ENTER PIRATE HUNTER ZORO

Luffy was in a complete state of focus and didn't hear a single thing around him. He didn't hear the sound of the sea, the boat gently rocking, or Artemyra turning the pages of the newspaper she was reading. He voided himself of all distractions and prepared his mind, body, and soul. This was his moment. His and his alone. The time was now…to try in vain to use Mars's secret power. Nothing was happening though, no matter how much he focused his mind and devoted his body. There was nothing. Luffy held the Ancient Weapon tightly in his hand and stretched it out towards the world, using so much brainpower that his ears started to emit a thick black smoke, but as before…nothing. Why wasn't anything happening?

Artemyra sighed gently while turning to the next page of her newspaper. "Luffy, no matter how hard you try, Mars won't let you use it. It's best to give up," she advised.

"Oh, come on. That's not fair. I wanted to see what it could do," Luffy grumbled. He thought it had become defected and felt a little tempted to toss the highly dangerous weapon into the sea.

"It's no use trying." She peered her eyes up from the paper and held her hand out. "Here, give it back," she asked quite calmly, though something seemed a little off about the request too.

Luffy glanced down to Artemyra and saw an odd look lingering in her sea-green eyes. A deep intensity of some sort. Dark, indescribable, but also very subtle. The dark tension in her eyes quickly faded though once he gave her back the weapon, not once resurfacing after that. Artemyra took the weapon firmly in her hand and placed it down on her right side.

There was no way Luffy and Coby wouldn't have noticed it…the odd manner of obsession in her actions.

Coby cleared his throat to try and ease the tension. "If you don't mind me asking, Artemyra-san. Why can't he use it?" he asked, mainly out of curiosity though.

Artemyra thought about it for a moment before closing her newspaper and addressing them face to face. "My father should've told you already, no? It may just be a sheath…but you have to think of it as a living weapon."

"Your father did mention something about the sheath being alive, yeah," Luffy remembered.

She nodded her head softly, speaking in this indecisive tone shrouded with mysteries even unknown to her. "Indeed. Mars is a…very fickle thing. In the past, there had been champions who were never able to use Mars's power, despite being the holder. And there had been others who had. My mother being one of them," she said sadly.

Coby shivered. "So…the weapon itself…can choose who is allowed to use it?"

"That's correct," she confirmed with solemn eyes. "You can imagine the frustration people must've felt though. Winning the war but not being able to use the weapon. It must've driven them crazy." She cast her eyes down and began to fiddle with her hands in her lap.

"Can you use the weapon?" Luffy asked.

"I can, yes." She quickly raised her voice and stopped Luffy from speaking anymore. "And no, I'm not going to show off the weapon all willy-nilly. It's too exhausting, and I only want to use it in emergencies, or if I'm up against someone who might be stronger than me," she explained, watching as Luffy sank like a led balloon.

Coby blinked, now intrigued. "How is it exhausting? Does it require something?"

"It requires stamina, so I always have to be mindful of how I use it. The consequences of going past your physical limits can cause the user to grow dangerously ill." She tightened her jaw and turned her stern eyes up to Luffy. "Do you understand what I'm telling you, Luffy?" Even though Luffy was now her captain, the power of the sheath was something she had to be firm with. It was her responsibility alone.

Luffy slumped down inside the boat and seemed to sulk. "Ah…and I really wanted to see what it could do," he said, but that was about the extent of his complaining.

Artemyra laughed sweetly and smiled. "Don't fret. I'm sure you'll see it in action soon enough."

"Hmm…" he nodded, blinking before something suddenly dawned on him. "Oh, by the way. Coming with me out to sea, does that mean you're not going to that war?"

Artemyra's smile faded fast after that. She turned away from him and pulled her legs up close to her chest, simultaneously glancing down at Mars. "I could run away with the weapon if I want to... but I'm afraid of the repercussions if the other islands find out. The knights over in Asavera might just look the other way, but Alkatran and Akanoel though…those two islands would probably make a mess of things. Besides, I never planned on running away anyways. I just want to have fun in the meantime." She looked over to the sack of previsions that Gale provided them with and pulled a small bag from off the pile. She reached inside and pulling out a small and gray Den-Den Mushi.

"What's that for?" Luffy asked, taking note of its odd structure. It didn't look like a normal Den-Den Mushi.

"It's a signal. Luffy, let me say this to you right now." Her voice dropped in tone and the look in her eyes had never been so serious until now. Her words were captivating and steady that not even Luffy could ignore them. "No matter where we are or what we're doing, if this thing goes off then I'll have to leave…because the War for Mars will begin." Artemyra watched as Luffy fell quiet, but it's hard to make out what he was thinking because of his neutral face. Sometimes he was easy to read, other times it felt nearly impossible.

"Hey, Myra? Will that thing go off anytime soon?" he asked and pointed down at the Den-Den Mushi.

"No." she shook her head confidently. "We're still quite a ways off."

Without missing a beat, his face broke out into a bright smile that didn't look to have a care in the world. "Then we're not gonna worry about it right now, ok? We got a lot of adventures to do first before we deal with something like a war. I'm gonna enjoy myself…and so should you!"

It was so often now that he showed this side to her, but he never failed to surprise her each time. His demeanor was relaxing…and she truly felt like everything was going to be alright. "Of course," she smiled back just as eagerly.

"More importantly, Myra. I think I found the next guy to join us."

Artemyra blinked. "Pardon?" Once again, she was taken aback, but for the wrong reasons. This was the first she heard of this.

"The newspaper. Look, look!" he said, pointing at the paper frantically.

Both Artemyra and Coby looked down at the newspaper and read the article labeled 'demonic beast, Zoro the Pirate Hunter'. Coby turned pale in a single heartbeat and Artemyra looked skeptical.

"The title is kinda troubling…" she said grimly.

"Have you heard of him before?" Coby asked.

Her lips curled downwards. "Not much. The name popped up in the paper every so often, but I never really looked into it."

"His real name is Roronoa Zoro, but he's mostly called the 'Pirate Hunter'," Coby began. "He's like a bloodthirsty hound roaming the seas, hunting men for the bounties on their heads. They say he's a demon in human form."

"That is quite the ambiguous title," she muttered, tracing the dangerous name on the paper with her silver fingers, "but it also causes me concern. Luffy, if he's a bounty hunter, then I don't think asking him to be a pirate is going to be a good idea."

Luffy pondered on it for a bit. "Hmm, I haven't decided whether I'll invite him to join my crew or not. If he's a good guy, then I'll-" Coby quickly cut him off.

"He's in prison because he's NOT a good guy!"

Luffy stretched his arms out wide and took in the scenery of the new town that they had finally docked in. "All right! we finally made it to the Marine base town. Coby, you're amazing."

Coby blinked. "Huh?"

"You actually got us to our destination!"

"Of course I did! That's the minimum requirement for people who sail the seas." He was kind of flabbergasted that Luffy thought it was a rare talent to have. "Luffy, if you keep randomly floating around, you and Artemyra-san will never become pirates. You should really find a navigator for your crew," he advised but was soon ignored.

"Hey, Myra! What do you think? This is the first place you've been to that wasn't Armwell, right?" Luffy said, waiting eagerly for Artemyra to step foot on her first island.

Artemyra pulled a gray cloak over her body before stepping onto the wooden dock. She looked up at the town with brand new eyes and just stared with her mouth agape, completely speechless. The town was relatively simple and not even close to being as impressive as Armwell was. Not even the people looked remotely similar to the ones she grew up with. They were small and thin, fragile and innocent looking, but still all around joyful.

"This...this...this is so cool! It's so small and quiet. Even the environment is different!" she cheered, giggling so much that the smile she wore made her look younger than she actually was. She looked like she was experiencing life for the first time with how much her sea-green eyes sparkled.

Luffy laughed along beside her as Coby just stood back, watching in awe at her sudden behavior change. He was taken back because he had never seen such a childish glint in someone's eyes before until now.

"Well, Coby, I guess this is where we go our separate ways." Luffy patted his overly full stomach after indulging himself in the local restaurant's food. "I hope you join the Marines and become a great sailor."

Coby rubbed his eyes as they spilled out a waterfall of tears. "Thank you, you two. And I hope you become great pirates. Even if that means we'll be enemies." He thanked them from the depths of his heart, and he truly meant it. Meeting such amazing people had really motivated him to follow his dreams and become a Marine, even though they'll be on the opposite side of the law.

"Enemies is too harsh of a word. Instead. Think of it as a serious rivalry." Artemyra smiled tenderly at Coby's earnest nature. She reached across the table and handed him and napkin so he could dry his tears. "And it's best if you learn to hold in the tears. I don't think the Marines will take too kindly to crying soldiers."

Coby sniffled and did his best to collect himself. He took a couple of deep breaths and even puffed out his chest. "Yes, ma'am!"

Artemyra smiled at his passion. She can see that he's on the right track to better himself, and she hoped to see the results of that determination one day. "That's the way." She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Which reminds me. Isn't this the town that's supposed to be holding that pirate hunter? Roronoa Zoro- " She suddenly jumped when she heard plates crashing and tables falling over.

They all turned to the townspeople inside the restaurant and saw them trying to scamper away from them with intense fear in their eyes. They had practically climbed over each other to get away from their table.

Artemyra blinked. "Eh?"

Coby leaned over the table and whispered in her ear. "Maybe we shouldn't say that name out loud around here…" He sat back and spoke up normally. "I saw a poster when we first arrived. It said that Captain Morgan is at this base-"

Once again, plates went sailing across the room and tables toppled over as people scattered like there was a fire, much like how they did before.

Artemyra blinked, again. "Ahh...huh?"

Luffy could hardly contain his boisterous laughter after leaving the restaurant with Coby and Artemyra. He chuckled so hard that it made the muscles in his stomach tighten up and quiver. Unfortunately though, Artemyra couldn't share the experience with him and quickly shifted back into the demeanor of a cautious knight.

Artemyra gazed around the townspeople who all seemed to be acting normal, which didn't make sense after what happened back in the restaurant. She didn't know what it was about, but it did cause an abundance of worry for her. "I'm not so sure about this place anymore," she said, resting her gauntlet against her chin to think for a moment. "Maybe I'm just overreacting because I'm a little bit out of my element, but…I got a bad feeling."

"I don't think you're overreacting at all. I don't get why everyone's so jumpy," Coby agreed wholeheartedly.

"Roronoa Zoro's name is one thing…but why is Captain Morgan getting the same reaction?" she said, eyes smoldering with dark suspicion. "It's somewhat troubling…"

"Maybe they all got carried away," Luffy said lightly, obviously not reading the atmosphere at all.

Artemyra gave Luffy an odd glance when a thought crossed her mind. Luffy might not have the brain capability to worry about those sorts of things. In the future, Artemyra might have to be the one to worry about things for both their sakes. "Not to that degree."

They eventually walked up onto the Marine base located near the back of the town. It was a tall, stark white building, heavily fortified with sturdy stone walls wrapped around the exterior, and a large iron gate up in front. Artemyra had seen Marine soldiers go in and out of Armwell all the time, but actually seeing one of their bases in real life felt a little bit overwhelming. Still nowhere near as first-class as Armwell was, but still grand enough to impress the knight.

"Looks like this is your stop," Artemyra said and gave Coby an encouraging pat on the back.

"But I haven't mentally prepared myself yet…and those people were scared when they heard the captain's name," he said with a nervous smile. "You of all people even said…that something felt uneasy."

Artemyra couldn't argue with that and looked back up to the Marine base. She pulled tight on her coat that hid her armor and sword well. She didn't feel comfortable taking her armor off but also didn't want people to see the very notable crest on her breastplate. "Hey, Luffy. Would it be ok if-" she began but stopped herself when she noticed Luffy climbing up on the stone wall. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see the demonic beast from here," he said, cupping his hand over his eyes to try and get a better view of the courtyard.

"You won't find him just by peeking over the fence. He's probably deep within the bowels of the base," Coby insisted.

Luffy suddenly hopped off the wall and ran further along down it. "Hold on. I think. I actually see someone. Maybe it's Zoro. Come on, Myra!"

Artemyra and Coby followed after him and strolled further along the tall stone wall until stopping. They grabbed the ledge and pulled themselves up, peeking over the edge and seeing the dark frame of a man standing in the middle of the courtyard.

"That gotta be him, right?" Luffy said.

Coby gave one good look at the demonic beast before nearly having a heart attack and letting go of the ledge. He would've fallen off the wall too if Artemyra didn't reach down to grab his shirt. "That's him!" Coby cried out. "T-That black bandana and haramaki sash! It's really him! That's frightening man… It's really Rorornoa Zoro!"

Artemyra cocked a brow and looked back over to Zoro. The man laid slumped against a wooden pole that he was tied to, burning under the hot sun and covered in bruises. It was obvious to her that he's been out there for more than a couple of days. She squinted her eyes to try and get a better look at him, but dark shadows overlaid his facial features and prevented her from seeing anything more. The only thing Artemyra could really make out were his fierce eyes that really did remind her of a beast.

"Oh? So that's the demonic beast?" she said.

"Hmm. I could just untie those ropes and set him free-" Luffy began but Artemyra quickly placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Luffy, I have to advise you to hold onto that plan for a bit longer," she said in a cool tone. "I'm being serious here. Please just wait."

"Please listen to her, Luffy-san! It'll be suicide if you let him go. He'll kill us then wreck the whole town!" Coby begged him urgently, pale with fright and shaking in his boots. His heart rate suddenly sky-rocketed though when a dark and rough voice called out to them from the courtyard.

"Hey, you kids. You wanna…come over here and untie me. I've been out here for days and I'm about at my wit's end." Zoro turned his head up and grinned at them in a wicked sort of way, his face worn down with exhaustion from being tied up for so long.

"He's smiling," Luffy said, totally unfazed.

"I'm not sure you can call that a smile. More like a smirk," Artemyra responded back calmly.

Coby's heart hammered against his chest as he hid behind the wall to avoid being seen. "It doesn't matter! He's talking to us!" he squeaked while shuddering dreadfully.

"I'll make it worth your while. I'll capture someone with a big price on their head and give all the bounty to you. You can trust me. I'm a man of my word." Zoro proposed to them, the smirk on his face never dwindling in eeriness.

Coby shook his head frantically. "Don't do it, Luffy-san! As soon as you untie him, he'll kill us and get away. I just know it!" he begged

"He won't kill us," Luffy said with a confident smile and looked over to Artemyra. "You won't let him. Right, Myra?"

Artemyra looked a little surprised to hear him say that and to know that he had just that much confidence in her. She looked away from him to try and hide her smile that was bubbling with joy and pride. "That's right," she said and turned her chin high. "Don't worry about him. You'll both be safe if you stay beside me."

Coby could've sunk down into the floor from utter hopelessness at that moment if Artemyra wasn't still supporting him. He expected that kind of overconfidence from Luffy, but not from someone like Artemyra.

The three of them looked over to their right when they noticed something passed by their peripheral vision. It was a ladder being placed down beside them with a lone little girl climbing up, no younger than ten. She looked at the three before signaling for them to stay quiet. After that, she hopped over the wall and hurried over to Zoro with something tucked under her arms.

"Hey! Don't go down there! It's dangerous!" Coby called out but the girl didn't pay him any mind.

She fearlessly walked right up to Zoro as the man glared intensely down at her.

"What do you want?" he said to her coldly. "Did you get lost? Hurry up and leave before you get killed!"

The little girl carefully unwrapped what was in her hands and showed Zoro two overly sized rice balls. She then smiled at him with the eagerness only a child could have. "I made you these rice balls. I thought you would be hungry. It's the first time making something like this, so I hope you like them."

Artemyra felt her body jolt from the shock as her eyes doubled in size. It was then that something dawned on her about the situation. The girl was young but shouldn't be so naïve to just wander up to a killer, and the way she spoke to him, it sounded like there wasn't the slightest bit of fear in her voice.

"Something's off here," Artemyra muttered.

"I know. She's gonna be killed if we don't-" Coby began but she was quick to correct him.

"I'm not talking about that. I'm saying…she strangely fearless." Nevertheless, Artemyra kept a firm hand on the hilt of her blade and waited. She wanted to sit still and listen in for a bit more, see if she could understand things a lot better.

For a moment, Zoro looked stunned at the little girl's offer, but it didn't last long before his hard mask quickly slipped back on his face. "I'm…not hungry. Now beat it and take that stuff with you!"

The girl frowned and looked down at the rice balls that she worked hard to make. "But…"

"I said I don't want it. Now get outta here before I stomp you to death!" Zoro growled.

"Roronoa Zoro!" Everyone turned towards the courtyard's side entrance and saw a young man walk in with two Marine soldiers beside him. He was dressed in an overly flashy suit with oddly shaped hair that made his head look like an onion. He even wore a permanent smug look on his face that gave off an air of insufferable entitlement. "You shouldn't pick on little girls. I'll tell my father on you."

Luffy blinked. "Who's that weirdo?"

"Probably some high-ranking Marine officer," Coby guessed.

Artemyra's brows turned up into a perplexed stare. "Not with those clothes he is." She sunk down low to hide and pushed Luffy to do the same.

Zoro's face turned up into a sneer when Helmeppo approached him. "Well if it ain't the idiot son, living off his daddy's power."

"Did you just call me an idiot? A man in your position should guard his tongue…or he could lose it!" he threatened before snatching up the little girl's rice ball. "Little girl…did you bring these for me? How thoughtful."

"Hey! Give it back!" she cried.

He took a big and greedy bite out of the rice ball and immediately spat it out, holding his tongue out like a dog. "Disgusting! It's sweet! There's sugar on it! Rice balls are supposed to be seasoned with salt! Not sugar!"

The little girl looked taken back and awkwardly looked down at her last rice ball. "B-But I like sweet things, so I figured they would be better if it was sugar."

Helmeppo raised his hand and slapped the last rice ball onto the floor before ruthlessly stomping on it with all his might, rubbing it into the ground until it was a clump of rice and mud. "These are completely inedible!"

"Stop please! You're ruining them!" she begged just as he finally stopped and removed his foot. It was no use though. The food that she had put her heart and soul into making was now ruined. "But…but…I worked so hard to make them." Her eyes began to water as tears spilled out and fell past her cheeks.

The idiot son looked like he couldn't be bothered to deal with the trauma he had just caused. "Oh, quit your crying. This is why I hate kids. It's your fault. Can't you read this sign? It says 'Anyone aiding this prisoner shall be found guilty of the crimes he has committed. Sign, Captain Morgan'. I'm sure you've heard of how scary my father can be, right? If you were an adult, you would be put to death." He snapped his fingers and gestured to one of the Marines beside him. "You there. Throw this brat over the fence!"

The soldier flinched and stiffened up instantly. "B-But…" He didn't even know how to approach such a heartless request. Helmeppo didn't even give him the chance to think though before grabbing the front of his uniform and yelling in his face.

"I'm ordering you to throw that little brat over the fence! Are you going to disobey a direct order?! I'll tell my daddy on you!"

"Y-yes, sir. Right away," he stuttered and quickly picked up the little girl.

Artemyra adjusted herself by placing her feet against the wall. She waited just as the soldier flung the girl over their heads. Once she was in sight, the knightess leaped off the wall and stretched her arms out to catch the girl. She curled her arms around her small body and pulled her close before landing firmly against the ground.

"Artemyra-san?!" Coby shouted and jumped off the wall.

"She's fine. Don't worry." Artemyra said. She placed the little girl down and got on her knees to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere. "Are you okay? You don't feel any pain anywhere, right?" she asked, gently brushing her silver fingers across the girl's face.

The little girl looked down at herself briefly before smiling at Artemyra. "Yup. I'm completely fine."

Artemyra couldn't help but take a breath after hearing that. "That's good to hear. I'll accompany you back to your home, but I wish for you to explain a few things to me. Things about Zoro…and what's really going on here. Will that be alright with you?" she asked as calmly as she could.

The girl looked to hesitate for a minute but nodded her head sheepishly. "Ok.." she said shyly.

"I appreciate it," Artemyra said with a kind smile and patted her head. "Luffy. Come find me in town after you're done here. Talk to Zoro if you want but hold back on the decision of letting him join us until I get the full picture of the situation." She said and locked her eyes against his, making absolutely sure that he understood what she was saying. "Can you do that for me?"

Luffy shrugged and smiled. "Don't worry. I haven't yet decided anyways. I'll see you back in town, Myra."

Author's Note:

I hope this chapter turned out well for all of you. I was just...so damn happy with the last chapter with all your reviews that I just had to write a follow-up as fast as I could.

Thank you so much for your support and I hope to see your new reviews soon! Much love, guys!