Inside the restaurant, Helmeppo sat in a chair with a sour expression, extremely annoyed. Several broken pieces of plates were scattered across the floor, while the restaurant workers stood tensely around him.
"What the hell are you guys doing?! Hurry up and bring me some new food!" He grabbed a glass filled with wine, downed it in one gulp, then slammed the glass back onto the table before proudly boasting again.
"Ah, yeah, I just remembered. I've decided to execute Roronoa Zoro this afternoon."
Everyone in the restaurant was startled, their faces turning pale with fear. Helmeppo, on the other hand, became even more pleased seeing their reactions, his distinctive chin raised arrogantly.
"That idiot was so easy to believe everything I said. He surrendered himself so easily, hahaha!"
Veins began to bulge on Luffy's forehead. His face was hidden beneath the shadow of his straw hat, making his expression impossible to read. He slowly walked toward Helmeppo, then stopped directly in front of him.
Helmeppo looked up, still speaking arrogantly. "Who are you?! Don't you know who I am? I'm Captain Morgan's only son!"
"What you just said is true?" Luffy asked, his expression still hidden in shadow.
"Yeah, that's the truth. Got you-"
Luffy's gaze suddenly became sharp. He swung his fist, filled with anger, directly into Helmeppo's face. The young man's face distorted from the sheer force of the punch, his body sent flying into several tables before finally crashing into the wall.
"What did you just do?!" The two Marines who had been accompanying Helmeppo immediately pointed their weapons at Luffy.
For an instant, Luffy's pupils changed color to red. A small amount of his Haoshoku Haki leaked from his body, an invisible pressure enveloping the two soldiers. The hairs on their bodies stood on end, their bodies trembling as cold sweat covered their faces. Neither of them could move their bodies at all, gripped by something invisible yet terrifyingly real beneath Luffy's gaze.
"You'd better take that piece of trash away from in front of me. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" The two soldiers answered in trembling voices, instinctively saluting before hurriedly dragging the unconscious Helmeppo away and taking him back to the base.
Luffy walked out of the restaurant and turned toward Nami. "Nami, let's go."
"Where?" Nami asked in confusion.
"Recruit Zoro." Luffy had already started walking ahead, and Nami had no choice but to follow him, leaving Coby behind.
...
At Marine Branch 153, the open field was still illuminated by the scorching sunlight. Zoro hung his head weakly against the post, his body growing weaker from the hunger he had endured for days. Suddenly, a shadow covered his body. He looked up and found the same figure again, this time with an orange-haired woman standing behind him.
"You again? Didn't I already tell you I'm not joining your crew?"
Luffy merely grinned widely, showing a row of teeth. "I've already decided that you're joining me."
"Huh? Do you even understand what I'm saying? I refuse."
Luffy did not listen at all and immediately tried to untie the ropes binding Zoro's body.
"Hey, wait, idiot! Stop!" Zoro hurriedly tried to stop him.
He had deliberately allowed himself to be captured like this in order to save a mother and her child. He had also made a deal with the Marines that if he managed to survive for thirty days without food or water, he would be released, and the mother and child would not be punished.
"Damn it, you're making it even tighter! Are you trying to kill me?!"
Zoro grimaced in pain. Instead of loosening, the bindings Luffy was trying to remove only tightened around him even more.
"Move aside, Luffy." Nami stepped forward, pushing Luffy away, then tried to loosen the bindings while speaking. "You'd better just leave here."
"Huh?" Zoro became even more confused. What was this supposed to be?
"The person who made that promise to you has absolutely no intention of keeping it. He's already decided to execute you this afternoon," Nami said while continuing to try to loosen the rope, but it was useless. The bindings had become too tight because of what Luffy had done earlier.
"What?! That bastard!" Zoro growled, his face reddening as he held back his anger.
"Ah, I'm giving up." Nami finally raised her hands after failing several times.
"Don't give up so quickly, Nami. He's our third crew member," Luffy said, casually trying to encourage her.
"Oi," Zoro protested, unwilling to accept that decision being made for him.
"Whose fault do you think it is that the bindings got even tighter?" Nami snapped, glaring at Luffy.
Seeing that the ropes could not be loosened at all, Zoro finally turned toward the two of them. "Find my swords. If I have those, I can cut myself free."
"Okay."
Luffy immediately grabbed Nami's hand and took her to search for Zoro's swords inside the Marine building. The two of them entered carefully, sneaking around while following Nami's directions, as if she were already familiar with the layout of buildings like this.
Strangely, as soon as they entered, they found the building completely empty. Not a single Marine soldier could be seen standing guard.
Luffy scratched his head in confusion. "Where did everyone go?"
"Isn't that a good thing? Let's start searching," Nami replied, unwilling to waste any time.
They checked the storage room first, but found nothing. After that, they searched the rooms one by one.
"Hmm, Nami, you're looking for something too, aren't you?" Luffy asked, noticing Nami searching every corner of the room carefully, as if she were looking for something besides the swords.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a map of the Grand Line," Nami answered reflexively before realizing her mistake and immediately covering her mouth.
Luffy's innocent nature and his habit of always appearing relaxed made Nami unconsciously lower her guard around him. She did not even realize that she had revealed her own objective.
"Heh, so there's something like that here." Luffy nodded repeatedly. "Alright, I'll help you look for it too."
Nami stared at him for a moment.
"Such an idiot..."
But there was a hint of relief in her voice.
The two of them eventually arrived at Captain Morgan's room. The door was tightly locked. Nami immediately used one of her well-honed thieving skills, picking the lock with nimble movements until a soft click was heard.
Once inside, Nami relied on the thief's instincts she had honed over many years and quickly found a hidden safe in the corner of the room. Meanwhile, Luffy stood motionless, staring at a row of wanted posters neatly displayed on the wall.
He tilted his head in confusion. "Why are there wanted posters displayed here?"
Nami briefly turned her head and saw a picture of a black-haired man hanging on the wall. "Maybe they're some kind of trophies."
"Trophies?"
"Yeah, like a hunter showing off the prey they caught," Nami explained while busy trying to open the safe. "Come on, don't just stand there. Hurry up and help me search."
"Okay." Luffy immediately moved.
He began opening drawers and checking every part of the room, searching for Zoro's swords and the map of the Grand Line.
Meanwhile, Nami continued trying to open the hidden safe.