Chapter 2: Pirate Hunter Zoro
"What great weather!" Luffy exclaimed cheerfully from where he sat on the bow of their small boat. Seagulls flew overhead, the sun was shining, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Compared to the turbulent weather of both Paradise and the New World, this was amazing.
"If we keep going this way, we should see the navy base island soon!" Coby told Luffy, sitting against the railing behind the teen. Even though Luffy was already wanted and the marines were his enemy for more reasons then just him being a pirate, he didn't feel any worry about going to an island with a base on it. If anything, he was excited at the prospect that they would reach a new island soon.
"Wow, Coby! You're amazing! We're actually going to reach our destination?" Luffy asked, honestly having thought they would drift and maybe reach the island they were intending to land on. He wasn't a navigator like the ones on the Moby, and he hadn't expected Coby to be either.
"Of course! These are the bare minimum skills all sailors need!" Coby said as if it were obvious. Maybe it was, but Luffy didn't know that, so instead he laughed, arms stretched out wide beside him.
"This is no time to be laughing Luffy-san," Coby said quietly, more to himself as he noticed Luffy was too busy laughing to notice his words. Coby was about to tell Luffy more about Zoro seeing as the pirate hunter was being held on the island they were headed to, but as he turned his head to address his companion, he saw something dark on the teen wrist. He hadn't noticed before in the chaos that had been Alvida's ship, but now that things had calmed down, Coby could clearly see a tattoo on Luffys wrist.
"What's that?" Coby asked because even though he could see it was something done in black ink, he couldn't make out what it was. Luffy's laughing stopped as he looked over his shoulder at Coby in confusion.
"What's what?" Luffy asked, looking around their ship for whatever Coby was seeing, but finding nothing. Did Coby have super sight like Ace did? Was that what the boy's glasses were for?!
He didn't get to ask the question though as Coby answered him, pointing to his hand.
"The tattoo on your wrist. I didn't notice it before, what is it?" Coby asked, and even though it was an innocent question, Luffy frowned, looking to his wrist and staring at the numbers.
"A tattoo," Luffy responded plainly, and Coby noticed that Luffy didn't seem to be happy about this turn in conversation. Was it a botched tattoo? Was that why Luffy was acting so weird about it all of a sudden?
"What's it of?" Coby asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Luffy looked from his wrist now to Coby, examining the blue of the boy's aura, the innocence and pure curiosity in him. There was no darkness, no malice, no ill will, just simple, plain, curiosity.
After another second of wondering how he was going to respond, Luffy turned his wrist, giving Coby a better look at it.
"Numbers," Luffy told him, voice still flat as he did. The pink-haired boy stepped forward in confusion, wanting to get a better look.
"Numbers?" Coby asked in confusion, taking in the bold 11097 on the inside of Luffy's wrist, and there was something familiar about them, something telling Coby that he should be wary of someone with these numbers, and then he realized.
"W-wait-! 11097?! A-As in, the Whitebeard pirate, demon trio, 11097?! The 11097?!" Coby shrieked, back peddling away from Luffy at the realization that this was 11097, the monster that he'd seen plastered in the newspaper time and time again alongside his brothers. He should have known, because even though he was better known as 11097, his name- Monkey D. Luffy- was also on his wanted poster.
Almost everyone in the world knew about the famous numbered trio. The brothers that had escaped from a mental hospital, taking with them everyone else that had been in the hospital with them. It was said that children with numbers on their wrists were dangerous, and if found you were to stay away and contact the marines at once.
There had been sweeps on islands after that; Marines coming and checking anyone they deemed young enough for numbers on their wrists. Coby himself had been checked years ago, but with no number, the marines had left him alone.
Knowing now that Luffy was one of those children, one of the ones to fight his way out of the hospital despite the guards, Coby didn't know how he felt. On one hand, he had begun to think of Luffy as a friend, especially when the boy hadn't laughed at his dream to become a marine, but now he was wondering if that had been because Luffy really was crazy or something. After all, he had been in a mental hospital for a reason, right?
"Yeah, that's me," Luffy said bluntly, waiting to see what Coby would say about it. He could feel the turmoil in him, and Luffy was beginning to think that he was going to have to call it a loss with Coby. He didn't hate the boy for the way he was feeling, he'd seen Ace and Sabo angry at the news about them many times before, and he knew that Coby had no idea about the facility, but that didn't mean it wasn't disheartening to see someone he'd thought of as a friend suddenly become afraid of him all because of some meaningless numbers on his wrist.
Damn those Marines, and double damn those doctors at the facility.
"Y-You've got a bounty of 350,000,000 berri!" Coby continued as if Luffy didn't know his own bounty. It had slowly been rising again along with Ace and Sabo's. The eldest was now at 500,000,000 berri and Sabo was at 450,000,000 himself.
"Right," Luffy answered instead, still waiting for Coby's decision on whether him being 11097 was going to change things or not.
The pink-haired boy gaped at him for a minute, mouth opening, closing, opening, as if trying to find words, and then he collapsed to the ground.
"That's it then? You didn't laugh at my dream to become a marine because you have a mental problem?" Coby asked quietly as if it was meant for just himself to hear, yet Luffy heard it too. The straw-hatted teen was confused by the words, not expecting them at all as he felt Coby's sudden dismay.
"Mental issue?" Luffy asked, getting off the bow now and walking over to Coby, crouching down in front of him.
"Y-yeah, it was all over the news. You and your brothers escaped a mental hospital, right?" Coby asked, wondering if Luffy even knew he had a problem.
"Oh, that's what they said?" Luffy asked, having forgotten about that. It seemed like so long ago that he and his brothers were reading the news about their escape, and he'd forgotten about the details of the marines cover story for the facility.
"U-uh, yeah?" Coby said, now unsure of himself. Luffy rocked back on his heels, sitting on the ground now as well.
"No, it wasn't a mental hospital we escaped from," Luffy told him with another frown, looking at his number.
"It wasn't? But the marines-"
"They lied," Luffy said darkly, glaring at the numbers now, annoyed with Coby's blind devotion towards the marines.
He took a deep breath, reminding himself that there was no way Coby could know about all the going-ons of the corrupt side of the Marines, so there was no need to get mad at him for it. He could already feel the spike of fear coming from him due to his sudden anger.
"The Marines lied. About it being a mental hospital." Luffy said again in a calmer voice. He looked to Coby now, glare gone and replaced with a small frown instead.
"B-but why? W-why would the marines lie?" Coby asked in confusion, his fear slowly giving out to his curiosity as he sat up straighter, looking to Luffy's number again.
"Because they wanted to hide something, why else?" Luffy asked as if it were obvious.
"Hide something? Like what?" Coby asked, only getting more questions with every answer.
"A facility." The words Luffy spoke were said with such venom it surprised Coby. He hadn't heard Luffy speak like this in the short time he'd known him. Luffy had been carefree, reckless, and relatively smiley this entire time, so for him to suddenly speak with so much anger, so much hurt, it shocked Coby more than when the teen had exclaimed his dream to become Pirate King.
"A facility?" Coby asked. Luffy was quiet now, and Coby was beginning to wonder if he was going to get an answer, but eventually, he did.
"A facility. It's a bad place, Coby. It's run by the government, no matter how much the marines try and convince everyone its not. My brothers and I were taken there when we were little and held there for seven years until we were finally able to get out." Luffy said, eyes growing distant at the memories of the place, and as much as Coby didn't understand why the marines would run such a horrible place, or even how this place was so horrible in the first place, the look in Luffy's eyes told him that he wasn't trying to lie or deceive him.
He'd been called naive before- too trusting- but right here and now, he believed Luffy when he told him this 'facility' was a bad place, one that he didn't think he wanted to see anytime soon.
"The marines weren't happy that we escaped, so they lied and told everyone we were bad people so everyone would be scared of us. We got bounties, and the Whitebeards kept us safe from the Marines and the doctors. The Whitebeards saved us, and eventually, we joined them. Became their family." Luffy told Coby, pulling his red vest open enough to show the tattoo on his chest that proudly bore the Whitebeards insignia.
"But I still wanted to become the King of the Pirates, and Pops said I was allowed to leave whenever I wanted. I stayed with them until a few months before my seventeenth birthday, and they brought me back to my home island here in the East Blue where I set sail on my birthday. Even though the marines want me back, I'm going to become the King of the Pirates, no matter what. I'm gonna be the freest man there is!" Luffy exclaimed confidently as if there was no doubt in his mind that his words were true.
Coby stared at Luffy in awe, his previous fear melting away as he remembered why he liked Luffy so much. The teen's conviction in everything he said and did, his confidence, was inspiring, and mental health problem or no, Coby believed Luffy's words, even if it was hard for him to grasp that this meant the marines weren't as good as he'd always believed them to be.
The two sat in silence for a minute more, but finally, Coby nodded, determination on his face.
"I believe you. I don't really understand it all, and I still want to become a marine, but I believe you Luffy-san." Coby said. Luffy could feel the truth in the boy's words and smiled now, happy he hadn't lost his friend.
"Shishishi, I like you, Coby, even if you are a crybaby weakling!" Luffy laughed, holding his hat to his head as he stood and returned to sit on the bow.
"You'll be a good marine," Luffy said softly as he climbed onto the bow and sat down, watching the ocean again with a fond look. Coby felt as if there was more meaning to Luffy's words then he was grasping, but seeing as he couldn't figure it out, he brushed them off, instead walking closer to Luffy.
"Tell me about this Zolo guy," Luffy said after a brief pause. Coby blinked, not expecting those to be Luffy's next words- not after the big revelation that, not only was Luffy 11097 but that the Marines apparently ran a 'facility', whatever that meant.
"O-oh, uh, well, its Zoro, not Zolo." Coby started with a slight stutter, watching Luffy's back.
"Zoro, right," Luffy said with a nod, trying to remember the name. If Sabo heard he was giving people nicknames again he'd hunt him down just to lecture him about it.
"He's being held prisoner on the island, and he's a famous Pirate Hunter here in the East Blue. The man who's chopped up bounties like a bloodthirsty beast. People say he's a demon in human form!" Coby said, sweating nervously at the thought of who they were going to see. Of course, it was a bit silly now to be scared of the East Blue pirate hunter now that he knew he was sailing with a notorious ex-Whitebeard pirate.
At Coby's words, Luffy smiled, laughing to himself.
"A demon, huh? Maybe he's strong after all."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"We made it! The Navy Base city!" Luffy exclaimed as he jumped off the boat, Coby guiding it safely into port behind him.
Even though he was a well-known pirate, Luffy felt no qualms walking through the city. Besides, Alvida hadn't recognized him, and it took Coby seeing his wrist to realize who he was as well. Maybe no one here would notice either.
Coby and Luffy began walking through the town together, Luffy with a grin of excitement and Coby with a look of nervousness.
"Seriously, Luffy-san, you're crazy to want him to join you!" Coby said, trying to reason with the pirate.
"I haven't decided yet, I just wanna see if he's a good guy," Luffy told Coby truthfully, knowing that if this Zoro guy wasn't good, then he wouldn't want anything to do with him.
"He's been caught because he's a bad guy!" Coby yelled, stopping in the middle of the street while Luffy continued forward, stopping at a fruit stand. Picking up a pear, he took a bite, tossing a coin to the woman running the stand.
"Do you know if Zoro's being held at the base?" He asked her but was immediately met with everyone nearby jumping away in shock.
"It seems like the name Zoro is taboo here..." Coby whispered to Luffy. The pirate examined the staring townspeople, fear radiating off of them.
"Let's check out the base anyways." Luffy decided, frowning a bit as he continued eyeing the scared townspeople.
"You're gonna be a marine, right?" Luffy asked as they began walking towards the base again, Coby following a bit more unsure of himself now.
"Y-yes... but I'm not really ready yet... Rumor has it, a guy named Captain Morgan is at this base, and-" Like with Zoro's name the townspeople who had gradually begun getting back to work, all jumped away again in shock. Their fear doubled which made Luffy's frown deepen because even if he didn't like Marines, he knew that civilians usually liked them. So why were these ones so scared of this Captain guy more so then Zoro?
"Strange... I understand Zoro, but why are they afraid of a navy Captain's name?" Coby asked as they began walking down the street once more, hurrying to walk beside Luffy. The older teen looked to Coby out of the corner of his eye, still frowning, and shrugged.
"Maybe he's a bad guy," Luffy said simply as if it were obvious, and to him, it was.
"A bad guy? But he's a marine!" Coby said incredulously, suddenly remembering that Luffy himself was a pirate and technically a bad guy.
"Doesn't matter if you're marine, pirate, civilian or merchant. People are good or bad depending on their actions. Marines can be bad and pirates can be good." Luffy said as if he'd rehearsed the words to himself before. Coby stared at Luffy for a minute, not responding.
The two continued walking without talking, and eventually, they reached a large iron gate, the words Marine written across it in big Kanji.
"Alright! That's the place!" Luffy said, hands on his hips as he looked at the gate.
"I'm finally here!" Coby said with tears in his eyes.
"I guess this is where we part ways, Luffy-san! It was only for a short time, but-" Coby, who had been crying into his arm, noticed that Luffy was no longer at his side at the gate, but rather instead, he was scaling the large wall, feet kicking as he tried getting good footing.
"Luffy-san! What in the world are you doing?!" Coby shrieked, arms waving as he panicked.
"Now wheres this demon?" Luffy asked, hand shielding his eyes as he scanned the courtyard in front of him.
"He wouldn't be out here. I'm sure he's in a prison cell or something..." Coby sweat dropped, standing at the base of the wall as he waited for Luffy to finish investigating.
"There he is! Alright!" Luffy called, dropping down from the wall and running off towards where he'd seen the man. He had felt the emotions first, the hunger, some pain, frustration, annoyance, but most of all, determination, conviction. With such strong emotions, it was easy for Luffy to pinpoint where the man was at, and once he had, he wanted to get a closer look.
"See! There he is!" Luffy said, now atop another wall and watching the green-haired man, tied to a post. Coby climbed up beside him, his skepticism clear to Luffy as he did.
"Yeah, right! He wouldn't be out-" Coby stopped talking, eyes widening as he saw that Luffy had been right. Roronoa Zoro was sitting within plain view of them. He was on the other side of the courtyard, but it was no doubt the pirate hunter he'd heard about, the black bandana and hamaraki confirmed it.
Luffy stared at the man with a frown, pulling up the man's aura and seeing that it was a bright, clear blue just like Coby's. There wasn't even a speck of grey in it which made Luffy smile in relief.
"He can get away easy if we untie those ropes!" Luffy told Coby, pointing to the man in question.
"D-don't be stupid! There's no telling what'll happen if we let him loose! I bet he'd try to kill you too Luffy-san, you are a pirate after all!" Coby shouted at the pirate, fear gone for a brief second as he did.
"Don't worry, I'm strong!" Luffy replied without any worry. He was confident that he could take the man. He'd fought many more men then just him before, and while Luffy was sure that this man was no stranger to fights, he didn't think he would stand a chance against anyone from the Moby.
"Hey, you guys." Zoro suddenly spoke up, causing Coby to stiffen in shock at the fact that they'd drawn his attention. Luffy looked towards the man as well, curious as to what he was going to say. He was still unsure whether or not he wanted Zoro to join him, so based on what the man said and did, he would decide.
"You're an eyesore. Get lost!" He said, looking over to them at the end. Coby began to freak out, clearly scared by the words, while Luffy continued examining him. He could feel a pique in the man's annoyance, but there was something else there like he had another reason for saying his words other than being annoyed with them.
"Luffy-san, there's no way you could survive with him on your crew! You're a pirate, he's a pirate hunter! If you took him-" Coby stopped trying to convince Luffy when they noticed that there was a ladder being placed beside them, a little girl climbing up it and shushing them. She peeked around the courtyard, and once she found the coast was clear she hung a rope down, using it to climb down the other side of the wall. Once safely on the ground, she began running toward Zoro, which only made Coby start freaking out again.
"Oh no! Luffy-san, stop her! She'll be killed!" Coby asked his friend, hoping he would see the danger that the child was in. It was useless though because the girl was already reaching Zoro, hugging something to her chest and smiling while Zoro frowned at her.
"What?" He asked in a growl making Coby squeak in fear for not only the girl but them as well. He wouldn't put it past the man to kill them with just a look.
"You must be hungry! I made you some rice balls!" The girl said, unwrapping what she was holding as she spoke. Luffy realized that some of the pain Zoro was feeling must be hunger, which only made his stomach growl in response. He'd gone hungry before, and he knew how much it not only hurt but how much it weakened a person.
"Do you wanna get killed, pipsqueak? Scram!" Zoro said to the kid, but again, Luffy didn't feel that Zoro was being malicious with his words. There was another reason behind them, an urgency that wasn't being conveyed through his tone, but the way he was feeling.
"You haven't eaten anything this whole time. Here! This is my first time, but I worked really hard to make them!" The girl said, presenting the rice balls to Zoro. Luffy saw the shift in the man's features as if tempted or touched, he wasn't sure, and then he was scowling again.
"I ain't hungry! You're an eyesore! Get the hell outta here!" Zoro growled out. Luffy could feel the lies rolling off the man with each word he spoke, making him frown. He could feel that Zoro had a reason for saying these things, but he couldn't figure out what it was just yet.
"But..."
"I don't want 'em! Don't make me kick your ass!" Again, Luffy could feel that Zoro wouldn't follow through with those words, that he was once again lying, but why?
The feeling of new emotions nearing drew Luffy's attention to the gates off to the side of the courtyard, three men walking through them.
"It's not nice to be a bully!" A new voice said almost mockingly, Luffy watching as two marines and a man in a suit walked in. His frown deepened as he felt Zoro's emotions dive into worry that was directed toward the kid, and the teen was beginning to piece together all of Zoro's previous words and lies. A quick check told Luffy that while the marines at the blondes side both had clear blue auras, the blonde man himself had a much darker blue tinged with hints of grey around its edges. The sight put Luffy on edge, but he forced himself to take deep breaths, turning his attention to what was now being said.
"You seem surprisingly well, Roronoa Zoro." The blonde in the suit said. Beside him, Luffy could feel Coby's relief, contradicting Zoro's worry, and it made Luffy want to find happier emotions.
"Thank goodness! He must be with the navy! Now that girl will be safe!" Coby said, relieved. Luffy said nothing to that, only looking at Coby at the corner of his eye before turning back to watch the scene in front of him.
"Oh! Those are some tasty-looking rice balls." The blonde said, snatching up one of the balls before the kid could react.
"Stop!" The blonde's eyes widened as he took a bite and a look of disgust washed over his face before he immediately began spitting the food out, coughing as he did.
"Too damn sweet! They're full of sugar! You're supposed to use salt, not sugar!" He shouted to the girl, fist raised as he did. Luffy couldn't feel that the man had any intent to actually hurt the kid himself though, so he didn't move, but his frown did deepen.
"But I thought they might taste better sweet..." The girl said to him, still holding the remaining rice ball in her hand. The blonde quickly kicked it down though, stomping on it as he shouted some more.
"Take this! And this!"
"Stop! Stop!" The girl fell to her knees as she watched the rice balls get smashed into the dirt. Zoro didn't even look up as this happened, though he was frowning and Luffy could feel an anger rising in him.
"H-how horrible!" Coby whispered from where he watched, wondering how a marine could do such a thing.
Finally, the blonde stopped stomping, leaving the dirt-covered rice on the ground while the girl looked on in tears.
"And I worked so hard to make those..." She sniffled.
"Did you not read the notice? 'Those who help criminals will be executed! Navy Captain Morgan'." The blonde recited, pulling out said notice and reading off of it. The girl stiffened, and Luffy could feel the fear striking through her. Zoro's anger raised as well, and Luffy would have intervened by now if he didn't feel that, while the blonde spoke as if he would, he didn't have any conviction in him.
"Looks like even little brats know how scary my dad is!" The blonde said with a smirk, hand on his hip as he looked down on the girl.
"Dad?" Luffy questioned, wondering what this guy's dad had to do with anything.
"Then that's Captain Morgans son?!" Coby asked in shock, realizing faster than Luffy who the blonde kid was.
"You. Throw the kid out." The blonde said, pointing to one of the soldiers behind him.
"Sir?!"
"I said throw her over the wall! Or can you not follow my orders?! Don't make me tell my dad!" The blonde said, grabbing the soldier by his shirt as he berated him.
"Y-yes, sir! Right away sir!" The soldier replied, Luffy feeling his fear and unwanting.
"N-no!" The girl cried as the marine crouched to pick the girl up before tossing her over the wall. Luffy's frown never let up as he watched the girl fly over the wall and he jumped off the top of the wall, stretching his arms to ensure he would reach the girl and tucking her to his chest, landing on his back to take the brunt of the force.
"T-thanks..." The girl said with a smile to Luffy, her gratitude much nicer to Luffy then the fear he'd felt from her moments ago.
"Are you alright Luffy-san?!" Coby asked as he ran over in worry, his attention quickly shifting to the girl in Luffys arms.
"Are you alright? I can't believe how horrible that guy is! Do you hurt anywhere?" The pink-haired boy asked as he kneeled by the girl, checking her over for injury. Meanwhile, Luffy was standing, collecting his hat off the ground and putting it back on his head and making sure the string was around his neck.
With Coby occupied, Luffy had no one to stop him as he climbed back up- and this time over- the wall. He noticed that the blonde and the two soldiers were gone, leaving both Zoro and Luffy alone in the courtyard.
"I hear you're a bad guy," Luffy said simply to the man, wanting to see and feel his reaction. Zoro looked at him, scowling again.
"Are you still here?" Zoro asked in another growl.
"Are you even strong at all?" Luffy continued asking.
"Mind your own business!" Walking over to the man, Luffy inspected him, his frown never letting up. He could still feel the ever-present annoyance coming from the man, along with the small bit of worry directed towards the girl, and then there was the mixture of duller emotions, like pain and exhaustion and even a little bit of remaining anger.
"If it were me, I'd probably starve in three days," Luffy said matter-of-factly, knowing it was true.
"I've got more spirit then you. I will live through this. I swear it." Zoro said with a grin now, and the strong feelings of determination and conviction were back tenfold, finally making Luffys frown subside and be replaced with a grin of his own.
Pleased with what he'd heard, Luffy turned to leave but was stopped when Zoro spoke up again.
"Wait!" He called, making Luffy turn to look back at him.
"Could you pick that up for me?" Zoro asked, looking to the crushed rice ball.
"You're gonna eat this?" Luffy asked, not in disgust, but genuine curiosity. He knew that after the seven years of garbage soup that this rice ball would have been heaven sent to him and his brothers, so it was no surprise to him that the starved pirate hunter would think the same.
"Its mostly a mud ball now," Luffy warned as he picked it up in his hands.
"Just shut up and give it here!" Zoro shouted in slight desperation. Luffy only watched him for another second more before grinning and tossing the food, dirt and all, into the man's mouth. He ate it greedily, not losing a single bit, and then coughed.
"Told you so," Luffy said as he watched, arms folded over his chest, still smiling.
"It was good. Tell the kid I said thanks for the food." Zoro said to Luffy, meaning his words.
Luffy's smile widened.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Really?!"
"Yeah! He ate every last bite!" Luffy told the girl- Rika he'd found out. Coby sat on the steps in the alley they were in, a mixture of confusion and disbelief fighting inside him as he listened to Luffy talk.
"I'm so happy!" Rika said, holding her hands to her chest as she did. Luffy could feel just how happy she was, and it made him happy by extension, glad that there was finally some good emotions after all the bad ones.
"Is Zoro really as evil as all the rumors say?" Coby asked softly in confusion, not understanding how someone who was portrayed as such a bad guy could actually be good.
"No!" Rika said in the man's defense.
"After all, he let himself get crucified in our place..." She said, guilt now rolling off of her in waves that made Luffy take deep breaths to avoid feeling guilty himself.
And those bad feelings were back.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Luffy asked once he was able to successfully block out the feelings, wanting to know more. Even though he was pretty sure he'd made a decision on wanting Zoro to join his crew or not, that didn't mean he couldn't try and learn more about him. It would also help to know how he'd gotten crucified in the first place.
"Its all that Helmeppo's fault. He's Captain Morgans son..." Rika began before launching into the story of how Zoro had defended both the girl and her mother from the man's dog and in turn gotten imprisoned.
"Helmeppo punches and kicks him while he's tied up!" Rika said before crying into her hands, obviously distressed.
"I see..." Coby said, but a sudden wave of fear and a loud noise drew their attention to the building they were sitting beside.
Walking in, they saw Helmeppo there, demanding free food as he lounged in his chair, soldiers at his side.
A familiar scent of tangerines and berri drew Luffy's attention to the red-haired girl sitting in one of the chairs, but with more pressing matters, Luffy didn't pay her much mind, instead focusing back to the blonde.
"I've been bored lately, so I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow. Look forward to it!" Helmeppo announced to everyone in the room before laughing. Luffy felt a familiar burning rage fill him as he clenched his fist, running forward and punching the man squarely in the jaw, sending him flying out of his chair and into the wall.
"W-what the hell're you doing?!" Helmeppo cried out, holding his face as the soldiers he was with ran to his side. Luffy was ready to charge forward again, but Coby stopped him by grabbing his arms.
"Luffy-san! Please stop!" Coby pleaded, and even though Luffy knew he could easily get out of the boy's grip, he let himself be held back.
"This guy is the worst kind of person!" Luffy growled out, trying to let the rage in him dispel. He knew it'd do no good to beat the blonde up, all that would accomplish was making him feel only a smidgen better and getting the whole of this islands marines after him, so he let himself be held back, forced himself to let go of the anger. After all, he still had to get Zoro to join his crew.
"Y-you hit me! I'm Captain Morgans son, you know!" Helmeppo cried in shock.
"So what?!" Luffy called back, and all that work he'd put into not getting angry fell apart as he felt it all come rushing back.
"I'm gonna tell my dad and he's gonna execute you!" The blonde responded.
"Fight me yourself!" Luffy shouted, raising a fist, ready to fight.
"Luffy-san! Calm down!" Coby once again pleaded, and the worry and fear from the boy gave him something else to focus on besides his rage.
"I've made up my mind Coby!" Luffy said, addressing the pink-haired boy now to focus on something else besides the infuriating blonde in front of him.
"I'm going to have Zoro join my crew!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Luffy stood in front of the cross Zoro was tied to, watching as the man slept. He could feel the pirate hunters' muted emotions change from nostalgic, to longing, and then sadness and another bout of conviction. There was a moment as the man woke up that there was a tiny bit of fear, but it was gone quickly, replaced with a feeling of disorientation as his head shot up to look at Luffy.
Zoro was quick to hide his emotions from his face, a sneer replacing the fear in an instant.
"You again? You sure have lots of free time." He said in what was supposed to be a menacing voice, but Luffy could still feel the emotions from the man's dream, making the words less intimidating.
Not that the man could intimidate Luffy in his state anyway.
"I'll untie you, so join my crew!" Luffy said finally. Zoro's confusion was clear on both his face and his emotions.
"Say what?!" He asked, making Luffy grin.
"I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew," Luffy told him, walking closer to him.
"Forget it! Me, stooping to a criminal's level?! Screw that!" Zoro said, grinning at first before sneering once more.
"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Luffy asked in curiosity.
"Pirates are despicable! As if I'd wanna be one!" Zoro replied. Luffy smiled again.
"Oh, come on! You're already known an evil bounty hunter!" Luffy said as if being a pirate was better, or equal to that.
"People can say whatever they want, but I ain't done anything I regret. I will live through this and accomplish what I want!" Zoro said with another grin, another bout of determination filling him.
"Yeah? But I've decided you're gonna join me!" Luffy said, not telling the man that he was set to be executed soon. He didn't want that to influence Zoro's decision on whether he wanted to join or not with his imminent death.
"Quit deciding on your own!" Zoro shouted to him, only making him laugh.
"I hear you use a sword," Luffy said, ignoring the previous words.
"Yeah, but that stupid son took them," Zoro said, calming down from his previous anger.
"I'll go get it back for you!" Luffy proposed.
"What?!"
"So if you want your sword, join my crew!" Luffy said with a smile, because even though he didn't want Zoro to feel forced to join due to his impending execution, he had no qualms holding the man's belongings for ransom.
"You're really getting on my nerves!" Zoro shouted again, Luffy feeling that it was true. Not responding, Luffy began running off, hearing the man muttering to himself but not hearing what was said.
"You idiot! The base is in the other direction!" Zoro called over to him, making Luffy skid to a stop and turn around, stretching his arms back and grinning.
"Gum Gum Rocket!" Luffy shouted, arms flying past Zoro, and then his body. He briefly felt Zoro's shock behind him as he rocketed away, making him laugh.
He didn't really know where to go now though, but he did know important people usually were at the top of the tall buildings, so he decided the next course of action would be to go up. After all, that Hemopo guy was important, right? So he would be high up.
Pleased with this logic, Luffy began stretching his arms up, slowly making his way up until he was grabbing onto the tallest part of the building, his body flying upwards.
This high up he could see on top of the building where a large group of marines were standing and a giant statue was being lifted up. He took a quick look at the auras, knowing now was a good time to check them out while he could see them all at once, and noticed that there was someone there with a dark grey, almost black aura, making him frown.
He hadn't been expecting to find someone with such a dark color so soon in his journey, but there was no helping it.
The person also held some darkness in them too which made him uneasy, but he tried not to let it bother him. He knew that people in the East Blue weren't the strongest, and he was confident that he could take this person, whoever they were.
Distracted by his thoughts, Luffy hadn't noticed that he was falling, but instead of landing on the roof with everyone else, he was destined to land back on the ground below him. In an attempt to change direction, Luffy grabbed onto a rope connected to the statue, but as he did it slackened, the statue falling as Luffy pulled himself towards the roof.
Landing safely, he watched with everyone else as the top half of the statue fell off the roof and to the ground below. He felt the shock surrounding him and an underlying fear, but he was too mesmerized by the loud thump as the statue hit the ground.
"Sorry..." He said, more to the marines with the blue aura than the one with the dark grey.
"Seize him! I'm going to kill him!" The man with the dark grey aura screamed, Luffy feeling his anger so strong it very nearly overwhelmed him. He actually stumbled back in shock from it, blinking.
"Woah, that was close." He muttered to himself as he took a few deep breaths.
"Yes, sir! Right away sir!" Within seconds the whole horde of Marines were running at him, but a familiar scent had Luffy running over to Helmeppo who happened to be on the roof.
"Daddy, that's him! He's the one who hit me!" Helmeppo yelled, pointing to Luffy who was right beside him now.
"Oh! It's you!" Luffy said, pleased that he'd found the man so fast. He knew he'd been right about important people being high up.
Helmeppo shrieked in fear at the sight of Luffy so close, trying to run away, but Luffy grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
"I've been looking for you! Come with me! There's something I want you to give back!" Luffy told him as he began running away with him in tow.
"Let me go!"
"Helmeppo-sama!"
The shouting grew distant behind him as he ran, dragging the blonde with him.
"Tell me where Zoro's sword is," Luffy said to Helmeppo as he ran down a carpeted hall. He smelled the hall, a scent of tangerines and berri drifting to his nose that told him that red-haired girl was nearby, but yet again, bigger things held his attention.
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just stop dragging me!" Helmeppo cried, tears running down his face. Luffy immediately came to a stop, dangling the man who went limp.
"Alright! Talk!" Luffy demanded, waiting for the information he needed.
"In my room... We just passed it..." The blonde told him weakly, pointing behind Luffy. A bit irritated by that Luffy sighed.
"What? Why didn't you say so? Now we gotta go back." Luffy said as he turned around, only to find Marines pointing guns at him.
"Freeze!"
"Let Helmeppo-sama go!"
"No," Luffy said simply, holding the man up in front of him and staring blankly at them. The marines held no conviction in them, so when they saw the blonde being held up, they immediately began sweating.
"Go ahead and shoot, If you dare!" Luffy taunted. He was annoyed with this whole island, and these marines were just making things worse. If he could have even a little bit of fun messing with them, he would. After all, he wouldn't let these marines actually hurt the blonde, he would interfere before then.
It wasn't necessary though because, as expected, Helmeppo began squirming, arms flailing in desperation.
"No! Don't!" He shouted, to which Luffy immediately began charging through the marines, all of them moving out of his way to keep from hurting the blonde. Helmeppo practically reeked of fear, and if Luffy wasn't so good at blocking the emotion, he'd be feeling the same way himself.
Running through the hall, Luffy used his sense of smell to find the room seeing as the blonde's emotions had gone muted, telling him the man had passed out. Opening the door he dropped the blonde unceremoniously to the ground, sniffing for anything that smelled like Zoro. The room reeked of perfume which disoriented him a bit, making it harder then it should have been to find the sword, but he did it in the end. He was momentarily confused as to why there were three swords, but they all smelled like Zoro's so he grabbed them before running to the window.
Outside, he could see Coby standing in front of Zoro, staring at the other side of the courtyard where Marines were lined up, pointing guns at him, the man with the dark aura at the forefront. Scowling, Luffy flung the window open, stretching himself back in preparation to land in the courtyard.
Flying through the air, he heard the yell of the man with the dark aura telling the marines to fire, and then the bang of the guns.
He was just in time though, as he landed in front of Coby and beside Zoro, shielding them with his rubber body.
"What are you-"
"Luffy-san!"
"Straw Hat?!"
All at once everyone was shouting, their fear rising within them, but it wasn't necessary as Luffy felt his skin stretch in each spot that held a bullet. He curled in on himself, allowing the pull to become a push and grinning.
"That doesn't work!" Luffy called out as he let the bullet fly back the way they'd come. He could feel everyone's shock and Coby's relief as the boy began trying to untie Zoro. He laughed loudly, unfazed.
"I told you I was strong!" He said more to Coby and Zoro then to the marines.
"W-who the hell are you?!" Zoro asked in disbelief behind him.
"11097; Monkey D. Luffy." The man with the dark aura spoke up before Luffy could answer. Luffy's laughing immediately stopped as he felt another, even stronger, wave of shock coming from everyone but Coby.
"11097?!"
"I thought he was a Whitebeard Pirate though!"
"Whats a Whitebeard doing in the East Blue?!"
"I thought you looked familiar. Whats a notorious criminal like you doing here in the East Blue?" The large man asked. Luffy debated on whether he wanted to answer the man or not, still put off by the man's darkness, but decided he may as well. Besides, if he was going to be his own man, form his own crew, he needed people to know that so they wouldn't think he was still apart of Pops' crew.
"I'm starting my own crew," Luffy said, not giving the man any more information than that.
"Oh? Whitebeard let you leave just like that?" The man asked, making Luffy's frown deepen.
"Yeah, he did." He answered.
"Listen up! I, Captain Axe Hand Morgan, am going to take down this demon child here and now!" The man yelled, yet he didn't move to attack him yet, so Luffy decided he wouldn't prepare for a fight just yet.
"No, listen to me! I'm gonna form my own crew, better than Pops', and then I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates, you hear?!" Luffy said, yelling to everyone in the courtyard, wanting everyone to hear his dream.
"King of the Pirates?! Do you know what that means?!" Zoro asked in shock behind him.
"King of the Pirate is King of the Pirates! Are there any other meanings?" Luffy asked with a smile, completely disregarding the marines now in favor of looking at Zoro. Everyone blinked at him, not believing what he was saying, but he didn't understand why. He thought he'd been pretty clear.
"I was shocked, too! But Luffy-san is serious! That's how he is! He intends to become the King of the Pirates and obtain this worlds ultimate treasure... the One Piece!" Coby said with a smile, fists held up in front of himself as he spoke. Luffy gave both Coby and Zoro his famous D grin before grabbing the swords off his back and holding them out to Zoro, despite the fact that the man was tied up still.
"Here's your treasure! Which is yours? They all smelled like you so I brought all three of 'em." Luffy said, still ignoring the shocked Marines.
"Smelled-? All three are mine. I use Three Sword style." Zoro told him, and even though he was confused by what Luffy meant by smelled, he ignored it. For now at least.
"You'll take 'em, right? If we fight together now, you'll be a government-defying villain! Would you prefer that, or being killed by the navy like this?" Luffy asked, because now that the cat was out of the bag with that one, there was no point not mentioning it now.
"What are you, the devil's son?" Zoro asked with a grin, making Luffy laugh.
"I've been told that!" Luffy said honestly, having heard marines, pirates, and even civilians call him much worse than that.
"Well, whatever. I'll be a pirate if I'm gonna die here instead!" Zoro said, still grinning.
"Hooray! So you'll join my crew?!" Luffy asked, arms outstretched in joy at the prospect.
"Alright! Woo-hoo! This is great! Alright!" Luffy continued cheering.
"Okay! Now, untie these stupid ropes already!" Zoro yelled in desperation, all of them remembering now that they had an audience of Marines watching them. Luffy immediately got to work on trying to untie the ropes, noticing distantly that the Marines were talking amongst themselves, but he ignored that.
"Damn! These knots are tight!" Luffy said as he tugged at them, but he swore they were getting tighter, not looser.
"Hey! Quit wastin' time!" Zoro shouted in urgency, noticing that the Marines looked to be preparing themselves again. As expected, the marines all switched out their guns for swords, running at them as Luffy continued tugging.
"Huh, that's weird! It got tighter instead!" Luffy said, rubbing the back of his head as he examined the ropes.
"Give me a damn sword!" Zoro yelled at him.
"Luffy-san!" Coby cried. Looking over now, Luffy saw the incoming swords and quickly gave Zoro a sword of his own.
In an instant, Zoro cut the ropes off and grabbed the rest of the swords, using them to block all of the marines at once.
"So cool!" Luffy said in awe, never having seen someone use three sword style before. He'd seen many swordsmen before, but none like Zoro.
"Move and you're dead," Zoro growled to the marines, making them stiffen in fear.
"Too scary!" One of them cried.
"I'll be a pirate. I promise you that. I'm officially a criminal, now that I've fought the navy. But I'll tell you this right now. I'm only going to fulfill my ambition!" Zoro told Luffy, a cloud passing overhead and shading them momentarily.
"Ambition?" Luffy asked with a smile.
"To be the Worlds Greatest Swordsman! If I wind up having to give that up, you'd better accept responsibility and apologize to me on the end of my sword!" Zoro told him, Luffy feeling his undying conviction again.
"The Worlds Greatest Swordsman? That sounds great!" Luffy said honestly, still smiling.
"The King of the Pirates would need no less than that on his crew!" Luffy told him, making the swordsman grin back.
"You sure talk big. At this point, whether it's as a criminal or whatever else, I will spread my name throughout the world!" Zoro shouted through his sword.
"What're you standing around for?! Slaughter them this instant!" The marines shrieked in terror at Morgan's words while Luffy's grin turned more deadly.
"Duck, Zoro!" Luffy told his new crewmate, swinging his foot back.
"Gum Gum Whip!" There was only a brief second of shock from Zoro before he did as told, Luffy's leg whipping over him and knocking over the marines he'd been holding back.
"Y-you did it! Incredible!" Coby cheered from behind Luffy.
"What the hell are you?" Zoro asked Luffy, standing back up.
"I ate the gum gum fruit," Luffy said, kicking his leg back and forth to stretch it out.
"Gum gum fruit?" Zoro asked in confusion, sword still held in his mouth.
"A rubber person!"
"Captain! We don't stand a chance against them!"
"These guys are crazy!"
"We can't even handle Zoro by himself, much less a Whitebeard pirate and one of the demon trio!"
"This is a direct order!" Morgan shouted, drawing Luffy, Zoro and Coby's attention back to him.
"Everyone who spouted weakness just now... must shoot themselves in the head! I have no need for weakling soldiers!" Morgan ordered, much to Luffy's dislike.
"These troops are mental!" Zoro said as he crouched back down in a fighting position.
"Luffy-san!" Coby shouted behind Zoro, but before the man could look, his new Captain ran past him and towards the marines faster then he could blink.
"Crush this navy!" Coby shouted to the straw-hatted pirate.
Running through the Marines, Luffy ran right towards Morgan, scowling as he stretched his arm behind him and swung it forward. The Captain blocked it with his large axe hand, but he obviously wasn't expecting Luffy to be as strong as he was, because with a burst of armament haki, Luffy cracked the axe, and then it shattered into pieces right then and there.
The marines stared on in shock while Luffy felt the Captain's anger fill again. Angry himself, Luffy felt it double as Morgans anger influenced his own, and he pushed his fist through the shattered remains of the axe and into Morgan's chest, sending him flying backward.
"Hold it Straw Hat!" Helmeppo shouted from behind him before he could stalk after the Captain who was getting back up.
"I said hold it! Pay attention! I have a hostage here!" Luffy was tempted to ignore the man, his anger pounding in his ears and muffling the man's words. The blind rage he felt nearly made him go forward to continue beating up Morgan, but Zoro's voice stopped him.
"Hey." The simple word made the anger drain away, like whenever Ace or Sabo would talk softly to him in their understanding tone, waiting for his anger to dispel.
Turning, Luffy finally took in the gun that was being held to Coby's head and stared.
"If you value this guy's life, don't move! One move and I'll shoot!" Helmeppo shouted to him. Luffy continued staring for another minute, feeling Cobys fear, and smiled. Coby blinked in surprise before a resolve filled him.
"Luffy-san! I don't want to get in your way! Even if it means dying!" Coby shouted, genuinely meaning his words.
"Yeah, I know! Give it up stupid son! Coby really is ready to die!" Luffy said, holding his bicep as he began walking towards Coby and Helmeppo, smiling still.
"Don't move! I told you not to move! I-I'll shoot!" Helmeppo shouted, and even though Luffy could feel Morgan's presence behind him, he ignored it.
"Gum gum..."
"I am Navy Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan!"
"Dad! Kill him, quick!"
"...Pistol!"
All at once, Luffy threw his punch at Helmeppo, knocking the blonde into the wall on the other side of the courtyard, while Zoro slashed through Morgan who had attempted beheading Luffy with one of the soldiers' swords seeing as his axe had been busted by the teen earlier.
"Nice! Zoro." Luffy said, arm snapping back in place.
"My pleasure, Captain," Zoro said, the two grinning to each other.
"Captain Morgan's been defeated."
"Unbelievable!"
"These guys are insane!"
"If anyone still wants to catch us, come forward," Zoro called to the Marines, but Luffy felt there was no need for that because instead of fear, there was a relief throughout the Marines that told the teen the Captain was every bit the bad guy he'd thought he was.
"Hooray!"
"We're free!"
"Yahoo!"
"Morgans reign of terror is over!"
"Hooray for the Navy!"
Weapons and hats were thrown in the air, marines started dancing with each other, and Luffy felt a giant wave of happiness finally overtake the fear and nervousness that had been so prevalent since he'd reached this island.
"Everyone's happy they're Captains been beaten?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Everyone was just afraid of Morgan!" Coby said gleefully as if it all made sense now.
Zoro suddenly twitched and then fell onto his back, Coby freaking out while Luffy watched, feeling that Zoro was still awake, and not in too much pain.
"What's wrong Zoro-san?! Are you hurt?!" Coby asked as he rushed over to the man.
"I'm... hungry..."
Chapter 2 is finished and Zoro is now a part of the crew!
In writing this story I've been going back and rewatching One Piece from the beginning and boy is it a shock to see the start of Luffy's adventure again after all this time. I've read a few stories like this one where Luffy starts his adventure over for one reason or another, but its one thing to read another persons interpretation of the events and its another to see them again.
Anyway, some notes about this chapter. While I stuck mostly to cannon, there were some things I knew I wanted to add, such as the scene in the beginning where Coby realizes who Luffy is. There were also more subtle changes like Luffy breaking Morgans axe because of how much stronger he is in this story compared to original cannon.
Oh, and while Luffy's wanted poster still says 'Alive Only', Morgan was really intending to execute Luffy. I feel like he's power hungry enough and so full of himself that he would completely disregard the higher ups decision to want Luffy Alive and would still try and kill him.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you all so much for the response on the first one, it really motivated me to sit down and edit this chapter despite all of me wanting to go ahead and write other future chapters. I forgot how motivating you guys can be! It was so amazing to see all the familiar names make a return, and all of you're guys' support and love from just one chapter was almost overwhelming! I hope to do you all proud as this story continues!
So, with that said, thank you all for your favorites, follows and reviews! They mean the world to me!
Let the countdown to the next chapter begin!