Chapter 16: Orange town past

                                    

                                          
The four continue walking around the town to see if there's any place they could stay for a bit. While chatting with each other they see a small white dog sitting in front of a store.
"A dog?" Zoro asked
"I wonder why there's a dog in the middle of the road? Did someone leave him?" Nami questioned. While Zoro and Nami were doing their own thing. Both Luffy and Uta began petting the dog, mostly Uta.
"Hey little dog, where's your owner?" Uta asked as she pets the dog.
"I don't think it's alive." Luffy then pokes the dog's eyes. The dog retaliates by biting Luffy's face.
"AAAAAH!! GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!!"
As Uta helps Luffy to get the dog off while struggling, Zoro and Nami just observe at the foolery that is happening.
"Zoro... Are you sure you chose the correct captain?"
"Honestly... I'm having second thoughts..."
After a few minutes of struggling, Uta had managed to get the dog off.
"Huff huff thanks Uta..." Luffy then grabs the dog by the neck and starts violently shaking him. "Are you trying to kill me?!?!" This time Zoro and Nami stepped in and tried to stop Luffy from killing the dog
"Leave Chou chou alone you whipper snapper!!"
Everyone turns to look at the screaming source and see an old man who seems to have crappy armor on with a spear in his back.
"Chou Chou?" Luffy asked before he dropped the dog.
"Who are you old timer?" Zoro questions the old man. He puts his sword near the hilt of his swords in case the old man attacks.
"I am Boodle! The mayor of this town!" He yelled as he had a proud grin on his face.
"If you're the mayor of this town then why is Chou Chou the only one left then?" Luffy asks the old man.
"That is because he's guarding this shop. I only come here to feed him." The mayor then places down a dog bowel and places some food for Chou Chou to eat, which he does.
"So he's a guard dog for a pet food shop...?" Nami questioned why a small little dog is protecting a store.
"Well..." the old man sits down as he is about to explain the story before he gets interrupted by Zoro. 
"Hey old timer, do you have a place I can't sleep? I'm exhausted from rowing our boat." 
The old man nods his head as he points behind the story. "My house will be there. You may rest there." Zoro then leaves the group to go take a nap.
"Well as I was saying, this shop was owned by a good friend of mine. This shop is ten years old now when he and Chou Chou opened it. So many memories made..."
Luffy and Uta sit down on the floor to listen more to the story of the old man as Nami leans on a support beam at the shop. They're intrigued at the dog's story and why he's here.
"If you look closely." The mayor said as he pointed at Chou Chou. "He has many wounds. He's been battling the pirates to protect his store..."
"But this is so cruel." Nami interjects. "I get that this shop means a lot to him and his owner but isn't his owner at the refugee shelter?"
The old man takes out a pipe and begins to smoke out of it, seemingly getting ready to answer the question. "He has been dead for quite some time now. All due to an illness."
Nami was taken back by the answer and looked at Chou Chou, as he continued to eat. She feels sorry for the dog, but she knows nothing can be done.
Luffy and Uta just continue to listen as they watch over Chou Chou making sure he eats it all.