A whirlpool separated Kaito Sakamoto and Luffy.
As fate would have it, Luffy met Coby, while Kaito ended up as Zoro's neighbor. What an unpredictable twist of destiny.
At nearly the same moment, Luffy and Coby poked their heads out from behind the base wall, interrupting Helmeppo mid-sentence with a loud call of, "Kaito!" It completely overshadowed Helmeppo's words, making it sound like he was saying, "I'm... Kaito's son."
In response, Kaito scoffed, "There's no way I'd have a son with a chin like yours. Mine's perfectly normal."
Luffy's sudden appearance left Helmeppo stunned. Not only did Luffy ignore the fact that Helmeppo was the son of a Marine captain, but he also casually walked right into the Marine base, leaving Coby no choice but to follow him.
...
"Hahaha, Kaito, you look pathetic! That rope looks like it'd be so easy to break free from," Luffy teased as he jogged over to where Kaito and Zoro were tied up, hinting at both of them with a single line.
Kaito thought, No! Only one of us!
"Yeah, it's really not that hard to break free," Kaito replied. He stopped pretending, effortlessly slipping off the cross-shaped wooden post he was tied to.
"See? It's easy to break out of," he repeated, exchanging a grin with Luffy as they both looked over at Zoro, who was clearly offended.
"Y-You broke free? Are you trying to escape?" Helmeppo stammered, shocked at Kaito's easy escape, a trail of snot hanging from his nose.
"Escape? I'm not going anywhere. Why don't you first tell me what crime I've supposedly committed?" Kaito asked, leaving Helmeppo momentarily speechless. But then, recalling his "powerful" father, Helmeppo regained his confidence.
"I thought I'd find treasure in that barrel, but it was just you! Made me excited for nothing! That's your crime!" he huffed. "I'm the son of a Marine captain, you know!"
Kaito nodded, thinking to himself that if even a Marine captain's son could act so entitled, there was no hope for the World Government. "Oh."
"Just... 'oh'?" Helmeppo repeated in disbelief.
"Luffy, this guy here is Roronoa Zoro," Kaito introduced Zoro as if it were his own introduction.
"I know, Coby and I were looking for him," Luffy replied, introducing Coby in turn. "This is Coby, a timid but determined guy with a future."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Kaito Sakamoto. Let's watch each other's backs," Kaito said, as if they weren't meeting for the first time.
"H-Hi! Nice to meet you!" Coby greeted nervously, sneaking glances at the wild group Luffy had brought together.
"Luffy, are you here to recruit Zoro, same as me?" Kaito asked.
Luffy adjusted his hat with a grin. "Hahaha, exactly, Kaito! That's what I'm here for."
"I'm right here, you know!" Zoro couldn't take it anymore. They were chatting like it was a market, with the Marines just a step away!
"We're pirates," Kaito and Luffy replied in perfect harmony, each finishing the other's sentence.
"Pirates? So you're choosing to be villains," Zoro smirked. Pirates were nothing new to him.
"So what? It's my own choice," Luffy said, unconcerned with anyone else's opinion, while Kaito laughed.
"Good guys, bad guys? How do you even define those?" Kaito asked. "Are all pirates evil? And are these three useless Marines and the captain's brat good people?" He looked directly at Zoro. "In this world, good and evil aren't just words."
Zoro was momentarily stunned but still kept a hardened expression.
"Ah, a real smooth-talker! Annoying, but he makes a point," Zoro admitted reluctantly.
Before Kaito could continue, Helmeppo interrupted, shouting, "Pirates! They're pirates! Hurry, protect...!"
As he panicked, trying to hide behind two soldiers, a bullet whizzed by, grazing his cheek.
"When adults are talking, the kid stays quiet," Kaito said coolly, smirking. Helmeppo's face went pale, and he collapsed from shock.
"You two, go get Captain Morgan," Kaito ordered the Marines nearby, who immediately ran off, too scared to question him after seeing how quick he was with a gun. Kaito lowered his hand, and his gun turned back into a silver bracelet, catching the eye of a curious young girl.
"Let's continue," he said, but Zoro was the one to speak up.
"Enough! I'm not joining any pirate crew! I have my own goals to fulfill, I'm not going to lower myself to a pirate's level."
"But you're already considered a criminal," Luffy pointed out simply, arms crossed.
"I don't care what others say! I've never broken my vow and I won't start now," Zoro replied firmly.
"Your vow to become the world's greatest swordsman?" Kaito asked, causing Zoro to falter for the first time.
"It's what all swordsmen aim for, right?" Kaito continued, grinning. "It's not like being a pirate changes that."
"Exactly," Luffy agreed.
"Come on, just join us. Three people make a team," Kaito said smoothly, sealing the offer.
Zoro fell silent.