"Gum-Gum… Whip!!!"
"Xùn Trigram—Wind Blades!"
As Luffy and Bai Ye attacked together, the platoon of Marines Morgan had brought descended into despair.
Firearms forgotten, they realized too late—they were just ordinary men.
How could they possibly fight these two monsters?
One was a Devil Fruit user, a man made of rubber.
The other… Well, the other was a walking cheat code.
And you don't fight cheat codes. You just—die politely.
In a storm of screams, Luffy's blows sent soldiers flying in every direction, while Bai Ye's razor-sharp wind blades carved the rest down with surgical precision.
Meanwhile, Zoro had stepped up to face Morgan himself.
From a distance, it looked like a grand duel was about to begin.
Reality was shorter.
"Three-Sword Style—Oni Giri!!!"
The clash ended almost before it began. Zoro's blades flashed once, and Morgan's chest blossomed with three deep, crossing gashes. Blood sprayed as the so-called tyrant staggered, then collapsed in a heap.
The courtyard fell silent.
Only four figures remained standing—Bai Ye, Luffy, Zoro, and the small girl in Bai Ye's arms, Rika.
"Hey, Bai Ye, your attacks are way too flashy," Luffy complained, puffing his cheeks.
He'd knocked out plenty of Marines, sure—but Bai Ye had practically wiped the field.
Of course, Luffy was a close-range brawler. Bai Ye was basically an AoE mage. There was no competition.
"Hahaha, thank you for your gracious loss, Captain," Bai Ye teased lightly, clearly pleased with himself.
"Luffy, Bai Ye," Zoro said, sliding his swords back into their sheaths. "We should leave. Before the rest of the base realizes what happened."
"Good idea!" Luffy clapped his hands, grinning wide beneath his straw hat. "Now that Zoro's joined us, there's no reason to stick around!"
Then—
"Gum-Gum… Bind!"
Without warning, Luffy's arms stretched out, wrapping tightly around Bai Ye and Zoro.
"Let's get outta here!!! Hahahaha!"
Both Bai Ye and Zoro paled.
Zoro: Wait, don't tell me—
Bai Ye: Luffy, wait, we don't need—
Too late. Luffy took off running.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
With twin screams (and one manic laugh), the three of them soared over the wall and vanished from sight.
Behind them, poor Coby stood frozen.
He swallowed hard as he watched the trio fly away—dragged, bounced, and half-tangled.
Good thing Captain Luffy doesn't have a third arm…
That comforting thought was enough for him to grab Rika and scramble out after them.
Moments later, Marines swarmed the courtyard, gathering the fallen.
Their commander marched up to the still-breathing Morgan.
"Captain Morgan—no, ex-Captain," the officer said coldly, adjusting his collar. "Your crimes, and those of your accomplices, have already been reported to Marine Headquarters. I hereby place you under arrest!"
Years of frustration burst from his lungs in that shout, loud enough to jolt even Morgan back to consciousness.
The sunlight stabbed his eyes as he squinted up at the man before him—a voice he recognized all too well.
"Lieutenant Commander Brian," he rasped, realizing dawning. "So… you cooperated with those pirates, didn't you?"
And at last, it clicked.
The "bounty hunter" from earlier—the calm one with the golden light—hadn't just taken his reward.
He'd struck a deal.
A Few Hours Earlier
"Cooperation?" Brian blinked. "Mr. Bai Ye, I'm afraid I don't follow."
"Ah, perhaps 'cooperation' isn't the right word."
Bai Ye smiled pleasantly. "Let's call it a mutually beneficial arrangement."
Back to the Present — Rika's Tavern
"WHAT?!"
Luffy's jaw dropped, spraying juice across the table. "You worked with the Marines?!"
"You really do know how to surprise people," Zoro muttered, though by now his threshold for shock had risen considerably.
"Any problem with that, Captain?" Bai Ye asked dryly, wiping his face with a napkin.
"We're pirates!" Luffy yelled. "The Marines don't work with bad guys!"
Bai Ye sighed. "You're… surprisingly self-aware."
He leaned back, voice calm and reasonable.
"First off, we don't even have a pirate flag or a ship yet. There's only three of us. Technically, even the Marines wouldn't call us 'real pirates'—more like… freelance troublemakers."
"Eh?" Luffy blinked. "So we're not pirates?"
He slammed a fist into his palm, realization dawning. "No wonder I don't have a bounty yet!"
Bai Ye: …
"Anyway," he continued patiently, "based on that logic, it's not hard to get a Marine to cooperate."
"Sou ka!" Luffy exclaimed, nodding seriously. "You're so smart, Bai Ye!"
"Thank you," Bai Ye replied evenly. "But being praised by you doesn't make me proud."
He leaned forward, smiling a little too sweetly. "Now, my dear Captain—do you know what you did wrong?"
"Huh?" Luffy blinked, lost again.
"You didn't need to drag us over the wall, you idiot!!!"
"Golden Light Mantra!"
Moments later—
"Gomen nasai!!!" Luffy yelped, face bruised and glowing faintly gold.
"Hahahaha! You guys are hilarious," Zoro laughed, lifting his mug and taking a long drink. Watching the two bicker like brothers actually made something warm settle in his chest.
Sailing with these two… yeah, it didn't seem so bad.
A reckless captain with a heart too big for his own good.
A cunning Daoist who could summon miracles and mischief in equal measure.
With these two, who knew what surprises lay ahead?
Then, realization struck him.
"Wait a damn second—Bai Ye!"
Shing!
Zoro's sword flashed free, pointing straight at the smirking Daoist.
"Oi, you drunk already?" Bai Ye asked warily.
"You worked with the Marines. You could've just killed Morgan yourself! Don't tell me this whole thing was a setup to trick me onto your crew!"
Bai Ye froze. Crap, the swordsman's logic circuits are working again.
"Yeah!" Luffy chimed in cheerfully. "Bai Ye, that's mean! You tricked Zoro!"
"Whose side are you on, you rubber-brained traitor?!" Bai Ye barked.
Across the room, Rika and her mother watched the three tumble and shout—yet somehow not break a single glass or chair.
"Mom," Rika whispered, giggling, "Mr. Bai Ye and his friends are all really kind, aren't they?"
Her mother smiled softly. "That's right, sweetheart. And one day, you should grow up to be kind like them."
"Mm! I will!"
The tavern filled with laughter and light, the sound of three new companions finding their rhythm together.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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