One Piece: My Version
Chapter 5: Recruiting Zoro
(Out at sea- 30 minutes later)
Coby finally woke up and looked a saw Luffy sitting at the front of the boat, holding the reigns wrapped around Ryoku.
"What happened?" asked Coby while rubbing his head.
Luffy smiled at him. "I guess you just fainted; probably when I introduced you to Ryoku."
Coby looked confused until he peered at the large Sea King pulling the small life-boat.
He paled slightly. 'Oh great, it wasn't a dream.' he thought.
After regaining composure he turned his attention back to Luffy. "Where are we going?" the pink-haired youth asked.
"To the island that's called Shell Town; it works out good for the both of us." Luffy spoke cheerfully.
Coby had a confused look on his face. "What do you mean by that?"
"Simple, there is a Marine base there. You could ask them if you can be a Marine." the straw-hat pirate grinned.
Coby was happy to hear that his dream would finally become a reality. "What about you Luffy? You want to be the Pirate King, right?" he inquired.
Luffy gave him a big smile. "That's right, but every pirate needs a crew. That boar said something about a man named Roronoa Zoro being held captured in the Shell Town Marine base. Am I right, so far?"
Coby eyed him uneasily. "Yeah, but… Why do you ask?" he really didn't like where this was going.
"I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew." Luffy grinned.
Coby almost fell over from what Luffy just said. "Are you crazy, Luffy?! That man is a demon in human form! Besides, Zoro is a Pirate Hunter. He kills pirates like you!!"
"Maybe, but I'm strong. I just need to see what kind of person is anyway." Luffy said without losing any of his cheerfulness.
Luffy was excited that he was going to get his second crew member.
Coby just sighed exasperatedly. A couple of hours ago he was just a cabin-boy/chore-boy serving under that whale of a woman, Alvida. Then out of nowhere, this strange pirate comes out of nowhere, well specifically a barrel, and single-handedly took her down and her crew like they were nothing. But what peaked his curiosity was how Luffy moved so fast in a blink of an eye and… what was that heavy force Coby felt on his body, mind and spirit.
"Luffy, I've been meaning to ask: what was that trick you used back there?"
Luffy turned his head to the bespectacled boy with a blank look while fiddling with the piece of wheat in his mouth.
"It's very powerful technique that few renowned pirates use; it's known as Haki."
Coby tilted his head. "Haki...?"
"Haki is a corporeal form of a person's ambition. When their ambition is high enough, they can tap into it, and harness it, making them a nearly unstoppable force. With this power, it can be used to instill great intimidation and fear into a person's soul. If they're not strong enough to endure, they're immediately knocked out. Looks like you were able to hold out compared to the rest of those assholes on that ship."
Coby was listening with awe as Luffy continued on with his explanation.
"What's more, when a person harnesses this power, the user can dash at high speeds in practically a millisecond, have the strength to tear through any reinforced metal like a wet tissue paper, and finally are able to read other peoples actions before they do them. For example, if I was about to be attacked from behind, I could see the attack coming beforehand and dodge it with ease."
Coby was amazed. Was there really such a technique out there that the world renowned pirates use?
"While my level of Haki is not as powerful as Whitebeard, Shanks or "Hawkeye" Mihawk… I'm definitely no pushover." Luffy spoke with the serious tone he used on the pirate back on the ship, causing Coby to freeze in place.
He managed to snap out of it. "U-Uh, another thing, how did you come to be on Alvida's ship?" he asked timidly.
Luffy's serious demeanor changed back to his goofy smile as he erupted into laughter.
"Well, I used to have a dinghy when I set off, but then a certain sea creature got a little bit carried away and tried to tackle a whirlpool while I got sucked in!"
Luffy could hear Ryoku whine apologetically for the third time before continuing.
"Luckily, I managed to empty out one of my barrels and hitched a ride. I fell asleep for a while and then woke up on that boar's pirate ship. And the rest, you know."
Coby wondered if joining up with this guy was really a wise choice.
Ryoku suddenly howled, grabbing both Luffy and Coby's attention. Luffy took out a small pocket-telescope and peered out into the distance. He grinned when he saw what Ryoku was howling about.
"We're here!!!" he exclaimed.
Up ahead they could see a large Marine base dead center of the island.
Once they parked the ship into port, Luffy untied Ryoku's reigns from the boat and ordered him to conceal himself underwater so he wouldn't freak the townsfolk. Ryoku did as his master told him and submerged himself back into the water.
Just as the two headed into town, Luffy's stomach got the better of him.
"Shishishi… I'm hungry."
"But we don't have any money." Coby pointed out. He changed his tune once he saw Luffy pull out a small bag filled with Bellis.
"I stand corrected."
After a few minutes of walking through town Luffy saw the base of the encampment, surrounded by a 6 ft tall fence. The landscape beyond that was pretty barren. But upon closer inspection he saw a man wearing a green bandana over his head, a white shirt and black pants and a green haramaki sash tied over his waist. He was currently tied down to a wooden crucifix. In front of him was a little girl with pigtails.
Coby blanched when he saw the man. "T-T-That's him!! That's Roronoa Zoro!!" he said.
But Luffy was paying attention to the scene before him, and how it would play out.
It turned out the girl was giving the pirate hunter some rice-balls as if she knew him. Then trouble came when a lanky, pompous man with bowl-shaped hair wearing a purple blazer.
He snatched one of the girl's rice-balls and plopped one in his mouth. Upon tasting it he spit it out, complaining that it had too much sugar in them and stomped on them. He then ordered one of the marine soldiers to toss her out. The soldier reluctantly did so and tossed her over the fence like a ball.
Thankfully for the little girl, Luffy pulled an out-stretched arm to grab her and bring her down to 's couldn't believe what he saw, Luffy… stretched like a wad of gum. As Luffy set the nervous girl down, Coby raised a shaky finger pointed at him.
"Wh-Wh-What the hell was that?!!"
Luffy simply smiled and pulled on one of his cheeks, causing it to stretch considerably. "I'm a rubber-man 'cause I ate the Gomu-Gomu no Mi."
Before Coby could speak again he noticed Luffy had disappeared from that spot.
He darted from left to right, wondering where he went to. His eyes turned to dinner plates when he noticed that Luffy was inside the encampment talking to the tied up Zoro.
"Hey there!! Are you Zoro?" Luffy greeted.
Zoro tilted his head up so his fierce gaze could see who was talking to him. It turned out that it was not a marine, but a sword-wielding, staw-hat wearing young man.
"Who the hell are you?" he rasped, not wanting to deal with anymore bullshit.
"I'm Luffy and I'm a pirate." he responded.
…
"Whoop-dee-doo…"
"I'm looking for people to join my crew and I heard you really strong."
The pirate hunter glared at him. "Get lost! I'm not interested in becoming a pirate. After all I kill pirates."
"Why not have get change of venue?" Luffy asked.
'This guy is really starting to piss me off…' Zoro thought.
"Pirates are nothing but cowards that lie, cheat, and steal first chance they get. Besides, I can't leave, not until my sentence is up."
"How long will that be?"
"Just ten more days."
Luffy was unresponsive for a moment before Zoro addressed him.
"Oi, do me a favor, and get me that rice-ball on the ground."
Luffy did what he was asked and held it in front of him.
"You're seriously going to eat this?"
"Just shut up and feed me the rice-ball!!"
After eating and holding down the dirt-ball, Zoro turned his attention back to Luffy. "Tell that girl 'thanks' for me will ya?" The pirate hunter's eyes widened when he noticed that Luffy was gone. 'What the hell was that? I must be seeing things… damn mirages.'
"Really?! He ate it?!" spoke the cheerful little girl named Rika.
Luffy knelt down to her level and ruffled her hair, all while smiling widely. "Yup, ate the whole thing in one bite and said he was thankful that you made it for him."
Rika's eyes sparkled with joy.
"Luffy, we should probably take her home to parents." said Coby. Luffy nodded and Rika led them both to a small bar where her mother, Ririka, worked at.
Afterwards, they both told Luffy and Coby how Zoro had been held prisoner for nearly a month because he saved both the mother and daughter from the Captain's son, Helmeppo by striking his pet wolf. His sentence was due to end ten days later.
Rika cried a little. "That's terrible!!! He's a disgrace to the name of the Marines." spoke an angry Coby while Luffy's face remained expressionless.
Suddenly the same lanky man who had Rika thrown out barged in.
"Oi, wench!! How about a couple of rounds!!"
As he began drinking he confessed out loud how he was going to deal with the pirate-hunter. Everyone else in the tavern was too afraid to speak up, lest they suffer the wrath of Captain Morgan.
"I think I'll execute that Zoro tomorrow, you know as a joke." he cackled.
That statement alone made Luffy get up from his seat and punched the spoiled son square in the jaw. Helmeppo got up, clutching the painful side of his face.
"HOW DARE YOU?!! DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FATHER IS?!!!" he screeched.
Luffy responded by picking him up by the scruff of his suit and meeting his fierce gaze.
"I don't care if he's your grandfather… You're despicable for not keeping your end of the bargain."
He tossed the weakling out of the bar like a pebble, causing Helmeppo to crash into a wall. The soldiers that came with him were trying to pry him out of said wall.
Luffy was still unmoving, but Coby was running around, panicking at Luffy's outburst.
"This is bad Luffy!!! Now he'll tell his father and have marines come and kill us!!"
And once again Luffy disappeared.
Back to Zoro's predicament, the heat-stroke was about to claim him when Luffy came back to speak to him again.
Zoro sighed exasperatedly. "You again? Look I already told you, I'm not joining your crew!!"
"Did you know that idiot son is planning to execute you tomorrow?" Luffy asked, not changing his tone.
Zoro's eyes widened at this new information. "Are you serious?!! That bastard…!" he hissed. He looked at Luffy who was grinning like an idiot.
"What's so damn amusing?!" he yelled.
"Well the way I see it, you now have two choices, I could leave you here to die, or I could set you free if you agree to join my crew."
…
…
Zoro's grimace changed to a grin. "That's blackmail… Fine, I'll join your crew. You have my word as a swordsman."
Luffy's grinned widened. "Shishishishishi… Alright!!!"
"But first I need my swords; that bastard Helmeppo took'em and put them somewhere inside the base."
Luffy nodded and shot his outstretched arm to the roof of the base.
"Gomu-Gomu no Rocket!!!"
Zoro's eyes widened. "What the hell is he?" he muttered.
On the top floor room sat a large man who was the textbook definition of 'arrogant'. He had surgically altered his lower jaw, so he could speak clearly, though it clearly made him look like Frankenstein and a surgically implanted axe for a right arm that reached up to his elbow where it jointed out.
He was the corrupt and vicious captain of Shell Town, Axe-Hand Morgan and he was currently looking out the window, observing what he deemed it to be his 'greatest achievement': Raising a 20 ft tall statue of him so everyone can see.
A few moments later, his disappointment of a son, Helmeppo barged into his office.
"Father!!! There's this little punk that socked me in the face!!!"
Later on the top floor, Helmeppo was still complaining and Morgan's patience was wearing thin.
"Father, aren't you going to do something?!! That bastard hit me… Your son…!! Even you've never hit me!!" he cried indignantly.
"Do you know why I've never hit you?" Morgan asked his offspring.
Helmeppo was taken aback. "I-Is it because you love me… your son…?"
"No."
Helmeppo was knocked back 10 feet, courtesy of his father's left hook.
"Because you're not worth hitting… you are a disappointment to me as a son. Tell me have you even executed that intruder that kept popping in all the time?"
"N-No of course not… she's just a little girl." the mortified Helmeppo responded.
With a grunt, the menacing captain turned to his second-in-command, Stewie (really, his name is Stewie look up Episode 2). "You, go into town and execute that girl and her family!!"
But the marine stood defiantly. "Sir, I will not!! Even if you are ranked higher, you don't deserve to bear the colors of the Marines-"
His tirade was cut-off when Morgan whacked him upside the head with the blunt-side of his axe.
"Count yourself lucky I'm feeling merciful right now… I'll go into town myself later, for now… RAISE THAT STATUE!!! AND DON'T DAMAGE IT!!!"
But of course no one's perfect. As soon as he was about to strike down an insubordinate, a hand grasped the top of the statue, causing it to creak.
Morgan and his men looked at the statue closely as it began to creak more and more until its mid-section spilt apart causing the ropes to snap. The resulting crash was heard when the top half of Morgan's immortalization crumbling down to the ground.
"Whoops… Looks like I stretched too much." said an airborne Luffy before landing in a crowd of jaw-dropped, wide-eyed marines.
He rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Gomen, my fault. I didn't know there was a statue in the way."
…
…
'M-My statue… He destroyed… MY STATUE!!!!!'
"CAPTURE HIM AND BRING TO ME!!!! I'LL KILL HIM MYSELF!!!!" yelled the furious Naval Captain.
However as soon as the soldiers were about charge when all of a sudden they found themselves unable to move. They looked down to their feet and were horrified at what they saw. A shadowy, black-like, substance covered most of the roof, engulfing every soldier into its nothingness, including Captain Morgan, excluding Helmeppo, who was smart enough or scared enough to sense the danger around him and luckily found a safe-spot the darkness didn't consume. The helmet-haired wimp wondered where the source of this darkness was coming from, until his eyes landed on the source substance; it was coming from the man in the straw-hat who punched him and he was using his outstretched arms, which looked like they were covered in ink, to produce the substance.
Luffy grinned as the marines were eventually sucked into the black nothingness.
"Black Hole – Liberation!!!"
Suddenly, black smoke began to coat over Luffy and rise up into a billowing pillar of smoke, thereby regurgitating all of the marines that were swallowed.
However, once they were expunged, you could see that they were battered, bruised, bloodied and eyes rolled back to their head, even Morgan whose axe-hand seemed to have been crushed beyond recognition, and so was his metal jaw.
Helmeppo couldn't believe that this… monster could do such a thing. Once the darkness receded, Luffy turned his frightening gaze to him.
"So are you going to lead me to where you kept Zoro's swords, or am I gonna have to turn this place upside-down?"
As Coby finished untying Zoro, they saw Luffy come back carrying three katana and an unconscious wimp.
Luffy grinned. "Welcome to my crew!!!"
(In some island further along the East blue)
Marshall D. Teach, now known as "Blackbeard", had done among the following; one: gain great power, and two: started a crew with a navigator, a helmsman, and a sniper.
During his travels, Teach decided to lay low from Whitebeard's wrath, and shot out of the Grand Line and into the East Blue. He had spent a year and half there trying to find a worthy crew. Luckily, he found 3.
A large muscular, masked-wrestler named Jesus Burgess was the champion of a small wrestling federation, Laffite was a strange, mime-looking navigator who used to be a renowned police officer until he succumbed to police brutality and was fired for it. Van Auger was a mystery to them all, but proved to be an excellent shot by firing a seagull at 100 meters.
Now all he needed was a doctor (and a better ship than the raft they were on), and he would once again set sail for the Grand Line again.
"Captain, we have some unexpected company…" said Auger.
And sure enough they spied an enemy pirate ship. Blackbeard pulled out a telescope and peered at the captain of the ship; a large, dark-skinned man wearing gold-plated armor halted their approach.
"WHO DARES HALT THE GREAT EL DRAGO?!!!" roared the captain.
Blackbeard stared uninterestingly, this guy was annoying.
El Drago was not one to be patient, so he prepared to strike them down using his Devil Fruit power. Yellow energy surrounded him as he let out a mighty roar, resulting in a powerful energy blast aimed at the Blackbeard Pirates.
Blackbeard however, looked on with interest at the power that would soon be his.
(15 minutes later)
A flaming ship sank into the watery depths with few pirates escaping for their lives.
Teach smirked his toothless grin, elated at the power he had obtained; the Goe Goe no Mi (Voice-Voice Fruit). This power amplified 5x's would allow Teach to destroy fleets in a single note; it would certainly give him the opportunity to practice his singing.
He chuckled at the thought.
Yes indeed, Blackbeard had begun his plan, and soon enough, the World Government would fall, the New Age would be a farce, and the Era of Blackbeard would come to fruition.
Chapter 5 done!