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One Piece - Freedom
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East Blue Arc
Chapter 2: The Devil Pirate Hunter! Enter: Roronoa Zoro
0o0o0 Shells Town 0o0o0
Luffy strolled down the busy street of the Naval island at a casual pace; his nondescript red shirt and trusty straw-hat on full display. "I really should've left that ship to Alvida's crew," Luffy lamented as he remembered the alert he'd managed to wiretap with his transponder snail.
"This is a level ORANGE alert to all East Blue bases! Repeat this is a level ORANGE alert to all East Blue bases! Urgent update on the pirate Straw-hat Luffy! As of 5 minutes ago he has officially been confirmed to have been spotted in the East Blue! Repeat, the pirate Straw-hat Luffy has been spotted in the East Blue! All bases are to be on alert for a young man in his late teens, wearing a red shirt and a straw-hat with a crescent scar under his left eye! It is advised to only engage the target if there is an officer present! I repeat only engage the target if there is an officer present! Report the target immediately! Vice-Admiral Garp is in pursuit! I rep-" the voice had been cut as Luffy cut the wiretap.
"Tch! That old man is still trying to dictate my life." Luffy sighed as he turned into the restaurant, he'd seen from down the street and immediately headed for the bar.
"Hi!" the voice of a young girl brought Luffy out of his own world and looked down to his side to see big brown eyes staring at him with a pen and pad in her hands, "What will it be?"
"Rika! What did I tell you about taking orders at the bar? Go on, there are other customers waiting for you," an older woman said as she approached from behind the bar. The woman sighed tiredly as the girl simply nodded and ran off. "I'm sorry if she bothered you. You ok though? You look a little pale," the woman noticed as Luffy turned his attention to her.
"I'm fine, just starving. Haven't had a good meal in days. And she wasn't a bother."
"That's good. So, what are you having today?" the bartender asked with a polite smile.
"Anything with meat." The woman nodded as she memorized the simple order. "Also... perhaps you've heard of a pirate hunter that I'm looking for."
"A pirate hunter? Is there a pirate crew you need taken down? You realize you're on a Naval island, right? I'm sure they could deploy a detachment out for you," the woman said, smiling nervously at the young man.
"Heh, no. You see, I'm looking to start a crew and having someone strong like that would be helpful. Besides, he sounds like he has an interesting fighting style."
"Oh…" The bartender's eyes slid away from the young man. After a second, she turned and began to walk to the kitchen to work on his order. "Well, what's the name of this Pirate Hunter you're looking for?" she asked before passing through the doorway.
"Roronoa Zoro."
Silence fell over the restaurant.
"Y-you're looking for Roronoa Zoro?" the bartender stammered as she looked at Luffy in disbelief.
"Yep." Luffy's immediate response caused several of the patrons to fidget and look away.
"I'm afraid you may be too late," the woman said, turning to face him again.
"Huh? Why's that?"
"It started 3 weeks ago…"
0o0o0 Navy Base – Execution Grounds 0o0o0
"What do you want?" Roronoa Zoro opened his eyes and took in the image of a man in a red vest and a straw-hat on his head.
"Nothing much," the Straw-hat said as he continued to look at the tied-up pirate hunter.
"Well get lost, you're annoying," Zoro gruffed out.
The man ignored him, though. "You know what you're doing is pointless right?"
"What did you say?" Zoro's black bandana seemed to intensify the glare he sent to his unwanted companion.
"Sacrificing yourself like this. It's pointless," the man said once more.
"And how is this pointless? I just need to survive 10 more days and I'll be set free," Zoro stated almost smugly.
"If the Navy doesn't perceive you as a threat, maybe." The Straw-hat cocked his head to the side, continuing to observe Zoro.
"Who are you? And just why do you care what happens to me?" Zoro asked with suspicion in his eyes.
"Me? Shishishi, I'm Luffy, a pirate of course!" Luffy finally let Zoro take in his grinning face. "And I think you and I were destined to meet!"
"You do realize I hunt pirates for a living, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then why did you tell me you're a pirate?!"
"Because, I am! And I want you to join my crew! Shishishi..." Luffy grinned like a madman.
"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Zoro thought as he stared at the grinning boy, "And what makes you think I'm going to join a criminal like you? I have a reputation to uphold." Zoro looked at the dark-haired man incredulously.
"Some reputation, Devil Pirate Hunter." Luffy smirked, knowing he'd outwitted the other man. "Most people fear your name just as much as they do any pirate's."
"People can say whatever they want about me, but I've never done a single thing in this life that I regret. I'll survive this ordeal and then I'll do whatever I want!" The swordsman bit out seriously.
"That's too bad, because I've already decided you're going to join my crew!" Luffy gave Zoro a thumbs up.
"What!? You can't just decide on your own!" Zoro yelled with disbelief.
"Sure I can, I'm a pirate, remember?"
"Why the hell are you even interested in me?"
"I met the bartender and girl you saved by taking their place out here on the crucifixion field. They told me about Marine Captain Morgan and his son Helpeppo, how they've been ruling over this island like kings and demanding respect and loyalty just for being in their presence." The Straw-hat shook his head, a frown on his face. "They told me how you saved them from Helmpeeo's wolf when you had no reason to. A man like you is hard to come by, Roronoa Zoro. I don't care why you helped or if it was even your intention to or not, but you still did it. Like I said earlier, I think we were destined to meet."
"Excuse me!"
"Huh?" Both pirate and hunter directed their attention at the small voice off that came over the wall of the execution field. Just above it was the head of the small girl. Jumping over it, she ran over toward the two.
"Umm… I-I made these for you!" The young girl, Rika from the restaurant Luffy had been to, held two rice balls out in her small hands. "I know you haven't eaten since you were tied up here so I thought I'd make these for you."
"You got a death wish kid? Scram." Zoro looked down at the girl in slight shock and - though he would never voice it - appreciation.
"I've… never really made them before, but I did my best so I think they're fine." Rika did her best to not let Zoro's words get to her, but her lower lip began to tremble. She knew that he was only trying to protect her since aiding a criminal was against the law. "But he's not the criminal. It's the Morgans who are the criminals; those big meanies!"
"Listen kid, I'm not hungry. Now stop pissing me off and get out of here!" Zoro was beginning to sweat. "If she's seen out here, this whole deal with that coward would've been for nothing."
"But-"
"I don't care! Now beat it before I kick your ass, little girl!"
Luffy watched the exchange with mild interest, doing his best not to look at Rika.
"No one likes a bully, Roronoa Zoro!" The new voice caused all three to look toward the gate of the crucifixion grounds to see 2 marines escorting a blond-haired man wearing an expensive looking purple suit who was smirking smugly.
Luffy lowered his head, allowing his straw-hat to cover his features.
"You seem to be doing spectacular Zoro," the blond said sarcastically, holding his smirk as he thumbed the open collar of his red silk shirt. "And what do you have there, little girl? Ooh! I do love rice balls, why don't mind if I do!" Without permission the blond snatched one of the rice balls for himself.
"Hey, that isn't for you!" Rika's protest fell on deaf ears as the blond took a large bite, only to grimace and spit it out.
"Bleh! It's too sweet! Rice balls are supposed to be salty! You put too much sugar in it!" the blond yelled before striking the other rice ball out of Rika's hands and started stomping on it.
"No!" Rika began to cry as she watched all her hard work go to waste. "I thought they would taste better sweet."
"It's too bad," the blond began, placing a hand on his forehead in a dramatic fashion and pointing to a posted sign, "'Those who help a criminal in any way will be executed.' Signed, Marine Captain Morgan." Rika's pupils shrunk as she realized her fate. "It seems my father is as unforgivable as ever. Mari-"
"Helmeppo, sir!" The two marines were shocked to say the least as the man in the straw-hat had suddenly appeared in front of Captain Morgan's son and punched the arrogant and self-praising man across the field. It didn't look like he was going to get back up.
"What an annoying voice." The two marines felt chills run down their spines at the cold voice. "Grab him and get lost before I change my mind."
The two marines wasted no time in 'tactfully retreating,' picking up Helmeppo only as an afterthought of what Captain Morgan would do to them should he learn they left his son to die.
"Oi! What are you doing?" Zoro glared as Luffy began untying him from the post he'd been tied to for the last 3 weeks.
"If that Marine Captain will execute someone for helping a criminal, which apparently, you're being classed as one, what do you think he's going to do to a criminal he already has locked up? Deal with his son or not, Morgan doesn't sound like a man who cares about honor." Luffy managed to untie Zoro's left arm and smiled in success.
Zoro meanwhile mulled over the pirate's words. "I hate to admit it, but he's right. The people here jumped at Morgan's name just as much as they did when I asked for rumors of pirates. Tch, it seems like I don't have much choice if I want to get off this damn island with my life." Zoro stretched as Luffy finished untying him. "Listen up! I'm not joining you. My path is the road that leads to the title of the world's Greatest Swordsman and not a pitiful life of plundering. However, for now, until we get off this island and go our separate ways, I'll work with you."
0o0o0o0o0o0
"I am… Great!"
"Yes sir, you're right Captain Morgan, sir!" the lone Marine, ordered with protecting the captain, saluted.
"And yet the taxes we collect are nowhere near the level of my greatness." Marine Captain Morgan took a long drag on the vintage cigar from his personal collection.
"Yes sir, I suppose the people's wallets aren't as deep as of late sir."
"The issue isn't about how deep their pockets are; it's their level of respect for me." Morgan exhaled, a large cloud of smoke rising above him.
"Captain!"
The doors to Morgan's office flew open and several marines flooded in. "What is it?" Morgan asked in annoyance as he had been enjoying his time alone to bask in his own presence.
"Sir! We have an emergency! The pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro, whom your son detained, has been set free by an unknown enemy. This same man also rendered your son unconscious when he stumbled upon him setting Roronoa free."
"So what are you all doing here? GET OUT THERE AND KILL THEM ALREADY!" Morgan was positive he'd die of an ulcer from his men's stupidity.
"Sir, there's another issue."
"And that is?"
"Sir, the two Marines escorting Helmeppo confirmed the unknown enemy is the pirate Straw-hat Luffy."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Luffy watched as Rika ran back home from atop the wall surrounding the Marine base before jumping down next to Zoro. "We should probably get out of here. I'm pretty sure the base has been alerted by now."
"Well you did let those marines go," Zoro remarked, unimpressed by Luffy's stupidity of letting an enemy get away.
"I didn't want them anywhere near Rika. She would have easily been hurt if one of them had gotten lucky."
"Still doesn't change our situation. Besides, we can't go yet." Zoro turned and began walking back toward the base.
"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"That bastard son took my katana from me when he had me tied up. I can't leave without them," the swordsman growled out, eye's narrowing.
There was no room for argument, Luffy could see that. "Alright, well any ideas as to where they could be?"
"They could've been put in the armory... or he kept them himself to show off."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to ask him, won't we?" Luffy chuckled as he threw his arms behind his head and began walking toward the center of the Marine base.
0o0o0 Just Outside the Execution Grounds 0o0o0
"Sir, are you sure this is wise? Straw-hat has a 250 million belli bounty, and the alert ordered we contact Vice-Admiral Garp immediately should he be seen. I do not agree with this course of action," a marine said, standing at attention.
Morgan's glare nearly caused the Marine who'd spoken to faint. "I don't care who this Straw-hat is, compared to me, Axe-hand Morgan, he is nothing. Heh, Red-Hair Shanks is just another name amongst countless others. A Yonko's commander is nothing without his emperor. Straw-hat will fall easily enough." Morgan raised his infamous arm. "And if I capture him when even the Hero of the Marines couldn't, my greatness will only increase!"
"But sir, this is-" the marine didn't even feel the axe cut through his neck as his blood began to spurt from his esophagus, his headless corpse dropping to the ground.
"Lieutenant!" a few of the lower ranked marines called out, shocked at Morgan's cruelty.
"Anyone else here a spineless coward!?" Morgan asked as the rest of his marines remained quiet, too afraid to voice their outcries against him. "Listen! In this world titles are what matter! It was through my strength that allowed me to rise to the title of Captain and that makes me the highest rank here! Thus, I can do no wrong, am I right!?"
"Yes, sir!" all of the marines saluted.
"Hm? Look Zoro, there's a bunch of marines!" The marines dropped their salutes and immediately fell into practiced stances, pointing their rifles at the unknown voice within two seconds.
Standing before them was East Blue's most infamous pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro. Whilst looking rather disheveled from his 3-week ordeal at the hands of Helmeppo, he still gave off an aura of someone not to be messed with.
Next to him however, was a plain looking teenager in a red button up vest, light blue jean shorts, and a straw hat sitting on his head, with a silly, almost stupid looking, grin on his face as he laughed at the Pirate Hunter Zoro yelling at him, "Of course there are marines you idiot, we're in a marine base!"
"This wouldn't be much of a problem if I had my katana, but we haven't even left the execution field and we've already been caught!" Zoro lamented.
"It'll be fine, I'm strong after all," Luffy laughed at his unofficial crewmate's worry. "So long as they haven't alerted that old geezer that I'm here that is." Luffy looked to the side as he began to sweat at the thought of that man showing up.
"This is a joke, right?" all eyes turned toward Morgan, who was boring holes into the straw-hat wearing teen. "You can't really be Straw-hat Luffy, a commander of the Red-Hair Pirates!? Not a scrawny looking kid like you!"
"Of course, I'm not!" Luffy kept on grinning, most of the marines gaining confidence thinking that the boy must have been misidentified because he was wearing a straw-hat, "How can I become King of the Pirates if I keep sailing under Shanks' banner? Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he declared his intentions and dream aloud.
Everyone stared in shock at the ridiculous declaration. Not only had the boy confirmed that he was a member of the Red-Hair Pirates, or at the very least impersonating one, but that he also wanted to become King of the Pirates.
Whilst the marines stared at the grinning boy in disbelief, Zoro was staring with his own critical eye. To declare that he wants to become the King of the Pirates was no less crazy than wanting to become the world's greatest swordsman; perhaps it was even more impossible. And the way Luffy had said it, like it was an already forgone conclusion that he would become King of the Pirates, made something resonate within him. And how couldn't it? After all, he was the man who was going to become the world's greatest swordsman.
"Are you insane!? How could someone as weak looking like you ever become King of the Pirates, let alone be a part of a Yonko's crew!? I was expecting a behemoth of a man, and yet all before me is brat with no worth whatsoever! Look!" Morgan pointed toward the top of one of the two main Marine base buildings.
Just visible was a massive statue depicting Morgan with his arms stretched out to his sides. It was visible throughout the entire island, no matter the angle. It towered over everything, obviously showing off Morgan's dominance over the island.
"Do you see it brat!? That statue was raised just this morning in honor of me! Do you see my power!? This whole island belongs to me! The marines, the citizens, the town! And why do I have this power? It's because I am great! Whether or not you are an imposter, it doesn't matter! Because on this island, no one is greater than me! Captain Morgan!"
"Ah I saw it," Luffy said, having not missed it when his small boat had first come upon the island earlier that day, his grin slowly fading away. "I was wondering what such an ugly piece of art was doing up there."
"SHOOT THEM!" Morgan ordered, fury overtaking him as he ordered his men to fire on the two.
Zoro's eyes widened as the marines fired. It was as if the world had come to a standstill. An image of a young girl swarmed his mind as slowly but surely the bullets that would end his life began to explode toward him. "Is this as far as I go? If only I had my swords!"
Then his vision was suddenly blurred as he felt his body move at an impossible speed. Before his body came to a quick and sudden stop. "What the hell!" Zoro exclaimed as he realized he was no longer standing before the marines but to their side. More importantly he was no longer in the path of the speeding bullets.
"That was close, wasn't it Zoro?" Looking to his right, Zoro swore he saw an arc of electricity vanish into Luffy's body.
The marines all stared in shock at the now repositioned duo.
"How did they get over there? Were we tricked?" A marine voiced as he was sure they had been aiming at the pirate hunter and straw-hat pirate.
"It couldn't be…" Morgan had seen the same arc of electricity as Zoro.
"Oi, Morban!" Luffy called out, "You shouldn't put something you care about so much up so high!"
"And why is that brat?"
"Because," Luffy lifted his arm, aiming it at the statue, "You never know when lightning may strike! Bolt-Bolt Pistol!" Before anyone could do anything, Luffy's fist shot forward, an arc of lightning between it and the rest of his arm.
Faster than Morgan could register, the sound of an impact thundered around him as his statue was shattered in thousands of pieces. All he could do was stare at the straw-hat pirate, and bare witness to the boy's hand reattaching itself to the rest of his arm.
Zoro stared up at the falling pieces of stone that were once Morgan's statue. He slowly turned his head toward the man standing next to him. "What are you?"
"It's obvious!" Morgan spat out, pulling attention to himself. "Straw-hat has eaten one of the legendary treasures of the world: a devil fruit! Only someone who's eaten one could possibly do what we just witnessed!"
"I thought those were just a myth..." a marine spoke up as the group kept staring either at the straw-hat wearing boy or the falling debris.
"It's said those that eat a devil fruit gain any one power. From causing tsunamis to the ability to turn into animals, those that have eaten a devil fruit can do the impossible. However, it comes at a cost. Like making a deal with an actual devil, the devil fruit demands a price. One random power at the cost of never being able to swim again. Isn't that right Straw-hat!" Morgan cried out.
"Ah. It is," Luffy replied calmly.
Reaching into his Captain's coat, Morgan produced a wanted poster and presented it before Luffy and Zoro. "Then this is really you. The boy worth 250,000,000 belli!"
Zoro stared at the wanted poster. He had only seen one other poster with such a ridiculously high bounty. "Who the hell are you?"
Luffy turned to the green-haired swordsman with a look of confusion. "I thought I told you already... I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"Hahahahaha! You, a pitiful underling of that Red-Hair wants to become King of the Pirates? No one with your station could become anything. You're already sworn to that pathetic pirate-"
A boom of thunder caused everyone to flinch, before they realized that something was wrong. Morgan was simply gone.
"No one insults Shanks in front of me. Zoro, I'm gonna go kick his ass, you can deal with them," Luffy said as he was walking toward the massive hole in the side of the Marine base that Morgan had made. "I'm counting on you First-mate!"
"Oi! I still haven't agreed to that!" Zoro yelled after him before realizing he'd been left alone to deal with the majority of Morgan's men. "DON'T LEAVE ME TO DO MOST OF THE FIGHTING!"
0o0o0 Inside the Marine Base 0o0o0
"What?" Morgan questioned as he stared up at the ceiling of his base. "I could've sworn I was outside." Everything in his body hurt. One moment he was letting that brat know his place, the next he was near the center of the base. All around him the secretarial marines and hired civilians stared at his limp form.
"Ca-Captain Morgan?" one of the secretaries finally asked.
"Why?" Morgan asked, looking toward the secretary.
"Why? I don't know what-"
"Why am I here!?" Morgan raged abruptly standing up before bringing his axe-hand down on the innocent marine.
All the other secretaries turned away from the gruesome sight of their colleague being murdered.
"What are you doing?" an enraged voice echoed throughout the offices.
Morgan stopped his bludgeoning of the marine. "Straw-hat! How did I end up here!? Tell me, you weakling! Just what kind of trick did you pull!?"
Luffy continued to stare at the bloody corpse. "Isn't that your subordinate?"
Morgan looked down at the corpse. "This filth? It was. But who cares? All these men are nothing. They're just fodder for me to use at my leisure! Now I asked you a question, Straw-hat. How did I get here!?" Morgan was completely oblivious to the looks of anger and defeated resignation from the men surrounding him.
Luffy lowered his head, allowing his straw-hat to cover his eyes, before he began to walk toward Morgan.
"Answer me Straw-hat! I'm in command here! I'm the one with the rank and the title! All the people of this island and base follow my rule! You think that because you're the lackey of a criminal you can ignore me!? That's not how this world works! It's the Marines that are justice and it's the World Government that rules everything! You worthless pirates are nothing! And on this island I am the voice of the World Government!" Morgan was almost frothing at the mouth as he ranted at Luffy, before grabbing the axe handle at his elbow and raising his axe-hand high.
Swinging it down, Morgan grinned madly, knowing this upstart peon would be dead in the next few moments. Morgan's grin widened as he saw the boy casually attempt to catch his axe. "You fool, DIE!"
Morgan smirked in confidence as the blade made contact with Straw-hat's hand, only to watch in horror as the blade came to a full stop and shatter against the skin, and for the pirate to grasp whatever remained of the once infamous weapon. "How?" Morgan couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Feeling himself being pulled down by the stump of his crippled arm, Morgan came face to face with the furious youth.
"This is why I could never join the Marines," Luffy muttered as he stared Morgan straight in the eye. "Bolt-Bolt Rifle!"
Morgan once again felt the world slip from him as everything blurred, the deafening sound of thunder blocking everything else out.
0o0o0 Marine Base - Helmeppo's Room 0o0o0
It had been an intense day for the son of Marine Captain Morgan.
First was that ghastly tasting rice ball that the foolish little girl had made. Didn't the runt have any sense of taste at all? Who puts that much sugar into something meant to be salty?
Then there was that Straw-hat that had punched him. As soon as the splitting headache tormenting him was gone, he'd have his father hunt down the boy and have him executed. Didn't Straw-hat know that he, the son of Marine Captain Morgan, was to be treated like royalty? His father owned this island after all. They were above everyone.
Now, however, was not the time for revenge.
No, first he needed to scream for help from underneath all the rubble that had fallen on him from some sort of explosion that had shook the entire base.
The difficult part was that he was running low on oxygen and the world was beginning to turn dark.
But despite his current situation, the strangest part of the day, was that he could've sworn he saw the figure of his father fly up through his room before crashing through the outer wall. But that was impossible. Nothing like that could happen to his father. Captain Morgan was the most powerful man on the island. Wasn't he?
Just as his vision left him, Helmeppo swore he saw Straw-hat jump up from the hole in his bedroom floor.
"Hmm?" Luffy looked around the room he'd landed in and tilted his head in confusion at the decor. The room was pure white, with most of the furnishing that was still intact covered in frilled-lace. "I didn't know they let little girls join the Marines." Continuing to look around Luffy noticed something out of place.
"That's lucky!" Luffy grinned as he grabbed the three katana that were on display atop the mantle piece above the little girl's fireplace before jumping out the hole in the outer wall and after Morgan.
0o0o0 Marine Base - Execution Grounds 0o0o0
Zoro stared disinterestedly at the laid out body of Marine Captain Morgan.
The man looked as if he'd been put into an oven and left to bake for far too long. The axe-hand he'd been infamous for was completely shattered revealing the disgusting lump that used to be his forearm. The metal covering of Morgan's jaw had also been shattered to reveal the same over exaggerated cleft that his son bore.
It was clear the man wasn't getting up any time soon.
The few marines that Zoro had yet to defeat could only stare at the broken body of their oppressor. Never did they think they'd see their Captain in such a position. To think that such a lanky boy had the power to bring down someone like Morgan.
"Oh Zoro! You're still alive!" Zoro and the marines immediately looked up to see a falling Luffy land before them.
"Of course I'm alive! I'm not some weakling!" Zoro complained.
Taking a look at the swordsman, Luffy could tell that Zoro's bravado was covering for how tired he truly was. The swordsman's breath was deep and sharp, and there were clear signs of wounds littering the man's body. In his hands were two standard issued marine sabers, slightly chipped and dented.
"Hmm, I thought you'd be done by now though," Luffy pointed toward the marines who paled considerably at the thought of the boy coming after them.
The marines thought the ill-famed Pirate Hunter would be easily taken care of considering he'd been left to rot in the sun for several weeks without food. But the moment they had engaged the swordsman two of them had been disarmed and it had been an uphill battle from then on. The strength of the starving hunter was unreal. Some of them were beginning to think he'd even be able to take on Morgan if he hadn't been starved.
And then the unthinkable happened. Blasting out of the base and landing between them and the Pirate Hunter was the charred body of Morgan. And not long after Straw-hat came out after him with no signs of damage anywhere. It didn't even look like the boy was exhausted.
"I would've been if you hadn't interrupted!" Zoro yelled pointing at Morgan's body. "And what did you do to him?"
"I electrocuted him!" Luffy grinned as he made his arm flash sparks of electricity. "I ate the Bolt-Bolt Fruit and became a lightning man!" Luffy just laughed at the incredulous looks he received. "Oh yeah! Here these are yours aren't they?" Luffy flung a wrapped package that had been strapped to his back toward Zoro.
Catching it, Zoro unwrapped the package to find his three katana inside. Smiling at the sight of Wado Ichimonji and the two other blades, he quickly strapped them to his right hip and for the first time in three weeks felt whole. "Thanks."
"Don't sweat it. After all you're my First-mate. Can't have you complaining that I forgot something important to you, now can I?"
"About that," Zoro refocused his attention on the Marines, unsheathing his swords and placing Wado in his mouth. "I'm officially a criminal, now that I've fought the navy. So I'll join your crew. But I'll tell you this now, my only goal is to fulfill my ambition."
"Ambition?" Luffy tilted his head in thought.
"To become the world's greatest swordsman! If I wind up having to give that up, you'll accept responsibility at the end of my blades!"
Luffy smiled at the declaration. "The world's greatest swordsman huh? The King of the Pirates would need no less than that on his crew!"
"Keh, you sure talk big. From now on, whether it's as a criminal or whatever else, the world will know my name!" Zoro vowed, not just to Luffy, but to himself as well. "Now, why don't we finish these marines!"
The marines looked at the swordsman, who looked more frightening now that he had his signature weapons, and the boy who had mysterious devil powers before looking at each other.
"We surrender!"
0o0o0 Shell's Bar – Rika's Family Restaurant 0o0o0
Zoro ate happily for the first time in three weeks. Mouthful after mouthful of whatever was laid in front of him by Rika's appreciative mother was devoured in a matter of seconds, his stomach and high metabolism demanding more sustenance.
"I don't know how you did it Zoro. If it was me tied up out there, I would've died of starvation in 3 days," Luffy laughed as he watched his fellow pirate eat.
"Just goes to show I have more spirit than you," Zoro gloated, hitting on a competitiveness he didn't know Luffy held.
"Is that a challenge?" Luffy asked, grinning like the devil.
"What if it is?"
"First to clean out the kitchen wins!"
"Oh, you're on Dunderbolt! I'm so hungry I could eat a school of whales!"
"I'm surprised someone like you even knows what that is!"
They argued for another 10 minutes, eating as much as they could before they were cut off.
With their food supply cut the two pirates laid back in their chairs joyfully debating over who won.
"I did you bastard!"
"No, I did, shit for brains!"
"Oi! I'm your Captain. You can't disrespect me!"
"Like hell I can't!"
"DON'T CURSE IN FRONT OF RIKA!" The two received two bops to the head from Rika's mother.
Rika watched in amusement as the two nursed their lumps, grumbling to themselves that they had won the competition.
"So, what are the two of you going to do now?" Rika asked now that everyone had calmed down.
"Beats me… Well captain, what are we going to do now? We're both wanted men with nowhere to go." Luffy knew his next few words would leave an impression on what his new crew mate would forever think of him.
"I have no clue, I usually just wing-it. Hell, even coming here was because I heard your name from a pirate crew I took down a few days ago," Luffy said as he put his arms behind his head. "But I'm glad I found you, and I'm sure you are too, so everything worked out in the end. Shishishishishishi!"
"Wait… what about the rest of the crew? There are others, right?" Zoro asked, pleading to every deity he knew of that Luffy's answer would be yes as he looked at his new captain.
"Nope, just us! Congrats you're the first official crewman of the Straw-hat Pirate crew, besides me!" Luffy announced Zoro's position with absolute pride, "First-mate Zoro!"
"How did I manage to let myself get roped in by someone like you?" Zoro asked no one in particular, a blush of embarrassment rising over his face.
"Because I'm amazing that's how!" Luffy began laughing hysterically, while Zoro's face turned even redder.
"Would you cut it out, it's not that funny! I mean we're a crew of 2 and we're stuck on a naval island! At least tell me you have a boat?"
"How else would I have gotten here?"
"That's a relief."
"Don't worry so much. It's not like I plan on going to the Grand Line just yet. We are definitely going to need a bigger boat and crew. A navigator, chef, and doctor are just some of the positions we're going to need to fill. Luckily, I've had a bit of experience dealing with injuries, so I can at least tend to minor wounds and keep us alive in an emergency." Luffy took on a more serious tone. "The Grand Line is no place to kid around at. One mistake on anyone's part and the entire ship goes down."
"By the way, just how did you get so strong? I know you have that devil power but-"
Luffy cut him off, motioning toward the door as a group of marines walked in.
Zoro became apprehensive, ready to fight his way out if it came down to that.
"Are you the one known as Straw-hat Luffy?" the leader of the marines asked Luffy.
"Yeah, that's me alright, or was my straw-hat not a big enough clue?" Luffy asked sarcastically.
"Men, salute!" for the first time in a long time Luffy felt confused as the various marines saluted him.
"Huh?"
"We were able to detain Captain Morgan and his son and both are now waiting for Vice-Admiral Garp to arrive to take them to Enies Lobby to be court martialed. Out of respect for giving us this opportunity we have stricken any mention of you in our official report. However, being a self-declared pirate, we cannot ignore your presence here any longer. We're giving you and your crew 30 minutes to get past the horizon line!"
"That's not fair!" Rika yelled from the stool she'd been sitting on. "They saved everybody!"
"Those boys are heroes!"
"Damn marines, even without that maniac Morgan you're still a bunch of crooks."
Several of the patrons who had been in the restaurant when the duo entered had learned what had transpired at the base and were quick to defend their new heroes.
Luffy however, merely smiled. "Well you heard the man. Let's get going," he said, glancing at Zoro, receiving a nod from the green-haired swordsman. The duo stood, before walking out, the marines maintaining their salute until they disappeared.
"Sir, are you sure we shouldn't alert Vice-Admiral Garp about Straw-hat? He's too dangerous to allow free rei-" the Sergeant was silenced as the only Lieutenant to survive Morgan's rule raised his arm to silent the man.
"If you think we have the man-power to take on Straw-hat as of now, by all means go arrest him, Sergeant. However, I don't think they'll let you get very far." The Lieutenant pointed at the angry looking townspeople surrounding the marine detachment. "As for alerting the Vice-Admiral, we'll report it when he gets here. Those two deserve at least that much."
"Yes sir," the Sergeant finally agreed, knowing their marine base was no match for the two teenage pirates. At least he could take comfort in knowing the Hero of the Marines would soon be on the hunt.
0o0o0 To Be Continued 0o0o0
Was hoping to get this out a little bit sooner since a majority of the chapter had been written for the original story, but I wound up changing the entire fight with Morgan and so that elongated things. Not to mention I pushed myself to get into the Whole Cake Island arc with the anime. I do believe I'm almost done with the first act as I'm currently on episode 802. Only 76 more episodes to go! Then I'll finally be within reach of being fully caught up. I'm really excited. Last time I was fully caught up with either the manga or anime was when the Zou arc had just barely come out 5 or 6 years ago in the manga.
Currently, I'm planning on getting each of the East Blue adventures done in one chapter. So, the Buggy arc will be a chapter, Ussop arc a single chapter, and so on. The only East Blue adventure that I'm thinking will have to be split up is probably Arlong Park. Everything depends on how long things take to write and wrap up. Also, if I feel things were short I may even double up. So, if the Buggy adventure is too short, I'll tack on the Ussop arc. However; things will get to a point where arcs do stretch out over multiple chapters, because this is One Piece. And it will for the most part follow canon. Yay.
Something I feel I should clear up, is the fact that the Bolt-Bolt no Mi is NOT the Goro-Goro no Mi. Luffy's DF isn't Enel's DF. That's all I'm going to say on the matter. You want to know more? Hit the alert button down below and keep up to date with the story!
And of course, reviews are always welcome! I accept all criticism! Don't like my version of Luffy, tell me why. Think his bounty should be higher or lower, explain yourself. This whole story is a pathetic piece of shit and I'm wasting my time, have at you good sir! So long as you can back up your reasoning, critique the hell out of it. The only reviews I reject are: "this is bad," "your depictions of the characters suck," or "this has a character I hate, so it sucks." If you can't explain, then don't waste my time or yours.
I also do personally respond to reviews as well. So, if you have reviewed check your PMs on the site to see if I have. I'll only post responses in the story if enough of you ask about the same thing or critique the same thing.
Speaking of. Pacing. A common theme from the reviews. I'm going to go at my own pace. I did try to hint at that in my last author notes. One Piece is massive. 20 years on and both the manga and anime are still running. I know a few of you were concerned about me re-treading plot points that have been done to death. And that I should find a way to speed through all of this to get as far as possible. I'm hoping my rework of the Morgan encounter can show that I'm going to do my best to not retread old plot points. At least not in the same way that we've all read a million times on the site. But in the end, I'm going to go at a pace that I'm comfortable with. Rushing this story out is going to cause a burn out, and I don't want that. You don't want that. Like I said last chapter, I don't know how far I'm going to get. But I want it to be far.
And if you ever want to hang and talk about One Piece with me, I do have a discord setup specifically for any of my followers here. Check my profile for the link. Just remove the spaces!
And lastly, huge shout out to my good friend Lord of the Morning for once again proofing everything for me. Couldn't do it without you.
Lord of the Morning: Someone needs to do it, and you know when I'm awake.
That said, things will be what they'll be. We try to make things match up consistently, but Oda still hasn't explained some things yet that lead us to making our own conclusions, so thanks for putting up with our take on those.