Chapter 11: The Red Ogre Pats His Head, Zoro the Directional Idiot[1]
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The bullets slammed into the Fork Shield with a series of metallic clanks.
When all the bullets were knocked away, the Fork Shield didn't have even the slightest damage.
"So awesome. So Rozi can use Toriko's moves too! Can Fork really be used like that?"
Luffy widened his eyes and immediately tried to copy it.
But because he wasn't skilled yet, he couldn't use Fork as a defensive shield like Rozi did, and instead just swung out an energy fork that left the ground in front of him riddled with holes.
"Could it be… bullets are useless against him?"
"What is that bent fork, anyway?"
Helmeppo took a terrified step back, unable to understand the Fork Shield in front of Rozi, and even less able to understand why it could block bullets.
"As expected of a great pirate with an 800,000,000 Berries bounty. Bullets probably won't work on you."
"But… even your crew can use that move too. You taught him, right?"
"By the way, can you let me down from this post now?"
Zoro said with a grin.
"You're mistaken. Luffy is the captain."
"As for me, I'm at most the vice-captain."
Rozi chuckled, pulled out Kinpira from his back, and slashed a few times to cut the ropes binding Zoro.
The cold gleam of Kinpira's blade immediately caught Zoro's attention, but what bothered him even more was what Rozi had just said.
"Wait, that guy isn't the captain?" Zoro stared blankly at Luffy. "That man is qualified to be Great Pirate Rozi's captain?"
"You'll find out about that later."
Rozi smiled, sheathed Kinpira, and at the same time dismissed the Fork Shield.
"A great pirate with an 800,000,000 Berries bounty? Are you joking?"
"How could a town like this have a pirate like that?"
"Open fire, all of you. Kill them!"
The moment Helmeppo saw the Fork Shield vanish, his eyes lit up.
But no matter how he shouted, the soldiers behind him didn't keep firing.
Helmeppo looked back, only to see every Marine trembling violently, so shaky they could barely hold their rifles.
"Hey! What are you doing? Shoot!"
Helmeppo roared.
"N-No… I can't… He's really an 800,000,000 Berries pirate. I'll die!"
One Marine soldier stammered.
Clearly, after Zoro pointed it out, the Marines had recognized Rozi too.
"Damn it, you bunch of cowards!"
Helmeppo gritted his teeth, snatched a rifle from a soldier beside him, and was about to shoot Rozi's group again.
"Stop. You're not my opponent."
At that moment, Luffy's eyes widened, and the Gourmet Cell energy on his body rapidly condensed, forming the upper body of a gigantic red ogre in front of him.
The red ogre stretched out its right hand toward Helmeppo. With just a simple pat on the head, Helmeppo's eyes rolled back—he was frightened unconscious by the red ogre's terrifying pressure.
Not only Helmeppo, even the Marines beside him were scared into collapsing onto the ground.
"What was that?"
Zoro exclaimed.
"The Gourmet Cell Demon, the Red Ogre. It's the power Rozi helped Luffy obtain not long ago."
Nami pressed her lips together as she looked at Luffy, feeling both envy and fear.
She envied Luffy for being able to obtain powerful strength from Rozi, but also worried that if she obtained that kind of power, she would be controlled by Rozi.
"He helped you obtain it?"
"That kind of weird power can be given to someone?"
Zoro stared at Rozi in shock, increasingly feeling that Rozi was a strange and terrifyingly strong man.
"If you want, I can help you obtain one too. Of course, it'll be a different power than Luffy's."
Rozi said with a smile.
"Help me? I'm a swordsman!"
"And that sword on your back is a Great Grade sword, isn't it?"
"To have a sword like that proves you're good with a blade too, right?"
With the Marines no longer a threat, Zoro relaxed a lot. His gaze fell on Kinpira behind Rozi, a faint sharp light shining in his eyes.
"Maybe."
Rozi shrugged, giving an ambiguous answer.
Right now, he didn't actually practice swordsmanship, but considering the system's power, Rozi felt he might be able to master some sword-related strength through Zoro later.
"Hmph. Pretty modest."
"Anyway, no matter why I become a member of that brat's pirate crew…"
"Since you invited me, there's something I have to tell you."
"I set out to sea to become the world's greatest swordsman. Even if I become a pirate, it's the same."
"If in the future I can't become a great swordsman…"
"Then make me cut open my belly and atone, Vice-Captain Rozi and Captain Luffy!"
Zoro's mouth curled upward as he said with a ferocious grin.
"The world's greatest swordsman, huh. Hehehe, my partner has a goal like that."
Luffy put his hands on his hips, not taking Zoro's threat seriously at all, and instead felt happy that Zoro joined.
"The world's greatest swordsman. What big talk."
"If your goal is to be the greatest swordsman, then where are your swords?"
Nami folded her arms and asked Zoro.
"Tch! My swords were taken by that damned Navy captain's spoiled brat son."
"No good. I have to go get my swords back right now!"
As he spoke, Zoro turned and was about to run toward the buildings inside the Marine base.
But after just one step, Rozi grabbed him by the back of the collar.
"Bastard, what are you doing?"
Zoro frowned and looked at Rozi impatiently.
"Nothing. Just reminding you that you're running in the wrong direction."
Rozi looked at Zoro with amusement and lifted his hand to point toward the gate leading out of the Marine base.
He had heard Zoro had no sense of direction, but seeing it with his own eyes like this was genuinely hilarious.
"Running toward the base exit… Are you directionally challenged?"
Nami's perfectly timed jab made a bulging vein pop on Zoro's forehead.
"Hahahaha, this is so funny, Zoro!"
Luffy laughed too.
That completely unrestrained laughter rode the wind through every part of the Marine base, and finally reached Captain Morgan's ears.
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