“That’s definitely not the reason,” Nami said, narrowing her eyes as she keenly picked up on the terrified expressions of the townspeople around them.
Koby nervously lowered his voice.
“Here…
it seems like you’re not supposed to mention Zoro-san’s name…”
“Forget it, who cares about them.” Luffy went on devouring his watermelon without a care, and the others lowered their heads and kept eating as well.
Seeing that they had stopped discussing such sensitive topics, the townspeople around them gradually resumed their normal activities.
“I’m so full~” Luffy stood up, patting his round, bulging belly, a few watermelon seeds still clinging to the corner of his mouth.
Lucian licked his lips with lingering satisfaction, a trace of contentment flickering through his hollow eyes.
“Let’s go, to the Marine base!” Luffy strode forward with big, confident steps.
“Huh?
Already?
I-I haven’t mentally prepared myself yet…” Koby scurried after him in a panic, his glasses knocked askew.
Just then, Nami suddenly sidled up to Lucian.
“I’ve got something to take care of.
I’ll catch up with you guys later.” She rubbed her hands together, a sly smile on her face.
“Um…
can I borrow a little money?
I want to buy some clothes…”
“The gold ring,” Lucian said, staring fixedly at her chest—or more precisely, at the gold ring she had hidden there.
“That’s not nearly enough~” Nami immediately shielded her chest and backed up two steps.
“Luffy, she wants to borrow money.” After mulling it over for a good while, Lucian ultimately chose to seek help from his captain, lightly poking Luffy’s shoulder.
“Sure, we’ve got tons of treasure anyway.” Luffy said with an easy wave of his hand.
“Luffy-san…” Koby tugged hesitantly at the hem of Luffy’s shirt, wanting to say something but holding back.
He had a strong feeling this pirate thief was not the type to ever repay a loan.
Lucian carefully opened the bundle.
First, he took out a golden crown, studied it for a moment, then solemnly placed it back.
Next, he withdrew a pigeon-blood ruby, hesitating and just about to return it when—
“Thanks a lot!” Nami snatched the gem with lightning speed, her short orange hair leaving a streak of light in the sunlight.
“I’ll be right back!” Before her words had even faded, she had already vanished into the dust kicked up at the street corner.
“She sure runs fast!” Luffy held onto his straw hat, nearly blown off by the gust of wind she left behind, and gazed admiringly in the direction she had disappeared.
“She…
she’s not gonna just never come back, is she?” Koby stared anxiously toward where Nami had vanished.
Lucian tightened his arms around the treasure bundle, a flicker of certainty passing through his dark eyes.
“She’ll be back.”
“Let’s move!” Luffy swept his hand forward, and the three of them continued heading toward the higher part of town. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
The sunlight stretched their shadows long across the ground.
As they walked, Koby spoke with longing in his voice.
“I heard Captain Morgan here is really famous in the East Blue…”
Before he could even finish, the crowd on the street suddenly scattered like the ebbing tide.
In the blink of an eye, only the three of them remained on the entire stone-paved road.
“Hahaha!” Luffy’s laughter rang out all the louder in the empty street.
“The people in this town are so weird!”
Koby shifted uneasily and pushed up his glasses.
“This is way too strange…
Zoro-san aside, why would even Captain Morgan’s name…”
“Did he do something bad?” Luffy said offhandedly.
“He’s probably a bad guy,” Lucian nodded in agreement.
“Impossible!” Koby waved his hands frantically.
“How could the Navy possibly be the bad guys!”
As they talked, an enormous gate appeared before them.
At the sight of it, a mist of emotion clouded Koby’s glasses.
“We’re finally here…
Luffy-san, even though our time together has been short…” His farewell speech was cut short before he could finish as Lucian lightly poked his shoulder.
“There.” Following the direction of Lucian’s finger, they saw Luffy already scaling the wall of the Marine base like a monkey, balancing on tiptoe as he peered inside.
“Luffy-san!
Get down from there!” Koby’s voice cracked in terror as he waved his arms frantically.
“Where’s the demon?” Luffy paid Koby’s shouting absolutely no mind, shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed into the compound.
Lucian secured the treasure bundle onto his back and climbed up right after him.
“Even Lucian-san…” Koby gave up all thought of protesting and clambered up the wall with a sigh.
“There’s no way you’d be able to see him—Zoro’s definitely locked up in a cell,” he said as he reached Luffy’s side.
“Zoro.” But the words had just left his mouth when Lucian pointed toward the center of the Marine base’s training grounds.
There, tied to a cross, was a man with green hair and a bandana.
“That guy’s the demon, right?” Luffy turned and said to Koby, who had just climbed up.
“No way…” Koby was still muttering, but when he fixed his gaze on the figure, he froze solid.
“Green bandana, haramaki—that’s unmistakably Roronoa Zoro!” He furrowed his brow, staring at the figure on the training grounds, his face full of disbelief.
“We just untie the ropes and he can leave, right?” Luffy said, pointing at the man on the cross with a casual grin.
“Let’s go,” Lucian said, ready to vault over the wall and jump down the moment he heard Luffy mention untying the ropes.
“Wait!
Wait, Lucian-san!
“If you let someone like that out, heaven knows what kind of disaster he’ll cause!
He might even kill you both!” He was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
“It’s fine, we’re strong,” Luffy said with a cheerful grin, patting his chest.
“Yeah, don’t be scared,” Lucian added.
He was already standing on top of the wall and looked down to reassure Koby.
“These two…” Koby slumped weakly against the wall.
“Hey, you three,” came a voice just then.
It was Zoro, tied up in the center of the training grounds, suddenly speaking in tone laced with impatience.
“You’re an eyesore.” He swept his gaze up at them.
“Get lost!”
“He’s so cool,” Lucian said, standing on the wall and pointing at Zoro, his eyes sparkling as he spoke to Luffy.
“Huh?!
Luffy-san!
Lucian-san!” Koby felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of Zoro’s voice, cold sweat trickling down his temples.
“You want someone like that as a crewmate?!
Even ten lives wouldn’t be enough!”
“Hahahaha!
That guy’s hilarious!” Luffy clutched his straw hat and doubled over laughing, completely ignoring Koby’s words.
Just as they were talking, a narrow ladder was suddenly propped up beside them.
A little girl slowly climbed up the rungs, clutching something in her arms.
She raised a finger to her lips in a “shush” gesture at the three of them, then glanced around furtively like a little sneak.
“Need help?” Lucian looked at her and asked softly.
The little girl shook her head, pulled out a coil of rope, and, gripping one end, began sliding down the inside of the wall.
Seeing this, Lucian jumped down after her without a second word.
“Lucian-san!
Stop her!” Koby waved desperately from atop the wall.
“That kid’s gonna get killed!”
Lucian paid no heed to Koby’s cries from above.
He simply followed behind the little girl in silence, all the way to where Zoro was tied to the cross.
“Let’s go down too,” Luffy said, glancing below, then turned to Koby beside him with a grin.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he flipped over the wall and jumped down.
Koby agonized over it on top of the wall for a long moment, but in the end, he grit his teeth and reluctantly climbed down after them.