Hello again, welcome to Chapter 3!

The positive feedback I've received on the story so far has been something else. I really didn't know what to expect when I put that first chapter out, and I was fully prepared for it to be a one-time thing. Yet here I am with another chapter already – I want you all to remember this time when I start updating once every few months like the big shots.

As promised, this chapter is Zoro's debut, and Nami's official introduction as well I suppose. I may be done with this whole story by the time he shows up in the manga again, so hopefully this can help give everyone their swordsman fix.

But first, some questions/comments:

Do you think Luffy will kill his enemies if he gets the chance?

Hmm, good question. In fact, it's too good! I'll have to go with a no comment for now to keep things spoiler-free, but that's something to definitely keep an eye on as we go. You'll definitely be interested in this chapter, though…

Are you going to post when you feel like it or on a specific schedule?

When I feel like it. How quickly I can get the writing done will depend on other things going on in my life. Like I mentioned last time, I've got some time off at the moment which allows me to give Inherited Will my total attention. That's not going to be the case all the time, but I'm going to do my best to write as often as I can, because I know how frustrating it can be when a story I enjoy takes huge breaks (Looking at you, Second Wind). First and foremost, I started writing the story because it's fun for me, and I don't want any self-imposed deadlines to turn this into a chore.

Giving Luffy Haki this early along with the Six Powers might be a bit much.

I understand your concern, but all we've seen Luffy do so far is sense Nami getting away on her rowboat. Coming chapters should clear things up a little bit, but I can promise he won't be transforming into Gear Fourth anytime soon.

And with that, enjoy the chapter!

I don't own One Piece, unfortunately…

Chapter 3

'What the fuck just happened!? Did I hit my head jumping off that ship? This goofy idiot really just flew through the air and destroyed two Marine battleships without breaking a sweat? No way, this isn't real. Can't be! Just had a little too much to drink last night when I was hustling that guy at the bar, that's all. Just close your eyes and sleep it off, forget this whole thing happened! That's right, close your eyes and sleep…'

{POKE}

'Sleep…'

{POKE}

'Slee – '

{POKE – POKE}

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?" The orange-haired girl screamed, her eyes flying open as her fist simultaneously smashed Luffy's head into the floorboards. "AND QUIT POKING ME!"

"I asked you a question and you ignored me!" Luffy whined as he tried to pick the splinters out of his tongue

The girl held her head in her hands and let loose a deep sigh. 'So, this is really happening, huh? Just my luck, when I was finally getting so close...' Suddenly, she popped back up with a wide smile on her face and gave the two boys a friendly wave. 'Might as well make the most of this…'

"I'm Nami, pleased to meet you!" The girl finally revealed. "I'm the best navigator in this whole damn ocean and I hate pirates! In fact, I go around stealing all their treasure!" Nami emphasized the point by happily massaging her bag of loot which took up half the boat. "Hey, you seem super strong – whatcha' say you and I team up and form an alliance? With our combined skills we'll be rich!"

'Or at least I will be once I steal your share too," she snickered to herself.

Luffy plopped back into his original seat and let loose a mighty yawn. "Nah, that sounds pretty lame. Besides, you'd just take my half of whatever we got anyways."

Nami's warm expression never faltered, save for the small tick that developed over her left eye. 'Shit, he's on to me! I must have come on too strong! Pull it together, Nami, this guy's a moron!' "You guys never gave me your names! What brings you two out to sea?" Nami offered, desperate to change the subject.

Coby, who had been observing the entire interaction on the periphery, suddenly tensed. 'Oh no, Luffy's going to say something really dumb here! I better jump in before…"

"Shishishi, you're right! My name's Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" Luffy then gestured in towards the other boy. "And this is Coby, the coward who wants to be a Marine."

A massive sweat drop formed on the back of Coby's head. 'Did you not listen to a word she said, Luffy!? How can you be so strong and yet so dumb?' Meanwhile, Nami's sunny expression had turned decidedly stormy, and her knuckles turned white from clenching the paddles.

"Tell me why I shouldn't throw the two of you off my boat right now?" Nami asked with a demented glare that nearly made Coby faint.

Luffy studied her for a moment before sticking two of his leathered fingers high into the air. "First! Like I said before, I can tell you're a good person."

This comment had the same effect on the girl as it had a few minutes before, and her anger transformed into some combination of surprise and self-doubt.

"And second! I can't swim, so I'll die!"

Whatever goodwill he had built up vanished in a millisecond, which was incidentally all the time Coby had to react before the girl's fist sent Luffy crashing into him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were my gramps with punches like that," Luffy grumbled as he pulled himself off a heavily-damaged Coby.

"Are you saying I look like an old man!?" Nami yelled with wide eyes and sharpened teeth. She cocked back her fist for another round, causing Luffy to shrink in fear. Rather than follow through, though, she took a deep breath before she allowed her arm to drop harmlessly to her side. "I'll admit, you really saved my ass with the Marines back there," Nami admitted, "so I'm not going to kick you two off."

"Shishishi, I knew I was right about you!" Luffy beamed as Coby struggled to crawl his way back onto his seat.

"Don't get the wrong idea though. I still hate pirates, so don't you dare get too comfortable!" Nami barked out. "People like you are the lowest of the low, always picking on the weak for your own benefit. You make me sick!"

A shadow from his straw-hat partially obscured Luffy's features, but Nami noticed a dark light that seemed to dance across the boy's eyes. "Only idiots see the world as so black and white," Luffy shrugged. "People all around this world treat others terribly, not just pirates. Evil like that lurks everywhere, and I'd never act like that in a million years." Luffy stared ahead for a few moments, allowing his words to sink in, before turning back to a flabbergasted Nami with a more natural grin. "But I know that you already knew that, because you're really smart!"

'What is this guy's deal? He talks like he's some expert, but if he knew what I've been through…," Nami thought to himself before shaking her head. 'But I gotta' say, he seems pretty earnest. I might as well drop it for now, no reason to make a big issue.' Nami then gave Luffy a wide smile of agreement, which the boy returned in kind.

"So, what's the deal with that glove you're wearing?" Nami asked with the tensions settled. "It looks pretty valuable to me. No offense, but you don't seem like the kind of guy that would spring for a nice accessory like that."

Coby, who had also been curious about the leather glove, leaned in to hear the answer.

"It was a gift," Luffy said simply, and his silence afterwards implied that those were the only thoughts he was willing to offer on the subject. This secrecy annoyed Nami a bit, but she seemed to decide against pressing him further when she again noticed the dark glint in Luffy's eyes.

"Fine. Can you at least explain to me how the hell you got to be so strong?" Nami questioned.

Much more interested in this inquiry than the previous one, Luffy leapt to his feet with a look of pride. "I'm a Rubber Man! I ate the Gum-Gum fruit on accident when I was a kid and now I can do all sorts of super cool stuff!" Luffy then started to inhale deeply, allowing himself to inflate further and further. While Coby was very impressed by this trick, all Nami could focus on was the bulging stomach coming dangerously close to knocking her treasure overboard.

"CUT THAT SHIT OUT!" Nami hollered, and Luffy immediately complied, the leaking air causing him to shoot around like a deflating balloon before landing with a thud in the center of the boat. Coby clapped at the display, while Nami could only face palm. "You ate a Devil Fruit, huh? I always thought those things were made up stories people told little kids," Nami explained

"Yep! But that's not all," Luffy continued after he resumed normal breathing. "I've been training super hard these past few years to get ready for my journey, and I picked up a lot of neat stuff. That's how I learned to jump around in the sky like you guys saw earlier."

"That's actually pretty impressive," Nami replied genuinely.

"Shishishi, thanks! Maybe I can show you a thing or two!" Luffy offered his non-glove hand up to Nami for a high-five, and to her own surprise the she obliged. 'He might not be so bad after all,' she thought to herself, 'even if he is a lousy pirate…'

"Uh, hey guys? Sorry to interrupt, but do we have any idea where we're going?" Luffy and Nami turned to the third passenger on the boat, who had finally spoken up for the first time since leaving the cruise ship.

Nami was about to respond, but Luffy confidently interrupted her. "Of course! I've been doing some navigation training in addition to working on my fighting skills. I used to think North was up and South was down, but now I know that's all wrong." Luffy raised his hand triumphantly, pleased with himself for how much he'd learned. "The truth is, North is the direction that's right in front of you. So, that means we're heading North!"

Before Coby could question that logic, Luffy was already on the receiving end of another blow to the head. "Wrong, moron," Nami smirked despite herself before turning her attention to Coby. "Based on my observations, the destination closest to us should be Shells Town, which is a couple hours due West from here."

"D-did you say Shells Town!?" Coby stammered out. "B-but that's where they're keeping the feared Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro! The man is a cold-blooded killer, a monster!"

"That's right, the whale-lady mentioned him earlier. He's really that close?" Luffy pondered that fact for a moment before continuing. "It's settled, let's head for Shells Town! I need to meet this Pirate Hunter guy in person."

Coby, displaying surprising mobility for his pudgy frame, lunged towards Luffy and began to shake him by the collar. "Are you mad!? What possible reason could you have to seek out that demon? He'll cut us into little pieces!"

Luffy calmly removed himself from Coby's grip and gently placed the boy back down in his seat. "I gotta' meet him so I can decide if he should join my crew! If he's as strong as people say, he'd make a perfect third member."

"That's insane! How could the Pirate Hunter ever become a pirate?" Coby bellowed. "Besides, you told me you were by yourself, so how could he be your third crewmate?"

Luffy pounded his fist into his leather palm. "You're right, I totally forgot!" The straw-hat boy then spun back to the other side of the boat to address Nami. "Nami, I've decided you're going to be the navigator for my pirate crew! I'm lucky I met such a good friend so soon into my journey!"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Shrieked the orange-haired girl, looking more and more like an evil witch by the second. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Luffy crossed his arms in front of his face. "I refuse your refusal!"

"That's not a thing you can do! I already explained to you how much I hate pirates. What makes you think that changed in the last 10 minutes?"

"Well, we became friends of course!" Luffy said as though he were explaining things to a slow 5-year-old, "and I need a really good navigator if I want to become the King of the Pirates. Besides, I know that you want to join up with me too."

Nami was taken aback by Luffy's final reason, not only for its apparent randomness but also because of the certainty in his expression when he said it. 'What is he talking about, knowing that I want to join? What could he possibly mean by that?' Nami pinched the bridge of her nose tightly before responding. "Look, let's just get to Shells Town and go from there. I *might* be willing to discuss a partnership with you after that, but let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Luffy studied the girl carefully for a moment, but then gave a slight nod and grin. He sat back down in his chair to grab a pair of paddles, and Coby followed suit.

"So, where to navigator?"

"Just turn a little to…DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

After a few hours that consisted of paddling and a lot more bickering, the three young companions pull into the harbor of Shells Town. Home to a Marine base, the small city has become a household name in the East Blue, for it currently contains one of this ocean's greatest villains: The Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.

"Woohoo, we finally made it! My first new island!" Luffy called out triumphantly as he landed on the dock. He scanned his surroundings for a moment before settling on a plan of action. "First – food. I'm starved! Then we can go find this Zomo guy."

"Luffy, it's Zoro!" Coby hastily corrected as he stumbled off the boat. "Besides, are you sure about this? He's really bad news!"

Nami interrupted Coby's whining with a huff as she finished securing the boat to the dock. "There are a lot scarier things in this sea than some guy with a stupid nickname who got himself captured, believe me." She paused for a moment before pointing dramatically at the two boys. "Listen! I've decided to tag along with you guys for now, but don't get any ideas! It just so happens that there's something on this island that interests me too, and you guys creating chaos will make things easier for me."

Luffy blinked a few times at the cute girl, but his attention had long since moved on to more important matters. "Whatever. Let's eat! Shishishi!" Luffy giggled to himself as he took off down the street into town.

'That idiot didn't listen to me at all…it's alright, Nami, just get that map and this will all have been worth it," Nami said to herself as she reluctantly followed after the straw-hat quickly disappearing into the crowd.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Coby shouted as he tried to keep up as much as his little legs would allow.

Eventually, the three came across a restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal. Nami and Coby each ordered ham, the place's specialty. Luffy, on the other hand, decided to go with 15 bowls of salad.

"I've never seen anyone eat this much before…" Coby sweat dropped as Luffy finished off his final serving. "And all this after you ate a week's worth of provisions from that cruise ship." Nami was a bit amused by the whole display, and a slight smirk crept across her lips.

"Gramps always told me to eat it when ya' got it," Luffy responded. Finally satiated, the boy slammed his leather fist to the table, attracting the attention of the other patrons in the restaurant. "Now, let's go find the Pirate Hunter!"

Immediately, half the people who had been enjoying their lunch vanished out the door, and those who remained had adopted extremely uneasy expressions.

"I told you Luffy, that guy is bad news. People are really scared of him!" Coby explained. "He had been terrorizing the entire East Blue before the commanding officer at this town's Marine base captured him. I think I heard somewhere his name is Captain Morgan…"

Before Coby could continue, the remaining customers fled the scene. "Seems like people aren't that guy's biggest fan either," Nami remarked.

Coby was perplexed by this turn of events. "How could that be? One's a vicious bounty hunter, and the other is a Marine Captain!"

Luffy's right hand gripped Coby tightly on the shoulder, surprising the diminutive boy with the amount of force being applied. "What the hell did I say earlier about seeing things as black and white!? There are plenty of Marines out there worse than any criminal!" Luffy stared daggers into the other boy until Coby cautiously nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Luffy released his grip and rose from his seat. "Good. Now, let's go find this guy." Luffy then proceeded to walk out the door, with Coby following behind at a safe distance.

'For a guy who's usually so goofy and welcoming, there's something not quite right there. Not that I have any right to judge…' Nami pondered that for a few seconds more before leaving to catch up to the two boys.

The Marine base was easy enough to find, even for Luffy, as it rose high into the sky at the island's most elevated point. After a short walk, the three came across a concrete wall separating the base from the rest of the town.

"I don't know about this Luffy," Coby started, "There's still time to change your mind."

"Nope," the rubber boy simply replied. "Besides, he's right over this wall. It'd be a waste to turn back now."

"There's no way they'd keep a dangerous criminal like him outside," Coby objected.

Luffy shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say, but he's definitely just over that wall."

"And how could you possibly know that?" Nami asked, rolling her eyes.

"Because I can sense an incredibly powerful presence," Luffy answered, causing Coby to tremble. "Besides, one of the things I learned in my training was how to see through walls."

"Really!?" His two companions shrieked in unison. 'This guy is unbelievable!' Nami thought to herself. 'Maybe I should take him up on that training after all…'

"Of course not you dummies! That's impossible! Shishishi!" Luffy collapsed in a fit of laughter, barely holding back the tears as he rolled around the ground.

"ASSHOLE!" Nami screamed, but before her fist could put another dent in Luffy's skull, the boy had already hopped over the wall.

"Luffy, be careful!" Coby yelled. He turned and was shocked to see Nami climbing up the wall yourself.

"What? All your talk has me curious to see this Zoro for myself. Besides, I gotta' scope the place out for later." Nami then teasingly stuck her tongue out at Coby. "But you're such a big coward you'll never find out the truth for yourself!"

Begrudgingly, Coby made his way to the wall and began to hoist himself up. By the time he met Nami at the top, Luffy was standing in the middle of a large open clearing. In front of him hung a man draped across two intersecting wooden poles. The color of the prisoner's hair immediately stood out, a bright green of a strikingly similar shade to the color of moss. He appeared to be only a little older than Luffy, and while he clearly had been there for some time his large muscles were still visible even from a distance.

Luffy inspected the man closely as he hung there unconscious. Suddenly, the green-haired man began to violently cough, and then a scowl broke across his face.

"What the hell do you want?" The man demanded gruffly. "You're going to get yourself and me into a lot of trouble if they catch you hanging around like this. I've already made it this long, don't go screwing it up for me now."

Luffy remained unfazed. "I'm looking for Pirate Hunter Zoro. Is that you?"

The man's frown was replaced by a devilish grin. "That depends. Who's asking?"

Luffy returned the smirk with one of his own. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who's going to become King of the Pirates! I came here to get you to join my crew."

The man now officially identified as Zoro scoffed. "Clearly, you've heard of my nickname kid, so I have no idea why you thought I'd be interested." Zoro paused for a minute to cough before laughing. "I gotta' say though, I admire someone with dreams as big as that."

"Shishishi, yep! And nothing's going to stop me either!" Luffy beamed proudly.

"Well, it doesn't matter. My answer is still no. I'm no crook, and I have no interest in tainting myself like that. I have one goal in this life, and anything beyond that is a distraction."

"That's not true," Luffy frowned. "Real pirates only care about freedom! Good and evil has nothing to do with it."

Zoro considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "Whatever. I only have to last another week out here and then I'm going to be free to go. Then I can go back to finding the man – "

"There's someone coming," Luffy interrupted. Before Zoro could blink, the straw-hat boy had vanished.

'What the fuck was all that?' Zoro thought to himself. 'I must be going crazy from the lack of food.' Much to his surprise, however, a small head poked over the wall before crawling down to his side. A little girl, carrying a basket full of rice balls, hurried over until she was standing at the feet of the reviled Pirate Hunter.

"Are you trying to die, kid? Get lost," Zoro spat out.

"That guy's a real jerk," Nami commented as she turned her head to Luffy, who by that point had made it back to his companions and was observing the scene with them. "You sure this is the kind of guy you want on your crew, Pirate King?" Luffy ignored the bait, and instead kept his focus on the conversation unfolding in front of them.

"I made you special rice balls, Mister!" The girl said cheerfully, holding them up so the man could get a better look.

"Kid, I already told you to leave me alone. I'm not hungry, you're wasting your time."

"But I spent all night making them!" The girl replied. "My mommy helped a little, but I did them all by myself!"

Exasperated, Zoro banged his head against the back of the post. "Listen, I – "

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Zoro's heart dropped as he turned to the source of the interruption. A frail man, with bright blond hair arranged in a bowl cut and extravagant clothes, was being escorted into the courtyard by a pair of Marine soldiers. Despite his physical weakness, the boy wore a smug expression befitting that of a World Noble.

"Who the hell is this clown?" Nami wondered aloud, and her two companions were equally confused.

"Roronoa Zoro! What did I tell you about eating? Your time is not up!" The boy scolded Zoro, who strained against his restraints in rage.

"I haven't tasted anything in weeks, just like I promised," Zoro managed to grit out.

"Mr. Helmeppo, sir," one of the Marines addressed the blonde boy, "what will you have us do with this little girl?"

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot." Helmeppo frowned as he lowered his head to come face to face with the little girl, who was staring back at him defiantly. "Can't you read, dumb brat? No one is allowed to go near this monster, and you've tried to feed him!" With that, he snatched the bowl of rice balls out of the girl's grasp.

"Hey, those aren't meant for you!" She argued.

"Shut it twerp. Someone should enjoy these, and it isn't going to be him." Helmeppo grabbed the top rice ball from the pile and took a small bite. Suddenly, his whole face turned green, and he spit the half-chewed food onto the ground. "What the hell is in these things? Why are they sweet?"

The little girl seemed confused by this, but still answered. "I put sugar in them because I thought they'd taste better that way!"

"Moron! You put salt in rice balls, these things aren't even edible!" With that, Helmeppo slammed the bowl onto the ground, causing all of the rice balls to fall into the dirt. For good measure he even started to stomp on some of them. "These things are an insult to food, you should be ashamed!

"But I worked so hard on them…" The girl whimpered as she started to tear up. Zoro was enraged. "Bastard," he managed to grumble out under his breath."

"He's a real piece of shit," whispered Nami, and Coby nodded in agreement. Luffy kept staring straight ahead, but his leathered hand had formed a tight fist.

"Men, throw this stupid girl out of here immediately. Toss her over the wall as an example to anyone else who would try and help this criminal!" Helmeppo demanded.

"But sir, are you sure…"

"That was a direct order! Do it now!"

With pained expressions, the two soldiers lifted the girl up despite her struggles, and with a mighty heave tossed her out of the courtyard and over the wall.

"Luffy, do something!" Nami yelled out.

"Shave!"

In a flash, Luffy was waiting underneath the little girl to intercept her path. After catching her and placing her softly on the ground, he leaned over to tussle her hair. "Don't worry, you're safe now." The girl looked shell-shocked for a moment, but then she burst out in tears; once she was out of Luffy's grasp, she took off into town without looking back.

Coby turned his attention back to the courtyard once he determined that the girl was safe, but Nami's eyes lingered on Luffy as he watched the girl run away. There was no smile or even anger on his face. Just a blank, emotionless stare. 'What's going through your mind?' Nami wondered, even if she couldn't really understand why it mattered to her.

All of this action went unnoticed to those still inside the clearing. Pleased with himself, Helmeppo turned to walk back into the base. On his way, he waved a hand back at Zoro and gave him a snide smirk. "You still have a few days to go, Pirate Hunter. Good luck surviving that!"

"I'm far too strong to ever be killed by something like this – I will not fail!" Zoro shouted back in defiance. However, when he was certain that he was alone again, he allowed himself to slouch against his restraints, his exhaustion once again shining through. He closed his eyes, hoping to forget about his predicament while asleep.

"So, where were we?"

Zoro's eyes flew open to see the same kid with the goofy straw-hat from earlier standing in front of him.

"Nowhere!" Zoro angrily responded. "I already told you there's no way I'm joining your crew."

"Welp, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so think about it," Luffy said as he turned to walk back towards the wall.

"He really only hears whatever he wants to, doesn't he?" Coby face palmed. Nami could only nod in agreement.

"Hey, wait!"

Surprised, the two looked back into the square to see that Zoro had called out to Luffy.

"That rice ball on the ground there? Can you hand that to me?"

"This one?" Luffy bent over to pick up the rice ball, which had been half-crushed by Helmeppo's boot and was covered with all kinds of grime. "You sure you want this?"

"I thought he said he was too strong to need food?" Nami questioned.

"Just shut up and give it to me!" Zoro growled. The two held eye contact for a few seconds, and then Luffy walked over and carefully placed the rice ball in Zoro's mouth. The vile monster began to hungrily devour the snack. His face turned pale and it looked like he might throw the whole thing up, but after some tortured chewing he managed to swallow everything.

"What was the point of all that? Probably did him more harm than good," Nami reasoned. Coby couldn't give her an answer, but Luffy had a broad smile stretched across his face.

"Excellent, the best!" Zoro shouted out between pained breaths. "I want you to find that girl and tell her I ate every bite, and that it was delicious."

"Shishishi, you got it!" Luffy called over his shoulder as he walked back towards Nami and Coby.

"Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all…," Coby mumbled, clearly conflicted.

"That guy is so great! He's going to make a great addition to our crew, Nami!" Luffy exclaimed with glee, throwing an arm around the orange-haired girl.

"I'M NOT A PIRATE MORON!"

The three walked back together into town, Luffy massaging a massive welt on his head and Coby serving as a barrier in the middle of the group.

'I gotta' give it to him, that Zoro turned out to not be such a bad guy,' Nami thought to herself as they continued down the street. 'Luffy really seems to have a talent for seeing someone's true colors.'

Come on, I can already tell you're a nice person!

The memory hit Nami like a ton of bricks, causing her to stop her momentum.

"You alright, Nami?" Coby asked with concern. Luffy didn't say anything but focused on her with a searching look.

"Yeah, of course! Just thought I saw something valuable in that window, all good." She replied with a cheeky grin on her face. "Always need to be on the lookout for a score!"

Satisfied, Coby turned back around and continued to walk. Luffy held his gaze a while longer, and Nami felt as though she might melt under his inspection. He too turned around eventually, though, and the three continued on their trek to find the little girl.

'Don't get too attached Nami. There's only one way that will turn out…'

Soon enough, the trio came across the little girl, who happened to be the daughter of the owner of the restaurant they had eaten at earlier. Following another meal that Luffy had insisted on, the companions were delivering Zoro's message.

"Really!? He actually said that?" The little girl, who had revealed her name to be Rika, was staring at Luffy with gigantic eyes.

"Absolutely! He ate the whole thing and said it was the best thing he ever tasted," Luffy explained while Nami and Coby smiled in agreement.

Rika squealed with excitement over the news. "That's so great!"

"I still don't get it," Coby said while rubbing his head. "Everything I heard about this guy was that he was pure evil!"

"No way!" Rika burst out "Moss-Guy is the coolest!"

'Moss-Guy?' Nami sweat dropped 'Not the most flattering of names for a guy who's supposedly so cool...'

"Shishishi! Rika is way smarter than you, Coby!" Luffy cackled while Coby blushed

"How did someone that strong ever get locked up in the first place?" Nami questioned the girl. "Bad guy or not, I always heard he was pretty tough."

Rika's head drooped, and her eyes began to swell with tears. "Well, that's actually my fault…"

"How could that possibly be!?" Nami asked.

"It's all because of that jerk Helmeppo. He's that blonde guy that was picking on me in the courtyard," Rika explained. "He's the son of Captain Morgan, so he can do whatever he wants and gets away with it because everyone is too scared of his mean dad to ever stand up to him. One day, he came in here with his pet wolf for lunch and it attacked me! I would have been a goner for sure, but Moss-Guy was there to chop it up and save me! Helmeppo was really mad his dog got hurt though, so he told Moss-Guy that if he didn't surrender that my mom and I would be executed."

"That's terrible!" Coby managed to say, while the stormy expression on Luffy's face kept growing darker.

"Helmeppo told Moss-Guy that he'd have to stay tied up there for a month without food and water," Rika continued. "And then he said he'd let him go. But that whole time the jerk has been torturing Moss-Guy, beating him up while he has no way to defend himself!" Rika slammed her tiny fists into the table with anger. "I hate Morgan and Helmeppo, but I'm too little to do anything about it!"

Nami shook her head in disgust. Luffy was about to speak up, when the door to the restaurant flew open.

"Ahh, lunch time! Get me something to eat immediately!" Helmeppo himself strolled through the entrance and took a seat at the bar. "I need to get my fill while I can, I have a big day tomorrow. Daddy's going to let me execute the Pirate Hunter! What a dumbass, thinking he'd actually be allowed to go free after what he did to me. Hahaha – "

{CRASH}

Pedestrians going about their daily routines ran over to the sound of the massive collision. To their shock, those who arrived first discovered Helmeppo lying unconscious in a pile of rubble, an entire wall collapsed around him. People then slowly turned their attention to the restaurant across the street, where a boy with a red vest and straw-hat stood with his hand gripped tightly into a fist.

"Let's go!" The boy shouted out before sprinting off towards the marine base. Two others, a pudgy boy and an attractive girl, followed him out the door and struggled to keep up. Finally, a beaming little girl came out to wave at the fleeing figures, while her mother poked her head out nervously from the door.

A few minutes later…

"Alright guys, here's the plan," Nami said with a serious expression. "Luffy!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Luffy responded with a rigid salute.

"You go do whatever you're going to do with your scary green-haired friend. While you're at it, try to make as much trouble with the Marines as possible."

"Right!" Luffy exclaimed, pounding his fist to his gloved palm.

"Meanwhile, I'm going to sneak into the Marine base while you're distracting them, so I can find the treasure I came here for. After that, I'll make my escape! Everyone good?"

"Wait! What about me?" Coby interjected, struggling to maintain a salute with his knees so wobbly.

"Of course, how could I forget? Coby, your job is: don't get in the way."

As Coby toppled over, Nami continued, "OK, there's a good chance this is where our alliance ends. You both were useful enough, but now it's time to say goodbye."

"Shishishi, you're not even fooling yourself Nami! See you guys soon!" Luffy replied with a knowing grin. He then grabbed hold of the top of the wall and launched himself into the courtyard.

'What the hell does he mean by that!? Ugh, worry about it later, you have bigger fish to fry,' Nami decided, and she took off into the base without a second glance at Coby.

Landing with a thud, Luffy found himself again facing Zoro, who lazily opened his eyes to see the rubber boy staring back.

"You're a persistent son of a bitch, aren't you? You should find a hobby or something." Zoro grumbled out.

"When it's for something I want, of course! And I decided I want you on my crew for sure!" Luffy explained.

Zoro grit his teeth in anger. "Stop being so blockheaded and listen to me! I already told you, I have no interest in becoming pirate filth."

"Strong words coming from a feared bounty hunter," Luffy jabbed back.

Zoro let out an exasperated sigh. "That's not who I am at all, it's just a way to buy food and booze. It has nothing to do with my true ambition."

"And what would that be?" Luffy asked curiously.

A demonic glare shown through Zoro's eyes as a toothy grin sprawled across his face. "I made a promise long ago that one day I would become the greatest swordsman who ever lived. Everything I do is in pursuit of that goal, until I can one day meet the man who currently holds that title and defeat him."

"A swordsman, huh?" Luffy replied after a moment. "I could definitely use one of those on my crew. And the Pirate King would never accept anything less than the world's greatest swordsman! Shishishi!"

Zoro pondered that for a moment with a contemplative expression. However, he shook his head soon after. "Forget it! I'm getting out of here in a few days anyway, so get lost! I'm too strong to die here, and then I'll be able to continue my journey on my own terms!"

"That'd be a decent idea, if that Marine Captain's son wasn't planning on executing you tomorrow," Luffy said with a shrug.

"What are you saying? We have a deal!" Zoro demanded.

"He was going through town bragging to anyone who would listen how he had tricked you," Luffy explained. "They planned on killing you once and for all tomorrow morning."

'Still as stupid as ever, huh Zoro?'

Zoro jerked his head at the sight of a slender, dark-haired girl in his periphery, but by the time he had turned whatever he had seen was gone.

"Damn it!" Zoro shouted. "I should have known something like this would happen. I'm too weak now to break through these ropes, but if I had my swords…"

"I can find your sword," Luffy offered. "Then we'll be friends for sure!"

Luffy took off towards the base and –

"Swords"

Luffy turned back to the green-haired swordsman. "Huh?"

"Swords. You'll find three of them in there, they're all mine."

Luffy's eyes transformed into shining stars. "That's so awesome! I made a good choice picking a badass like you to be on my crew! Shishishi!"

Luffy then went running back towards the base, even faster than before. Zoro watched as he left, feeling some strange combination of annoyance, resignation, and even a bit of excitement.

"I never should have fucked with that dog," he mumbled to himself. Despite being left alone, he could have sworn he heard a girl's laughter in response.

A gigantic man stood atop the Marine base, admiring the equally gigantic statue being raised by his subordinates.

"God, do I look good," proclaimed the man, absorbed in his own self-admiration. He flexed his muscles proudly, and the large axe attached to his right arm that had earned him his moniker glinted dangerously in the sun.

"Captain Morgan, should be only a few more minutes before we have your monument ready, sir!" Called out a Marine grunt organizing the team effort to raise the massive marble object. The statue reflected its source material well, with oversized muscles breaking through the stone, a close-cut haircut and the axe itself.

Axe-Hand Morgan stood back, absorbing the progress with a look of total satisfaction. 'It's about time the people of this pathetic town treated me with the respect that I deserve,' Captain Morgan thought to himself with a smug grin. 'The greatest Marine in all the East Blue!'

"Daddy, help me!"

Morgan's blissful daydreams were interrupted by the shrill whining of his son, Helmeppo. The boy appeared to have been beaten within an inch of his life; his fancy clothes were torn and covered in dirt, and his face was caked in blood. Two Marines had two physically hold him upright as he gasped for breath.

"What is it, boy?" Morgan said disinterestedly, never once removing his gaze from the statue.

"Daddy, look at me!" Helmeppo shrieked. "I was brutally attacked by some thug in town, in front of everyone. No one can put their hands on me like that! You have to do something!"

Morgan still did not turn to meet Helmeppo's tear-filled eyes, instead giving a loud snort. "Absolutely not."

"B-but Daddy…"

"QUIET!" Morgan roared as he suddenly wheeled around to face Helmeppo, drawing his axe to within inches of the boy's neck. "Your pathetic whining sickens me! No true son of mine could ever be such a fucking weakling."

Morgan drew his weapon away from Helmeppo, who looked equal parts terrified and genuinely hurt, before turning his attention back to his monument. After pausing for a moment, he continued, "besides, I heard that you let an intruder walk away free earlier."

Helmeppo was still at a loss for words, but one of the Marines supporting him jumped in instead. "Sir, it was just a little girl, we thought – "

The soldier was dead before he could even blink. The Captain had leapt into action, bringing his mighty axe down across the unsuspecting victim's body and leaving a massive gash across his torso. The Marine collapsed limply to the ground, and with half of his support system gone Helmeppo collapsed as well. The boy tried to scramble away from the fallen corpse, but his hands had already been coated in the leaking blood. He frantically tried to wipe them off across the ground while hyperventilating, but to no avail. The rest of the Marine squadron stood in complete silence, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

"I gave you a direct order, soldier. That Pirate Hunter is far too valuable for my future. You should have killed the little bitch," Morgan spat out. He then defiantly raised his axe into the sky, blood still dripping from its razor-sharp edge. "Let that be a lesson to all of you shits!" Morgan bellowed. "I'm the King of this damn town, and therefore you must give me your total obedience! Any questions!?"

"GUM-GUM RIFLE!"

Morgan's assertion of authority was cut short by the massive stone copy of his head crashing into him and through the Marine base. The Marines were stunned by the sudden creation of a huge hole in the roof, while Helmeppo remained unconcerned with anything but the blood coating his hands. With everyone's attention on the drama between the Captain and his son, no one had noticed the boy with a straw-hat jumping through the air behind them. However, the boy was fully aware of everything that had happened; as he landed with a loud thud on the roof, a deep hatred had enveloped his every movement.

Luffy walked unimpeded towards Helmeppo, since all of the Marines were too stunned by the whole situation to make any move to stop him. He stopped to tower over the other boy, finally shaking Helmeppo from his stupor. Luffy stared at him with a cold seriousness that made Helmeppo's blood freeze. Then, Luffy spoke.

"I get it."

With that, Luffy then jumped through the opening his fist had already created, leaving a confused Helmeppo behind.

In a lower level of the Marine base, Nami was working diligently to complete her own mission.

"Almost…there…got it!" Nami whispered to herself. She slowly cracked open the lock to the safe she had been prying at the past few minutes. "After all this waiting, I'll finally have my map to the Grand Line. One trip there and I can put this all behind me – "

The words caught in the thief's mouth when she realized the safe was empty. Unable to believe it, Nami hurriedly shoved her hands into the safe, searching every corner for a secret compartment.

"No, no, no! This is impossible! I've been tracking this map for months, I was positive it was here!" Nami groaned in frustration. Suddenly, she noticed a small piece of paper tucked underneath the back corner of the safe. Pulling it out and examining it, she discovered that it was mostly blank, except for a small note scrawled across the bottom

Buggy was here.

"Damn it!" Nami banged her head in anger. "Someone already beat me to it. Now how the hell am I going to get this thing?"

'Maybe I can convince Luffy to help me…,' she thought to herself before shaking her head. If she was being honest with herself, that rubber idiot wasn't as easily removed from her mind as she had expected. 'How many times do you have to tell yourself, Nami? No attachments!'

Before she could come up with an alternative plan, a massive impact sent her flying into the nearby wall. The entire roof of the room she had been searching in had exploded, and a massive chunk of stone lodged itself between the support beams of the base.

Nami, a little banged up but no worse for wear, stumbled to her feet. She slowly walked over towards the source of the destruction. 'Was that some kind of meteor? But that wouldn't make sense, this stone is so smooth it almost looked like it was carved. What the hell is it then?'

Nami was startled out of her investigation by a large, muscular arm that broke its way through the rubble.

"That…fucking…brat…"

"You know they'll kill you for this, right?" Zoro said in a bored tone.

As the swordsman hung loosely from his restraints, Coby was doing all he could to untie the knots and break the green-haired man free. Despite his best efforts, he was making very limited progress.

"Why exactly are you doing this?" Zoro questioned, attempting to suppress the curiosity in his voice.

"Because I'm going to be a good Marine!" Coby shouted as tears streamed down his face. "Luffy taught me that not all things are black and white, and no true defender of justice would do something like this. I'm going to become a true Marine someday, just like Luffy is going to become the Pirate King!"

Zoro scoffed at that, but he couldn't help widening his eyes a bit. "So that's not an act, huh? He really believes it?"

"I was as surprised as you were when he first told me, but now I'm absolutely certain he'll accomplish it. He's staked his life on his dream!" Coby concluded with conviction

"His life, eh?" Zoro said with an amused look. Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire.

"GAH!" Coby yelled out, "I've been shot!" Blood started to pore from the fresh wound on his right shoulder.

The squad of Marines from the roof were rapidly approaching, as after the chaos one had finally noticed the activity going on in the courtyard. "You are in direct violation of the orders of Captain Morgan. Prepare to be severely punished for your crimes!" One soldier declared

"Kid, you gotta' run or you're a goner!" Zoro demanded in panic, only to be shocked as Coby crawled his way back to the post.

"Never! They'll kill you if I leave here, and it'd be all my fault! I can't live with being a coward any longer, I won't back down!" Coby shouted out through the pain as he went back to working on the ropes.

Zoro was flabbergasted, and without warning an image of the straw-hat boy and his goofy grin flashed across his vision. 'So, these are the kind of people you attract,' Zoro thought to himself.

Then, the swordsman turned his attention back to the dozens of rifles pointed in their direction, desperation starting to set in.

'I can't afford to die here! Not before I can fulfill my promise!'

Luffy rushed through the halls of the Marine base. He didn't have to deal with much resistance given that most of the soldiers had been on the roof trying to erect Morgan's vanity project. Those stragglers that did get in his way quickly regretted it.

'Focus, Luffy, look for the auras,' the rubber boy thought to himself after sending one unlucky soldier out a window. 'Just like Gramps said…' Luffy continued to sprint forward but closed his eyes and adopted a look of deep concentration.

'There'

Screeching to a halt, he turned to face a nondescript door. He could sense three distinct entities, both emanating an intense raw power. Two were fairly similar; one, however, seemed to call out to him, as though it was aware of Luffy's presence itself. Luffy swung open the door to find three large katanas resting safely in the corner. Luffy stretched his arm out to secure the three swords, the sprinted towards a window.

"Sky walk!"

Luffy exploded through the glass, swords in hand, and jumped back towards the clearing. Within seconds, he landed softly in front of Zoro, Coby and the squad of Marines.

"Luffy!" Coby cried out in joy, nursing his injured shoulder.

"I'm probably hallucinating, but I could have sworn you flew over here," Zoro muttered.

"Nope, I was," Luffy said plainly.

Zoro opened his mouth to follow up but instead dropped his head in dumbfounded resignation. "We'll talk about that some other time. Thank you for getting me my swords, now get me the hell out of these ropes!"

Luffy looked back at Zoro, and the bounty hunter couldn't help but notice that much of the boy's positive energy from earlier had vanished. "If I get you out, will you join my crew?" Luffy asked.

"DO YOU SEE THOSE GUNS POINTED AT US MORON!? THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR DUMB QUESTIONS!" Zoro roared.

The Marines, initially frozen by Luffy's dramatic entrance, had managed to regroup. "That's the one that attacked Captain Morgan! He can't be allowed to get away with that," one of the soldiers called out.

"Shoot them all, the Pirate Hunter too! Avenge the Captain, or else he might come after us!" Another yelped nervously.

"Yeah!" Echoed many in unison, and suddenly all of the rifles were trained on the rubber boy. Luffy made no move to retreat in response to this show of force. Slowly, he gently lowered the three swords onto the ground next to Zoro. With that done, he turned to face the Marines head on, pulling his hat over his eyes with his leather glove.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Don't freeze up now kid, give me the swords," Zoro demanded. "Otherwise you're done – "

"Shave."

In a blur, Luffy had disappeared, leaving everyone in the clearing perplexed. Suddenly, one of the Marines at the front of the firing squad had his rifle shattered in his hands. Soon enough, a soldier in the back experienced the same problem. Within seconds, rifles throughout the squad were exploding without warning.

As the Marines panicked, Zoro focused on the scene intently. 'How can anyone possibly move that fast!? I'm doing everything I can to keep up and have barely caught a glimpse of his outline!'

Moments later, Luffy was standing back in his original position. Across from him, all of the Marine's guns laid destroyed on the ground. Enraged, a group of ten soldiers drew their swords and charged towards the pirate.

"Insolent brat, your tricks won't work on us! We'll cut you down!"

Coby panicked as the Marines quickly drew close, but Luffy paid them no attention. Instead, he bent down to pick up the swords. "I'll leave these guys to you. I gotta' make sure the swordsman on my crew is actually as strong as everyone says he is." With a slight smirk, Luffy tossed the weapons in the direction of the bounty hunter; simultaneously, ten Marines swung their own swords down towards the rubber boy's head.

The momentum of all ten were immediately halted. With a sword in each hand and one in his mouth, Roronoa Zoro stood directly in front of Monkey D. Luffy and blocked every attack.

"A pirate, huh?" Zoro muttered out past the sword in his teeth. "I suppose people see me as a monster anyway. The distinction between good and evil doesn't matter to me; all that matter is the ultimate completion of my goal." With that, Zoro shifted his weight and spun, sending the Marines flying into the sky. Coby looked on in awe at the display, while the remaining Marines regarded the two powerhouses in front of them with horror.

Zoro rose from a crouch and faced Luffy eye-to-eye. "You saved my life, and I owe you a great debt for that," the green-haired man continued with a smirk. "Therefore, I've decided to join your pirate crew. Just remember this: everything I do is to further my pursuit of becoming the world's greatest swordsman. If you ever get in the way of that, I'll cut you down without hesitation, Captain."

Whatever had been troubling the rubber boy earlier had apparently be forgotten for now, as a massive smile broke across his face. "Shishishi, no problem for me! Like I said, it'd be pretty embarrassing for the Pirate King to have anyone weaker than the world's greatest swordsman on his crew!"

Zoro returned the smile, and the two men clasped hands; in retrospect, one wonders if a more handshake had ever occurred in the world's history.

The leftover Marines were completely unnerved by this display of unity. "Those two are monsters! We don't have a prayer against them!" One soldier shrieked.

"Let's get the fuck out of here! That kid already took out Morgan, we can probably get out of town before he wakes up!" Another reasoned, and the group prepared to turn tail and run.

"LUFFY!"

The terrified scream rang out through the courtyard and froze everyone in place. Luffy immediately directed his attention towards the base, where a hulking figure was making his way towards the battle. "Nami…" Luffy whispered.

The orange-haired girl was trapped in the grip of Captain Morgan. Her face was seriously bruised, and she showed other signs of a significant struggle. Morgan didn't look great either, but his menacing muscles were able to handle the slight girl without any issues.

"Quiet, whore," Morgan ordered, tightening his grip around Nami, who had to gasp for breath. "You've given me enough problems already."

Morgan looked over towards the retreating Marines, each with an expression more horrified than the last. "You cowards make me absolutely sick," he spit out," but I've got bigger fish to fry before I punish all of you."

Morgan then directed his focus to the pirates. "Roronoa Zoro, I'm familiar with your work. You may be as strong as your reputation, but even then, you're no match for me," the Captain bragged.

Morgan then swung Nami in the air as if to gesture towards Luffy. "And you, the boy who attacked me! I have no clue who the fuck you are, but I'm putting an end to you first." He then lifted Nami straight ahead before continuing, "I assume this bitch in my hand is yours? She kept calling out your name as I pummeled her. It was actually quite touching, in some pathetic way. Hahaha!"

Zoro's hand was hovering just above his sword, his eyes filled with bloodlust. Even Coby, injured and all, rose to his feet with a look of anger. 'I'm not going to let this asshole hurt Nami!' Coby promised himself. However, he stopped himself short when he noticed Luffy's strange behavior. The powerful boy had not moved into an attacking position like his new crewmate; in fact, he stood trembling, a vacant look filling his eyes as he stared towards the ranting Marine officer. His right hand was the only part of his body that demonstrated any signs of action. It had been so tightly balled into a fist that Coby thought it would draw blood if not for the glove.

"Luffy, what's wrong? You gotta' snap out of this, Nami needs you!" Coby said as he tried to shake Luffy out of his trance. However, Luffy remained comatose despite all of his friend's efforts.

Zoro noticed what was happening besides him and looked over in confusion. 'What is going on? This guy wants to be the Pirate King and he's scared shitless by some East Blue Marine Captain? That can't be it…,' the swordsman wondered.

"Luffy…help me...," Nami whispered out before Morgan raised her again in triumph.

"Ha! You're a complete coward, boy!" Morgan taunted. "Don't think that will make me pity you after that sucker punch earlier. No, I'm definitely going to cut you in half. But first, I'm going to kill this thieving bitch right in front of you, and you can't do – "

"AKAINU! GUM-GUM TEMPEST WHIP!"

A massive blade of wind cut through the air and made its way across the courtyard at an alarming speed. Morgan, even if he had been more prepared for the sudden attack, had no hope of dodging. With a sickening noise, the blade cut through Morgan's left wrist without resistance. Everything was silent, only to be interrupted by the thud of Morgan's hand, still grasping Nami, collapsing to the ground.

"NO! NOT AGAIN, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Bellowed Morgan, holding the bloody stump at the end of his left arm in front of his face.

"Nami, you're safe!" Coby hollered in excitement.

Zoro's reaction was much more stoic as he withdrew his hand from the hilt of his blade. "Who the hell is Akainu?" he mumbled to himself.

After a few seconds of registering exactly what had happened, Nami quickly pried her way out of the grasp of Morgan's detached hand. She rose from the ground on unsteady feet, brushing off all the dirt and rubble she had collected. That done, she rose her head towards her savior. "Luffy, I…"

"SHAVE!"

In a flash, Luffy had transported himself across the courtyard and tackled Morgan into the nearby wall. Before anyone could react, the straw-hat boy started raining down massive punches with his right hand on the Captain's face.

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

With every punch, Luffy called out the same name. Within seconds, Morgan lost consciousness from the beating, and soon after that his face was becoming unrecognizable. And yet, Luffy showed no restraint, no remorse.

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

Coby and Zoro sprinted over to the assault while the Marines looked on in shock and fear.

"Luffy, stop this! You already won, you're going to kill him! This isn't right!" Coby yelled out through a flood of tears.

"He's right, this is too much! Cut it out!" Zoro agreed, and the two tried to wrap their arms around Luffy's body and drag him off the prone body. Despite the swordsman's immense strength, the incensed boy didn't move an inch. The attack continued without wavering.

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

"AKAI – "

"LUFFY!"

Nami's voice rang out across the clearing. She had made her way to Luffy's side and wrapped her arms around his gloved hand, which had been stained red. For the first time, Luffy hesitated, and he turned his head to face Nami. Pure pain was etched across the girl's face, tears welling up in her eyes and snot running down her chin.

"You already saved me Luffy!" Nami pleaded between her sobs. "I'm safe! Don't do this, this isn't who you are!"

Something seemed to click in the boy's mind at this, but his eyes remained glazed over. "…Makino?" He finally managed to ask, his voice barely audible.

"No Luffy it's me, Nami," the girl replied. She fell to her knees and wrapped Luffy in a tight embrace. "It's Nami, Luffy. Everything is ok now, everything is ok now…" The girl rocked back in forth, her hands tightly clamped together around the boy's back. After a few minutes, she could feel his muscles begin to relax. After she waited a little bit longer to be safe, Nami pulled back a bit to look at Luffy. The cloudy haze had been lifted, and his piercing brown eyes stared back at her with confusion.

"Luffy? Is that you?" Nami questioned hopefully.

"Yeah," Luffy whispered in response. He paused for a moment, then continued. "I didn't hurt you, did I Nami?"

With that, Nami finally broke down into uncontrollable crying, and pulled the boy back into a hug even tighter than before. This time, Luffy returned the favor, and the two sat in each other's embrace.

Neither had any plans of moving.

Woohoo! How about that ending! I think you'll understand why I didn't go all the way through to the end of the Shells Town arc. It'd be pretty hard to include that hugely emotional, non-canon moment and then wrap it up with some basic goodbye-Coby stuff.

This should give you an idea of how I plan on testing Luffy against some of his weaker opponent's now that he's so overpowered. His mental strength has a long way to go to match his physical abilities.

Thanks for reading and please continue to follow, favorite and review. I've received so much positive engagement with this story in just over a week, and every bit of it is added inspiration for me to keep going! Definitely keep the comments and questions coming as well, I'm going to make the opening Q&A a weekly thing.

Next Time: The End of Shells Town, Some Training, and Orange Town!