Chapter 8: A Team of Three? The Destination is Hell!
That head with a metal lower jaw rolled onto the ground, making a dull thud.
The entire Marine base fell into a dead silence.
All the Marine soldiers stared wide-eyed at the once-arrogant, seemingly invincible tyrant, who had now become a cold, headless corpse.
The sea breeze blew past, swirling the smell of blood from the ground, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
After a few seconds of silence, someone finally reacted.
"Col... Captain Morgan... has been killed..."
A soldier's trembling voice broke the stillness.
"Unbelievable..."
"That Morgan... actually died..."
Although Zoro was physically weak, he forced himself to stand straight.
His hand rested on his sword hilt, his eyes filled with a hint of resentment and vigilance as he scanned the surrounding Marines.
"Hey! If anyone still wants to avenge this guy, or wants to come and capture us... then bring it on!"
Just as Zoro was preparing for the next round of slaughter, a strange scene occurred.
The nearby Marines looked at each other, exchanging glances.
Suddenly, led by someone unknown, everyone erupted into unprecedented cheers.
"Great!!!"
The Marines shouted excitedly, throwing their rifles and caps high into the air.
"Liberated! We are finally liberated!"
"No more being dominated by Captain Morgan! No more trembling under the shadow of that tyrant!"
"Long live the Marines! Long live freedom!!"
A few bold Marines even cast grateful looks toward Tatsuya and Luffy.
Luffy looked at the cheering Marines, tilted his head, and looked confused.
"Eh? Why are they so happy when their Colonel was killed by us?"
Tatsuya stood to the side, watching this absurd scene, and gave a light chuckle.
"This is what's called a reign of terror."
Tatsuya stepped forward, glancing at Morgan's head with its eyes still wide open, a flash of coldness in his eyes.
[Ding! Killed "Axe-Hand" Morgan.]
[Obtained Battle Rating: A.]
[Obtained Reward: 500 Ninja Points.]
Listening to the pleasant system notification in his mind, Tatsuya said faintly.
"Since you believe in the law of the jungle and trample others like ants at will, you should have been prepared... to become the weak one yourself."
However—
"What are you talking about, Tatsuya?"
Luffy's head tilted even further, directly interrupting the Vice Captain's moment of posturing.
"That's too deep, I don't understand! More importantly, I'm hungry! I want meat! Meat!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro's body swayed, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight backward.
"Hey!"
Tatsuya was quick and caught the future great swordsman.
"Dead?"
Zoro struggled to open one eye, his voice as weak as a mosquito's buzz.
"I'm... starving to death! You bastard... I haven't eaten for three weeks..."
Tatsuya shook his head helplessly and hoisted Zoro onto his back.
"Let's go, Luffy. I heard it; Zoro said he's treating us to a meal."
"You... bastard! I... I didn't say that!"
"Yay!! Meat! Delicious meat!!"
Under the complex gazes of the Marines, the three of them swaggered out of the Marine base.
...
Half an hour later.
Inside Rika's family restaurant in Shells Town.
The table was piled high with empty plates like a small mountain; that was Luffy's masterpiece.
In front of Zoro, there were also a dozen empty bowls, and he was picking his teeth with a toothpick, looking satisfied.
"Burp—!"
Zoro let out a satisfied belch and a long sigh of relief.
"Ah! I'm back to life! Not eating for three weeks, I really thought I was going to die!"
"Huh? You're full already?"
Luffy's mouth was stuffed with meat on the bone, his cheeks bulging like a hamster's as he said unclearly, "I'm only about thirty percent full!"
Tatsuya had long since finished eating and was now elegantly sipping a cup of tea.
Looking at these two gluttons, especially at Zoro, whose hair was still a vibrant green even after being full, he couldn't help but switch to his sharp-tongued mode.
"To be able to last so long without food or water is indeed impressive."
Tatsuya rubbed his chin, examining Zoro's head with an inquisitive look.
"Could it be because your structure is special? Are you actually Moss Head? Photosynthesis?"
Zoro's tooth-picking froze. "Ha?"
Tatsuya explained solemnly, "After all, only plants can live this long on photosynthesis.
"Hmm, that's a good thing! It seems we won't need to prepare food for you in the future; just leaving you out in the sun will do."
"Bang!"
Zoro slammed his fist onto the table in anger, veins popping on his forehead as he roared at Tatsuya.
"Who are you calling Moss Head!! I'm a human!"
"Ah! You bastard! I've been putting up with you since you stuffed those rice balls in my mouth! You want to fight, red-eyed bastard?!"
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing Zoro's explosive reaction, Rika, Koby, and even Luffy couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Tatsuya completely ignored Zoro's fury, turning his head to give a charming smile to the landlady who was clearing the plates.
"Sorry about that, ma'am. These two eat way too much. Zoro said he'd like to pay a little extra."
"When did I ever say that! Don't go speaking for me!"
"Haha, it's fine!" The landlady wiped her hands with a smile.
"You guys are the heroes who saved this town! This meal is on the house! Eat as much as you want!"
"That's right!" Rika also looked at them with admiration. "Big brothers are so amazing! Just like the heroes in legends!"
Luffy laughed, spraying meat crumbs. "Shishishi! Of course! I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!"
Hearing those words, Zoro, who had been sulking at Tatsuya, suddenly stopped, his expression turning a bit more serious.
"Oh, speaking of that."
Zoro folded his arms and looked at Luffy.
"Since you dare to claim you'll be the Pirate King, your pirate crew must be quite large, right? Where's the ship? Where are the other crewmates?"
Luffy swallowed the meat in his mouth and shook his head.
He held out his greasy hand and began to count seriously on his fingers: "Tatsuya... me... and you!"
Luffy held up three fingers with a proud look. "Exactly three people!"
"Ha?!"
Zoro's eyes widened, and he shouted in disbelief.
"So it's just the three of us right now?! This counts as a pirate crew?!"
"What's the big deal!" Luffy said righteously. "We're all very strong!"
"What about a ship then?" Zoro asked, refusing to give up. "You should at least have a pirate ship, right?"
Tatsuya smiled and pointed toward the harbor outside the window. "There, that's our pirate ship."
Zoro looked in the direction Tatsuya was pointing.
Next to the massive warships and merchant vessels, bobbing pitifully with the waves... was a small wooden boat that could probably only seat four people.
It only had one tiny sail and even had to be rowed by hand.
Zoro turned his head stiffly, looking at Luffy's brilliant smile and Tatsuya's calm face, and couldn't help but palm his forehead in pain.
"Did I... just join a sinking ship... is it too late to back out now?"
"Too late," Tatsuya added with a smile. "Once you're on the ship, it's for life, moss-head swordsman."
"I told you not to call me moss-head!!"
After a bit of bickering, the group finally got down to business.
"So, Captain, Vice Captain... sirs." Zoro sighed, asking as if resigning to his fate.
"Since we've teamed up, where are we going next?"
Luffy jumped up from his chair, raising both hands, his eyes sparkling with a thirst for adventure as he shouted that name loudly:
"Of course it's—the Grand Line!!"
As soon as those four words were spoken, the air in the restaurant seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Pfft—!!"
Koby, who was drinking water, spat it all out, jumping onto the table in terror and clutching his head while screaming:
"Impossible! Impossible!! Absolutely impossible!!"
Koby's face turned pale with fear, and he waved his hands frantically. "Luffy-san! With just the three of you and that little boat, going to the Grand Line is just suicide!!"
"That place is... a graveyard for pirates! It's a literal hell!"