The docks of Shells Town were deceptively peaceful. Fishing boats bobbed gently in the clear water, and the salty air carried the cry of gulls. For a town built around the largest Marine base in the area, it felt strangely quiet.
Too quiet. As the trio of Luffy, Kai, and Coby disembarked from their small boat, the reason for the silence became apparent. The few townspeople they saw scurried away at the sight of strangers, their eyes wide with a deep-seated fear that had nothing to do with pirates.
"What's with everyone?" Luffy asked, looking around with a curious frown. "It's like they're all scared of something."
"It's probably Captain Morgan," Coby whispered, clutching the broom he'd insisted on bringing from Alvida's ship like a security blanket. "He rules this whole island. They say he's a cruel tyrant."
"A tyrant, huh? Sounds like a jerk," Luffy concluded with his usual simple logic. "I'm hungry! Let's find some food!"
He charged off toward the center of town, leaving Coby to scramble after him. Kai followed at a leisurely pace, his hands tucked into his pockets. He took a moment to observe the architecture, the shuttered windows, the palpable tension that hung in the air like a thick fog.
'The textbook definition of a town under oppression,' he mused. 'And at the center of it all, a man with an axe for a hand and an ego the size of this island. This should be fun.'
Luffy, guided by his unerring instinct for food, led them directly to a small tavern. They pushed through the swinging doors to find the place nearly empty, save for a young girl with green hair tending the bar. She looked up, startled by their sudden entrance.
"Food!" Luffy announced, slamming a fist on the bar. "Give me all your meat!"
The girl, whose name was Rika, blinked at his boisterous demand. Coby immediately began bowing and apologizing. "I am so sorry! He doesn't mean to be rude! We'd just like to order a meal, if that's alright!"
Kai slid onto a barstool, leaning his elbows on the wooden counter. "Ignore them," he said to the girl with a disarming smile. "He's always like this, and he," he gestured to Coby, "is always like this. Just bring whatever you've got. We're paying customers."
His calm demeanor seemed to put Rika at ease. She nodded and disappeared into the back. A few minutes later, the tavern doors swung open again, this time with an obnoxious swagger.
A tall, lanky young man with a ridiculous blonde bowl cut shaped like a helmet strode in, flanked by two nervous-looking Marines.
"Hey! I'm here for my lunch!" he declared, his voice high and grating. "And make it snappy!"
Luffy glanced over, his mouth already full of the food Rika had just brought out. "Who's the weirdo with the dumb hair?" he asked, not bothering to lower his voice.
The young man's head snapped in their direction, his face contorting in a sneer. "What did you say?! Do you have any idea who I am? I'm Helmeppo, the son of the great Captain Morgan!"
'That hair is a crime against nature,' Kai thought dryly. 'His father should have arrested the barber.'
"Never heard of him," Luffy said, before returning his full attention to his plate of meat.
Helmeppo's face turned red with fury. He was used to people cowering before him. This casual dismissal was more infuriating than any insult. He stomped over to their table.
"You're new here, aren't you? You'd better learn some respect! My father is the law on this island! He's the great hero who captured the infamous Pirate Captain Kuro!" He puffed out his chest, clearly expecting them to be impressed.
Kai took a slow sip of water. "Kuro? Never heard of him either. Are you sure you're not just making these names up?"
"Why you—!" Helmeppo spluttered, pointing a trembling finger at Kai. "You're all going to be in big trouble! My father has a demon tied up in the courtyard of the base right now! A monster named Roronoa Zoro! That's what happens to people who defy me!"
At the mention of Zoro's name, Luffy's head perked up, a piece of meat still hanging from his mouth. Coby went pale, shrinking in on himself.
Helmeppo, finally getting the reaction he wanted, preened. "That's right! The great pirate hunter himself! I'm the one who put him there. He's going to be executed in a few weeks, all because he dared to cross me!" He laughed, a high-pitched, unpleasant sound. "Now, where's my lunch?!"
Rika nervously brought him a plate. Helmeppo took one look at it and shoved it away. "This is it?! I'm the son of Captain Morgan! I deserve better than this peasant food!"
He stood up, kicking his chair back, and stormed out of the tavern, his Marine guards trailing behind him like lost puppies.
Once he was gone, the oppressive silence returned. Luffy swallowed the last of his meat and turned to Rika. "Hey, that Zoro guy he was talking about. What did he do?"
Rika wrung her hands, her expression turning sad. "Zoro's not a bad person," she said quietly. "He's a hero. He saved me."
She went on to explain what had happened. Helmeppo had let his pet wolf run wild in the town, terrorizing the citizens. When the wolf had tried to attack her, Zoro had appeared and cut it down in one swift motion.
In a rage, Helmeppo had ordered his guards to arrest him. Zoro, seeing the townspeople were too terrified of Morgan to intervene, had struck a deal.
"He told Helmeppo that if he could survive for one month tied to a post without any food or water, he and I would be left alone," Rika finished, her eyes welling up with tears. "It's been over two weeks now. I… I'm so worried he's going to die."
Luffy listened to the whole story, his usual goofy expression replaced by a look of grim determination. He stood up, his mind made up.
"Yosh," he said, cracking his knuckles. "He's a good guy. I'm gonna go ask him to join my crew."
Coby, who had been listening in horror, jumped to his feet. "Luffy, no! Have you lost your mind?! We can't just walk into a Marine base! And even if we could, why would you want a demon pirate hunter on your crew?!"
"Because he's a good guy who got in trouble for helping someone," Luffy stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, Kai said he was strong." He turned to Kai, who was still casually leaning on the bar. "You coming?"
Kai let out a long, theatrical sigh. "I suppose my nap is officially cancelled," he said, pushing himself off the stool. "Lead the way, Captain. This I have to see."
The Marine base was a fortress, its high stone walls meant to intimidate and repel. For Luffy, it was just a minor obstacle. "Okay, here's the plan," he said, stretching his arm back. "I'll launch myself over, and then—"
"Or," Kai interrupted, placing a hand on Luffy's shoulder and another on Coby's. "We could just do this."
He took a single step forward, and the world seemed to blur for a fraction of a second. There was no sound, no great gust of wind. One moment they were outside the walls, the next they were standing in the shadows of a building deep inside the courtyard. Coby stumbled, his eyes wide with utter disbelief.
"How… how did you do that?" he stammered.
"It's faster than climbing," Kai said with a shrug. It was a simple application of his limitless speed, controlled so perfectly that it barely registered as movement.
From their hiding spot, they had a clear view of the courtyard. And there, tied to a wooden cross in the center of the dusty field, was a man.
He was lean but muscular, with short green hair and three golden earrings in his left ear. Even from a distance, tied and emaciated from weeks of starvation, Roronoa Zoro radiated an aura of untamable defiance.
As they watched, a small figure crept into the courtyard. It was Rika, carrying a carefully wrapped cloth. She nervously approached the post.
"Mr. Swordsman," she whispered. "I brought you something to eat."
Zoro opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and intense. He looked down at the offering. "Get out of here, kid. If they see you, you'll be in trouble."
"But you haven't eaten anything!" she insisted, unwrapping the cloth to reveal several lopsided rice balls.
"I made them myself. It's my first time, so they might not be very good, but I put lots of sugar in them because I thought you'd like them sweet."
Before Zoro could reply, a grating voice cut through the air. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Helmeppo swaggered into the courtyard, a cruel smirk on his face. He snatched the rice balls from Rika's hands. "Bringing food to a criminal? That's against the rules!" He looked at the rice balls, his face twisting in disgust. "Ugh, they're sweet! How revolting!"
He threw them to the ground and stomped on them with his boot, grinding them into the dirt. "And you!" he sneered at Zoro. "Did you really think I'd keep my promise? That I'd let a monster who defied me go free? My father is going to execute you in a few days! My word means nothing!"
Rika burst into tears. "You promised!"
"Shut up, you little brat!" Helmeppo snapped. "Guards! Throw her over the wall!"
Two Marines started to move toward the crying girl. Luffy tensed beside Kai, ready to launch himself into the fray. But Kai was a fraction faster, and infinitely more subtle.
He sighed, a sound of pure annoyance. "Kids these days. No manners."
He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. A sharp, yet harmless, POP of displaced air echoed in front of the two advancing Marines. They stumbled to a halt, their path blocked by an invisible, immovable pressure. They pushed against it, their faces scrunching up in confusion as they failed to take another step forward.
Kai didn't even look at them. His gaze was on Zoro.
Zoro, who had been watching the scene with a cold fury, looked down at the ruined, dirt-caked rice balls. After a moment, he spoke to Luffy, who he had clearly noticed hiding in the shadows. "Hey. You."
Luffy stepped out, his straw hat casting a shadow over his eyes.
"Pick that up and feed it to me," Zoro said, his voice raspy but firm.
Luffy didn't question it. He walked over, picked up one of the flattened, mud-stained rice balls, and held it up to Zoro's mouth. Zoro ate it in one bite, chewing without a hint of disgust.
"Ugh, you're a monster! You'd even eat that garbage!" Helmeppo scoffed, before turning and leaving with his confused guards.
Once they were gone, Zoro swallowed. "Tell the kid," he said, his voice low. "…that it was delicious. Thank you."
Luffy's serious expression broke into a massive grin. He turned back to Zoro, his decision now absolute. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy."
"Roronoa Zoro," the swordsman replied.
"I've decided I want you to join my crew and become a pirate with me," Luffy stated simply.
Zoro's eyes widened slightly. "A pirate? You must be joking. I'm a pirate hunter. Why would I become the very thing I hunt?"
"What's the difference?" Luffy countered. "You're already known as a demon. Might as well be a pirate demon."
"I have my own ambitions," Zoro said, a fire lighting in his eyes. "I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman! If I join you, and you get in the way of that ambition, you will accept my resignation by taking my sword to your stomach!"
Luffy's grin didn't falter. "The world's greatest swordsman? Great! A Pirate King needs nothing less than the best on his crew! It's settled then!"
"I haven't agreed to anything," Zoro grunted, a hint of amusement in his voice despite himself. "Besides, I'm a little tied up at the moment. And those idiots have my swords. I fight with the three-sword style. Without my blades, I'm useless."
Luffy pointed a thumb at himself. "No problem! I'll go get them for you! If I bring them back, you join my crew!"
"Do whatever you want," Zoro said, closing his eyes as if the conversation was over. But a small smirk lingered on his face.
Luffy turned and ran back towards Kai and the still-petrified Coby. "Alright! Let's go get his swords!"
"Luffy, this is crazy!" Coby hissed. "We're going to be fighting the entire Marine base!"
"Yep! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, completely unconcerned. He looked at Kai. "You'll help, right?"
Kai stretched, his joints popping. He had hoped for a longer nap, but the sight of Zoro's unwavering will and Luffy's insane charisma was, he had to admit, far more interesting.
This was the beginning of a legend, and he had a front-row seat.
"Fine," he sighed, pushing himself off the wall. "But you're buying me lunch after this. A lot of it."
Their course was set. One future king, one future legend, and one lazy anomaly were about to declare war on a tyrannical Marine Captain, all for the sake of their first crewmate.