CHAPTER 7: Pirate Hunter Zoro
"Wow! We actually reached our destination!"
Luffy stepped off the small boat Coby was now tying to a wooden post.
"Of course! That's the basics of navigation!" he rebuked. Coby's admiration of the strawhat teen was crumbling by the hour. Although the kid was insanely strong from what he'd seen, he didn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed.
"If you wander around at sea every time, you'll never become a pirate! You should at least find a navigator to join you!" Coby sighed as he turned only to find Luffy walking off towards the town.
"Alright! Let's go eat!"
They had managed to reach Shell island, the place where Pirate Hunter Zoro was kept imprisoned. So far luffy had heard nothing but unpleasant rumors about the infamous man, if Coby's description was anything to go by. That didn't matter since Luffy knew reputation rarely matched one's character, especially in this world and age. Who knew maybe this Pirate Hunter fellow would actually be a nice guy?
Dejectedly, Coby followed behind him with little to no choice, the guy had saved his life from eternal slavery after all, the least he could do keep him company before he enlisted in the marines.
XxX
"So, this is the place huh? It looks pretty ugly up close!"
Before him stood the iron gates leading into the marines' base, The marine flag flapped proudly under the sun, towering as a deterrent amidst the town's buildings, daring pirates to enter the town. The imposing marine base was complete with large cannons and metal stairs that wrapped around the cylindrical forts close together, A five meter brick wall encased the premise, preventing any outside eyes from prying into the base.
Luffy offered the shorter boy an encouraging smile, "Go ahead, Coby, this is your dream is it not?"
"B…But I'm not prepared yet!" fidgeting with his fingers nervously he continues,
"Besides, those reactions to Captain Morgans' name at the restaurant got me thinking…"
"Perhaps these people aren't th-"
"I wonder where he is? Monster they call him.." The teen had managed to grapple on top of the wall, now being afforded a view of what lay beyond it. What he saw over it was very surprising. He had expected the pirate hunter to appear as a burly monster that needed to be chained to numerous posts or weights, His eyes were instead presented with the opposite description of his reputation. Coby promptly joined him peering from the wall.
"So he's Zoro, Huh..? Looks to me like those ropes are pretty easy to break!"
Coby panicked,"S… STOP JOKING! IF YOU FREE HIM, HE COULD MAKE A MESS IN THE TOWN AND EVEN KILL YOU!"
Ahead of Luffy, A lone figure leaned back onto a thick wooden post, his arms and torso clamped together by ropes holding him against the large log, the sight appeared to be sacrificial rather than imprisonment. The man himself was of rather average build, though that could be attributed to dehydration or malnourishment if the rope marks were indicative of the time he'd served. The green haramaki coiled tightly around his torso from his tight restraints looked to be extremely uncomfortable, his white unbuttoned shirt caked with dust, looking worn out as the black bandana wearing prisoner slowly raised his head offering a feral grin.
"Hey! You! Could you please… come over here and untie me? I've been tied up for nine days and I'm exhausted."
Luffy looked on wordlessley as Coby trembled at the sudden attention towards them. The green haired prisoner pressed his offer undeterred as a thin stream of blood flowed down from under his bandana. Luffy stared down intently at the man's face, his eyes hard as he considered his words.
"I'll repay you. I could hunt down a fugitive and give you the rewards… I'm not lying. I'll keep my word."
"...Luffy, let's just get out of here," Coby's voice did nothing to break him out of his gaze as he continued to ponder the weight of the prisoner's words. A hollow thunk grabbed their attention as the two teens found themselves face to face with a small girl atop a ladder right beside them.
"What are yo-"
"Shh!" The pigtailed girl placed her index finger to her lips asking for silence as she slowly lowered herself on the other side of the wall, some sort of cloth present in her small hands as she approached the pirate hunter.
"AH..! DON'T GO THERE! IT'S DANGEROUS!"
The child ignored Coby's warning as she continued to fearlessly walk towards the prisoner. Coby's dejection was evident as he turned his head away in a depressive manner, 'Why does no one listen to what I say!'
"Hey… What are you doing here?" The green haired man stared down coldly upon the short girl hoping to ward her off the prison grounds. A tense silence followed his question as the young girl began to unfurl the cloth with great care.
"LUFFY! PLEASE GO STOP HER! SHE COULD BE KILLED!"
Luffy proceeded to watch the encounter with a calculative eye, his observation haki still yet to detect any ill intentions from the pirate hunter, That was certainly odd. Despite being imprisoned and starved for days, the individual before him bore no feelings of hatred towards him or the girl. Did he perhaps lie to him before about wanting to be let free?
'You're an interesting fellow, pirate hunter Zoro.'
In the end he opted to keep his observation haki activated, surveying quietly in the event his current impressions of Zoro turned out to be wrong, after all Shanks had once told him appearances are often misleading. Besides, there was no point in letting the girl die.
Zoro stood still as he watched the girl reveal two rice balls from within the cloth, Although they appeared slightly overcooked his stomach didn't care for what he was presented with, this was the first bit of food he had seen in a week.
"I made some rice balls for you! You haven't eaten for a long time right?" She offers with a proud smile.
"This is the first time I made rice balls…"
"I'm not hungry! Go away!" The girls' smile faltered as she heard his response.
"But…"
"I DON'T WANT IT! LEAVE ME!" Zoro felt a twinge of guilt as he had to say what was necessary to keep her safe. "I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T GO!" he harshly threatened.
Luffy eyes narrowed as he passively watched from afar, having yet to detect any truth in his threat.
Zoro's voice must've startled the poor girl as the rice balls fell from her hands onto the dirt. Saddened, her eyes watered at the sight as she saw her efforts splattered on the ground. The squealing of a gate caught the attention of everyone in the prison as it revealed a blonde teen in an expensive black suit flanked by two marine officers.
"Don't pick on little kids, Roronoa Zoro! Or else I'll have to report to my father about it!" The sinde tone caused Luffy to divert his eyes to the newcomer. Judging by his opulent clothing and manner Luffy could immediately tell the kid was stuck up and most likely weak. Coby voiced Luffy's thoughts aloud as he came to the same deduction.
"He must be someone important in the marine… Thank goddess the girl is safe now…"
Zoro scoffed, frowning at the new presence. "If it isn't the captain's bastard son…"
"Bastard!? Don't be so cocky, pirate hunter, My dad is a marine lieutenant!" he rebuked.
"Oh?! What's this?" lifting his foot off the mush he stepped on he looked surprised to find a crushed rice ball of sorts.
"Giving food to criminals now are we?! Let's see if you still have an appetite after THIS!"
The small girl was forced to watch the marine lieutenant's son brutally stomp on her rice balls. Bits of dirt and dust mixed in with the remains of the rice as they were flattened onto the soil. Tears welled up in the girl's eyes as she witnessed the cruel display of power.
"...That's so cruel! I… I tried really hard to make those…!" Helmeppo turned towards her with fake sympathy.
"Aww… Don't cry! It's no wonder why I hate little brats so much!" Pointing at a sign he continued to justify his actions.
"It's all your fault you know? Didn't you see what was written here? Anyone who helps a prisoner will be charged with the same crime -Marine captain Morgan."
"You know how scary my dad can be right? You would've gotten the death penalty if you're a grownup!" The little girl continued to weep.
Helmeppo turned to one of his marine bodyguards, "Oi, throw this brat out!"
The officer in question reluctantly approaches the girl, intending to carry out the order.
Luffy's eyes hardened as he released a small pulse of haki, he knew the girl would be thrown over the wall pretty soon. He leaps off the wall the moment he sees the girl getting flung in the air, his arms clutching the girl's frail body mid air as he transfers her momentum to him, coating his back with armament haki to reduce the damage as he lands on his back with a small thud.
"Are you alright?.. Those bastards!…" Coby scanned the girl's body for any sign of injury, she managed to avoid the worst of it but the impact from Luffy's landing still rattled her small body. Luffy stood up shrugging off his fall and patting off his cuffed blue shorts as he pondered the next course of action.
"You should go home. this is no place for a kid… Coby, Escort her back home… I'll handle this matter" Luffy's words left Coby in shock since this was the first time the teen had been serious since they met. The girl dumbly nodded as she complied, the shock from still being flung over the wall still hadn't escaped her.
XxX
Luffy watched the arrogant blonde from earlier leave the prison gates with his two bodyguards, his heightened senses managing to catch the pompous brat's bragging words, something about an early execution and an idiot. Shifting his focus back towards the pirate hunter he promptly leaped over the wall, coming to a halt before the prisoner. His effort was rewarded with Zoro's silent attention, wondering why the teen from before was still here. Luffy initiated the conversation.
"You still haven't left yet?"
"Leave now, or else he'll tell his dad about it"
"Oh yea?" he amusedly asks.
"I'm willing to leave just as much as you're wanting to escape right now" Zoro's response to that was silence.
"So why are you staying here anyway? If I had to guess I'd bet there's something else keeping you here."
"It doesn't matter… I just have to survive the month.. If I do that I'll be set free.. That blonde idiot promised me" Luffy clenched his fists in silent anger as he recalled Helmeppo's parting words that he heard. 'I'll publicly execute him before the month is done! To think that idiot actually believes I'll let him free!'
"Tell me something… Zoro… Why is it that you want to survive?" The green haired convict looked up at Luffy with hardened resolve.
"Because… I have something I need to take care of… I'm gonna do everything I can to stay alive and fulfill my dreams!"
'I see..' Luffy intently listened to Zoro's response, he could feel the strong conviction radiating from Zoro's words.
"And just what is this dream of your's?" He pressed.
"To be the world's greatest swordsman!.." Silence replaced the conversation as the strawhat teen stood surprised. Pirate hunter Zoro did not match his notorious reputation from what he's seen so far. 'I've decided…'
"Not by starving you're not! Come on, let's go get something to eat, I've decided you'll be joining my crew!"
"Were you even listening to me!? I have to stay here! And besides, why would I want to give up my life and become a crook!? I have my own ambitions! Go find someone else to join you!"
"Alright! I'll come back later with some food to see if you change your mind!" turning away luffy began to walk away from Zoro.
"Hey! Hold On!" Luffy stopped walking as he glanced back towards him.
"Hm?"
"That… Can you pick it up for me?" He asks, nodding towards the lump of rice ball, or what was left of it anyway.
"The rice ball!? You want to eat that? But it's all muddy" upon closer inspection the smooshed rice ball was now mixed with layers of dirt that left the rice downright inedible. Regardless he complied, picking up the ruined glob of food.
"Welp! I guess you can't be picky about food when you're starving!"
Molding the ball of food so it doesn't fall apart Luffy prepares to feed it to Zoro who had his mouth wide open in anticipation for the first bit of food in nine days.
"Shut up! Just give it to me! Let me eat all of it!" Shrugging Luffy does as he asks. Not a moment after the rice ball enters his mouth, Zoro starts gagging as he attempts to keep the muddy food down.
"If I didn't know any better I'd think you're trying to kill yourself!" Managing to swallow down the disgusting food Zoro's coughs halt as he sighs with relief, though whether that's from satisfying his hunger or being relieved he managed to not puke his guts out, Luffy couldn't say.
"Tell that little girl…"
"Tell her what?!"
"The rice balls tasted very good… Thank you very much…"
"Do it yourself! That blonde bastard didn't even plan on keeping his end of the deal! He was planning on publicly executing you before you survived the month!"
"Nonsense…! That bastard promised me that if I survived the month, he'd free me…"
"I heard him bragging about deceiving you when he left through the gates! Is it really that hard to believe that a guy like him wouldn't keep his word?"
To that Zoro had no response. Somewhere deep inside him a part of him knew that this was true, The marines wouldn't gain anything by keeping him alive, a public execution would've been the most likely outcome to set an example of what happens to those who oppose their 'justice'. After a tense minute of silence, Luffy spoke with a grin.
"Do you want to reconsider my offer? I'll set you free if you accept"
"That's just dirty! I don't have a choice do I?" Luffy kept his grin.
"Screw it! Rather than just dying here.. I'd rather become a pirate! But just to be clear, my goal is to become the world's greatest swordsman… If you do something that ends up in the way of my goal.. I'll have to cut you down!"
Luffy smirked,"Good. Since you want to be the pirate king's crewmember, if you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be embarrassed!"
Zoro met his smirk with one of his own,"Heh! Well said!"
"Now, I heard you use a katana? Is that right?" Zoro nodded.
"Tell me where they are so I can return them to you!"
"In the marine base. They took them from me after I surrendered myself when they threatened the little girl."
"Alright! Stay here, I'll get them back in no time!" Walking towards the tall marine fort Luffy tried to scope out a door or entrance to get in through. The boy was left disappointed with a slight frown manifesting.
"Wow! The Marines sure are stupid for not having doors in their fortresses!"
'God! How dense is this guy!?'
Zoro was now beginning to regret his decision of joining the teen's crew. 'At this rate we'll both be executed soon if he's caught!'
"Oh well! Guess I'll have to make my own door!" Luffy stood in front of the fortress base holding his palm towards the thick iron wall.
"Wha-"
"Cosmic Repulsion!"
The thick iron tore open with a screech as an invisible force blasted through the fortress wall from Luffy's palm, kicking up dust around the area of impact. The dust cleared up to reveal the giant hole the size of a small crater Luffy had made into the base, Zoro's jaw dropped as he couldn't believe what he'd just watched.
"WHAT KIND OF HUMAN ARE YOU?!"
Luffy smirked as he dropped his palm down glancing over his shoulder to answer Zoro's question. 'That one was different from last time! Seems like I can control the strength of the repulsion!'
"Hehe! I ate the Space Space fruit and became a Spaceman!"
XxX
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Done with that chapter. I'll give more details on his fruit later on, but so far all that's known is that luffy knows he's eaten the space fruit fruit and gained paramecia powers. If you're wondering why he wouldn't have used haki to break the wall or beat alvida, it's because he only uses it when he's serious, since he wants to improve and hone his devil fruit powers, after all you wouldn't use a cannon to kill a rabbit would you? He's already mastered base observation and armament and his observation is able to sense presence and the strength of his opponents, and he's also able to use advanced armament haki (kinda like katakuri). And before anyone asks, Yes zoro will learn haki earlier as well through luffy teaching him. The next update will take a while.