Luffy, Oliver, and Koby were sailing across the sea, heading straight for Shells Town.
"So, is he a monster?" Luffy asked.
"That's right, Luffy! Roronoa Zoro is known as the Pirate Hunter. He's a terrible guy! He's like a stray dog hungry for blood!"
Koby started saying extremely bad things about Zoro to make Luffy change his mind about recruiting him as a Nakama.
"I haven't decided whether he'll be my Nakama yet. However, if he's a good guy, he's in," Luffy said with a smile.
"He was captured because he's a bad person!" Koby shouted. "Don't you think the same?"
"I don't judge others without seeing them first. Besides, just because he was captured, does that mean he's bad?" Oliver asked.
"Of course," Koby replied.
"If Luffy were captured, would that make him bad too?" he asked.
"Huh?"
Koby was left deep in thought, while Oliver remained silent, just waiting to arrive at Shells Town.
'Roronoa Zoro. I'm about to meet one of the Wings of the Future King of the Pirates.'
Hours passed as Koby led them until they finally reached their destination.
"We've arrived at the Marine Base town!" Luffy shouted as he got off the boat.
"Yes, finally!" Koby said cheerfully.
"You're amazing, Koby!" Luffy told him. "We reached our destination without any problems!"
"It's only natural. It's the least you should know before sailing. If you drift aimlessly, you'll never be a good pirate. You should at least recruit a navigator among your Nakama," Koby told him.
"Are you a navigator?" Luffy asked Oliver.
Oliver shook his head.
"Well, let's go eat!"
The three of them went looking for a place to eat, and after a few minutes, they found a restaurant where Luffy ordered a huge amount of food.
'50,000 Belly on food. And I think it was too little,' Oliver thought as he paid the bill.
"The food was delicious!" Luffy said after finishing his meal. "Well then, we'll part ways in this town, Koby! I hope you can join the Marines and become a great Marine!"
"Yes... Thank you very much! You should also become an excellent pirate!" Koby said, crying. "Even though sooner or later, we'll be enemies."
"Don't worry. When you're a Marine, it'll be fun to see how strong you become," Oliver said, recalling the Honesty Impact in Hachinosu.
"That's true. I wonder if they have that guy Zoro in the base."
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone in the restaurant was so shocked that they caused a commotion.
Koby became a bit nervous, Luffy remained clueless, and Oliver held back his laughter.
"It seems like mentioning Zoro's name is forbidden around here," Koby whispered. "Luckily, I saw a poster saying that Captain Morgan is here."
When he said that, once again, all the restaurant customers went crazy, making Luffy and Oliver laugh hysterically.
"Hahaha! That place was fun! I'll come back later!" Luffy laughed.
"This is very strange. I don't know why, but I'm worried. I understand being afraid when hearing Roronoa Zoro's name, since he could escape, but why are they scared when they hear the name of a Marine Captain?" Koby wondered.
"Don't you think they were just playing a prank on us?" Luffy said, unconcerned.
"I don't think that's the case! I'm serious!" Koby shouted.
"Maybe it's because he's just like Roronoa Zoro," Oliver told him.
"That's impossible! He's a Marine Captain!" Koby shouted.
"If you say so," Oliver said, knowing that soon Koby would learn what some Marines were really like.
They headed straight to the Marine Base, which was quite large.
'And Marineford is even bigger? How is that possible?' Oliver thought as he looked at the size of the Marine Base.
"Wow! It's impressive up close!" Luffy shouted, looking at it. "Let's go, Koby!"
"B-But I'm not mentally prepared yet! Besides, what happened earlier..." Koby said nervously.
Luffy ignored him and started climbing the wall surrounding the base, followed by Oliver.
"Where could the Demon Beast be?" Luffy wondered.
"I don't see him around here," Oliver replied.
They climbed down and searched elsewhere.
"There he is!" Luffy shouted.
There, tied to a wooden cross, was Roronoa Zoro, completely still.
"Roronoa Zoro. That's the real deal," Oliver said, excited to see him in person.
"So that's him. If we untie those ropes, he could easily escape!" Luffy said.
Koby started screaming that they couldn't free him or he would destroy the town.
'I feel like punching him,' Oliver thought.
"Hey, you guys! Could you help loosen these ropes a little? I've been like this for nine days, and I'm really exhausted," Zoro said with a smile.
"Hey! He's smiling!" Luffy said.
"He looks truly worn out," Oliver added.
Zoro wasn't just fatigued; he was also injured, with blood dripping from a wound on his head.
Koby was about to argue again, but Oliver covered his mouth to stop him from speaking any further.
Just then, a ladder was placed beside them, and a little girl climbed up.
She hushed them and quickly approached Zoro with two onigiri in her hands.
"Do you want to die? Get lost, girl!" Zoro warned her.
"I made these onigiri for you! You've been here for a long time; you must be hungry, right?" the girl said. "It's my first time making them, but I tried really hard."
"I'm not hungry! Take them and get out of my sight!" Zoro shouted.
"B-But..."
The girl still had the onigiri in her hands when a short young man with blond hair, escorted by two Marines, arrived.
'That's right. Helmeppo was a bastard until Garp corrected him with punches.'
Helmeppo snatched the onigiri from the girl and ate them himself.
"They taste awful! Disgusting! They're sweet! Did you put sugar in them?! Onigiri are supposed to have salt!" Helmeppo said, holding his throat.
"I thought they'd taste better sweet!" the girl said.
"This is inedible, idiot!"
Helmeppo took the last onigiri and threw it to the ground, stomping on it.
"Stop it! He won't be able to eat them like that!"
The girl begged him to stop, but Helmeppo didn't listen.
Seeing that, Oliver was about to hit him—but he couldn't. Not yet.
"You're so mean! I worked really hard making them!" the girl said, crying.
"Stop crying! That's why I hate kids!"
Helmeppo ordered a Marine to throw the girl outside the wall, threatening to tell Captain Morgan if he didn't.
The Marine had no choice but to obey, so he grabbed the girl and threw her—only for Oliver to catch her.
"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, setting the girl down.
Helmeppo left, but not before reminding Zoro that he still had 21 more days tied up and to do his best.
"Are you still here? You better leave before Helmeppo's father catches you," Zoro shouted at Luffy, who was standing in front of him.
"Look... I'm looking for Nakama to be pirates together," Luffy told him. "I already have my first Nakama."
Oliver was on top of the wall, waving.
'Sorry, Zoro. I took the spot as the first Nakama.'
"Pirates, huh? You're lowering yourself to being a simple pirate? There's no honor in that!" Zoro said.
"That's my dream! What's wrong with becoming a pirate?" Luffy asked.
"Let me guess, you're going to untie the ropes and then ask me to join you, right?"
Luffy and Zoro talked about their dreams while Oliver listened intently, finding it entertaining—until a red screen appeared.
[Mission: Help Rescue Zoro]
[Reward: Talent Gacha Token]
"I'm worried that a mission related to rescuing Zoro has appeared. Could something be different?"
Luffy went with Oliver to tell him that they should leave for now, so he complied.
They arrived in the city, where Luffy told the girl that Zoro had eaten all the food she had made, which made her very happy.
"That guy, is he really as wicked as they say?" Koby asked.
"You're wrong! He hasn't done anything bad! Everyone is afraid of him, but he was captured for trying to help me."
The girl explained that Helmeppo had a wolf that terrorized the city until it almost attacked her, but Zoro saved her by killing it.
"So that's the reason why Zoro is imprisoned?" Luffy asked.
"It seems so. He's just a spoiled brat upset because his wolf was killed," Oliver said.
"I see! If we set aside his bad attitude, being a bounty hunter doesn't make him a criminal," Koby said as he realized Zoro was actually good.
The girl then explained that the real villains were Captain Morgan and his son Helmeppo, who abused their authority to oppress the city's people. Those who disobeyed them were sentenced to death.
"¡Hiehiehie! Who dares to raise their head? I'll tell my dad!"
Helmeppo arrived, and all the townspeople had to kneel.
"Do you want to be crucified like Roronoa Zoro? Listen well! In three days, I will execute him publicly! I hope this serves as an example! It'll be fun!"
Luffy heard this and went to ask.
"What happened to the promise of surviving a month?" Luffy asked him.
"Who the hell are you? Where did you hear that?" Helmeppo asked. "That promise was just a bad joke! There's no way he could have taken it seriously—only an idiot would believe it!"
Helmeppo mocked him again, and upon hearing that, Luffy punched him in the face, nearly knocking him out.
"Luffy! Stop, please! Do you want to be an enemy of the Marines?" Koby asked.
"I've decided! I'm going to ask Zoro to be one of my nakama!" Luffy declared with determination.
"Then we have to go rescue Zoro!"