The two of them stood side by side, facing the incoming threat.
The sound of chaotic footsteps filled the air as navy soldiers surrounded Zoro and Lock, their flintlock rifles aimed and ready.
From the crowd, a man with a broken hand emerged—Captain Morgan. His expression was twisted with confusion and anger. "You dared to defy the great Captain Morgan! I sentence you to death!"
After seeing this moron marines Lock looked completely at ease, but inside, he was cursing the absurdity of the world.
Zoro, on the other hand, looked tense. He wasn't the type to accept death so easily.
"Fire!"
"Gomu Gomu no Rocket—Eraser!"
"Sun Breathing—First Form: Round Dance!"
Most of the bullets struck Luffy, stretching his body into bizarre shapes, while the remaining ones were sliced clean in half by Lock's precise sword strike.
"Completely useless!" Luffy shouted excitedly. The bullets rebounded, slamming into the navy soldiers, sending them crashing to the ground with screams of pain.
[I never questioned this when watching the anime, but seeing it up close… This is ridiculous.]
Lock's eye twitched. Luffy's ability was beyond broken. His resolve to stick with this guy only grew stronger.
Zoro, still bound, gaped at the scene. "Who the hell are you guys?!"
Luffy grinned. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who will become the Pirate King!"
Lock sighed. "And I'm Lock. The man who just wants to live free."
[God, that sounded embarrassing.]
Luffy looked proud, while Lock covered his face in secondhand shame.
Zoro, despite himself, smirked. "Are you the devil's spawn or something? Whatever… If I'm going to die here, I might as well throw my lot in with you.
"I'm Roronoa Zoro! The man who will become the world's greatest swordsman!"
Lock nearly cringed out of existence.
[This is so cringe… but at the same time, I respect it.]
Luffy cheered. "Awesome! Another crewmate!"
Zoro groaned. "Yeah, yeah… now hurry up and untie me!"
Luffy struggled with the knots. "This is really tight…"
Meanwhile, Morgan barked, "If bullets don't work, use blades! Charge!"
A wave of marines surged forward, swords raised high.
Lock sighed, "Took you long enough."
With a flick of his wrist, he slashed through Zoro's restraints.
Zoro stretched, rolling his shoulders before gripping one of his swords between his teeth. With his three swords ready which were provided by lock, he took his stance.
Lock exhaled, relaxing into his own.
Luffy grinned. "Alright, guys—let's go!"
The three of them charged.
It was a massacre. The difference in skill was too vast. Within moments, the entire squad of marines lay sprawled across the ground, groaning in pain.
Now, only one man stood against them—Captain Morgan.
His expression twisted in fury. "The weak are useless to me! If you fail, you die!"
A wounded marine trembled as he pointed his gun at his own head.
Luffy's face darkened. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Lock, who had been stopping suicidal soldiers, clenched his fists in frustration. "These guys… They're supposed to be the navy, right?"
Morgan sneered. "I AM the navy! Defy me, and you'll suffer the consequences!"
Lock scoffed. "You're just a tyrant with a badge."
Luffy's arm snapped back like a slingshot. "Zoro—your turn!"
Zoro had already moved.
Morgan's eyes widened in realization—three streaks of steel slashed across his chest.
His mouth opened in a silent scream. A second later, his body hit the ground, unconscious.
Lock sheathed his blade. "That's that."
Luffy beamed. "Lock! We won!"
Zoro turned toward the navy, his expression cold. "Anyone else want to try stopping us?"
Silence.
Then—
"CAPTAIN MORGAN IS DEFEATED!"
A cheer erupted from the navy.
"WE'RE FREE!"
"NO MORE TYRANNY!"
Luffy and Zoro blinked in confusion, turning toward Lock.
Lock shrugged. "Yeah, don't ask me. I have no idea."
Naval Base - Morgan's Quarters
Lock had expected something straight out of Assassin's Creed—dodging patrols, sneaking past guards—but there was no one. The entire base was celebrating.
"Alright, where would it be…?"
After rummaging through the room, he found a heavy chest tucked beneath Morgan's desk.
"Jackpot."
Inside was a neatly stacked pile of Berries—at least 20 million.
Lock grinned. "Nice. Having some spare cash will definitely help, especially with Luffy around…"
Just as he was about to close the chest, something caught his eye—a receipt.
He picked it up and read it.
[RECEIPT]
[HUMAN STATUE - 40,000,000 BERRIES]
Lock froze.
"…Luffy destroyed that thing, and it was worth HOW MUCH?!"
His hands trembled as he stared at the absurd number. He thought about his three years of bounty hunting, barely scraping together 20 million Berries, and here was Morgan, blowing 40 million on a statue of himself.
Lock exhaled slowly.
"…I should stab him."
He shook his head and stuffed the money into his bag. "Forget it. Time to grab some food and wait for those two idiots."
---
Luffy and Zoro were stuffing themselves with food.
Zoro, looking slightly annoyed, muttered, "I haven't eaten in nine days, yet somehow, you're eating more than me."
Luffy, completely ignoring him, let out a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh, that was great!"
Zoro turned toward Rika, the little girl from before. "Thanks for the meal."
Rika smiled brightly. "You saved me first, and then saved the whole town! I should be thanking you!"
Zoro scratched his head awkwardly. "Being treated like a hero feels weird…"
Luffy hopped to his feet. "Alright! Let's go! Lock is waiting for us on the ship!"
Zoro sighed. "Alright, alright."
As they walked toward the shore, a voice called out—
"LUFFY!!"
They turned to see Coby, panting, now dressed in a navy uniform.
Behind him, an entire squad of marines stood at attention.
Coby saluted. "Salute!"
At his command, the entire navy saluted Luffy and Zoro in unison.
Luffy and Zoro paused for a moment—then laughed, turning away with a wave.
Their journey had only just begun.