Luffy had finally made it to the marine base to convince the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro to join his pirate crew. Looking over the stone wall with Coby by his side, Luffy looked at the man he would recruit and saw a striking scene before him. Roronoa Zoro was tied to a crucifix in the middle of a barren, overheated courtyard.
As Luffy gazed at the rugged man before him, he told Coby, "He can get away easy if we untie those ropes!"
"D-don't be stupid!" the cowardly boy responded. "There's no telling what'll happen if we let him loose. I bet he'd try to kill you too, Luffy-san."
"Don't worry! I'm strong!" Luffy responded excitedly. He had never seen such an interesting person before. Luffy wondered why a man who was rumored to be so strong was strung up in this marine base for all to see. He wanted to recruit this man to his pirate crew, definitely.
"Hey, you guys." The new voice was coming from the very subject of Luffy's thoughts. He continued, "You're an eyesore. Get lost!"
Luffy was more and more intrigued by this pirate hunter the longer he observed him. The man before him looked slim, but in good enough shape. He had defined muscles and seemed relaxed in his post on the crucifix. He wondered just how long this man had been strung up on this crucifix and decided that he would free him once he convinced him to join his pirate crew. Luffy was sure that everyday would be interesting with a companion like Roronoa Zoro by his side.
While Coby was trying to convince Luffy to abandon his new crewmate, a small girl set up a ladder next to the two men. She looked around the courtyard before throwing down a rope and climbing into the deserted field. Luffy watched on, intrigued, as the little girl ran up to the supposed demon tied to the crucifix and ignored Coby's characteristic panicking. This situation just became even more fun. Luffy couldn't wait to see what Roronoa Zoro would do with this little kid.
"What?" the pirate hunter asked the little girl.
"You must be hungry! I made you some rice balls!" the little girl responded excitedly. Luffy wondered why this girl was so comfortable around the criminal whose name had caused the townspeople to jump in fright earlier in the day.
"Do you wanna get killed, pipsqueak? Scram!" was the only response she received from Zoro. Luffy noticed that the kid didn't seem intimidated at all. It seemed to him that Zoro didn't mean what he was saying and he guessed the kid knew that too.
"You haven't eaten anything this whole time." The little girl held out two rice balls saying, "Here! This is my first time, but I worked really hard to make them!"
"I ain't hungry" the pirate hunter protested. "You're an eyesore! Get the hell outta here!"
"But…" the little girl responded.
"I don't want 'em! Don't make me kick your ass!" Zoro shouted desperately. To Luffy, it seemed like Roronoa Zoro genuinely wanted the girl to leave, but he seemed touched by the gift the girl was trying to give him. This guy was really starting to confuse Luffy, but he seemed like a cute guy. Luffy wondered why Zoro would try to send the girl away so insistently.
Luffy then found out just why the pirate hunter wanted to send the girl away so insistently as a cocky young man with a truly atrocious haircut opened the gate behind Zoro and strutted into the courtyard like a particularly cocky peacock. Luffy watched as the members of the navy snatched the rice balls from the little girl and threw them on the floor. As the man stomped on the food, Luffy noticed a worried expression crossing Zoro's face and realized this must be the reason he tried so desperately to get the girl to leave him alone.
The ugly blonde threatened to kill the younger girl as Luffy watched on in anger and disgust. He may be a pirate, but he believes that there's no reason to hurt the innocent, especially the kids. Luffy decided it was a good thing he had eaten the Gum-Gum fruit when the blonde's henchman threw the little girl over the stone wall since he was able to catch her and break their fall without problems.
After threatening Zoro with the deaths of the townspeople once more, the blonde and his guards left him alone in the courtyard. Leaving the young girl with Coby, Luffy jumped over the stone wall and came to stand across the courtyard from Roronoa Zoro and did not see the man from the rumors. Before him was not a demon or a hellish pirate hunter. He could only see an honorable and loyal man, a man that he wanted to call his own. Luffy stared into Zoro's eyes and all he could see was a fierce determination and a strong will to survive. It made his heart beat a little faster and a slight blush crawl onto his cheeks. He was glad the sun was out high today so he could pretend he was just overheated from the sun.
"I hear you're a bad guy" the straw hat pirate stated.
"Are you still here?" Zoro questioned.
"Being stuck out here for all to see… Are you really strong at all?" Luffy teased the pirate hunter.
"Mind your own business!" Zoro shouted back.
Luffy walked directly up to Zoro and responded, "If it were me, I'd probably starve to death in three days!"
"I got more spirit than you," Zoro said while staring directly into Luffy's eyes. "I will live through this… I swear it!" Once again, Luffy's heart sped up while staring into the pirate hunter's eyes. He really was an interesting guy.
"What a strange person!" Luffy exclaimed as he turned to leave Zoro. He was now more sure than ever that he needed this man on his crew and that he would be a wonderful companion in his travels. Anyone with so much determination and inner strength would improve his chances of building the best pirate crew and sailing to the Grand Line. Maybe even something more.
"Wait!" Zoro exclaimed. "Could you pick that up for me?" he asked while glancing toward the rice balls the little girl had made for him.
"You're gonna eat this?" Luffy asked as he did as the pirate hunter asked. "It's mostly a mud ball now."
"Just shut up and give it here!" he yelled. Luffy glanced up and couldn't quite determine what he saw on Zoro's face, but he liked it. He fed the rice ball to Zoro and watched on in curiosity as the prisoner ate the destroyed snack.
"Told you so." Luffy said with a smirk.
"It was good," Zoro said, surprising Luffy. "Thanks for the food."
"You're surprisingly nice," said Luffy smiling now. "I definitely want you to be mine!"
"What!" Zoro shouted in surprise as he looked up into Luffy's eyes.
"I'll wait for you, so definitely live the next ten days and become mine." Luffy leaned in and kissed the pirate hunter directly on the mouth before jumping back over the wall leaving a stunned man tied to a crucifix as he left.