The young girl timidly mumbled an apology, which immediately rubbed Alvida the wrong way.
"Look at you, all meek and scared, what kind of backbone do you have, huh? You'd be better off staying home where it's safe."
Kira lowered her head and muttered something under her breath, not loud enough for them to hear.
"What did you say?"
"I... my friend hasn't come back yet. Even though he sent a letter saying he's safe, I want to find him," Kira raised her voice slightly, gaining a bit of confidence. "Merchants won't hire me, and I can't get on regular ships, so... I came here to try my luck. I just happened to see a beautiful woman recruiting sailors, so I thought I'd give it a shot."
Alvida wasn't particularly interested in Kira's sob story, until she heard the words "beautiful woman." That hit her right in the sweet spot.
"You've got good taste and potential. Even though I'm quite famous on these seas, who knows, maybe I know the person you're looking for."
Being held in Alvida's grip, Kira immediately lit up upon hearing those words.
"His name is Koby! He's got pink hair, he's really kind-hearted, and he's the one who taught me navigation. We grew up together."
"..."
Kira continued enthusiastically, completely oblivious to the storm clouds gathering on Alvida's face. "I'm telling you, even though he seems weak, he's actually super smart. He only needs to see something once to understand it, he's amazing at everything he tries."
Marcus, walking ahead of them, couldn't hold back anymore. He burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, this is fate! The universe really has a twisted sense of humor."
He had to admit, maybe destiny really did exist in the One Piece world. Otherwise, how could he just happen to run into Koby's childhood friend like this?
This character had never appeared in the original story, but here she was, seemingly connected to the future Marine hero.
Suddenly, he felt like he was truly becoming part of the One Piece world, not just observing it, but actually influencing it. Maybe fate had given him a unique role to play in this story.
For the first time since arriving here, he felt the full reality of this world. The One Piece world wasn't just about Luffy and his adventures, it was about all the countless lives and stories interweaving together.
"What's so funny?" Kira looked at Marcus with confusion. She didn't understand what was so amusing about what she'd said.
Alvida, fuming, smacked Marcus hard on the back.
Feeling the slap, Marcus finally managed to control himself, though he still couldn't stop grinning.
"It's nothing. I was just marveling at how beautifully connected fate can be in this world."
"?"
Kira looked up at Alvida with a puzzled expression and saw her sigh deeply before shaking her head.
"The Koby you mentioned, I know him."
Kira's eyes lit up like stars. "Really?! Where is he now? Can you take me to him?"
"I don't know where exactly he is right now. But most likely, he's joined the Marines."
"The Marines? So he really did become one after all."
"You knew he wanted to?"
"Yeah, he always admired Marine heroes when we were little. He used to say he wanted to become one when he grew up, but later he stopped talking about it. I never knew why."
Marcus fell silent for a moment after hearing this. So that's how it was in this version of events.
In the original story, Koby had talked about his dreams with Luffy after being oppressed by Alvida for three years, finally resolving to become a Marine to catch evil pirates.
But the One Piece world Marcus found himself in had clearly changed significantly from the original timeline. Then again, that was to be expected. After all, the world before and after the two-year time skip was practically a different world.
Even the Gum-Gum Fruit had ended up being revealed as the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika in the end.
After fighting and grinding for so long, the world was no longer what it once was.
"Yeah, maybe he really will become a Marine hero someday," he said, giving a bit of affirmation.
Although he'd only watched One Piece up to the Dressrosa Arc, he'd occasionally come across various clips and spoilers online, like how Luffy's fruit eventually became a Mythical Zoan or how Koby became the new generation Marine hero.
Though his reputation in the future didn't seem too stellar from what Marcus remembered.
Hearing others acknowledge Koby made Kira very happy, as if she herself had also been recognized and validated.
Alvida, on the other hand, just gave a dismissive cold snort. In her memory, Koby was nothing but a spineless weakling who never spoke an honest word and spent most of his time cowering in fear.
As for Marcus' affirmation and Kira's hopeful thoughts, she didn't bother commenting. After all, it was just feel-good talk to make the girl feel better.
They brought Kira aboard the ship, and Marcus started showing her around the basic layout while Alvida prepared for departure.
"By the way," Marcus asked as they walked, "is it really okay for you to just sail off with us like this? Won't your family be worried sick?"
Kira shook her head sadly. "Koby and I both grew up in an orphanage. Our families were killed by pirates when we were very young. We only had each other."
Marcus fell silent again. In this fragile, delicate-looking girl, he saw a reflection of an entire era, and he also understood why Koby still longed to become a Marine, even after seeing how corrupt places like the 153rd Branch had become under Captain Morgan's tyranny.
It all came from here. The loss, the injustice, the need to protect others from what they'd experienced.
No wonder no family had ever shown up during Koby's three years under Alvida's thumb.
Marcus found himself wondering: if they hadn't appeared here today, what would have been the fate of this girl? Would she have eventually given up after failing to find a ship to join, slowly settling into life in some small town? Maybe seeing Koby in the newspapers years later and feeling happy for him from afar?
Or perhaps she would have somehow managed to become a sailor and go to sea searching for him... only to end up dying at the hands of some unknown pirate, fueling Koby's hatred of pirates and strengthening his resolve to hunt them down?
"Although I'm not sure where Koby is right now," Marcus finally said, "I do know of a place where you might be able to get news about him."
"Really?! Thank you so much!"
"Don't thank us just yet, we need to make some things clear first." Marcus looked toward Alvida, who shrugged to indicate she didn't mind him taking the lead on this.
"First off, the Koby you mentioned, he's been working under her for the past three years."
"What?!" Kira was stunned, her face going pale.
"Unfortunately, just yesterday, he quit. Whether he went to become a Marine or joined someone else, we don't know. But if we head to Loguetown, we might be able to find out who he's with now."
"I..." Kira was dazed, clearly struggling to process this information. She'd never imagined that on her first day at sea, she'd meet Koby's former boss.
Suddenly, she felt nervous and scared. She wasn't stupid, Koby's sudden departure clearly hadn't made Alvida happy, and now she was essentially throwing herself into the hands of someone who might have a grudge against her friend.
She swallowed hard, trying to find her courage.
"So right now, you have two choices," Marcus continued gently. "One: work with us. There's a good chance you'll run into Koby again eventually, though we can't say exactly when or under what circumstances. Two: once we reach Loguetown, we part ways. Whether you can find any clues about Koby after that will depend on luck and fate."
He paused, giving her time to absorb this before adding, "You don't need to give us an answer right now. Wait until we reach Loguetown, then you can decide what you want to do. For now, let's set sail and see where the wind takes us."