Chương 72: Bird, Girl, Cage and Red Nose
The small boat drifted aimlessly over the vast, endless sea. Luffy, Raja, and Zoro sat in silence, looking around at the same sight in all directions: blue sky, blue water, blue… everything. Luffy lay flat on his back, belly grumbling loudly. Zoro, looking equally miserable, crossed his arms and stared at the water.
Raja, in contrast, looked totally fine, munching on a banana and sipping water he'd provided. He raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at his crewmates, both looking as though they'd been denied their favorite toys.
"What's with the faces? I gave you food, water," Raja said, holding up his banana. "I mean, what more could you want?"
"Meat…" Luffy groaned, face-down on the boat's floor.
"Booze…" Zoro mumbled, his head thrown back against the side of the boat.
"Unbelievable," Raja muttered, shaking his head. Just then, Luffy sat bolt upright, eyes wide and gleaming.
"Look! A bird!" he shouted, pointing to a massive bird circling overhead. "That's meat!"
"Luffy, that bird is… kinda big—" Raja began, but Luffy was already stretching his arms, reaching up to grab the bird's feet.
"Gotcha!" Luffy yelled, grinning ear to ear. But instead of pulling the bird down, the bird's eyes narrowed as it opened its massive beak and snapped Luffy up, carrying him off into the sky.
"LUFFY!" Raja and Zoro yelled in unison.
Zoro rolled his eyes, reaching for the oars. "Raja, show me the direction."
Raja pointed, and they rowed furiously after Luffy, who was now no more than a small, distant speck on the horizon. Just as they closed in, they heard splashing and yelling from three struggling pirates in the water, waving frantically at them.
"Help us!" they cried, barely staying afloat. Zoro slowed the boat down, but as soon as the pirates got close, they lunged onto the boat, trying to shove Raja and Zoro overboard.
"Get off!" Zoro snapped, immediately fighting back.
In seconds, all three pirates were sprawled across the boat, groaning in defeat. One of them looked up and squinted, realization dawning on his face. "Wait… you're Pirate Hunter Zoro!" The three immediately started babbling in panic.
They explained how a "sneaky girl" tricked them into giving her all their food and water and then stole their boat, leaving them waving like fools as a massive whirlpool sucked their tiny vessel to a watery grave.
Raja laughed. "Sounds like you've had quite the adventure. Who was this 'sneaky girl' anyway?"
"She's a devil!" the pirate muttered. "And if we don't get back soon, Captain Buggy will kill us for losing the map to the Grand Line!"
"Oh boy," Zoro sighed. "We're sailing into chaos."
Meanwhile, in Orange Town, a pirate ship that looked more like a nightmarish circus ride than a seaworthy vessel was docked at the port. Buggy the Clown's flag waved ominously as one of his men pointed up at the sky.
"Captain! There's a huge bird carrying… a person?"
Buggy squinted through his spyglass and spotted Luffy dangling from the bird's talons, grinning obliviously. Buggy's face contorted in anger.
"Cannon! Blast that flying fool out of the sky!" he ordered.
The cannon fired, the blast narrowly missing Luffy, who looked down just in time to see the bird squawk and release him. Luffy hurtled toward the ground, his face oddly calm as he crashed, creating a small crater in the center of Orange Town.
Elsewhere in town, Nami was sprinting for her life, a stolen map clutched tightly in her hand as three Buggy Pirates chased her. She ducked, dodged, and swerved, staying just a step ahead of them.
Suddenly, a loud crash shook the ground as Luffy emerged from a small crater, completely unharmed. Nami looked back, eyes gleaming as she spotted her "way out."
"Boss!" she shouted at Luffy. "Deal with these guys for me!"
Luffy blinked, confused but excited, as the three pirates glared at him.
"Oh, so you're her 'boss,' huh?" one snarled.
A second later, one of the pirates hit Luffy's straw hat, knocking it to the ground. Luffy's smile instantly faded, his eyes darkening as he picked it up, brushing it off. The three pirates didn't stand a chance. With a quick one-two punch, Luffy sent them flying, crashing through crates and barrels as they landed in a pile on the far end of the street.
Watching the scene with wide eyes, Nami introduced herself, impressed by Luffy's strength. She declared herself a "thief who specializes in robbing pirates," and Luffy grinned, offering her a place in his crew.
But Nami's eyes gleamed with a different plan. "You're strong, boss," she said, emphasizing the word with a playful smile. In her mind, however, she was already calculating her next move. She tied Luffy up and presented him to Buggy as a "gift," earning her place within Buggy's crew—at least, until she could make off with his treasure.
Back on the outskirts of Orange Town, Zoro and Raja were finally closing in. They followed the sounds of explosions, spotting Buggy's strange ship and the rising chaos around the village.
"That's Buggy's ship, alright," Raja said, watching smoke rise from the town.
Zoro sighed. "Let me guess. Luffy's already causing trouble?"
As they approached the stage, they saw Luffy in a cage with Buggy and his men standing around, laughing. Nami was at Buggy's side, pretending to admire his "strength," but Raja saw her subtly eyeing Buggy's treasure stash.
"Red-nose!" Zoro called, approaching the scene.
Buggy's face turned crimson. "Who're you calling red-nose?!"
A full-blown fight broke out as Zoro charged forward, cutting down Buggy's men with ease. Raja watched, amused, occasionally flicking his wand to trip up a pirate or disarm another.
Buggy attempted to sneak up on Zoro, disassembling himself to attack from multiple angles. However, Raja noticed one of Buggy's hands holding a knife, trying to stab Zoro in the back. Acting fast, Raja caught the knife swiftly got hurt and started to bleed.
Zoro and Luffy who saw that became angry and luffy shouted Red Nose from the cage but Raja smiled evilly and stomp the hand hard enough that Buggy let out a yell of pain.
"Oh, so it hurts, huh?" Raja smirked, stomping on Buggy's dismembered hand, making the clown howl as he scrambled to reassemble himself.
In the chaos, Nami seized her chance. She flipped the cannon Buggy had been preparing to fire at Luffy, turning it around to face Buggy's own crew.
With a mischievous grin, Raja waved his wand, lighting the cannon's fuse. The blast sent Buggy's men flying in all directions, creating a smokescreen.
As the dust settled, Nami, Zoro, and Raja escaping with Luffy's cage.
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