East Blue Arc Finale: First Mate! Enter The Pirate Hunter: Zoro!

well, as promised, here it is.

"So you want to become a marine, huh.... Well, chase your dream then!" he encouraged Koby, who blushed in embarrassment. "Hey, do you know where we can get some food for our trip?" he asked him.

"Y-yes.. There's a marine base close to here." he told Luffy. "Well then, we should go there." replied Sabo for Luffy. "No way!" shouted Koby at the two of them. "Why not?" was the question chorused by both Luffy and Sabo.

"There's a demonic beast kept there!" he shouted, "A demonic beast, huh?" both Luffy and Sabo doubted that, but they still wanted to know more information on that, since for Luffy, he could be his first mate! 

"Roronoa Zoro is his real name... They call him the Pirate Hunter: Zoro! He's like a bloodthirsty hound, roaming the seas, hunting anyone with a bounty on their head! They say he's a demon in a human form." informed Koby, which answered most of their questions. After all this, Luffy made up his mind, "I might recruit him!" he told him.

"Luffy, no! Pirate Hunters and Pirates don't mix at all!" Koby didn't know that Luffy couldn't be shaken out of his belief no matter what, and still thought that, with enough talking, he could change his mind. "I still haven't decided if I want to recruit him or not, it depends if he's a good guy or not." 

"Luffy! He's in prison for NOT being a good guy!"

When they got to the marine base

"Here we are!" yelled out Luffy, who immediately went to look for food, "Meat here I come!!" as he ran with meat in his eyes. "Is he always like this?" asked Koby, who still wasn't used to Luffy's behaviour. "Yes, he's always like this" Sabo released a sigh he didn't even know he was holding.

"Hey Luffy! I think I found a restaurant here!" Luffy looked back, running back to him so fast that you could call it teleportation. "Where?!" he wanted to get to it as fast as possible, so that he could eat. "It's there." he pointed in a random direction. Turns out, there was no restaurant in that direction, and he just pointed at it at random, thinking it could keep him occupied for a second. "Asshole!" he yelled at Sabo, who burst out laughing.

Sabo pointed in another random direction, and told Luffy, "Sorry man, I mixed it up and pointed in the wrong direction. It's there, not lying." Luffy bought the lie, and yelled out, yet again, "Asshole!".

Turns out, there was a restaurant in that direction. "It's here! Come on Sabo!" he laughed. As the three of them walked to the restaurant, Luffy began a conversation, "So where is this Zoro guy?" he asked Koby.

Once he said the name 'Zoro' people snapped their heads towards him, and began whispering. "Huh, that name is quite the taboo here, eh?" said Sabo. "Maybe we shouldn't say his name around here... I can understand why they would get scared at his name. He might escape at any moment." 

As he finished his sentence, they arrived at the restaurant, where Koby noticed a poster that had the name 'Captain Morgan' on it. "I saw a poster with 'Captain Morgan' on it." as he said that, the villagers, yet again, freaked out, and this time, they even backed away from them.

Sabo and Koby thought this was weird behaviour, but Luffy didn't mind it as he stuffed himself with as much meat as he could get his hands on. "Everyone is so jumpy! I don't understand why they would freak out at a marine's name!" he told them, and while Sabo knew it was most likely because Morgan was a corrupt marine, he didn't want to tell him, since it would most likely crush the boy's opinion about the marines, which would most definitely make him not want to chase his dream.

"Maybe they just got carried away!" told Luffy, "Why would they get carried away! I'm trying to seriously think here!" 

"We should go to the marine base, since you can recruit Zoro there and also 'figure out' why they get so scared at a marine's name." Sabo winked at Luffy when he said 'figure out', and at that moment, Luffy realized why they got scared at a marine's name. He doesn't let them eat kikufuku!  He hadn't seen any kikufuku stands in the village, and the fact that it tastes so good and coupled with the fact that he doesn't let them eat it, which, from his point of view, is torture, he realized why they get jumpy at his name. That bastard dared to ban kikufuku?! He deserves to be tortured! 

Luffy's expression darkened as he thought of ways to torture Morgan, and he didn't even realize they reached the base until he got hit in the head by Sabo when he was about to walk into the wall. "Idiot! We're here!" 

"Oh, I didn't even notice. Shishishi!" he laughed, yet his expression was still dark. Still, how dare he ban the food of god, kikufuku?! 

They climbed up the wall, but as soon as Koby saw his face, he fell in fear. "Come here and untie me... I've been tied here for days, and I can't take it anymore. I'll make it worth your time. I'll capture someone with a bounty and give him to you so you can take the money. You can trust me, I'm a man of my word."

"Don't do it Luffy! He'll kill us as soon as you untie him!" yelled Koby at Luffy, but it didn't do anything to his resolve. "Nah, he can't kill me. I can't even be touched. I'm the strongest, don't worry!" he gave a grin to Koby. 

A small girl came with a ladder, "Shh!" she told them, as she placed the ladder, climbed it up and went to Zoro with 2 rice balls in her hand. "Get lost! Do you want to get killed?!" he threatened her. "I made these rice balls for you! I thought you might need food, so I made these for you!" she told him, as she stuck out her hands with the rice balls to the hunter's face.

"It's the first time I've ever made rice balls!" all she wanted to do was to give him some food, and by how he was there for probably days, this was a kind gesture. "I'm not hungry!! Now take these rice balls and leave!!" he yelled. "B-but-" she wanted to argue, "Or I'll stomp you to death!" he threatened yet again, but she wasn't going to leave.

KLANK!!

The two big doors that served as the entrance to the marine base slammed open, as a pretentious yellow-haired brat and some normal marines entered the base. "Roronoa Zolo! You shouldn't pick on girls! Especially little ones! I'll tell my father about it!" (zolo was on purpose, he was making fun of him)

"Who's that weirdo?" asked Luffy, to which Koby responded, "He must be some kind of high-ranking officer. Good, now that girl will be safe." .

"Hmff! If it isn't the idiot son of Morgan living off daddy's wealth! Idiot bowl-cut Helmeppo!" the bowl-cut idiot seemed angry at being called an idiot, "Did you just call me an idiot?!" he started, "A man in your position shouldn't be talking, prisoner!" 

Helmeppo walked towards the girl, "Little girl... Did you bring rice balls just for me?" he grabbed one, "No, those are not for you! Give it back!" the girl shouted, "Bleh! It's disgusting! They're sweet! What kind of stupid idiot makes sweet rice balls?! Rice balls are supposed to be seasoned with salt or other spices! Not sugar!" 

"I-I like sweets! I thought it would go well with the rice balls!", Helmeppo took the rice balls from the girl's hands, "These are completely inedible!", he threw them on the ground and started smashing them with his foot, "N-no! Stop! You're ruining them!" the girl started crying.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the microscopic animals will thoroughly enjoy them! Hah hah ah!" he laughed at her crying state, "I worked so hard on them!" cried the girl, "Oh stop the crying! This is why I hate little shits like you!" he continued his laughing.

"It's your own fault that you're stupid and illiterate! You can't even read this sign! It says, 'do not aid the prisoner by any means, or else you will be found guilty of the crimes said prisoner committed! signed by captain morgan'. I'm sure you've heard of how scary my father can be!" he got closer to the girl, "If you were an adult, you would be executed!"

"You, there, the one with the weird hair, throw her over the wall." he cruelly spoke, "B-but sir-" the marine tried to argue, "Are you refusing a direct order?! I'll tell my daddy about this if you don't throw her over the wall!" he threatened, which scared the poor marine enough to do as told. As she was about to hit the floor, she got saved by Luffy.

"Are you okay?! What a bad man..." Koby felt bad for the little girl, and he felt angry at the man, no, at the boy, Helmeppo. "My, aren't you a stubborn one?" speak of the devil. "Heh, yes. I'll survive the entire month. You just keep your end of the bargain!!" 

"I don't go back on my promises, heh heh!" Sabo thought it was fishy why the man was kept, and why the kid is able to order the marines. It seems like the classical case of marine corruption. I theorize that Helmeppo is captain morgan's son, which is why he's able to order them around. It would also explain why the villagers were scared of Morgan, and also why he threw that little girl's rice balls to the ground. Easiest way to deal with them would be killing them, as turning them in to the marines wouldn't do shit. Heh, marines. thought Sabo.

As soon as they left, both Sabo and Luffy went up the wall and walked next to Zoro. "You still here?" Zoro asked them. He continued, "Better not let Helmeppo catch you."

"I'm looking for a strong guy to join my pirate crew." told Luffy. "Pirate crew? You think I'd lower myself to that extend?" he mocked Luffy. "But becoming a pirate's my dream! What's the problem with it!?" 

"You think I'd join your crew if you untie me? Don't make me laugh." 

"I haven't decided yet, you've got a bad reputation." Zoro started to laugh, "Bad reputation, huh?". Luffy started walking away, until, "Hey, wait.", he paused and looked back, "Pick that up for me." he pointed to the rice ball with his head. "I think it's more of a dirt ball than a rice ball. You sure you wanna eat that?" he asked.

"Shut up! Just shut up and feed it to me! And don't miss 1 grain of rice!" , Luffy walked towards Zoro, who had a wide mouth, and placed it inside his mouth. "I told you it was mostly dirt, do you wanna kill yourself?" Luffy had a disbelieving face, "Tell the kid... Tell her I said it was delicious... And... That I ate it all.." 

Later with the little girl

"Really? He ate it all? I'm so glad!" the girl had a happy smile, knowing that he got to at least eat something, even though it was mostly dirt.

"Could that guy really be all that bad?" asked Koby, not believing that the guy was so bad when he ate a little girl's rice balls made with sugar, that were completely covered with dirt, and even ate all of it and said it was delicious. "He's not a bad guy!" the girl defended, "He got thrown in prison because of me. Helmeppo's mean dogs that attacked me... Roronoa Zoro saved me from them!" 

"Zoro is in prison... Because he hurt that mushroom head's pets?" Luffy's opinion on that kept getting worse. "That makes sense! Roronoa Zoro may kill, but he only kills the bad guys! The ones with a bounty on their head! It doesn't make sense why he would be thrown in prison for that, seeing as it does a favour to the marines, and is even legal and is actually recommended by the marines!"

Meanwhile, with Sabo

I knew there was something in here, I could feel it. It was a good decision to split up! Sabo thought in his head as he saw a purple worm crawling towards him. Now, what the hell is this thing? His train of thought was broken when he heard the worm talk, "Papa..." 

Am I going insane or did this worm just talk? "Come here....Papa....." the worm spoke again. No, I'm not going insane. This worm really did just talk... I should get away from here! Sabo's logic and reasoning part of his frontal lobe really wanted to get away, but as a famous person once said, 'Curiosity killed the cat'.

Sabo walked forward, and saw that the worm had something coming out of it's mouth. At first, it looked like a staff, but the more it got out of the worm's mouth, the more sections it had. 2 sections, then 3 sections. At the end, it looked like a 3 sections staff. It had an interesting design, with a flame pattern on the end of each section. The 3 sections were connected via chains that were made from a metal unknown to Sabo. It seemed like normal iron, but the more he looked at it, the more it started to deter from the possibility of it being iron. Maybe copper? he thought.

It really was a good idea to split up...

Flashback

"Hey Luffy, I see something interesting there. I'm gonna go check it out. See you there." he informed Luffy, who spoke, "Alright, see you there brother."

Flashback: end

His train of thought was broken once more when the worm spoke again, "Playful...Cloud.." it said. Is that the weapon's name? he thought, trying to remember any weapon named Playful Cloud, since it looked to be powerful, and most powerful-looking weapons were generally a named weapon. I don't-I don't remember one... 

Back with Luffy and Koby

"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad guys! They put the death penalty on anyone who they don't like!" she yelled, and speak of the devil, "Hah hah hah! You're not bowing your heads low enough, scum! Bow lower or else I'll tell my daddy and he'll execute you!" 

"Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zoro?! We're gonna hold a public execution of him in exactly 3 days!" What?! He promised him that if he survives a month, he'll be let free! Luffy thought, getting angrier and angrier at him by the second. "But, you made a promise to him?" 

"Where did you hear that? It was just a lie. It's his fault as a demonic beast to have fallen for it. Hah hah hah!" this infuriated Luffy out of belief, as he always believed in never making fake promises. And so, he punched Helmeppo with a right hook hard in his face.

"I've made my decision. I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew!" Luffy said with conviction. Shock erupted from everybody, "Luffy! Are you trying to pick a fight with the whole marine!?"

"Scum is scum, no matter who's their father." anger was seen in Luffy's eyes. "No one has hit me before! Not even daddy! I'll tell him and I'll get you executed!" he cried, which Luffy found to be quite annoying.

"Tch." Luffy scoffed, as he began walking towards the marine base, looking for Zoro. As he went forward, he could hear Helmeppo's threats, which were almost enough to make him return and punch Helmeppo again.

As soon as he arrived, he jumped up the wall, and told Zoro, "Hey!" greeted Luffy. "You again... Is this about me joining your pirate crew? If it is, then just get lost already." Luffy ignored this, "I'll untie you if you'll join my crew."

"You don't listen, boy... I have my goal! I'm not gonna become a pirate!" he shouted in his face, "I reject your refusal."

"That's not how it works!", he was getting angrier, "Yes it is how it works! You have swords, right? I'll get them for you, untie you, and you'll join my crew." he told Zoro.

He didn't leave room for argument, as he started walking towards the building. He entered smoothly, there being no marines to try and stop him. After searching some rooms, he found a total of 3 swords, which he took, as he didn't know which one he used, and he would like to be sure that one is of his.

As he was leaving, he encountered some marines, but he took them all out using a simple Lapse:Blue. However, the marines were all outside, where Zoro was as well.

To his surprise, Koby had untied Zoro before he got there. What he also noticed was the blood coming from his arm. That was brave of him. he thought, having tossed the sword at the same time. "I didn't know which one was yours, so I took them all."

"I use all of them. I use the three-sword style." he informed Luffy. At the same time, Morgan ordered the marines to fire, and Luffy went infront of Zoro and Koby, as to protect them.

"Luffy!" screamed Koby, "You!" yelled Zoro. What they didn't expect, was for the bullets to completely stop infront of Luffy, levitating in the air.

"Nothing can hurt me!" exclaimed Luffy,as he started to walk forward, bringing the bullets with him. At some point, he started to form a Lapse:Blue, as he tossed it around, it collecting debris and the bullets. Once it got big enough, he threw it with all of the debris towards the marines, which knocked all of the marines except for Morgan.

"Fine, I'll join your crew." Zoro reluctantly agreed to join, which gave Luffy a ton of joy. "Alright! I wanna see you in action. Beat that guy!" he told him happily. "Sure, captain."

Zoro took his three swords, one used by his left arm, another used by his right, and the last one used by his mouth. "That's a unique sword style." pointed out Luffy, "Captain Obvious", Koby made fun of him.

"I'm gonna be the world's strongest swordsman! All I have left is my destiny! My name may be infamous, but it'll be known by everyone!" he exclaimed as he performed his signature move, 'Onigiri', on Morgan, which cut him 5 times.

The blood loss was enough to knock out Morgan, which was the time when Sabo appeared as well. "Hey guys! I found this worm that has all kinds of weapons inside it. It's pretty weird." he pointed at the worm sitting on his neck.

"Did you see, Sabo?! Zoro looked so cool when he did that move!" Luffy exclaimed with stars in his eyes. At the same time, Luffy's stomach grumbled. "Man I'm hungry for some kikufuku..."

Speaking of hunger, Zoro had collapsed due to the fact that the only thing he ate was some rice balls that were mostly dirt.

At a restaurant

"Man, I'm full!" he patted his belly, "Not eating for nine days was worse than I thought!" he continued.

"How are you somehow hungrier than me yet I was the one who hadn't eaten in 9 days!?" Zoro was genuinely curious as to how someone can eat this much. "So, what's next?" asked Zoro, "We're headed to the Grand Line!" answered both Luffy and Sabo.

So, end is here. I saw how the longer chapter did better, so I made this one way longer (3322). Hope you enjoyed.