Adventures of Monkey D. Yoruichi Chapter 2: Adventure beginning
Hello everyone, Iskander Mandoraekon here with the new chapter for my 'Adventures of Monkey D. Yoruichi'.
I have something to change from the last chapter for the part where I gave Yoruichi Shanks' sword, Luffy will be the only person to get something from Shanks on the day they depart, I am going to give Yoruichi a different weapon, like a four-sectioned staff like the one Ban from Nanatsu no Taizai uses.
I do not own Bleach or One Piece
Small boat in the ocean
Yoruichi sighed as she leaned back in the new boat she and her brother had commandeered after losing their original dinghy to a tidal wave. After leaving their home island, the two Monkey siblings ended up invading a pirate ship before meeting a terrified boy named Coby, beat up an over-weight, ugly as sin woman named Alvida and escaping on one of her ship's row boats. Yoruichi and Luffy, along with a Marine idolizing boy named Coby, continued on their 'quest' to the closest city that had a marine base in order to drop their new friend off and get some food for the continuation of their adventure.
"A monster, huh?" Luffy asked as he listened intently to the pink haired boy regal them about the rumors of the infamous Pirate Hunter Zoro.
"Yes Luffy-san," Coby said as he spread his arms out above his head. "Roronoa Zoro is also known as a legendary 'Pirate Hunter'. He's a scary person that hunts down pirates for the sheer joy of getting off on it."
Yoruichi sighed at her brother's interest in the 'demon' man as she looked out over the water to tune out the two boys, hoping that they got to the next island soon so she could stretch her legs. Luffy however was more interested in the man and continued asking the pinkette about him.
"Rumor says he's like a blood thirsty wolf," Coby continued with a shudder as he gained a mental image of a red eyed, green haired man with a demonic smile holding swords and surrounded by a small sea of blood and corpses. "He is said to wander around the sea and hunt down pirates no matter who they are. He's more of a monster than he is a man!"
"He sounds interesting," Luffy said after a short moment of thought… his sister could defiantly see the smoke coming from his ears.
"Yeah, so let's just drop the idea of recruiting him for your crew…" Coby said in an almost subtle way of trying to dissuade Luffy from getting such a dangerous person for his crew and Yoruichi just gave a sigh at the attempt, knowing her little brother wouldn't be giving up on getting such a strong guy for his 'Pirate King' crew anytime soon.
"I haven't made up my mind about recruiting him just yet!" Luffy exclaimed with a pump of his fist, "He sounds really strong, so if he's a good person I'll get him to join my crew!"
"He was arrested because he's a bad guy!" Coby roared at the dense idiot with his face going red from trying to negotiate with the simple mind of Monkey D. Luffy.
"Just ignore him, Coby-kun," Yoruichi said with a sigh as she looked at the two boys she was sharing the boat with. "It's useless to try and change his mind when he has it set on something; it's something he unfortunately inherited from our grandfather."
Coby just nodded and gave a sigh of defeat before looking over to the side and gave a small cheer at the sight of the close docks and island that had somehow snuck up on them while they were floating along.
"We're finally at a marine base!" Coby cheered as he grabbed the oars and began rowing in an attempt to reach the shore faster.
"Finally! Now to see if I can meet Zoro!" Luffy shouted as he raised his arms in a cheer.
"You did a good job, Coby-kun!" Yoruichi said with a smile as she praised the younger boy. The boy just looked confused at her praise and Yoruichi smirked as she clarified. "We've finally reached our destination thanks to you."
"But of course! That's the basics of navigation!" Coby said with a blush and what appeared to be a bit of preening at the praise of the older dark skinned girl. "You guys should try to find a navigator to join you, if you just wander around at sea every time without knowing where you are, you'll never become a good pirate!"
Luffy just ignored Coby as he took in the smell of meat coming from down the street. "Alright! Let's go eat!"
"Don't try too hard with Luffy, Coby-kun," Yoruichi told the blushing boy that realized she was standing right next to him. "He's a bit slow in the head when it comes to people giving him advice and is a bit of trouble to deal with when you are trying to get something through to him."
"How do you deal with him all the time?" Coby asked as he and the older girl began walking after the dense boy.
"I'm his sister, I've had practice from living with him," Yoruichi said as she sent a smile at the exasperated boy before joining her brother in his search for the glorious meat. Especially when her acute cat senses picked up the smell of sushi, one of her favorite foods. After a short walk and following of their noses, the small group of three found themselves being seated in a small restaurant.
"I guess this is where we go our separate ways," Coby said after a small time of silence as the Monkey siblings and marine wannabe ate their chosen meal.
"You're going to do your best to become a great marine, correct Coby-kun?" Yoruichi asked the pinkette while she tried to stop her brother from eating like a savage.
"Oh I will!" Coby declared with a blush. "Thank you for believing in me and helping me get away from Alvida."
After saying that, he began to shed tears of both sadness and joy before he added, "Luffy-san, Yoruichi-san, you guys will have to become great pirates too. That way we can be rival enemies in the future like vice admiral Garp and the Pirate King Gold Rogers was."
"I wonder if that pirate hunter Zoro is still being kept at the marine base," Luffy said in curiosity as he ignored Coby's words, while Yoruichi refrained from telling the pinkette just who their grandfather was so the boy wouldn't have a heart attack and he finished eating another large chicken leg getting shrugs from his sister and Coby.
The three newcomers were then startled when the patrons of the restaurant started panicking at Luffy's words and they rushed away from the three of them.
"I wonder what they are so scared about," Yoruichi said with a finger to her lips in a thinking motion getting a nod from Luffy.
"I don't think people here like Zoro all that much," Coby said as he watched the people panic again at the mention of the swordsman. "I also saw a notice on the streets. There's someone called Lieutenant Morgan in command of the base."
Once more the crowd in the restaurant ran the new name.
"OH WOULD YOU GIVE IT A REST!" Coby shouted, making the group stop in their tracks.
Luffy just started laughing at his friend's emotional turmoil as they exited the restaurant to allow the people inside some reprieve from their obviously upsetting words. "What an interesting restaurant! I wanna go there again."
"That was really weird," Coby said as he looked uneasily at the marine base that poked out above the roofs of the village. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Everyone is pretty jumpy here whenever we mention Zoro or Morgan," Yoruichi said as she noticed the terrified leaps at both names.
"I could understand why they'd be scared after hearing the pirate hunter's name since he could escape at any time and go on a rampage," Coby said in agreement as he stared in confusion at the passing crowds of people. "But why would they be afraid of a Marine Lieutenant's name as well?"
"Maybe he did something bad," Luffy said in a moment of insightful wisdom that would probably be gone in a minute.
"That's impossible!" Coby roared as he glared at the black haired boy for even mentioning that a member of the group that he held in such a high regard could do anything corrupt.
"I'm being serious Coby," Luffy said as he turned a surprisingly stern gaze to their short-time comrade.
"It is possible that Lieutenant Morgan did something that scared the people," Yoruichi said in her brother's defense while putting a hand on the pinkette's shoulder. "Morgan may be a marine, but he is still human and humans can become corrupt."
The group of three then proceeded to walk up to the Marine headquarters, growing slightly disgusted as they got closer to it. "It doesn't look all that impressive up close," Yoruichi said as she wrinkled her nose at the unwashed man smell that assaulted the animalistic sense of smell given to her by her Zoan fruit. "Or smell that good…"
"Yeah," Coby said with a bit of disappointment at the sight of disrepair. "It looked better when we were still close to the restaurant."
"Go ahead Coby," Luffy said as he grasped the surprised boy by the shoulder and began ushering the pinkette to the front gate of the marine HQ.
"W-wait," Coby stuttered out as he looked to Yoruichi for help only to find her with an amused smirk on her face from watching his suffering. "I-I'm not p-prepared for this yet! Besides, that incident at the restaurant got me thinking…"
Luffy however was no longer listening to the boy's excuses as he deftly climbed up the stone wall separating the base yard from the town.
"Hey wait! Luffy-san!" Coby exclaimed as his eyes shot out of his head, making Yoruichi curious about how his glasses never broke from that action.
"You said that Zoro was here, I wonder where he is," Luffy looked around.
"Do you see him, Otouto?" Yoruichi asked as she looked up at where her brother was perched on the wall.
"You won't be able to find him that easily," Coby said as his faith in the marines began returning. "They're probably keeping him in a brig or something."
"No! There's someone tied up over there!" Luffy said without paying attention to what his friend was saying and began running to the right along the wall with his sister and Coby following after him. "Do you think he's Zoro?"
Luffy quickly climbed the wall again and was quickly followed by Yoruichi after she transformed into her cat form to get a higher range of movement, changing back once she got to the top; Coby just sighed and followed the eccentric siblings. "Look at that person," Luffy said as he stared intensely at the man tied to the post.
When Coby laid eyes on the tied up man, he immediately fell off the wall as he realized who he was staring at.
"What's wrong Coby?" Luffy asked as he looked down at the boy gracing the sidewalk.
"T-t-that black bandana and green cloth around his waist," Coby stuttered and began trembling as he looked back at the legendary pirate hunter. "I-it's him! It's Roronoa Zoro! And that intimidating aura! It's the Pirate Hunter!"
"Calm down, Coby," Yoruichi said as she placed a calming hand on the boy's shoulder. "If Zoro does attack us, he'll have to take go through me and Luffy to get to you."
"So he's Roronoa Zoro, huh?" Luffy said to himself as he studied the supposed demon of a man that he wanted to recruit as his first crewmember.
"Those look like some pretty easy ropes to break out of," Yoruichi said as she stared intently at the bindings that held the man to the x-shaped post. Luffy gave a nod, "Yeah, I wonder why he hasn't broken out yet."
"S-stop joking you guys! If you free him, he could make a mess in the town and even kill you!" Coby shouted at the two as he continued to try and put some reason into the dense heads of the Monkey D. siblings.
"Hey you!"
The three jumped slightly as they turned in the direction the voice came from and Yoruichi was surprised that the tied up man was the one that had called out to them. "Could you please… come over and untie me?" The pirate hunter asked as he grinned darkly. "I've been tied up here for nine days and nights, and I'm exhausted."
"Look, he's smiling," Luffy pointed out the obvious. "I should ask him if he wants to join my crew!"
"H-he talked!"
"Don't worry about it Coby-kun," Yoruichi said as she turned to look at the shaking pinkette for a moment before returning her topaz cat-like gaze to the pirate hunter.
"I'll repay you with gold if you want," Zoro continued. "I could hunt down a pirate and give you the bounty for their heads. I'm not lying. I always keep my word."
"No, don't do it, Luffy-san, Yoruichi-san!" Coby exclaimed as he tried to be the voice of reason. "If you free him, he'll kill us and escape!"
"He can't kill us," Luffy said as he stared at Zoro with a curious look on his face. "We're strong too."
'He's hopeless!' Coby moaned in his head as crocodile tears flowed down his face.
Zoro's smile faded from his face as a frown took over and he studied the three of them with a small moment of curiosity.
The three had their attention diverted from their current conversation as a ladder came in contact with the wall a few feet to the right of them and a young girl about the same age as Coby climbed up it over the wall.
The girl gave them a single look of curiosity before she put a finger to her lips to tell them to be quiet.
"Hey wait! Don't go in there! It's dangerous!" Coby called out in an attempt to stop her from nearing the pirate hunter only to be ignored completely as the girl made it over the wall and quickly walked towards Zoro while looking around to see if the coast was clear.
"What are you doing here again gaki?" Zoro snapped as he looked up at the girl when she got closer to him.
"Luffy-san, Yoruichi-san, you guys have got to stop her!" Coby shouted in panic as he looked between the Monkey siblings and the girl currently standing in front of the prisoner. "She could be killed!"
"Do it yourself," Luffy said in a bored tone as he laid his head on his hands and watched the confrontation between the girl and the notorious pirate hunter.
"She doesn't seem to be in any danger," Yoruichi spoke up as she lounged next to her brother. "I doubt he's going to hurt her."
"Do you want to die or something gaki?" Zoro said as he looked down at the little girl standing before him, making Coby tense. "Get lost!"
"Hello Onii-san, I made some rice balls for you!" The girl said with a smile on her face as she ignored the blatant threat to her well-being from the pirate hunter. "You haven't eaten since that meanie Helmeppo put you here. This is the first time I made rice balls…"
"I'm not hungry!" Zoro snapped, "Go away!"
"Bu-" The girl said in an attempt to object and talk reason into the captive, but she was cut off by a bark from the man. "I don't want it! Leave me alone! I'll kill you if you don't go now baka!" Zoro snarled at the girl in an attempt to frighten her away.
"You shouldn't pick on little girls, Roronoa Zoro."
"Crap…" Zoro swore under his voice as they all heard a nasally voice coming from behind him, making everyone turn to see a skinny and lanky-looking young man about Luffy's age with light blond hair shaped like a sideways oval on the top of his head making Yoruichi wonder if he had eaten one of those football things the people of Foosha Village liked playing with; the boy also had a cleft chin and black eyes that had a condescending look in them as if he didn't consider the people before him to be of any real importance. He was wearing a violet colored dress shirt and pants with expensive white shoes and a rubber band ring on his left hand.
The aforementioned boy came up to the imprisoned man and girl with two Marines behind him, not taking notice of the three people currently watching the confrontation from their spots on the wall, "Maybe I should report this to my father."
"Hey some weirdo came out of the building," Luffy said as he stared at the strangely shaped hairdo.
"He must be important in the Marines if he is being escorted by two of them," Coby said as he studied the blond standing in front of Zoro. "Thank goodness the girl is safe now!"
"Well, well, if it isn't the bastard son of the Lieutenant," Zoro sneered with an annoyed look on his face.
"Shut up you bastard!" The acclaimed bastard shouted. "Don't get cocky you stupid baka. My father is a Marine Lieutenant!"
The blond then turned his attention to the quiet girl and walked over to her. "Well hello, little girl. These rice balls sure look pretty tasty," he said before he snatched one of the rice balls up from the tray she was using to carry them with.
"Hey! Stop it!" The girl exclaimed. "I made those for Zoro-san! Not you!"
The boy just ignored her as he took a bite, only to immediately spit it back out after it touched his tongue. "This is horrible!" He shouted as he threw the rice ball on the ground. "You put too much sugar in it! You're supposed to use salt!"
"B-but I thought they'll taste better if they're sweet!" The girl stammered as she stared wide eyed at the now dirt covered rice ball.
"How could someone eat something like this!?" The boy exclaimed with an annoyed look before he stepped on the rice balls, smashing them into the floor using his fancy shoes.
"Stop it! Stop! He can't eat this anymore!" The girl screamed as she tried to stop the Lieutenant's son from destroying her hard work.
"T-that's so cruel," Coby said with a look of shock on his face at the display in front of him while both Yoruichi and Luffy stood tense. "That girl worked hard to make those!"
"Don't worry! The ants will eat them all up," the Lieutenant's son sneered as he gave a small cruel laugh at the destroyed look on her face. The girl just sank to her knees on the floor as she stared at the smashed rice balls that she had spent most of the day working on with her mother's help. "That's so mean! I-I tried really hard to make those."
"Aww, don't cry," the blond sneered as he stared at the girl in an almost offended form. "It's no wonder why I hate little brats so much!"
"It's your fault, don't you know?" The young man sneered. "Didn't you see what was written here? 'Anyone who helps the prisoner will be charged with the same crime', signed 'Lieutenant Morgan'."
He then crouched down to the young brunette's level and said, "You know how scary my dad can be when he is disobeyed, right? You would've gotten the death penalty if you had been an adult!"
He stood up and looked over the girl before turning his head slightly to the Marine standing to his left. "Oi, throw this brat out!"
"I-I'm sorry?" The motioned Marine asked in a surprised tone. "Helmeppo-dono?"
"I'm telling you to throw the stupid girl out of here!" Helmeppo shouted as he grabbed the man's shirt and pulled him down to his level. "Are you trying to disobey me? I'll tell my father!"
"A-Aye sir!"
The Marine gave the girl an apologetic look before he picked her up non-too gently and threw her over the wall, making her scream. Yoruichi reacted quickly and jumped off the wall from her resting position and caught her before she could injure herself upon impact with the ground.
The moment she hit the older woman's chest, Yoruichi wrapped his arms around her and they fell to the floor, the dark skinned eighteen year old protecting the younger girl from the impact.
"Are you alright?" Coby demanded as he ran up to the two females, where Yoruichi was holding the younger girl tightly and whispering that she was okay.
Once he and Luffy confirmed that the girl was safe; Luffy turned back to watch the scene going on between Helmeppo and Zoro in the yard.
"I didn't think you had this kind of endurance," Helmeppo said with a sneer as he 'praised' the bound Pirate Hunter. "I'm gonna keep you alive for one month so don't forget our bargain and chicken out alright."
"You'd better keep your promise," Zoro snarled at the Lieutenant's son.
Helmeppo just gave a small laugh as he turned around to leave. "Oh, I'll keep my promise. If you can live like this for one whole month, I'll keep my word and release you! Good luck!"
Zoro let out a sigh before he turned to look in front of him looked to see Luffy standing in front of him now. "You still haven't left yet?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Leave now or else the brat will go whine to his bastard of a father about it."
"Oh?" Luffy said in a hum that showed that he didn't seem to care at all what the boy did and spoke, "I'm looking for someone to join my pirate crew."
"Pirate huh?" Zoro asked as his gaze turned hard and he stared at the boy. "Heh, so you gave up on the honest life and became a crook, huh?"
"It's my dream to be the Pirate King," Luffy stated as he smiled at the man. "There's nothing wrong with being a pirate!"
"Hm? Don't tell me you're going to set me free and force me to join you?" Zoro asked with a smirk as he tensed and prepared to attack the boy once he was freed.
"I haven't made up my mind yet," Luffy said as he shrugged, ignoring the obvious intentions of the Pirate Hunter. "Since everyone thinks you're some kind of bad guy."
"A bad guy, huh?" Zoro muttered thoughtfully with a sneer. "I'd never join you because I have something much more important than some kid's fantasy to take care of. Besides I could survive even if you don't help me, I just need to stay alive for a month without food or water. That bastard promised to let me go afterward."
"I'm gonna do everything I can to stay alive and fulfill my dreams!" Zoro added after taking a breath.
"Really?" Yoruichi asked as both she and her brother raised their eyebrows and tilted their heads at the same time much to the shock of Coby, before said boy stammered when he looked back and forth between the girl that tried to feed Zoro and Yoruichi, wondering when she had gotten to her brother's side, "If Otouto or I were in your place, I think we'd have starved to death within a couple days, especially Luffy-chan… he can't go without meat for too long."
"That's where we're different," Zoro said as he looked over at the dark skinned beauty. "Go find someone else to join your pitiful crew! Maybe I'll hunt you down after I get out of here."
Luffy just shrugged as he and his small group turned away from the bound man and began to walk back towards the town.
"Wait-!" Zoro called out after a couple seconds just as they reached the wall, making the group of three stop in their tracks. "Could you pick the rice ball up for me?"
Yoruichi looked down at the rice balls that Helmeppo had crushed beneath his feet and began to pick them up, examining it. "You sure you want to eat this?" The dark skinned girl asked as she turned her topaz gaze to the man. "They're all muddy; though I guess you can't really be picky about food when you're starving."
"Shut up!" Zoro snapped in annoyance before he widened his mouth, "Just give it to me. Let me eat all of it."
Yoruichi shrugged before she placed the food in his mouth and Zoro slowly ate the hard work of the young girl that had been thrown out earlier, his face showing a mixture of disgust from the dirt and relief from his hunger being sated.
After a short while, he finally swallowed the food down.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?!" Coby asked in alarm as he watched the supposed monster swallow the food given to him.
Zoro just gave a small cough, dislodging the dirt left over in his mouth and spoke up, ignoring the boy's words, "Tell the girl… that the rice balls tasted good. Thank you very much."
Luffy gave a wide smile at the words of the Pirate Hunter before turning around to climb the wall. "Sure thing, maybe you aren't such a bad guy after all."
"Come on Coby-kun," Yoruichi said as she patted the dumbstruck Coby on the shoulder before she climbed the wall as well. "Time's a wasting!"
Giving a sigh as he gave up, the pinkette turned towards them and climbed up as soon as Yoruichi disappeared over the wall. 'What have I gotten myself into?'
Later in the Village
"Really?" The little girl asked excitedly with a surprised look on her face after the Monkey siblings and Coby found her and told her about what Zoro had said.
"Yes, he ate all of it!" Yoruichi said with a smile as she rubbed the girl's head.
"I'm so happy!" The little girl cheered as she pumped her fist.
"I-Is Roronoa Zoro really as horrible a person as everyone's been saying?" Coby asked in a whimpering tone after hearing about the reason why Helmeppo was punishing Zoro as his mentality of following the Marines' absolute justice was crumbling, especially if they were punishing a person for simply defending a young girl from a rabid dog.
"No he isn't!" The girl shouted with a look of anger on her face as she glared at the pink haired boy for the insinuation about the man who saved her from Helmeppo's dogs. "Nii-san didn't do anything wrong; the people in this town are just afraid of what will happen to them if Helmeppo or his father hear about anyone challenging their judgement."
"So you're saying that Zoro-san was arrested because he killed that Helmeppo guy's pet wolf?" Luffy asked with an annoyed expression on his face, this was one of the stupid reasons he kept refusing to enlist like his grandfather wanted him to, much to Garp's undying annoyance.
"Yeah," the girl said with a small nod. "All nii-san did wrong was stop it from attacking me! The only bad guys in this village are the Morgan's!" The girl angrily informed the three, "If you speak out against their authority or disobey them, you get executed as a member of the revolutionary army even though people know they aren't this far out."
Just as she was about to continue a snobbish sounding laugh came from up the street, making their attention turn to take in many people bowing their heads as the spoiled brat they had just been talking about walked down the street with the two marines from before flanking either side of him, "Who dares raise their head in my presence? I'll tell father!"
"Do you want to be like Roronoa Zoro?" The blond prick continued as he flicked a bugger from his nose at a cowering man that was in front of a fish market shop. "I'm gonna publicly execute him in three days. I'll use him to set an example for all of you!"
"Three days?" Yoruichi asked in a stunned voice as anger began flooding her system at the broken promise the swordsman was expecting to be kept as she continued to seethe in anger, she didn't even attempt to stop her younger brother from marching towards Helmeppo.
"Didn't you say you'll give him a month?" Luffy demanded as he came to a stop in front of the Lieutenant's son.
"Who the heck are you?" Helmeppo snapped in anger at being interrupted in the grandstanding of his ego and gave a cruel laugh, "I was only joking with that pirate hunter! Only an idiot would believe a promise like that!"
Veins popped in both of the Monkey siblings and everything went quiet when Helmeppo found both Luffy and Yoruichi's fists appearing in his face at the same time, throwing him back to the ground a few feet away with blood coming from his mouth.
"I hope you hit hard, Otouto," Yoruichi said as she cracked her knuckles and observed her handiwork. "I don't want to think that was just me hitting that piece of trash."
Luffy didn't reply to his sister's goading as he continued to glare down at the brat that had imprisoned the green haired nineteen year old.
"Luffy-san, Yoruichi-san, please stop!" A terrified Coby exclaimed as he tried to stop whatever the two had planned next. "Calm down before you get us in trouble!"
"You want to mess with the Marines or something you fucking bastards?" Helmeppo snarled with anger on his face as he finally managed to stand back up on his feet and glare snottily at the two siblings. "I'll tell my father about this!"
"Coby, Yoruichi-nee, I've decided what I want to do," Luffy said as he turned away from the vengeance swearing Helmeppo. Yoruichi gave a sigh and a smile as she walked towards her little brother along with Coby who was confused by what Luffy had meant. "You're gonna ask Zoro-san to join you, isn't that right?"
"Th-this is bad! Those two hit Lieutenant Morgan's son! The Lieutenant won't forgive them!" A villager said as they all began to slowly back away from the two siblings and the angry Helmeppo.
"Luffy-san, Yoruichi-san! Please stop this! They are marines!" Coby shouted at the two as he attempted to reason with their 'better' judgement.
"I don't care! A bastard is still a bastard no matter what organization or group they belong to!" Luffy snapped as he waved off Coby's attempts to reason with the wannabe pirate king.
Yoruichi giggled and put a hand up to her mouth before gaining a cat ate the canary look on her face, "Ooh my otouto used big words!"
"Oi!"
"Y-y-you dare to strike me!? Helmeppo stuttered out once he noticed that their attention was back on him. "My father hasn't even hit me once in my life! I am Lieutenant Morgan's son! I'm telling him about this!"
The people that had been slowly moving away were now in a state of panic at the mention of Lieutenant Morgan's anger.
"Why don't you just fight your own battles crybaby?" Yoruichi asked with a sneer at the boy's flamboyance while handing Luffy his hat back from when he had left it on a table.
"You'll regret hitting me!" The blond brat exclaimed in self-righteous anger as the marines guarding him were forced to carry the drama queen back in the direction of the Marine Base. "You people will get the death sentence for sure!"
Yoruichi just sighed and shook her head while Luffy straightened his hat on his head, simply ignoring the boy's proclamations. "It's meaningless to hit people like him."
"He ran away," Coby commented in a disbelief manner, wondering what happened to all the stories he had heard growing up about the famous Marines that protected the world and citizens from pirates and evil-doers.
"Onii-chan, Nee-chan, you guys were so cool!" The girl they had been talking to earlier exclaimed like a hyperactive squirrel as she appeared right beside Luffy and Yoruichi much to Coby's shock. "I was scared to death when you guys went after that bully."
"Really? I should have hit him a couple more times," Luffy said as he smacked his fist into his palm with his sister nodding in agreement while Coby finally decided to just give up on changing their minds.
"Ri-Rika!" A woman called out from where they had been earlier, "Come over here! Don't talk to the strangers! You'll be executed too if you were mistaken as one of their friends," The woman exclaimed as she ushered her daughter into her house.
"Mom, they're good people! And so is Zoro-nii!" Rika exclaimed under protest as she tried to reason with her parent and looked back at Luffy, his sister and Coby.
"Don't be silly!" The woman snapped before she looked down at the girl. "Did you sneak into the execution site again?"
"No, no I didn't!" Rika flat out lied with a calm face that made Yoruichi want to cuddle her like a little sister.
"Come back into the house quickly!"
Luffy waved after her just before the door closed behind the mother and daughter, "Bye!"
Later; Over at the Marine Base
"Looks like we're in a lot of trouble!" Coby said in a panic as the three 'hoodlums' stood in front of the base and they could see several marines running about the base. "If the Lieutenant's mad, he might send the Marines after us!"
"We'll deal with any trouble when the time comes," Yoruichi said patiently.
"I'm gonna go talk to Zoro," Luffy said in the middle of scaling the wall separating them from the yard and their target.
"Yo!" Luffy said once he arrived in front of the pirate hunter while Coby scrambled up after the two siblings with Yoruichi already on ground level.
"Hmm, what are you doing here again?" Zoro asked, "I thought I told you I don't wanna be a pirate or join your crew!"
"My names Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy introduced himself, completely ignoring Zoro's statement. "If I loosen up your ropes, then you're gonna join me, okay?"
"Oh Otouto…" Yoruichi muttered as she rubbed her eyes with her fingers. "It doesn't work like that…"
"I've already told you!" Zoro snapped as he glared at the rubber boy, "I have things I need to do. Besides, I'm not gonna to become a bad guy like a pirate."
"Not all pirates are bad guys," Yoruichi spoke up as she thought of Shanks with Luffy nodding. "Some people are forced into the profession in order to survive. Besides, everyone already thinks you're a bad guy for what Helmeppo has been spouting."
"I don't care what they say about me!" Zoro snapped at the dark skinned woman. "I haven't done one thing that I've regretted in the past and it will be the same for the future, I refuse to become a pirate!"
"I refuse your refusal," Luffy declared with a smile that made Zoro want to let the boy set him free just so he could hit him. "You're going to join me!"
"Don't decide those sort of things for yourself!" Zoro yelled at Luffy, wanting his swords back badly so that he could cut the crap out of the dense idiot.
Yoruichi sighed and stepped forward seeing as this was going nowhere and spoke, "I heard you use katana, is that right?"
"Hm? Yeah, if I wasn't tied up, I could use a katana," Zoro answered as he turned to look at the annoyance's companion.
"Where are your swords then?" She asked as she looked at his blade-less form, remembering Coby mentioning something about the green demon using swords in his exaggerations back on the boat.
"That Helmeppo brat took them when he imprisoned me," Zoro snarled, clearly going to rip the spoiled brat a new one if he damaged his precious blades in the slightest. "They are the things I treasure the most in my life."
"Treasure, huh? It must be something great," Luffy said with a wide smile while he thought of the hat given to him by Shanks.
"Okay, I'll find Helmeppo and bring you your katanas back," Yoruichi told Zoro with a smile.
"What!" Zoro exclaimed in a surprised tone as his eyes snapped up to the dark skinned girl who was now standing side by side with her brother.
"But if you want Yoruichi-nee to return it, you will join my crew," Luffy said as he finally used the air between his ears for something other than thinking about meat… and there it goes again…
"That's fuckin' dirty!" Zoro snarled at the Monkey heirs making Yoruichi smirk in his direction before she made a dash towards the fence separating the yard from the main base building.
"Oi, wait!" Zoro called out after the purplette while Luffy took a seat in the dirt and Coby and Zoro watched with slight awe at the cat-like ease and flexibility the woman used to clear the tall fence.
"Is she planning on sneaking into the base?!" The swordsman Luffy had his eyes on demanded of the younger Monkey. "What does that fool think she's doing?"
"Don't underestimate Yoruichi-nee," Luffy said with a wide smile. "She can track down anything when she wants to, nothing is capable of escaping her nose; especially if its fish."
'That's strange,' Yoruichi thought as she looked about the base, having not found a single marine in the past four minutes, while simultaneously feeling the urge to kick Luffy. 'I haven't seen a marine yet.'
Her ears then picked up sound coming from the roof and she began wondering if they were all gathered up there. "Might as well check it out."
Lightning surrounded her feet and wrists before she moved onto all fours like a cat and she began running up the wall in a cat-like fashion. Unfortunately, the woman found herself flying past the roof upon leaping off the section of wall only ten feet below the edge. "Crap."
Reaching out for anything to stop her assent into the sky and quite possibly missing the roof entirely, the dark skinned woman grabbed onto the ropes that the Marines on the roof were using to pull up a statue of a man with an axe for a hand.
She gave a sigh in relief as the ropes stopped her movement, but the Marines panicked at the sight of the woman and had let the ropes go, causing the statue to fall back towards the floor of the tower top. Yoruichi immediately landed on all fours when she let go of the rope and the statue's head broke off as it struck the ground and fell down to the ground several stories below. "Oops. Sorry about that," Yoruichi said after they all watched its descent to dirt covered ground.
"Capture that bitch!" A man Yoruichi guessed to be Lieutenant Morgan from the axe replacing his hand shouted as he glared bloody murder at her for the destruction of his new statue after a few minutes of shocked silence. "I'm gonna kill her!"
"Y-yes sir!" The Marine soldiers shouted as they moved to obey the large man.
"How rude! I'm a pussy, not a bitch," Yoruichi said as she struck a cute pout pose making several of the marines coming at her to fall back with nosebleeds.
"Father, she's one of the people that punched me! She threatened to kill me!" Helmeppo exclaimed as he pointed at the woman, allowing Yoruichi to notice that he was there.
Yoruichi raised as she looked at the young blond, "I never threatened you, that was Luffy-chan." She said before she rushed at Helmeppo and began dragging him to the doors. "But that's not why I'm here; I need to borrow you for a moment."
"Hey wait!" Helmeppo cried as he was dragged away before the eyes of his enraged father and dumbfounded 'subjects'. "Somebody help!"
Back in the yard
"Just exactly who are you people?" Zoro asked as he stared down at Luffy, who was still sitting on the ground in front of him while Coby kept looking around nervously as if expecting several marines to just come out and shoot them.
"I'm the man that's going to become the King of Pirates," Luffy answered with a big smile on his face.
"Pirate King?" Zoro asked with a chuckle as he stared down at the thin frame of his to-be rescuer. "You've got to be joking!"
"I'm serious," Luffy informed the disbelieving pirate hunter just before bullets were fired at the three of them. Zoro turned his head to glare up at the top of the Marine base, where the soldiers where shooting at them.
Back in the Main Base
"There she is!" A marine shouted from where they were at the end of the hall. "Over there! Stop where you are!"
"Where are Zoro's swords? If you don't tell me, I'll electrocute you," Yoruichi said as she ignored the marines and lifted her free hand to hover in front of Helmeppo's face and it became covered in electricity, making terror rage through the body of the Lieutenant's son.
"I'll tell! I'll tell!" Helmeppo screeched in fear as his eyes dilated at the imminent danger. "Just stop dragging me!"
"Now then, spill," Yoruichi said as she came to a stop and dropped Helmeppo onto his stomach before placing a foot on his back.
"T-they're inside my room. W-w-we a-already ran past it," Helmeppo stuttered as he stared up at the purplette in fear. The older Monkey sibling grit her teeth in annoyance and a vein popped in her forehead before her foot found its way into the blond's stomach. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"AHHH!" Helmeppo cried as he grasped his stomach. "That hurts! Don't hit me! I'll tell-"
"It was supposed to hurt!" Yoruichi snapped as electricity sparked off her body, giving her already angry appearance a terrifying look, making the son of Morgan 'eep' in terror. "I'll kick you another few times if I have to."
Helmeppo seemed on the verge of passing out from fear when they both turned their heads to see several Marines running towards them with their weapons at the ready.
"Don't move! Raise your hands above your head lady, or we'll shoot!"
Yoruichi simply blinked in their direction before lifting Helmeppo up by the back of his shirt and placed him in front of her body, using him as a shield as a mischievous smirk covered her face. "Go ahead and shoot!"
"What! How dare you! You're using Helmeppo-sama as your shield!" The leader of the soldiers exclaimed, Yoruichi recognizing him as one of the members of Helmeppo's little pose.
Tossing the spoiled brat at them and catching them off guard when he collided with two of them, Yoruichi leapt up and slammed her foot into one of the gunmen's face before leaping off and kicking their leader across the face.
As she landed, she grabbed Helmeppo and began dragging him to where he said his room was.
"Crap! Oh crap!" Coby cried out as he grasped his bloodied shoulder, the shots fired earlier had grazed his shoulder while the rest bounced off of Luffy and ricocheted into the wooden posts a few feet away. "I've been shot! I'm bleeding! I'm going to die!"
"Are you guys alright?" Zoro asked as he looked from the melodramatic boy to the rubber man.
"I'm perfectly fine," Luffy said as he stared over at the marine's base.
"You two should run for your lives," the green haired man said as he watched the marines. "They're almost here."
"I've got to wait for nee-chan to get back here to give you your swords back," Luffy said with a stubborn tone before crossing his hands over his chest while Coby was panicking and trying to remove Zoro's bindings despite his injured shoulder.
"Crap that's right! I've got to set you free as soon as possible!" The pinkette declared as he suddenly got over his pain and began trying to unbind the swordsman.
"There's no need to worry about me," Zoro said with a raised eyebrow. "As long as I can stand this for a month, they'll set me free! So hurry up and lea-"
"Sorry, no can do," Luffy said as he finally took an interest in the man's words. "Helmeppo said that they're gonna kill you in three days."
"Bull shit!" The pirate hunter snapped as he stared at the rubber boy. "That baka promised me that if I survived this for a month, he'd free me."
"You'd better believe it, Zoro-san. Helmeppo told the entire village that'll he'll be executing you in three days," Coby said.
"That's why Luffy-san and Yoruichi-san punched him on your behalf! Because he was playing around with you," Coby continued as he stopped for a moment to place a hand on his shoulder. "He never planned on keeping his word."
"That fucking son of a bitch," Zoro snarled as his eyes gained a dark look.
"The Marines won't allow the three of you off, especially after what's happening now!" Coby exclaimed before adding, "Please! After I set you free, please help rescue Yoruichi-san with Luffy-san!"
"I will not force you to become a pirate like Luffy-san wants; however, the two of them are my saviors! Both Yoruichi-san and Luffy-san are very strong!" Coby stopped to take a deep breath during his explanation and stared into the pirate hunter's eyes. "As long as you three join forces, you should be able to escape this town!"
"Hmm, Yoruichi-nee is probably stronger than me," Luffy said just as the marines arrived in the yard to stand before the three of them. "Even if it were a fist fight, Yoruichi is the better fighter; she took Ace-nii down when they first met!"
"That is enough!" A very tall and muscular, intimidating man with blonde hair and a steel jaw bellowed from behind his men. He was wearing a large, billowing coat like a cape and he was smoking a cigar, but what really drew their attention was the large axe that replaced his missing arm. "The three of you and whoever that woman was have tried to usurp my authority for long enough, all of you will die here!"
With that, the Marines pointed their weapons at Zoro, Luffy and Coby.
Yoruichi sighed as she dropped Helmeppo on the floor; she didn't need him anymore since she could tell that this pink monstrosity was his room.
Helmeppo didn't do anything once he was let go besides faint while saying, "Monster."
Yoruichi smiled as she spotted three katana style blades she was looking for hanging on the wall just below the blond's window and she grabbed them before her yellow eyes caught sight of the marines confronting Luffy and the others outside. "I guess I should hurry. I don't want Otouto to have all the fun."
"Surround the base immediately!" Lieutenant Morgan's right hand man roared from where he stood near the Marines that were aiming their weapons at the tied up Zoro and his comrades. "Don't let that purple haired bitch escape our leader's justice!"
"How interesting," Morgan said as he stared at the three boys before him with a not so happy look on his face, most likely stemming from the fact that his expensive statue that he had been waiting on for several months that had cost him a fortune had just been destroyed. "This is Roronoa Zoro, the swordsman my baka of a son imprisoned, you fools shouldn't underestimate me. Before my great strength, you're all trash!"
With a sneer on his metal covered face, the man turned his gaze to his men and barked, "Take aim!"
Immediately the firing squad readied their weapons to fire on the three at their leader's word and Luffy tensed in preparation to send back whatever bullets were fired at him. Zoro's eyes widened at the sight and his mind immediately began thinking of his promise that he had made with Kuina, cursing himself for being weak since it seemed that he would be dying instead of becoming the best swordsman in the world like he promised.
Yoruichi, who was watching the events unfold, jumped out of the window of Helmeppo's room with electricity covering her feet to enhance her power as soon as the axe-handed man ordered his men to shoot her brother and the others of their small group.
Luffy immediately inflated his body as he stood in front of the firing squad and took all of the bullets and smirked.
"That was really close. That was a perfect time to come back, Yoru-nee," Luffy said with a smirk confusing everyone as the bullets stopped trying to drill through his body.
"What-?" Zoro asked before his attention was drawn from the slow in the head boy as he saw the boy's sister appear between them and the Marines and he watched as she sent two quick jabs that knocked the front two soldiers back into their fellows.
"Yoruichi-san!" Coby shouted in shock, his face becoming startled when she appeared beside him with a smirk on her face, the pinkette noticing that neither Zoro nor Luffy were fazed by her speed.
"Go ahead and shoot 'em with their own bullets, Luffy," Yoruichi said as she turned her golden gaze to her younger brother.
"That straw hat boy and dark skinned girl…" Morgan angrily began before he trailed off as he finally noticed the elongated pieces of flesh that had shown up where the bullets had gone into the boy's body. "It's no use trying to shoot me!" Luffy shouted with a large smile and he proceeded to launch the bullets back out of his body at the still standing marines.
The Marines quickly began panicking with the exception of Morgan and Luffy gave a long laugh at their scurrying around. "That was a nice shot Otouto," Yoruichi whistled. "Better than that time you tried to shoot gramps with Sabo-chan's slingshot."
"What the hell kind of humans are you people?" Zoro asked while Luffy ignored her slight against his younger self as the pirate hunter stared at the Monkey duo in astonishment.
"I am the man who will become the Pirate King!" Luffy declared as he pressed his thumb into his chest with a face splitting grin before his sister chuckled and looked at the swordsman. "And I'm the one who'll help him achieve his dream and become a Yonko," she then looked at her back as she remembered something. "Here are your swords by the way."
Zoro gave a smile at seeing the three blades he had carried since his friend's death and the promise he had made upon them. "You do know that resisting the Navy here with us will make you an outlaw. Or maybe you actually want to die?" Luffy said as he watched the swordsman be reunited with his blades.
"Are you two the offspring of the devil?" Zoro asked as he raised an eyebrow at the rubber man. "Forget it, rather than to die here, why don't I just accept your request and join your crew!"
"Yes!" Luffy exclaimed with a loud cheer before pointing at Yoruichi. "In your face sis! I got the first crew member! You'd better pay up!"
"When did we make a bet on that Otouto?" Yoruichi asked in confusion as she looked at her little brother. "I already told you that I won't be leaving you on your own until you have enough people on your crew to survive on your own."
"Could you two stop bickering and perhaps, hurry up and get these ropes off of me!" Zoro snapped as soon as he saw Luffy about to retaliate.
"How did he manage to repel those bullets," a Marine shouted, catching the attention of the three pirates and marine wannabe even as Luffy went to remove the green haired man's bindings.
"That girl also generated lightning and jumped all the way from the base to here," Morgan said as he sent a scrutinizing gaze at the small group opposing his authority. "They must have eaten a couple Devil Fruits."
The large man then looked over to the side when his second in command called out, "Lieutenant, that guy's gonna take off Zoro's ropes!"
"Don't let him take them off then!" The man growled then as he readied himself to cleave through them with his axe.
"If guns won't work on him, then we'll use swords to kill them," the squad of Marines yelled out just before they began charging at the small group.
"All who oppose me must perish!" Morgan roared as he stayed behind when his men rushed forward.
Zoro sighed and cracked his neck when Luffy finally removed the last of the ropes before he took hold of his blades and defended Luffy from an incoming sword attack.
"Oh! That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed as he watched his new crew member toss back three marines with a single strike.
"You all had better not move. If you do, I'll kill you!" Zoro snarled as he looked back at the man he had just joined. "I already told you I'd be a pirate with you. Either way, after this incident with the Marines, I'll be an outlaw too. But it's okay, I still have my own goals," Zoro then straightened up and sent a glare at the man that had caused this entire mess. "I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman. I no longer care if my name is clean or not. Bad guy, good guy, none of it matters! As long as my name is known worldwide! If you do something that ends up in the way of my goal, I will have you cut your stomach open to say sorry!"
"That's good to know!" Luffy declared with a wide grin. "To become the world's number one swordsman! Since you wanna be the Pirate King's crew member, if you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be very embarrassed as well!"
"Heh, well said," Zoro said with a smirk.
"What are you fools doing standing there for?" Morgan shouted, reminding his men and the intruders that he still existed. "Hurry up and finish those four mongrels off!"
"I suggest you all duck," Yoruichi informed her sibling and Zoro, just before she leapt over the two with electricity covering her legs once more and she spun in the air above them before launching off a blast of lightning from her leg, sending it flying at the enemy.
All the three males of her group could do was whistle in approval when it struck, electrocuting the enemy marines and knocking many of them out.
"You could've electrocuted me!" Zoro snapped with a glare towards the dark skinned woman. "What the hell are you guys anyway?"
"I'm a rubber man," Luffy exclaimed as he used his hands to outstretch his cheeks.
"I'm a thunder cat woman," Yoruichi said as she covered her hands with lightning.
"Lieutenant Morgan, sir! We can't kill those three!" A Marine exclaimed as he came back to stand before his leader. "They're too strong!"
"This is an order," Morgan began with a low growl. "Whoever just said that, take a gun and kill yourself!"
The marines immediately backed up in terror as they took stock of their leader's words. "I have no need for useless soldiers! Kill yourself NOW!"
Just as the Marines began to follow his orders, Luffy leapt forward in a run towards them.
"If that's how the marines are, then I'm their worst enemy!" Luffy declared when he appeared in front of the large Lieutenant, "If you don't have the guts to fight me yourself, then you have no right to order them around!"
With that said, Luffy threw a powerful punch at the Lieutenant which ended up being blocked by his large axe hand.
"Aren't you going to help him?" Zoro asked the boy's sister as he placed his blades back into their sheathes.
"Nope," She said making the expectant Coby face plant. "The only thing the Lieutenant's done to me is order my capture. Plus, I destroyed that statue of him on the roof. Otouto will be enough to defeat him."
"People like you, without any status, have no right to oppose me!" Morgan roared at Luffy as he swung his axe hand at the young boy. "I am Marine Lieutenant 'Axe-Hand' Morgan!"
"I'm Luffy D. Monkey, the man that will become the Pirate King. Nice to meet you!" Luffy said with a casual smile, managing to piss the man off.
"Go to hell!"
"What the-? The fence broke in half!" Coby shouted when Morgan slashed at the rubber man and failed to hit him, resulting in the destruction of the Bases' fence.
"Such a waste of energy," Zoro said with a raised brow.
Luffy took the opportunity given by the Lieutenant recovering from an overextended strike to kick the man in the face. "You little bastard!" Morgan roared as he felt his metal jaw dent from the kick's force and he swung at the charging Luffy.
"Go to hell you bastard," Morgan roared again and his strike missed Luffy completely.
"Sorry but I can't die yet."
A kick to the face pushed the Marine back a few feet.
"He's t-too strong," Coby stuttered at the sight of the rubber boy beating the Lieutenant.
"Some great Marine you are," Luffy said in an annoyed tone as he grabbed Morgan by his jacket and continued, about to plant a fist in his face. "You destroyed Coby's dreams and goal."
"H-hey wait baka!" Someone shouted, however they were ignored as Luffy planted his cocked back fist in the Lieutenant's face.
"Hey! I told you to wait!" Helmeppo shouted in a tone that showed his spoiled nature from where he stood with a gun stretched out and pointed at Coby's head. "If you want this guy to keep living, then don't move! If anyone moves, I'll shoot!"
"Helmeppo-sama!" Several Marines shouted at the sight of their leader's son.
"Luffy, Yoruichi, Zoro; I-I don't wanna be in you guy's way," Coby declared from his spot. "I'm not afraid of death!"
"Hey stupid son, did you hear!? Coby's not afraid of death!" Luffy shouted as he reared back his fist again.
"Hey! You baka! I told you not to move or I'm gonna shoot!" Helmeppo warned again.
"Then go ahead and shoot!" Coby snapped as he sent a dark glare at the spoiled brat holding him hostage before he caught sight of something in his peripheral and saw Morgan getting ready to slash his savior. "Luffy, behind you!"
"Yoruichi!" Luffy yelled getting a nod from his sister.
"Lightning claw!" Yoruichi shouted as she leapt forward with lightning sparking around her fingers making them look like claws.
"I am the great Marine Lieutenant!" Morgan exclaimed as he prepared to cut Luffy down.
Zoro also drew his swords and ran forward to defend his new captain from the tyrannical Lieutenant while Coby took initiative and slammed his head back into Helmeppo's nose, breaking it and making the girly boy fall back in pain.
"Nice!" Luffy exclaimed as just when Helmeppo fell, Yoruichi and Zoro appeared behind Morgan, leaving multiple cuts over his body from Zoro's blades and the man being electrocuted from the electricity sparking from five puncture marks on his shoulder.
"Leave it to me, Captain," the pirate hunter said as he stood back up and stared back at his handy work.
"That was a piece of cake," Yoruichi said in agreement as she enjoyed the man screaming from her lightning.
Just then, the three pirates and Coby found themselves surrounded by the left over soldiers in the base and they found their only escape blocked. "Crap," Coby said. "What are we going to do?"
Yoruichi and the others then found themselves startled as every single one of the Marines bowed towards them. "Thank you very much!"
"Wha-?"
And finished. How did you guys like that chapter? I wanted to get most of the Zoro arc finished in this one, but I decided to hold off on the ending because I was getting tired of typing. In the next chapter, we will have the rest of the fight on the Base and ending of the Zoro arc, along with beginning of Nami's arc.
That is all for now, have fun and review. Iskander Mandoraekon signing off. Ja Ne.