One Piece (Love Story) [Part Two]

Chapter Three Hundred and Forty Five

-Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-Five-

"It seems we can't go around the lake—it's too large" Robin noted once we started to near the lake and saw just how big it was. "We'll have to cross it" she suggested.

"Alright, but the question is how?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, two of you guys are Devil Fruit users and we don't exactly have a boat that we can use" I pointed out. "Unless there's a way for us to safely bring the Mini Merry all the way out here..." I muttered more to myself in thought as I thought about our tiny ship which was still back at the island's entrance.

"Hey...guys..." Usopp panted as he dragged himself up behind us. "Yeah, I think...I think I'm just going to lie down and die instead—I'm done..." he groaned, causing me to snort.

"Snow cones!" Luffy cheered as he continued to charge ahead.

"Where do you get all this energy? I'm melting" Usopp whined.

"I scream...you scream...snow cones!" Luffy laughed.

"His energy comes from the knowledge that there's a treat waiting for him on the other side" I chuckled before jumping at the loud commotion that was suddenly kicked up as Luffy quickly dodged the surprise attack that came his way out of nowhere by a new and unexpected intruder.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"I'm your worst enemy, intruder" the stranger sneered as the dust around him began to settle and reveal that of an odd-looking man—one whose top half was that of a human and whose bottom half was that of a leopard.

"Those legs..." Luffy and the man narrowed their eyes the moment they saw each other. "Where did you...get them?" this situation felt far more dramatic than it needed to be. "Wow! They're awesome!" all too quickly was the conflict resolved before it even had a chance to begin as the captain and this strange man laughed and shared a moment together.

"Gosh! Sorry, friend!" the man apologized. "I was searching for intruders and I hadn't seen you before, so I got carried away."

"No big deal, I forgive you" Luffy smiled. "But I'm jealous of your legs! I wished mine were like that!" he exclaimed as his eyes began to sparkle and shine with excitement.

"Don't feel bad, your legs have pants—hey, what kind are they?" the man curiously asked.

"I don't know" Luffy chuckled.

"Poot! Where in the blazes am I?" the legs asked.

"Don't freak out!" Luffy frowned the moment the legs began to squirm and kick up a fuss.

"Hey, were your legs talking just now?" the man asked.

"Yep" the captain nodded.

"I thought I was cool when I got a muscle shirt to match my legs, but I've never seen talking legs before" the man awed.

"Me neither" our captain laughed.

"Not great, now he's going to ask that freak show to join the crew" Zoro grunted.

"Is that really that surprising though?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

"Uh...leopard centaur?" Usopp questioned as he examined the strange man that Luffy was talking to, not sounding completely certain of himself when it came to claiming what kind of creature this new guy was.

-Later-

"Wow! So all your buddies have awesome animal legs just like these, huh?" Luffy grinned as he examined the man's leopard legs. "I can't wait to see!"