All the citizens of Shells Town, who moments ago had been bowing their heads in fear, were now frozen, their eyes wide as they stared at the unbelievable scene before them.
Helmeppo, the precious son of Captain Morgan, the one who always terrorized them, was lying sprawled on the ground, unconscious, one side of his face swelling up rapidly.
And standing over him was a young man in a straw hat, with not a hint of remorse on his face.
"L-Luffy..." Koby stammered, looking like he was about to faint from sheer terror. "What... what... what have you done..."
The silence was broken by Helmeppo's groans. Two Marine soldiers hurried over, helping him to his feet.
"Oww... it hurts..." Helmeppo cradled his swollen cheek, tears and snot streaming down his face. His arrogance was gone, replaced by the rage and humiliation of a beaten child.
He glared at Luffy, his eyes full of hatred.
"You... YOU'RE DEAD!" he shrieked. "MY FATHER IS CAPTAIN MORGAN! I'LL HAVE HIM EXECUTE YOU! I'LL HAVE HIM EXECUTE YOUR WHOLE FAMILY! I'LL HAVE HIM EXECUTE EVERYONE WHO DARED TO WITNESS THIS!"
His crazed threats made the townspeople shrink back in fear once more.
Ririka, the mother of the little girl Rika, quickly pulled her daughter behind her. "Rika, we have to go!"
But Rika, the brave little girl, shook her head. She looked towards Luffy, her big round eyes no longer filled with fear, but with admiration.
"Mommy, he's not a bad person," Rika said. "He and Mr. Zoro are good guys."
Luffy heard that. A small smile touched his lips. He turned to Koby, who was still trying to drag him away.
"Koby, don't worry. I have to go back and talk to that moss-head guy again."
"TALK ABOUT WHAT?! WE HAVE TO RUN, RIGHT NOW!"
But Luffy just brushed Koby's hands off and walked straight towards the Marine base, as if nothing had happened.
In the highest office of the central tower, Captain Morgan sat behind a massive, polished wooden desk.
His office was opulent and ostentatious. An animal fur rug covered the floor, paintings of his own (self-proclaimed) victories hung on the walls, and most notably, a golden bust of himself stood in one corner.
Morgan was a large, powerfully built man. But the most striking feature was his right arm. Instead of a hand, it was a massive, gleaming battle-axe. And his jaw, it was encased in a steel plate, with the word "MÖWE" (Seagull) engraved upon it. He was a living war machine.
A Marine soldier stood before the desk, trembling as he gave his report.
"...Sir, the amount of tribute from the townspeople this month... has decreased again, sir."
CRASH!
Morgan slammed his axe-hand down on the desk, leaving a deep gash in the wood. "DECREASED?" he bellowed, his voice like thunder.
"Don't tell me they are poor! My greatness has brought order to this island! It is their privilege to pay me tribute! A decrease in their offerings... can only mean one thing."
He stood up, his massive shadow enveloping the soldier.
"IT IS DEFIANCE! A SLIGHT AGAINST MY AUTHORITY!"
Just then, the office doors burst open.
Helmeppo stormed in, crying his eyes out. "DADDY! YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM FOR ME!"
Morgan looked at his sniveling son, his eyes showing no pity, only contempt. "Weakling. Why was I cursed with such a weak son?"
"He hit me! A kid in a straw hat hit me in the middle of town!" Helmeppo whined, pointing to his swollen cheek.
Morgan wasn't concerned about his son's injury. He only cared about one thing.
"He dared to strike my son?" he said, his voice dropping to a terrifying low. "That action... is also a slight against me."
Luffy once again easily vaulted over the base's wall. He landed in the courtyard and walked straight up to Zoro.
"Hey!"
Zoro opened his eyes. He looked even more exhausted than before. "You again? I already told you, I'm not—"
"Listen," Luffy cut him off. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to get your three swords back now."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on doing that? By waltzing into a Marine fortress?"
"Yeah, probably."
"You're insane."
"If I get them back," Luffy said, pointing a finger at Zoro, a sly grin on his face, "then you have to join my crew. That's the deal."
Before Zoro could even protest, "I didn't agree to any—," Luffy had already run off, leaving him alone with his surprise and a hint of bewilderment.
Luffy ran around the base of the tower, looking for an entrance. He heard a commotion coming from the roof.
"Must be up there!"
He backed up, stretching his arms out behind him, grabbing onto the corners of two nearby buildings.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
His body was pulled taut like a rubber band.
"ROCKET!"
Luffy shot into the air like a cannonball, flying straight towards the roof.
On the roof of the tower, a tense atmosphere prevailed.
Captain Morgan, Helmeppo, and a group of Marines were overseeing the erection of a giant statue. It was a full-body statue of Morgan himself, sculpted in a gaudy pose, his axe-hand raised to the sky in arrogant triumph.
"Daddy, you have to order them to kill that kid now!" Helmeppo was still whining.
SMACK!
Morgan backhanded Helmeppo across the face. "SILENCE! Do not give me orders! I am the only one who gives orders here!"
He looked down at the courtyard. "I heard a little girl snuck in here earlier?"
A junior officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Rokkaku, quickly reported. "Yes, sir! But she has been thrown out."
Morgan turned to Rokkaku, his eyes as cold as ice. "Disrespect cannot be tolerated. Find that girl and kill her."
Everyone was stunned. Kill a child over a rice ball?
Lieutenant Rokkaku, though terrified, tried to hold on to a shred of a soldier's dignity. "Captain, sir! I... I can't! She's just a child!"
Morgan stared at him. "Did you just say 'can't' to me?"
SWISH!
The axe on Morgan's arm swung. A single, lightning-fast slash.
Lieutenant Rokkaku screamed in pain and collapsed, blood pouring from a deep wound on his chest.
"Anyone who defies my orders will meet the same end," Morgan said, devoid of emotion. "Useless. If you can't do it, I'll do it myself."
He turned to the soldiers raising the statue. "What are you waiting for? RAISE IT!"
The soldiers nervously pulled on the ropes. The statue was slowly lifted into the air.
One of the seaman recruits, a man named Ukkari, fumbled with the rope in his terror. The rope slipped.
The massive statue tilted, its head striking the rooftop's parapet.
CRACK!
A fissure appeared on the statue's neck.
"YOU USELESS FOOL!" Morgan roared, raising his axe to strike Ukkari down.
At that fateful moment.
"WOHOOOOOOOOO!"
A figure shot up from below.
It was Luffy, in the middle of his "Gomu Gomu no Rocket".
He had miscalculated. The force was too great. He flew right past the roof.
"Whoa! Too high!"
On pure instinct, he flung his arms out, trying to grab onto something to stop his momentum. His hands latched onto the ropes being used to hoist the statue.
Luffy's weight, combined with his kinetic energy, created an immense pulling force.
The soldiers were yanked off their feet.
The ropes tightened around the statue.
And the crack on the statue's neck...
CRACK... CRACKLE...
BOOM!!!
To the absolute horror of everyone present, especially Captain Morgan, the head of his magnificent statue snapped clean off and plummeted to the ground, shattering into a hundred pieces.
The symbol of Morgan's rule and ego... was destroyed.
Luffy, still dangling in the air, looked down at the mess he had just made, a bewildered expression on his face.
"Oops."
On the rooftop, Captain Morgan's face twitched uncontrollably. His eyes were bloodshot, veins pulsing on his steel-plated forehead. His rage could no longer be contained.
"THAT BRAT..." he roared, his voice thick with fury, "...AND MY STATUE...!"
"I'LL HAVE HIM DISMEMBERED! SENTENCE HIM TO DEATH! EXECUTE HIM ON THE SPOT!"
Helmeppo, having scrambled back to his feet, frantically pointed at Luffy, who was still dangling in the air.
"DADDY! THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THE STRAW HAT WHO HIT ME!"
The connection was made. The vandal and the assailant were one and the same.
Luffy landed as lightly as a leaf amidst the wreckage of the statue. He looked around, then spotted Helmeppo.
"Aha, found you!"
Before anyone could react, Luffy shot forward.
"Hey! Stay away from me!" Helmeppo yelped, trying to run.
But it was too late. Luffy grabbed him by the collar.
"You know where the moss-head's swords are, right?" Luffy asked, his voice casual. "Lead the way."
"No... no way! My father will—"
Luffy didn't let him finish. He tucked Helmeppo under his arm like a sack of potatoes, ignoring his screams and struggles.
"Then we'll just look together!"
Using Helmeppo as a human shield, he charged straight into the main fortress building. The Marine soldiers hesitated, not daring to fire for fear of hitting the captain's son. The chaos spread into the very heart of the base.
In the courtyard, amidst the bedlam, a small figure was in motion.
Koby.
He saw Luffy fighting, causing an unbelievable commotion, all to recruit a single crewmate. He saw Zoro still tied to the post, helplessly watching it all unfold.
Koby's heart hammered in his chest. Fear. He was terrified. If he was caught, he would surely be killed.
But the image of Luffy facing down an entire Marine base, the image of that righteous punch to Helmeppo's face, had ignited a fire within him.
He wasn't going to just stand by anymore.
With a resolve he never knew he possessed, Koby dashed out from his hiding place, running straight for the post where Zoro was tied.
"Hey! Kid! What do you think you're doing?" Zoro growled. "They'll kill you!"
"I... I have to!" Koby said, his hands shaking as he fumbled with the knots of the thick, heavy ropes. "Luffy-san... he's fighting for you! Because he wants you to be his nakama!"
A Marine soldier spotted him. "HEY! YOU KID! STOP RIGHT THERE!"
The soldier raised his rifle. Koby flinched but didn't stop. He worked even more desperately at the ropes.
On the rooftop, Morgan witnessed it all. His statue was destroyed, his son taken hostage, and now, his prized prisoner was about to be freed.
His bruised ego couldn't take it anymore. He was no longer thinking rationally. In his mind, this was a full-blown rebellion.
"A REBELLION!" he bellowed. "THIS ENTIRE TOWN IS TURNING AGAINST ME! THEY DARE DEFY THE RULE OF THE GREAT CAPTAIN MORGAN?! KILL THEM ALL! KILL EVERYONE WHO DARES TO OPPOSE ME!"
His insane order echoed across the base.
Down in the yard, Koby was still struggling with the final knots. The rope was too tight, and his hands were scraped and raw, beginning to bleed.
"Why... why are you going this far for someone like me?" Zoro asked, his voice sounding... different. The mockery was gone.
Koby, panting, spoke between frantic pulls. "Because Luffy-san believes in you! And I... I believe in him!"
"I..." Koby looked up, his eyes behind his round glasses filled with a steely determination. "I'm going to join the Marines! But I'm going to be a real Marine! One who catches bad guys and protects people, not someone like Morgan!"
He looked at Zoro.
"And Luffy-san... he's not going to be just some small-time pirate."
"He told me..."
"He's going to be the King of the Pirates!"
Zoro froze.
King of the Pirates.
That ultimate title. A dream so insane, so impossibly absurd.
But Zoro didn't laugh.
He saw the sincerity in Koby's eyes. He remembered the image of the straw-hatted kid who ate his dirty rice ball, who punched the captain's son over a simple injustice.
An idiot. A madman.
But one who would live and die for a dream bigger than the sea itself.
Zoro looked at Koby, who was still working tirelessly on the final rope. A grudging respect began to form in his heart.
Just then.
From the rooftop, a soldier took aim with his rifle at Koby.
"Take the traitorous boy down!" came Morgan's order.
BANG!
A single, sharp gunshot cracked through the chaos.
Koby cried out in pain.
He felt a searing pain in his shoulder, and his body crumpled to the ground. Blood began to soak through his white shirt.
The final rope... remained untied.
Zoro saw it all.
He saw the weak, timid boy who had risked his life for him, collapse.
In an instant, all of Zoro's exhaustion, his pain, his nonchalance... vanished.
A terrifying stillness came over him.
He slowly lifted his head.
His eyes no longer held any arrogance or indifference.
They grew dark.
A cold, thick, murderous aura radiated from his body, the aura of a true demon awakened.
His gaze didn't land on the soldier who pulled the trigger.
It cut through everything, locking onto the one who gave the order from the rooftop.
It locked onto Captain Morgan.
It was a silent gaze, but it held a promise.
A promise of slaughter.
"You bastards..." a low growl escaped Zoro's throat.
"...have gone too far."