"Hurry! They must be here!"
"Damn those pirates!"
Noises of angry shouts and grunts could be heard from the outside.
The villagers hid inside their homes to not get caught up with them.
"Search the house of these villagers! Those pirates should be hiding somewhere in this village!"
The pirates slammed the door of the houses and rushed in to find Luffy and the group.
Inside the old man's house, Usopp closed the window slowly.
"What do we do? If this goes on, they will find us!"
Usopp started panicking while he hid just below the window. Chopper was sad but he still pushed that emotion and looked towards the door.
If nothing is done, even Doctor Kurai will be mixed in all this stuff.
"I hope Vivi, Sanji, Goof and Karoo are fine."
Luffy nodded his head to Usopp and shared his worries.
Zoro sitting on the couch suddenly stood up. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper stared at him with confusion.
"Zoro, what happened?"
Usopp asked but Zoro didn't respond, he grabbed his three swords and turned to face the door.
"I will lead them away for as long as I can. Luffy and Usopp, protect Nami in the meantime if any other pirates arrive."
Zoro said seriously. Usopp, stunned by Zoro's words, didn't have his reaction right then.
"No! I will go. You stay here with Usopp."
Luffy stood up and walked towards the front door but Zoro stepped in between.
"Luffy, you are the captain. Let the others do things like this while you deal with the main problem."
Zoro stared at Luffy. His eyes already explained to them that he wasn't going to back down even if they tried.
Silence followed. Chopper looked at the two with an unknown feeling.
'To protect their friend, can they really let their life on the line?'
Chopper lowered his head.
'To protect your friend. Your family. You love ones.'
"Okay. But come back before the sun rises tomorrow."
Luffy looked at Zoro and finally agreed to his selfish request.
"Wait! I will also go."
The voice surprised Luffy, Zoro and Usopp. They didn't expect the small hybrid reindeer to volunteer as well.
"You want to go?"
Usopp asked Chopper with uncertainty. Even Luffy and Zoro showed that.
"I don't care about your friend! I only want to divert the pirates from Doctor Kurai's house!"
Chopper immediately changed his form to a proper reindeer.
"Fine."
Zoro didn't disagree because he had nothing to do with Chopper.
"Let's go."
With a furry coat, Zoro silently opened the front door and rushed out with Chopper.
"You go this way, I will go that way!"
Zoro pointed towards one direction, he asked for Chopra to go that way.
"Okay."
Chopper nodded, just as he was about to go that way. A figure ran towards that direction.
The figure was Zoro himself.
"But you said to go that way! Why are you going there!"
Chopper shouted but Zoro didn't hear.
"Ugh!"
Stomping his feets on the snow, Chopper went in the other direction.
They made lots of noise to attract the pirates towards them.
"Hey! Over there!"
"It's the guy with the three swords!"
The pirates trailed behind Zoro like a hurricane pushing away everything in the path.
"It's deer!"
"Idiot! It's a reindeer! Leave that animal and concentrate on the guy with the swords!"
The captain of the pirates yelled at the pirates as he aimed his gun at Zoro's back.
*Bang*
The bullet was shot but before it could hit Zoro, the bullet was cut in half.
"A shot on the swordsman's back shows how inattentive he is!"
Zoro smirked and ran faster than the pirates could catch up.
Meanwhile, Chopper stopped and turned back to see no one following him.
All the pirates went behind Zoro and none were interested in a reindeer.
"Damn!"
Chopper cursed and returned back to Doctor Kurai's house.
The villagers heard the commotion and knew that the pirates were gone.
"Thank god!"
"Fucking pirates! I hope they burn in hell!"
The villagers came out of their homes and floated the area.
Children and adults roamed.
"Do you think that the intruders are really in one of the houses in the village?"
A man not so well built said. He looked around the villagers and expressed his suspicion.
"You might not be wrong."
The villager chief, a middle aged woman answered to the man.
"What should we do?"
The villagers were concerned as the pirates may return back. And that time, they could not only just search, but also kill some villagers.
"I think it's best if we find the intruders and let them be pirates!"
A woman holding a child in her arms said. She looked scared and frightened by all these happenings.
"Yes, I think we should do that!"
The other villagers also agreed to her suggestions as that was the best solution for now.
"Then let us all search for the intruders. If we get them, we hand them over to the pirates. If there're no intruders, then so be it."
The village chief declared. The villagers immediately dispersed.
One after another the house was checked thoroughly. Not a single corner was left unseen.
Inside Doctor Kurai's house, Luffy listened to what Chopper informed.
Usopp held his template and massaged them. The troubles just didn't lessen.
"Shit! What the hell are we supposed to do now? Fight the villagers? Run? But Nami is in a critical time. She needs rest."
Usopp, very anxious, sat down on the single sofa and rested on his back.
"Usopp, protect Nami."
Luffy stood up and walked towards the front door while Usopp looked at his back.
"Oi, Luffy! What are you trying to do?"
He asked as Luffy stopped and lowered his straw hat to hide his expression.
"I will lead the villagers away. Which will make them sure that we have left the village."
Luffy didn't listen to Usopp any longer as he opened the door.
"Wait! I will also go!"
Again, Chopper came forward to show how he cared about Doctor Kurai.
"Okay! Usopp, I trust you!"
Luffy smiled at Usopp and rushed out of the house with Chopper.
Outside, Luffy pointed to one direction and ran to the other.
"He seems smart."
Commented Chopper before he ran in the direction where Luffy had pointed.
They made another round of noise attracting the villagers.
"Hey! You! Stop!"
"It's the intruder! Catch him!"
The villagers held some ordinary weapons like a fruit knife and hammer.
They followed Luffy until they couldn't keep up with him anymore.
Chopper on the other hand, looked behind him. No one was attracted to him.
"Damn it! Can't a reindeer be a threat to them!"