In the end, Weiwei grew anxious. She pointed to the side and exclaimed, "Your master is dead! Dead, do you understand?! Don't push me—I've got this duck, and he can command you! If he gives the order, neither of us is going to look good in this! So today, you will give me this face, or else... or else... I'll let the lion beside me eat you instead!"
She paused awkwardly, then turned her head in confusion.
A towering lion, nearly two meters high, with navy-blue fur and a striking purple mane, was watching her—and more importantly, the food at her feet—with an intense gaze.
A lion? In Orange Town? Since when do lions live here? Her brain blinked out three question marks in rapid succession.
The lion pointed at the food, as if to ask, "Can I eat this? If you give it to me, I'll go along with whatever you want."
Weiwei looked it over—this lion had to be the dumbest animal she'd ever seen. Its entire brain seemed consumed by thoughts of food. No ambition, no pride. Just snacks.
This was a glutton with zero IQ.
Though Weiwei didn't often use Haoshoku Haki in daily life, she trained with Busoshoku Haki regularly. Over time, her total Haki output had increased—not enough to dominate combat, but enough that sensitive creatures could detect her presence. The little white dog beside her, Xiuxiu, had long become numb to life-or-death situations and didn't care. But the lion was different—it was cowardly, and it could sense Weiwei's latent danger.
Even so, food outweighed fear. The lion smiled ingratiatingly and pointed at the ground again, begging for a bite.
Weiwei stared at its goofy expression. "Let me think… East Blue, a lion? Could you be...?"
Before she could finish, Johnny and Joseph came charging toward her, dragging along a frail old man in his fifties.
"Big Sis! Trouble! Pirates! The Bucky Pirates are here! There's a ton of them, and they're trying to take over the whole town!"
Their voices echoed like cannon fire. Weiwei wasn't surprised—she'd already guessed. She spun and vaulted onto Karoo's back, ready to bolt.
She hadn't come here to play hero. She had her own mission—and Smoker's recent moves were breathing down her neck. If she got spotted by the wrong eyes, things could go sideways fast. No way she was fighting an entire pirate crew solo.
Run. Run and it's over!
"Giddy up!" she urged Karoo frantically. "Move!"
The duck turned his head with a deeply offended look. I'm a duck, not a horse!
Even so, Weiwei acted fast. She snatched up the little white dog from the ground—there was no telling when the town would break into chaos, and a stray bullet could easily kill the mutt. Better safe than sorry.
She pointed at the leftover food and made a gesture to the lion. All yours.
"Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!" Xiuxiu barked wildly in protest.
Weiwei initially ignored it, but when Xiuxiu wriggled in her arms and howled louder, she paused. "Huh? You trying to bargain with me, you little furball?"
"Ruff! Ruff—!" The puppy's eyes glistened, and it kept glancing toward the town behind them, now echoing with screams and clashes.
"Heh... You trying to out-act me? You're still a hundred years too early." Weiwei prided herself on her acting chops. There was no way she'd be fooled.
Yet as Xiuxiu kept growling insistently, she frowned, then slapped Karoo's wings. "Fine! Karoo, stop! We'll go back. For Xiuxiu, let's wipe out those pirates!"
Then the most embarrassing thing happened—Karoo didn't stop. He ran even faster.
From the middle of town to the beach in seconds flat.
Xiuxiu seemed to sense Karoo's stubborn panic, leapt out of Weiwei's arms, and sank his tiny teeth into the duck's cheek.
"Hey! Stop that! No biting! Don't take it out on Karoo—he's adorable, don't bully him..." It took everything she had to pull the puppy off and salvage the duck's handsome face.
Karoo had bolted so fast that by the time they slowed down, they were halfway back to town. Weiwei stuck a band-aid on Karoo's beak, turned, and spotted the old mayor limping away in the distance, along with Johnny, Joseph, and several retreating townsfolk.
"Big Sis?! What're you doing—!?"
They froze in place when they saw Weiwei riding her duck back toward danger.
"I'm not asking you to fight," she said coolly. "Take the townspeople and hide. I'll buy you time."
It was a reasonable request. She accounted for safety, Johnny and Joseph's pride, and her own image—but she underestimated the pair's loyalty.
Blood boiled in their veins. "No! We'll fight with you!"
The old mayor, wheezing and pale, suddenly seemed reinvigorated. "This is our Orange Town! We won't let pirates take it!"
In full view of Weiwei, Karoo, and Xiuxiu, the mayor grabbed a rusted iron rake from the roadside and shouted his determination.
Behind him, the rest of the townsfolk who had been running hesitated—then one by one, shamefaced, they picked up sticks, tools, whatever they could, and followed him.
Weiwei sat speechless on her duck. This... this is going to blow my cover! If I accidentally let out my Haoshoku Haki, I'm screwed!
She hesitated—but Xiuxiu barked again, sharp and insistent.
"What now? You mean... don't kill them? Just chase them away?... Tch, fine, I'll humor you."
She acted reluctant, but in truth, she was relieved. Killing was never her plan.
She'd already deduced which pirate crew this was—the Bucky Pirates. A bunch of over-the-top clowns, literally.
The captain, Bucky the Clown, was no real threat. A joke of a pirate, really. But Weiwei wasn't worried about him. She was worried about his link to one of the Four Emperors—Shanks the Red-Haired.
Their relationship was weird. No outsider really understood it—hell, even they probably didn't. But one thing was sure: if someone killed Bucky, Red-Haired Shanks would be pissed.
Bucky had somehow convinced the world he was powerful. That might work on pirate crews, but not the World Government or the Five Elders. They knew how weak he was—and still, he got appointed to the Shichibukai.
Coincidence? Hardly. That title was a "favor"—a way to give Shanks face.
And Weiwei? She knew how the game was played.
She was ready to return the favor. Today, she would also give Red-Haired Shanks "a face."