Chapter 9: Shells Town and the Demon Pirate Hunter
Under the blazing midday sun, a small boat pulled up to the docks of Shells Town.
Luffy jumped down from the boat and stood on the dock with his hands behind his head, looking around at the town spread out before him.
"We finally made it to Shells Town!"
Several people walking along the dock turned toward the shout with strange looks. Luffy paid them no attention and was already walking toward the town.
Coby climbed down from the boat with far more careful steps, his eyes sweeping the dock with an expression that had been anxious since before they even arrived.
On the way into town Coby had told Luffy everything he knew about Roronoa Zoro. A pirate hunter who was supposedly ruthless. A pirate hunter who was supposedly dangerous. A pirate hunter who for some reason was currently being held at the marine base in this very town.
Luffy listened while walking, his face growing more interested with every detail Coby mentioned.
Coby saw that expression and grew more anxious.
"Hey Luffy-san." Coby half-jogged to keep up with Luffy's pace. "This is not a good idea. Inviting someone like that to join your crew."
"I haven't decided anything yet." Luffy shrugged. "If he turns out to be a decent person—"
"He's a bad person!" Coby cut him off. "That's why he got arrested!"
Luffy didn't answer. His eyes had already moved to an apple stall at the side of the road. He stopped, picked one up, bit into it, then tossed a coin toward the stall owner who was staring at him with a surprised expression.
"I think the person named Zoro is at that base." Luffy pointed toward the large building clearly visible even from here, a white flag with a seagull painted on it flying from its pole beneath the afternoon sun.
But the people around them who had been busy with their own affairs suddenly stopped.
Silence.
Faces that had been relaxed a moment ago went pale all at once. They began moving away from Luffy and Coby with small steps that tried very hard not to look hurried.
Coby swallowed and leaned close to Luffy's ear. "It seems saying Zoro's name is taboo here."
Luffy looked around at the retreating faces, then bit into his apple again.
They kept walking.
"More importantly," said Luffy, finishing his apple, "let's go to that base first. You want to join the Marines too, right?"
"Yes, but I'm not ready yet." Coby frowned. "And I heard the captain running this place is—"
The people around them went silent and moved away again.
This time faster than before.
Luffy and Coby stood in a road that had emptied out in just a few seconds.
"What a strange town." Luffy laughed.
"This isn't normal." Coby kept up with Luffy who was already walking again, his voice dropping to nearly a whisper. "I understand if Zoro's name is considered taboo. But even the name of the marine base captain makes people run away. That's not ordinary. It worries me."
"Maybe the people in this town just scare easily."
"That's definitely not it!"
The gate of the marine base stood at the end of the main road. Large, made of iron, with a seagull painted at its center. Behind it an even larger white building rose up against the bright afternoon sky.
Coby stopped in front of the gate.
His eyes were glistening. His lips moved like he wanted to say something but it didn't come out right away. Then he took a long breath and let it out slowly.
"I finally made it here." His voice trembled slightly. "Even though the journey was short, this is where we part ways Luffy-san—"
The sound of stone scraping against stone came from beside them.
Coby turned.
Luffy was already at the top of the wall, his fingers gripping the edge, his body half hanging over the inside.
"Luffy-san!" Coby stared at him with an expression caught somewhere between panic and despair. "What are you doing?!"
"Where's that demon?" Luffy craned his neck over the inside, his eyes sweeping the courtyard beyond the wall.
"He can't just be out in the open like that!" Coby hissed. "At the very least he should be in an iron-barred cell!"
Luffy didn't answer. One hand rested on top of his head as his eyes moved across the courtyard. Then they stopped.
"There he is!"
He dropped down and ran to a different corner that gave a clearer view inside. Coby followed with steps that were half running and half tiptoeing.
They climbed the wall at that corner and peered inside.
Coby saw it and froze.
In the open courtyard of the base, tied to a post with rope wrapped around his entire body, stood a man. White shirt. Black trousers. A haramaki wound around his waist. A black bandana on his forehead.
Coby recalled the descriptions from rumors he had heard at various ports over the years.
That was Roronoa Zoro.
"If we untie the rope he'd be free pretty easily, right?" said Luffy with the same casual tone he used when discussing sailing routes.
"D—don't say such foolish things!" Coby nearly lost his grip on the wall. "We don't know what he'll do once he's free. He might kill us!"
"Relax. I'm strong."
Coby cried on the inside.
Zoro who had heard the commotion raised his head slowly. His eyes found the two faces peering down from the top of the wall and his gaze sharpened immediately.
"Hey you two." His voice was hoarse and heavy, like someone who hadn't had water in days. "You're bothering me. Get lost."
Coby pressed himself flat against the wall. "Luffy-san if you invite someone like that to join your crew, one life won't be enough—"
A dull thud sounded beside them.
A wooden ladder leaned against the wall. On it a small girl with short hair was climbing, her face serious with full concentration, both hands holding something wrapped in cloth.
Coby stared at her. "That child—"
The girl glanced up and saw the two faces looking down at her from the top of the wall. Her finger rose immediately to her lips.
"Shh."
Luffy and Coby went quiet at the same time.
The girl reached the top of the wall, looked briefly down at the inside of the base, then slid down a rope she had already prepared. Her feet landed softly on the ground of the courtyard. She stood, straightened her clothes, and walked quickly toward Zoro.
Coby held his breath.
The girl stopped in front of Zoro and held out the cloth bundle toward him.
"You must be hungry, right?" Her voice was completely unbothered by everything around her. "I made you onigiri."
Zoro looked at her. "You could get killed, kid. Go home."
But the girl didn't move. She pushed the bundle closer toward Zoro, her smile unchanged. "Please eat. Even though this is my first time making them, I put my whole heart into it."
Zoro was quiet for a moment. His eyes moved from the bundle to the girl's face and back to the bundle.
"I'm not hungry." His voice wasn't as sharp as before. "You're just getting in the way. Go home."
"But—"
"I said I don't need food from you." His tone rose slightly. "Leave."
The girl was still standing in the same spot with the onigiri bundle held out toward him.
"You don't have to be so mean."
The sound of unhurried footsteps came from the direction of the gate.
A young man with blond hair in a strangely bowl-shaped cut walked into the base with two guards behind him. On his face was the smile of someone who had grown used to the feeling that no one would dare oppose him.
His eyes landed on the small girl standing in front of Zoro.
He walked over with casual steps and without a word reached out and took one of the two onigiri from the bundle the girl was still holding. He put it straight into his mouth.
Chewed.
Stopped.
His eyes opened wide.
He spat everything out onto the ground.
"Peh!" His face twisted like he had bitten into something whose existence in the world he could not accept. "What kind of onigiri is this?! Why is it so sweet?! Onigiri is supposed to be salty! Salty!"
Rika took half a step back but didn't run. "But I thought if it was sweet it would taste better..."
The man wasn't listening. His hand grabbed the second onigiri from Rika and threw it to the ground alongside the one he had already spat out. His foot came down on both of them, grinding them into the dirt and dust of the base courtyard until nothing recognizable was left.
Rika looked at her empty hands. Then at the ground. Her eyes started to fill.
The man pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and held it up in front of Rika's face. "Don't you know what this notice says? It is forbidden to assist the prisoner. Signed, Captain Morgan."
Rika's body began to shake.
"It seems you know the rule my father made." He sniffed. Then turned to one of his guards. "Throw this child out."
The guard didn't move right away. Something shifted in his expression, something conflicted working its way through him.
"Are you thinking about refusing my order?" The man's tone dropped into a warning. "Should I report you to my father?"
The guard's face went pale.
He walked toward Rika, bent slightly, and lifted her. His lips moved close to her ear. "I'm sorry."
Then he threw her over the wall.
Luffy dropped from the top of the wall into the air.
His hand reached down and caught the girl before she could hit the ground outside the wall. They landed together with Luffy as the cushion, his back hitting the earth with a dull sound.
The girl sat up on Luffy's stomach, blinked a few times, then looked down at the face beneath her.
Luffy smiled up at her. "Are you okay?"
The girl nodded slowly, her eyes still slightly wet.
Coby who had already climbed down from the wall ran over and crouched beside them. "Are you okay?" He checked the girl quickly then turned around. "They're so cruel aren't they Luffy-san—"
Luffy was no longer beside him.
Coby looked left. Then right.
From somewhere inside the base on the other side of the wall came the sound of footsteps that had already moved far inside.
Luffy stood in front of Zoro.
Zoro raised his head slowly. His eyes were sharp even though his body was clearly exhausted. "Hah. You're still here."
"Stuck here for everyone to see." Luffy looked at the ropes wound around Zoro from shoulder to waist, then back at Zoro's face. "You. Are you actually strong?"
"Mind your own business."
"If it were me I probably wouldn't have lasted three days." Luffy shrugged.
"You and I have different kinds of resolve." Something changed in Zoro's eyes when he said it. Not arrogance. More like someone who had made a decision long before arriving at this point and nothing since then had made him doubt it. "I will prove that I can do it."
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth even though his lips were dry and cracked.
Luffy looked at him for a moment.
"What a strange person."
He turned to leave.
"Wait."
Luffy turned back. "What?"
Zoro moved his head toward the ground in front of him, toward the remains of the onigiri that had been ground into the dirt and dust. "Pick that up and give it to me."
Luffy looked at the ground. Then at Zoro. "Are you sure? It's already full of dirt and dust."
"Just be quiet and give it to me."
Luffy picked up the remains and tossed them toward Zoro's mouth which was already open and waiting. Zoro chewed. Slowly but completely. No expression of disgust on his face. No expression of anything except someone eating because they simply needed to eat.
Luffy's eyebrow rose slightly.
His smile came slowly.
Zoro swallowed the last of it. His throat moved. Then he was quiet for a moment before finally speaking in a voice that was still hoarse.
"Thanks for the food. It was good." His eyes weren't on Luffy but on the wall somewhere in the distance. "Tell that kid."