Steel scraped stone as Morgan's axe-hand tore a fresh gouge in the floor, the shockwave rattling the windows.
"Kill them!" he roared again, spittle flying. "Anyone who defies me defies justice!"
A handful of Marines flinched back at the word justice like it hurt to hear it in his mouth.
The ones that didn't, the ones who had profited from Morgan's corruption, they charged.
Swords, rifles, clubs—every corrupt, eager face that had laughed at Helmeppo's cruelty or turned away from Morgan's "discipline" rushed forward in a wave.
Luffy moved.
One second he was beside Nami.
The next, he wasn't there at all.
Nami's eyes went wide. "H–"
The rest of the word never made it out.
Luffy blurred into the center of the charging group, no flash of green yet, just raw, physical speed. His foot slammed into the ground, his body twisting in a tight, efficient arc—Midoriya's drilled movements threaded through Luffy's natural instinct.
His fist buried itself in the gut of the first Marine.
WHUMP.
The man folded around his arm and crumpled.
Luffy pivoted, elbow snapping back to catch another in the ribs, hand snatching a rifle mid-swing and using it like a staff, cracking it across two helmets in a single sweeping motion.
Inwardly, he was surprised how fluid he felt with staff combat. He filed that away for later and focused back on the fight, his ever-present grin still firmly in place.
"Sorry!" he chirped as the men flew. "You can fill out a complaint form later!"
Three seconds.
Four bodies on the ground.
"W–what the hell?!" one of the remaining Marines yelped.
Nami's jaw dropped. "He's not even glowing this time…"
Luffy ducked under a sword slash, planted his palm on the attacker's shoulder, and used him like a springboard, flipping over two more men. His heel caught one in the temple on the way down; his forearm slammed into the other's chest, sending him skidding across the floor.
He landed lightly, sandals squeaking faintly on the stone.
"I really need to get some new clothes," he thought to himself. Come to think of it, he hadn't even looked in a mirror since he woke up in the ocean. He wondered idly if anything had changed too much after merging.
"That's eight down…" he heard Nami mutter behind him.
Snickering, he shot a teasing grin at Morgan. "You guys really need a better training program."
Within the first heartbeat of the skirmish, the majority of Morgan's loyal thugs were groaning on the ground, clutching stomachs, ribs, or faces.
Luffy stepped back toward Nami, leaving a cluster of very unconscious bodies behind him. Only a handful remained—nervous, sweating, but still gripping their weapons.
He flashed Nami a grin. "Okay! I left you some."
She stared at him. "You what?"
"Even Navigator-chan needs to know how to take care of herself," he said cheerfully. "Heroes travel in dangerous waters."
Nami opened her mouth to argue—then glanced past him at the last group of Marines.
They weren't just Morgan's men.
They were Morgan's type.
The kind who'd gladly hold a village down while someone like Arlong did as he pleased.
Her grip tightened around her staff. The memory of Bell-mère's body flashed behind her eyes.
"Fine," she growled. "But if I get stabbed, I'm haunting you."
"Deal," Luffy said, utterly unfazed. "I'll even make sure you get a cool ghost hat."
She didn't dignify that with a response.
The first Marine rushed her, sword raised. She sidestepped, smacking the blade aside with her staff, the jarring impact running up her arms. Before he recovered, she drove the other end of the staff into his knee.
He screamed and dropped.
Another came in from the right. She spun, letting the staff's momentum carry her, cracking the wood across his jaw. Teeth clicked together; he staggered.
"Come on then!" she snapped, surprising even herself with the heat in her voice. "What, only brave when it's a tied-up man and a little girl?"
The remaining Marines hesitated.
Anger flickered through Nami's chest alongside something like satisfaction. Let them be scared. Let them feel it.
Two came at once this time. She parried one, ducked under the second's wild swing, staff striking ribs, then shin. She was fast, sharper than most untrained fighters, but she wasn't Luffy.
She felt it when her footing slipped.
A boot clipped her staff, knocking it slightly off-line. A blade came in from the side, too close, too fast—
And then Luffy was simply there, hand up, fingers clamped around the blade.
Metal rang against bone.
The Marine gaped. "H–how—"
Luffy's other arm slid around Nami's waist as he pivoted, pulling her out of danger with him. He stepped into the man's space, shoulder driving into his chest, sending him crashing backward.
The sword clattered away.
For a heartbeat, Nami found herself pressed against Luffy's side, his grip steady, his body between her and the remaining threat.
His eyes hadn't left the battlefield.
He'd been watching her the whole time.
Her cheeks warmed. "I… I had that," she muttered, even as her heart rate refused to calm down.
He smiled without looking at her. "Probably, but there is no shame in getting help if you're overwhelmed."
His words again struck a chord with her. As he let her go, turning his head just enough that she caught the flash of serious green in his gaze he complimented her efforts.
"You did great, by the way."
She looked away quickly, shoving down the small, unwanted flutter in her chest. "Shut up and finish your mess."
"Roger~," he sang.
The last Marine tried to bolt for the door.
Luffy flicked a chunk of shattered stone from the floor with his toe, tapping it lightly with the side of his foot. The fragment whistled through the air and pinged off the soldier's helmet.
He dropped like a puppet with the strings cut.
Nami stared at the unconscious pile that had once been a room full of attackers.
"…You're terrifying," she decided.
He scratched his cheek. "I happen to think I'm a very comforting presence."
Morgan moved.
He was big, but not slow. The axe-hand tore through the air, and this time the blow wasn't for show. The floor where Luffy had been standing a blink earlier exploded into dust and splinters.
Luffy skidded back, sandals scraping, eyes narrowing.
"Okay. Yeah. You're not a joke."
Morgan's muscles bunched under his coat. Veins stood out on his neck. He wasn't as huge as someone like Alvida, but he was denser, built like a battering ram. The air around his swings howled.
He charged, axe sweeping sideways.
Luffy ducked. The weapon missed his head by inches and carved a trench in the wall behind him. Chunks of stone rained down.
Nami covered her head. "Can you try not to hit anything important?!"
"Working on it!" Luffy called back, twisting as Morgan brought the axe down in an overhead chop.
He caught the flat of the weapon on his forearms.
The impact rattled his bones, forcing him down to one knee. The floor cracked beneath him.
"Strong," Luffy grunted. "Way stronger than Alvida…"
He shoved, redirecting the weight and letting the axe slam to the side instead of through him. Morgan stumbled half a step. Luffy darted in, burying a punch in his ribs.
Thud.
Morgan barely reacted. His body absorbed the blow like a slab of meat wrapped in iron.
Luffy bounced back, eyes narrowing further.
Power's there, he thought. But…
He watched Morgan's face as the man roared and swung again. It was a mask of fury—veins bulging, teeth bared under his steel jaw plate—but his eyes…
Dead yet focused. Dull yet tracking.
Like his body was on autopilot, going through a set of commands.
"I am justice!" Morgan bellowed, attacking in the same three-count pattern again. "I am the will of order! I am—!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're very shouty," Luffy said, weaving between each blow. "But your timing's off."
He stepped in low after the third swing, driving an uppercut into Morgan's gut.
The big man grunted and bent forward, but still didn't stop.
Luffy hopped back once more, frustration tugging at the edge of his smile.
He's holding a ton of strength back without even knowing it. His body's not syncing with his instincts. Like someone rewrote his idea of "just" and left everything else lagging behind.
The axe came for his head again.
Luffy's fingers curled into a fist.
"Alright," he sighed. "Let's bump this up a bit."
Green sparks flickered over his skin, faint and contained, threading through his muscles. The air tightened around him, pressure focusing instead of expanding.
"Full Cowling," he whispered, more to himself than anyone nearby. "One percent."
The world sharpened.
Morgan's next swing looked slower—not because it was, but because Luffy's perception jumped. His feet moved before the axe finished its arc. He closed the distance in a blink, shoulder slamming into Morgan's chest as he drove a punch straight into the man's sternum.
WHAM.
This time, Morgan felt it.
He staggered back three full steps, boots gouging the floor.
Nami's eyes widened a bit. "His speed… it jumped again, just like with Alvida."
Luffy shook out his hand, flexing his fingers. "Okay. That's closer to fair."
Morgan roared and charged, axe flashing.
Luffy slipped under it, leaving afterimages of motion as he danced from strike to strike. Every time the axe missed, he answered with a clean blow—gut, ribs, shoulder, jaw. He aimed for joints and muscle, avoiding the neck and head as much as he could.
"I don't really wanna break you," he muttered between strikes. "You're a jerk and a bully, but this—" he dodged another predictable overhead chop, "—this isn't just you, is it?"
His fist buried itself in Morgan's midsection again, this time hard enough to lift him an inch off his feet.
Spit flew from Morgan's mouth. His axe faltering mid-strike.
Luffy vaulted back, dropping out of striking range, breathing only a little harder, steam curling faintly around his shoulders.
He studied Morgan's eyes again.
No change.
No flicker of clarity.
"No reaction to pain," he thought. "Just more shouting. Whatever's in there is hooked deep."
He exhaled slowly, green sparks dimming a fraction.
"Okay," he said aloud, more to himself than anyone. "So how do I break a brainwashing without breaking the person?"
As he thought, a mischievous spark lit in his eye.
"Well…" he thought out loud, "as long as we're stalling, might as well experiment a bit."
As Luffy schemed, in the courtyard behind him, another scene was unfolding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A MINUTE EARLIER, WITH KOBY
Koby sprinted across the courtyard, clutching the bundle of swords to his chest, heart hammering. The Marine tower loomed overhead, the tyrannical stone visage of Morgan overlooking the town, and Zoro still hung tied to the execution post like some kind of grim trophy
"Pink-haired kid?" Zoro called as the boy skidded to a stop. "What the hell are you doing back here? And why do you have my swords?"
Koby tried to catch his breath. "L-Luffy! He—he sent me! He's confronting Captain Morgan right now!"
Zoro's brow twitched. "That idiot's going to get himself killed."
"He's, um—really strong actually," Koby insisted, yanking at the knots around Zoro's arms. "And smarter than he acts. But he told me to free you."
Zoro grunted. "I'm not joining some crazy group just because he asks."
"That's— not why!" Koby blurted. "Morgan's going to execute you tomorrow!"
Zoro froze.
"What?"
Koby swallowed. "Helmeppo said the deal was fake. They were never going to let you go. They're planning to kill you even though you kept your promise to survive a month."
Zoro's jaw clenched, fury flashing in his eyes.
"Those bastards…"
He exhaled slowly, muscles relaxing just a bit.
"Fine. I'll hear the guy out again."
Koby attacked the final knot with renewed speed.
"Hurry," Zoro muttered. "I'm not dying tied to a damn post."
"R-right!"
But before he could finish—
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Koby flinched as a squad of Marines poured into the courtyard, rifles drawn.
At their center was Helmeppo…sporting a comically large purple lump on the side of his forehead.
He wailed dramatically, pointing one shaky finger toward the pair.
"T-that's them, men! Arrest the traitorous pink one and k-kill the pirate hunter!"
One of the Marines whispered, "How hard do you gotta hit a guy to make him swell up like that?"
Another replied, "Looks like someone dropped a cannonball on his face…"
Helmeppo shrieked, "QUIET! Father will hear of your insubordination!!"
Zoro muttered, "This guy again…?"
The rifles cocked.
Koby shielded Zoro instinctively.
"S-s-stop! He didn't do anything wrong! Captain Morgan lied—!"
"FIRE!" Helmeppo yelled.
But the rifles never discharged.
Because in the split second the Marines tensed their fingers on the triggers—
the ropes snapped.
Koby froze as Zoro dropped lightly to the ground, hand already wrapped around a sword hilt.
"Finally."
The white sheath gleamed, almost rejoicing at being back with its wielder. The air seemed to still as Zoro calmly exhaled.
Then, as Koby and the Marines looked on, and as Helmeppo began inching backwards—
Zoro whispered "Ittoryu: Iai"
Steel flashed.
In a single, effortless arc, he sliced through the wooden stock of every rifle without drawing a single drop of blood.
Metal rifle barrels clattered to the ground, the terrified Marines left stumbling back holding useless blocks of wood.
"W-what—!? He moved—!"
"So fast—!"
"H-he cut all of them—!"
Zoro rested Wado against his shoulder.
"Next time," he said calmly, "don't point guns you don't intend to fire."
The Marines in front collapsed backward in sheer panic.
Helmeppo, trembling like wet paper, grabbed the nearest thing he could find—
Which happened to be Koby.
He yanked the boy forward, hands shaking.
"S-stay back, Roronoa! O-or I'll— I'll hurt him!"
Koby stiffened.
Zoro's eyes narrowed. "Kid," he muttered, "you going to let him treat you like that?"
For a heartbeat—
the old Koby froze.
The scared one.
The one who survived by obeying.
The one who flinched every time Alvida barked.
But then—
He remembered Luffy's words.
"Heroes stand up. Even when they're scared."
Koby's fist tightened.
Helmeppo sneered, smugness returning. "Y-yeah! You can't do anything, you litt—"
Koby's punch snapped Helmeppo's head sideways, another blow landing on the same swollen lump Nami had created.
Helmeppo shrieked like a dying seagull and went down instantly, limbs sprawled in a starfish pattern.
Silence.
The Marines stared.
Zoro blinked…
Then smirked.
"Nice."
Koby flushed. "I-I just… hit where Nami-sa— where someone had already…"
"Doesn't matter," Zoro said simply. "You did good."
Koby straightened, chest swelling with pride he'd never felt before.
Zoro sheathed Wado and picked up the other two swords Koby had carried.
"I can hear the chaos from here," he muttered. "Your captain's fighting someone strong."
"He's not my—!" Koby began, then paused as Zoro started walking—
In the exact opposite direction of Luffy's fight.
Koby looked at the unconscious Helmeppo, then at the stunned Marines, then at Zoro's back.
"Uh… Zoro-san? The fights the other way"
Zoro stiffened before snapping back,
"I KNOW, I WAS JUST STRETCHING!"
Koby flinched back, "R-right, let's get going then, Luffy-san might need help." He sprinted forward, trying to take the lead so Zoro didn't get lost again.
"If that guy's half as crazy as he sounds, he'll need it."
Together, they sprinted toward the base, following the thunderous crashes, shouts, and the unmistakable booming laughter of Luffy pushing himself into a real fight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BACK WITH LUFFY
Morgan charged again—wild, forceful, and utterly unrestrained. The axe screeched past Luffy's cheek, close enough that the wind stung.
Luffy hopped back, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.
"Okay…" he muttered, rolling his neck. "Let's try something."
Green energy flickered faintly in his legs—not a full surge, just enough to tighten the muscles and sharpen his equilibrium. He stretched his arm out, experimentally, concentrating power into just the forearm.
His skin tightened, condensed—and elongated.
Not like rubber snapping outward violently, more like a controlled, elastic extension, a whip of muscle guided by OFA's structure.
"Hmm…"
Morgan brought the axe down again.
Luffy's arm shot forward with a fwip, extending just far enough to clip Morgan across the jaw before retracting like a coiled spring.
The Captain staggered, blinking.
"Oh," Luffy grinned. "That's fun."
Nami nearly faceplanted. "WHAT part of that was normal?!"
"It's new!" Luffy chirped, extending his other arm and watching it stretch. "My rubber body isn't all loose and floppy anymore—it's more like… uh… yoga. Rubber Yoga. Super yoga."
"That is NOT a category! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOUR RUBBER BODY'?!?!"
Morgan roared, stamping forward. His swings grew faster—his body attempting to compensate, but unsynchronized, fighting itself.
Luffy leaned back, torso stretching just enough that the axe passed under his chin. Then he snapped forward, condensing OFA into his fist—
—his hand doubled in size, muscles bulging just enough to add extra weight.
He brought it down.
WHUMP.
Morgan skidded several feet, boots carving twin trails across the cracked floor.
"That's it," Luffy murmured, eyes narrowing. "You're strong. But you're not fighting like someone who wants to win."
Morgan howled and rushed again, but his steps were uneven—too stiff, too mechanical.
A puppet.
A puppet with too much muscle.
Luffy sighed. "This is gonna bug me forever if I don't fix it."
He drove forward this time, weaving under the axe, feeling the air pressure ruffle his hair. His hand latched onto Morgan's collar—his arm elongating just a bit for leverage—then he twisted, driving Morgan face-first into the stone.
Cracks spiderwebbed outward.
Morgan still tried to rise, movements jerky.
"Yeah…" Luffy muttered. "Something's really wrong in that head of yours."
A burst of gunfire echoed outside, followed by shouting, drawing Luffy's attention.
Then—
Cutting through the noise—
A familiar voice barked:
"MOVE!"
Zoro slid into the room like a blade through silk, intercepting a blow aimed at Luffy's flank. Two swords clashed with Morgan's axe-hand, sparks spraying across the stone.
Luffy blinked. "Oh hey, you're free!"
Zoro grit his teeth as Morgan pushed him back with brute force. "Not because of you."
Koby stumbled in behind him, panting. "Luffy-san! W-we freed Zoro! Helmeppo tried to take me hostage but—I—I hit him and—"
"Oh!" Nami lit up. "That guy woke up? I'm impressed he was still conscious after the first one."
Zoro flicked her a look. "That was you that hit him that hard?"
She shrugged. "He was being annoying."
"Valid," Zoro admitted.
Morgan roared again, swinging wide. Zoro parried, sliding back a foot.
"He's strong," the swordsman muttered.
"Mm-hmm," Luffy agreed, stepping beside him. "But he's not coordinated. Someone scrambled his instincts."
Zoro frowned. "What, like he's brainwashed?"
Nami nodded sharply. "I overheard some of the rank-and-file panicking. They said he wasn't acting like he used to—that he's been 'different' ever since some mission a few years ago. They're terrified, but they're not loyal. Just scared."
"That tracks," Luffy muttered.
Morgan lunged. Zoro braced—
—Luffy blurred forward instead.
"One percent!"
His fist cracked against Morgan's jaw like a hammer, spinning the captain sideways. The huge man slammed into his own statue's base, sending chips of stone raining down.
Morgan groaned, trying to push himself up.
His movements were even more sluggish now, strength fraying under strain.
"Koby!" Luffy barked. "Get ready to move people if this goes bad!"
"Y-yes sir!"
Zoro watched as Luffy rolled his shoulders, green sparks leaking from his skin in thin tendrils. "You're about to do something stupid, aren't you?"
"Always," Luffy said brightly.
He dashed in again—this time not to strike, but to test. He flicked Morgan's temple lightly. The big man flinched, a twitch in his eyes.
A flicker.
A dim spark of Morgan buried under the fog.
"There you are," Luffy murmured.
He struck again, harder this time, a controlled body shot to the liver—painful enough to cripple a normal man, sharp enough to force a shock to the nervous system.
"Come on," Luffy urged quietly as Morgan staggered, vision swimming. "Fight it."
No reaction.
No clarity.
Just a man drowning in someone else's orders.
Luffy clicked his tongue, annoyance beginning to set in, "Okay. Plan B."
He shot forward, using OFA-enhanced footwork, slipping behind Morgan and hooking his arm around the man's neck—not choking him, not hurting him, just anchoring him.
Morgan roared, but weaker this time.
Luffy gritted his teeth.
His breath shook.
His frustration…
A spark of memory from Midoriya, of innocent people being controlled by evil. Of the battered form of Shigaraki, fully succumbing to All for One's control.
A blaze of sheer refusal to accept injustice ignited in his chest, slamming into something deep inside him.
A pressure.
A pulse.
A heat that wasn't One For All at all.
A wave burst from him—silent, invisible, violent in its presence.
Zoro froze mid-step, eyes widening.
Nami staggered, though the force didn't hit her directly.
Koby braced reflexively—
—and the remaining Marines in the hall collapsed like marionettes with cut strings.
Zoro whispered, voice tight:
"That wasn't strength…"
Nami swallowed. "Then what was it…?"
Luffy didn't hear them.
He felt the ripple explode outward from his chest, radiating through the room in a pulse of will. His raw, unfiltered drive to conquer all the evils of the world rippled outward, carved from instinct and spirit.
Just for a moment—
His eyes burned with green-gold light.
Morgan stiffened.
His pupils snapped into focus for the first time in years.
He sucked in a sharp, choking breath—
—and collapsed to his knees.
Luffy loosened his hold, shock flickering across his features.
"…I didn't mean to do that," he muttered.
The air settled.
The dust stopped vibrating.
Zoro lowered his swords slowly.
"What did you just do…?"
Luffy blinked.
"…I think," he said slowly, "that was my will?"
He stared down at Morgan—the fog fading from the man's eyes, replaced with exhaustion and something like… grief.
Whatever control had been implanted—
Had finally broken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I didn't use Lion song for Zoro yet. I feel like that move isn't complete with out him entering the realm of cutting metal.
I figured combining Luffy and Midoriya's wills would lead to a much earlier Haki awakening. It felt fitting to tie it to saving someone. That being said, he wont be throwing around Haki like post time skip for a while yet. He is still completely untrained, he'll just have a head start over the canon Luffy.