"Don't be so rude, Roronoa Zoro."
A young man walked in with a casual stride. His blond hair was neatly arranged, while his chin had a rather distinctive shape. He was Helmeppo, the son of Captain Morgan.
Two Marines walked several steps behind him, following Helmeppo like personal guards.
Helmeppo approached Zoro and the little girl who was standing in front of him. Without asking for permission, he took one of the onigiri the girl had brought and raised it high into the air.
"What is this? Onigiri?" He held it high above his head, while the little girl below jumped up and down, trying to get it back.
"Give it back! That's not for you!"
Helmeppo stared at her for a moment with a mocking grin, then shoved the onigiri into his own mouth, chewing it right in front of the girl's face. However, his expression changed drastically as soon as the taste reached his tongue. The next second, he immediately spat everything out.
"Blegh!"
"What kind of onigiri is this? Why is it so sweet?!" he shouted while spitting repeatedly to clean the remaining food from his mouth.
"But isn't it supposed to taste better if it's sweeter?" the little girl asked, blinking innocently, not understanding what was wrong.
"Onigiri is supposed to be salty, stupid!" Helmeppo snatched the remaining onigiri from the girl's hand, slammed it onto the ground, then stomped on it repeatedly until it was completely flattened into the dirt.
"Ah, you're so mean!" The little girl began to cry, tears immediately welling up in her eyes.
"Ah... this is why I hate children."
Helmeppo did not care in the slightest. He turned toward one of the Marines behind him and pointed with his chin.
"Hey, you, throw this kid out. Quickly!"
"B-but if we do that, she could get hurt," the Marine replied hesitantly.
"Huh? You want to disobey my order? Do you want me to report you to my father?" Helmeppo threatened mockingly.
"But..."
"Or do you want to be considered a traitor and be killed by my father?!" he shouted again.
In the end, the Marine gave in. He grabbed the collar of the still-sobbing girl's clothes, muttered a quiet apology, then threw her outside the gate, over the wall's fence.
Luffy moved like lightning, catching the tiny body in midair before she hit the ground. He deliberately used his own body as a cushion so that the girl would not be hurt in the slightest. Coby and Nami immediately ran over, checking on her condition.
"Are you okay?" Nami quickly examined the girl's body, looking for injuries, then hugged her tightly to calm her crying.
"They're so cruel," Coby growled, his face reddening as he held back his anger. "Right, Luffy-san?" He turned around, only to realize that Luffy was no longer where he had been standing.
"Luffy-san!" Coby looked around, trying to find him.
...
Meanwhile, Luffy was already standing directly in front of Zoro.
Sensing someone's presence, Zoro, who had been keeping his head lowered, slowly raised his face.
His eyes met those of a young man wearing a red vest, blue shorts, and a straw hat that had become his trademark.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Zoro narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna become the Pirate King," Luffy said with his trademark grin.
"A pirate? What does a pirate want from me?"
"Join my crew."
"Huh?! Why would I join your crew?"
"Because I want you to."
"Huh?! Are you crazy?"
"They say you've been held here for quite a while. If it were me, I'd have escaped a long time ago. Shishishi," Luffy joked.
"That's because I'm different from you." Zoro's eyes were filled with determination, a fierce grin appearing on his already pale, starved face. "I'm gonna prove that I can see this through."
"Heh... you're a really interesting person," Luffy muttered, impressed. "I'll come back and ask you to join me."
"Wait a second." Zoro pointed at something with a movement of his head. "Pick that up and give it to me."
He was referring to the onigiri that Helmeppo had stomped on earlier, already mixed with dirt and almost completely shapeless.
Luffy picked it up and held it out hesitantly. "Are you sure? It's covered in dirt."
"Just do it!" Zoro shouted firmly.
Luffy tossed the dirty onigiri directly into Zoro's mouth, and Zoro immediately swallowed it without the slightest hesitation.
"Thanks for the food," Zoro said after swallowing it. "Tell that kid her onigiri was delicious."
"Shishi, okay, I'll tell her."
Luffy looked at him for a moment, smiled faintly, then turned and walked away.
Zoro watched him until the straw-hatted figure disappeared from his sight.
"What a strange guy..."
...
Between the buildings in the town, not far from the Marine base, Luffy sat on a set of stairs with Coby. Nami leaned her body against a wooden barrel, while the little girl they had just rescued sat in front of them, still quietly sobbing.
Her name was Rika, the daughter of the owner of a small restaurant in the town.
"Really?" Rika clasped both hands in front of her chest, her eyes shining with hope.
"Yeah, he said so himself," Luffy replied with a smile.
"Thank goodness..." Rika let out a relieved sigh.
"So, is Zoro really a bad person like everyone says, or not?" Coby asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.
"No! Big Brother Zoro isn't bad!" Rika's voice rose unconsciously before gradually lowering again. "This is all Helmeppo's fault, Captain Morgan's son."
Rika then began telling them what had happened. She told them how Helmeppo often took a wolf around the town, forcing everyone to call it his "pet dog," even though the animal was often ordered to attack the townspeople. Every time it happened, Helmeppo would simply burst into loud laughter, as though he were watching the funniest joke in the world. Meanwhile, the townspeople who became victims did not dare to fight back at all, afraid that Helmeppo would report them to his father and they would end up being arrested.
Until one day, when the wolf was about to attack Rika and her mother, Zoro appeared and protected them, killing the animal instantly. So that Rika and all the townspeople would not also be punished for the death of the "pet dog," Zoro agreed to the deal Helmeppo proposed and surrendered himself without resistance.
The deal was simple but cruel: if Zoro could survive for thirty days tied to a post without food or water, he would be released, and Rika and all the townspeople would not receive any punishment.
"Isn't that too cruel?!" Coby clenched both hands until his knuckles turned white, his teeth gritted as he held back his anger. "What are the Marines in this town even doing? Why are they letting all of this happen?!"
Nami, who was sitting against the wooden barrel, merely smiled faintly in mockery. She was not surprised at all. She had witnessed things like this far too many times herself.
Right at that moment, the sound of a plate breaking came from the building behind them, coming from the restaurant run by Rika's mother. They all immediately stood up and hurried over to see what was happening inside.