I do not own One Piece.

"It simply isn't an adventure worth telling if there aren't any dragons." -J.R.R Tolkien.

"Alright, here we are!" Luffy called out as he, Nami, and Koby arrived in Shells town. It was a fairly decent-sized island that acted primarily as a base for marine battleships to dock and resupply. After docking their fishing vessel, the trio walked into the town center, which was bustling with activity.

"Alright." Nami began as she looked around. "I've kept my promise, Koby; it should be easy enough to enlist as a marine here."

"Thanks, Nami," Koby said. "I owe you big time, you too, Luffy. If it weren't for you, we would have died back there."

"Probably," Luffy replied as he took out his compass and opened it up. "Where is Roronoa Zoro?"

"What are you doing?" Nami asked as she looked at the compass. "You're asking a compass for directions to Zoro, a compass that as far as I can tell doesn't point north, making it utterly useless."

"Silence non-believer, the compass knows all," Luffy stated with the utmost confidence; the compass Shanks had given him had led him to numerous treasures and allowed him to escape countless bad situations. "This compass is my greatest treasure, and it has never failed me." He looked at the compass and followed its directions through town as it guided him through the streets until he was standing outside of the town's main marine base.

Luffy walked right up to what appeared to be a walled courtyard; Luffy found the entrance, and at the center tied to a wooden pole was a man. He wore dirty clothes, a black bandana, and appeared to be on death's door.

"That's him…." Koby muttered as he came up alongside Luffy. "It's the Demon of the East Blue, the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro."

"He looks dangerous," Nami muttered. "This is the guy you wanted to recruit?"

"Yup," Luffy answered as he looked at the near-dead pirate hunter. He had heard numerous villagers back home in Fuusha talk about Zoro, how he was a deadly swordsman and the strongest man in the East Blue. It made Luffy want to recruit him; if he was ever going to surpass Shanks, he needed strong crewmembers.

Not wanting to wait anymore, Luffy walked over to the entrance of the execution grounds, only for Koby to stand in his way. "Dont go in!" The young boy pleaded as he pointed to a wooden sign next to the entrance. "Read the sign; if you go in, you'll be arrested!"

Luffy looked at the sign and read it.

By order of Captain Morgan

Anyone aiding this prisoner will be arrested and charged with the same crimes as the condemned.

Luffy opened his mouth and let out a breath of fire that burned the sign to ash in a matter of seconds, leaving behind only a tiny pile of ashes. "I don't see any sign." He muttered as he walked into the courtyard. He looked back and saw that Nami and Koby were keeping their distance. He wasn't sure if it was out of fear of Zoro or fear of punishment for breaking the law.

In the end, it didn't matter; he was here for Zoro; he walked up to the pirate hunter who had just looked up and seemed to be appraising him with cold, calculating eyes. "What are you doing here?" Zoro asked weakly; his voice was hoarse and sounded like he was choking out each word. "Are you here to free me?"

"Maybe," Luffy replied simply as he walked right up to the pirate hunter.

"Well, if you free me, I'll pay you," Zoro said weakly. "I can hunt down a criminal and give you the reward money, I've been tied up here for nine days without food or water, and I'm almost at my limit."

"Nine days, that's impressive." Luffy was impressed; nine days without food or water was torture. He wasn't sure how the man was still alive without water after so long. "How are you still alive?"

Zoro chuckled, although the man seemed to regret it instantly as he began to hack and cough dryly. "A stubborn enough person can survive just about anything, and I can't die until I accomplish my dream." Upon saying this, he descended into a coughing fit.

"Here." Luffy reached for his belt, grabbed his trusty flask filled with grog, opened it, and held it up to Zoro's lips. The Pirate hunter drank greedily, although, after a few sips, he stopped and glared at the flask.

"What the heck is this?" The green-haired man asked as he licked the liquid from his lips.

"Grog, it's water with a bit of rum and lemon juice. It prevents scurvy, is sterile, and hydrates you." Luffy answered simply. "Don't like it?"

"I prefer stronger booze, but I'm not picky right now." Zoro quickly emptied the flask and let out a tired sigh. "So, you're going to free me, right?"

"That depends," Luffy answered as he attached his empty flask to his belt. "I intend to be the Pirate King, and I'm looking to recruit crew members. I was thinking about having you join me."

"In that case, leave me tied up," Zoro answered with a dismissive grimace. "I have no intention of becoming a common criminal, I have my own dreams, and I don't intend to abandon them to follow some idiot living out a pirate fantasy."

"You do realize you're tied up at a marine base, under arrest for what I assume are crimes. That makes you a criminal." Luffy replied as he took stock of the situation.

"A temporary problem that I have well under control."

Luffy looked at the man's sorry state, and more then that, Zoro smelled awful. "So your idea of under control is being tied up, starved, dehydrated, and judging by your smell, you've been pissing in your pants. I don't even want to know what out of control is like."

"It's not like I have a bathroom out here!" Zoro yelled defensively as he strained against his bindings. "It doesn't matter what you say; I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman; I don't have time to go sailing around the seas playing pirate with a guy who thinks he can be the pirate king!"

Luffy smiled when he heard Zoro's words. "The Pirate King would need the world's greatest swordsman on his crew," Luffy answered. "So let's get down to it; what would it take for you to join my crew?"

BeforeZoro could answer, a young girl walked up to them; she gave Luffy an appraising look but quickly ignored him in favor of Zoro. "Big brother, I brought you some rice balls." The girl said as she offered a couple of rice balls to the pirate hunter. "I made them just for you."

"Get out of here, kid," Zoro growled. "If they catch you here, they will-"

"-What's going on here?!" A voice called out, drawing everyone's attention to the entrance to the courtyard. Standing at the gate flanked by two guards was a blond young man dressed in a black suit and sporting a ridiculous haircut. "You all better explain yourselves, or I'll tell my dad that you've broken into this place! Can't you read the sign that warns people away?"

Luffy smiled as he looked at the strange man. "I didn't see any sign," Luffy replied smugly.

"Are you blind? The sign is right-" The stranger stopped as he looked at the empty space where the sign once was. "-some idiot must have moved it; regardless, you should be obeying me. I'm Helmeppo, the son of the man in charge of this base. If you don't listen to me now, I'll tell my father that you were breaking the law."

Luffy watched as the weirdo walked over to the three of them flanked by two marine bodyguards. "I'm feeling merciful today, so get out of here before I have my men here throw the two of you out. This man is a condemned criminal who has to be punished for defying me."

It took all of Luffy's self-control not to punch the man in front of him. Instead, he chose to approach the situation like Shanks would have, trying to find a peaceful option. "Look, I dont know what Zoro did, but most laws that dont involve murder or piracy can be resolved with payment of a fine. How much would it cost to bail Zoro out of this? An island should have a big office and a magistrate, mayor, or judge that I can talk to." He knew enough about laws and regulations from his grandfather's endless lessons on being a marine; Luffy was glad those lessons were paying off now.

Helmeppo smiled cockily. "Are you a family member of his come to bail him out? Well, it's too bad, that scumbag killed my dog, and he's being punished for it."

"Your dog was a vicious wolf!" The little girl cried out. "It tried to attack me, and Zoro protected me by killing it!"

Luffy knew he wasn't the smartest sword in the armory, but he was beginning to piece things together. He wondered why Zoro, a man well known for hunting down criminals, had been thrown into jail; now it was becoming apparent. Zoro had been thrown in jail for defending a little girl from a vicious dog owned by a scumbag with a powerful father. This situation was beginning to remind him of his childhood in the Goa Kingdom. This guy was no better then those scumbag nobles.

"Stupid girl, spouting a bunch of nonsense," Helmeppo complained. "I can do whatever I want, and my pets can do whatever they want. That's why Zoro here has to be punished!"

Listening to this guy talk gave Luffy a headache, so he decided to try again for a peaceful solution. "Look, this sounds like a personal thing, so let's settle it here. How much to get Zoro released from the stocks?"

"Don't interfere!" Zoro cried out angrily. "I have a deal with this guy. If I survive for thirty days like this, then I go free!"

The second those words left Zoro's lips, Helmeppo began laughing uncontrollably to the great confusion of everyone present, most especially Luffy.

"What's so funny, Helmet-hair?!" Luffy demanded, wanting to know what the heck was going on.

After several seconds Helmeppo got his laughter under control and had a look of smug satisfaction on his face. "I was going to save it as a surprise, but I guess it can't be helped; in three days, Roronoa Zoro will be executed. He signed his death warrant the second he killed my pet; I only agreed to this because I found the idea of him starving himself out here more amusing then him sitting in a jail cell."

"You lying bastard!" Zoro struggled against his bonds, but he didn't accomplish much other then hurting himself.

"You promised, big brother!" The little girl cried out, clutching the rice balls to her chest.

"You truly are a dumb ape for believing such a lie, but I've enjoyed watching you suffer and-" Helmeppo never got to finish speaking because Luffy lunged forward and struck the man with a vicious right hook, sending him flying back into the wall of the courtyard.

Helmeppo held his jaw as he cried out in pain. "You bastard!." The boy yelled angrily. "No one ever hit me before, not even my own father! Guards execute this man! Do it now, or I'll tell my father!"

Luffy grabbed his metal club with his right hand as one of the guards advanced upon him, a sword drawn and ready to strike. The marine took a horizontal swing at Luffy's head, rather then dodge Luffy turned his teeth razor sharp and lunged forward, catching the blade in his mouth and biting it in half.

The marine jumped back and looked at his now ruined sword, his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he realized what had just happened. Luffy spat the shards of metal from his mouth and swung his club horizontally, and struck the marine in his side, causing him to fly across the courtyard where he landed in a heap, knocked out cold.

The other marine bodyguard drew his rifle and aimed it at Luffy. "Die, you monster!" The man yelled as he pulled the trigger.

"Too slow," Luffy muttered as he used observation Haki to sidestep each of the bullets. He casually walked up to the man, who eventually ran out of ammo and could only stare at Luffy in fear as the boy delivered a strike that sent the man flying across the courtyard landing next to his other unconscious ally.

By this time, Helmeppo had picked himself up and trembled as he watched his guards get knocked out quickly. "Assaulting a marine is a capital offense! I'll have my father-"

"SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR FATHER!" Luffy's temper was at its limit; he used his free hand to grab one of the flintlock revolver pistols from his belt and aimed it at the annoying daddy's boy. As he aimed, he felt the presence of someone approaching him.

"Luffy, stop!" Nami's voice called out though he could barely hear it as he set the gun sights directly on Helmeppo. As he pulled the trigger, Nami's slim hands grabbed the gun, causing the shot, which would have gone straight through Helmeppos chest to veer off its course and miss entirely.

"That scumbag isn't worth shooting; let's just get the hell out of here before the marines come down on us!" Nami demanded as she took the pistol from Luffy's hand.

Luffy's rage wasn't so easily quelled as he tried to step forward. "Let me just break his legs, let him crawl to his precious father!"

However, Koby was holding him back along with Nami, and while he could have easily thrown the two of them off, seeing the both of them hold him back forced him to calm down. It reminded him of when his brothers would hold him back as a child whenever he was on the verge of transforming into a dragon and going on a rampage.

"You haven't seen the last of me!' Helmeppo called out as he ran out of the courtyard, still clutching his wounded face.

Luffy freed himself from Nami and Koby. He turned to Zoro, who was still struggling against his bonds as the little girl tried to untie him, although her small hands were unable to undo the solid hempen rope that restrained the pirate hunter.

"Roronoa Zoro." Luffy began as he drew his cutlass and, with several slashes, undid the ropes that bound the pirate hunter. "Have you reconsidered my offer? I'm going to be the Pirate King, sailing through the Grand Line where the strongest pirates in all the world rule the seas. I need the world's future greatest swordsman by my side in order to claim the One Piece."

Zoro chuckled as he picked himself up, an act that seemed to take every bit of strength he had. "I guess I'm a criminal no matter what after today, and I owe you one for saving me." He gave Luffy a stern look before continuing. "I'll follow you, but let's make one thing clear. I am going to be the world's greatest swordsman! If you do anything that gets in the way of that goal, you'll end your own life on my sword as an apology!"

"Deal, welcome to my crew!" Luffy felt the rage from earlier dissipate at this wonderful turn of events. "Well, let's get out of here before we have to fight our way out of here."

"Not yet." Zoro declared stubbornly. "I need my swords; one of them is special to me. That bastard Helmeppo has them somewhere; I won't leave until I get them back." He took several steps forward only to collapse to his knees in exhaustion.

"I'll get them; you need to rest." Luffy declared as he stretched his body out as he prepared to transform. "You also need to eat something; you've been starved for over a week."

"I have rice balls!" The little girl declared, making her presence known once more. "I made them special for you, big brother! It was my first time, but I think they turned out great!"

Zoro accepted the food and took a big bite, and winced as he swallowed one. "They're very sweet…thank you, Rika." A blatant lie, although it seemed to delight the child.

Rika smiled. "Yup, I love sweets, so I used sugar instead of salt; please eat them all!"

Luffy turned to Koby, who was standing next to him. "Hold onto this for me." He tossed his club to Koby, who caught it, although he struggled with its weight.

"Why do you need me to hold this?" Koby asked as he tried to heft the metal weapon.

"You need to protect the others while I'm gone. "Luffy answered as he grew a set of large black wings. He ignored the amazed shouts of Zoro and Rika and took flight into the sky. He sniffed the air, and sure enough, he could smell the Helmet-haired boy's scent coming from the top of the marine base.

"Now to find some swords."

"I am great." Captain Morgan muttered to himself as his men finished raising his statue. It had taken years, but it was finally done; with the tributes, he got from the townspeople, he was able to get the best artisan in the area to make a perfect replica of himself towering over the marine base.

Some people complained, saying it was a vanity project, but he ended their lives with his famous axe hand. Couldn't they see the value in this? All would know that this marine base was under the command of Captain Axe-hand Morgan by erecting it up high to watch over the town. No pirate would ever approach this place. It was he who captured the infamous Captain Kuro. He didn't remember the fight very well, but he remembered the black-clad monster that cut down an entire marine ship's personnel only for Morgan to persevere and capture the man.

The only thing that kept this moment from being perfect was his worthless son yelling at him.

"The man hit me, father! You have to kill him; even you never hit my beautiful yet masculine face!"

"Do you know why I've never hit you?"

"It's because I'm your precious son that-"

"It's because you're a worthless son not worth hitting!" Morgan struck his son, sending the boy flying across the top of the marine base's highest tower. "I'm the great one here, not you. Why should I care if someone disrespected you? Now shut up and let me enjoy my moment of glory!"

He gazed once more at the statue of himself and was almost about to shed a tear of joy when suddenly a young man clad in black appeared on the shoulder of the statue. His sudden landing caused the statue, which had only just begun to level itself after being planted, to fall over and break in half as its top half fell off the side of the building.

Morgan felt his hopes and dreams shatter as his glorious statue was destroyed in front of him. Everyone, including himself, was frozen in shock, and silence filled the air until the boy in black landed on the ground next to the other half of the statue and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry about that." the boy said, breaking the silence.

"That's the man who hit me!" Helmeppo cried out. "You bastard, you destroyed my father's statue!"

"Your father's statue? In that case, I'm not sorry at all." The boy replied before disappearing and reappearing next to Helmeppo as if he could teleport. "But you're coming with me; you need to show me where Zoro's swords are!" He disappeared down the staircase with Helmeppo in tow.

Morgan got over his shock, and the anger hit him full force as he turned to the marines around him.

"Don't just stand there!" He roared, pointing at the door. "Capture that man and bring him to me alive; I'm going to execute him personally!"

Luffy followed Helmeppo's directions and found himself in a lavish little office near the top floor of the marine building. The office was filled with gaudy decorations; He could smell the wealth that filled the room; there were suits of armor, swords, valuable silks, and various other rich's used to decorate the office.

It took all of Luffy's willpower to stay focused on the task at hand. He looked down at the man-child he held and saw that Helmeppo's eyes had gone white and his body limp; he had seemingly fallen unconscious out of fear.

Luffy dropped him roughly and gazed around the room, looking for Zoro's swords and doing his best to ignore all the expensive decorations that adorned the office. His gaze fell upon a set of knights armor that shone beautifully as if it were made of silver. Luffy sniffed it and found that it only had a tiny amount of silver in it, just enough to make it shine. "I love full-body armor, even if it isn't expensive." There was just something about full-body armor that appealed to him; sadly, his own dragon scales were stronger then any armor he could find or buy, making armor fairly pointless.

His attention was then drawn to a group of swords sitting next to the armor. Numerous blades of all styles and sizes were present, making Luffy's task of finding Zoro's swords that much more complicated. Luffy had always loved swords, but he was never very good with them. He could swing, dodge, and block with swords just fine but his lack of finesse made swordsmanship a challenge for him.

Not knowing which sword was Zoro's, he decided to follow his nose, he sniffed the air, and sure enough, there was one sword that stood out from all the others. Lying in the corner of the display area were three katanas lying next to each other. The one that smelled valuable was the central one, a beautiful blade in a white sheathe.

Luffy drew the sword, and despite knowing nothing about swords, he could tell it was an amazing blade. He could feel the power emanating from it as if it were a person that he was using observation haki to sense. The sword seemed to have a spirit. He could sense power, hope, will, and a desire to rise. He didn't know if it was the blade he was feeling or the leftover feelings from the blade's previous owners.

Before he could inspect the blade more, he heard a commotion coming from outside and looked out the window and saw marines led by a massive man assembling the courtyard where Nami, Koby, Zoro, and Rika were. Luffy grabbed the three katanas and sprouted a pair of black wings from his back, and he took flight and flew out the window of the office and toward his friends.

Zoro grimaced as Axe-hand Morgan and his subordinates formed a battle line as the marine soldiers aimed their rifles at him and his new companions. The orange-haired girl whose name he didn't know was hiding behind the pink-haired boy who was holding up the metal club Luffy had given him in front of him as a makeshift shield.

"Rika, get behind me. When the marines fire, you need to run away as far as you can. Understand?" Zoro asked as he forced the child behind him. She nodded even as she fought back the tears as she got behind him.

"So you're Roronoa Zoro?" Morgan asked as he waved his axe prosthetic around menacingly. "I've heard about you, but before my great strength, you are just garbage, as are the rest of you. Trespassing on this property is a death sentence." The marine captain turned to his men. "Ready...Aim!"

Zoro grimaced as he prepared to make his last stand. If he had his swords, he might have had a chance. If he hadn't been starved for over a week, he might have had a chance, but fate wasn't kind to him, so he braced himself for what was coming.

"FIRE!"

The firing squad opened fire; however, before the bullets could strike him and his new companions, a massive black shadow fell from the sky and landed in front of them, blocking the shots and kicking up an enormous cloud of dust and dirt.

When the dust cleared, it revealed a figure that Zoro identified as Luffy, although the boy had undoubtedly changed. To start with, Luffy had grown taller and buffer to the point where he was taller than Morgan, who was already a monster of a man. Luffy's hair had grown longer with it falling around his shoulders, and he had two black horns protruding from his skull. His eyes were yellow with slit-like pupils, and parts of his skin, such as parts of his face, were covered in pitch-black scales that seemed to drink in the light of the midday sun. His arms were now covered in black scales, and his hands were now dextrous claws, as were his legs. From his back, a pair of wings out, their scaled forms being used to block the bullets that had been meant for Zoro and the others. Behind Luffy's back, a massive tail covered in spikes wagged side to side.

"I think one of these belongs to you," Luffy said as he tossed Zoro three katana's which he immediately caught. His shock over the boy's appearance faded away as he grasped his swords, the tools he would use to achieve his dream, and a reminder of his promise.

"They all belong to me," Zoro replied as he inspected his blades to make sure they hadn't been messed with or gained rust while in Helmeppo's custody; he could hear the marines shouting in surprise.

"He's a fruit user!"

"I thought they were a myth!"

"What do we do, Captain Morgan? Guns are useless against him!"

"Then use blades!" Morgan ordered angrily, making the marine soldiers draw their blades and make a desperate charge at Luffy.

"This form is a bit too large and unwieldy," Luffy muttered in a bored tone as he inspected his body. "Life Return, Martial body." Upon saying those words, Luffy's body began to shrink, and his muscles became thinner until his form was much slimmer with proportions similar to an average human, although he was still quite tall, being around seven feet in height.

It appeared as if he was about to move against the marines attacking them, but Zoro stopped that. "Leave this to me!" Zoro placed a sword in his mouth and drew the other two, and using what little strength he had left, he charged forward and blocked all the blades of the charging marines before they could strike Luffy.

The marines froze as he held them all back with practiced ease. Zoro couldn't help but smile upon seeing their terrified faces. "If any of you move, I'll cut you down right now." He threatened.

"That won't be necessary; they'll be going to sleep," Luffy said happily.

Before Zoro could question what Luffy was talking about, the air grew thicker and heavier as an overwhelming shockwave crashed into him and all those around him and behind him. It was as if a powerful surge of energy struck at his heart, his very will, and tried to overwhelm it. While it hadn't hurt, it did make Zoro uncomfortable, but what shocked him most was the fact that all the marines he had been holding off all collapsed to the ground, as did numerous others that surrounded Captain Morgan.

Morgan and about six marines were all that was left standing, and each of them appeared to be breathing heavily as if they were only just holding onto consciousness.

"What the hell was that?" Zoro asked as he turned towards Luffy, who was merely smiling.

"Just a little battle of wills to make sure no one had to die," Luffy answered before gesturing to Morgan, who had regained his bearings. "Although one of them stills seems like he's willing to fight.

Captain Morgan was done with sending his underlings at them as he charged at them, his massive form shaking the ground as he hefted his axe-hand up, ready to strike them. Zoro hefted his blades, but Luffy stepped forward. "I'll handle this; you need to rest."

Zoro was tempted to protest, but he accepted Luffy's offer; he was curious to see how Luffy would deal with this.

"I am the Marin Captain Axe-Hand Morgan, the greatest man in this base! I will execute you all criminal scum!" Morgan cried out as he charged at them in a blind rage.

Luffy simply shook his head at the declaration. "Storm Tail!" He called out as he seemingly whipped his tail in Morgan's direction. The tail struck out with such force and speed that it created a blade of compressed air that flew forth and struck the marine Captain down before he could even reach Luffy's position.

Morgan didn't seem to be getting up, and it appeared as if the battle was over until a shrill voice cried out from the other end of the courtyard.

"EVERYBODY FREEZE!"

Zoro and Luffy turned to see Helmeppo holding a gun to the orange-haired girl's head, and Zoro cursed himself. He should have been watching the others while Luffy dealt with Morgan.

"I'm warning all of you!" Helmeppo yelled desperately. "I'll blow her head off if you don't surrender!"

"Luffy!" The girl cried out. "You're supposed to protect me; you're the muscle in this operation!"

"You should drop the gun," Luffy replied casually without a hint of worry in his voice. "You're the one who is about to get hurt."

"What are you talking about? Are you some kind of idiot?" Helmeppo asked. "I hold all the cards and-" He was cut off after the pink-haired boy from earlier struck him over the head from behind with the metal club Luffy had given him earlier.

"Don't threaten my friends!" the boy cried out as he kicked the gun away from the now unconscious Helmeppo.

"Good job Koby!" Luffy declared happily before turning towards the remaining marines.

Zoro also turned to the half dozen remaining marines. "If you guys are going to arrest us, then come on over! We'll take you on!" he declared as he prepared to finish this for good alongside his new allies.

Instead of fighting, the Marines all threw their weapons into the air and began to cheer and celebrate.

"Morgan is defeated!"

We're out of Morgan's control!"

"Long live the Marines!"

"Eh?" Both Zoro and Luffy asked in confusion as they watched the marines celebrating.

"Everyone hated Morgan!" Koby cried out happily. "There's no more need for any fighting!"

"Good.." Zoro muttered as he sheathed his swords before allowing equation, starvation, and the fatigue from his recent exertion to overtake him as he fell to the ground and darkness overtook him."

Luffy was relaxing in Shell's Town bar, which Rika's family ran as he and his crew ate to their heart's content.

"That was a great meal!" Zoro declared as he cleaned off another plate. "Nine days with no food almost killed me!"

Luffy chuckled. "Then there's no way you could have lasted a full thirty." He replied as he finished off his own plate and added it to a nearby stack, one that towered over Zoro's.

"A human shouldn't be able to survive more then three days without water." Nami chided as she took a drink of some orange juice. "The fact you lasted nine is freakish."

"Makes me wonder if the rumors about you being more beast then man are true," Koby added nervously.

"Water I can live without; it's the booze I missed." Zoro turned to Rika's mother. "I'll take your finest alcohol, preferably sake."

"Anything for this town's saviors." the bar owner replied as she went about preparing more food and fetching Zoro his drinks.

As they all ate and drank their fill, the bar doors opened, revealing the form of the marine commander who had taken charge of the island after Morgan's imprisonment. Luffy could sense that the man was both happy and nervous, and soon he found out why.

"I'm Commander Ripper; I wanted to thank you all on behalf of the marines and this town," Ripper stated in a formal tone. "The former captain Morgan is currently residing in our jail awaiting his court-martial. While I'm thankful for your help, I am curious as to exactly who you people are and what brings you here."

Luffy was tempted to declare himself the next Pirate King and dare the marines to do something about it; however, this town had seen enough fighting and conflict, so he opted to be vague. "I came here to recruit Zoro onto my crew to aid me in a quest of sorts."

"And what quest is that?" Ripper asked.

"To reach the Grand Line."

Ripper let out a tired sigh, clearly growing frustrated with the exchange. "I'm going to cut to the chase. Are you a criminal with bad intentions? A Pirate as it were?"

"I'm a simple man trying to make his way across the East Blue," Luffy answered as he pushed his plate away. "But if it puts your mind at ease, I have never raised a Jolly Roger or robbed anyone on the open sea, which are the primary ways one can be legally condemned as a pirate according to the marine guidebook section 3, which covers maritime law."

Ripper frowned as he considered Luffy's words. "That's a vague answer. Your knowledge of marine regulations is also suspicious."

"My grandfather is a marine and forced me to read every single manual and guide book he could shove in front of me." Luffy was growing tired of this conversation and wanted it to end already. "Also, you shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answer to; ignorance is bliss, as my grandfather always says, and he's the most blissful person I know."

Ripper chuckled as he seemingly allowed himself to relax. "In that case, behold my blissful state. Sorry for the interrogation, but I needed something to write in my report to headquarters. Your answers are enough for me. As for you folks, there will be no charges held against you for anything that transpired here. If there's anything I can do to assist you, please ask, I'm afraid we don't have much in terms of money thanks to Captain Morgan spending our budget on his vanity projects, but I'll scrounge up whatever I can as a reward."

Luffy knew he should simply wave his hand dismissively and say that the town's thanks were enough and that he didn't need a reward. That's what a hero would do; heroes didn't need to be rewarded for doing the right thing.

But the fact was that Luffy wasn't a hero; he was a pirate or at least an aspiring one.

"Well, I require a ship; my fishing boat is getting crowded. Aside from a ship, we need provisions and any money you can offer; I know you guys dont have much, but I did spy some nice expensive items in Helmet-hairs room in the marine base that looked quite expensive." Luffy looked over at Koby. "Also, this guy wants to join the Marines; let him join up."

Ripper frowned as his gaze fell upon Koby. "While I'm willing to overlook many things having someone of unknown origin join the marines is something I cant overlook."

"I'm a man whose dream it is to be a marine!" Koby declared, speaking up for himself. "As for my background, I'll be honest. I was taken as a slave by pirates and only escaped because of Luffy and Nami. I'm tired of being a weakling; I want to become a marine to make sure no one has to suffer the way I did. I dont care how hard I have to work, even if it's just doing dishes and scrubbing latrines."

Silence filled the bar as Ripper seemed to soak in the boy's words. "Very well, but you'll have to work extra hard to get rid of those who might be suspicious of you. Even working for pirates against your will is normally considered a disqualifier for joining the marines, but exceptions have been made in the past. Report to the base at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" Koby declared, giving his best salute.

Ripper turned his attention towards Luffy. "As for your other requests...I think we can help you. Helmeppo and Morgan's belongings were already going to be seized; passing them on as a type of reward should be easy enough. As for a ship and provisions, there might be one I can offer you, report to the base at dawn tomorrow with your friend, and I'll have something set up."

Once the commander left, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and went back to their meal. As Luffy continued eating, Koby came up to him; the pink-haired boy held up Luffy's club.

"I should probably give this back to you." Koby offered his tone, hinting at embarrassment.

Luffy looked at his old club, forged from the metal pipes he and his two brothers had wielded during their childhood. In the Gray Terminal and Dawn island in general, one needed a weapon to survive. If the criminals didn't get you, the wild animals in the forests would. He almost reached out to accept it, but he stopped himself. Sabo was dead; Ace had gone off on his own adventures years ago; why was he the only one holding onto a piece of his past? He needed to leave the Goa Kingdom behind and move forward.

Luffy smiled as he pushed the club back into Koby's hands. "You keep it; it seems to have come in handy with Helmet-hair."

Koby seemed like he was about to faint. "But it's yours, and I can barely lift it! It took all my strength just to swing it…."

"Then get stronger," Luffy replied as he turned back to his food. "When you're able to wield it effectively, then you'll know you've gotten stronger, or just melt it down and make something new."

"Thank you, Luffy…." Koby seemed to be on the verge of tears. "This is the first gift anyone had ever given me. I promise I'll use it to get stronger."

Nami frowned as she walked along the docks of Shell's town. Commander Ripper led her, Luffy, and Zoro to their new ship; while a part of her was excited, another part was confusing. She didn't know what to make of her new companions.

Zoro seemed like the strong silent type; he was stubborn, fierce, but thankfully not as bloodthirsty as his reputation would have had her believe. He seemed like kind of an idiot at times; after drinking with him last night, she learned that the only reason he became a bounty hunter was that he got lost and couldn't find his way home and had to bounty hunt to survive.

Then there was Luffy; she couldn't help but turn to him as they walked along the docks. The boy claimed to want to be the next Pirate King, and while he certainly dressed like a pirate, he was otherwise the complete opposite of a typical pirate. As a thief who robbed pirates, she had seen numerous pirate crews and their captains throughout her years. They were greedy, bloodthirsty, amoral thieves who didn't care about the innocent people they hurt as they plundered their way across the sea. Luffy, on the other hand, seemed content to help people.

Nami shook those thoughts from her head; all that mattered was getting the money to free her village; she had a little over ten million beli to go. Then she would be free and could take her life back into her own hands.

They walked over to a nearby ship which commander Ripper gestured towards. It was a small ship, definitely not something that could be used for combat, though it was bigger then the fishing boat.

"I can't give you a marine ship or any ship on the books. This is a Pinnace class ship we captured from a group of smugglers a few days ago who were pretending to be traders. It hasn't been logged in to any of our reports so that no one will miss it. I know it's not very glorious, but it's the best I can offer. I've already had it loaded with food and other supplies along with everything from Morgans old offices."

"No cannons…" Zoro grumbled as he looked around at the vessel.

Ripper nodded. "It's a lightship designed for speed, not combat; it meant to have a crew of six, but two people could manage to sail it fairly well. I'm sorry if it's not what you're looking for, but it's all I can offer."

"It beats the fishing boat at least." Nami agreed as she inspected the ship."It is clearly built for speed, and with how low it is, it could travel through shallow waters and inland rivers."

"It'll do until we can get a proper ship." Luffy nodded happily. "Let's get our stuff loaded up from my fishing boat and set out to sea!"

Eventually, they got the new ship loaded with all the supplies and treasure from Luffy's old fishing boat and set sail from Shells Town. As they departed, Koby stood on the docks along with numerous marines and townspeople who were bidding them farewell.

Nami waved happily towards the crowds; Zoro was waving lazily as he leaned against the mast. However, she noticed that Luffy was hiding behind the mainmast as he tried to stay out of sight from everyone onshore.

"Why are you hiding? Aren't you glad that they're sending us off with such fanfare?" Nami asked, confused by the boy's attempts to hide.

"No, they're treating me like I'm a hero." Luffy seemed to shiver as if the very implication of being a hero terrified him.

Nami rolled her eyes. "You took down a corrupt marine captain, saved numerous people's lives, and freed a town from oppression. That makes you a hero, Luffy." She couldn't believe what she was saying, but the pirate in front of her was a hero.

"I'm not a hero; I'm a pirate!" Luffy declared stubbornly as he got out from behind the mainmast once they were out of sight from the island. "Heroes are selfless and share everything; I want to keep all the treasure and meat. I won't part with a single coin or scrap or meat with anyone other then my crew."

"He's got a point," Zoro muttered as he joined the conversation. "Being a hero means sharing booze with strangers; I ain't sharing anything."

"You guys are weird; that's the dumbest reasoning I've ever heard!" Nami wondered if she would ever understand these two. They were utter weirdos who had no business trying to be pirates. But she had more important things to think about right now. "Let's focus on something important, dividing the spoils of our victory."

"Our victory?" Zoro asked skeptically. "All I saw you do was get taken hostage."

Nami waved him away. "I have a particular set of skills that were not suited for that situation. Now enough talk, I want my eighty percent cut."

"Sure thing!" Luffy declared as he walked over to a nearby chest that was sitting on the deck. "I already have your cut." he shoved the chest towards her, and she immediately grabbed it and opened it up greedily.

Her joy turned to confusion as she opened the chest and counted the money within it. "This can't be right… there are only eighty thousand beli in here! How is this my cut?!" They should have gotten more, especially with them getting the valuables from Helmeppo and Morgans' offices.

Luffy smiled. "They gave us a hundred thousand beli in cash so that your cut; I don't see what the problem is. Do you not know how to do basic math?"

"Well, what about all the silks and other valuables we got from the base?" Nami asked as she turned towards Luffy. "I want my cut of that like we agreed upon when I joined you! I get eight percent of all treasure!"

"No." Luffy shook his head as he wore a smug smile. "We agreed you would get eighty percent of all cash we got; treasure such as gold and jewels were not included in that deal."

Nami thought back to the deal, and she recalled his words.'So we agree that all cash beli is split between us 80/20 in your favor' Those had been his exact words before they shook hands; she only now realized that he had only mentioned cash.

She wasn't going to let that stand. "Gold and jewels were implied in our deal!" She declared, intent on avoiding being ripped off by a pirate.

"If you don't like our original deal, then we can do this in typical pirate fashion; we are all pirates, after all, aren't we?"

Nami winced at being referred to as a pirate, but she was willing to go along with this for as long as she had to. "What is typical pirate fashion?" She asked, curious as to where this was going.

"All hands get an equal share of any loot, after expenses such as food, ship repairs, and other essentials. That's how Shanks did things, and that's how I plan to do it, so the treasure gets split three ways since there are only three of us."

It wasn't an ideal solution, but Nami was willing to play along for now. "Fine, but I expect a big score for our next adventure if I have to share it evenly." She couldn't stay away too long from Arlong, he was okay with her going out for long periods, but his patience wasn't infinite. She had to make each journey away from him count in terms of how much beli she brought back home.

"Don't worry; I know a certain pirate with a bunch of treasure that we are going to visit." Luffy declared happily.

That bit of news lifted her spirits. "Stealing from pirates is my specialty." She declared happily, overjoyed at the prospect of robbing a pirate. "So who is our victim?"

"We aren't going to steal from him, not as our first option anyway." Luffy pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and slammed it onto the ship's deck. "This is our next crewmember."

Nami and Zoro walked up and inspected the piece of paper, and Nami couldn't help but frown as she read the name and viewed the picture of the pirate they were after.

Buggy the Clown

Bounty 15,000,000 beli

"You want to recruit Buggy the Clown?" Nami asked angrily; while she didn't know the pirate personally, she had heard stories. "He's a greedy pirate who robs and steals everything in sight; why would you want someone like him to join you?"

"I need him if I'm going to beat Shanks," Luffy answered simply.

Nami was tired of the boy's stupidity. "You keep talking about Shanks; who is Shanks, and why do you need to beat him? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Same here.' Zoro answered in a bored tone. "You're the captain, so I'll follow your orders, but I would like to know why we're trying to recruit that weirdo." He muttered as he pointed at the bounty poster.

Luffy let out a tired sigh. "My role model and the man who gave me this compass is the Red-haired pirate Shanks." Luffy pulled out another bounty poster and placed it next to Buggys.

'Red-haired' Shanks

Bounty 4,548,900,000

"One of the four emperors!" Nami couldn't believe what she was seeing; she had heard stories about them. Pirates so powerful that they ruled over their own empires in the Grand Line in direct defiance of the World Government. "How did you meet one of them?"

"And what does Buggy have to do with it?" Zoro asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Shanks mentioned that he and Buggy used to be crewmates on a pirate ship," Luffy explained. "When their original captain died, Shanks asked Buggy to join his crew, Buggy refused. So if I can do something that Shanks wasn't able to do and get Buggy on my crew, then I'll prove I'm a better pirate captain!"

"This job doesn't sound like it pays wells…." Nami grumbled; recruiting a pirate didn't sound like it would get her much money.

"Buggy is bound to have treasure or be at a place filled with treasure; Shanks said he was greedy," Luffy said. "I'm sure we will find a way to make a profit."

"Good enough for me," Zoro muttered lazily. "I'm going to take a nap; wake me when we get there.

Nami let out a tired sigh as she directed her attention to the ship's sails and grabbed hold of the helm. "Fine, so what's our heading? How are we going to find this clown pirate?"

Luffy flipped open his compass, which made Nami roll her eyes. "Again, with that compass, it doesn't point north!"

"We aren't looking for north," Luffy replied as he held the compass up to her. "Show us where the pirate Buggy the Clown is."

Nami watched as the compass needle suddenly moved until it was pointing east.

"That way!" Luffy declared as he pointed east. "Let's set sail to adventure and treasure!"

Nami adjusted the ship's course due east. However, her gaze lingered on the compass. If they did find Buggy the Clown, that would mean that the compass could point to whatever the user wanted, a ludicrous idea, but then again, a few days ago, a man who could transform into a dragon would have been ridiculous to her.

Nami smiled as she thought about the possibilities of a compass that could point to whatever you desired. If this journey didn't pay off, then she had another way of making this trip profitable.

Authors note

Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews and support. I'm amazed how popular this story is getting; the pressure is on; let's just hope that pressure can make diamonds.

Not much to say about this chapter; if you have any questions, leave them in a review, and I'll try to answer them.

Just a heads up, I kind of rushed this chapter because I'm going to be busy in the coming weeks and wanted to get this out before my life got hectic. So I'm sorry if the quality isn't up to the usual standard.

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