Zoro looked down at the cobblestones, watching Luffy lie on his back, grinning through grunted breaths.
"Can you get up?" Zoro asked, extending a bloodied hand.
"Thanks!" Luffy grabbed it, his rubbery arm contracting instantly to pull him upright. The two stood near the center of the square, right beside the towering stone monument they had passed earlier. Luffy took a step forward, scratching his head and looking around the vacant streets. "Where is everyone?"
"In their houses," Zoro muttered, gesturing with the tip of his katana toward the shuttered windows lining the plaza.
"Do you think that fatty bear won't come here?"
"Won't come here? This whole town is under his boot." Zoro's eye twitched as he stepped closer to Luffy. "You said you wanted to become the King of the Pirates... and you didn't even know who runs this place?"
"I'm just starting out! I don't even have a crew yet!" Luffy laughed, stretching his arms high over his head.
"You think this is all fun and games?" Zoro growled, his knuckles white on his hilt. "You almost died back there! Without me, you'd be full of holes!"
"That's why I need you!" Luffy grinned, unfazed. Before Zoro could answer, a deafening CLANG split the plaza. The monument's sliced seam gave way, and the multi-ton upper half slid off its base and crashed toward them. Luffy planted his feet and thrust his palms upward, catching the stone block as his boots sank into the path, and his muscles groaned under the weight. At the same instant, a blur of motion cut for his exposed chest. Zoro lunged in, all three katanas rising to intercept. Metal shrieked as he caught the invisible blow, Wado Ichimonji clamped between his teeth.
Through the dust at the end of the main street, Captain Morgan emerged from the treeline. Blood trickled down his steel jaw plate, his breath pumping like a steam engine. His uniform coat was shredded, his chest full of earth and mud, the rows of military medals long gone. His massive steel axe gleamed under the midday sun.
"STRAW HAT! RORONOA!" The tyrant's roaring command shattered the quiet of the square. Luffy heaved, hurling the massive stone block aside. It crashed onto the cobblestones, cracking the pavement. He shook out his arms, his joints cracking in rapid succession. Zoro spat his sword into his hand for a brief second, his fingers trembling from exhaustion and blood loss, before clamping it back between his teeth. Luffy slammed his fist into his open palm, his eyes narrowing into a sharp, lethal stare.
At the far end of the plaza, Morgan halted before a hundred Marine riflemen came flowing, coming from the base. Their weapons aimed towards the two, with Ripper leading the way. The two sides locked eyes, the air heavy with suffocating tension.
"Aguria, where's Ripper?" A marine behind him gasped, "Commander Ripper said that he will check the prison for any potential breakout!"
"Good. Did you inform the other barracks?" Morgan glared back at Luffy and Zoro, his iron fist clenching until the metal groaned.
"Yes, sir! Ripper had informed the other barracks to secure the ports! Barracks 4 and 2 are here with you, sir."
"Good." He turned to Luffy and Zoro and raised two fingers. "Barracks 1, split up and guard the houses. Prevent any damage and ready your rifles. Commander Aguria, monitor the area for damage and inform Ripper to have the prisoners ready in case rebuilding is needed. Tell them that any prisoner who refuses to comply will be severely punished." He then slowly walked towards the two. "Shoot at my command!"
"Affirmative, sir!" The Marine officer spun around to the troops. "Barracks One, Split! The other half, take the East Coast! The remaining, lock down the West Coast! Barracks Four, stay in the line and ready your rifles!" As the soldiers scattered toward the alleys, Morgan exploded forward. The kinetic shockwave of his sprint knocked two surrounding guards off their feet, scattering cobblestones in his wake. Closing the distance with terrifying speed, he slammed his bare hand into the heavy frame of a timbered fruit stall, tearing the entire wooden structure out of the earth and hurling it across the plaza like a massive javelin.
The stall shattered mid-air as it flew at them, sending dozens of melons, oranges, and wooden planks raining down over the square. Morgan charged right behind the flying debris, using the clutter for cover. He burst through the shower of fruit, swinging his axe in a brutal horizontal arc toward Luffy's throat. Luffy ducked low, his jaw unhinging as he stretched his mouth wide, devouring a cluster of airborne oranges in a single gulp before tumbling backward. As Morgan's blade whistled overhead, it cleaved clean through a marble pillar behind them.
"Zoro, look out!" Luffy yelled, his mouth still half-full. Morgan didn't pause. He pivoted on his rear heel and launched an iron-gloved left hook toward Luffy's exposed side. Luffy snapped his right arm back and released a stretched punch straight into Morgan's ribs, the impact echoing like a hammer hitting solid oak.
Driven back a step, Morgan reversed his stance and leveled his weapon. The chained axe-head unlocked, shooting forward like a harpoon. Zoro leapt into the gap, his two hand-held blades catching the chain mid-air and deflecting the heavy projectile into the dirt. Morgan violently yanked the chain back, using the momentum to drag himself forward into a flying knee that caught Zoro square in the chest. Zoro crashed through the wooden wall of a nearby house, tumbling into the dark interior.
"Zoro!" Luffy yelled. Morgan charged, dropping his heavy head like an anvil. The iron jaw slammed into Luffy's face, knocking him flat against the cobblestones. Before Luffy could catch his breath, Morgan planted his heavy boot into his ribs, kicking him violently across the square. Luffy skidded through the dust, halting right in front of the Marine firing line.
"Fire!" Morgan roared. The squad leveled their rifles, and a hail of lead tore across the square. Dodging the incoming fire, Luffy's eyes darted toward a row of wooden market stalls in the distance. He shot his arm out, wrapping his fingers tight around a heavy iron support pole to anchor himself. With his hand fixed in place, Luffy planted one boot firmly into the cobblestones and stretched his opposite leg out like a taut, whip-like cable. Swiveling hard on his heel, he swept his extended leg at ankle height across the entire yard, snapping through rifle barrels and sweeping the front line of Marines off their feet in a low, thunderous arc.
"Use the specialized rounds, dammit!" Aguria screamed.
"But sir! We only have fourteen Seastone bullets left!"
"Load the special rounds!" Aguria barked. The Marines in Barracks Two ceased firing, rapidly cycling their chambers to drop their standard lead and shove gray stone cartridges straight into the barrels. Hearing the sudden commotion, Luffy recalled Zoro's warning just in time. He pivoted on his heel and sprinted as the Marine squad opened fire with the specialized ammunition. He jumped into the air, about to dive in front of the stall, but the Seastone bullet traveled faster than a normal bullet and hit him straight in the palm of his hand.
"Not again!" The instant the Seastone broke his skin, a sickening wave of exhaustion rushed through his veins. His stretched arm went entirely limp, losing all tension and rubbery strength in a horrifying flash. His grip failed. Robbed of his momentum and his Devil Fruit power, Luffy plummeted out of the sky like a dead weight. He crashed brutally into the dirt, tumbling head over heels until he slammed into the back of the heavy wooden stall he had just let go of. Wood splintered violently above his head as a fresh volley of Seastone rounds chewed into the thick timber. Luffy gasped for air in the dirt, clutching his bleeding, weakened hand as the heavy oak barrier absorbed the lethal crossfire meant for his chest.
Inside the ruined structure, Zoro lay amidst shattered timber and stone. The adrenaline that had fueled his body through the execution yard was rapidly draining away. His vision blurred; his muscles felt like lead. The sheer exhaustion of three weeks without food, paired with his fresh wounds, pressed down on him like a mountain.
A sound of wood striking flesh echoed through the dojo. A young Roronoa Zoro crashed hard onto the polished wooden floor, his bamboo sword sliding away.
"Master... I can't!" Zoro gasped, his tiny hand reaching up toward the figure standing tall in front of him. "Kuina and I have been sparring for four nights and four days... I have no strength left!"
The figure slowly lowered his leg, looking down at the exhausted boy with quiet eyes.
"Every great swordsman faces moments when their body fails them," the figure spoke, his voice steady as the mountain. "In true battle, when you have neither food nor drink, you do not draw strength from your muscles. You access the hidden source within your soul... your ambition. Listen to the world around you, Zoro. Align your breath with the flow of your own emotion, as it will move even when you cannot."
Zoro's chest rose in a slow, deliberate breath, drawing the salt air deep into his diaphragm. Beneath his palms, the subtle vibration of the wooden floorboards thrummed against his skin, every twitching muscle fiber and grain of wood aligning into sharp clarity. The white-hot agony tearing through his flesh quieted, coiling tight like heavy steel cables in his gut. The bone-deep exhaustion evaporated, replaced by a sudden, terrifying stillness that set his pulse ablaze. His eyes snapped open.
A deafening crash shattered the silence as Morgan tore clean through the front wall of the house, his massive silhouette looming over the fallen swordsman amid a shower of splintered wood and flying dust.
"What's wrong, Roronoa? Does the surge of helplessness come out to you?" Morgan raised his hand, his blade flashing through the sunlight behind him. "Let me help you with it". Before the heavy blade could strike an inch of it, Zoro rose in a single fluid motion. His breath hissed through his teeth as he drew a single blade, stepping inside the arc of the falling axe.
"Ittoryu... Rising Dawn!"
An upward crescent of silver light sliced through the room. The arc carved a clean, deep line straight across Morgan's bare chest as it slid through his plates, creating a rain of sparks, spraying dark blood across the wooden floorboards and scattered concrete chunks. Morgan gasped, his grip on his axe loosening as the force of the strike hurled him backward out of the ruined wall. He crashed violently into the half of the statue still standing in the square.
Zoro pursued him, stepping out into the blinding sunlight, but his legs buckled under the sudden strain. He dropped to one knee, panting heavily as sweat poured down his brow.
Morgan spat a mouthful of blood, his boots crushing the cobblestones as he snapped into a rigid forward march. Ripping open his ruined coat, he stared down at his chest, where a wide, jagged fissure split his torso. He dug his thick fingers into the edges of the open wound, pulling the torn skin apart to expose the deep, raw layers of severed flesh beneath. "Goddamn insect!"
His shoulders locked square, elbows tucked tight as he drove his hips forward in a low, disciplined advance. Swinging his massive iron axe into a close-quarters guard, he closed the distance toward the exhausted swordsman. Bracing his trembling limbs, Zoro pivoted on his heel a split second before the blade struck. The axe sheared through the air, releasing a pressurized vertical shockwave that split a nearby house clean in half.
Bounding sideways through the dust, Zoro scanned his surroundings. Across the plaza, a squad of Marines had leveled their rifles at a limp, bleeding Luffy.
Zoro clamped the Wado Ichimonji between his teeth and clenched his other two blades.
"Santoryu... Onigiri!" He propelled himself forward just as a sharp, agonizing tear shot through his right thigh muscle. A flash of three steel arcs cut through the line of riflemen, tearing through their backs. Zoro skidded across the ground, his body flying into position directly in front of Luffy. Limping heavily, Zoro hauled a massive section of a broken market stall over, slamming it into the dirt to shield them from distant crossfire.
"What the hell happened to you?!" Zoro growled, leaning down. He pressed his ear to Luffy's chest, catching the faint, sluggish thud of his heart. Scanning his body, his eyes locked onto a dark, bubbling puncture wound on his left hand.
"Did I tell you earlier to be careful around those marines?!"Dropping two of his katanas into the dirt, Zoro kept only the black-hilted blade in his right hand. He raised Luffy's limp arm, positioned the tip of the steel over the wounded flesh, and began digging into the meat of his hand. Luffy grunted in pain, his leg twitching violently.
"Hold still!" Zoro hissed.
He began surgically extracting the bullets from Luffy's leg once more, the tip of his blade tapping against the cold, dense material embedded deep in the muscle. Glancing up, Zoro caught sight of Morgan breaking into a full sprint across the square. His fingers slick with blood, Zoro worked with frantic speed until the dark gray curve of the Seastone slug peeked through the torn flesh. He shot his hand out, pinched the stone firmly between his thumb and forefinger, and ripped it clear of the wound. Morgan closed the final gap, elevating his massive axe for a downward executioner's strike aimed straight through the wooden stall—
WHACK! A stretched, rubbery fist shot straight up from behind the timber, slamming directly into Morgan's steel jaw. The absolute force of the blow shattered the tyrant's balance, sending his massive frame crashing onto his back into the dirt. Morgan gasped for air, struggling to haul his giant body upright as he rolled onto his elbows.
Luffy scrambled out from behind the ruined stall, vaulting over the fallen Captain with a wild grin. Instead of hitting Morgan again, he sprinted past him, launching both arms high toward the heavy stone head of the shattered monument wedged in the upper wall. Zoro dragged himself up onto his good leg, picking his fallen katanas from the dirt and bracing his stance to keep the tyrant pinned.
"NOW!" Zoro roared. High above, Luffy uncoiled his arms, using the tension to slam the multi-ton stone block straight into the dirt right in front of him. Gripping the massive stone like a baseball bat, he wound his entire rubber torso into a tight, agonizing twist. Morgan scrambled to his feet, raising his axe just as a massive shadow swept across the ground. With a deafening yell of pure kinetic power, Luffy released his torso. The giant stone monument swung through the air in a brutal horizontal arc, striking Morgan dead-center in the ribs.
"Gomu Gomu no... HAMMER!" The absolute force of the blow shattered the cobblestones, launching the multi-ton tyrant high into the sky like a launched cannonball. Before Morgan could reach the apex of his launch, Luffy's arms shot upward into the clouds. His rubber fingers locked tightly around Morgan's shoulders mid-flight. Contracting his arms with tremendous force, Luffy propelled himself straight up into the sky.
High above the clouds, suspended in the bright blue expanse, Morgan looked into the rubber boy's face. Luffy's face was bruised and bloodied, but his eyes burned with unshakeable resolve. He stretched his neck back as far as his power would allow, his jaw set hard.
"This town... is free!" Luffy shouted into the wind. He snapped his head forward with kinetic fury, but Morgan's iron-gloved hand shot out, catching Luffy's head mid-swing like a leather ball.
"Absolutely not!" Morgan roared. With a brutal twist of his torso, Morgan hurled Luffy higher into the sky, separating them in mid-air. As Morgan fell back toward the earth, he leveled his arm cannon, the iron chamber flaring blood-red as he fired his second explosive shell straight at the airborne boy. Instead of trying to dodge, Luffy unhinged his jaw and drew a massive breath, expanding his torso into a giant, spherical boulder.
The shell struck his rubber stomach, sinking deep without detonating. Flexing his core muscles with tremendous force, Luffy repelled the live round straight back down. Morgan's eyes narrowed. Shifting his weight mid-fall, he executed a rapid, disciplined air-stride, angling his body into a military dive. He drove both boots down directly onto the descending shell.
BOOM! The blast detonated beneath his soles. Instead of tearing him apart, the kinetic shockwave launched Morgan upward like a rocket, propelling his massive frame straight into Luffy. While Luffy was still floating in his inflated balloon form, Morgan closed the distance and drove his iron-gloved left fist deep into Luffy's stomach. The sheer force squeezed the trapped air upward, forcing Luffy to gasp as the breath tried to escape his throat.
Panicking, Luffy clamped his left arm over his mouth to seal the air inside. With nowhere else to go under the crushing pressure, the trapped air surged sideways. It traveled through his right shoulder and rushed down into his right arm, expanding his limb until it swelled into a massive, giant-sized fist that dwarfed the tyrant's heavy axe. Morgan froze in mid-air, his bloodshot eyes wide with shock. Luffy looked over at his own monstrously enlarged arm, his jaw dropping in sheer amazement.
"WHOA! LOOK AT THIS!" Luffy yelled into the wind. Grabbing his oversized, heavy right fist with his left hand, Luffy hauled it backward, stretching the monstrous arm miles across the sky until it reached the edge of the harbor. Down below, the Marines stationed at the docks stared in silent horror as a gigantic, shadow-casting arm suddenly hovered over their ships—only to snap back toward the square in a blinding, split-second blur.
"Gomu Gomu no... PISTOL!"
Luffy released the giant fist. The colossal blow whistled through the sky with a roaring sonic boom, slamming dead-center into Morgan's chest. The shockwave shattered his armor and snapped his ribs, radiating outward in a deafening thunderclap that blew out every window, glass door, and mirror across the entire town, along with the debris scattered around. The sheer force sent the tyrant whizzing through the air like a fired cannonball, hurtling across the plaza before crashing violently through the secondary tower of the Marine branch—the stone structure exploding into a shower of rubble as Captain Morgan was buried under the collapse, along with the cannons perched atop the tower.
As his giant right arm deflated back to its normal size, Luffy's whole body puffed up like a loose balloon. He drifted down through the smoke, landing heavily beside the crater with his feet skidding through the dirt. A long, exhausted sigh escaped his lips as he leaned forward, hands resting on his knees, his battered skin covered in cuts, dust, and dark bruises.
Across the square, the hundred Marine soldiers stood frozen. Their rifles trembled in their hands as they stared at the buried tower, unable to process the total defeat of the tyrant who had ruled them for years. A suffocating silence hung over the plaza.
Then, Zoro and Luffy both collapsed onto the hard cobblestones, their strength finally completely spent. In the quiet ruin of Shells Town, Luffy threw his head back, letting out a weak, booming laugh that echoed straight into the sky, his bruised hand reaching high up toward the open sun. The battle in Shells Town is now over, along with the reign of the tyrant.