Lock froze mid-sentence.
(ᇂ_ᇂ|||)
His and Coby's expressions were eerily similar as they watched Luffy devour the food like a starving beast. They exchanged glances, unsure of how to process what just happened.
Lock:I rehearsed my speech for so long, and you only let me say one sentence? Do you even know who I am? Just "okay"?! Was it because I gave you too much food? And can you slow down? How long have you been hungry, man…
Coby:Who is this guy? Where am I? What just happened? Didn't Luffy and I just talk about finding a navigator first? How did someone pop out of nowhere, say one line, and suddenly become his crew?
Both of them felt like reality had just played a prank on them.
Luffy, meanwhile, patted his stomach in satisfaction. "Ahh~ I'm full. Coby, let's go to the naval base. You're joining the Navy, right? You'd make a great marine."
Coby, still dazed, wiped at his glasses and sniffled. "Y-Yeah! Thank you, Luffy. I'll definitely become an excellent sailor. But… there will come a day when we'll meet as enemies."
Luffy just grinned. "No big deal." Then, he turned to Lock and finally asked, "Oh yeah, what's your name?"
Lock blinked. "...You're only asking that now?"
Luffy tilted his head. "Well, yeah. You wanted to be a pirate with me, right? So now we're crewmates. You're my first mate! Oh, and I still need to find that Zoro guy."
∑(O_O;)
The atmosphere shifted. Passersby who were previously minding their own business suddenly tensed up. Some pressed themselves against walls, while two men in the corner clung to each other in terror.
Lock's eye twitched. If frustration could be weaponized, he could probably one-shot Kaido. Taking a deep breath, he introduced himself properly. "I'm Lock, former bounty hunter." Then, narrowing his eyes, he added, "Are you sure about this? You didn't even ask any questions. What if I was a spy? And from the way everyone reacted, 'Zoro' sounds like a forbidden word around here."
Luffy shrugged. "You seem like a good guy. And I need crewmates. So if you wanna come, then let's go!"
Coby finally snapped out of his confusion and changed the subject. "I heard there's a Marine officer here, Captain Morgan—also called 'Axe-Hand' Morgan. They say he's a hero who captured Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates! Kuro had a 16 million bounty!"
("゜ロ゜)"
The people around them stiffened again, looking even more horrified. The two men in the corner clung to each other even tighter, though Lock was starting to suspect one of them was just using this as an excuse.
…
The three of them continued toward the naval base.
Luffy was still laughing. "Hahaha! That was hilarious! Did you see those guys? I should try that again later!"
Lock sighed. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Was it really supposed to be this easy to get on Luffy's crew?
Meanwhile, Coby had a concerned look on his face. "This is strange… I understand why people are afraid of Zoro, since he's tied up there. But why do they look just as scared when we mentioned Captain Morgan?"
Lock shrugged. "Probably because he's done something bad."
Coby immediately frowned. "That's nonsense! A Marine captain—a hero—wouldn't do anything bad!"
Lock just raised an eyebrow and looked at Luffy. Deciding not to argue, he let it drop.
Before long, they arrived at the naval base. Luffy turned to Coby with a big grin. "Alright, we're gonna go find Zoro. You go do your Navy stuff!"
Coby hesitated for a moment but nodded. "Yeah… okay."
Luffy waved and strolled off with Lock.
…
They didn't get far before Luffy stopped, casually climbing up onto a wall. "Hey, Lock. Look! That's gotta be Zoro."
Lock climbed up next to him and looked down. A young man with a black bandana, sharp eyes, and tied to a wooden post. Lock smirked. "Yeah, looks like him. Should we untie him now?"
Luffy tilted his head. "But what if he's a bad guy?"
Oh? You're only cautious when it comes to him? Not me? Lock deadpanned internally.
Still, he replied, "If he turns out to be a bad guy, we can just tie him up again."
Luffy gave him a big thumbs-up. "Lock, I like the way you think!"
Just as they were about to hop down, a quiet "Shh!" made them freeze.
They turned their heads to see a little girl holding a finger to her lips.
Seeing they weren't making noise anymore, the girl nodded and started climbing over the wall. Then, she dashed toward Zoro.
This seems familiar… Lock thought, watching the scene unfold.
The next few moments played out exactly as he expected. A smug-looking Marine officer with a ridiculous hairstyle—Helmeppo, if he remembered right—showed up, crushed the little girl's rice ball under his boot, and then ordered the nearby Marines to throw her out.
Lock sighed and hopped down, catching the girl in midair. Setting her down gently, he said, "You okay? Go home now. We'll handle this."
Luffy's usual grin had faded slightly as he walked toward Zoro.
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you?"
Luffy grinned again. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the future King of the Pirates! I'm looking for crewmates. I already got one, and he's a good guy."
"…Are you here to untie me and make me your crewmate?"
"Nope! Because I heard you're a bad guy."
"…"
A long silence stretched between them. Finally, Zoro sighed. "Pick that thing up off the ground and give it to me."
Luffy frowned at the ruined rice ball. "It's all mixed with dirt… You really wanna eat this?"
"Less talking. Just give it to me."
Luffy handed over the dirt-covered rice ball. Zoro chewed it without hesitation.
Lock, watching from the side, rummaged through his bag and pulled out a large chunk of roasted meat. "Still hungry? I got more."
Zoro froze, mid-chew. His expression went through several stages of disbelief before he finally swallowed and said, "…Tell the kid it was delicious. Thanks."
Lock smirked. "Got it." Then, he set the meat down next to Zoro, grabbed Luffy by the collar, and pulled him away.
Zoro chewed the fresh meat slowly, his thoughts drifting as he realized—
Man… that dirt was rough on my teeth…