The air in the Marine courtyard tasted of iron and fear. Captain Morgan's axe-hand gleamed under the harsh sun, a promise of cleaved bone.
"Disobedience," Morgan's voice boomed, devoid of all humanity, "is a weed. And I rip weeds out by the root." He nodded to two of his cowering men. "Guns to their heads. Now."
The cold barrels pressed against the temples of the two trembling Marines who had dared to show a shred of mercy. A collective gasp rippled through the assembled crowd.
And then, a laugh cut through the tension. It was bright, reckless, and utterly out of place.
All eyes snapped to the boy in the straw hat.
"Hey, Axe-Hand!" Luffy grinned, a wild, challenging light in his eyes. He took a single, deliberate step forward. "You're wasting your time with them. Your worst enemy is right here. I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Morgan's single eye narrowed to a venomous slit. "Pirate scum," he hissed. "You dare?"
"I dare!" Luffy shouted, his voice ringing with absolute conviction. "Come on! Fight me!"
The fight didn't begin—it erupted. Morgan charged, a mountain of rage and metal. His axe-hand swung in a terrifying arc, not aiming for Luffy, but for the wrought-iron fence separating them. With a deafening *SHRIINK!* of tearing metal, he sliced a whole section in half, the severed bars clattering to the cobblestones like fallen teeth.
The battle was a brutal dance. Luffy's rubbery fists *thwacked* against Morgan's fortified body, sounding like drums on a castle wall. Morgan absorbed the blows with grunts, his endurance monstrous. He swung his axe, missing Luffy by inches, carving gouges in the earth.
"You cannot knock me down, insect!" Morgan roared, backhanding Luffy and sending him skidding.
From the sidelines, bound and helpless, Koby watched, his heart hammering. "Luffy! Don't stop!"
But the stalemate shattered from an unexpected angle. Morgan's sniveling son, Helmeppo, saw his chance. He scurried behind Koby, pressing his ornate pistol against the boy's pink hair.
"Stop, you pirate freak!" Helmeppo shrieked, his voice cracking with hysteria. "Or I paint the stones with his brains! I'll do it!"
Koby froze, the cold metal a circle of doom on his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut, then forced them open, shouting with tears in his eyes, "Luffy! Ignore him! Keep fighting!"
Luffy's gaze flickered to Koby. For a fraction of a second, the relentless fury in his eyes wavered.
It was all the opening Morgan needed. A cruel smile touched his lips as he reared back for a final, crushing axe blow.
But Luffy didn't attack Morgan. He spun on his heel, his arm elongating like a thunderbolt.
"Nobody," Luffy roared, "threatens my friend!"
*POW!*
The Gum-Gum Pistole connected with Helmeppo's jaw before the coward could even blink. He soared through the air, unconscious before he hit the ground.
But turning his back was a mistake. Morgan' axe-hand was already descending, a silver arc of death aimed at Luffy's exposed back.
"Luffy!" Koby screamed.
*SHING!*
The sound wasn't of tearing flesh, but of three blades meeting one. Zoro stood there, a sword in each hand and one in his teeth, having intercepted the axe a hair's breadth from Luffy's hat. The strain showed on his blood-streaked face.
"You're… distracting me, Captain," Zoro grunted, then shoved forward with a surge of desperate strength. "Three-Sword Style… Oni Giri!"
A flash of steel, a cry of shock from Morgan, and the tyrannical captain crashed to the ground, defeated.
Silence. Then, a hesitant cheer broke out from the Marines. It grew into a roar of liberation. They were celebrating their freedom, not mourning their fallen captain.
Zoro watched them for a second, then his eyes rolled back. The swords clattered from his hands as he collapsed, his body finally succumbing to nine days of starvation and brutal combat.
***
The world was soft, and it smelled of soup.
In the gentle light of Rika's home, Zoro shoveled rice into his mouth with a single-minded intensity, a mountain of empty bowls beside him. Color was slowly returning to his face.
"So," Zoro said around a mouthful, fixing his gaze on Luffy, who was happily devouring his own tenth bowl. "What now, Captain?"
Luffy swallowed, his expression turning serious in a way it only did for one thing. "The Grand Line," he said, as if stating a simple fact. "That's where the One Piece is. That's where we're going."
From the corner, Koby fidgeted. His dream of the Marines felt heavier, dirtier after today.
"Why's he making that face?" Zoro nodded at Koby. "He's not coming with us."
"Because we're friends!" Koby burst out, his voice thick with emotion. "And you're going to… and I'm going to…" He trailed off, the conflict tearing him apart.
Zoro's voice was low, blunt. "Your dream's got a price, kid. You sailed with Alvida. The Marines have long memories. That past doesn't just wash off."
Before Koby could form a reply, the door slammed open. Three Marines stood there, their postures official, but their eyes held a flicker of gratitude.
"Straw Hat Luffy. Roronoa Zoro." The lead Marine spoke. "As pirates, by law, we should arrest you. But… you freed this town. So we offer this: leave. Now. And we will… edit our report to Headquarters. Your actions here will remain a local matter."
It was mercy, of a kind. Luffy and Zoro exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them. They stood, bowing deeply to Rika's mother.
"Thank you for the food!" Luffy said, his grin back. "It was great!"
As they walked toward the door, past the Marines, Koby remained rooted to the spot, a statue of indecision. The lead Marine looked at him, then at the departing pirates.
"And you?" the Marine asked, his tone hardening. "Are you with them?"
Koby's mouth went dry. This was it. The line in the sand. "N-no," he stammered. "I'm not a pirate."
Luffy, already in the doorway, turned his head. His smile was genuine, oblivious to the grenade he was about to toss. "Oh, Koby? He's great! He was with this pirate lady, Alvida, for like two years! But he's super brave now and wants to be a Marine!"
The words hung in the air.
Koby's blood turned to ice. Every Marine in the room stiffened, their grateful expressions vanishing, replaced by cold, professional scrutiny. The past Zoro had just warned him about was now out in the open, laid bare by his friend's innocent honesty.
Koby's face drained of all color. "Luffy… you… why would you…?"
The lead Marine's hand moved slowly, deliberately, to rest on the hilt of his sword. His eyes locked onto Koby, no longer seeing a boy, but a potential criminal associate.
"Is that so?" the Marine said, his voice dangerously quiet.
Luffy, finally sensing the shift in the atmosphere, blinked. Zoro's hand drifted toward his wrapped swords.
And Koby stood trapped in the middle, his dream crumbling before it even began, as the men he longed to join stared at him with the eyes of hunters.
The clang of steel was the only prayer Zoro knew. Sweat stung his eyes, his muscles screamed, and his world had narrowed to the girl standing across from him, her wooden sword held steady. Kuina. Two thousand duels. Two thousand losses.
Panting, he pushed himself up from the dojo floor for the two-thousand-and-first time. "Again!"
Kuina didn't smirk. She never did. Her dark eyes were solemn as she lowered her practice blade. "It's pointless, Zoro."
"What's pointless is you giving up before I beat you!" he shot back, hefting his own sword.
"I'm not giving up on today," she said, her voice quiet but cutting through the humid air. "I'm giving up on forever." She turned away, looking out at the setting sun painting the hills gold. "Father says it's biology. As I get older, you'll get stronger. I'll fall behind. Because I'm a girl."
The words landed like a physical blow. Zoro stared at her back, the straight line of her shoulders that had thrown him, disarmed him, humbled him every single day.
"I wish I'd been born a boy," she whispered, the confession hanging in the air, fragile and devastating.
Rage, hot and sudden, erupted in Zoro's chest. He stomped forward, spinning her around to face him. "Don't you dare say that!" he yelled, his voice cracking. "You don't get to complain! Not after you've beaten me two thousand times! Every bruise, every loss… you saying that is like spitting on all of it! On *my* work!"
Kuina's eyes widened, not in fear, but in shock at his fury.
His hands were fists at his sides. "If you want to be the best, then *be the best*. Man, woman… what does it matter to a sword?"
A long silence stretched between them, filled with the echoes of their clashes. Then, a fierce, determined light ignited in Kuina's eyes. She extended her hand, not for a handshake, but as a vow. "Then let's promise. One of us. The greatest swordsman in the world."
Zoro gripped her hand, his small, calloused fingers locking with hers. "It'll be me."
"No," she said, a real smile finally touching her lips. "It'll be me."
***
The next day, the dojo was silent. Not the peaceful quiet of meditation, but a thick, suffocating stillness. Zoro found his sensei staring blankly at a wall, his face ashen.
"Where's Kuina? We have a duel," Zoro demanded, his promise still burning in his heart.
The old man didn't look at him. His voice was a hollow rasp. "Gone. A fall… down the stone stairs. A tragic accident."
*No.* The word was a stone in Zoro's gut. He ran, feet pounding on the wooden floors, bursting into the back room. There, on a low table, lay a small, sheet-draped form.
This wasn't real. It couldn't be.
He stumbled forward. "Kuina?" he called, his voice too loud in the deathly hush. He yanked the cloth back. Her face was pale, peaceful, and utterly, terribly still.
The world tilted. His promise shattered.
"You liar!" he screamed at her lifeless body, tears of fury and despair blurring his vision. "You promised! You ran away! You left me here alone!"
Sobs wracked his small frame. The future they'd sworn to fight for had been stolen by a stupid flight of stairs. Grief hardened into something cold and unbreakable. He wiped his face roughly on his sleeve and marched back to her father.
"Give me her sword," Zoro commanded, his voice no longer that of a child.
"Zoro…"
"Give it to me!" The shout echoed in the silent dojo. "I will become the greatest. For both of us. I'll carry our dream. So give me the sword!"
The sensei, seeing the fire of a lifetime's dedication in the boy's wet eyes, silently nodded.
***
**Present. Marine Base, Shells Town.**
The memory of that cold, still face superimposed over the grinning, rubbery one in front of him.
"Join my crew!" Luffy beamed, as if he weren't surrounded by a hundred Marines with rifles aimed at their hearts.
Zoro, bound and bleeding, tasted iron and defeat. Death was here. He'd failed. The promise to Kuina would die on this filthy plaza.
"Fire!" Captain Morgan bellowed.
A wall of smoke and lead erupted. Zoro braced for the impact.
It never came.
Instead, a straw-hatted idiot leaped in front of him, arms spread wide. *THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!* The bullets struck Luffy's chest… and bounced away, pinging off into the dirt.
A collective gasp sucked the air from the plaza. The Marines stared, dumbfounded.
"See?" Luffy grinned, turning back to Zoro as if he'd just performed a neat card trick. "So, join my crew!"
In that surreal, impossible moment, Zoro made a choice. A criminal's life was better than a dead man's failure. "Fine… I'll join you." The words were a key, turning in the lock of his destiny.
"Devil Fruit!" Morgan roared, understanding dawning. "He's not human! Take them down with blades!"
As Luffy fumbled with the ropes, a wave of marines surged forward, swords gleaming under the sun. Koby, who had fainted at the gunfire, chose that moment to wake up. "Luffy! Zoro! Look out!"
The ropes fell away. Luffy shoved three familiar hilts into Zoro's waiting hands. The weight of Wado Ichimonji—*Kuina's sword*—settled in his mouth. The other two filled his palms.
Freedom. And with it, a storm.
The charging Marines met a whirlwind of steel. *SHING! SHING! SHING!* In a blink, a dozen blades were locked, trapped by Zoro's three. He stood at the center, a statue of controlled violence, his gaze promising extinction.
"Move," Zoro growled, the word vibrating around Wado's hilt, "and you die."
Terror, raw and pungent, filled the air. Marines wept, their courage dissolving.
"I've already said I'll join you," Zoro stated, eyes never leaving the cowering soldiers. "After this, the World Government will brand me a criminal. But hear my conditions, pirate. My goal is to become the world's greatest swordsman. If your dreams ever get in the way of mine… I'll leave. Or I'll kill you."
Luffy's answer was a wide, unshakable grin. "Great!"
"You fools! Attack! Kill them both!" Morgan screamed, his axe-hand glinting.
"Zoro," Luffy said, his tone shifting. "Duck."
Zoro dropped. Luffy's leg became a blur. "Gomu Gomu no…"
The Marines, their swords still locked with Zoro's, had a split second to realize their peril.
***"…WHIP!"***
A rubbery leg scythed through the air, not at Zoro, but at the *handles* of the Marines' trapped swords. The impact was catastrophic. The force traveled up the locked blades, vibrating into the Marines' arms, shoulders—
A chorus of sickening *crunches* and agonized shrieks tore through the plaza as wrists and arms snapped from the transferred force. Swords clattered to the ground, followed by men writhing in pain.
"CAPTAIN!" one soldier wailed, cradling a bent arm. "We can't… we can't defend the base! Our swords are useless!"
Morgan's face purpled with apocalyptic rage. He hefted his giant axe-hand, his eyes locking not on Luffy, but directly on the still-kneeling Zoro, who was wide open.
"ENOUGH!" Morgan roared, and with a speed belying his size, he launched himself across the plaza, the massive axe-blade aimed not to capture, but to cleave Zoro in two. "YOU DIE FIRST, PIRATE SCUM!"
The shadow of the axe fell over Zoro, and Luffy was too far away.
**TO BE CONTINUED…**