Luffy, Raja, and Koby were happily sailing toward Shell Town, where Koby hoped to enlist in the Marines.
Koby sighed dreamily. "I can't wait to wear that Marine uniform and serve justice!"
Raja smirked. "Yeah, let's see how long that dream lasts."
Luffy, completely ignoring Koby, leaned over the side of the boat. "OI! Do you think they have meat in Shell Town?"
Koby looked horrified. "Meat? We're about to enter a Marine-controlled town, and you're thinking about food?"
Luffy nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! What else would I think about?"
Raja, with an evil smirk, said, "Captain, if they don't have any meat, I'll turn the town upside down with my magic."
Koby groaned. Why was he surrounded by lunatics?
As they arrived at Shell Town, the trio quickly noticed that the townspeople were unusually tense.
"Excuse me, sir,"Koby approached a shopkeeper. "Could you tell us why the townspeople are so tense?"
The man visibly shivered. "We don't talk about the situation... or him…"
Raja raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Roronoa Zoro," the man whispered, as if saying the name would summon a demon.
Koby froze. "Y-YOU MEAN THE RORONOA ZORO?! THE DEMON WHO EATS PIRATES FOR BREAKFAST?!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled. "Interesting!"
Raja nodded in agreement. "Captain, He sounds strong! Let's recruit him! We could use a Swordsman."
Luffy immediately patted Raja on the back. "Raja! You're a genius! Just like me, in our Pirate Group!"
Raja, not used to being praised, rubbed the back of his head, blushing slightly. "W-Well, of course. I am your Vice-Captain. I should be a genius, otherwise people might start creating rumors… about our Pirate Group"
Koby's jaw dropped at their interaction. "WHAT IS THIS CAPTAIN-AND-VICE-CAPTAIN DRAMA?!"
Luffy and Raja ignored him and continued complimenting each other as they walked toward the Marine Base.
Koby flailed his arms. "WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! You can't just recruit Zoro! He's a DEMON IN HUMAN SKIN!"
Raja smirked. "Koby, let me ask you something. We're pirates. Are we evil in your eyes?"
Koby froze, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"…I—uh—well…"
Luffy grinned. "See? That means Zoro can join!"
Raja added, "Koby, don't judge meat before you taste it."
Luffy again patted Raja on the back. "Raja, what an example! You're definitely my best Vice-Captain."
Raja thanked Luffy for his foresight in recruiting him, otherwise, everyone would have missed his wisdom. Luffy nodded with acknowledgment, praising his own good eyesight for talent.
Koby mentally exploded.
Upon reaching the Marine base, they found a heavily tied-up Zoro, looking completely unbothered.
Meanwhile, a little girl named Rika had bravely snuck in to feed Zoro rice balls.
Zoro, ever the tsundere swordsman, grunted. "I don't need your help, kid."
Before Rika could argue, a blond-haired idiot strutted in.
Helmeppo, the spoiled brat son of Captain Morgan, grabbed the rice balls and smashed them to the ground.
"These are terrible! You shouldn't waste food on criminals!" he sneered, then threw Rika out of the base.
Rika burst into tears as she flew out of the base.
Luffy, watching from the shadows, caught her before she fell and whispered, "Don't worry, kid, I'll take care of this."
He jumped over the wall and landed beside Zoro. "Yo!"
Zoro blinked. "Who the hell are you?"
Luffy grinned. "Wanna join my crew?"
Zoro: "No."
Luffy: "Cool, I'll ask again later."
Raja, appearing beside Luffy, picked up the ruined rice and cast a spell, restoring them into perfectly fresh rice balls. He then fed one to Zoro.
Zoro, shocked by Raja's magic, chewed silently. "Tell the kid… they were delicious."
Luffy and Raja high-fived and decided to tell the kid what Zoro said about the rice ball.
Koby stood outside the wall, questioning his life choices.
Back in the town diner, Luffy and Raja passed the message Zoro had said and asked her why Zoro was tied up. Rika explained that Zoro had been imprisoned because he killed Helmeppo's pet wolf when it attacked her. Helmeppo had promised to let Zoro go if he survived one month without food, but… well, Helmeppo was a lying little rat.
Suddenly, the doors of the diner burst open.
Helmeppo walked in, bragging loudly. "Yeah, Zoro? He's getting executed in three days. Daddy's orders."
Silence.
Luffy stood up and walked over.
"Hey."
"Huh?"
SMACK!
Luffy punched Helmeppo so hard that he flew across the room and crashed through a table.
Koby gasped. "Luffy! You just attacked a Marine officer's son!"
Luffy shrugged. "So?"
Helmeppo, dazed, screamed, "MY DADDY WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!"
Raja sighed. "Ehh! No need. We'll go and meet him."
Luffy cracked his knuckles. "Let's go, Raja. We need to save our Swordsman."
Luffy and Raja returned to the Marine base to make a deal with Zoro.
Luffy: "If I get your swords, will you join my crew?"
Zoro: "Are you even listening, you idiot?"
Luffy: "Awesome! I'll go and get them. Raja, stay and protect him!"
Raja: "Aye, aye! Captain." He saluted Luffy.
Luffy stretched his arms back and launched himself over the Marine walls…
…overshooting completely and CRASHING into a giant statue of Captain Morgan.
The statue snapped in half.
Zoro: "..."
Zoro: "Is he always like this?"
Raja nodded. "Yup."
Koby, determined to be useful, sneaked into the base and saw Raja standing beside Zoro, koby ran toward them and trying to untie his ropes zoro is binded.
Koby: "Zoro! I found out that Helmeppo lied. He was going to execute you in three days—"
BANG!
A Marine shot at Koby, but Raja deflected the bullet to the side with his Magical Wand and saved him.
Zoro: "Kid, are you alright?"
Raja: "Yeah, super subtle, Koby."
Morgan stormed in. "EXECUTE THEM!"
Raja stepped in front of Koby and Zoro, completely unfazed.
The Marines raised their rifles.
"FIRE!"
Just as the guns fired—
BOUNCE!
The bullets ricocheted off Luffy's rubber body as he landed right in front of Raja, grinning.
"Hey, I found the three swords which one is yours!"
Zoro: "..."
Raja: "..."
Koby: "..."
Marines: "..."
Morgan: "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Raja smirked. "Damn, Captain. That was flashy."
Luffy grinned. "I know, right?"
Zoro, now seriously reconsidering his life choices, looked at his swords.
He sighed. "Fine. I'll join your crew." And his binding ropes were united themselves by Raja's magic.
Luffy cheered as Zoro accepted his invitation. "AWESOME!"
Raja smirked. "And that makes you officially part of this band of idiots." and patted on Zoro's back.
Zoro groaned. "Great…"
And just like that, Monkey D. Luffy gained his second crewmate a Swordsman and also his brilliant, like-minded Vice-Captain/First Mate.
To Be Continued… (With More Chaos and Dumb Decisions!)