From where we left off:

The younger male straightened himself. "I haven't officially introduced myself to you, guys, and I guess it's okay for me to do that now."

"My name is Yuu. Nice to meet you, guys."

Hayato, Klara, and Zoro simply smiled at the teenager whereas Luffy did more than that. He grinned with his teeth showing. Robin felt just as happy as the others, her face showing it as well.

"And I am Hayato," interrupted the bartender. "I'm just as grateful as Yuu for rescuing him."

"But..."

"Why did you guys decide on rescuing me? I don't even know you, people..."

Feeling that it was his responsibility to tell the other male, Hayato approached his friend and was about to whisper to the other, a hand already cupped around Yuu's ear, when he was beaten to it.

"Because we want you to join our crew."

"Eeh?"

A cheeky laugh from Luffy erupted.

"Yuu. My crewmates and I want you to become one of us!"

Chapter 11 - The Safer Option

The group of six, led by two male youngsters, continued to march towards the approaching exit of the dark and web-infested Sealock Channel.

Several minutes ago, the pirate captain in the group, Monkey D. Luffy, formally invited the white-haired Yuu to join his crew. Judging from how the six people are heading to their location, an answer expected by the Rubber Man was provided.

...

"U-Uh..."

"Excuse me, Luffy-san," Hayato pulled his friend away from the pirate, "We appreciate you guys rescuing him. That's clear here. However..."

"If it's not obvious, we're trying to get away from the Marines, not openly becoming an actual opponent for them to hunt down in their leisure time. In fact, not only the Marines. Yuu here is avoiding even the simplest of town hooligans. Letting him be one of the government's targeted criminals is completely out of the question. I won't allow Yuu be a pirate."

Robin and Zoro were both surprised by how Hayato put his foot down. Luffy, on the other hand, responded with pouting, clearly dissatisfied with what he heard. However, Klara simply stood like nothing was wrong.

As expected of an elder, she was simply observing.

"I suppose you let your friend decide on his own," the swordsman voiced out from the side. "If he likes to be one of us since, personally, I don't mind if Yuu joins us."

The concerned people turned their eyes towards the fidgeting Yuu. With his face covered by his dangling bangs, the male tried to respond but all that came out of his lips were incoherent mumbling.

"Oi, Yuu," Luffy tried to reach the other male but was quickly blocked by the bartender.

"I'm sorry for how I will be acting, Luffy-san, even after rescuing Yuu and helping us get away from that Vice Admiral, but..." using the back of his left hand, Hayato quickly flicked away the stretched out appendage of the captain. "I humbly request you guys to refrain from forcing Yuu to join you."

"What's the problem?" Luffy finally voiced out his frustration. "Why can't you let Yuu join us?"

"U-Um..."

"What is it, Yuu?" Robin queried, the worry in her face masked her eagerness to hear the male's response.

"I think I'll go with Hayato."

"W-What?" Luffy was shocked.

"I-It won't be safe out there in the open sea for me. Hayato is right."

"What do you mean?" the captain stepped closer to Yuu, only to be blocked by Hayato. "We're here to protect you. Robin, Zoro, and I, as well as the others, will surely protect you."

"I-I don't think I'd like people whom I never met to watch my back. I'll stay here with Hayato," the male quickly gripped the hem on the back of the shirt of his friend. "C-Come on, Hayato."

With the friend's tugging, both males continued walking towards the destination.

"O-Oi!" Luffy tried to stretch an arm again.

"I suppose we should continue walking, young one," Klara stepped in. "If I'm not mistaken, the petrol inside Hayato's held lamp is almost used up. We have to proceed before we run out of light."

...

Thus, the eerie silence.

Yuu was still beside his friend while the latter was obviously on his guard against the captain behind them, his golden-brown orbs carefully observing through the corner of his eyes.

Behind them, Luffy was obviously displeased with how he was talked to.

"I would like to personally apologise for Hayato's attitude towards you guys," Klara softly said.

"He's just thinking about Yuu's well-being. They've been like family to each other since they met four years ago, after all."

"It's a bit too much, don't you think," the swordsman commented in slight annoyance.

"Hayato wasn't wrong, though. The town thugs would always pummel Yuu every time they see him and for no reason, at that. Either Hayato or I would later end up patching the kid up."

A side-effect of his Devil Fruit, perhaps? Robin thought.

"Those two don't have any blood relatives on this island. Ever since they found each other, both have been practically joined at the hips."

"Is that so..." The captain pondered as he folded his arms over his chest in thought.

"That Hayato kid acts like the other's mum," Zoro scoffed, to which Klara simply chuckled amusingly.

"Well, I can't disagree with that."

Whether Zoro wanted the bartender to hear his mocking, no one knew, but it certainly did not escape Hayato's ears. "I can hear you from over here, you know..."

"Yeah, and what will you do about it, you overprotective mum?"

The grip Hayato had on the lamp tightened, completely pissed off with the swordsman's taunt. However, he simply let it off with a heavy sigh and continued walking. "At least this overprotective mother was able to thwart that Vice Admiral, even for a little bit. Unlike a certain muscle head over there..."

"W-Why you little–"

"Ouch!"

When Hayato stopped for a few seconds to bicker with the swordsman, Yuu, on the other hand, continued walking even with the light behind him getting dimmer as he marched. Because of that, his foot unexpectedly collided with something hard on his path. In pain, he quickly knelt and rubbed his affected foot. His friend rushed as soon as he heard the yelp.

"What happened?" The bartender lowered his lamp to illuminate the writhing teen.

"M-My foot... Something's blocking the path. Can you light the front a bit?" Hayato did what he was told.

It was...

"Oh my," Klara clapped her hands in joy. "We're at the exit."

"Exit?"

"Hayato dear, can you step on the coloured rock in front of Yuu?"

In the path in front of the team was the mentioned coloured rock, a red rock shaped into a disc which looked to have been placed there deliberately. Behind the rock was a dead end, with both left and right walls meeting with each other. In response to the elder's request, Hayato slowly approached the possible culprit behind his friend's pain.

"I will... step on this?"

"Yes, dear. The exit should appear soon after."

Although hesitating a bit, the bartender decided to use his right foot and stepped on the rock as high as five inches. As he continued to apply pressure on his foot, the red rock sunk on the floor, scaring Hayato slightly. After the rock was fully submerged and level with the floor, the ceiling directly above Zoro parted.

As it opened, little by little, small stones and sand came raining down onto the swordsman, much to his chagrin and to the bartender's hidden amusement. A few minutes later, along with a completely dusty Zoro, appeared a square-shape exit above their heads.

"That's the exit?" From the looks of the white-haired male's face, he was disappointed by how they would go out of the dark tunnel.

"I didn't say that there'd be stairs," the older female chuckled.

As soon as Luffy saw the bright light, he got eager to get out into the open. As a result, Luffy stretched his arms as he aimed for the corners of the barely big enough exit and propelled himself out of the tunnel and into a secluded part of a forest. With trees surrounding the exit, it seemed that the group was safe.

As the captain landed on his feet, he quickly retracted his arms, stretched them upwards, and yelled 'Finally!' before laughing.

Meanwhile, Robin placed herself directly below one corner of the hole and crossed her arms.

"Treinta Fleur."

In a breeze, arms sprouted from the floor and from the ceiling, limbs connected with each other, and after a few seconds, all arms formed something that resembled a ladder made of light-coloured wood.

"Oh, my, Robin-chan," the older woman approached the sprouted limbs near her. "This makeshift ladder," she giggled slightly, "Thank you."

"Your welcome, Klara-san. Come on," the archaeologist grabbed on her assembled organic ladder, "we can use this to get out of here."

After Robin got out of the hole, the three remaining males carefully guided the elder woman up the ladder, with the archaeologist aiding her at the mouth of the exit. After both females were safely out, it was Zoro's turn, but before he even grabbed a hold of the sides of the ladder, he noticed the white-haired teen shiver beside the bartender.

"Oi. W-What's wrong?"

"I-I don't mind helping Klara-san, but do I really also have to climb that thing?"

"What are you talking about?" Zoro raised a brow.

"Don't tell me..." Hayato turned around to his friend. "This may technically be related to that, but unless you want to get out of this dark hole, you have to touch it."

"Do I have any other option?" Whined the shuffling Yuu.

The green-haired swordsman approached the two males with height shorter than his own by a few centimetres in wonder. "What's the problem with him?" He asked the bartender.

"So, you do care, Mr Swords-for-Brains," Hayato scoffed as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Shut up, you possessive parent."

"Huh?" The two then quickly locked eyes with each other in frustration.

On the other side of the exit, Robin was wondering why no one was going up the ladder, so she peeked into the dark tunnel.

"Is there a problem down there?"

"Ah, yes. Yuu won't climb the stairs."

"You really are an insensitive piece of crap, aren't you?" Zoro was clearly irked and simply turned his back against the two others. Although, from the corner of his eyes, the swordsman noticed the bartender approaching the other male and tried to calm him down.

"Think of it as a … hm..."

"A real-life version of e-sugoroku. The die told you to progress and you shall."

"But, isn't this more like Snakes and Ladders?"

"Well... it is..."

"I rather choose the snake, then! I prefer going back than touching that ladder!"

Hayato understood how his friend was feeling. However, they have been holding up the others for quite some time already. With one hand on his hip, the bartender sighed in mental exhaustion.

"Yuu... Come on, let's go."

"Don't want to! No!" The shaking male stepped back, away from the bartender. Hayato sighed once more and turned around towards the mouth of the exit, to Klara who was also peeking down on them.

"Klara-san, are there other exits here that actually has steps? Or like... completely level with the ground? Like a cave or something?"

"It's very far from here, dear," responded the elder. "That kind of exit would be near the beach at the northernmost part of the island. You won't have enough petrol for your lamp if you go out there."

"Is that so..."

The bartender rubbed his chin, pondering, as he watched his friend shake in fear in front of him. Yuu was shivering, his arms folded over his chest while his nails dug deep into his own skin. His face wasn't any calmer. His dilated eyes and slightly ajar mouth also told him that the poorly dressed male was scared. Terrified.

Yuu...

Not known to Hayato, the other male remaining inside the tunnel walked closer to the shaking youngster and, without any warning, wrapped his arms around the other's hip, raising him high and placing him over his shoulders.

"Z-Zoro-san! W-What are you doing?"

"O-Oi! You tactless idiot! What are you doing with Yuu! Put him down!"

A frantic bartender immediately blocked the swordsman as he turned around towards the makeshift ladder. With both hands raised on the sides, Hayato stood strong against Zoro, his eyes fiercely staring at the pirate.

"What do you think you're doing with Yuu?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"If you two are considering on going through the long way, fine by me, but do you think you two can continue on this dark path knowing that you have little gas left and none of you has any idea where this exit is?"

Hayato stood speechless, the strength of his arms leaving as he thought about what the slightly older male pointed out. On the other hand, Yuu also calmed down after listening to the remark.

"Don't expect your grandmother to continue walking down this path. If you two have any consideration, you would not involve her as you two plan on heading off somewhere else."

The raised arms slowly settled down as Hayato processed what Zoro said and looked away from the pirate in contemplation.

"I-It's not as if we didn't think of that, you moron... it's just that..."

"H-Hayato," the other male's voiced made Hayato look back at the green-haired male, "I guess Zoro-san has a point."

Zoro internally smiled at the compliment but masked it with a slight huff.

The third male's voice was low but shaky, as if he accepted the situation but is still scared of what would happen.

"Z-Zoro-san... in that case, what will you do with me?"

"I'll carry you while I climb the ladder," both younger males gasped in shock.

"C-Can you even climb if you do that?" Hayato questioned strongly.

On the other hand, Yuu sounded reassuring. "Okay. I'll trust you on this one, Zoro-san."

"O-Oi! Yuu! Are you sure about this?" The bartender quickly ran behind Zoro to face his friend.

"Of course," smiled the other male. "I'm a bit scared. We might fall or I may be dropped, but, I trust Zoro-san. Try trusting him, too, okay?"

Hayato did not expect the words that came out of his friend's own two lips.

Try trusting him, eh...

Hayato looked at his friend's expression. Yuu does look a bit scared, but he sounded very positive. The small smile on his face proved to Hayato that the other was confident of the swordsman.

In that case...

"Okay. You got me," Hayato raised his arms in defeat. "You two go up first, just in case something happens. Although..." The bartender looked up at the two females on the exit. "Robin-san, I don't know how your powers work, but... will this put a lot of stress on you?"

"Don't worry about it, I can handle the pressure," Robin was confident.

Hayato stared at both pirates quickly and briefly pondered on everything.

"Fine. You two. Go. Now."

Zoro approached the foot of the ladder and held tight on one of its rails, not before inspecting it from foot to top.

"Hold on tight, you got that?"

"Y-Yes, Zoro-san," exclaimed Yuu in assurance.

As the slimmer male wrapped his arms around the bulkier male, Zoro slowly raised a foot onto the first step. After a few more steps, the swordsman slowly raised his free hand, the hand not securing the younger male's waist, to hold tight to a higher portion of the ladder.

Hayato stared at the two in cold sweat, his hands clasped together and directly touching his chin as if he was praying for his friend's – and the swordsman's, safety.

After at least 10 steps, Zoro and his luggage finally reached the exit. The moment the pirate landed his feet on the soil, Hayato down below released a big sigh of worry. Robin, on the other hand, simply smiled along with Klara.

While Yuu was slowly being put down by Zoro, Hayato quickly followed suit, one hand firmly on the lamp while climbing the provided ladder.

Within a few minutes, all six were finally above ground. Robin deactivated her ability, turning the makeshift ladder into pure nothingness. Hayato approached Yuu as soon as he emerged and inspected the male from head to toe for any injuries. The other male simply smiled at the attention.

"I'm safe, Hayato. See?" The male playfully spun. "No injuries whatsoever."

"Good," Hayato turned his eyes towards the swordsman standing beside his captain, "I suppose I have to give credit where credit is due."

"You're welcome," that was all that Zoro said, monotonously, before he turned around against the two. The bartender simply scoffed and did the same.

"Really?" Sensing a weird aura, Yuu quickly grabbed the friend's hand and pulled him in front of Zoro.

"Zoro-san," said the male as he stood in front of him, "Thank you for helping me climb..." Yuu then shivered as he remembered what he considered as a 'Ladder of Hell.'

"You're welcome, brat," one calloused hand landed on top of Yuu's mop of white hair. "I just hope your friend is just as grateful."

"H-He is!" With that, Yuu grabbed Hayato by the shoulders and placed him beside him, facing the swordsman. "Come on, Hayato."

"Thank you for helping Yuu up the ladder," Hayato tried to fake sincerity, but clearly did not pass Zoro's standards.

"Well," the other male mockingly used his right pinkie and cleaned his right ear, "Can you repeat that? I didn't hear it clearly."

"Thank you ever so much, Seaweed-san. I really appreciate an alga like yourself helping my friend here," monotonously retaliated the other, to only which Zoro obviously irked at. As he was about to draw a sword, Yuu quickly came in between them, distancing them with his extended arms, while both males glared daggers at each other.

"Oh, my..." Yuu felt uneasy with the two. "P-Please don't start killing each other, okay?"

Both males looked at each other in disgust and sighed heavily, now avoiding to stare at one another.

"Anyway," Hayato remembered, "I'm still against Yuu joining your crew, you got that, Luffy-san?"

"W-Why are you so against it?" The captain whined.

"Just because. Now come on, Yuu. Let's go," the bartender pulled the other male and started walking away from the others, not before asking the elder who went with them inside the tunnel, "Klara-san, this is the forest beside old man Hazkon's plantation, is that right?"

"Yes, it is," confirmed Klara.

"Good," his grip on his friend tightened, "in that case, we'll be off now, Klara-san. I guess we'll see you later at dinner."

"Okay, see you boys, okay?"

After a hummed response from the bartender, both males started walking away from the group. However, Luffy, still feeling dissatisfied with the answer, stretched his arms towards nearby trees and catapulted himself against the distancing males. Both Hayato and Yuu were then hit on impact by the carefree male as all three came crashing into a nearby tree.

As soon as Hayato regained his bearing, two exasperated hands grabbed Luffy by the collar of his shirt.

"T-That's the second time I got involved with your freakishly dangerous ability, damn it! One more of this stuff and I'll kill you, you brat!"

"But..." The captain was unfazed by the apparent anger, as it seemed, "I want Yuu to join my crew! The others find him interesting, especially Robin. Chopper also wants to continue treating his wounds!"

Suddenly intrigued, Hayato quickly turned his head towards the friend, scanning his from head to toe once more.

N-Now that you mention it... He does have bandages all over him...

"Also!" The male continued, "We can protect him very well. I'm strong, after all! What's your problem with that!?" Black orbs then glared fiercely at golden brown ones.

Hayato also leered at the other male for a few seconds, then released his grip on the pirate soon after. Using his right hand to comb his hair from the bangs, the bartender simply sighed while eyes on the leaves of the trees above him.

"I respect your opinion, Luffy-san, I really do. After all, you guys who are complete strangers to Yuu and I decided to save us from well-armed Marines. However," the speaking male lowered his eyes to focus on the pirate captain, "staying on this island where we can easily hide from anyone who wants to harm us is the easier option. Now that Klara-san just shared us a very convenient way of escaping our persecutors, Yuu and I will be able to stay safe while we're here in Sealock."

Luffy simply sat crisscrossed on the ground, seriously listening to the bartender.

"Yuu, what do you say about this?" Golden brown orbs then shifted towards the white-haired male nearby.

"I-I agree with Hayato. Luffy-san, I really, really, appreciate the help, but it would be very unsafe for someone like me who can't even swim anymore to travel on the seas with people who not only are complete strangers to me but also wanted by the entire world."

Near the exit, Klara and the two other pirates simply listened to the conversation.

"W-We'll be going now, come on, Hayato." Yuu slowly bowed a perfect 90 before turning around and leaving the forest along with Hayato and this time, for real.

"Well..." Zoro approached the captain who's trying to stand up, "that was completely different from the usual recruitment process."

"Zoro..." The swordsman hummed in confusion, "because of that, I feel more convinced that we should really have Yuu in our crew."

"Huh? Were you even listening to what those two have been saying?"

"I am. However..."

At this point, Robin and Klara walked closer to the two males.

"A very strong Vice Admiral just saw their faces. Up close, at that. Staying here in Sealock would not help them if she would really look for them."

"You have a point."

I can't even cut her down...

"That is why we really have to get them to join us!"