CHAPTER 4 : ZORO'S RESOLVE
### Chapter 4: Zoro's Resolve
The boat slowly sailed towards the Marine base. Upon arriving at the island and landing, the trio decided to visit a nearby restaurant.
Sitting at a round table, the trio began their conversation.
"Should we ask the locals where Roronoa Zoro is?" Luffy asked a little too loudly. The people around them suddenly panicked and quickly left their tables upon hearing the name.
"Maybe we shouldn't mention him," Koby suggested nervously.
"Hehe! I heard there's a guy named Axe-Hand Morgan here," Luffy continued. This caused the remaining patrons to freak out and start running out of the restaurant as if they'd seen a fierce animal.
"What's happening?" Luffy wondered, scratching his head.
"Let's go check out the naval base and see if we can find Zoro," Alex proposed.
The trio soon left the restaurant and headed towards the naval base. Peeking over the top of the wall, they saw a man with a bandana on his forehead and a cloth around his waist, tied up and ready to be executed.
The man spoke, "Can you guys get me out of here? I haven't eaten anything for nine days."
Just then, a little girl jumped off the wall and ran towards the tied bounty hunter, offering, "Brother, do you want this rice cake? I made it for you."
Suddenly, the front gate of the building opened, and a man with blonde hair and a weird face appeared, surrounded by Marine guards.
"Hehe, who is this little girl? How did she get here?" the blonde-haired man sneered.
"Shut up! Morgan's bastard son!" Zoro retorted.
The man replied, "How dare you talk to me like that! My dad is a Navy lieutenant!" He then looked at the girl, snatched the rice cake, took a bite, and spat it out, cursing, "Why is it so sweet? It should have salt!"
"Don't do that! If you do, what will he eat?" the girl pleaded.
"Someone throw her over the wall. Right now," ordered the blonde-haired boy to the nearby Marine soldiers.
A soldier threw the girl from the wall, but suddenly, two hands stretched upwards and caught her in midair before she could hit the ground. The girl ran off to her house while Luffy and Alex entered the courtyard, standing in front of Zoro.
After a long silence, Zoro decided to speak. "Give me that."
"What?" asked the duo.
"That rice cake on the ground." Without much thought, Alex handed it to Zoro. After eating it, Zoro spoke, "Tell that girl the rice cake was good."
"Okay," Luffy replied.
The trio then went to find the girl to relay Zoro's message.
"Really? He said that?" the girl asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Yeah, he said it tasted great," Luffy confirmed.
Suddenly, the blonde-haired boy appeared with some Marines behind him, grinning. "Aren't you the girl who snuck into the execution platform? My dad has ordered your capture to make sure there are no mistakes."
Upon hearing this, Luffy suddenly punched the man in the face and knocked out the nearby Marines. The man ran like crazy to his father's office to complain.
"Father... Father! I want you to kill someone!" the boy shouted as he burst into his father's office.
"Huh? What happened?" asked the man sitting in the chair.
*<Axe-Hand Morgan, Navy Lieutenant>*
Meanwhile, back at the execution ground, Luffy said, "I delivered your message to that girl. She explained your situation. You're a nice guy. Wanna join my pirate crew? I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to be King of the Pirates."
"Pirates? Do you realize what you're asking? I'm a bounty hunter. I hunt pirates for a living. I can never be a pirate," Zoro replied.
Alex asked, "Then what do you want to do? You know they're going to execute you for merit. Do you just want to die here like this?"
"And besides, we're not bad pirates. We just want to adventure and find the One Piece. Nothing bad about that, right?" Luffy added.
"And I heard you aspire to be the greatest swordsman in the world," Alex chimed in.
This last line intrigued Zoro. "What are you trying to say?"
Alex, satisfied to see Zoro listening, continued, "The East Blue is the weakest of the four Blues. Forget about the New World or even the Grand Line. You may be good here, but you're not yet close to becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. To achieve that, you need to travel the world and the Grand Line. And what better way to do that than aboard a ship?"
"And to tell you a secret, we're not yet pirates. We're adventurers, so you don't have to be afraid of the Marines. We can help you achieve your dream, or else you'll be forgotten in the East Blue, 'Roronoa Zoro,' " Alex spoke as enthusiastically as he could.
"Hmm, I could join if you can bring me back my greatest treasure—my three swords," Zoro finally said.
**IN THE MARINE OFFICE**
"What did you say?" exclaimed Morgan.
"Someone beat you up, and you didn't even put up a fight? Why are you even alive?" shouted Morgan as he punched his son, Helmeppo. "Now go capture them and kill that little girl who snuck into the execution ground."
"But....she's just a little girl. We don't have to kill her," a Marine captain timidly interjected.
"What? You can't? You're of no use either," Morgan declared as he struck the captain with his axe hand, knocking him unconscious. "Remember, 'MEN DON'T MAKE MISTAKES,'" Morgan said as he walked past the Marine soldiers.