Chapter 3: Enter Zoro, the Pirate Hunter and who?

XXXXXX – Morgan's Base, East Blue

The threesome leaped off the boat they had arrived in the local port. Viewing their surroundings, they saw that there was much more to the island then just the giant Navy base. For one thing, there was a decent sized town surrounding it. A town, not a small village the likes Naruto had visited during his years of traveling. No, this place bursting with activity. People were constantly walking by, picking up food, going off to work or simply talking with one another.

Yet Naruto noticed there was something different about this place than the others he had visited. There was no joy. No one seemed happy in what they were doing, or happy in general for that matter. 'Oh well, I'm probably just imagining it." And with that thought, Naruto dismissed those observations; he had other things in mind.

"When do we eat meat?" Luffy asked which was shortly followed by his stomach growling. That statement made Naruto grin. Luffy had just taken the words right out of his mouth, now to put something in his mouth to replace those words. "I'll second that!" Naruto exclaimed. "First, we chow down and then we go find… what's his face."

"It's Zoro, Naru…" Koby started to answer, but stopped when he saw the reaction to the townsfolk: every single one of them jumped back in fear. "Er…maybe we should talk about…uh…him…quietly." Koby finished, carefully looking at the villagers reactions and noting they were all quietly backing away.

"Why do have to talk about Zoro quietly, Koby?" Luffy asked rather loudly. At the mention of Zoro's name again, the townsfolk took off. To this, Koby simply answered, "that's why. Anyway, let's get something to eat. My treat as a way of saying thanks to you two for helping me get away from Alvida and going after my dream of being a Navy Officer."

At that statement, both Luffy and Naurto began grinning like maniacs. However, Koby misinterpreted their grins as eagerness for a quick meal. The poor fool had no idea what he just volunteered for.

XXXXXXX – Morgan's Base, Diner

Koby realized the depths of his stupidly as Luffy was on his sixth helping and Naruto was devouring his fourth bowl of ramen. It surprised Koby to no end how much those two would just eat. "Rule Number 1: NEVER treat these two, you will run out of money, guaranteed. How have they been surviving on their own?" Koby thought miserably as they order yet more food. It wasn't that Koby thought that they couldn't defend themselves; it was that they ate so much, yet didn't carry much in the way of provisions. Koby was surprised they hadn't starved to death while traveling if they ate like this all the time.

In any case, now seemed to be a good to time to bring up him again. "Luffy, are you sure you want Roronoa Zoro?" Koby asked, mentally applauding himself for choosing a spot in the back when few could hear them. Luffy looked thoughtful, for about three seconds.

"I haven't decided if I'll let him join my crew or not. If he's a good guy, then I'll…"

"Luffy, I don't think you know what you're talking about."

Naruto put down his fifth bowl and asked. "What's to know?"

Koby answered, "His name is Roronoa Zoro, but he's more commonly known as Zoro, the Pirate Hunter. They say he is a demonic beast in human form."

Naruto laughed. "'A demonic beast in human form?' Give me a break, there's no such thing."

Koby just continued, "They say he's a bloodthirsty hound who roams the seas, hunting men who have bounties on their heads. And I've heard that he prefers to bring them in dead, so they won't cry and struggle as much."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Wait, he only hunts men with prices on their head?" Koby nodded. "Then we have nothing to worry about! We don't have any prices on our heads?" Naruto paused in thought, and then looked at Luffy and Koby. "Do you?" he asked. Both shook their head. Naruto then shooed a bug away that was on the table. 'Pesky bug.'

Koby tried again. "Well, that may be true that we don't have any prices on our heads, but he is still a Pirate Hunter. Pirate Hunters and Pirates don't mingle. Period."

Both Luffy and Naruto looked at Koby shocked, which satisfied Koby until they said, "He's a pirate hunter?" at the same time.

Koby's head dropped strait to the top of the table. The sound of his skull was heard throughout the entire diner. "Yeeessss." Koby replied, somehow managing to speak in a clam voice. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Haven't you been listening to a word I said?"

"Sure we have! He's a strong guy who's perfect for joining my crew. Who cares what his past is. Once he joins, it won't matter." Strangely enough, that made sense to Koby, but he wasn't about to admit it. "So, Zoro is being held at the Navy base, right?" Luffy asked.

Koby nodded, while Naruto said, "Then let's get going!" Naruto then stood up ready to go, but before they got up, a waitress passed by, carrying a humongous chocolate cake. At that sight, drool began appearing at all three's mouths, particularly Naruto and Luffy.

"It looks so beautiful…" moaned Naruto, licking his lips.

"I bet it tastes even better than it looks," Luffy added, panting like a dog.

"We'll take one of those!" cried Koby to a nearby waitress. They waited only few minutes before another cake was brought before them. As one, they all yelled out "THANKS!" and began devouring the delicious dessert with great enthusiasm. The boys hadn't bothered to use traditional methods such as a fork and knife. Instead, they simply used their hands and shoved the cake into the mouths as fast as they could. Halfway through, the waitress returned with a small piece of paper. Seeing the three garbage disposals work, she simply piece that paper on the table and quietly walked away.

Koby saw the paper and curiosity had him looking at it. "Hmm, I wonder what this is." He then turned over the paper and gained a horrified look. Trembling, he quickly looked up and down that small piece of paper, as if hoping to find 'just kidding' or something to that effect. 'N…n-no w-way! They could have eaten THAT much!' Koby thought, then he looked at Naruto and Luffy who were continuing their work. 'Wait, how much did that cost?' Looking at the bottom, he quickly found his answer and his eyes just bulged at the figure.

By this point, Naruto and Luffy finished off the last of the cake and were proudly patting their stomachs. At that sight, Koby couldn't help but smile. True, these two had just drained his pocket book, but these two were also the ones who saved him from a life on Alvida's ship. Compared to how his life could have been, Koby felt that this price (no matter how large it had turned out) was well worth it. He was now only one step away from starting down the path that lead to his dream. Who wouldn't be happy?

XXXXXX – at the opposite side of the diner

A figure sat silently and watched the three boys get up and proceed to the register to pay for their meal. The figure had been observing them ever since they had arrived in the port. He had been amazed how carelessly these three had entered the town, especially the young ninja and the straw hat. Did they not comprehend what their situation was by entering a town that had a Navy base stationed at it?

From what he had gathered so far, all three were young, careless and in very high spirits. The figure wondered if they knew who Captain Morgan was and, more importantly, how he ran things on this island. It was his assumption that they did not.

The first case was the kid in the straw hat called Luffy. He was the tallest of the three, but also seemed to be the least intelligent. He was a simple fellow with a big appetite and a cheerful smile on his scarred face. At first glance, he seemed harmless, but the figure knew better than to judge outward appearances solely. However, his sources reported that he was a pirate and his current intentions were to recruit Roronoa Zoro for his crew. The figure was curious as to how he would attempt such a thing.

The next case was the boy with glasses. Of the three, he was the only one thus far to show any aptitude for rational behavior. The figure had watched this one named Koby attempt to persuade his fellows that Roronoa Zoro was a dangerous fellow. However, despite all of his knowledge of Zoro (which the figure noted was all based on rumor), Koby had failed to persuade the other two. He also seemed to hold the other two in high regard for some reason.

Lastly was the young ninja himself. While he did not appear to be as brainless as his pirate counterpart, he was still exceedingly dense. He also seemed to have a large appetite. So far, this one had neither expressed his own goals and desires. Did he plan to become a pirate along with the straw hat? Or did he intend to go with Koby and join the Navy? The figure knew that the Navy would be happy to collect yet another shinobi that appeared to them. But for the time being, this one would require additional observation before a conclusion could be formed.

The figure continued to watch as Koby said, "According to a poster I saw, the Captain of this base is named Morgan."

That's when the entire restaurant jumped back in fear, knocking over tables, glasses and other customers. Just like earlier when they mentioned Zoro's name, except this time the people were shaking with the fear. Unlike the fear they had expressed earlier at Zoro's name, this time the townsfold were expressing pure terror. The figure could see that these three were confused as to why townsfolk had a reacted in such a manner.

Koby seem to shrug it off as he paid for the meal and then lead his two companions out, but not before the one known as Naruto showed the cashier a picture and asked a question. Getting a no for an answer, Naruto joined his two friends outside and to their next destination. Most likely to the Navy base to see Zoro, and then Morgan. At this, the figure gestured for a waitress to bring his bill. It was time to continue his observations.

XXXXXX – outside in the town

Naruto was happily walking along his two friends. They were finally going to go see that so called demon pirate hunter. Out loud, he asked, "So, Koby, are you anxious to see this demon guy?"

Koby didn't answer as he seemed to be lost in thought. As Naruto wondered what he could have been thinking, Luffy snuck up behind him with a grin on his face. In one swift motion, he grabbed Koby's shoulders and shouted, "HEY KOBY! WHAT'RE THINKNG ABOUT?!"

Naturally, Koby gave out a fierce shriek and jumped about a meter in the air. Laughing, Luffy then said. "Now that I have your attention, what are you thinking about?"

Koby was breathing deeply, but began to answer. "Haven't you two noticed?" he asked.

"Noticed what?" Naruto and Luffy asked,

"Well, everyone is incredibly jumpy. Not just about Zoro, but apparently about Captain Morgan as well. I can understand why they get nervous when they hear Roronoa Zoro's name – he might escape at any moment. But why did they get nervous hearing the Captain's name? Also, no one is happy and they all seem depressed." Koby explained. He then sighed and added, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"Who knows?! Maybe they just got carried away!" Luffy said.

"Why would that happen?" screamed Koby.

Naruto remembered that he also thought that the townsfold didn't look happy and how he had written it off as his imagination. Maybe there was more to this like he had originally thought. Nah, he was thinking too hard. "Maybe it's just your imagination Koby."

"Not you too, Naruto! Will you both listen to me? I'm trying to be serious here!" Koby continued desperately, but Naruto and Luffy just started laughing. That's when Koby decided to finished his observations.

"And then there's you, Naruto." That statement killed both of their laughter.

Luffy looked at Naruto, then back to Koby, and then Naruto again. "What about him?"

Koby signed and explained, "When people look at you, they become very agitated. It's not that they fear you – at least I don't think so – but they take one good look at you and they instantly start looking nervous, and I have no idea why."

At this Naruto gulped. He prayed that things wouldn't turn ugly like they had at Meadow Village. Just the thought of that place made Naruto shiver, but neither Koby nor Luffy saw that.

As for Luffy, he put a hand on his chin and said, "Maybe it's because of his whiskers?"

"I don't think that's it."

"His cool jumpsuit?"

"I doubt it."

"His blond hair?"

"How would that matter?"

"His sandals?"

"You wear sandals too and people don't give you weird looks!"

Naruto felt himself smiling at that little argument. It would be nice if it was only something like one of Luffy's suggestions. At least he would know what he had done this time, instead of angry glares and the ranting of the d words. With Naruto daydreaming about this, he was caught off guard. "Naruto, has something like this ever happened to you before?"

Naruto came to a complete stop at Koby's question. Did he really want to answer that? So far, neither of them knew about him and Meadow Village and he wanted to keep it that way. But on the other hand, if he told them, then they might be able to help him understand why they had treated like scum.

Naruto could see Koby and Luffy staring at him, anxiously waiting for his answer. Finally, Naruto said, "I've been to many islands and no one really had any problems with me." It was a half-truth. None of the islands Naruto had visited ever gave him hurtful looks or snide comments, but Naruto decided he wasn't going to talk about Meadow Village. He didn't want to relive those memories any more than he had to and his nightmares about it were enough.

Luffy started to say something, but stopped and said, "It looks so big up close."

Naruto and Koby just looked at him with a dumbfounded expression on their faces. "Huh?" they both asked. Where had that come from?

In response, Luffy grabbed both their heads and turned them around: strait at Captain's Morgan's Navy base. "We're here!" he said with a grin. "Let's go in!"

"W-What?" Koby asked, instantly growing nervous again. "B-but I haven't mentally prepared myself yet…and those people were scared when they heard the captain's name."

While Koby was making excuses, Luffy and Naruto simply jumped up and looked over the wall. "Ahh! What do you two think you're doing?!"

Luffy answered first, "I was wondering if I could see that 'demonic beast' from here." He instantly began looking around to find his would-be First Mate. He began grinning as he imagined all sorts of fighting moves that he could do.

Naruto put in, "There's something over there on the other side of the courtyard, lets check it out!" He then nudged Luffy and pointed to what he had seen in the distance: it appeared to be a cross with something tied to it. 'I wonder what this guy looks like. I bet he's cool looking!" Naruto thought excitedly.

Koby spoke up once again as the pair jumped down. "You guys won't find him just by peeking over the fence."

"Why not?" asked Naruto.

"Because he's probably deep within the bowels of the prison, locked with chains and guarded by the toughest marines around."

"Oh yeah?" Luffy countered, "Well there's someone over there. Maybe it's Zoro!"

Once the trio ran to the other side of the wall, Naruto and Luffy jumped up on the wall yet again. "There he is!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing out to the figure tied to the cross.

Naruto had doubt on his face. "Are you serious? That old, dead guy? Nah, that can't be him."

At this, Koby joined his two friends on the wall. Looking over, he saw a man tied to the cross. The man wore a black bandana, had three earrings in his left ear and a haramaki sash on. At the sight, fear took Koby. "T-that's h-him! T-that's r-really Roronoa Zoro! H-h looks even more menacing than I imagined!"

Luffy grinned at Naruto. "Told ya! Hmm…You know, I could just untie those ropes and set him free." Luffy prepared to hop over the wall, but a panicking Koby stopped him.

"THAT'S SUICIDE! IF YOU SET HIM LOOSE, HE'LL KILL US ALL AND THEN WRECKED THE TOWN!" Koby particularly screamed this out as he grabbed Luffy's arm. But due to Koby's loud statement, Naruto noticed that Zoro was now staring right at them. "Uh, Koby? You now that he heard you, right?"

At that, Koby paled and instantly starting ranting about bloody and gruesome deaths that Zoro was going to give each of them. The first he mentioned was that Zoro would kill Luffy first by cutting him into little pieces the second he was free, then stomping the leftovers into nonexistence. Koby then announced that Zoro would go after him next by flaying him alive, tying him up with chains, and throw him into the sea where vicious predators would finish him off and the Naruto would be last as Zoro burned him to death, then threw his burning corpse on the town and set that ablaze.

Before Luffy or Naruto could comment on any of Koby's hysterical stories, Zoro spoke up. "Hey kids." He spoke in a low voice, filled anticipation and an eager smile on his face, "Come over here and unite me. I've been here for nine damn days and I can't take it anymore."

Luffy said, "Hey! He's smiling!"

Naruto added, "So the dead guy isn't dead after all."

This was followed by Koby's statement of, "Yikes! H-he's talking to us!"

Luckily for Koby (and perhaps Naruto as well), Zoro hadn't hear them. Instead, he just continued speaking. "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." He then began chuckling under his breath.

Koby spoke up immediately, "Don't do it, either of you! As soon as you unite him, he'll kill us all and get away! I just know it!"

"He won't kill us," Luffy said simply.

"That's right, Koby," Naruto added. "Someone one that pathetic looking wouldn't be able to kill anyone."

"That's not it." Luffy countered, causing both Naruto and Koby to give him confused looks. "He simply couldn't. I wouldn't let him." He said the last statement rather loudly; Naruto noticed that Zoro had flinched at that. Naruto briefly wondered if Luffy said it loud enough for Zoro to here it on purpose. Glancing over his shoulder, Naruto saw that Koby looked like he was having a heart attack. Before anyway else could comment, a ladder suddenly appeared on the trio's right side. All three turned there heads to see a small girl of about 8, climbing up.

As she reached the top, she put a finger to her mouth and shh. Obediently, all three boys complied as she got to the top, then jumped down into the courtyard, carefully holding on to something. At that, Koby started his panic speech again, only to be stopped by Naruto's hand over his mouth. They watched the little girl walk over to the tied bounty hunter and Naruto was surprised not only to see her doing this, but to see her without any fear. 'She doesn't seem afraid of this guy, yet all the townsfolk and Koby are scared stiff. I wonder why.'

When the girl finally reached the captive, Zoro spoke first, "What do you want?"

"Do something you two! He'll kill her!" cried Koby.

"Then why don't you do something?" Luffy asked.

"Uh, Koby? He's tied up, he can't do anything." Naruto replied.

Back at the other two, Zoro shouted, "Get lost! Do you want to get killed?"

The girl smiled and held up two rice balls she had in her hands. "I made these riceballs for you! I thought you might need some food!" she said cheerfully. "It's the first time I've ever made riceballs. I hope you like them." She finished with a big smile on her face.

Zoro clinched his teeth. Naruto could imagine that this guy, demon or not, was hungry. After all, didn't he say he had been there for nine days? Naruto shivered at the thought of going over a week without food. It wasn't fun, since he himself had done it twice in the past. Zoro's answer to the girl surprised him though.

"I'm…not hungry." He said reluctantly. Then his stomach growled, as if the irony itself was mocking him. After the growl, he quickly said, "Now beat it and take that stuff with you!"

"B-but…"

"I DON'T WANT IT!" Zoro screamed even louder than he had before. Naruto just shook his head. What was it with this guy? He was clearly hungry, yet he was refusing food? What, did he think that was cool or something? He lost his train of though as Zoro added, "NOW GET OUT OF HERE OR I'LL STOMP YOU TO DEATH!" But the girl didn't move.

"Damn Koby, this girl is braver than you." Naruto said.

"Now isn't the time to talk about that! Go save her before something…"

"Now, now Roronoa Zoro!!!" someone interrupted. All five heads instantly turned to the source of the voice. At the gate, a short man entered followed closely by two marines. This man wore a black suit, had blond hair and the dorkiest looking face Naruto had ever seen. Weirdo was written all over this person. "You shouldn't pick on little girls," the man continued. "I'll tell my father on you."

"Who's that weirdo?" Luffy asked.

"He must be some high ranking naval officer. Now that little girl will be safe." Koby answered.

Naruto shook his head. "You know Koby, if that's the type of people who go into the Navy, you might want to get another dream or you'll turn into weirdo." This earned him an angry glance from the said boy.

Zoro sneered. "Well, if it isn't the idiot son living off daddy's wealth."

Helmeppo grew a little angry. "Did you just call me an 'idiot'? A man in your position should watch his tongue…or he could lose it!" He then looked down at the little girl and grinned when he saw the riceballs in her hands. He instantly snatched them up, ignoring the little girl's protests. "Little girl…"

"Hey! Give it back, you jerk!" the little girl cried.

Helmeppo took a bite out of the riceball he took…and immediately spat it back out. "Blech! Disgusting! It's sweet! There's sugar on it! Riceballs are supposed to be seasoned with salt! Not sugar!"

"B-but I like sweets, so I figured sugar would be better."

The Idiot Son suddenly swiped the other riceball in the girl's hand and threw both down on the ground. "These are COMPLETELY INEDIBLE!!" and began stomping on the two pieces of food vigorously, completely ignoring the little girl's cries. Naruto felt his grip began to tighten, though he barely noticed it. He was too focused on the jerk out there.

"How evil…that little girl worked really hard to make those riceballs," Koby cried in disbelief.

"Now I'm serious about it. Koby, if these are the type of people who are in the Navy, you definitely might want to reconsider about joining," Naruto said again in a low voice with more than a hint of malice in it this time; to which Koby give no answer, though his expression sadden a bit.

Helmeppo just give a small laugh at the poor girl who was staring at her destroyed creations. "Don't worry…I'm sure the ants will find them delicious!" stated the Idiot Son through his own chuckles.

At that statement, the girl was on the verge of tears. "Why!!!" she cried. "I worked so hard to make them!!!" With that, the girl completely broke down. A vein popped on Naruto's forehead. In addition, Naruto tighten his grip even more to the point his knuckles were pure white. "That bastard! Wait until I get my hands on him!"

At that Helmeppo put his hand on his head and began rubbing it as if he had a migraine. "Stop that crying!!!" he commanded. This caused the girl to start crying even louder. At the sight, Naruto snapped and was about to give the bastard the beating of his life, but Luffy's hand grabbed the back of his jacket and stopped him. Naruto then turned to the pirate and asked, "What's the big idea! Let me clobber that…" only to be stopped by Koby's hand covering his mouth.

"Shhh! They'll hear you!" Koby whispered.

By this time, Helmeppo had been pointing to a sign and reading what it said:

Anyone aiding this person shall be found guilty of the crimes he has committed.

- Captain Morgan

Helmeppo knelt down, placed a hand underneath the girl's chin and lifted her head. "You know how scary my father can be! If you were an adult, you would be put to death." He told the weeping girl, who merely looked back down and continued crying. Helmeppo then turned to one of the marines with him. "You there. Throw that brat over the wall!"

"B-but…" the marine stuttered.

Helmeppo grabbed the marine by the collar and pulled him face to face. "I'm ordering you to throw that little brat of the wall! Are you going to disobey a direct order! I'LL TELL DADDY ON YOU!" There it was he just used the magic words.

"Y-yes sir! R-right away!" The said man then grabbed the poor girl (gently Naruto noted, making him slightly loosen up on his grip). And carefully tossed the child over the perimeter wall.

Naruto and Luffy both prepared to catch the girl, but something beat them to it. A small, black buzzing cloud instantly appeared.

"What the…" all three asked, astonished by what happened next.

The 'cloud' began to swarm around the child and somehow, it seemed to stop the little girl's fall in midair. The cloud then slowly lowered itself and it's passenger to the ground. The girl herself was simply amazed by what was happening and simply let the 'cloud' lower her to the ground. Once her feet toughed the ground, the 'cloud' dissipated and retreated. Koby then rushed to the girl and started making sure she was alright, to which she simply replied, "What a bad man."

All four followed the 'cloud' as it approach a figure hiding in the shadows. As the 'cloud' approach, the figure raised its arms and the 'cloud' entered the figure's sleeves and disappeared. After that, the figure then stepped out of the shadows.

It was a boy, dressed in a light blue trench coat, brown pants, bushy hair, wearing a dark pair of glasses, a purple cloth on his forehead and sandals. As he came into full view, Naruto began bombarding him with questions, "Who are you? Did you cause that cloud? Where did that cloud go? Why are you..."

"I suggest we refrain from conversing here. We do not wish to have the Navy interrupt us. Especially when two of you are a pirate and a shinobi." The boy stated quietly in a flat voice.

Koby's jaw dropped at the last statement, "What? How do you know that?"

"That is not important at this time. What is is the fact that your companion has just entered the courtyard." The boy continued in the same monotone voice.

This caused both Koby and Naruto to turn their heads to where Luffy had once stood. Naruto had a pretty good guess why Luffy was in the courtyard and instantly starting running to the wall. Ignoring Koby's protests, Naruto jumped the wall and landed in the courtyard.

As expected, Luffy was now talking with the Pirate Hunter. The good news was that the Idiot Son and his two marine escorts had already left. Naruto began walking up to the pair. He heard the last part of Zoro's sentence as he approached.

"…if you untie me…I'll gonna join your pirate crew?" Zoro asked with a smile that said 'you're more of an idiot that that stupid son and that's saying something.'

Luffy said, "I haven't decided if I'll ask you yet. You've got a pretty bad reputation."

"A bad reputation, huh? Anyway, I don't go for that kind of de-"

"Luffy, I think you should reconsider recruiting this guy," Naruto interrupted. Both Luffy and Zoro turned and looked at as Naruto continued, "This old (Zoro's face darken at the comment), beaten up (a scowl escaped Zoro's mouth), wuss wouldn't be able to survive a pirate's life. I mean, just look at him…he's even more pathetic up close."

"…just shut up kid. I'll kill you later." Zoro replied, killer intent rising drastically. "Ignoring the midget sized rodent…"

"I'LL KILL HIM!" Naruto screamed as Luffy grabbed hold of him once again.

"…All I have to do is last for one month here, then I'm a free man. Captain Morgan's idiot son promised me."

"LET ME GO LUFFY! THIS GUY IS DEAD MEAT!" as Naruto continued to struggle against Luffy's iron grip so he could attack the tied up bounty hunter.

Zoro continued, ignoring the shinobi. "All I've got to do is survive here for a month. Then I'll be free to pursue my dream…away from orange jumpsuit wearing freaks."

"DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!"

"Hmm…I see," Luffy replied as he continued to ignoring the blond shinobi and his death threats. "I don't think I could last one week without food."

Zoro smiled, "Me and you are different. I've got more willpower. So go look for a crew elsewhere, get a big bounty and then…you're all mine." He then began chuckling.

"You heard the dead guy Luffy! Let's beat it!" Naruto said and he started walking away, with Luffy following shortly behind. After a few short moments, Zoro spoke up again. "Wait a minute."

Luffy and Naruto stopped, one intent on listening to what Zoro had to say, and the other still fuming about at him. One wondered if he finally relented and that he would join the crew and the other thought more insults were coming. Both were surprised at the next words from his mouth.

"Pick that up for me."

The statement was definitely not what Naruto had been expecting. More insults, death threats and maybe some sadism had been what Naruto was expecting. Nevertheless, Luffy overcame the shock first and picked up the destroyed riceballs. "You're not going to eat it?! It's more dirtball than riceball. I know you're hungry, but this – "

"Shut up!" Zoro interrupted. "Just shut up and feed it to me, and don't miss one grain of rice!"

A few seconds later, the feared Pirate Hunter was gulping down the two former riceballs. Naruto cringed a little when we saw tears coming from the bounty hunter's eyes. "It must really taste awful. But why is the jerk eating it?' After a few more koffs and haks, Zoro finished the two dirtballs. The Pirate Hunter looked as if he had just eaten some moldy dog food and wanted nothing more than to throw it back up.

"I told you. It was mostly dirt. Do you want to kill yourself?" Luffy asked. At which, Naruto was about to offer a snide comment of 'let me do that for you', but Zoro said something else.

"Tell her I said it was delicious. Tell her I ate it all."

This caused Luffy to smile and give a small laugh. Naruto himself felt that this guy might not be so bad afterall and started to compliment him when…

"Now get out of here and take that rodent with you."

"DIE!!!" Naruto cried as Luffy grabbed the back of his jumpsuit and pulled him out of the courtyard.

XXXXXXX – outside the girl's home

"Really?!"

Luffy, Naruto, Koby and the other boy were all standing outside of the girl's house (whose named turned out to be Rika). Luffy just finished explaining to her what had happened in the courtyard and more specifically what Zoro had done and said about Rika's sugar riceballs.

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed. "He ate it all up."

"I'm so glad!" Rika cried out happily.

Naruto held his head with his hands as he grumbled. "Why are you so happy about that jerk eating the dirtballs?"

"NARUTO!" yelled Koby. Fortunately, neither Rika nor Luffy seem to hear him. Deciding to interject before Naruto's mouth went flying again, Koby asked, "Could that guy really be as bad as everyone says?"

"He's not a bad guy!" Rika insisted. "Everybody in town is afraid of him, but he hasn't done anything wrong. You see, he got thrown in prison because of me. Captain Morgan's son had a bunch of mean dogs! They attacked me and Roronoa Zoro saved me! Besides, those dogs were running loose and scaring everybody in town!"

"That's why Zoro is in prison? Because he hurt that guy's dog to save you?" Luffy asked.

"Yes!"

"I remember the incident well," the boy said, causing both Naruto and Luffy jumped back in shock. Both of them had forgotten about the newcomer who had somehow caught Rika with his strange cloud. "The three dogs were running wild among the townsfolk, as was their habit. Rika was accidentally knocked down by one of the dogs and the dog started to attack her. Before the dog could bite her, Zoro killed it with a single swipe of his sword. The other two dogs then attacked Zoro and they too were quickly felled."

"Yes!" Rika agreed enthusiastically.

Naruto shook his head. "Wow, who would have thought that guy was such a softie."

Koby nodded. "That makes sense. Zoro's really scary, but he only goes after people with prices on their heads. He wouldn't get thrown into prison for that."

"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad ones," Rike said, "They put people to death for no reason at all. Everyone's afraid of them."

The unknown boy nodded. "Indeed. In addition, Captain Morgan forces all of the citizens to pay high amounts of taxes, all of which goes into Morgan's own pocket I might add."

Before anyone else could comment, they all heard a familiar, loud, obnoxious voice belonging to someone other than Naruto. "Ha! Ha! Ha! You're not bowing your heads low enough, scum! I'll tell my father on all of you!"

All members of the small group turned to see Helmeppo marching through the city streets with his usual two marine escorts. All the citizens presents had threw noses pressed hard in the dirt as the trio walked by. "Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zoro?" He continued, "We're going to a public execution for him in three days! We'll make an example of him. Oh, I can hardly wait!"

"Three days?" Naruto and Luffy asked simultaneously. Luffy then spoke directly to Helmeppo, a feat that surprised all the townsfolk to the tenth degree. "But…you made a promise to him!"

"What? Where did you hear about that?"

Naruto scowled. "Does it matter? Now tell us about the promise!"

The Idiot Son began laughing uncontrollably. "That promise was just a joke! He's just a stupid beast for believing it!"

"That is another demoralizing characteristic of these two: they will say anything and break what they said in a heartbeat. Their word holds no value at all." The boy said in the background.

"Captain Morgan's idiot son promised me. All I've got to do is survive here for a month."

The next thing anyone knew, Luffy punched Helmeppo right on the side of his worthless face. Helmeppo had a dumbfounded look on his face as he fell to the ground, moaning.

"LUFFY! STOP!" Koby then tried to restrain Luffy from punching the son again. However, that left Naruto free. Naruto jumped into the into the air, somersaulted a few times, and brought his foot down right on Helmeppo's face with one powerful step. That made the townsfolk even more shocked than Luffy's punch.

"NARUTO! CALM DOWN! DO YOU TWO WANT TO MAKE AN ENEMY OF THE NAVY?!"

Luffy made a fist. "Koby, Naruto, I've made my decision: I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew."

Naruto cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to knock their blocks off, both father and son! Then Zoro is next!"

In the background, the unknown boy simply watched the two strike the captain's son. "A most interesting turn of events. Further observation on these two will be required." With that said, the boy dispatched several of his 'little friends.' He wanted to make sure he had all angles of the upcoming incident covered.

End of Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Naruto. They belong to their respective owners: Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto.