Chapter 2: Garp's Tort–Training
"No, grandpa please stop, oh god no!"
Flashback: 10 Years Ago
"Come on Luffy, if you're gonna be a strong Marine someday, you need to learn these techniques!" Garp shouted from the rock he was sitting on, picking his nose with his pinky.
"You jerk; I've told you a million times, I don't want to be some stupid Marine! I want to be a pirate!" Luffy yelled. He was having trouble concentrating on his anger though, as he was currently being chased by a giant tiger.
"Don't talk to your grandpa like that, you brat. This is all that red-haired idiots fault for poisoning your mind with all his talk about 'adventure' and 'freedom'. Freedom doesn't mean doing whatever you want with no regard for the law, it means feeling safe to live as a proud member of society. Red-hair's 'freedom' is nothing but a justification for all his evil deeds."
"Don't you dare insult Shanks old man, he saved my life. No matter what you say, he's still a hero to me."
"One good deed doesn't make up for a lifetime of bad ones. I am thankful that he saved you, but he's still a criminal. Now stop yapping and start focusing. I showed you all of the Rokushiki so pick one and save yourself from that tiger."
Luffy just grunted, and turned his thoughts to what he had learned. 'Grandpa is right, if I don't focus on using one of the powers I'll be tiger food for sure!' Luffy thought, not noticing that he had run straight off of a cliff.
'Odd,' Garp thought, 'Geppou wouldn't have been my first choice, but oh well. At least he's finally taking this seriously.' "Good job boy, I knew you could do it."
"Huh? What are you talking about gramps?" Luffy asked before looking at where he was. "Oh crap!" he screamed as he started falling to the ground below. Instinctively, he shot out his arm to try and grab on to something.
'Whew,' he thought as his hand latched on to a tree trunk. Suddenly, the tree flew off the side of the ledge. Standing in its place was a very stern-looking Garp.
"Today is about learning the Rokushiki, so no using your devil fruit powers!" he yelled.
'Damn it!' Luffy thought, 'That crazy old man is gonna get me killed. Okay, focus, you can do this.' As he fell, he felt his mind start to empty. As his head cleared he noticed something strange. He could sense things in the air, things that he could use as platforms to jump off of. Pollen, dust, air molecules. Then, as if by magic, he saw a path back to the top of the cliff. At this point, Luffy only had one thought, echoing throughout his entire being.
'Jump. Jump, jump, jump, jump, JUMP!' And just like that, he was standing back on the top of the cliff. "I did it!" he shouted triumphantly, "I made it!"
"That's a good start but can you do it again?" Garp asked, pushing his grandson back off the ledge.
"No, grandpa please stop, oh god no!"
End Flashback
"Luffy, snap out of it. Are you okay? Luffy!" Coby shouted, waking the young pirate from his trance.
"What?" Luffy asked, orienting himself to his surroundings. In the distance, he could see an island with a small port. "Where are we?"
"Thank god you're okay. I thought I lost you there for a second. Anyways, that island over there is the location of a Marine base. I heard they recently caught a very dangerous criminal, named Roronoa Zoro. He is said to be a demon in human form, a monster with no regard for human life at all."
"Sounds like a fun guy. I'm gonna go find him. Maybe I can get him to join my crew," Luffy said with a crazed grin.
"Did you listen to what I said at all? He is a cruel, ruthless man who won't let anything get in his way. You can't seriously expect someone like that to agree to work for you. It's insane to even think about it!"
"Well I want to meet him, so let's go."
'Whatever. There's no way I'm going to get him to see reason so here we go,' Coby thought as he moored the boat.
As they walked down the main street, Luffy spotted a vendor selling food and realized he was hungry. He grabbed a pear and bit into it. He flipped the shopkeeper a berry, and then asked, "Hey, do you know where I can find some guy named Zoro or something?" Everyone around him suddenly recoiled in fear at the mention of Zoro.
"Strange," Coby said, as he and Luffy continued towards the base. "Oh, by the way, I've heard that this Marine base is run by a man named Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan."
The people around them all recoiled in fear again. "I can understand why the people are afraid of a dangerous criminal like Zoro, but why are they scared when I say the name of the Marine captain?"
"Who cares?" Luffy asked, continuing on down the road. He already knew exactly what kind of Marines would have that reaction.
Upon reaching the gates of the Marine base, Luffy sensed a couple strange auras, just on the other side of the fence. "I'm going to look and see if I can find Zoro," Luffy said, climbing up to the top of the fence.
"They wouldn't leave a criminal like him out in the open. He'll be in the deepest cell they…" Coby argued, climbing up after his rubber friend. He stopped suddenly, his jaw dropping, as he looked over the fence to see a man with a black bandana and a green haramaki tied to a post. "Th-that's him. Why would someone like him be out here?" Coby asked with an edge of terror in his voice. As they hung on the fence watching him, he looked up and glared in their direction.
"Move it you two, you're ruining the scenery," Zoro stated calmly. As Coby was panicking, a ladder appeared and a little girl climbed up next to them. She looked from side to side, shushed Coby, and then dropped down into the yard.
"What do you want kid?" Zoro asked the girl.
"I thought you might be hungry, so I made you a couple rice balls."
"Just get out of here before I get really annoyed."
"Threatening children Zoro, tsk tsk. That's not very nice," a strange man in a purple suit said, walking in with two Marines behind him. "Those rice balls look pretty tasty!" the weird guy added, biting into one.
"Yuck!" he shouted in disgust, throwing it to the ground and slapping the other one out of the girl's hands, "They're supposed to be made with salt you idiot, not sugar."
"But I thought sugar would make them taste better," she said, crying as the man stomped the rice balls into the dirt. "Why are you doing this? I worked really hard to make those."
"I guess you didn't see the notice saying that assisting criminals in any way will result in execution. That is a direct order from my father, Captain Morgan." Turning to one of the men behind him, he said, "Toss this brat over the wall, or I'll tell my father you allowed her into the execution yard."
"Yes… sir," the man replied, reluctantly and distastefully. "Just curl up into a ball, okay?" he whispered before throwing her out. Luffy jumped out, stretching his arms towards the girl, and then he gently lowered them to the ground with Geppou.
"Thank you, mister," the girl said to Luffy, as Coby came running over to check on them.
Back inside the fence, the man in the purple suit was laughing maniacally. "You really think you can pull this off, don't you?" he asked Zoro.
"You're damn right I do. One month is nothing. I only have ten more days left."
"And you think you can make it ten more days? Good luck with that." The man turned around and walked away, still laughing. As soon as the gates closed, the rubber man was standing in the yard in front of Zoro.
"What do you want now? I thought I told you to get lost!" Zoro shouted at the straw-hat wearing teen.
"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of strong, powerful demon, but here you are, tied up like some common criminal."
"Shut up you bastard! I've never called myself a demon."
"I'd probably starve in less than a week if I were you."
"Well that's because I'm much more disciplined than you could even imagine. And I will survive this, no matter what."
"Whatever… crazy," Luffy said, turning to walk away.
"Wait a second," Zoro asked, "could you pick that up for me?"
"The dirt ball?"
"Just shut up and let me eat it!"
"Okay, if you say so." He picked up what was left of the rice ball and fed it to Zoro. As the bound swordsman swallowed it, he started coughing. "I told you so."
"It was delicious. Best meal I've had in my entire life. Let the girl know." Luffy smiled as he walked away.
Later, in the Town…
"Really?" the girl asked Luffy incredulously as he finished telling her and Coby what happened.
"Every last bite of it."
"That's fantastic!"
"I wonder if Zoro is really as bad as people claim," Coby wondered aloud.
"He isn't!" the girl shouted. "He's a nice person. He let himself be punished for protecting us."
"I don't follow. Who is 'us'?" Luffy asked her.
"Right, sorry. This is all that stupid Helmeppo's fault. You see…"
Flashback
Helmeppo walked down the street with two Marines and a vicious looking wolf. He entered a restaurant and the wolf began to eat anything it could reach. The little girl, who was sweeping, then took her broom and started hitting the wolf repeatedly, shouting "Stop it" over and over.
"Is there a problem, little girl? What is my cute doggy doing wrong?" asked Helmeppo, mockingly.
"Rika stop. We'll just get in trouble!" the woman working behind the counter yelled at the girl.
Suddenly, the wolf turned and lunged at Rika. But a stool suddenly flew across the room, hitting the wolf in the head, breaking its neck and killing it.
"How dare you, you… Wait, you're Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter."
"What's your point?"
"Why would someone like you go against the Marines?"
"Shut up. I'm trying to eat." With that, Helmeppo snapped, swinging a sword at the green haired swordsman. He dodged, kicked the sword into the ceiling, punched the effeminate-looking boy in the face, and drew his sword.
"You and your stupid dog are really starting to piss me off."
"You know, if I tell my father about this, the girl and her mother will be executed. So how about you and I make a bet. I imprison you for one month without food. Survive, and I'll even let you go free too. Deal?"
"One month? Deal," Zoro replied, resheathing his sword.
End Flashback
"That was three weeks ago. Helmeppo will go and beat him up almost every day. It's not fair!" Rika said, finishing her story.
"That sounds awful," Coby said, when all of the sudden they heard a commotion in the restaurant.
"Bring me your best meal, and don't bother charging me for it either," a certain purple wearing spoiled brat ordered Rika's mother. "Bring me some wine too. Ugh, this town is so boring. I need something fun to do. I know… I'll have Zoro executed!" he said, laughing… just as Luffy walked in.
"Soru." Luffy instantly appeared behind Helmeppo, and with a lightning quick punch, launched him into the wall. "People like you make me sick!" Luffy shouted as Coby tried to hold him back.
"How dare you hit me?! I am the son of the great Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan!"
"Who cares? Maybe I'll go beat him up too."
"You're insane. You'll be executed for this!" replied the Marine's son as fear bled onto his face.
"Shut up. Now come on and fight me like a man… you coward."
"Luffy, stop. Why are you picking a fight with the Marines here?" Coby pleaded desperately, giving Helemppo the opportunity to run away.
"Because I've decided,… Zoro is joining my crew!"
At the Marine Base…
"Daddy!" screamed the cowardly blond boy as he ran into his father's office. "Some guy just hit me. I want him executed immediately."
Captain Morgan stared out his window at the training yard below. "How is that my problem?"
"I'm your son, doesn't that count for something?"
"No. You're weak. And in this world only the strong have the right to live. So get out of my sight you worthless piece of shit!" shouted Captain Morgan as he turned a glare on his worthless son.
"Eep. Yes sir," Helmeppo squeaked, running out the door.
In the Execution Grounds…
"Now what do you want?" Zoro asked, looking up to see Luffy and Coby standing in front of him.
"We came to break you out," replied the straw-hat pirate matter-of-factly.
"I don't need your help. I'll be out of here in a few days, and then I can…"
"Well actually, you're getting executed tomorrow, so you might want to accept Luffy's offer," the pink haired boy replied, looking around nervously.
"What! That lying bastard. If I ever see his stupid bowl cut or ugly purple suit again, I'll kill him. Okay, get me out of here and help me find my swords, and I'll join your crew."
Luffy walked around to the side of the cross, pausing to take a deep breath. "Rankyaku!" Nothing happened for a second when suddenly the ropes fell off, and the cross broke in half. Zoro dropped to the ground.
"What the hell was that!?" he shouted, staring at Luffy like he was some kind of monster.
"Rankyaku. It's one of the Rokushiki. I'll teach you sometime, but first we need to get your swords and get out of here. Do you have any idea where they are?"
"That idiot Helmeppo took them, you'd have to ask him."
"Alright, you two stay here. I'll be right back. Soru!" Luffy said before disappearing into thin air.
'What did I just agree to?' thought Zoro, shaking his head.
On top of the Marine Base…
"Come on men, lift with your knees. I don't have all day to stand here watching you make fools of yourselves," Morgan shouted, overseeing the erection of his giant statue.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Helmeppo. Has anyone seen him?" Luffy asked, suddenly appearing on the roof.
Crash!
Jaws hit the floor as everyone turned to stare at the strange straw-hat wearing young man.
Crash!
Faces went pale as everyone turned back to look at the statue, realizing that in their shock, they had let go of the ropes tied to it. A vein was throbbing on Morgan's forehead, when Helmeppo decided to speak up.
"That's the guy who hit me! If you had listened to me and arrested him this wouldn't have happened."
"Excuse me? Did you just say what I think you said? Consider your next words very carefully." Morgan replied, his voice deceptively calm, the vein on his forehead looking ready to burst at any moment.
"Sorry to intrude guys, but I need to talk to the little wuss for a second. We'll be right back," Luffy stated, suddenly grabbing said wuss by the neck. Then they vanished without a trace.
Inside the Base…
"Where are Zoro's swords?" asked the rubber man impatiently, holding the cowering captain's son against the wall.
"In my bedroom, third floor, room 314. Please don't hurt me. I'll do anything, just please…"
"Shut up!" Luffy shouted, slamming Helmeppo's head against the wall, knocking him unconscious. "Damn you're pathetic."
Back in the Execution Yard…
'Where is he? Luffy we really need your help right now,' Coby thought, staring at a dozen Marines aiming guns in his face.
"Take aim, men. Prepare to fire on my command!" Morgan shouted, "Three, two, o–what the hell!" The metal jawed man stared blankly as his men dropped to the ground, when he noticed Luffy standing in the middle of the yard. "Straw-Hat! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
"Here you go Zoro, I found your swords," Luffy said, turning around and completely ignoring Morgan.
"You idiot. Never turn your back on an opponent, that's the first rule of fighting!" shouted Morgan while he prepared to chop Luffy in half.
"Soru."
The large captain brought his axe-arm down on nothing, and it became stuck in the ground.
"Oni Giri." Zoro rushed towards the trapped Morgan and sliced his head off. It flew through the air and landed amid the soldiers, some of whom were starting to wake up.
"Oh my god, you murdered the captain. You three will be executed for this!" one of the soldiers yelled.
"Three? Don't you mean two?" Luffy asked looking slightly confused. "Oh right, the pink haired kid. He's not with us; he's just some wannabe Marine that I captured to use as a hostage. Here, take him back, I don't need him anymore," he said casually, grabbing Coby by the arm and throwing him at the man that just spoke.
"By the way, I'm taking this axe." He ripped the axe hand off of Morgan's body, grabbed Zoro and disappeared.
"Oh god, kid, are you okay?" the Marine asked Coby.
"I am now sir. Please you have to let me join you. I don't want something like that to happen ever again! I want to get stronger so that I can save people instead of having to wait for other people to save me!" Coby said, fierce determination burning in his eyes.
"All right, but don't think that this will be easy."
"Yes sir. Thank you sir." 'And thank you Luffy. Thank you for helping me to fulfill my dream.'
At the docks…
"So, what do we do now, Captain?" Zoro asked, as they pushed out to sea.
"First, we need to get some more crew members, like a chef, a navigator, and a musician. Second, we need a proper ship, with cannons, and bedrooms, and a kitchen. And last but not least, we need provisions and supplies to survive at sea, food, booze, medical supplies, and ammunition. Then we head for the Grand Line."
"Alright, so where is our next stop?"
"There's an island near hear with a village called Orange Town. We should be able to find someone who will join us there. We might even be able to get a ship if we're lucky."
"Okay than, Orange Town here we come."
So here's chapter 2 (I know what you're thinking… finally) I plan to release a chapter of this story every week or two, a month at the max. I'll try to keep it as regular as possible, but no promises. Thank you all for the good reviews, I really do appreciate both the support and critiques/suggestions (especially .3950 and ExpertoftheBlade). Due to surprising support for her character I may just be planing retract Alvida's death in a latter chapter. Know that not just Luffy will be stronger in this fic as I plan on having him train his crew in both Rokushiki and Haki.
As always please review as they can only help me make this story better. I actually like getting as much feedback as possible from my readers. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to PM me.