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As soon as Bai Ye stepped out of the Marine base, he turned a corner—and ran into two very familiar faces.
Luffy and Koby were clinging to the outer wall of the Marine base, excitedly pointing and whispering like a couple of gossiping kids.
Bai Ye sighed.
Come on, this is a Marine base. And you're just hanging off the wall like that?
If this were Earth, they'd have been tased, cuffed, and face-down in the dirt the moment they got within ten meters.
But hey—this is the world of One Piece. So I guess it's fine?
After thinking it over, Bai Ye couldn't resist the urge to watch the legendary moment unfold up close.
With a light crouch, he jumped and landed right next to the two on the wall, almost scaring them into falling off.
"Bai Ye! You made it!" Luffy beamed. "Look, look! That's the pirate hunter!"
He pointed eagerly, and Bai Ye followed the direction of his finger.
There, in an open space, stood a large cross.
Tied to it was a man.
He wore a green bandana on his head, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a green sash around his waist. If you looked closely, you'd see three earrings on one ear.
Even with his arms tied up and his body bound to a cross, the guy still gave off a dangerous, beast-like aura.
Seeing this, Bai Ye couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
There he is! Green-haired badass, two eyes still intact—Zoro has entered the scene!
In his past life as a die-hard One Piece fan, Bai Ye had always had a great impression of Zoro. Just that one line—"Nothing happened"—was enough to convince him that Zoro was a real man through and through.
But seeing this younger, still kinda naive and dopey version of Zoro in front of him now… Bai Ye couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
"Looks like we just need to untie the ropes and he'll be free," Luffy said seriously from the side, making Bai Ye feel an overwhelming urge to roll his eyes.
Classic Luffy—no brain, all heart. He probably thought it was as simple as walking over, untying Zoro, giving him a casual invite to join, and boom—Zoro happily agrees.
Yeah, right~
Like it could ever be that easy!!!
Before Bai Ye could even start roasting him, Koby had already freaked out.
"Y-You can't say stuff like that!"
"If you let a guy like him loose, who knows what could happen?"
"He might even kill you!"
Luffy just raised an eyebrow. "I'm strong though."
Koby went completely pale. It was like all the color drained from his face.
"This guy… he's beyond saving!"
"Anyway, I've got some info you two might wanna hear," Bai Ye said, rubbing his chin as he tried to remember what he'd seen in the anime. Then he started explaining it to them.
"This town's called Shells Town, and it's where the Navy's 153rd Branch is stationed."
"At first, the people here lived pretty peacefully. But a few years ago, things started to change."
"There was this Marine sergeant named Morgan who went out to sea with a Navy ship. While they were out, they ran into the infamous Black Cat Pirates."
"Morgan ended up being the only one who made it back alive. And get this—he claimed he captured the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, the one with a 16-million-berry bounty: Kuro."
"Of course, it turned out that wasn't the real Kuro. But the higher-ups didn't care. Morgan got a huge promotion on the spot—straight to lieutenant—and was sent here to take over the 153rd Branch as a full-on colonel."
"From that point on, Morgan totally changed."
"He became a tyrant. Wouldn't let anyone talk back to him."
"Basically, he turned the whole place into his own little dictatorship."
"And under that kind of rule, it's no surprise his son Helmeppo turned into a spoiled, arrogant brat."
"Kid does whatever he wants around town. Bullies people, causes trouble—he's a complete menace."
"Just twenty days ago, he arrested a bounty hunter at a bar for no reason, and now the poor guy's tied to a cross in the Marine base."
"Hey… you three…"
While Luffy and Koby were still trying to process Bai Ye's story, the guy tied to the cross—Zoro—suddenly spoke up. He lifted his head slightly, clearly annoyed by all the noise.
He frowned at the three of them who were peeking over the wall at him.
"Quit staring and get lost," he growled.
His tone was sharp and intimidating, but there was a flicker of concern in his eyes—something that didn't escape Bai Ye or Luffy.
He was just putting on a tough act because he didn't want to drag others into his mess.
"Mr. Luffy, Mr. Bai Ye…" Koby stammered nervously.
"If you're really thinking about recruiting that guy… you'd better be ready to die. Multiple times."
Even after hearing Bai Ye's version of events, seeing Zoro like this was still too much for scaredy-cat Koby. The guy looked like he was ready to bolt.
Wait a second… was that a ladder???
Koby suddenly turned his head and realized that at some point, a ladder had appeared right next to them.
A little girl with brown hair tied in twin tails, about the same height as Koby, was climbing up the ladder.
She first gestured for them to keep quiet, then quickly scanned the area to make sure it was safe. Once she was sure, she used a rope to slip into the clearing and quickly walked toward Zoro.
"Hey, that girl... she's not scared of that guy at all?"Koby looked shocked.
Meanwhile, Bai Ye just smirked slightly. The actors were all in place—now it was time for the show to start.
Bai Ye said, "Hey Luffy, wanna come hear another story with me?"
Luffy turned to look at Bai Ye, and a second later, he happily agreed, "Sure, let's go!"
By the time Bai Ye and Luffy reached the crucifix, Zoro—who was already on edge trying to keep little Rika from being discovered—was nearly at his breaking point.
"I told you, I'm not hungry! You're in the way. Go back home."
Rika, holding a rice ball and not sure what to do, froze in place—
Then a voice chimed in, "Honestly, that scary act of yours? Totally not convincing."
A pair of hands suddenly appeared behind her and scooped Rika up into a hug.
"See? Even a little kid like her isn't scared of you."
Bai Ye held Rika in his arms and looked at Zoro with a grin.
"You again? Didn't I just tell you to get lost?"Zoro twitched at the corners of his mouth, but still growled angrily.
"Oh? Are you sure about that… Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro?"Bai Ye teased Rika gently in his arms, not even bothering to look up as he spoke.
"If we leave now, I'm pretty sure you'll die here."
"What? Big bro… he's gonna die?"Rika, who had just been happily enjoying her time in the arms of her handsome "big brother," snapped to attention, eyes wide with panic.
"Stop talking nonsense! I just have to hold on for ten more days, and then I'll be—"
"—Free, right?"Bai Ye cut him off before he could finish.
"Wow, I didn't expect the famous Pirate Hunter to be this naive."
"You bastard, you—!"Zoro's face twisted with anger, a few stress veins popping out. He was about to snap back when Bai Ye interrupted again.
"Hey, Rika, can you tell me something? Why are you bringing food to this guy?"
"I mean, anyone tied up by the Navy is supposed to be a really bad person, right?"
Still shaken from the idea that Zoro might die, Rika puffed up and angrily pushed back. She quickly explained the whole story:
Twenty days ago, Helmeppo, the son of Captain Morgan, walked into her family's bar like he owned the place—with his pet wolf on a leash.
Not that you'd expect anything good from a spoiled brat's pet—the wolf went totally wild inside the bar. Rika couldn't stand it, so she grabbed a broom and charged at it.
Feeling provoked, the wolf was about to attack her—
But Zoro, who happened to be sitting nearby having a drink, stepped in. He didn't just injure the wolf—he also gave Helmeppo a serious beating.
Helmeppo, who had never been hit in his life, completely lost it and threatened Zoro right then and there.
"Once my dad finds out, everyone in this bar is getting executed."
He used that threat to make a deal with Zoro: Zoro would take the punishment in place of Rika and her mom. As long as he survived a month, the whole thing would be wiped clean.
As Rika finished, she began to quietly sob. Bai Ye crouched down to gently comfort her.
Zoro's expression didn't change much, but there was a new, fierce glint in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Luffy—who had been silently watching all this—was now staring at Zoro with a totally different look in his eyes. His gaze burned so intensely that even Zoro felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Mmm… then let me explain just how naive you really are~"After calming Rika down, Bai Ye stood up and met Zoro's eyes.
"....."