Chapter 3
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Didn't expect both 'captains' to be Devil Fruit users, huh? That's pretty impressive."
"User? You talking about me?" Luffy pointed at himself. "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, so I'm a rubber man. Sol's not a user, though."
Sol explained to Zoro, "I'm no Devil Fruit eater. I'm a First-Generation Dragon Slayer Mage—taught Dragon Slayer Magic directly by a real dragon!"
"Dragon... Dragon Slayer Magic? What the heck?" Zoro scratched his head. "A dragon taught you how to slay dragons? I'm not following."
Sol didn't go into details. After all, explaining time-travel and reincarnation was too out there. In his original world, he'd crossed over into the Fairy Tail universe, ending up as the twin brother of Natsu—who'd died young and been revived by their older brother Zeref using forbidden magic, bringing Sol into that body.
Igneel had raised both Natsu and Sol, teaching them Dragon Slayer Magic—the power designed to fight dragons.
As an adult soul in a child's body, Sol quickly mastered Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. But knowing all Dragon Slayers suffered from severe motion sickness, he asked Igneel to take him to Grandeeney to learn Sky Dragon Slayer Magic as well. Its healing spell Troia could cure balance issues and fix the motion sickness problem.
He was supposed to pass through the Eclipse Gate into the future... but maybe because he was a transmigrator, something went wrong. Instead, he wound up in the One Piece world, crash-landing in the secret hideout of the three kids in Windmill Village. He became their fourth sworn brother and, years later, set sail with Luffy. Worth noting: Sol was two years older, making Luffy the real little brother.
Zoro snorted. "Feels like you just explained a whole lot... or am I imagining it?"
Sol waved it off. "Just your imagination."
At that moment, the charging Marines saw the three still chatting and raised their weapons to strike.
Clang!
Zoro blocked the blow with one sword, spun his body, and unleashed "Three-Sword Style: Dragon Twister!" A powerful whirlwind sent the enemies flying into the air before they crashed back down like dumplings into a pot, knocked out cold.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Sol's fists ignited as he pummeled Marines one by one, scorching them with blazing flames that left them writhing in agony on the ground.
Luffy took out hordes with stretching rubber kicks and whips.
"These three are monsters—we're no match!"
One soldier tried to retreat, only to back right into Colonel Morgan. Furious, Morgan raised his massive axe-hand and slashed the man down, blood spraying across the ground.
Luffy's eyes widened in rage. "Hey! That's your own subordinate—why'd you cut him down?!"
Morgan sneered. "I don't need cowards who run from battle. Sparing his life is already my greatest mercy!"
"You bastard—I'm gonna pound you!" Luffy charged.
Morgan swung his axe, splitting the ground in a deep fissure, but Luffy dodged nimbly. He leaped high and stomped hard into Morgan's face, sending him sprawling.
As Morgan struggled up, Sol was already there. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist—take flight!"
The flaming punch spun Morgan through the air, slamming him into a distant building where he collapsed unconscious, a spiral burn mark seared across his stomach.
"Sol, that's sneaky! You stole my opponent!" Luffy complained.
Sol shot back with a smirk. "What? You were playing around forever. Zoro and I cleared out all the grunts—you're the slow one."
Only then did Luffy notice the sea of unconscious Marines behind them. "Whoa, you guys are fast!"
Just then, Helmeppo returned from his outing—his twice-daily routine of mocking Zoro.
"What the—?! Why is Roronoa Zoro free? Why are all these Marines on the ground? Where's my father?!" Helmeppo stared in disbelief.
The trio walked past without a glance, but Helmeppo still tried to get in Zoro's face.
Thwack!
Zoro knocked him out cold with the flat of his scabbard. This guy wasn't worth drawing a blade on.
Helmeppo collapsed, a red welt across his face, still mumbling "I'm telling Daddy..." as he faded out.
Sol led the others back to the tavern from the night before and ordered a mountain of food and drink. The feast began.
Zoro downed a huge chunk of meat, then chugged a full mug of rum. "Ahh—that hits the spot!"
After eating his fill, he watched the other two still going strong. "Devil Fruit users eat this much? I thought my appetite was big."
But Sol and Luffy ignored him—they were locked in a fierce battle over the last piece of grilled meat.
Zoro tried again. "So where's our pirate ship? And what's the jolly roger look like?"
The question distracted Sol just long enough. "Gotcha!" Luffy snatched the meat and devoured it triumphantly.
Sol sighed, downed some rum to console himself, and explained: They didn't have a ship yet, but they had startup funds to buy one. No jolly roger either—crew recruitment wasn't complete.
Zoro exhaled in relief. At least they had money for a ship; otherwise this no-ship, no-flag, no-crew outfit would've felt hopeless.
The next day, the trio bought a small sailing ship. The seller, hearing they'd taken down Colonel Morgan, generously gave them half off—three million became one-and-a-half million.
As they finished loading tons of provisions and prepared to depart, bandaged Marines—who hadn't fully recovered—gathered at the dock.
Zoro gripped his swords. "What, you want another round?"
The lead Marine stood and bowed deeply to the three. "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for defeating Colonel Morgan. We've suffered under his tyranny for far too long."
"Attention—salute!"
Every Marine saluted in unison.
Luffy spotted a small figure in the crowd—Coby, who had officially joined the Marines the day before.
He started to wave, but Sol hooked an arm around his neck and dragged him aboard. "You're a pirate now. Chatting with him would only get the kid in trouble."
With that, the three set sail from Shelz Town on their little ship.
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