"Stop it! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Zoro yelled, straining against the heavy ropes.
Koby gritted his teeth, his shoulder bleeding profusely from the gunshot wound. He didn't stop sawing at the thick bindings. "I won't! I want to be a Marine... but I won't follow tyrants! Luffy is risking his life in there for you! You have to help him, Zoro!"
The sound of heavy, synchronized marching echoed through the dusty execution yard. Dozens of Marines poured out of the fortress, their rifles raised and aimed directly at the bleeding boy and the tied-up bounty hunter.
Standing on the balcony above them was Captain Morgan, his massive iron Axe-Hand glinting in the harsh sunlight.
"Treason," Morgan growled, his voice booming across the courtyard. "A civilian aiding a prisoner, and my own men failing to execute them. You are all useless! Platoon! Aim your rifles! Execute both of these traitors immediately!"
The Marines cocked their weapons.
Zoro glared at the firing squad. His heart hammered in his chest. Is this really it? Am I going to die tied to a piece of wood? Before I even get to keep my promise?
His vision blurred. The scorching sun of the courtyard faded away, replaced by the cool, moonlit memory of a training dojo from a decade ago.
Ten Years Ago. Shimotsuki Village.
SMACK!
A young, bruised Zoro was sent flying onto the bamboo floor of the dojo, his wooden training sword clattering out of his hands.
"That's two thousand victories for me," a young girl smirked, pointing her own wooden sword at his chest. Her name was Kuina, the dojo master's daughter.
"It's not fair!" one of the other young trainees yelled from the sidelines, defending Zoro. "You only beat him because the Sensei gives you special training! Zoro can beat up the adults, but he can't beat you!"
The Sensei stepped into the room, shaking his head. "Kuina does not receive special training. She is simply older and more skilled. That is all."
But Zoro wasn't satisfied. That night, under the pale glow of the moon, he challenged Kuina to a secret duel. No wooden swords. Real, sharpened steel.
CLANG!
Sparks flew in the moonlight. But within seconds, Kuina's blade was at Zoro's throat, and Zoro's swords were knocked to the dirt.
"Two thousand and one," Kuina whispered. But she wasn't smiling.
To Zoro's shock, the older girl dropped her sword and burst into tears.
"Why are you crying?!" Zoro demanded, frustrated and humiliated. "You won!"
"Because it won't last!" Kuina sobbed, wiping her eyes furiously. "You don't understand, Zoro! I'm a girl. As we get older, you boys will get bigger, and faster, and stronger than me. I want to be the world's greatest swordsman, but my father says a woman can never reach the top! Soon, you'll beat me, and it won't be because of skill! It'll just be because I was born a girl!"
Zoro's eyes widened, and then he grew furious. He slammed his fists into the dirt.
"Don't you dare say that!" Zoro yelled. "If I beat you one day, it will be because I trained harder than anyone else! Don't insult my hard work! You are my rival, Kuina! Let's make a promise, right here, right now! One of us will become the greatest swordsman in the entire world! Promise me!"
Kuina looked at the fierce, unyielding fire in the young boy's eyes. She wiped her tears and smiled. "I promise."
The very next day, Kuina fell down a flight of stairs and died.
The funeral was a blur of rain and tears. Zoro stood before her covered body, his voice cracking as he screamed at her for running away, for breaking their promise.
He marched to the Sensei, tears streaming down his face, and begged for Kuina's legendary blade, the Wado Ichimonji.
"I will take her sword!" young Zoro had cried to the heavens. "I'll become so strong that my name will reach the heavens! I will become the greatest swordsman in the world for both of us!"
Present Day. The Execution Yard.
Zoro snapped back to reality. The Marines had their fingers on the triggers.
I can't die here. I made a promise.
"FIRE!" Captain Morgan roared.
A deafening volley of gunfire erupted. Dozens of lead bullets tore through the air, aimed directly at Zoro and Koby. Koby squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for death. Zoro gritted his teeth.
But the bullets never hit them.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
A figure had suddenly dropped from the sky, landing squarely in front of them. It was Luffy. He stood with his arms spread wide, taking every single bullet directly into his chest, stomach, and arms.
"LUFFY!" Koby screamed in horror.
Zoro's jaw dropped. He just sacrificed himself!
But Luffy didn't fall. Instead, his skin stretched backward, catching the bullets like a tightly wound trampoline. Luffy looked down at his stretched chest and grinned a massive, terrifyingly confident smile.
"Doesn't work on me!" Luffy laughed.
BOING!
The bullets violently snapped back, ricocheting off Luffy's rubber body and flying back toward the Marines, sending the soldiers diving for cover in absolute panic.
Captain Morgan's eyes bulged from the balcony. "He... he deflected the bullets?! It must be a Devil Fruit! He's not human!"
Zoro stared at the boy in sheer disbelief. "What the hell are you?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" the boy cheered, turning around and holding up three swords wrapped in a bundle. "And I brought your swords! Which one is yours? I didn't know, so I just grabbed all three!"
"They're all mine," Zoro smirked, the fire returning to his eyes. "I use the Three-Sword Style."
"Oh, cool!" Luffy laughed. He tossed the swords to the ground and began helping Koby untie the remaining ropes. "So, about joining my crew. If you fight with me here, the Marines will officially label you a criminal. It's either that, or die tied to this cross. What'll it be?"
Zoro let out a low, dangerous chuckle. "You're a real devil, you know that? Fine. If it means surviving to fulfill my ambition, I'll become a pirate. I'll join your crew!"
"YES! I GOT A CREWMATE!" Luffy cheered, throwing his hands in the air.
"SWORDSMEN! CHARGE!" Morgan roared from above. "CUT THEM TO PIECES!"
A dozen Marines drew their katana and charged across the yard, screaming as they rushed the distracted rubber boy and the still-tied bounty hunter.
"Luffy! Give me my swords!" Zoro yelled, his arms finally coming free.
Luffy kicked the bundle of swords into the air.
In a single, fluid motion that was almost too fast to track, Zoro grabbed the hilts. He drew two swords, gripping them tightly in his hands. He caught the third sword—the white-hilted Wado Ichimonji—directly in his mouth, clamping down on the hilt with his teeth.
CLANG!
The charging Marines froze in their tracks. Their eyes widened in sheer, paralyzing terror.
Zoro stood in front of Luffy and Koby, his three swords locked in a perfect, impenetrable defensive stance, completely blocking the blades of all twelve Marines at once.
"Move a single muscle," Zoro growled, his voice muffled by the sword in his mouth but carrying a terrifying, demonic weight, "and I'll slice you all in half."
The Marines dropped their weapons, falling to their knees and crying in fear.
"Listen to me, Luffy," Zoro said without turning around. "I told you I'd join your crew, and I meant it. But know this: my ambition comes first. I am going to become the world's greatest swordsman. If you ever do anything to get in the way of my dream, I will cut you down myself."
Luffy grinned, adjusting his straw hat. "The world's greatest swordsman? Sounds perfect! The Pirate King wouldn't settle for anything less!"
"Insolent brats!"
The ground shook as Captain Morgan leaped from the balcony, landing heavily in the courtyard. He glared at his terrified, crying subordinates.
"You cowards are a disgrace to justice!" Morgan sneered. "If you do not have the courage to fight them, then you will all put your guns to your heads and pull the trigger! That is an order!"
The Marines gasped, trembling as they slowly began to raise their guns to their own heads.
"Hey, axe-guy!"
Morgan turned. Luffy was walking straight toward him, cracking his knuckles.
"I'm the Marines' worst enemy," Luffy declared, his eyes burning with an intense, fiery resolve. "And I'm gonna kick your ass."
Morgan roared in fury. He charged forward, swinging his massive, terrifying Axe-Hand in a brutal, sweeping arc. Luffy effortlessly ducked underneath the blade.
CRASH!
The massive iron axe missed Luffy completely, instead slamming into the heavy steel fence surrounding the courtyard, slicing the solid metal cleanly in half as if it were butter.
The battle for Shells Town had officially begun.