Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
Luffy didn't head back to where he felt Coby's presence immediately. Instead, he decided to snoop around for a bit. Locking on to Nami's presence, he tracked down where she was located. Unsurprisingly, she was in a slightly run-down bar. Deciding to see what she was up to, he headed in and walked straight to the bar, keeping an eye on her from the corner of his eye.
"Milk," he said to the bartender. "Oh! And meat! Lots of it!" Raising an eyebrow but complying nonetheless, the tender served him on glass of milk.
"The cook's gonna need a bit of time, but it'll be out shortly," he said. Luffy grinned and thanked the man. He heard some laughter around him, but he paid it no mind.
"Oi, kid!" he heard someone call out to him. He turned to the right and saw a burly man in a leather jacket sitting next to him. He cocked his head to the side and pointed at himself, as if to ask 'you mean me?'
The man scoffed. "Yeah, you! This is no place for you to be hanging out. Come back when you've grown up a bit," he said. Luffy shrugged.
"Says you," he countered childishly before turning back to his milk. He drained the whole glass in a single gulp, sighing in contentment. "Boy, that was some good milk!" he exclaimed, tossing a few beri coins to the barkeep. The man nodded in appreciation, picking up the now empty glass and starting to wash it out.
The man on Luffy's right growled dangerously. He slammed his fist into the wooden counter, causing it to splinter slightly. "You think I'm playing, boy? This is the turf of the Clam Crew, the biggest bandit group on this island!" he said menacingly. Luffy frowned.
"Oi, why'd you crack the table? I still need to eat on it!" he whined, ignoring the second half of the bandit's statement. Nami, however, did not.
Sighing in annoyance and wondering why she was interfering with whatever games this pirate was playing, the ginger woman stood up from her seat across the bar and made her way over. "This place is a Marine town, right? How'd bandits find their way here?" she asked, putting on an awed expression. She leaned on the countertop, pushing out her bosom sultrily toward the bandit. She saw him eyeing her from across the bar, and figured this would be the best way to squeeze out information.
Surely enough, it worked. The bandit had let his guard down. "Bah! The Captain of this base, 'Axe-Hand' Morgan, cares more about his own status than anything on this island! As long as we pay tribute, we can do whatever!" he said proudly. Nami smirked.
"Oh wow! You must have quite... deep pockets then!" she said with a wink. The bandit blushed and rubbed the back of his head.
"You'd be right, lassie!" He blushed even harder. "And... for a favor, I may even be willing to part with a bit of it!" he exclaimed.
Luffy was listening in the whole time. He knew what she was doing, and knew she was merely trying to find his hideout to rob him blind. But this was his Navigator. She should've never had to even attempt to sell her body to get the money she was seeking. After he heard the last line from the bandit, who seemed to completely forget he was even there to begin with, Luffy snapped.
A quick, uncontrolled burst of Conqueror's Haki leaked out of him, his iron grip on its awe-inspiring power weakening in his rage. Luckily, he had enough of a grasp to not knock anyone out, but everyone could feel its effects. He was holding tightly onto the counter in an attempt to calm himself, but simply couldn't. The dense wood had completely caved in on itself, nearly exploding in a shower of splinters. He turned slowly at the bandit, who was now sweating profusely. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nami with a look of confusion on her face, covered by a primal fear. A fear of him.
That had managed to calm him down. He glanced sadly at her expression, but quickly schooled his face into a neutral mask. "Never try to buy Nami ever again," he said threateningly. The bandit gulped and nodded. Luffy turned to the terrified bartender. "I've changed my mind. I'll eat somewhere else." With his piece said, he stood up and walked out, grumbling under his breath. "Always bandits! I hate bandits."
A confused and slightly terrified Nami chased after him. "Wait! Luffy!" she called out. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at her, his anger still clearly visible. It subsided slightly after seeing her face, though.
"Yeah?" he prompted. Nami took a deep breath.
"That was my mark! I was never gonna sleep with him, just rob him!" she shouted. Luffy sighed. "Don't think I'm thankful for this! You're still a pirate!" she reaffirmed.
"Yeah, I know," he said somberly. He turned away once more, and began walking down the road. "But I couldn't help myself. I'll never let my friends get hurt. Not again." Nami reflexively caught the object tossed at her. Examining what was in her hands, she gasped. It was a bag of jewels. It had to be worth well over two hundred thousand beri!
"I picked it up from Alvida's ship. Figured you might need it, if you're stooping to such lows," he called back. Nami reeled back, as if physically struck. She knew it was the truth, but he knew nothing of her situation! Why would he be so kind?
"Th-" she had to swallow the lump in her throat. "Thank you!" she called out. The straw-hatted teen just waved back, continuing his journey down the road.
"Lucky!" Luffy grinned as he approached where he felt Coby's presence. It was a quaint restaurant, so he would be getting his meal anyway. He vaguely recalled something about something happening in a restaurant, but it was nearly a decade ago and his memory wasn't the best. Cut him some slack! besides, knowing what's going to happen made adventure so much less fun, so in a way Luffy was glad.
Walking into the restaurant, the old new pirate made a bee-line straight to where he knew Coby was. The scene he approached was one he truly wasn't expecting.
Laying on the ground was Helmeppo, the blond spawn of Morgott. Standing over him with a furious look on his face, was none other than Coby! He was balling his fists, the right one having busted knuckles dripping blood onto the floor. Luffy cocked his head and decided to watch what was going to happen.
Coby seemed to be in the middle of a rant. "That's not Justice! You're abusing your power! The Marines stand for protecting the innocent, and keeping the world safe! Zoro-san hasn't done anything worthy of execution! As a matter of fact, as a bounty hunter he's technically on your side!" Coby shouted at the whiny brat, breathing heavily. Luffy grinned and turned away from the 'fight', trusting Coby to do whatever he felt was right.
Spotting the little girl in the corner hidden away from the commotion, Luffy bounced energetically over to her. She spotted him almost immediately and perked up, tugging on the pant leg of her mother next to her, whom Luffy just noticed as well.
"Hey!" he said excitedly. "You made it back alright!" the girl grinned at him happily and nodded.
The girl's mother smiled softly at Luffy in appreciation. "Rika here told me what you did for her. You have my sincerest thanks. My name is Ayame, by the way," she said. Luffy waved her off.
"I'm Luffy, and no need for thanks. I'm no hero." Ayame raised her eyebrow quizzically, but didn't push it. He perked up. "Oh yeah! Zoro ate the onigiri! He said it was the best thing he ever had!" Rika's eyes sparkled.
"Really? I'm glad!" she smiled cutely. Luffy nodded, smiling back.
He idly stood back with the mother-daughter pair as he watched Helmeppo run out of the restaurant, whimpering pathetically about how he'd get revenge. Luffy rolled his eyes at the weakling.
Coby turned back to Ayame, about to apologize about the commotion he caused, before freezing momentarily at the sight of Luffy. His brain caught up quickly though and he ran over to greet the teen.
"Luffy! You're back! I don't know where you went, but you missed that marine guy coming in and causing a huge commotion!" Coby rattled off. At that, he scratched his head apologetically. "I'm sorry ma'am, my actions have caused some furniture to be broken and I caused a scene in your restaurant," he bowed. Ayame waved him off.
"No worries, dear! The chair and table can be replaced, I'm just glad you're alright. That Helmeppo can be a real piece of work sometimes..." she trailed off. She snapped and looked over at Luffy. "Ah, right! You weren't here for it! Helmeppo said he was going to execute Zoro in a few days, so Coby snapped and told him off after punching him," she explained somberly. Luffy grinned.
"Coby! I'm proud. I would'a done the same thing, but probably with less words! Shishishi!" he laughed. Coby laughed nervously as well, clearly embarrassed over his lack of tact.
"Well, the world isn't black and white, isn't it Luffy-san?" he reaffirmed. Luffy grinned and gave a thumbs up.
Luffy stretched his arms and legs slightly, before beginning to head back for the door. "Welp! I'm off then!" he shouted, waving at the trio. They almost didn't respond, dazed with confusion. He just got there, after all!
Coby held out a hand, as if reaching for the straw-hatted pirate. "Wait, Luffy-san! Where are you going?!" he called out questioningly. Luffy paused to look at the pink kid.
His white teeth brightened the room. "I'm gonna get my first mate out of an execution!" he claimed, before abruptly leaving. Coby was left standing there, jaw unhinged as he watched the door swing shut behind the pirate.
Coming to his senses, Coby just shook his head incredulously. "That guy's crazy..." he muttered. Rika gave an affirmative chirp from behind him. He jumped, startled, as if just realizing that he wasn't alone.
Ayame smiled softly. "Let's just put our faith in him. He's a strong kid," she decided. At that, both Coby and Rika agreed.
Luffy hummed as he jogged back over to the courtyard where Zoro was being held. His mood was much improved, the new situation putting the whole Nami debacle out of his mind.
Easily clearing the wall once again with a single leap, Luffy waved enthusiastically at Zoro's bound form. The tied up man grunted in irritation.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" he questioned. Luffy chuckled amusedly, before sobering up. Zoro noticed the quick change in mood and quirked an eyebrow curiously. The lanky boy in front of him didn't seem the serious type.
Luffy sighed and looked to the sky. "The blond weakling wants to execute you in three days," Luffy mentioned with feigned nonchalance. Zoro could see the anger brewing for some reason, but didn't quite understand it.
A pirate, being angry at someone for my sake? Why? Zoro shook off his idle thoughts, his anger growing at the thought of the punk that tied him up in the first place. "So that's it, huh?" he growled. "Is that all I'm worth?" He strained against the rope, but it was too thick for his weakened body to break. Luffy grinned at the act of defiance, and that smile got just a touch wider when he saw the ropes actually beginning to unravel. That was the strength of his first mate that would eventually be fostered into a disastrous force; he'd see to that himself.
"Ne, Zoro. You use swords, right? Got any idea where they're kept?" he asked. This whole island was a stupidly short and quite frankly boring journey on his first adventure, so he remembered basically none of it.
Zoro grunted, tilting his head at the massive Marine building next to the pair. "The blond brat probably took them. He's your best bet," he said. Luffy nodded, then gave Zoro a thumbs up.
"Be right back!" he shouted, crouching down in preparation. Just as Zoro was questioning the boy's sanity, he felt something shift in the air. He saw the teen grin, his eyes glinting with unseen power. Then, he jumped.
Now, Zoro knew his own legs to be strong. He could likely even make it at least halfway up the massive Marine building. But it was quite the tall structure. And somehow, Luffy overshot it. He watched the boy soar through the air, the ground cracking and mildly cratering from the impact. Before long, though, he saw, nay, heard the kid in the distance.
"Oh craaaaaaap!" came the fading voice, growing ever distant. Luffy appeared to panic as he flew up, way past where he needed to go.
As he was flying by, he saw a rather ugly stone statue being erected. "Ew, what's that ugly statue doing there?" he questioned, seeing the ropes tied firmly around different sections to apply pressure evenly while lifting it. Then he appeared to remember his predicament. "Oh yeah." Luffy snapped back into a fearful look. "Heeeelllp!" he called out, continuing to speed through the air. Down below, Zoro wished he had a hand free just so that he could facepalm from the sheer idiocy of the boy claiming to be his captain.
"What an idiot..." Zoro muttered.
Luffy's panicked screaming came to a swift halt, followed by laughter. "Just kidding!" he called out, stretching his hand impossibly far and grabbing one of the ropes attached to the statue. His hand firmly in place, he retracted his body toward it and slingshot his way back to the roof. Landing dramatically, he grinned at the group of Marines he saw standing in shock. The moment was ruined by a loud CRACK!
Turning around, Luffy watched a part of the statue fracture, quickly followed by the rest. Then it completely fell apart, chunks of stone crumbling down. He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Hehe... Sorry?" he tried.
Helmeppo ran to the rooftop, where he knew his Father would be. After all, this day had been scheduled for months. The day his Father would finally have a stone statue erected in his visage, to remind the people of Shells town of his greatness. Busting through the door forcefully, Helmeppo finally allowed himself to stop running, leaning his hands onto his bent knees to try and support himself as he took deep breaths.
As soon as he could catch his breath, he looked up at his Father, the man staring down at his breathless form in anger. "What could possibly be so important that you interrupt me now?" he growled. Helmeppo nearly reeled back, before remembering that this great man was his Father. He'd never hit Helmeppo before, because the blond kid was his precious son!
"Father! There's someone I want you to kill!" he shouted desperately. "He hit me! Even you have never done that before!" The burly man brandished his axe, running a finger along it almost lovingly.
"Do you know why I never hit you?" Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan asked slowly, not even glancing in the direction of his son. Helmeppo blinked confusedly. Wasn't it obvious?
"Of course! It's because I'm your precio- OOPH" he began, before he was swiftly cut off. With a fist in his gut from he beloved Father, spittle flew out of his mouth and landed on Morgan's face. The Captain grimaced, disgusted, before wiping it off.
"It's because you're not worth it! I'm the great one here! Me! Not you!" he declared angrily. "You can ride on my coattails all you like, you pathetic waste of space. You'll never be anything without my name!" The blond boy lay on the ground, stunned. Tears nearly spilling out of his eyes, Helmeppo was about to call out. His Father couldn't mean that? Could he?
Before he could say anything, he heard a screech in the sky. "HEEEELLP!"
With wide eyes, both Helmeppo and Morgan stared at the shooting bullet in the sky that happened to be wearing a straw hat. Their eyes widened even further when they saw his arm stretch over four meters to grab onto a rope holding the statue in place.
Morgan's eyes sharpened, realizing what was about to happen to his precious statue that he'd spent months preparing for. "Men! Keep a tight grip! I'll have you executed if so much as a scratch appears on my statue!" he called out. But it was hopeless. The straw-hatted boy used the rope to fling himself back to the roof, landing harshly and cracking the tiles. Morgan watched with bated breath, hoping amongst hope that nothing would happen to the statue that this, this... this idiot had defiled.
But alas, it wasn't meant to be. First was a single crack. Then another. And suddenly, the whole thing collapsed on itself, its structural integrity in shambles.
"Hehe... Sorry?" The boy had the nerve to give a weak apology, as though that would fix anything! He growled.
"You're dead, Straw Hat! I'm going to rip you apart!" he promised, his axe hand glinting threateningly. Straw Hat just laughed, seemingly unfazed by the threat.
The kid looked around briefly, seeing the personnel he had stationed on the roof. Then Straw Hat spotted his useless son, and perked up.
"Ah! You! I'll be borrowing you, thanks!" the teen said, dashing directly at the supine boy. Morgan growled.
"Not on my watch!" he called out. "Marines! Execute this man!" But it was too late, once again. The boy was fast, he'd give credit where credit was due. Carrying Helmeppo, Luffy was already through the door and sprinting down the stairs to make it into the building proper.
"Sir!" a worthless pawn of a Marine called out. Morgan snapped.
"What now?!" he exploded. Sweating, the Marine pointed shakily down at the courtyard where Zoro was tied up. The Captain glanced over the edge, witnessing a small pink-haired boy untying the prisoner. In his anger, he swiped his arm out and cut down the Marine that had just informed him of this blatant insubordination. "Raaagh! Insubordination everywhere! Fine, I'll do everything myself!" he shouted out, punching the wall as he stomped down the stairs. He didn't stay long enough to watch it collapse behind him.
Running down the endless maze of halls, Luffy was fully lost at this point. Not to mention the screaming heap of weakness in his hands.
"Waaaah! Pl-Please don't kill me!" cried the blond boy. Luffy rolled his eyes.
"You took Zoro's swords, right? Where'd ya put 'em?" he asked, shaking the scaredy-cat. With swirls in his eyes, Helmeppo could barely get out a response.
"We... passed it... a few seconds ago." Luffy came to a screeching halt, holding up Helmeppo like a ragdoll with an eyebrow quirked.
"Really? Well, why didn't ya say so?" Helmeppo just groaned, dizzy and on the verge of blacking out. Luffy frowned and turned around, doubling back to find Zoro's swords.
It didn't take too long. He found a vibrant, pink door that was clearly different from the rest of the base. Luffy shrugged and kicked the door open, haphazardly tossing Helmeppo on the bed as he searched for the swords.
Ah! That white sheathe! Luffy remembered it very well, for it was the only sword Zoro had that survived the entire journey from start to finish. Zoro's precious sword, the embodiment of his promise. The Wado Ichimonji.
Grabbing it and the two crappy swords that accompanied it, Luffy hummed as he searched for something to tie them together and to his back. He didn't want to damage or lose them, after all. However, the ringing blast of a gunshot quickly halted that course of action. Quickly, Luffy dashed to the window to peer at the courtyard from above.
Coby was clutching his shoulder, grimacing. There was smoke coming out of the barrel of a Marine's gun. Zoro was growling in anger and, presumably, helplessness. Luffy no longer cared about proper management of the swords, he just hoped Zoro would forgive him for potentially roughing up his treasure.
Kicking the window in, Luffy planted his feet on the sill and pushed off, flying through the air with significantly more precision than he did the first time. He knew he didn't have much time.
Down in the courtyard, Coby was panicking. He had already been shot once, and that was clearly a mere warning. Oh god, I'm gonna die! This is where it ends, isn't it? he freaked out mentally. Zoro snapped at the kid.
"Get lost, kid! They wanna kill me, just get out of here! No reason to throw your life away for a dead man," he growled, surprisingly considerate of the boy. Coby scrunched his eyes shut in shame.
It's true! Zoro's not evil, just merciless to criminals! Rika was right, oh God, what else was I wrong about, is Justice really served by Marines, wha- Coby's rapidly spiraling thoughts were halted, but not by Zoro. No, it was a much more dangerous voice.
"Marines! Shoot to kill! Don't hesitate just because he's a kid! If you had any such thoughts, shoot yourselves in the head right now!" the demanding voice called out. Coby pried an eye open, almost not daring to look. It was Captain Morgan, an infamously strong Captain that was almost unnecessarily harsh on his subordinates! Coby could see where that rumor came from, considering the first words he'd ever heard out of the man's mouth.
Zoro growled at the lack of conscience from the man, but quickly turned to the whimpering of the boy that had been trying to free him.
"N-No! There's no turning back now! By helping you, I'm already screwed, so I just have to put my hope in Luffy," he muttered quickly, trying to work faster on the bindings around Zoro's arms.
Zoro paused in contemplation. "Luffy, huh?" Before he could ask about the straw hat kid, he heard the cocking of multiple guns. It was only his strong willpower that prevented the green-haired swordsman from bowing his head in defeat. He would stay proud until the very last moment.
He glared heatedly at the Marines as they steadied their aim on a bound prisoner and young teenager. Real honorable. He heard the gunshots, and tried not to think of this as the end. He would get out of this, somehow. He had a feeling.
Though the feeling was right, it didn't happen in exactly the way he expected it to. The moment the Marines fired, there was a blur of motion and suddenly Luffy was skidding to a halt in front of him and Coby, holding out his arms. Zoro almost didn't want to watch as the bullets made contact with his body and... stretched the skin? What the hell?
Luffy laughed merrily, tossing the three swords he clutched in his hands back to Coby for safe keeping. "Bullets don't work on me! I'm made of rubber!" he declared, still laughing uproariously. Suddenly, it felt like the temperature dropped to sub-zero. Zoro felt a chill in his spine as the laughter stopped. Luffy tilted his hat down, obscuring his eyes. "You tried to hurt my nakama. I don't feel like playing around anymore," he said icily. Coby nearly passed out seeing this side of Luffy. It was truly a terrifying sight.
As his skin turned red, steam began emenating off the suddenly terrifying form of the once-cheerful teenager. He crouched down, pumping his legs as he prepared to fight.
In the blink of an eye, Luffy disappeared.
A/N: Like I said, I'm not making a habit out of doing these. However, I did want to address a comment that I got. Everything has a reason, even though the choices feel weird. And believe me, even I know the choices look bizarre. I mean, Gear Second on freakin Morgan? Who in their right mind would ever do that?
Me. I would.
Also, things are getting kinda hectic with school so updates may take a bit longer to come out. That's all. Will be back soon with another chapter, hopefully.