Jack still couldn't believe it.... he was officially a Straw Hat pirate.
Technically, the crew was only two people right now. But still.
Luffy's smile was so wide it could've split his face in half. "Alright! We've got a new crew member!"
Jack was about to thank him when he noticed Coby expression.
The pink-haired boy's jaw was hanging open.
"L-Luffy!" Coby stammered. "You're inviting this guy to be part of your crew?!"
Luffy nodded, completely unfazed. "Yeah. He's interesting."
"I'm… I'm not interesting!" Jack protested while trying to fix Luffy. "I am amazing."
"Exactly," Luffy said with a grin, as if that explained everything.
But then Luffy turned to Coby, tilting his head. "What about you? Wanna join us too?"
Coby eyes went wide. "W-What?! Me? No! I....Luffy, I want to join the Marines!"
Jack blinked. "The Marines? You mean… the people who captured the pirates?"
Coby nodded furiously. "Yes! I want to capture bad pirates, like Alvida. I want to protect people! I want justice!"
Jack watched with silence, he knows well about coby. He wanted to try to attract him becoming a strawhats member but without Koby the effect will be devastating, so many people might die.
Rocky Port incident and many more incident are the one saved by Koby.
Jack eye twitched just thinking about. "I swear this thing is gamifying my life," he muttered under his breath, no one heard his voice.
Luffy just laughed. "That's cool too! But I'm gonna be Pirate King."
The words hit like a cannonball.
"You… WHAT?!" Coby jaw nearly dislocated. "Pirate… KING?!"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he says that a lot."
"You're crazy!" Coby shouted. "The Pirate King is Gold Roger! He's dead! You can't just say you'll take his place!"
"I can, and I will," Luffy said simply, as if declaring what he'd eat for lunch. "I'm gonna find the One Piece."
Jack shivered. Hearing that in person feels so different… Oh yeah....
Coby looked like his entire worldview had been shaken.
"You're… you're serious?" he said.
"Yup," Luffy replied cheerfully.
Jack sighed. This guy is insane… but he's also the main character. I guess I signed up for this ride.
Time Skip - Shells Town
The small boat creaked as it drifted toward a port town.
"Shells Town, here we are!" Luffy cheered, standing dramatically at the bow.
Jack, meanwhile, was clinging to the edge of the boat, pale and sweating.
"I… I think I have motion sickness," he groaned.
"You have everything sickness," Luffy said casually.
Coby, sitting between them, was holding a map. "This is where we can find a Marine base. I can finally enlist!"
Jack looked at him. "Wait, you're just gonna… walk up to them and say, 'Hey, I used to work for a pirate, but now I wanna join you guys'?"
Coby nodded confidently. "No! Do you think they will let me become marine if they know I was once part of a pirate crew."
Jack opened his mouth to answer but stopped. Well… if memory serves, he actually does join here. So maybe I should just trust the plot.
The boat bumped against the dock, and they all jumped off.
"Okay," Luffy said, stretching. "Where do we find our next crewmate?"
Jack blinked. "We will recruit our new crew but! Shouldn't we… get food first?"
Luffy's stomach growled loudly. "Oh yeah, food sounds good too. But crew first!"
Coby cleared his throat. "Actually, I heard something while we were on Alvida ship. There's someone famous here... Roronoa Zoro."
Jack heart skipped a beat.
Oh crap. Zoro. The pirate hunter. The future first mate. The guy who will literally carry this crew through half the Grand Line.
"You mean the pirate hunter?" Luffy asked, eyes sparkling.
"Yes!" Coby said. "But he's… he's not a pirate. He was the one who captured Pirates."
"That's cool we are gonna invite him," replied Luffy with smile.
Luffy, Jack and Coby walked around shells town and then they find urgent news.
"The pirate hunter, He's been captured by the Marines. They say he's tied up at the base, waiting to be executed."
"Executed?" Jack nearly choked.
"Yes," Coby said gravely. "Apparently, he went too far. He's dangerous. People call him a demon with three swords."
Luffy's grin only widened. "Perfect! He'll make a great crewmate!"
"WHAT," Coby shouted. "You want to recruit a guy who's about to be executed for being too violent?!"
"Yup," Luffy replied cheerfully.
Jack rubbed his temples. "You're actually insane. You know that, right?"
But his system buzzed again.
Main Mission Update:
Recruit "Roronoa Zoro" to the Straw Hat Crew.
Reward: 1 Random Character Unlock
Jack froze.
"…Wait, I will get new character?"
"Character?" Coby asked, confused.
"Nothing!" Jack said quickly.
Luffy grabbed his straw hat. "Then it's settled. Let's go see him!"
They made their way through Shells Town, past market stalls and curious villagers whispering about Zoro's capture.
Jack felt every step like he was walking into history itself. This is it. The first real Straw Hat crew moment. The first arc. If we mess this up, there might not even BE a One Piece story.
Finally, they reached the tall Marine base, its white walls gleaming in the sun.
From outside the gates, they could see him.
Roronoa Zoro.... tied to a wooden post in the courtyard, arms bound, his green haramaki dusty, his swords nowhere in sight.
Even tied up, he radiated menace. His head was down, but Jack could feel the aura from here.
"Whoa," Jack whispered. "He looks even scarier in real life."
Coby trembled. "We… we shouldn't be here. If the Marines see us.... "
But Luffy was already climbing the wall.
"Luffy!" Jack hissed. "Are you insane?!"
"Yup!" Luffy said, landing on the other side.
Jack groaned, then glanced at coby.
Coby did a stupid face.
"Yeah, thanks, I already know!" Jack snapped at it.
But he had no choice... he followed Luffy over the wall.
When they got closer, Zoro finally lifted his head. His eyes were sharp, dangerous while looking at Luffy..... the kind of eyes that said one wrong move and I'll kill you.
"Who the heck are you?" Zoro growled.
Jack swallowed hard. "Uh… we're… visitors?"
Luffy just grinned. "I'm Luffy. I'm gonna be King of the Pirates. Join my crew."
Jack nearly fainted for excitement, he finally sees it in real life.
"That's your opening line?!" he whispered harshly.
But Zoro just smirked, despite being tied up. "Pirate, huh? You've got guts saying that to me. Now get lost before I change my mind about killing you later."
Jack sighed. Yup. This is going to be a long day.
And just as he thought that, Luffy asked dumb question.
"If you are swordsman, where are your swords?"
Zoro was dumbfounded, Jack chimed in.
"Yeah, where is your sword?"