, first glancing with pity at the little dog Shushu, who was still wrestling with Luffy's fingers, before looking at Zoro and the other two, his tone carrying a hint of reproach and a barely perceptible weariness:
"I am the mayor of this town, but who exactly are you people?"
Do you know that this town has been taken over by that terrifying Buggy Pirates?
"How dare you make such a scene here and bully a dog!"
At this moment, Nami also stepped forward and asked curiously, "This dog.is it called Xiuxiu?"
She glanced at the desolate surroundings, then at the area where the small dog sat, which, though dilapidated, seemed to have been deliberately cleaned."Now that this place has been taken over by the Buggy Pirates, you and Shushu."
Why haven't they left?
The mayor sighed, pointed to Xiuxiu, and then to the tightly closed, dilapidated shop door behind it, marked with a paw print:
"Whoosh.It's guarding the shop here."
"Watching the shop?"
Nami then noticed that behind Xiuxiu's fierce protection was a pet food store, which, although its signboard was askew and its windows were broken from the shock, was still recognizable.
"That's right." The mayor nodded and stepped into the shop."As for me… I'm here to feed Xiu Xiu in place of my old friend."
Soon, he came out carrying a bowl of dog food that looked pretty good, carefully placed it in front of Xiuxiu, and said softly, "Xiuxiu, it's okay, let go now, it's time to eat."
Perhaps it smelled the aroma of food, or perhaps it recognized the mayor's voice, but after a few whimpers, it finally released its grip on Luffy's numb fingers and began to devour the dog food in the bowl.
Luffy was finally free.Looking at his swollen finger with clear teeth marks, he blew on it and suddenly realized what had happened:
"Oh, so you were hungry.No wonder you bit me, I understand what it feels like to be hungry!"
The town mayor shook his head, looking at Xiu Xiu wolfing down her food, and retorted with a complicated expression:
"No.even if Xiuxiu is hungry, it would never bite people easily.You must have provoked it just now."
Or.try to enter the shop door behind it, the one it guards.He looked at Luffy.
Luffy chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head: "I was just wondering if it was dead since it wasn't moving at all."
At that moment, Nami keenly caught a word in the mayor's words: "Substitute?You just said.you're feeding him in his place?"
The mayor paused, a trace of sadness flashing across his face.
He walked to the steps by the shop entrance, slowly sat down, took out an old pipe from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, and amidst the swirling smoke, his voice became calm yet heavy:
"That's right.that guy.is dead."
He exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze fixed on the distant outline of the ruins."Just three months ago.he died of illness."
Nami's heart skipped a beat.She looked at the little dog, head down, eating intently, seemingly oblivious to its owner's passing, and her voice softened involuntarily:
"Could it be.that it has been here all along.waiting for its owner to return?"
The mayor remained silent for a moment, with only the sounds of dogs munching on their food and the occasional whistling of the wind in the distance.
"Many townspeople said this before they fled," the mayor said slowly, his gaze still fixed on the distance, as if it could see through time, "saying that Xiuxiu is intelligent and is waiting for its owner to return."
He took another deep drag on his pipe, shook his head, and said in a low voice with a different perspective: "But I don't think so."
The mayor exhaled a long smoke ring, his gaze both kind and complex as he looked at Xiu Xiu, who was still diligently licking the bottom of the basin, and slowly said:
"Shushu.is a very smart dog."
So, it must have known all along.that its owner was dead.
Upon hearing this, Luffy curiously squatted down, tilting his head to look at Xiu Xiu, as if trying to see something in its pair of dark, shiny eyes.
Nami was even more puzzled and asked, "Then why.does it still stay here to watch over the shop?"
The owner is no longer here.
"This shop…" the mayor's voice was deep and full of emotion, "must be the most precious treasure to Xiuxiu."
He paused, as if recalling the past, "Because.this is the most important treasure left by its favorite owner."
So I think.it's not waiting, but rather.intending to.protect it in its own way.
He sighed, his tone filled with helplessness and admiration: "Several times I wanted to take it to a safe place to take refuge.but it refused to leave this place even for a moment."
Its resolve.is stronger than that of many of us humans.
In this atmosphere tinged with a touch of sadness and emotion—"Buzz."
The empty dog bowl in front of Xiuxiu suddenly vibrated slightly, and the bottom of the bowl made a soft sound as it rubbed against the pebbles on the ground.
Immediately afterwards, a huge, wild, and intimidating roar that pierced through the ruins came from afar!
"Roar—!"
Nami was startled by the sudden sound.He jumped, looking warily in the direction the sound came from: "What.what was that sound?"
The town mayor, who had just been looking on with a sigh, changed his expression drastically the moment he heard that voice, and cried out in terror:
"It's.it's that guy!The beast tamer Mochi!"
"A beast tamer?What's that?"
Nami hurriedly asked, only to see the mayor jump up like a startled rabbit, yelling, "Something's wrong!Run!" and fleeing in the opposite direction without looking back!
Seeing this, Nami, though not fully understanding the situation, immediately followed the mayor out of her survival instinct: "Wait.wait a minute!Mayor!"
Luffy, however, showed no intention of running away.Curious, he turned his head to look at Shoo-Shoo, who was still squatting in the same spot, only his ears twitching slightly, and asked:
"Huh?Enemies are coming?Aren't you going to run away?"
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