Chapter 9: Meeting Sabo, Luffy, and Ace
"Luffy! Watch your back," Sabo screamed towards Luffy. Behind Luffy is a giant tiger that is like a small mountain.
"That idiot! Run!" Ace also screamed in his direction.
The tiger doesn't seem interested in fighting Luffy; instead, it is more interested in the small bear that Luffy had defeated lying on the ground.
The tiger is an altogether different beast, and his teeth almost seem to be gleaming under the sun. His black claws create a marking on the ground just by lightly rubbing on the grass.
It towards Luffy enormously and made him look like a tiny ant in comparison. The tiger didn't want to deal with the annoying boy, so he snapped his paw in Luffy's direction, which sent him flying in Sabo and Ace's direction.
The tiger had golden fur and black stripes on its back. It was already dripping saliva from its mouth as it grabbed the bear and snapped its head off with its fangs.
"Let's go. We can't fight that thing," Sabo said with fear as he pulled Luffy off the ground. He swallowed as he looked at the ferocious beast.
It wasn't just Sabo that was feeling frightened. Ace also decided that it was impossible to fight against the monster.
It is Luffy. He would never listen, so Luffy stood up and sped towards the tiger.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol," Luffy's fist flew in the direction of the tiger under the watchful eyes of the other two, whose mouths dropped to the ground.
"Damn that idiot!" Ace whispered under his breath. He watched how Luffy's fist bounced off the face of the tiger without causing the slightest damage.
The tiger snorted from its nose with annoyance, stopped its feast, and looked in the direction of Luffy, who was about to put another fist in his face. Its glance already speaks about its annoyance for the boy.
"..." Sabo was feeling done with Luffy by now but ran with Ace to stop Luffy from trying to attack an enemy they cannot fight.
This time Luffy wasn't so lucky when he tried the same attack on the tiger, who stamped Luffy's elastic arm on the ground to prevent him from escaping. "Sabo Ace, help me!"
Luffy tries to use the only hand he has to push away the strong paw of the tiger. But, unfortunately, he was too weak even to make the tiger budge a tiny inch, as the tiger seemed to be licking its lips as it looked down at Luffy.
"Luffy, we are going to save you!!" Sabo and Ace tried to launch their attacks on the tiger. And before they could even get close enough, the tiger's paw was already on their face.
The two of them were sent like rockets into the distance upon facing the force from the animal's paw. They stood back up from the ground weakly with each other's support. Ace says to Sabo, "It is too strong. We need to distract him quick."
"Hm? Luffy, what are you doing down there?" A voice behind the tiger asked. Leo walked closer to Luffy, under the tiger's paw, as though everything was just a game.
"Huh? Leo?" Luffy looked up with eyes glowing like stars, then realized that it was indeed the person he had in mind, "Leo!! Save me!!!"
Leo looked up at the giant tiger, except in his eyes, there wasn't a hint of fear, only playfulness. He rubs his stomach and pulls out his blade, "I am kind of hungry right now."
The tiger also looked at the human with curiosity before smacking his paw in Leo's direction, thinking he was just another annoyance in his way.
It was cut in half right down in the middle by moving his blade down and Leo quickly snapping his sword back behind. Then, under the watchful eyes of Sabo and Ace, there starts to appear a line right down to the back of the tiger.
Between the lines came a gush of blood that appeared as the body split in two. The tiger didn't even notice what happened in the last moment of its death. It caused a vast tremor on the ground as the body fell right down.
"...Ace, did you see that?" Sabo asked, his eyes bulging widely. Never in his life did he see something so incredible. A boy their age was able to slice off an animal multiple times his height with such unbelievable ease.
"...He just sliced it in half with a single cut? The blade was moving so fast I couldn't even see when he moved!" There was a mixture of admiration and excitement in both of their eyes.
At that moment, they decided that they must find out more! They must know the secret of such an unbelievable strength. But, after all, they are still young boys.
Luffy, who was under the tiger's paw, was just as surprised as he grabbed hold of Leo's extended hand to stand back up. He said with amazement, "Leo, you seemed to have grown even stronger than the last time I had seen you. I miss you so much, Leo!!!"
"A little bit I guess," Leo smiled as he suddenly found himself wrapped tightly by Luffy's hug. He could hardly breathe when Luffy buried his face in a hug. Leo realized how the people felt in the anime when they got hugged by Luffy.
Leo had to pat back of Luffy to get his attention as Luffy cried tears, "Luffy! Luffy! You're suffocating me!"
When Luffy finally let go of him, Leo breathed a sigh of relief as he took a deep breath of fresh air. Luffy then grabbed Sabo and Ace over to introduce to two of them to Leo.
"Sabo Ace, this is Leo, the friend I was always telling you two about," Luffy gave a big smile as he introduced Leo, who shook both hands with a warm smile.
"I thought you were joking when you said that you met someone that strong," Ace said as his eyes shone with a certain admiration. "You're powerful, Leo! I want to fight you!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone