East Blue: Shells Town, Food Foo 1522
Grain Dax walked into Food Foo with a slightly distracted look on his face, a pair of scarred metal gauntlets at his waist, and a hefty bag of Berries on his back. Almost instantly, he tripped over a broken chair leg and nearly face planted on the floor of the restaurant. If not for quickly transitioning into a push up position, and springing himself upwards dramatically, he was confident that it would have been a humiliating morning.
"What the hell happened here?" Dax said in disbelief to no one in particular as he stared at the wrecked tables, shattered chairs and general chaos that the bartender was sweeping up.
The bartender looked up at him with a tired yet friendly smile.
"Roronoa Zoro happened."
Dax's eyes went wide "THE Roronoa Zoro. Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro?? I need details man, details." Dax sat at the bar, practically vibrating with excitement as he tossed a handful of Berries onto the bar to cover his beer and his typical 10 onigiris.
The bartender smiled, and leaned the broom against the bar before circling around the table to pour Dax a drink and prepare his food. "Helmeppo had Soro off the leash, and that damned dog was trying to bite people in the restaurant. Zoro stopped it, and almost killed Helmeppo for his misdeeds. Zoro then decided to turn himself in to avoid Rika getting punished..."
Dax leaned back in his stool contemplatively. "I just came from the base myself and didn't hear anything about it, though I was at the bounty collection office. So, you're telling me that Pirate Hunter Zoro is not just on the island, but in Marine custody?"
The bartender frowned. "Yep, he was imprisoned a few hours ago. He's currently in the base's courtyard, living out some sort of punishment. I was too busy fantasizing about beating up that bastard Helmeppo to catch the details,."
"That's fine, can't blame you. That turd deserves it; he's such a smug looking bastard." Dax chattered amicably. "Anyways, I'll see you later, I'm off to rent a room to stay in for the night. I'll be back for dinner hopefully!" Dax stated as he finished his drink, wrapped up his onigiris and ambled out of the bar.
Dax rented his usual room at the Shells Town Hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing in bed, fishing in the harbor and polishing his precious rocks – after all, it had been a difficult past few weeks and some rest was necessary.
When night came, Dax went back to his room, put on a black mask and his gauntlets. He climbed out the second story window and ran across the rooftops towards the marine base. In a few minutes, he was one wall away from the inside of the courtyard. With a practiced jump and grab, he pulled himself over the courtyard wall. He dropped down into the courtyard quietly, his hands in a relaxed but ready position to deal with any unexpected threats.
He scanned the courtyard cautiously and quickly realized there was only one thing of interest: a man with green hair tied to a wooden crucifix staring right at him.
Dax stared back, marveling at the intensity of the man's glare, and the instinctual respect that it inspired in him. Dax sauntered forward, his hand reaching into his back pocket in a relaxed manner.
He casually pulled out a small black notebook full of names. On the very first page, under the East Blue section, the name Roronoa Zoro was clearly written. With the tip of the gauntlet's sharpened fingernail, Dax slowly scraped a line across the name while staring at Zoro excitedly.
Zoro looked back at the man. Large, pronounced muscles stretched his black clothes tight over his eight-foot-tall frame. The man's sky-blue eyes shone with anticipation as he looked down on the bound man.
"You're from Baroque Works, aren't you? Who are you... Mr. 5? Zoro said while casually yawning, though the relaxation didn't reach his eyes.
"Baroque Works? Absolutely not! Though I am here with a job offer." Dax responded enthusiastically and a little too loudly for someone on a stealth mission. After a slight stunned pause from Zoro, Dax grumbled "Those cocky losers? Don't insult me!"