70. A Friendly Griffon

A few minutes before.

Luffy dashed forward after Izumi told him to befriend the griffon. Although a griffon is a carnivorous creature, it can also befriend humans.

At first, Luffy didn't pay close attention. However, as soon as he saw the appearance of the monster in front of him, each eye formed a bright star. Luffy didn't know what it looked like before. So, after he had seen the actual one, he became interested and excited.

"Gomu Gomu no Ami!!"

He jumped up while intertwining his fingers, forming a net-like shape, then stretched his fingers in an attempt to catch the griffon.

"Kraaaaa!" A shrill voice that sounded like an eagle's voice echoed in Luffy's ears. The griffon was about to attack Luffy with its claws, but Luffy's fingers which had formed a net couldn't make it move freely.

"I decided, I will let you join my crew. From now on, your name is Washi!" Luffy doesn't care about the manticore anymore and prefers the griffon to be his pirate crew. He even gave it a name.

"Kraaaa!" The griffon who was named Washi by Luffy turned its head away ignoring Luffy.

As if understanding the griffon's words, Luffy responded.

"You're not allowed to refuse! I decided that you will become my crew!!" Luffy loosened his fingers to release Washi.

"Kraaaa, kraaaaa." As if Washi said something like 'I refuse your refusal!!' Then, Washi attacked Luffy with its talons.

Luffy dodged by jumping backward. He clenched his fist, then twisted his arm around as he stretched behind him. His arm spun as Luffy punched forward.

*Bang*

The griffon was thrown backward by Luffy's punch. Luffy could feel his hands go numb. He didn't expect that the griffon's skin was too thick. A griffon is known for its resistance, moreover, it has resistance to poison as well as most elemental magic.

Luffy caught the Griffon once again.

"Just give up and be my friend, Washi! I will take you on an adventure in the ocean!" Luffy said while tying the griffon tightly with his outstretched arms.

"Kraaaa" It said 'don't wanna' to Luffy.

"Why though? I can show you the vast sea and we will be adventuring together with the others too. I'm sure it will be fun if you're joining. So many interesting things happen in the sea, you know!"

"Kraaa?" Washi said 'What is the sea?'

"You don't know? Sea is a wonderful place where a lot of strong people are adventuring to get the number one treasure, One Piece. If you follow me and become my friend, I can show you! Hihihi." Luffy grinned from ear to ear while both of his hands were holding his waist.

"Kraaaa, kraaaaa." Washi said 'I don't want my territory taken away by that stupid manticore. There are my offspring living in my territory.' Washi didn't know why, but it felt that Luffy had no ill intentions so he could be trusted. And as a beast, it was the first time that a human could understand its words. In addition, the griffon admitted that Luffy was so strong that it submitted to Luffy.

"If I beat the manticore, will you follow me afterward?" Luffy asked. But the griffon didn't answer. It didn't know what to say because its offspring was still small. If left behind, they will be eaten by other wild animals.

"Are you done, Luffy?" Kuroneko came out of her hiding place.

"Ohh, Neko, why are you here?" Luffy was surprised to see Kuroneko.

However, the griffon immediately got ready to attack so Kuroneko warned Luffy.

"Luffy, do something about it! It looks like it wants to attack me. If I'm serious, it could die, you know."

Luffy just patted the griffon's head while saying that Kuroneko was a friend.

But then, he turned toward Kuroneko while saying.

"Are you serious you can kill Washi? He's strong, you know!"

"Wanna try?" Kuroneko pulled out her divine sword. Its aura made Washi tremble in fear. While Luffy, who remembered that the sword was capable of injuring a Devil Fruit user like a sea stone, made Luffy shake his head repeatedly.

"Well, I'm here in case you need help. But it doesn't seem necessary." Kuroneko said while crossing her arms.

"Help? Hihihi, you're worrying too much!" Luffy replied with a grin.

"Anyway, you don't need to worry about that manticore. I'm sure Miyamura can take care of it." Kuroneko waved her hand.

"Oh, right. He's even so strong without using his Devil Fruit power. Let's go to see him!" Luffy nodded. He naturally admitted that Izumi was much stronger than him. Then he took Kuroneko and the griffon to see how Izumi was.

Arriving at the place where Izumi was fighting, they were shocked to feel the surroundings filled with cold air. In addition, around Izumi, the scenery seemed less clear due to the blizzard domain he created.

"What is that? Snow? In the middle of the day? I want to play!" Luffy wanted to rush. However, Kuroneko tripped his leg when he started running and fell to the ground.

"What are you doing, Neko!"

Luffy snapped at Kuroneko for suddenly tripping him. But Kuroneko snapped back.

"I should be the one who asked you! What the hell did you wanna do?"

"But…"

"No but! Can you see it? That's Miyamura! If I'm not mistaken, it was his new technique. So don't come any closer!" Kuroneko had heard that Izumi had just purchased a sword art that could release ice energy from the Dimensional Shop. So, what Kuroneko saw now was probably his new sword art.

"Miyamura? Izumi? Isn't that different from his Devil Fruit power?" Luffy was astonished that Izumi's Devil Fruit power was supposed to be wind, but he released ice.

Moments later, the blizzard domain disappeared as Izumi appeared along with the manticore's mutilated body.

Izumi looked back, seeing Kuroneko and Luffy along with the griffon which seemed to have been tamed.

"Oh, as I expected, you did it, Luffy." Izumi never saw firsthand how Luffy communicated with intelligent animals. But he knew that Luffy had a unique ability where sometimes he understood the language of animals or even monsters.

"Hehe, his name is Washi. He will be our friend from now on! Right?" Luffy said while patting the griffon's head.

"Kraaaa." The griffon nodded.

Luffy said that the griffon thanked him for defeating the manticore. Then Luffy said that its descendant was nearby. That was why the griffon and the manticore were fighting to the point of troubling the nearby town.

The griffon led Izumi, Luffy, and Kuroneko to its lair.

The three of them saw small animals resembling the griffon.

"Woah, they're so cute. I want to pet them!"

Kuroneko was the first one to respond after they saw those little griffons.

Meanwhile, Izumi watched intently. Then he asked.

"So, are they chicks? Uh, maybe not chicks. Kuroneko, the griffon, is like a combination of a mammal and a fowl. What are the kids called?"

"Who cares? Maybe fommal or something."

Izumi twitched his cheek. Suddenly, he heard Luffy screaming.

"You don't want to come with me? Why?"

"You moron! Naturally, it wants to take care of its kids." Kuroneko slapped Luffy's head.

"But, Washi. You said you wanted to go on an adventure with me!"

The griffon refused to leave because it didn't want to leave its kids in the wild. And seeing Luffy's whimper that wanted to force the griffon to follow him, Izumi finally spoke up.

"Well, I have an idea. But that's up to this griffon's decision."

Then they listened to Izumi's idea.