When Bai Ye stepped out of the Marine base and rounded a corner, he immediately ran into familiar faces.
Luffy and Koby were perched on the base wall, eyes wide and pointing excitedly at the town.
Bai Ye thought: Seriously? This is a Marine base — you two are just sitting on the wall?
If this had been on Blue Star, a hidden squad would've tackled them the moment they got ten meters in. But this was the One Piece world — rules were different.
Curiosity won. Bai Ye hopped up to the wall, landing beside them and nearly sending the two of them tumbling.
"Bai Ye! You made it! Look— the pirate hunter is that guy!" Luffy waved and pointed.
Following his finger, Bai Ye saw a familiar yet stranger-than-memory sight. In an open plaza stood a wooden cross; a man was bound to it. He wore a green bandana, a white sleeveless shirt, a green sash around his belly, and three earrings lined his ear. Though tied hand and foot, he gave the impression of a caged beast — lethal and restless.
Bai Ye smiled inwardly. There he is — green-haired, two glaring eyes. Presenting himself. As a One Piece fan from his old life, Bai Ye had always liked Zoro — that line, "Nothing happened," had marked Zoro as a true man of steel. Seeing this younger, rougher Zoro tugged at him.
"Looks like all we have to do is untie him and walk off, right?" Luffy said with the frankness of a child — exactly the sort of plan that made Bai Ye want to roll his eyes.
Before he could, timid Koby piped up, panicking:
"Don't say that! If we free him, who knows what'll happen? He could kill us!"
Luffy raised an eyebrow. "I said I'm strong."
Koby visibly paled. This one's beyond hope.
Bai Ye cleared his throat. "Actually, I have some background you might want to hear." He scratched his chin and began to tell the tale he'd learned from the original story.
This town was Shells Town, home to the Marine 153rd Branch. Life used to be peaceful — until a few years back. A low-ranking officer named Morgan, while at sea, had survived an encounter with the notorious Black Cat Pirates. Morgan returned the lone survivor and, astonishingly, captured the crew's captain (a fake bounty of sixteen million Berries). Morgan was promoted into command and sent to this branch, where his rule went from rigid to tyrannical.
His son, Helmeppo, grew up spoiled and cruel — a textbook second-generation brat. Twenty days earlier, Helmeppo had swaggered into a tavern with his pet wolf, causing a ruckus. The tavern girl Rika tried to stop the beast with a broom — it attacked. A young swordsman drinking in the tavern intervened, beating the wolf and giving Helmeppo a thrashing. Angry and humiliated, Helmeppo swore revenge: he threatened to have the entire tavern executed if his father heard about it. So he forced the swordsman — Roronoa Zoro — to take the punishment: tied to the cross and left to hang there until the town's leaders came to terms.
As Bai Ye finished, the man on the cross finally looked up. Zoro's eyes flicked to the three on the wall; he snarled, voice low: "Don't stare. Get lost."
Though his tone was tough, Bai Ye and Luffy both detected the care beneath it — the guarded worry that he didn't want trouble to spill onto others.
"Koby, Mr. Bai Ye," Luffy and Bai Ye heard the boy whisper, "If you want this man as a crewmate, you'll need more than a few lives to spare!"
Koby was ready to climb down and run. Then, unexpectedly, a ladder appeared at their feet.
A brown-haired girl with twin tails, barely Koby's height, climbed quietly up and signaled them to be silent. She slipped into the plaza on a rope and hurried toward Zoro.
"Who is that girl? She's not scared?" Koby whispered.
Bai Ye's mouth twitched. The stage was set — the players were in place. He leaned to Luffy and said, "Want to listen to another story?"
Luffy looked at Bai Ye and brightened. "Sure! Let's go."
They walked down to the cross. Zoro, trying to hide the worry about the girl named Rika, was already steely: "I said I'm not hungry. Don't get in my way."
Rika was carrying a rice ball, stunned — then someone snatched her up from behind. "Honestly, your fierce face isn't scary at all," Bai Ye teased, holding the girl gently in his arms. "See? Even a little kid isn't frightened."
Zoro's jaw tightened. "I told you to scream."
Bai Ye lowered his voice. "Oh? Are you sure? Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter?" He toyed with Rika's ribbon while keeping his head turned. "If we walk away, I don't think you'll make it out of this plaza alive."
Rika jolted awake from her daydream of a handsome savior. "What do you mean—big brother—?"
Zoro began, "If I can hold on another ten days—"
Before he could finish, Bai Ye cut him off. "Freedom, right? Didn't expect the famed pirate hunter to be so naive."
Zoro's temper flared. He opened his mouth to retort — and Bai Ye interrupted again, softening his tone. He turned to Rika.
"Hey, little Rika — why do you bring rice balls to this man? A guy tied up by the Marines must be evil, right?"
Rika's hands clenched the rice ball as she explained, sniffling. Twenty days prior, Helmeppo had paraded his pet wolf into her mother's tavern, terrorizing customers. Rika rushed in with a broom to protect her mother. The wolf lunged — then Zoro stepped in, mauling the wolf and knocking Helmeppo flat. Enraged, Helmeppo swore the tavern would be punished if his father heard. As leverage, he made a deal: Zoro would take the blame and be tied to the cross for a month; if Zoro survived, the debt would be considered paid.
Hearing this, Rika began to sob quietly. Bai Ye crouched and comforted her. Zoro's expression didn't change much on the outside, but a cold fury glinted behind his eyes.
Luffy's gaze, however, had shifted. The boy saw Zoro's quiet restraint and a flame kindled in his eyes — a new kind of respect. The stare made Zoro uncomfortable.
Bai Ye straightened and looked Zoro in the eye. "Fine. Let me tell you just how naive you really are."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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