Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece
...
The Going Merry swayed gently with the waves as Zoro and Usopp watched the Marine vessel prepare itself for the journey ahead. "I do have to admit that I'm grateful that I'm not on a ship like that," said Usopp. "There's no personality, no sense of style. It's just the same as so many others."
"You know, you can talk about what you did," said Zoro.
"What I did? My whatever do you mean?" asked Usopp, puffing his chest out ever so slightly.
"If you're going to act that way then I'm going to take a nap," said Zoro, slightly edging away only for Usopp to grip onto his arm.
"Alright, alright," said Usopp quickly. "I know I didn't have to do what I did. I could have stayed here on the ship with Johnny and Yosaku but I just...acted. It was the right thing to do and even if I had failed, at least I would have known that I had at least tried."
"But you didn't fail," said Zoro. "Because of you, someone is going to return home to their family as opposed to being given a notification that they had died at sea. Take pride in that."
Usopp turned his attention back towards the Marine vessel as it began to make its way out to open sea. "Yeah...I saved a man's life didn't I," said Usopp.
"You did what now?" asked Luffy, he and Nami close enough to the base of the ship almost hear what the two of them were talking about.
"I saved a man's life!" repeated Usopp enthusiastically, as if the weight of the whole thing suddenly crashed down on him.
"And how do you feel?" asked Luffy as he started making his way onboard, Nami not far behind him.
"I feel great!" shouted Usopp as he threw his hands into the air.
"Alright, settle down," said Nami as she boarded the Going Merry. "So who's this pirate we have to keep an eye on."
"His name's Gin," said Zoro, stepping away from the railing as the four of them created a circle. "He's a commander for the Krieg Pirates and has a bounty of twelve million. Johnny and Yosaku are currently treating his wounds and some food should be getting up here shortly to feed him."
"How bad was the fight?" asked Luffy, looking down to the blood soaked bandage wrapped around Zoro's thigh.
"Despite not eating for days, he was still confident in his abilities," said Zoro. "Knew how best to try and take me on when he only had a pistol for a weapon against my katanas."
"Well if he's got a bounty like that you'd imagine that he knows how to fight properly," said Usopp.
"Should we be worried about when he decides to try and stab us from behind once he's recovered," said Nami, arms crossed over her chest.
"What makes you so certain that that is what he'll do?" Luffy asked of the female crewmate.
"Because he's a pirate!" exclaimed Nami, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't get a bounty for giving out flowers and helping the elderly! You get a bounty for murdering, raping, pillaging and for being a blight on society! So tell me, why should I believe that this pirate is going to be any different?"
Several seconds passed as Nami's rant came to a close, her eyes trying to bore a hole straight through Luffy's skull. In typical fashion however, he seemed completely unfazed by it. "A bounty is given to any person whom the Marines or, and let me be very clear on this one, the government see as a threat," said Luffy slowly, ensuring that every word he said was heard. "A threat can mean many things. A criminal act is seen as such through the eyes of the justice system. If you steal a loaf of bread you're a thief. If you were to use that bread to feed starving children, you're a hero to them. The fact remains however that you did a criminal act and will be punished accordingly."
"We're not talking about petty theft though, we're talking about people who commit the most heinous of acts against other people," stated Nami.
"Tell me, what kind of crime do you believe somebody did to receive, let's say seventy nine million? Hmm...Usopp, your thoughts?" asked Luffy, turning his attention towards the most recent addition to the crew.
"Me? Oh...umm...seventy nine million, that's a...uhh...really specific number..." stammered Usopp.
"Just answer the question," said Zoro, sick of the man's mumbling.
"Alright, alright," said Usopp as he lowered his head in thought. "From those bounty posters Johnny showed us, the largest bounty in East Blue was twenty million. So to get a bounty near eighty million would mean that the person was four times as dangerous as the most wanted person in East Blue."
"Alright, Zoro, your thoughts?" asked Luffy.
"They're strong," he said, as if it was the simplest of answers.
"And Nami, what do you think you'd have to do to get a seventy nine million beli bounty?" Luffy asked of the navigator.
"You'd have to be the most vile scum on the planet!" huffed Nami, wondering what the whole point of this was.
"Well, what would you think however if I was to tell you that said bounty worth seventy million beli hadn't been given to a pirate. It hadn't been given to an arms dealer, or a slave trader, or even a cultist which sacrificed people to whatever deity they worshipped. That bounty, had been given to an eight year old girl."
"What!" exclaimed Usopp in shock while Zoro's eyes visibly widened.
Nami felt herself freeze in place.
Luffy walked over to the railing and gazed off to the horizon. "During my training, I often looked through bounty posters to see just how many criminals were out there. Many of them it was pretty easy to find out why they had achieved the bounty they had. Like you put it earlier Nami, pillaging and murder mostly. A couple bounties however seemed to be given for reasons I couldn't quite understand. I mean, one bounty I looked at had been issued because the man had freed slaves. Why was freeing slaves a bad thing? Shouldn't the person receiving the bounty be the person who had slaves in the first place? It took me a while before I realized that the world wasn't so simple."
"And then there was this bounty," continued Luffy as he turned to look at his friends once more. "Seventy nine million given to a girl by the name of Nico Robin. No matter who I asked, they seemed to either not know why she had received that bounty in the first place or chose not to tell me. One answer I did get once chilled me down to the core however as they said, and I believe to the very bottom of my heart that they were telling the truth, that her crime was being alive."
"Being alive," repeated Nami as she struggled to catch her breath.
"No way," said Usopp in disbelief.
"It's because of her that I don't judge a criminal by their bounty," said Luffy. "Their bounty might show what kind of threat they pose to the Government, but it doesn't indicate what kind of person they are."
"I'm starting to think that part of the reason you won't get promoted is your way of thinking," said Zoro. "To the wrong kind of people, it might even seem treasonous."
"Well if they ever put a bounty on me, I doubt I'd be the first person to have done so for thinking outside the norm," said Luffy with a sheepish smile spread across his face. Before any of them could continue on however, the blond chef from the restaurant made his way onboard with a plate of food in his hand.
"So where is he?" asked the chef.
"Here, I'll show you," said Usopp gesturing for the man to follow him.
"One last question for you Zoro, you don't have to answer it but just keep it in mind," said Luffy. "If you were to run into a child who could secure you enough of a paycheck to your belly full for years, would you have it in you to sentence them to death?"
Luffy's question hung in the air awkwardly as the Warrant Officer trailed after Usopp and the chef, likely to question the pirate currently aboard the vessel. Zoro kept a scowl on his face, not having enjoyed having been given the hypothetical question that Luffy had left him. Clicking his tongue, he moved towards the mast only for Nami's hand to weakly reach out and grab the sleeve of his shirt.
"Don't tell me you've got another hypothetical problem to drop on me," he said in annoyance.
"This problem...it isn't hypothetical."
...
"I gotta say, your men know how to patch someone up," said Gin as he sat against the wall, the plate in front of him empty as he gingerly applied further pressure to the bandages wrapped around his stomach.
"Unfortunately I believe that they only know how to do so because they keep getting their ass handed to them," said Luffy casually before turning to the chef who was still in the room. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name earlier."
"Sanji," introduced the man who had brought the meal up. "You were, Officer Luffy, right?"
"Warrant Officer but yeah," said Luffy.
"So you gonna arrest me for hitting your buddy?" asked Sanji, tensing ever so slightly.
"From what I can tell, he deserved it," said Luffy with a shrug of the shoulders. "Frankly he was out of line and was punished accordingly. If he tries to bring anything up with the higher ups he knows that I witnessed the whole thing unfold and will testify against him."
"For a Warrant Officer you seem to hold yourself in pretty high regard," chuckled Gin.
"A lot of people seem to listen to what I have to say," said Luffy nonchalantly. "Connections and whatnot. I guess the big question though, is what are you going to do Gin, knowing you are a captive aboard a Marine vessel."
"Funny looking Marine ship," commented Sanji.
"Point is still valid," said Luffy, focusing on Gin.
"Well the lack of manacles makes me believe that you don't see me as a threat," said Gin, raising his wrists into the air.
"I don't see you as a threat, at least not yet," clarified Luffy. "From what I could tell from watching the Lieutenant leave, he's gone to track down the rest of your crew in an attempt to garner himself your Captain."
"Please, he could barely contain me, there's no possible way he'll capture Don Krieg," said Gin with a vicious smirk across his face.
"I didn't say anything about capture," said Luffy. "I reckon that he's going to plant himself at the edge of cannon range and bombard wherever Don Krieg has holed himself up. A dead body may not be worth as much but it's still a reasonable target for him to boast about."
"Well, perhaps he's not as much of a fool as I thought," said Gin, slumping ever so slightly.
"That's it, you're just going to give up like that," said Sanji, somewhat annoyed with how aloof Gin was being. "Don't you want to rescue your friends."
"Of course I do, I wish I could steal myself a ship and chase after them but I know I would be blown out of the water as soon as I was spotted. Even if I survived the initial blast, if I tried to get onboard the ship I would be shot at without hesitation. I have to accept that as I am now, there is not much I can do. I know my Captain though and I know that he will go down swinging," said Gin, anguish in his eyes.
"You're loyal to him aren't you," said Luffy before putting his hands behind his head. "If you stick with us you'll probably hear about his outcome and if he's still out there and, oh I don't know, were you to escape and commandeer yourself a ship to chase after them, well I would have to try and stop you then won't I."
"You're going to let me sail with you, just like that?" said Gin in shock.
"While you're onboard I expect you to, first and foremost, not kill or maim any of my crew. Doing so will garner you a fate worse than death," said Luffy coldly, so much so that the entire atmosphere of the room seemed to shift ever so slightly. Neither Gin or Sanji had trouble believing the threat that Luffy had made. "Secondly, while you're on this ship you will help out where you can. Doing so will ensure that your stay is far more comfortable."
"Well," said Gin slowly, seemingly deep in thought. "Roronoa Zoro went out of his way to not only prevent me from going back in captivity with those bastards, but also commanded men to treat my wounds and bring me a meal when I hadn't eaten in days. It would be a dishonor on my behalf if I was to not repay my debt."
Gin pushed himself to his feet and outstretched his hand towards Luffy. "I believe we have ourselves a deal."
"For the moment at least," said Luffy with a cheeky smile plastered across his face.
"Just like that," said Sanji in disbelief. "You're going to believe him just like that? You're the biggest idiot ever to set foot on the Baratie."
"Well I'm not leaving this place until I manage to convince you to come with me," said Luffy, turning his attention to Sanji.
"Not happening," refused the chef, not hesitating for a single moment.
"Well I guess I'm staying here for a while then," said Luffy. "Probably not the worst thing given your wounds Gin. It'll give you some time to recover without much stress."
"You won't hear me complaining," said Gin as he took his seat once again against the wall.
"So, tell me Sanji, why are you so hesitant to get off this ship?" Luffy asked of the chef.
"Because I owe him my life," said Sanji as he told the two people the reason why he couldn't leave the Baratie.
...
Zoro closed his eyes as he processed everything that Nami had told him. Everything regarding how a pirate crew of fishman had taken her village and effectively the whole island hostage. She had told him that every time they tried to reach out for help it only ended in disaster, the rescue craft always ending up at the bottom of the ocean. Nami was afraid that if Luffy was to learn of the situation then he would suffer the same fate and all of them would suffer a watery fate.
Zoro though had been able to notice a couple of things that Nami seemed to have deliberately missed during her story, mostly regarding whether or not her robbing of pirates had anything to do with her issues at her hometown. She didn't say whether or not Orange Town was the base of her operations but if it was, then why was she allowed to come and go dropping off large sums of money without question? Was she protecting the townsfolk by paying Arlong tribute? It was a possibility but without any further detail he didn't wish to pry and deeper.
"So, now that you've told me about this, what do you want me to do?" asked Zoro, arms crossed.
"Just help me steer us as far away as possible from Arlong," declared Nami. "I don't care how difficult it is but we cannot go anywhere near there."
"You know as soon as we depart from here he's going to set a heading, likely just by pointing in a direction," said Zoro, feeling like he had spent enough time with Luffy to know his tendencies. "If by some chance he tells us to go towards your village and you tell him no, that's going to immediately trigger some sort of alarms with him. The more desperate you are, the more likely it is that he's going to defy your wishes."
"But he'll die if he faces Arlong!"
Zoro chose not to note that she had said 'he' and not 'we.'
"The fact that you're doing this for our safety is admirable but you have to look at it from his point of view, especially once he learns what's happening. He won't blame you for wanting to steer clear, fear does that to people. Frankly, I'd love to test my strength against a Fishman but it's not my place to say where we sail."
"Trust me, you want to stay as far away from them as possible," said Bami, her face darkening.
"Regardless, if Luffy decides to go that way I doubt I will be any help in convincing him otherwise," said Zoro knowing his chances.
Before either of them could say anything else, the door to where Luffy, Gin and Sanji was burst opened as Sanji's body tumbled out, bouncing several times before coming to a stop. The chef sat up, clutching at his cheek as he looked towards where he had come from. From the opening, Luffy walked out with an angry scowl across his face.
"He saved you so that you could live!" proclaimed Luffy, loud enough for the rest of the ship to go silent. "Devoting your life to the Baratie isn't living! How could you be content with seeing so little of the world when your dream, All Blue, could be out there?"
Sanji pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his jacket. "You wouldn't understand," he said with a gruff.
"You know who likely doesn't understand the whole situation? Zeff, the man you have seemingly pledged your life to," declared Luffy before taking calming breaths. "The man sacrificed his own leg for a child. He has seen you grow as if you were his son. Every son however leaves their family eventually. Don't you think you being here only hurts him and he wants to see you go out into the world?"
Sanji, for the better part, did his best to keep a neutral expression before walking away, making his way towards the gangplank and back towards the Baratie. "We'll be leaving in a couple of days," said Luffy. "I hope you're with us when we go Sanji."
The chef didn't seem to acknowledge Luffy's words as he continued on his way. "What was all that about?" asked Usopp tentatively, watching as Sanji made his way towards the entrance to the Baratie.
"His backstory ended years ago, but he's still here," said Luffy. "Something about that just doesn't make sense to me."
"Maybe you just need to take the time to get to know him better," said Usopp, patting Luffy on the back.
"Maybe," said Luffy, moments before Gin popped his head out of where he had been treated. "Quick side note guys, nothing important but Gin here isn't going to be locked up or anything."
Needless to say, the response was fairly predictable.
Unbeknownst to anybody on the Going Merry, the scuffle between Sanji and Luffy had been watched by one other. The head chef of the Baratie, Zeff, had witnessed the whole thing unfold.
And he truly hoped it would lead to Sanji doing the right thing.
...
Hope you enjoyed.