As the dust settled from Luffy's heroic bullet-bouncing stunt, the Marines stood frozen in disbelief.
"THAT GUY… IS MADE OF RUBBER?!" one Marine screeched, rubbing his eyes as if trying to wake from a nightmare.
Meanwhile, Zoro, resembling a glorified scarecrow, stood up like a beast breaking free from its chains. He sighed in frustration. "Oye! Captain," he called out to Luffy. "Give me my swords!"
Luffy grinned and plopped the three sheathed blades beside Zoro. "Here ya go!"
Zoro smirked. "Finally."
With one swift motion, he grabbed his swords and adjusted them into position.
The Marines instantly panicked.
"OH NO! HE'S LOOSE!"
"I THOUGHT HE WAS TIED UP FOR LIFE?!"
"WHO LET HIM GET HIS SWORDS?!"
Raja smirked. "Oh no, whoever did that must be a real idiot. Right, Captain?" He winked at Luffy, who giggled.
Luffy nodded. "Yeah, the person who freed Zoro's binds is an idiot. Now Zoro will eat a week's worth of meat all by himself, leaving nothing for me!"
Zoro twitched at Luffy's logic.
Raja in anger gave Luffy a Fist of Love. "You idiot captain! I was the one who untied his binds using magic! Why are you calling me an idiot?!"
Luffy's eyes widened. "NANI?!"
The Marines, desperate to redeem themselves, charged at Zoro with swords drawn.
Zoro smirked, gripping his three swords. "Idiots."
CLANG!
One Marine swung—only for Zoro to effortlessly block it with all three blades.
The rest hesitated, sweating bullets.
"Uh… maybe we should rethink this?" one suggested.
Other Marines, unwilling to engage directly, aimed their rifles at the four troublemakers and started firing.
Raja, always one to make things fun, flicked his wand and grinned. "Magic-Magic: Windy Wipeout!"
A mini-hurricane exploded through the battlefield, lifting a dozen Marines into the air like ragdolls.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Koby, who had been hiding behind a crate, gawked. "You… you cast actual magic?"
Raja winked. "Didn't I tell you? I ate the Magic-Magic Fruit."
Luffy burst into laughter. "DO ANOTHER ONE!"
Raja smirked, flicked his wand again, and shouted, "Magic-Magic: Fireworks Fiasco!"
BOOM! A sudden burst of sparks and explosions erupted around the Marines, causing them to duck for cover.
The spells weren't lethal, but they packed a punch, sending Marines scrambling in all directions.
"THIS WAS NOT IN THE TRAINING MANUAL!!!" one Marine wailed.
Zoro sighed. "You two are absolute lunatics."
Raja smirked. "And you're about to be one of us."
Zoro crossed his arms. "As long as I Roronoa Zoro can still become the World's Greatest Swordsman, I'll join your crew."
Luffy grinned widely. "DEAL! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'll become the Pirate King!"
Raja tipped his hat in style. "And I'm Rudra D. Raja! I'll become the Wizard King!"
And with that, Zoro officially joined the Dumbass Crew.
Just when things seemed settled, a heavy thudding echoed through the air.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
A hulking man with an axe for a hand stomped forward, radiating pure arrogance.
Captain Morgan.
"PIRATES. MUST. DIE," he declared in the slowest, most unnecessarily dramatic voice possible.
Raja raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You sound like someone who practices monologues in the mirror."
Morgan twitched. "YOU DARE MOCK ME?!"
Raja grinned. "What are you gonna do? Chop the air aggressively?"
Morgan roared and swung his axe-hand straight at Luffy.
Luffy dodged effortlessly. "You're slow."
Morgan swung again. Luffy yawned mid-dodge.
Morgan raised his axe for a third attempt.
"GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
SMASH!
Luffy's fist slammed into Morgan's face, knocking him out cold in a single hit.
Silence.
"…That's it?" Zoro asked, unimpressed.
Luffy dusted his hands. "Yep."
Meanwhile, Helmeppo, crawling from his hiding spot, grabbed Koby from behind and pressed a gun to his head.
"STOP, OR I'LL SHOOT THIS LOSER!" Helmeppo shrieked.
Koby froze. "Oh no."
Luffy, completely uninterested, shrugged. "Okay, go ahead."
Koby screamed. "LUFFY?!"
Helmeppo blinked. "Wait, that's not how this works—"
Raja, looking bored, flicked his wand. "Magic-Magic: Slippy Slip!"
Suddenly, Helmeppo slipped on a magically summoned banana peel, crashing headfirst into Koby.
Koby, completely by accident, punched Helmeppo in the face as they fell.
BAM!
Helmeppo collapsed, knocked out cold.
Koby stared at his own fist in shock. "I—I defeated him?"
Raja patted his back. "Yep. Good job, hero."
With Morgan knocked out and Helmeppo unconscious, the remaining Marines sighed in relief.
"The nightmare is over…" one whispered.
Raja, however, had different plans.
As Luffy, Zoro, and Koby left for a nearby diner, Raja turned back to the Marines with a wicked smile.
He cracked his knuckles. "Oh no. Your nightmare is just beginning."
The Marines froze.
Raja flicked his wand, summoning steel chains that tightly bound Morgan. Then, he turned to the remaining officers.
"You let this idiot terrorize the town?"
The Marines gulped.
"I think you all need some discipline." Raja's wand sparked with thunder.
One Marine fainted on the spot.
For the next hour, Raja:
✔ Made the Marines stand on one leg.
✔ Forced them to chant the Marine Oath repeatedly.
✔ Zapped them whenever they hesitated.
✔ Threatened to turn their uniforms into pink dresses if they slacked off.
The entire Marine base witnessed Raja's torture discipline.
Even a mysterious thief watching from a rooftop visibly paled.
Before leaving, Raja turned to the highest-ranking officer. "Koby's ideals are better than yours. Recruit him."
Then, he declared, "I'd rather die standing proudly than watch an injustice."
A sharp arrow to the Marines' conscience.
Later, at a bar owned by Rika's mom, Luffy, Zoro, and Koby celebrated.
Luffy: "MEAT!"
Zoro: "SAKE."
Koby nervously eating his food thinking about the chaos caused by them and consequence for it.
Raja joined in, eating his fill before heading into town for shopping.
Feeling generous, Raja bought half the town's food and drinks for Luffy and Zoro, stored them in his inventory, and returned.
A nervous Marine official approached. "S-Sorry to bother you… but as Marines… we technically have to ask you to l-leave…"
Raja grinned. "Are you asking? Or begging?"
The official sweated bullets. "B-Begging."
Raja patted his shoulder. "Smart man."
Before leaving, he handed Rika's mom a huge gold bar as compensation for Luffy's eating spree and the chaos they caused.
As they were about to leave, the Marines turned to Koby.
"Are you with these pirates?"
Koby froze.
Luffy smirked. "Yep! Koby's our secret weapon!"
Koby panicked. "NO, I'M NOT!"
The Marines hesitated.
Raja smirked. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."
The Marines hesitated.
Raja leaned forward, his golden eyes glowing. "If Koby wants to join you… you will accept him."
The officers nodded rapidly.
Koby finally gathered his courage. "I WANT TO BE A MARINE!"
The officers clapped nervously, eyes darting to Raja for approval.
Raja smiled. "Good choice."
As they set sail, Luffy cheered. "BYE, KOBY!"
Raja waved, grinning evilly. "See you again, Marines. Depending on how you behave."
The Marines shivered.
Somewhere in the back, one whispered, "I think I peed my pants."
And with that, the Straw Hat crew officially set sail once more in a small boat raja bought.
TO BE CONTINUED…