Chapter 7 - The Revival Of Resolves

『 Zoro's POV 』

More than three weeks had passed since I made the bet with that blonde bastard and I thought that I'm close at winning it.

But it turned out that the bastard actually had no plan to let me go, and instead, he actually plans to execute me as an example to others.

'Fucking coward! If I get to free myself from here, I'll kill you myself you fucking bastard!'

How come I know about that fact despite being stuck in this place for weeks and more? Well, it was thanks to the noisy duo in front of me.

"Oi, can the two of you quiet it down?!

Not being able to take their noise any longer, because of my pent up stress and growling stomach, I suddenly yelled out my anger.

"Anyways, what do you plan to do with my swords that you even decided to send your friend to the marine's den?"

"Swords? Send? What do you- oh, no! Luffy you did not, did you?!"

"Yes, I did!"

Finally earning their attention, I asked the question that had puzzled me since earlier.

Though, it seems my question just brought panic to the pink-haired boy... not the I really care about that.

'It's their decision to do something stupid, so it's not my fault.'

With that thought in mind, I once again asked my question to them and fortunately, this time I actually got an answer.

"It's simple, if you want to get your katana from us, then you have to join our crew!!"

And it turns out that this straw hat pirate was actually serious when he said that his friend is strong because even as he respond to my question, I still failed to find any sign of doubt in his eyes; what's inside of them were just a huge amount of trust.

""That's so low of you!""

Though, when his words finally registered to me, the pink-haired boy and I yelled out the exact same words.

『 Midoriya's POV 』

After finding a relatively close alley to the building that screamed importance, I began to release some of my [ Blackwhip ] from my elbows; which I expertly attached at the top of the buildings surrounding me.

And after I determined that I gained enough distance for the height that I want to reach, I quickly launched myself up into the sky and then a second later, I also activated [ Float ] to increase my flight's speed even more, as well as, to guide myself to hide above the clouds, to avoid exposing myself from below.

When I reached the height of a couple hundreds of meters above the ground, I quickly realized that there were no marines guarding this marine base on the ground.

Because most of them are currently on the main building's rooftop, seemingly trying to set up a statue of a person that has an axe for his one arm.

'Perhaps, that statue was made from this Captain Morgan's image?'

I asked myself as I began to question if this Morgan person was supposed to be a marine who was supposed to save the people or a pirate wearing the marine's clothing.

Realizing that I would not be able to hear anything from this place, I quickly tapped a certain button at my utility belt.

Shortly after that, a small sized butterfly suddenly to got out of the circular shape placed at the center of my belt.

Unlike the normal utility belt of my world, the one that I own was made only for me.

Not only is it durable as heck, this belt also got some high tech features.

One such features was the butterfly that came out of this belt.

Not only did the butterfly have an invisibility setting, so it could easily blend in its surroundings, it could also bring live video images as well as transmit voice records at the same time to my helmet.

Also, this spy equipment of mine doesn't need a satellite to connect to as all of them have a direct connection with each other.

And that network won't be removed as long as they are within the connection range of 6 kilometers in diameter.

And the only source of power that I need for them to work was the power of the Sun itself.

'I will always be in awe at your every invention, Mei.'

I thought to myself as I brought up my mask towards my mouth before it suddenly transformed into a full mask that covers my whole head.

Although I did not planned to use my equipment this early in my adventure, I'll try to limit exposing them to this world as best as I can till I can be sure that such equipments were not foreign to this world.

Also, I chose to fly up in the sky not because I knew thag there's people in the rooftop but because it's always the top floors that contains the special rooms in every bases that I raided so far.

With some bases being an exception.

'But I guess it was a good call to fly above the clouds and scout the rooftop first before I actually head there.'

I thought to myself as I waited for my spy butterfly to reach the right distance for it to get a clear image and volume to transmit to me.

Anyway, considering the person who took Zoro's katana was Morgan's son, then it is safe to say that it will be within one of those special rooms.

"Don't misunderstand, you are not the great one here!! It's your father!! Me!!!"

And not long after I came to that conclusion, I finally managed to clearly hear and see what's happening below me.

My spy equipments had the signal range of 5 kilometer in diameter and thus, they could allow me to easily watch and listen at my target like I was really watching them, without any problem.

After stating that fact at the bastard's face, the huge man finay decided to let go of his head before the man stood up.

As I listened to their conversation, I learned that the huge man was none other than Captain Morgan himself.

'So my earlier guess was correct, the statue was costum-made from his image... still, it's good to know that the bastard at least would not stoop so low to the point of killing a child... but for his father to actually command his men to do that before he went on and on about being a marine of higher ranking-!'

I couldn't even finish my thoughts as I witnessed a familiar scene from the screen of my helmet.

Blood flew in the air and touched the cold cement before a body of a marine helplessly dropped onto the ground.

And the culprit of that situation was none other than the Captain of Marines himself.

"Great men don't make mistakes!!"

Those were the last words that I heard from my helmet as I quickly turned it back into its normal form.

"[ One for All; Full Cowling ]!!"

And once it was done with it's transformation, I had already arrived at the face of Morgan's statue.

Then, with a fully clenched fish behind my back, I put 3% of power in it before I sent it forward; to punch the statue that the humongous bastard was very proud of.

"[ Light Smash ]!!!"

What followed after my attack was the destruction of the said statue, which resulted for its debris to scatter within the whole island.

Belatedly realizing my own actions, I quickly remembered why my body moved on their own.

「 "I don't care about what they think about me! I haven't done anything that I regretted in the past and it will be the same for the future!!" 」

'That's right, even if I may have some regrets about the past or even if I may had been late to realize it...!'

"Starting now, from this moment, I will do my very best to not regret a single thing!!"

'... I'm one hundred percent that it's still better to start doing it than never attempt to, at all!!'

I yelled out with determination as the marines around me yelled in shocked and fear as a response to my entrance.

But then, after the short chaos, a certain some commanded those people to attack me.

"Hey bastard, come with me!"

Though, I just ignored those people as I easily dodge them and made my way to the person who knew the location of the thing that I'm here for.

Not long after that, I quickly grabbed the bastard that Rika called Helmeppo and ran towards a door that was heading to the stairs.

"No! Let me go~!"

Those were the only response that I got from the bastard as I roughly held him and ran.

Though, I simply ignored his complains as I asked where he put Zoro's katana before taking a sudden left turn and continued my running.

『 Omniscient POV 』

Meanwhile, as Midoriya caused chaos inside the Marines base, he had also unintentionally created one outside of it.

"Did you see that thing earlier?!"

"Do you think I'm blind or something?! Of course, I did!!"

Because what Midoriya had yet to realize was that, his action had catched the attention of pretty much every single citizen of Shells Town.

"What do you think it was?"

"Idiot, there's no way I'd know!!"

After all, it's quite hard to miss a bright green-colored light heading straight towards the Marines base.

"Hey~! Guys!!! Wait!! Look at what we found at the coast!!"

And the moment when debris of a statue somehow reached some town people, the citizens had already began to gather themselves and walked towards the place of chaos.

"I-i might know where that debris exactly came from!!"

"Really?"

"Yes, that's the material that I used to sculpt that sickining statue!!"

"Who's statue?"

"Morgan's..."

"What?! No way!"

Whispers of disbelief echoed out in the middle of the Shells Town the moment that that information was revealed.

But even then, those people did not stop their march towards the Marines base.

In fact, it just motivated them to hurry up and see what's happening in it.

All of then were not fully aware of what to expect at the end of their march, but one thing was for sure.

"Do you think someone attacked Morgan's base?"

"Dere's no way dat's gonna happen!!"

"True!!"

"Maybe... but you never know..."

"Oi oldman, don't give us false hope!!"

"Haha, what's wrong with that~?"

All of them are excited as heck to know the answers to their questions.

『 Meanwhile 』

Just as Midoriya destroyed Morgan's statue, Coby asked Luffy why he hasn't let Zoro free yet.

"Huh? I said I'd get his sword, not free him."

Replied the straw hatted pirate, which forced the pink-haired boy to facepalm himself.

"Then, don't mind me do it."

"Oi, stop this brat! They are going to kill him if he help me!!"

After a recovering his bearing, Coby hurriedly began untying the ropes that was restraining Zoro.

"You shouldn't be arrested!!"

Hearing Zoro's discouragement, Coby suddenly yelled out his honest thoughts.

"I can't stand those kinds of marines!! And if I can't even face my fear of them, then I don't have what it takes to be a real Marine!!!"

"You..."

Coby's words finally managed to shut Zoro's mouth up and thus, he began to focus on untying the rope.

*Bang-!*

Though, not even a second after that, a loud bang sounded out from the rooftop of the base's main building.

"That's right, Coby!"

Thankfully, before the bullet could hit Coby, Luffy moved quick enough to hide the pink-haired boy's body with his own.

Saving the boy from being hit by the bullet.

"That's the first step to be a Marine!! Shishishishi~!"

And as he did so, Luffy also said his honest opinion about Coby's earlier words.

"Oi why are you laughing! You've been sho-!"

And before Zoro could even complete his sentence, he finally realized that Luffy doesn't have a bullet wound or whatsoever.

"Surround the base!!! Don't let that guy with broccoli-colored-hair scape!!"

Then shortly after that realization, a group of men had began to appear from the site's entrance and surrounded the tied up Zoro, the shocked Coby, and the laughing Luffy.

"The three of you!! Don't you dare move from there!!"

"You three are guilty of betraying Captain Morgan!! You all will be executed!!"

After the shouts of some marines, Luffy's laughter finally died down.

Shortly after that, Captain Morgan finally revealed himself as he entered the scene.

The marine Captain went on and on about how Zoro's strength was nothing compared to his.

"Rea-"

*Bam!*

"Oops, sorry about that!"

And just as Morgan was about to signal for his men to first their rifles, a black colored boots suddenly appeared on the right side of his face, that sent him flying for a few meters.

"Midoriya!!"

"Hey there, Coby."

Greeted Midoriya when he heard Coby's voice from Luffy's back.

"Here's the katanas, but there's three of them so be careful. I'm not sure how but apparently, our new nakama right there uses three swords instead of one or two."

The lost hero explained what he learned from the bastard that took them away as he gave the katanas to him Captain.

"Oh, I see."

Though, the only response that he received was the same clueless expression that Luffy seems to be wearing more often than not.

"Pfft!"

And that of course, made Midoriya giggled for some unknown reason.

'Haha, he's as easy-going as one can be.'

Midoriya thought to himself before he turned around to face the people who are surrounding them.

"Don't attack, Izuku. I'll make our new member do that job."

"Understood."

Then as Midoriya watches the marines fearfully go to their Captain, his own Captain had already began talking to Zoro once again.

"Like we told you, those guys are planning to kill you sooner than later and resisting them with us would make you an outlaw, so what are you going to do now?"

Asked the young pirate.

"..."

Zoro, on the other hand, just remained silent. Which made Luffy as quiet as he can be.

『 Zoro's POV 』

'What should I do? The bet that I made with that bastard turned out to be a lie, so what should I do? Should I just accept his request? But...'

Faced with so many questions, I couldn't help but remember the very reason why I am here.

「 "Let's met again, and next time... let's spar each other as the world's greatest swordsmasters." 」

'That's right, I can't die here... I refuse to, until that moment!!'

With that thought in mind, I finally had an answer to my current situation.

『 Omniscient POV 』

Few minutes had already passed by, and Morgan seemed to be returning from where he was sent to to the place where he previously stood.

But even then, Zoro's silence still continued.

"Or maybe, you want to die here?"

And when he couldn't bear to wait any longer, Luffy spoke once again.

"Are you perhaps related to the devil? No, forget that... rather than dying here, why don't I accede to your request and be a pirate?"

Those were the response that Zoro gave after his long silence.

"Izuku, we have a new nakama!!"

Hearing that, Luffy accidentally threw Zoro's swords up in the air as he celebrated the success of gaining a new nakama.

"Good but can you please hurry up? I think, a very angry giant is about to eat me!!"

Replied the teen who was easily dodging each slash that the marines threw at him.

"You heard him, now get those ropes off of me!"

"Oh, right."

Hearing Midoriya and Zoro's words, Luffy suddenly bumped his left fist to his right palm.

"Hurry up, Luffy-san!!"

Yelled up Coby as he loosen up the ropes on the right side of the pillar.

"Okay~!!"

Exclaimed Luffy while ignoring the fact that a dozen of marines are now running towards them with their swords above their heads.

Midoriya on the other hand, was left behind by the marines to face Morgan's Axe Arm.

"Did you cut your real arm to get that one?"

He asked as he dodge a slash that aimed for his head.

"[ Shoot Style; ]"

And as a counterattack, Midoriya began to gather some power in his left foot as he arched it behind him.

"[ Light Smash ]!!"

And then what followed were the destruction of Morgan's precious axe.

"Why you!!"

As a response to his words and actions, Morgan's face went red in anger and quickly ran towards him, with his remaining arm in a punching position.

'Should I end this now or wait for them to finish there first?'

Midoriya thought to himself as he once again easily dodge Morgan's punch.

"Yhaaa!!"

Back to Luffy's side, just as the marines were about to hit Coby with their swords, someone saved him once again.

But this time, instead of the familiar silhouette of a certain pirate, what he saw was the shadow of a swordsman.

"Oh! Cool~!!"

"All of you better not move!! You move... and I'll kill you!"

Ignoring Luffy's amusement, Zoro quickly gave a cold warning to the marines that had their swords blocked by his three swords.

"Now that I pointed my swords to the marines, I'd be an outlaw at the end of this day but okay... I still have my own goal!"

After seeing that no marines would dare to attack him, Zoro turned his head towards Luffy's direction and began to speak.

"And even though I already told you that I'd be a pirate with you, I'll still become the strongest swordsman in the world!!"

"Wha-what?!"

"!!"

Hearing Zoro's goal, Coby couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief while Luffy just continue to listen to the former person's words.

"I no longer care if my name is clear or not... bad guy, good guy, it no longer matter!! As long as my name is known worldwide, I will continue to walk on this path!! So if you do something that ends up in the way of my goal, I will have to cut open your stomach to say sorry!!"

"..."

Once he finished his speech, Zoro finally had the chance to catch some of his breathe.

Being starved for weeks was proving to be not a good way of training for Zoro.

"Do you understand?!"

Yelled out the ex-pirate hunter as he couldn't wait to hear the response that he'd receive.

"Shishishi~! Since you wanna join my crew, it was only natural that you'd have a goal such as that... after all, I'm going to be the Pirate King!!"

"!!!"

To say that Zoro was shock to hear Luffy's response was an understatement but he still recovered rather quickly and continues to listen to the later person's words.

"If you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be very embarrassed as well. Shishishi~!"

"Well said."

Zoro released a huge smile once Luffy finished his speech.

"Now then-"

*Tag!*

"What?!"

But before he could even turn around to face the marines, a humongous body suddenly fell from nowhere.

"Ca-captain Morgan was defeated?!"

"Are you guys done now?"

The voice of the culprit asked.

Looking towards the direction where the voice came from, all of them saw a person crunched down on top of the pillar with the person's arms resting on his knees.

"Izuku!!"

"Hello~ hehe."

Luffy's yell managed to got everyone from their shocked state and not even a second after.

*Cling!*

*Clang!*

*Clad!*

"We surrender!!"

The remaining marines that was still standing all threw their weapons on the ground and raised their hands.

Seeing their actions, Coby and Zoro were speechless as it was a clear contrast as to how they were acting earlier.

「 To Be Continued 」