"I want to see who this Roronoa Zoro is, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to recruit him into my crew," Luffy said as they walked through town. Coby began pleading with Luffy to find someone else as soon as he said that.
"Luffy, seriously, you're insane if you think getting this guy to join you is the right thing to do," a terrified Coby said. Luffy just spoke with an uncaring expression on his face.
"Well, since you said he's been captured, that means I can set him free, and whether he joins or not is up to him," Luffy explained as he approached one of the locals.
Luffy turned to the man and inquired, "Are they really keeping that Zoro guy here?" Everyone who was close enough to hear the question jumped back with a look of pure horror on their face the moment Zoro's name left his mouth. "I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Luffy said before walking away, followed by Coby and Nami.
"Perhaps we shouldn't mention the name Zoro here," Coby said quietly to Luffy.
"Let's just go to the base; you said you wanted to be a marine, right?" Luffy asked as they continued walking towards the marine base.
"Of course, I do Luffy," Coby said, "but I don't feel ready just yet. From what I've heard, the man in charge of this base is named Captain Morgan." Everyone within hearing distance of Margan's name jumped back and gave a horrified expression, similar to how Zoro's name elicited. Luffy and Nami's eyes narrowed as they watched this, and Luffy thought to himself.
'It appears this is one of THOSE marine bases,' Luffy reflected. Nami, on the other hand, found it strange; she didn't have a positive impression of Marines in general, but seeing people fearful was a bad sign, especially because it reminded her of her own village.
Luffy looked over to Coby, who had a puzzled expression on his face. He then turned to face Luffy and began speaking.
"I mean, I understand them being afraid of Zoro and all, but why a marine captain?" Coby wondered. Before speaking, Luffy's face took on a more sympathetic expression as he looked at Coby.
"You will learn that in the world we live in, you cannot believe everything you are told; you must be able to see the world for yourself and come to your own conclusions. Grandpa always said that not all pirates are bad, and not all marines are good; he dislikes criminals, but he told me, 'Sometimes a good man wears the suit of a Criminal, and sometimes a Criminal wears the suit of Justice,' Luffy said, quoting his grandfather.
"Remember Coby, power can turn good people bad," Nami said, surprising Coby, who looked like he didn't want to believe what had just been told to him.
Nami had to agree with Luffy's point of view, and she wondered who his grandfather was to know so much about the world.
Looking at Luffy, she remembered what he had said to her the night before.
"Which way do you want to go?"
" Luffy inquired, the moon had risen in the sky, the only sound of the night being the sound of small waves crashing against the boat; Coby was sleeping peacefully, Nami still awake, keeping her guard up despite knowing she couldn't do much against someone like Luffy.
She simply said, "I need to go to Orange town," because she was stuck here and there was no harm in telling him, and she hadn't forgotten how Luffy had saved her life from the cannonball.
"Why?
"Let's just say I have to find something," Nami explained.
"You must be an expert navigator if you know where you're going?"
Luffy inquired, his hat in his right hand, his interest piqued.
"I'm not just any navigator; I'm the best," she nearly exclaimed before realizing Coby was fast asleep.
"Amazing, join my crew," Luffy said as he leaned in closer to her, causing her to back away slightly.
Nami yelled at him, pointing a finger at him, "Hell no, I hate pirates!"
"Be my Nakama, as my Nakama, I will protect you, even from pirates who have harmed you," Luffy stated earnestly.
Nami was taken aback by his words, but she remained silent despite a glimmer of hope in her mind.
"Why do you hold the hat like that?" she inquired, shifting the conversation's focus to the hat. "It can't be that valuable," she reasoned, knowing that a Straw Hat didn't have much beri value.
"This is my prize, my most valuable possession. This was given to me by a man important to me," he said, holding the hat against his chest and flashing a new smile that Nami seemed to like.'
Luffy noticed something out of the corner of his eye as they walked and looked to the left to see a man tied to a post in the open courtyard. Luffy smiled to himself.
Coby was about to say something to Luffy when Luffy turned left and began walking along the walls until he suddenly stopped in front of one of the walls and began climbing it, causing Coby to panic and scream at Luffy.
"Luffy! What exactly are you up to!? You'll be noticed!" yelled a panicked Coby, and Nami wanted to tell him to relax.
"So, there you are, Mr. Pirate Hunter," Luffy said as he looked at the man strapped to the cross. Coby turned pale and peered over the fence, hoping Luffy was mistaken for someone else, but one look at the man told Coby he was the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.
Nami had to admit that he appeared intimidating, but the way he was dressed, not to mention the fact that he was clearly tired, and hungry reminded Nami that one should not judge a person by their appearance, especially someone like Luffy.
Zoro was a muscular young man of average height with lightly tanned skin and green hair, three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe, and a green bandana tied around his head. He wore black trousers tucked inside black boots, a plain white shirt with three undone buttons at the collar, and his green haramaki.
"You three are an eyesore," he said, drawing their attention. "Get lost," he said coldly, causing Coby to scream and Luffy to look bored.
Coby said to Luffy, "Luffy, let us just get out of here," but he was ignored, and then the three of them heard something hit the side of the wall to their left.
Luffy could only stare at the girl as he threw a rope over the wall and climbed over. The little girl then ran towards Zoro with a huge smile on her face.
Despite not knowing Luffy for a long time, Nami remembered him saying that a pirate should help people in need, so Nami believed Luffy would not just stay put if the girl was truly in danger.
The girl then approached Zoro, who did not appear pleased to see her.
"What are You doing Here? Get Lost,"
He said to the little girl in a harsh voice, trying to scare her, but she just smiled.
"I figured you were getting hungry by now." As she looked at Zoro, she said, "So, I made you a couple of rice balls."
"Do you want to die, kid? Scram," he said to her, but she didn't seem to want to move an inch.
"However, you haven't eaten anything during your confinement. I never really made them before," she said as he held up two rice balls, "but I did my best so I think they're fine," she said, trying to persuade Zoro to take the rice balls.
"Listen, kid, I don't want to eat. Now get lost and stop bothering me! " Zoro yelled at the girl, and the little girl's smile vanished for the first time, replaced by a frown, just as she was about to say something.
"But-" she started, but Zoro cut her off.
"Don't make me kick your behind, little girl!"
Nami was about to tell Zoro to be kinder to the girl when the gates of the marine base began to open and three figures could be seen entering.
"No one likes a bully," the man in the middle of two marines said, "but you seem to be handling this well, Rornona Zoro. Don't you think so? "
Coby breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the marines were on their way to save the girl, but Nami didn't like the way the one blonde was walking or looking at them.
"Looky here, some tasty rice balls," said the man in the middle as he snatched one of the little girl's rice balls. Luffy narrowed his eyes at the group that had just entered the base.
"No way! That's not for you!"
The little girl screamed at the man, biting down on the rice ball and making a disgusted face.
"Ahh! It's far too sweet! There's a lot of sugar in it! You should add Salt" The man screamed at the little girl, who looked as if her heart had been broken just moments before.
"But I thought it would taste better sweet," the little girl lamented, as the man snatched the other rice ball from her and tossed it on the floor, causing the little girl to cry.
Coby yelled at the jerks, "They're Marines, Why they're acting like that."
"It appears that you have not read the notice that was posted today by my father. 'Anyone caught assisting a criminal in any way will be put to death.' the man said, causing the little girl to flinch when he mentioned Morgan's name. He chuckled at her reaction before continuing, "It seems even you know my father's name."
"So, he's Captain Morgan's son," Luffy muttered quietly enough for Coby and Nami to hear.
Nami took a close stance next to Coby, while Luffy took a step back.
"Since you're only a little girl, you throw her over the fence," he said, smirking as he looked down at the paled girl, Nami and Coby's eyes widened.
"But ser, she's only..." "Are you trying to disobey me? Do I need to call father," he yelled at the marine, who paused for a moment before gently grabbing the crying girl on his arm.
Before throwing the girl over the fence, the marine whispered, "Just tuck into a ball, it should minimise the damage."
Nami dashed after her, hoping to catch her before she was hurt.
Luffy suddenly vanished before He caught her in mid-flight and safely landed with her in his arms, the little girl smiling at him.
Coby rushed over to Luffy and the little girl said, "Wow, thank you, mister."
"Why don't you take this little girl home with you, Coby? There's something I need to do," Luffy said solemnly as he transformed into lightning and vanished.
Nami, Coby, and the girl all walked away, but the orange-haired girl couldn't help but admire Luffy's actions.
'Not all pirates are like that,' She remembered his words and couldn't help but think that not all pirates were trash like that monster...
When lightning struck the ground and the man who had been on the fence earlier appeared in the spot where the lightning had struck, Zoro, who was still tied to the cross, was startled, and all he could do was stare at the man with eyes the size of dinner plates.
"How did you do that?"
Zoro inquired, Luffy maintaining a solemn expression before grinning as usual as he spoke.
"I ate a devil fruit," Luffy explained, and Zoro nodded to indicate that he understood. He had heard of devil fruits but had never believed they existed, and Zoro then gave Luffy a serious look before speaking.
"So, what exactly are you looking for?" he inquired.
"Do you want to be set free?" Luffy suggested, "I can easily do that, I won't need a knife or sword for that," but Zoro scoffed.
"Take care of your own business!" Zoro screamed, making Luffy sigh.
"If you stay like this for a few more days, you'll starve; I'll come back later to ask again,"
"Wait, hold on," he said, drawing Luffy's attention to the situation, "could you pick that up for me?" he inquired, his gaze falling on the crushed rice balls on the ground, and Luffy looked at him as if he were insane.
"Are you going to eat it? It's mostly mud," Luffy said as he bent down and picked up the squished rice ball, prompting Zoro to yell at him.
"Shut up and hand it over to me! Now," he yelled, and Luffy picked up the muddy rice ball and fed it to him. After Zoro finished eating the muddy rice ball, he looked Luffy in the eyes and said, "Tell the little girl they were delicious."
Luffy smiled at him, knowing Zoro would make an excellent Nakama.
Restaurant
"Did he really eat it all?" The girl beams with delight.
"He did, Rika," Luffy confirmed with a nod. "He told me to tell you it was delicious, the best thing he'd ever eaten."
"I don't get it," Coby pondered as he sat next to Luffy at the bar. "Isn't he supposed to be some kind of monster?"
"No! Big Brother Zoro is really nice!" Rika screamed right in his face, causing the pudgy pinkette to jerk backwards from the young girl. He had done nothing wrong!
"Then why is he chained?" Nami inquired from her seat on Luffy's opposite side.
"It's because of me," Rika explained, her eyes welling up with tears. "That jerk Helmeppo had a wolf that he used to terrorize the town!"
"It came here with him to mom's restaurant and started scaring all the customers!" she exclaimed angrily. "Before Big Brother Zoro sliced it up, it was about to attack me! Helmeppo, on the other hand, told him he'd have me and Mommy executed for it if he didn't make a deal with him! "
"That's terrible!" exclaims Coby.
"Why aren't the Marines doing anything about it?" Nami exclaimed.
"Everyone is afraid of him because he's Captain Morgan's son," Rika said, tears streaming down her face. "Big Brother Zoro is starving out there because he saved me. Even while tied up, that stupid Onion-head punches and kicks Zoro! Morgan irritates me! He's a tyrant! But no one is brave enough to confront him!" Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing the blonde scumbag himself.
"I'm so hungry," Helmeppo sneered at Rika's mother. "You got that? We're eating here for free. Please hurry up and bring me some booze! What is it that is taking you so long? " Before opening his mouth again, he took a look around the restaurant.
"Oh, and because I'm bored, I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow," he exclaimed. "Look forward to it, everyone!" He burst out laughing.
Luffy had enough of the blonde ass hat by this point, and he stood up, his hat shading his eyes.
"Luffy? Nami inquired, trembling, knowing full well what he was about to do.
Luffy stalked up to Helmeppo's laughing form and slammed his fist into the blonde's face; Helmeppo's head warped around Luffy's fist and the rest of his body lifted clean off his chair before crashing through the wall and landing in a heap in the street in front of the restaurant; the other customers inside the restaurant stared at him in disbelief as the pirate grabbed both of the Marines with Helmeppo's
"Who da 'ell are 'oo? Don'tt yoooouuuuuuuu"
Luffy growled at the sniveling blonde, "You're trash, nothing more."
"Captain Morgan, and I'm his son!"
"I'll have you executed for this!" Helmeppo managed to say through the swelling in his face and jaw." The blonde made a threat.
"You better run back to daddy before I punch you again," Luffy said, threatening to make Helmeppo flinch in fear. The blonde's Marine bodyguards groaned and picked up Helmeppo before returning to the base.
"You know you just made that scene you were trying to avoid," Nami said as she approached Luffy. "Now the base is probably going to be on high alert; how am I supposed to get what I came for now?" she wondered.
"Is that what you're looking for in the base?" I'll assist you in obtaining it! I kinda want to meet this Captain Morgan and punch him in the face as well," Luffy grinned, causing Nami to sigh and smile.
"I'll hold you accountable." With a grin, Nami asked, "Just make a good distraction for me."
Later
"You again, what are you looking for?" Zoro inquired, and Luffy began walking forward until he was only a few feet away before speaking.
"That idiot's son was never planning on following through on his end of the deal," Luffy said, surprising Zoro, "He was going to have you executed tomorrow." Zoro's eyes widened and he began thrashing and yelling.
"What a sniveling little jerk!"
"When I get my hands on him, he'll wish his daddy had flushed him down the toilet like he should have!" he yelled. Zoro said, making Luffy chuckle before continuing.
"By the way, when I heard he was going to execute you tomorrow, I knocked a few teeth down his throat," Luffy said with a grin before continuing, "So, there's a good chance your execution was postponed today," Luffy said, widening Zoro's eyes even more.
"Untie me so I can kick that jerk in the nuts!" he screamed, making Luffy laugh once more.
"This is where my offer comes in; I can untie you and let you live, but you'll have to join my crew," Luffy said, making Zoro pause for a moment before responding.
"What crew are you talking about?" he inquired.
"I'm assembling a pirate crew, and I'm looking for people to join. So, what is your response?" Luffy inquired, and Zoro remained silent for a moment before responding.
"Listen, that idiot's son stole my swords; if you can recover them, I'll join your crew," Zoro said, making Luffy smile before transforming into Lightning and teleporting away.
Every marine on the base could be seen raising a massive stone statue of Captain Morgan, while the captain in charge of the marine base, 'Axe-Hand' Morgan, stood off to the side looking at his men working.
Morgan was a tall, muscular man with blonde hair and a steel jaw, his right hand replaced by a massive steel ax, the handle of which seemed to go right through his forearm, and he wore a large, billowing coat like a cape. Behind Morgan lay the crying form of his son Helmeppo.
"Now, men, stand it up! Show off my brilliance to the rest of the world! " Morgan yelled at his men, and as the marines were pulling the giant statue upright, a bolt of lightning struck the statue's center, widening everyone's eyes. Just when everyone thought things couldn't get any stranger, there was Luffy standing in the spot where the lightning had struck, staring at everyone.
"What am I standing on, this god awful thing? No one will miss something this ugly," Luffy said as he raised his right leg in the air and coated it with Armament Haki before stomping his leg on the statue, causing every marine present to start sweating.
At first, nothing appeared to have happened, causing a few marines to breathe a sigh of relief, but five seconds later, the entire statue suddenly crumbled to dust, leaving Morgan shaking with rage before yelling.
"Death to him!"
When everyone looked at the spot where Luffy was standing, they saw that he had vanished and was now standing by the door with Helmeppo.
"I need you to show me where Zoro's swords are," Luffy said as he walked through the doors of the marine base, Helmeppo slung over his shoulders, as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"They are in my room." Helmeppo said, "It's the door on your left." As they stood in front of the door, Luffy kicked it open and tossed Helmeppo inside, then sent a wave of Conquorer's Haki at him, knocking him out.
Luffy took a look around the room and immediately noticed how girly it was: the walls were pink, the furniture was pink with flowers on it, and everything about it said it belonged to a girl.
Luffy initially believed Helmeppo had misled him and taken him to the wrong room, but when he saw the three swords braced against the wall, he knew he was in the right place, so he grabbed the swords and looked out the window, where he saw something that made his eyes widen.
A terrified Coby and Nami, who had a knife in her hand, stood in the courtyard where Zoro was being held captive, trying to free Zoro surrounded by marines and Morgan himself.
As the Marines prepared to fire on Zoro, Nami, and Coby, Luffy flung open the window and instantly transformed into lightning before teleporting to the courtyard.
Luffy appeared in front of Coby, Nami, and Zoro with his usual lighting strike, putting Coby, Nami, and Zoro at ease for a moment while startling the marines.
"THE KID WITH THE STRAW HAT. FIRE! AT HIM"
Morgan yelled at his men, and Luffy immediately wrapped himself in Armament Haki and waited for the guns to fire. He didn't have to wait long because, seconds after Morgan gave the order, every marine with a gun pulled the trigger. What happened next stunned everyone: the bullets that were fired at Luffy hit him, but did no damage; they simply squished to the ground as if they had hit a metal wall.
"That won't work on me," Luffy said, his eyes cold as a killer as he stared at them.
"Can you tell me who you are?" Zoro asked, his eyes the size of dinner plates, and Luffy turned him around and cut him free with one of Zoro's swords before speaking.
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy said as he handed the swords to Zoro, "and I'm going to be King of the Pirates." Morgan gave his men new orders before Zoro could say anything to Luffy.
"Use your swords if bullets don't work!"
As he said that, all the marines drew their swords and charged Luffy, Zoro, and Coby. Before they could reach them, Zoro intercepted them, holding off each of their swords with all three of his. Luffy was taken aback by the fact that Zoro was wielding three swords. Zoro held two katanas in his hands and the third katana he placed in his mouth.
"Make one move and you die," Zoro said to the marines, causing a few of them to cry, before turning his attention back to Luffy and saying, "Today I officially became a criminal because I fought against the marines. So, I can assure you that I will become a pirate, but there is one thing I want you to know. I dedicate myself to achieving my ambition while I am with you," he said, turning to face him before speaking.
"Which one is it?"
Zoro smiled and spoke with a lot of determination when Luffy asked.
"To become the greatest swordsman in the world and nothing less," he said, smiling at Luffy before responding.
"The king of the pirates would have no less on his crew," Luffy said.
"What are you waiting for, men? Go ahead and kill them!" He yelled, and his men all backed away from Zoro, allowing him to stand before speaking in a terrified tone.
"Sir, we're not going to be able to beat them," one Marine said.
"They're monsters!" said someone else.
"If we face them, we will only die!" yelled another marine, Morgan trembling with rage.
"Every marine who is spouting weakness, pull out your gun and shoot yourself in the head! This is a direct order!" Morgan yelled, and Luffy initially thought he was crazy for giving such an order because no one would be stupid enough to obey it, but Luffy was surprised when the marines actually raised their guns to shoot themselves.
'What a bunch of idiots,' Luffy thought to himself as he watched the marines raise their guns to shoot themselves. Luffy quickly fired a controlled blast of Conquorer's Haki at the marines, knocking them out and leaving them foaming at the mouth.
Morgan quickly caught himself and swallowed his fear before speaking. "A leader who cares so little for the lives of his own men is nothing but scum," Luffy said in a tone that sent shivers up Morgan's spine.
"They were scumbags; in this world, power and titles are all that matters. That's something a knucklehead like you would never comprehend! " Morgan yelled as he charged towards Luffy, but he abruptly came to a halt...
Luffy's right arm had turned to lightning, and a bolt of lightning flew towards Morgan's chest; Zoro had expected the man to be electrocuted, but the bolt of lightning pierced his chest like butter, taking the shape of a sword, a sword made of lightning.
Morgan collapsed to his knees before spitting a large amount of blood, blood leaking from his mouth, eyes, and ears before falling to the ground, dead.
Instead of trying to exact revenge on Luffy as he had expected, the marine soldiers who were unconscious on the ground began to regain consciousness as he walked back towards them, and when they saw the body of their dead captain on the ground, they began cheering and thanking Luffy for freeing them from Morgan's reign.
"It appears they were all afraid of Morgan before we showed up," Coby said, drawing Luffy's attention; however, just as he was about to respond, he heard something hit the ground next to him, and when he turned to see what it was, he saw his first-mate passed out on the ground.
"Well, we'd better get him some food," Luffy said as he picked up Zoro and slung him over his shoulder before heading to Rika's bar, closely followed by Nami, who was grinning at what Luffy had done, grateful that he had saved her life for the second time.
Later
"Oh my goodness, I'm stuffed!"
"Having not eaten in three weeks, I was ready to munch down on my boots strap," Zoro said as he sat at the table with an empty plate in front of him, eliciting laughter from Rika, Nami, and her mother.
Zoro then turned to Luffy and asked, "So, how many others have you gathered for this crew beside me?" Luffy couldn't help but smile at his first-antics. mate's
Zoro looked at Luffy as if he was insane when he replied, "Just you and Maybe Nami."
"So you, the witch, and I constitute a pirate crew?" Zoro inquired.
"Who are you referring to as a witch?" Nami shrieked with shark teeth, but Zoro ignored her.
"Don't worry, we'll have more members soon," says Luffy.
A group of marines entered the bar just as Zoro was about to say something, and looked at Luffy, who didn't seem bothered by their presence.
"Hey, you guys over there, we heard you're pirates. Is there any truth to this rumor?" a marine who Luffy assumed was the highest ranking officer on the base said.
Before taking a bite of meat, Luffy replied, "Yes, we are."
"We appreciate everything you did to save our town from that dreadful tyrant who terrorized us for so long, but now that we know you're pirates, we can't stand by and watch you do your thing. As a result, you and your crew will need to leave town immediately, and we will not report you to headquarters out of respect for what you have done," said the marine, prompting protests outside. Luffy then raised his hand, commanding everyone to be quiet before speaking.
"That's fine, everyone; we were planning on leaving anyway," Luffy said before reaching into his coat and pulling out a transponder snail, which he placed on the table before dialing a number. The snail rang for about ten seconds before someone picked up.
"Hello," a man on the other end of the transponder snail said, and Luffy replied with a smile.
"Does this belong to Vice-Admiral Garp?"
Luffy said, widening the eyes of every marine and civilian to the size of dinner plates.
"This is him," he says."Who is this person? " Garp inquired, and Luffy replied with a smile.
"Your grandson," Luffy said, causing everyone's jaws to drop, which he chuckled at.
"LUFFY!
"You brat, how are you doing, have you started yet... Don't tell me your boat sank!" Garp said, causing Luffy to roll his eyes and respond.
"Anyway, I called because I knew you always wanted me to join the marines," Luffy said with a smile that made Garp chuckle. "However, I found a replacement for you," Luffy said, his eyes widening as he looked at Coby.
"Oh, and who is this replacement, exactly?" Garp inquired, his interest piqued.
"There's a kid named Coby." Luffy said, "I think you'll like him. He's a little weak and a coward, but I think you'll like him." Garp sighed and replied after about thirty seconds of silence.
"I'll take him, and just watch as he kicks your ass up and down the Grand Line when I'm done with him," Garp said, causing Luffy to chuckle.
"He is in Shells Town in the East Blue. By the way, Shells Town is going to need a new Marine Captain. I had to kick Morgan's ass, let's just say, he wore the wrong uniform," Luffy said, everyone got confused except Nami who understood the hidden meaning behind it.
"Very well Luffy," said a growl on the other end of the line.
"Well, Gramps, I've got to go. I'm sure we'll run into each other soon, so until then," Luffy said, making Garm laugh.
"Take care of yourself, brat," Garp said as he hung up the phone. Luffy stood up and walked over to Coby, placing the snail back in his coat.
"You can fulfill your dream now," Luffy said, turning to Zoro and Nami and saying, "Get your things we are leaving," Zoro grabbed his swords and stood up to leave, Nami didn't have anything to carry since they were safe back at the boat. Luffy then turned to the marines and said, "Take care of Coby until my grandfather shows up will ya," as he, Nami, and Zoro began walking out the door.
The marines could only nod in agreement, and Zoro was dissatisfied with the boat.
"Well, Captain, where do we go from here?"
As he sat his swords down in the boat, Zoro inquired.
"We need to find a treasure in Orange Town," Luffy said, Nami suddenly having beri eyes!?