Bean-sized raindrops pattered down, quickly soaking the ruins of the execution platform and washing away the charred wood chips and traces of battle.
The air was filled with the dampness of rain and a faint smell of scorching.
"Wow!!! That move you just did was amazing!" Luffy's eyes practically turned into stars as he completely ignored the gathering and stirring Marines, dancing excitedly around Giyu. "How does that sword spray water?! Is it a Devil Fruit? Are you an Ability User too? Do it again!"
Giyu Tomioka silently watched this Luffy jumping around in front of him.
One moment, this boy was calmly facing death; the next, he emerged completely unscathed from the explosion caused by the combined lightning strike and slash, and now he could display such pure excitement.
Devil Fruit? Ability User?
Giyu caught these two terms, which seemed to explain how Luffy remained unharmed even after being struck by lightning, as well as how that red-nosed clown could split his own body.
It appeared that in this place without demons, there existed another kind of power called Devil Fruit.
"Hey, moss-head."
Sanji lit a cigarette, the rain quickly dampening the tip, but he paid it no mind. He glanced at the execution platform ruins that had been shattered by a single sword strike, then looked up at the lingering thunderous power that seemed to still remain in the dark clouds. "Do you believe there are gods in this world?"
Zoro clicked his tongue irritably, his three swords already sheathed at his waist as he looked toward the increasing number of Marine soldiers forming an encirclement at the plaza entrance.
"Stupid curly-brow, is this really the time to think about that? The Marines won't reason with you! Prepare to break through!"
Giyu's gaze shifted from Luffy, swept over the gradually closing white tide, and finally settled back on Luffy. He remembered the tavern owner's words - this was the only clear possible clue to returning home.
"You." His clear, cold voice cut through the rain curtain, steady without a single ripple of emotion as he asked: "Are you heading to the Grand Line?"
"You're coming too!" Luffy's excitement skyrocketed again upon hearing this. He casually slapped Giyu's empty sleeve with a loud smack. "We're setting off right now! Come be my nakama!"
The familiar instruction text appeared again in Giyu's vision:
[Target: Monkey D. Luffy]
[Status: Extremely excited, expectant]
[Preferences: Adventure, companions]
[Suggestion: Accept invitation]
"Hey, Luffy, your reason for recruiting people is way too casual," Zoro teased from the side, glancing at Giyu. "This guy's strength doesn't look simple."
Luffy, having been doused with cold water by Zoro, started pouting.
"What's wrong with that? This guy saved me, so he's definitely not a bad person."
"Really, you're something else. But you're the captain, so it's your decision.Giyu silently looked at his slapped sleeve, then at the face before him filled with unreserved trust and invitation, before finally turning his gaze toward the advancing navy.
Rationality rapidly weighed options in his mind.
The goal was to find a way home as much as possible. The known clue was that the Grand Line likely had many countries where samurai existed.
The most viable option now was to follow the boy called Straw Hat Kid before them. The risk was potentially getting entangled in trouble—this group were pirates, but they carried no scent of blood on them.
"I can travel with you temporarily."
Giyu clearly drew the line.
"But I'm only heading to the Grand Line to find a place. I won't be your companion."
"Great!" Luffy paid no mind to such subtle distinctions. To him, anyone on the same ship was practically a companion.
He cheered, his arm stretching like rubber as he wrapped it around Zoro, Sanji, and Giyu. "Let's go! Time to run!"
"Bastard! Don't grab us out of nowhere!"
"Hey, Luffy! My cigarette got wet!"
"...Too close..."
As Luffy's suddenly elongated arm swept him up and dragged him along, Giyu abruptly felt he'd boarded a pirate ship in more ways than one.
Watching Giyu's expression, Sanji couldn't help but laugh. "Hahahahaha! That's just how our captain is. Better get used to it."
And so, the four-person group led by Straw Hat began charging toward the port in an utterly bizarre formation, instantly plowing through several Marine soldiers attempting to block their path!
.........
Several minutes later, before the ruins of the execution platform, a group of Marines had gathered.
Smoker's tall figure stood out prominently in the rain, cigar smoke mixing with misty vapor as he exhaled heavily. His icy gaze swept across the destroyed wreckage.
"Have you ever seen someone who could smile like that right before death?" His voice was low, carrying a barely perceptible tremor.
The adjutant stiffened, then shook his head firmly. "Impossible, Colonel Smoker! No matter how bluffing or vicious a pirate is, when facing death, they can only turn pale and die with despair and fear! It's human nature!"
"No..." Smoker's eyes turned toward the direction where the four-person team had vanished, as if he could pierce through the heavy rain curtain and see that moment again. "That Straw Hat Kid... he smiled. Exactly the same smile that man named Gol D. Roger showed twenty-two years ago... in this very place!"
Just then, a breathless messenger rushed over to report: "Colonel Smoker! The Straw Hat crew headed toward the western port! But... the rain's too heavy! Our men's gunpowder is completely soaked—they can't fire at all! One squad has already returned to change equipment!"
Another soldier added: "And... the wind direction is westerly now. For them... it's a tailwind..."
"Gunpowder dampened... troops turning back... and a tailwind..." Smoker chewed over these words, a strange chill mixed with fighting spirit rising in his chest. These coincidences felt almost as if...
"Almost as if the heavens themselves want them to survive..." he murmured.
Then, his mind flashed back to the figure of the one-armed swordsman—that mismatched haori, the blade that seemed to command water, and the aura that shattered the execution platform.
"And that one-armed swordsman..." Smoker's fist suddenly clenched, knuckles cracking. "That sword technique... since when has such a monster been lurking in East Blue?"
But the next second, a battle-hungry grin spread across his face: "However... this suits me perfectly! It's been too long since I've encountered someone in the East Blue who could make me get serious—my limbs are practically rusting!"
He raised his head, his roar echoing across the entire square, even drowning out the sound of rain: "All troops, listen up! Everyone who can move, pursue at full strength! Block all roads leading to the port! Not a single rat gets through!"
"I swear upon my title as White Hunter!!! I won't let a single one of them leave Roguetown alive!!"
......
West Street Main Road, the only route to the port.
The rain grew heavier, visibility beginning to drop. Giyu and the others advanced swiftly, with the scattered Marines attempting to block their path being taken down almost instantly by Zoro and Sanji, while Luffy excitedly cleared the way ahead.
However, at a street corner, a group of people suddenly appeared as if they had been lying in ambush all along, completely blocking their path.
At their head stood Tashigi, clad in a Marine uniform.
She adjusted her rain-soaked glasses, her sharp gaze sweeping over the four before finally settling on Zoro and Giyu.
"I never thought the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro would truly become a pirate," Tashigi's voice carried suppressed anger, then she turned to Giyu, "And you! You're clearly with them, yet you pretended to be a stranger in the weapons shop. Did you have fun making a fool of me?"
With a sharp shing, she drew Shigure from her waist, pointing the blade at the group: "I will defeat you pirates here and reclaim the famous blades in your possession!"
Sanji's eyes instantly turned into hearts as he wriggled on the spot: "Aah~ What a beautiful and righteous Marine lady! Moss-head, what rude things did you two do to this lady!"
Zoro looked at Tashigi's face—almost identical to Kuina's from his memories, especially those eyes behind the lenses filled with determination and conviction—his expression growing extremely complicated and uncomfortable.
He instinctively averted his gaze, even rubbing his forehead somewhat irritably, whispering to Giyu beside him: "Hey... I'm really sorry, but this woman... reminds me of someone I knew a long, long time ago. I... don't really want to get into too much trouble with her right now."
Tashigi grew even more furious at his words: "What do you mean, too much trouble?! You're being incredibly rude!!"
Zoro reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, turning back to shout: "Shut up! You copycat woman!"
Just as the strange standoff continued, Giyu stepped forward expressionlessly.
His movement instantly drew everyone's attention, rainwater sliding down his black hair and dripping onto his distinct-patterned haori.
With his single arm, he held the Nichirin Blade that still gathered fine water vapor, directly confronting Tashigi.
Given their current need to escape, staying locked in a stalemate here was pointless. He calmly told the three behind him:
"You go ahead."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.
"I'll catch up shortly."
"Okay! Got it!" Luffy responded without hesitation, immediately starting to move.
"Tch, pretty confident there," Zoro clicked his tongue but already began moving as well.
"Goodbye, beautiful lady!" Sanji blew a kiss and quickly caught up with Luffy and Zoro.
The three instantly circled around the Marines led by Tashigi from the other side and continued rushing toward the harbor.
"Stop!" Tashigi cried out in shock and anger. She wanted to block their path, but found herself completely locked in place by the one-armed swordsman's intense gaze.
To her ears, Giyu's words sounded like the ultimate disdain and insult.
"Though you may be strong..." Tashigi gripped Shigure tightly with both hands, assuming a standard swordsmanship stance. Her sense of justice and personal pride wouldn't allow her to let them pass, nor would she tolerate being looked down upon like this. "Don't underestimate me! I'm a Marine Headquarters Petty Officer stationed in Loguetown! I won't let you escape from here!"
With a sharp cry, she stomped hard on the waterlogged ground, splashing water everywhere as she charged toward Giyu. The blade of Shigure cut through the curtain of rain, thrusting straight forward!
Giyu's eyes remained as still as a deep pond. Facing this fierce assault, he merely raised his Nichirin Blade slightly, while the invisible water vapor gathering around him seemed to grow even more dense.