"That guy is a spoiled brat," Luffy said, his eyes shadowing under the brim of his straw hat as Helmeppo strutted away. "And Zoro... Zoro is joining my crew."
Without another word, Luffy hopped off the stone wall, landing lightly in the dusty execution yard. He walked straight toward the terrifying Pirate Hunter.
Zoro glared at him, his eyes like daggers. "Didn't I tell you to get lost? I'm not joining a pirate crew. I'm not becoming a criminal. I have my own dream to fulfill, and I'm going to survive this month to do it."
Luffy grinned, crossing his arms. "I don't care! I already decided you're going to be on my ship!"
"You can't just decide that!" Zoro barked, straining against the heavy ropes binding his arms to the wooden cross. He let out an exhausted sigh, looking down at the dirt. "Hey. Kid."
"Yeah?"
Zoro nodded toward the crushed, dirt-covered remains of the sweet rice balls Helmeppo had stomped into the ground. "Pick those up. Give them to me."
Luffy blinked. "You sure? They're basically mud meatballs now."
"Shut up and feed them to me," Zoro ordered, his voice tight.
Luffy knelt down, scraping the ruined food off the dirt, and held it up to Zoro's mouth. Without a moment of hesitation, the Pirate Hunter choked down every single bite, chewing through the grit, the dirt, and the overpowering sweetness of the sugar.
He swallowed hard, coughing slightly.
"Tell the little girl," Zoro said, a surprisingly soft, genuine smile crossing his battered face. "Tell her it was delicious. And that I ate it all."
A few minutes later, Luffy and Koby were back out in the town streets, standing with little Rika.
"He really said that?!" Rika cried, tears of absolute joy streaming down her cheeks. "He ate them all?!"
Luffy nodded, grinning widely. "Yep! Every last bite."
Koby pushed his glasses up his nose, completely baffled. "I don't understand. Why would a bloodthirsty demon like Roronoa Zoro do something so kind? The rumors say he's a monster!"
"He isn't a monster!" Rika protested, wiping her eyes. "He's a good person! He only got arrested because he was protecting me!"
"Protecting you?" Koby asked.
Rika nodded sniffled. "A few weeks ago, that mean man, Helmeppo, was walking his giant, vicious pet wolf through the town. The wolf was running wild, biting people and tearing up the shops. It tried to attack me... but Zoro stepped in and killed it. Helmeppo had him arrested, but Zoro agreed to be tied to the cross for a month so Helmeppo wouldn't punish the rest of the town!"
Koby's jaw dropped. "He gave up his freedom... to save the village? From the Marines?!"
"Well, well, well! If it isn't the little brat from earlier!"
The three of them turned around. Helmeppo was swaggering down the street, flanked by his Marine guards. He pointed a mocking finger at Rika.
"I hope you said your goodbyes to your precious Pirate Hunter!" Helmeppo laughed, his cleft chin practically quivering with glee. "Because I'm having him executed tomorrow morning!"
Luffy's smile vanished. "Tomorrow? But you promised him if he survived a month, he could go free."
"I lied, idiot!" Helmeppo snorted, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "Why would I keep a promise to a filthy bounty hunter?! My father is Captain Morgan! I can do whatever I want, and nobody can stop—"
CRACK!
Luffy moved like a blur. His fist buried itself so deeply into Helmeppo's face that the spoiled brat's feet left the ground. Helmeppo spun through the air in a spray of blood and broken teeth, crashing violently into a brick wall.
The entire street gasped in collective horror. The Marines froze. Koby screamed, grabbing Luffy by the waist and desperately trying to hold him back.
"Luffy, stop! You just hit the Captain's son! They'll kill you!" Koby wailed.
Helmeppo scrambled to his feet, crying hysterically and clutching his shattered nose. "Y-YOU HIT ME?! I'M GOING TO TELL MY DADDY! HE'LL EXECUTE YOU! HE'LL EXECUTE ALL OF YOU!" He turned and sprinted toward the Marine Base, sobbing the entire way.
Luffy cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulder with a dark, determined glare.
"Koby," Luffy said, his voice deadly serious. "I'm going to get Zoro his swords. That guy is definitely joining my crew."
Inside the imposing Marine Base, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
Captain Morgan stood at the top of the fortress, an absolute giant of a man with a steel jaw and a massive, terrifying battle-axe permanently grafted onto his right arm.
"The townsfolk's offerings are decreasing," Morgan growled to a trembling subordinate. "They are disrespecting my authority. I am absolute! I am the law!"
Before the Marine could answer, Helmeppo burst onto the rooftop, his face covered in blood. "DADDY! A pirate punched me! You have to kill him! Kill him right now!"
Morgan scowled. "You're a disgrace, crying over a single punch. But nobody disrespects my blood. He will die." The tyrant paused, his eyes narrowing. "But first... I hear a little girl snuck into my execution yard today. Lieutenant Rokkaku!"
A young Marine stepped forward, saluting nervously. "Y-Yes, Captain?"
"Go into the town. Find that little girl, and execute her for trespassing."
Rokkaku froze. The color drained from his face. "S-Sir... she's just a child! I cannot execute a little girl!"
"I am the law!" Morgan roared. With a terrifying swing of his Axe-Hand, he struck the Lieutenant down, leaving him unconscious and bleeding on the stone floor. "No one disobeys me! Raise the statue!"
At his command, dozens of sweating Marines began pulling on thick ropes, slowly hoisting a massive, grand stone statue of Captain Morgan himself up toward the highest point of the fortress roof.
Down in the courtyard below, Luffy had just snuck back over the wall. He looked up at the towering fortress. "Alright, time to find those swords!"
Hearing the commotion on the roof, Luffy grinned. He stretched his arms back as far as they would go, grabbing the iron bars of the courtyard fence. He aimed himself straight for the top of the fortress.
"GOMU GOMU NO..." Luffy shouted, his body springing forward with explosive momentum, "...ROCKET!"
Luffy launched himself hundreds of feet into the air like a human cannonball. He soared right over the edge of the roof, straight toward the heavy ropes hoisting the giant stone statue.
"Whoa! Coming in too fast!" Luffy yelled, wildly grabbing the ropes to stop his momentum.
SNAP.
The thick ropes tore under the sudden, immense pressure.
Time seemed to slow down. Captain Morgan's eyes bulged in absolute horror as his glorious, massive stone statue tipped backward, plummeted off the roof, and shattered into a million pieces on the ground below.
"MY STATUE!" Morgan shrieked, his voice echoing across the entire island. "KILL HIM! EXECUTE THAT RUBBER FREAK!"
"Hey! You're the guy I punched!" Luffy cheered, completely ignoring the furious Captain as he spotted Helmeppo cowering near the stairs.
Luffy grabbed Helmeppo by the collar of his garish suit and dragged him kicking and screaming down the stairwell. "Show me where Zoro's swords are! And you're gonna be my human shield until we find them!"
Back down in the execution yard, Koby sprinted toward the wooden cross, a knife clutched tightly in his trembling hands.
"What are you doing here?!" Zoro demanded as Koby began desperately sawing at the thick ropes binding him.
"I-I'm freeing you!" Koby stammered, tears in his eyes. "Helmeppo lied! He's going to execute you tomorrow! Luffy went into the base to get your swords!"
Zoro's eyes widened. "He lied...?"
BANG!
A gunshot rang out. Koby gasped, his eyes going wide as a blossom of red blood exploded across his shoulder. He collapsed to his knees, dropping the knife.
"KOBY!" Zoro yelled.
A squad of Marines poured into the yard, their rifles aimed directly at the bleeding boy and the tied-up pirate.
Koby gritted his teeth. Despite the agonizing pain, despite the guns pointed at his head, the boy slowly picked the knife back up. With trembling, bloody hands, he reached up and continued to furiously cut away at Zoro's ropes.
"Stop it! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Zoro yelled. "Run away!"
"I won't!" Koby cried, his voice breaking with sheer, unyielding determination. "I want to be a Marine! But I won't follow Marines who act like tyrants! Luffy is risking his life in there for you! He believes in you! You have to help him, Zoro!"
Zoro stared at the bleeding, crying, utterly terrified boy who refused to back down. The Pirate Hunter clenched his jaw, a dark, ferocious fire igniting in his eyes.