"Writing" Talk
'Writing' Thought
[Writing] System
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Hours passed sailing as Koby guided them.
"We've arrived in the town with the Marine Base!" shouted Luffy as he jumped off the boat.
"Yes, finally!" said Koby happily.
"You're amazing, Koby!" Luffy told him. "We made it to our destination without any problems!"
"It's only natural. This is the bare minimum one should know before sailing. If you drift aimlessly, you'll never be a good pirate. At the very least, you should recruit a navigator among your nakama," Koby replied.
"Are you a navigator?" Luffy asked Oliver.
"No, but we should listen to Koby," said Oliver.
"Well then, let's eat!"
The three of them went to look for a place to eat. After sailing for so long, within minutes they found a restaurant where Luffy ordered a mountain of food.
'50,000 Belly on food. And honestly, I think that was cheap,' Oliver thought as he paid the bill.
"The food was delicious!" said Luffy, already stuffed. "Well then, this is where we part ways in this city, Koby! I hope you make it into the Marines and become a great Marine!"
"Yes… Thank you so much! You must also become an excellent pirate!" said Koby, crying and grateful. "Even if sooner or later we become enemies."
"Don't cry, Koby. When you're a Marine, it'll be fun to see how you try to come after us pirates, won't it, Luffy?" Oliver said, teasing him a bit.
"Of course, and that way we can catch up," said Luffy. "By the way, I wonder if that Zoro guy is really being held at the Base."
The moment he said those words, everyone in the restaurant was so shocked, they caused an uproar.
"Seems like mentioning Zoro's name is forbidden around here," whispered Koby. "Luckily, I saw a poster that said Captain Morgan is here."
When he said that, once again all the customers in the restaurant went crazy, which made Luffy and Oliver burst out laughing like maniacs.
"Hahaha! That place was fun! I'll be back later!" Luffy laughed.
"It's strange. I don't know why, but I feel uneasy. I get why they'd panic at hearing Roronoa Zoro's name—he could escape—but why would they be afraid when hearing the name of a Marine Captain?" Koby wondered.
"Don't you think maybe they were just playing a prank on us?" said Luffy, carefree.
"I don't think that's it! I'm serious!" shouted Koby.
"Maybe it's because they're afraid of him," Oliver said.
"That's impossible! He's a Marine Captain!" Koby shouted back.
"Nothing's impossible. For every good person in the world, there's a bad one," Oliver said, knowing he was soon going to learn the truth about some Marines.
They headed straight to the Marine Base, which was quite large.
'It's gigantic. And Marineford is even bigger? Just how big is this world?' Oliver thought as he saw the size of the base.
"Wow! It's impressive up close!" shouted Luffy. "Go on ahead, Koby!"
"B-But I'm not mentally prepared yet! And after what just happened…" Koby said nervously.
Luffy ignored him and began climbing the wall surrounding the base, with Oliver following right behind.
"Where's the Demon Beast?" Luffy wondered.
"I don't see him anywhere," Oliver replied, scanning the distance.
They climbed down and searched elsewhere.
"There he is!" shouted Luffy.
There, tied to a wooden cross, was Roronoa Zoro, completely still.
"Roronoa Zoro. That's the real deal," said Oliver, excited to see him in person.
Koby climbed up for a better look, and when he saw him, he fell off the wall in shock.
"So that's him. If we untie those ropes, he could escape easily!" said Luffy.
"D-Don't say such nonsense! If you release him, he'll destroy the town! He'll probably kill you too!" shouted Koby, trying to stop him.
'I really feel like punching him,' Oliver thought as he glared at Koby.
"Hey, you guys! Could you help me loosen these ropes a bit? I've been like this for nine days, and I'm really worn out," Zoro said with a grin.
"Hey! He's smiling!" said Luffy.
"He looks completely exhausted," said Oliver.
Zoro wasn't just exhausted—he was clearly injured, with blood running from a head wound.
"I'll pay you back… after I take down my next target and collect the bounty. I'm not lying—I'll keep my word."
Koby was about to protest again, but Oliver covered his mouth to shut him up.
At that moment, a ladder was placed beside them, and a small girl climbed up.
She hushed them and quickly ran toward Zoro with two onigiri in her hands.
"Do you want to die? Get lost, kid!" Zoro warned her.
"I made these onigiri for you! You've been here for so long, you must be hungry, right?" said the girl. "It's my first time making them, but I worked really hard."
"I'm not hungry! Take them and get out of my sight!" Zoro yelled.
"B-But…"
The girl still held the onigiri when a short boy with yellow hair arrived, escorted by two Marines.
'That's right. Helmeppo was a bastard until Garp beat some sense into him.'
"Well, young lady, those onigiri look delicious," Helmeppo said, snatching them from her hands and eating them himself.
"They taste awful! Disgusting! They're sweet! Did you put sugar in them?! Onigiri are supposed to have salt!" Helmeppo shouted, clutching his throat in disgust.
"I thought they'd taste better sweet!" the girl said.
"These are inedible, you idiot!"
Helmeppo threw the last rice ball to the ground and began stomping on it.
"Stop! He won't be able to eat them like that!"
The girl begged him to stop, but Helmeppo didn't care.
"Now the ants will eat them," Helmeppo sneered.
Oliver was about to jump down to hit Helmeppo, but he restrained himself.
"You're so mean! I worked hard making those!" the girl cried.
"Quit crying! That's why I hate kids!"
Helmeppo ordered a Marine to throw the girl off the wall. If he didn't, he threatened to tell Captain Morgan, so the Marine had no choice.
Reluctantly, the Marine picked the girl up and tossed her over the wall—only for Oliver to catch her.
"Are you okay?" Oliver asked as he set her gently on the ground.
Helmeppo left, but not before reminding Zoro that he still had 21 days left tied up and to do his best to survive.
Luffy, having seen the whole scene, jumped over the wall and approached Zoro.
"You're still here? You'd better leave before Helmeppo's father catches you," Zoro shouted at Luffy, who now stood in front of him.
"Listen… I'm looking for nakama to become pirates together," Luffy told him. "I already have my first nakama."
Oliver was sitting on the wall, waving down at them.
'Sorry, Zoro. I stole your spot as the first nakama.'
"Pirates, huh? You'd lower yourself to being a mere pirate? That's not worth anything!" Zoro said.
"That's my dream! What's wrong with becoming a pirate?" Luffy asked.
"Let me guess—you're going to untie these ropes and then ask me to join you, right?"
Luffy and Zoro began talking about their dreams, while Oliver listened intently. It was quite entertaining—until a red screen appeared before his eyes.
[Mission: Help rescue Zoro]
[Reward: Talent Gacha Token]
'A new mission, huh? That's interesting… and it's a Talent Token,' Oliver thought, wondering what kind of talent he might get.
"Come on, let's go," said Luffy as he jumped back over the wall.
"Will he join us?" Oliver asked.
"Not yet," said Luffy with a smile.
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They arrived in the city, where Luffy told the girl that Zoro had eaten all the food she made, which made her very happy.
"That guy, is he really as wicked as they say?" asked Koby.
"You're wrong! He hasn't done anything bad! Everyone's afraid of him, but he was captured for trying to help me," said the girl.
The girl explained that Helmeppo had a wolf that terrorized the city until the wolf nearly attacked her, and Zoro saved her by killing it.
"So that's the reason why Zoro's imprisoned?" asked Luffy.
"Seems like it. He's just a spoiled brat, upset because his wolf was killed," Oliver told him.
"I see! If we set aside his bad temper, being a bounty hunter doesn't make him a criminal," said Koby, realizing he was actually good.
"See? You can't judge a person just by rumors until you know what they're really like," Oliver told Koby.
"The real villains are Captain Morgan and his son! Everyone fears them! If you disobey them even a little, they'll condemn you to death!" said the girl angrily.
Then they heard some noises and checked—it was Helmeppo, who had arrived.
"Hiehiehie! Who dares to raise their head? I'll tell my father!"
All the townspeople had to kneel out of fear something would happen to them.
"Do you want to be crucified like Roronoa Zoro? Listen carefully! In three days, I'm going to execute him publicly! Let that be an example to you! It'll be fun!"
"In three days? What happened to the promise of surviving a month?" Luffy asked as he walked straight up to him.
"Who the hell are you? Where did you hear that?" Helmeppo asked. "That promise was just a bad joke! There's no way anyone would take it seriously, only an idiot would believe it."
Helmeppo laughed again, and upon hearing that, Luffy and Oliver both punched Helmeppo straight in the face, sending him flying.
"Stop! Do you want to be enemies of the Marines?" Koby asked.
"I've decided! I'm going to ask Zoro to be one of my nakamas!" said Luffy firmly.
"Then let's go rescue Zoro," said Oliver, eager to hit something else.