Chapter 9: The Idiot and the Swords

  Luffy stood in front of Zoro again, the night air cool against his skin. The parade ground was quiet, the Marine base looming behind them like a sleeping beast. Zoro hung from the crucifix, head lifted just enough to watch him approach.

  "Back already?" Zoro's voice was rough but carried that same edge of pride. "I told you. Not interested."

  "You're stubborn." Luffy stopped a few feet away and looked him over. "I respect that. But you're also stupid."

  Zoro's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

  "Helmeppo took your swords, right?"

  Something flickered across Zoro's face. Anger. Loss. The kind of pain that came from losing something that meant more than just metal and sharp edges.

  "Yeah. He took them."

  Luffy nodded like he'd expected that answer. "Where are they?"

  "How the hell should I know? I've been tied to this thing for weeks."

  "Right." Luffy scratched his chin. "So if I get your swords back, will you join my crew?"

  Zoro stared at him.

  For a long moment, neither spoke.

  "You're insane," Zoro finally said. "You don't even know where they are. You don't know how many Marines are in that base. You don't know anything."

  "I know I want you in my crew."

  "That's not a pn. That's a death wish."

  Luffy grinned. "Same thing, sometimes."

  Zoro's jaw tightened. "Those swords aren't just weapons. They're part of me. If you go in there and something happens to them because of some stupid rescue attempt, I'll kill you myself."

  "Then join me now and come get them yourself."

  "I CAN'T MOVE, YOU IDIOT!"

  Luffy ughed. Actually ughed. The sound carried across the empty parade ground, bright and careless.

  "Fine. Stay here. I'll be back with your swords." He turned and walked toward the wall. "Try not to starve to death before then."

  "You're really going?" Zoro called after him. "Just like that? Walking into a Marine base alone?"

  Luffy looked back over his shoulder. "I'm not alone. I've got a stupid pn and zero sense of self-preservation. That's basically an army."

  He climbed over the wall and dropped to the other side.

  Zoro stared at the empty space where he'd been.

  "...What the hell just happened?"

  Inside the Marine base, Captain Morgan sat in his office, a massive figure even while seated. He was tall, muscur, with a long chin that jutted out like an anvil and an axe bde fused to his right forearm where a hand should be. The bde gleamed under the mplight, sharp enough to split a man in half.

  A Marine stood at attention before his desk, sweating.

  "The tributes grow smaller each week," Morgan said, voice low and dangerous. "Expin."

  The Marine swallowed hard. "Captain, the town is growing poorer. The people don't have as much to give. It's not ck of respect, it's-"

  "It's exactly ck of respect." Morgan's eyes narrowed. "If they respected me, they would find a way. They would starve themselves before shorting their captain."

  The Marine said nothing. Smart man.

  The door burst open.

  Helmeppo stormed in, face still bruised and swollen from Luffy's punch. "Father! You have to kill him! That boy who attacked me, he's still in town! I want him dead!"

  Morgan didn't look at him. "I'm busy."

  "He hit me! Look at my face! Are you going to let some peasant disrespect your son?"

  Morgan finally turned. His gaze was cold. "You're old enough to fight your own battles. I kill people who defy me. Not people who annoy my worthless son."

  Helmeppo's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

  Morgan stood, towering over both of them. "I'm going to the roof. The statue should be nearly finished."

  He walked out without another word.

  Helmeppo stood there, face red with humiliation. Then he followed, because following his father was all he knew how to do.

  On the roof, Marines strained against ropes, pulling a massive stone statue upright. It was Morgan. Of course it was Morgan. Twenty feet tall, carved in his likeness, axe hand raised toward the sky like he was judging the heavens themselves.

  Morgan watched with satisfaction. "Higher. I want it visible from every corner of this town."

  A Marine approached hesitantly. "Captain, about the girl. The one who trespassed to feed the prisoner."

  Morgan's eyes shifted. "What about her?"

  "She's still alive. Helmeppo didn't... he threw her over the wall, but she survived."

  Morgan's expression didn't change.

  "Kill her."

  The Marine froze. "Captain, she's just a child. She didn't mean any harm-"

  Morgan's axe hand came down.

  The Marine crumpled without a sound, blood spreading across the rooftop. The other soldiers stared, horrified, but no one moved. No one spoke.

  Morgan looked at them calmly. "Does anyone else have questions about how I handle disrespect?"

  Silence.

  "Good. Continue working."

  Below, Luffy moved through the shadows near the base. He needed information. Someone who could tell him where Zoro's swords were kept. He followed the sound of voices and found himself near the base of the statue scaffolding.

  Marines above were shouting, ropes creaking.

  Luffy looked up.

  Morgan's massive stone face loomed overhead, half-raised, ropes straining to pull it upright.

  An idea sparked.

  He stretched his arms, grabbed the edge of the roof, and pulled. The momentum unched him upward faster than he expected, too fast. He flew past the roof entirely, sailing through the air like a rubber rocket.

  "SHIT!"

  His hands caught something on the way down. Ropes. The ropes holding the statue.

  He grabbed on.

  His weight, combined with his momentum, yanked the ropes hard. The statue wobbled. Marines screamed. The ropes slipped.

  The massive stone Morgan teetered.

  Then fell.

  It hit the roof with a thunderous crash that shook the entire building. Stone exploded outward. The statue split in two, the head rolling off the edge and smashing into the courtyard below.

  Silence.

  Then Morgan's roar echoed across the base.

  "WHO DID THIS?"

  Luffy dangled from what remained of the ropes, swinging gently.

  "Uh," he said. "Whoops?"

  Morgan's eyes found him. Pure, murderous rage.

  "KILL HIM! KILL THAT BOY NOW!"

  Marines scrambled, drawing swords, raising guns. Luffy dropped from the ropes and nded on the roof, surrounded on all sides.

  Helmeppo pointed, face twisted with gleeful hatred. "That's him! That's the one who hit me! Kill him slow!"

  Luffy looked around at the advancing Marines. Then at Helmeppo.

  He grinned.

  In one motion, he stretched his arm across the roof, grabbed Helmeppo by the colr, and yanked him forward. Helmeppo screamed as he flew through the air. Luffy caught him one-handed and held him up like a shield.

  "Alright, everyone stop," Luffy said cheerfully. "Or the spoiled brat gets it."

  The Marines froze.

  Helmeppo struggled. "Let me go! Put me down! FATHER!"

  Morgan watched, expression unreadable.

  Luffy looked at Helmeppo. "Where are Zoro's swords?"

  "What? I don't-"

  "Where?"

  Something in Luffy's voice made Helmeppo's bdder tighten. "Inside! They're inside! In the armory! First floor, east wing!"

  Luffy nodded. "Thanks."

  He threw Helmeppo at the nearest group of Marines. They scattered, then scrambled to catch him.

  Luffy ran.

  He dropped through a stairwell, crashed through a door, and found himself in a corridor. Marines shouted behind him. He didn't slow down.

  First floor. East wing. Armory.

  He found it. Kicked the door open.

  Inside, racks of weapons lined the walls. Swords, guns, spears. And there, dispyed on a stand like trophies, were three swords.

  Luffy grabbed them.

  The moment his hands touched the wrapped hilts, he felt it. Something almost alive in the steel. These weren't just weapons. They were part of someone's soul.

  He turned to leave.

  Marines blocked the doorway.

  Luffy held up the swords and smiled.

  "Sorry. These belong to my crewmate."