"You must have eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit." Koby breathed, staring a Luffy in awe. "Awesome! But Luffy, if you're going after One Piece then that means you'll have to enter the Grand Line."
"Yep!" Was Luffy's only reply, sitting comfortably on the prow of the boat and watching the sea ahead of him.
"They call it the Pirate's Graveyard!" Koby warned, leaning forward on the crate he sat on as if to emphasize his point.
"That's why I'm assembling a super crew. That guy that was imprisoned at the Marine Base... What's his name?" Luffy asked, finally turning to face the boy.
"Roronoa Zolo."
"If he's a good guy, I'll let him join my crew!" Luffy grinned brightly.
"Now you're talking crazy again!" Koby yelled, shocked by such a suggestion. "Never, never, never! That'll never happen! That guy's a demonic beast!"
"How do you know?" Luffy countered, turning back to watching the sea.
"Never!" Koby just went on, swiveling around to the dozing girl next to him, yelling, "Mac! Try and talk him out of it!"
Mac cracked one eye open, looking at the distraught boy for a moment before closing it again. "I think he should go for it."
"WHAT! But he's a monster! A demonic beast!" Koby reiterated, putting extra emphasis on 'demonic beast'. Mac just yawned, stretching her arms above her head and opened her eyes fully to look at Koby, replying nonchalantly,
"Then it's his fault if he gets himself and the whole Marine Base killed."
Ignoring Koby's sputtering, Luffy placed his hand to his chin, looking thoughtful for a moment. "A demonic beast, huh?"
"His real name is Roronoa Zolo." Koby said, calming down enough to speak without shouting. "But everyone calls him Pirate Hunter Zolo."
Mac then got a mischievous smirk on her face, getting up on her knees and leaning close to Koby's ear. "You know, he's like a bloodthirsty hound." She whispered darkly, feeling encouraged when the boy got a deer-in-the-headlights look. "He roams the seas, hunting men for the bounties on their heads! He'll even ruthlessly cut down anyone in his head, even kids with pink hair and huge glasses." Koby began to shake, color draining from his face. Snickering behind her hand, Mac went on, "They even say... He's a demon in human form!" Koby squeaked in fright, scrambling to push himself away from Mac.
Koby turned to Luffy, pleading "She's right, Luffy! Don't go after him! He's a pirate hunter and pirate hunters don't mix well with pirates!"
Luffy hummed, in thought, facing the two fully. "Well, I haven't decided whether I'll ask him to join my crew or not. If he's a good guy then I'll—"
"He's in prison because he's NOT a good guy!" Koby intervened, shouting to try and get it through the straw hat's head. Sighing, Mac leaned against the mast again, crossing her arms behind her head and deciding to doze off again. Maybe she'll be able to get a little sleep in without Koby screaming in her ear about everything. Doubtful though...
Despite Mac's judgment, she had fallen into a sound sleep, dreaming about dancing rainbow eels and all the apples she could eat when she eventually woke up slightly to the feeling of Koby lightly shaking her shoulder. "Mac, wake up! We've made it."
The girl just batted him away, mumbling something about tuba playing whales and went back to napping. A couple seconds later, just as she was about to fall back asleep, there was a resounding smack! and her head jerked to the side, suddenly wide awake. Koby looked guilty, nervously rubbing his hand and shying away when she slowly turned to look at him, eyes narrowed into an enraged glare. "S-sorry!" He instantly apologized, jumping back, "You wouldn't wake up so... I mean, I had to do something... Don't hurt me!"
Mac curled her lip into a tight sneer, slowly standing and glaring the boy down. He cowered, shielding his head with his hands. When no hit came, he looked to see her rubbing her sore cheek and stalking past him, joining Luffy up on the dock. Koby sighed in relief, swiping a hand over his forehead before following them up the dock and onto land. He made sure to stand on the other side of Luffy in case Mac decided to retaliate.
"We're finally here!" Luffy cheered, thrusting a fist into the air, "We made it to the Marine Base town! Koby, you're amazing!"
"Huh?" Koby asked.
"You actually got us to our destination!" Luffy explained, turning to smile at the boy.
"Of course I did! That's the minimum requirement for people who sail the seas." Koby said, "Luffy, if you keep randomly floating round, you'll never become a pirate. You should find a navigator for your crew."
"Yeah!" Luffy said, clearing not listening, "That's what I'll do! Now let's eat!" He then proceeded to drag Mac and Koby all over the town in search of a place to eat. During that time, Mac realized that Marine Base wasn't that huge of a city. It barely even passed for a small town. All there was really was a couple of shops and some houses. The most prominent thing was the large base that the place was named for, standing smack dab in the middle of it all, painted with tiger shark stripes and had the word 'Marine' printed on the top of it. Also noticeable was the tall concrete wall that surrounded its entire perimeter.
"Let's eat here!" Luffy decided, walking hastily into a restaurant named Food Foo. After ordering their food and having a nice meal, Luffy began the inevitable conversation. "Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways." He said, patting his stuffed belly. "I hope you join the Marines and become a great sailor, Koby!."
"T-thank you, Luffy!" Koby said, wiping away tears that began to form. "And I hope you become a great pirate! Even if that means we'll be enemies."
Mac decided at that point to approach their table after heckling some apples out of the restaurant owner, biting into a green one and balancing three more in her left hand. "Hey," She said, grabbing their attention, "Wasn't this the place that Roronoa Zolo was supposed to be held?"
As soon as those words left her mouth, every single person in the eatery screamed and threw themselves against the wall opposite of their table, trembling and staring and their group in terror. Koby sweatdropped.
"Maybe we shouldn't say that name out loud around here..." He whispered to them as people slowly settled themselves back down to eat. Changing the subject, Koby commented, "I saw a poster that said Captain Morgan is at this base."
This time, people flipped their tables over in an attempt to get away from the group as fast as possible. "Wow!" Luffy exclaimed at their behavior, Mac and Koby watching them in confusion. Deciding that was a sign they should leave, they shelled most of what little money they had and walked out, Mac finishing her apples and tossing the cores into a potted plant. Down the road, Luffy broke out into a fit of laughter.
"What a great restaurant!" He snickered, " I wanna go back there again!"
"Everyone is so jumpy!" Koby said, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this... I mean, I can understand why they get nervous when they hear Roronoa Zolo's name. He might escape at any moment! But why did they get nervous hearing the Captain's name?"
'Because Marines are greedy lunkheads who don't care about anyone but themselves.' Mac thought bitterly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her tan cargo pants and walking quietly next to Luffy.
"Who knows?" Said boy voiced, walking casually with his own hands in his pockets. "Maybe they just got carried away."
"Why would that happen!" Koby yelled in shock, glaring at Luffy. "I'm trying to think seriously here..." Koby stopped himself when he found that they walked right to the Marine Base, standing in front of the gates that remained as the only entrance into the massive building. "It looks so big up close!" He breathed, taking in the massive building.
"Go on in, Koby!" Luffy said encouragingly. Sadly, Koby found that he couldn't find his spine as he reverted back to stuttering and nervously fiddling with his hands.
"B-but I haven't mentally prepared myself yet and those people got really scared when they heard the Captain's name—Luffy! What're you doing!"
Mac turned from watching a shop that was selling tiny frogs in keychains to see that Luffy was hanging off the wall of the Marine Base. She raised a brow, approaching him as Koby made an attempt to pull him off.
"I wonder if I can see the Demonic Beast from here." He wondered, holding his hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun.
"I doubt you'll find him just looking over the fence." Mac voiced, watching the boy drop from the wall. "I bet they've got him locked in chains somewhere underneath the prison."
"Oh yeah?" Luffy said, taking off down the side of the wall, "Well there's somebody over there! Maybe it's Zolo!"
"What!" Koby squeaked, him and Mac following Luffy. The boy had already jumped up on the wall, Koby trying to do the same only to fail miserably and end up barely tall enough to grasp the ledge. Mac sighed in exasperation, folding her hands together and offering the kid a lift. Koby smiled sheepishly, gulping when he place a foot on her fingers because he was afraid she was going to try and launch him over the fence but smiled thankfully when she actually lifted him high enough for him to grab hold and peek over. She soon followed suit, scaling the wall with ease next to Luffy and folding her arms on the top of it.
"There he is!" Luffy pointed out across the courtyard. Almost as soon as Koby laid his eyes upon the figure, he threw himself from the wall onto the ground, clearly shaking.
"... I'm not helping you back up." Mac deadpanned.
"What's wrong?" Luffy asked curiously.
"A b-black bandana and a haramaki!" He gasped frightfully. "It's really him! That's Roronoa Zolo! He looks so... Menacing!"
Turning back to look over the wall, Mac observed the man in the fenced of courtyard. "So that's him!" Luffy said next to her.
The man, Roronoa Zolo, slouched against the ropes that held him tied to a cross, his waist tied tightly to a large vertical beam and his arms tied at the elbows over a smaller, horizontal beam. His head was down so she couldn't see his face but she could catch the glint of three earrings in his left ear. Like Koby had pointed out, he had a black bandana tied around his head and a green stomach sash around his torso. The tight white shirt he wore showed visible dirt and blood stains and his black pants seemed a little faded. The only thing that seemed the showed little damage was the black boots he wore that his pants were tucked into.
"Hmm..." Luffy hummed, "I could just untie the ropes and set him free..."
Koby, once again, didn't like his idea. "That's suicide!" He cried, having found a milk crate to stand on to give him a boost onto the wall. "If you let him loose, he'll kill us and destroy the town!"
"Hey kid!" All three swiveled around to face the source of the new voice, Koby shrieking loudly when he realized Zolo was talking to them. "Come over here... And untie me... I've been here for nine days and I can't take it anymore..." He was clearly having trouble just talking by the way he had to stop between every now and again to take a breath of air.
"Hey! He's smiling!" Luffy pointed out.
"H-he's talking to us!" Koby squeaked shrilly, trying to make himself seem as small as possible.
"I'll make it worth your while." Zolo went on. "I'll capture someone with a big price on their head and give all of the bounty to you. You can trust me. I'm a man of my word." Well that sold it.
"D-Don't do it Luffy!" Koby cried, trying hard to convince Luffy. "As soon as you untie him, he'll kill us and get away! I know it!"
"He won't kill us." Luffy said confidently, "He couldn't. I wouldn't let him!"
"What!" They heard Zolo say suddenly. Curiously, both Luffy and Koby turned to see what he gasped about and frankly, Koby almost had a seizure. "MAC! What do you think you're DOING!"
Mac stood directly in front of Zolo, arms crossed as she regarded him with a scrutinizing gaze. The man seemed a little unnerved to find himself face to face with someone, especially when she was watching him like a vulture. "MAC! Come back!" Koby called again, afraid for the young woman.
"Shut up, Koby!" Was her cold reply, not even turning to look at his shocked face. Instead, she kept her stare steady with Zolo's who met hers head on. "What do you want? Are you going to untie me or stand there like a dunce all day?"
"That depends." She replied, putting a gloved hand on her hip, "How much of that bounty were you talking about?" At this, Zolo gave her a sinister looking smirk.
"All of it. I just want to be out of this so hurry up before they come to give me my daily beating." Good enough for Mac!
"HE'S LYING! MAC! DON'T LET HIM GO! COME BACK BEFORE HE KILLS YOU!" Koby screamed, pulling out all attempts to prevent her from untying the pirate hunter.
His pleas were, of course, ignored by the older female as she set to work to trying to untie the knots on his arms. She didn't notice the sound of wood hitting the wall, nor the sound of Koby and Luffy's confused voices until Zolo picked his head up to look at something behind her. "What do you want?" He asked again. Turning around, Mac noticed a tiny little girl with black hair in pigtails and a striped dress walking over. She clutched something wrapped in a cloth in her tiny hands.
"Luffy! Do something! She'll be killed!" Mac heard Koby's panicked voice.
"Why don't you do it yourself?" Luffy replied. "Besides, Mac's down there. She won't let anything happen to her." Koby didn't agree with Luffy, having had known the icy girl longer. He knew Mac to be very selfish. He just hoped that Luffy was right this time, for the sake of the little girl.
"Get lost! Do you wanna get killed?" Zolo growled, glaring harshly at the young child. The girl ignored it completely, instead unwrapping the cloth in her hand to reveal two large rice balls.
"I made these for you!" She said sweetly, smiling kindly as she held out the rice balls to Zolo. "I thought you might need some food! It's the first time I've ever made rice balls. I hope you like them!"
Instead of accepting the food like she expected, Zolo began yelling at her. "I'm not hungry! Now beat it and take that stuff with you!"
"B-but..." The girl looked like she was about to cry. That hit small soft spot for poor Mac though, and she turned to a light smack to his stomach, choosing to stick up for the child.
"Don't be an ass. She said she made them for you, jerkbag."
"I said I don't want it!" Zolo yelled angrily. "Now get out of here or I'll stomp you to death!" Before Mac could do anything about Zolo's mouth, which would have involved jamming her first down his throat, the chain link gates swung open and in walked... Well, more like flaunted... Flaunted a man in some gaudy getup followed by two Marines.
"Roronoa Zolo!" The man called and instantly, Mac didn't like him. His voice screamed Daddy's Little Girl and it grated harshly against her ears. "You shouldn't pick on little girls. I'll tell my father on you!" Yep, she was right. Opening her mouth and about to use the guy as a verbal punching bag, she never had a chance when she felt a strong pull at the back of her shirt and she found herself flying over the wall and landing hard of the ground. Sitting up, she scowled at Luffy as the boy grinned innocently at her before turning around to watch the scene unfold. Huffing, Mac stood up and joined the two boys on the wall.
"Jeez." She head Zolo growl, "Well if it isn't the dumbass son living off daddy's wealth." So that's who this guy was.
This guy had to be the ugliest guy she's ever seen with hair that resembled a mushroom and a huge butt chin. He wore a double-breasted suit with gaudy leopard print on the popped collar, cuffs and even his shoes. All of his father's wealth and this guy couldn't afford a decent wardrobe and hairstylist?
"Did you just call me a dumbass?" Mushroom-Domed-Idiot, as Mac had affectionately dubbed him, scowled. "A man in your position should guard his tongue or lose it!" He then noticed the little girl standing there with the rice balls in her hands. "Little girl, did you bring those rice balls for me? How thoughtful."
"Hey! Give it back!" She protested as he snatched one and took a large bite. His face then twisted into a look like he had bit into lemon, promptly spitting out the chewed chunk and proclaiming,
"Disgusting! It's sweet! There's sugar on it! Rice balls are seasoned with salt! Not sugar!"
"B-but I like sweet, so I figured sugar would be better!" She explained. The guy didn't care; he slapped the second rice ball out of her hand and proceeded to stamp them into the ground.
"These are entirely inedible!"
"Stop! Please! You're ruining them!" The girl cried, falling to her knees and trying to stop him.
"How evil..." Koby gasped, "That little girl worked hard to make those rice balls." Luffy watched with an unreadable expression, leaving Mac the only one silently gritting her teeth at the sight. Her right hand twitched violently the longer she watched.
"Don't worry!" Butt-Chinned-Freak laughed maliciously, grinding his heel into the destroyed rice balls.
"Oh no..." The girl bit her lip, trying hard to stop herself from crying. Tears were rapidly forming in her eyes. "Why! I worked really hard on those!"
"Oh, stop that crying!" The man groaned, "This is why I hate kids!" He turned to a sign they had failed to notice before, pointing at the writing on it. "It's your own fault! Can't you read this sign? It says 'Anyone aiding this prisoner shall be found guilty of the crimes they have committed.' Signed Captain Morgan."
"I'm sure you're heard how scary my father can be!" The guy said, grabbing the girl by her chin and forcing her to look up at him. Mac silently hoped that she could bite his hand. "If you were and adult, you would be put to death!" Roughly letting go of the girl, the man gestured to one of the Marines that stood by. "You there! Throw this brat over the fence!"
"B-but..." The Marine stuttered, appalled by such a command. Rice ball-Murdering-Disco-Wannabe reared around, grabbing the Marine by the front of his uniform and pulling him close. "I'm ordering you to throw that little brat over the fence! Are you going to disobey a direct order! I'll tell daddy on you!"
"Y-yes sir! Right away!" The Marine hesitated, going over to the little girl and scooping her up. He muttered a small apology before flinging her as gently as he could over the fence. Thankfully, Luffy was there and he easily caught her, falling to the ground and taking the full impact. After the two made sure she was alright, they joined Mac back on the fence.
"My, aren't you a stubborn one!" Smug-Gaudy-Face sniggered.
"That's right, I'm gonna last out the entire month!" Zolo replied confidently, "You just keep your end of the bargain!" Daddy's Little Girl just laughed flippantly, strutting back out the gate.
"I wouldn't dream of breaking my word." He said, sarcasm evident in his words. "As long as you can survive for a month, then you're free to go! I'm sure I'll see you then!" Zolo watched the man until the gates shut and blocked his view, eyes narrowed dangerously. He soon realized that he still wasn't alone and he looked ahead of him to see the kid in the straw hat, Luffy, standing in front of him. "You still here? Better not let Helmeppo's dad catch you."
"Look," Luffy spoke up, "I'm looking for strong people to join my pirate crew."
"Pirate crew? You think I'd lower myself to that level? Hell no!" Zolo scoffed.
"But becoming a pirate's my dream! What's wrong with it!" Luffy replied defensively.
"You think if you untie me, I'm gonna join your pirate crew?"
"I haven't decided if I'll ask you yet. You've got a pretty bad reputation, you know."
"Bad reputation, huh?" Zolo chuckled, "Anyway, I don't go for that kind of deal. I've got my own plans for the future. I don't need your help. I can get out of here on my own."
'That's not how you acted before.' Mac thought, rolling her eyes and swinging her legs from her seat on the wall.
"All I have to do is last for a month here, then I'm a free man." Zolo went on, smirking. "Captain Morgan's dumbass son promised me. All I've got to do is survive here for one month. Then I'll be free to pursue my dreams!" It kind of made Mac sigh sadly for the man, just for simply the way he sounded so sure that he was going to get out alive.
"Hmm… I see." Luffy replied, smiling and unconvinced. "I don't think I could last one week without food."
"You and me are different. I've got more will power. So go find a crew somewhere else." Shrugging, Luffy turned and began walking back to join his two friends. Before he even took a step, Zolo stopped him. "Hey, wait a minute." He called, Luffy turning back curiously. "Pick that up for me." Zolo said, looking down at the unrecognizable rice ball.
"You're gonna eat this!" Luffy asked, scooping it up and trying to hold it together. "It's more of a dirt ball than a rice ball now. I know you're hungry but this—"
"Shut up!" Zolo demanded, opening his mouth as wide as he could. "Just shut up and feed it to me! And don't miss one grain of rice!" Complying, though a little grossed out, and shoved it all into Zolo's mouth. Though she commended him, Mac found it more amusing to watch him tear up as he tried to choke it down, coughing and hacking the entire time.
"I told you it was mostly dirt." Luffy reprimanded, "Do you wanna kill yourself?" Zolo ignored him, twitching as he choked down the last few chunks. "Tell the kid," He coughed, Luffy leaning closer to hear what he was saying. "Tell her it was delicious and that I ate it all." Luffy didn't reply, laughing happily and walked back, he and Mac disappearing over the fence.
