Straw Hat Pirates? Trainer?"
Zoro furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why have I never heard of your crew before?"
Although he wasn't exactly a professional bounty hunter, he considered himself fairly familiar with the pirate crews in the area.
Given the recklessness of Red and Luffy barging into a Marine base, there's no way he wouldn't have heard of them.
Red just smiled. "That tracks."
"We've only been sailing for two days."
"TWO DAYS!?" Zoro's eye twitched. "You break into a marine base immediately after setting sail, freeing prisoners!? You got a death wish!?"
"Pfft haha~ it's just a Marine base, it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be."
Red laughed nonchalantly, then added,
"Actually, to be precise, it hasn't even been 24 hours since we set sail!"
"So really, you could say it's still our first day at sea."
"But mark my words-the Straw Hat name will shake the world!"
He glanced at Luffy. "Right, Captain?"
Hearing this, Luffy immediately threw away the rope in his hands, raised his arms high, and shouted confidently,
"OF COURSE!!!"
"I'm going to be the Pirate King!!!"
"…You guys…"
Zoro blinked, glanced at the clearly not-so-normal Luffy, and then gave a puzzled look at the inexplicably confident Red.
"Are you guys always like this?!"
"Probably." Red smiled and reassured him,
No helping it, that's just our captain's personality."
"Since we can't change him, we just have to get used to it!"
"HOW!?"
"Wait, 'our captain'!?" Zoro recoiled. "When did I agree to be a pirate!?"
Pa!
A crisp sound rang out.
Red suddenly clapped his hands onto Zoro's shoulders, leaned in, and said,
"Give it up, Zoro."
"Once Luffy's set his eyes on you, there's no escaping - just like me!"
"I even suspect I was dragged onto this ship because of his protagonist aura…"
"Prota-what?" Zoro was completely lost at what Red was talking about.
But Red just waved his hand casually,
"Don't mind the details."
"Anyway, you're about to end up on the Marines' blacklist. Even if you don't become a pirate, you won't be much better off."
"Might as well come with us!"
"This tiny East Blue is way too small for your potential!"
"Sail with us to the Grand Line, to see the real world!!!"
Red's tone suddenly turned serious, his eyes locking with Zoro's.
"Your goal… is to become the world's greatest swordsman, right?"
"You've heard about me?" Zoro asked in return.
"No! It's written all over your face!"
Zoro: "???"
"Ha ha ha, just kidding."
Red laughed heartily,
"Anyway, once you're on the pirate ship, there's no turning back!"
"You're destined to be the Straw Hat Pirates' top combatant!"
"And in return, I'll help you achieve your dreams and ambitions!!!"
"Help me? You?"
Zoro frowned.
Though he'd only been wandering the East Blue, he considered himself pretty strong, but he wasn't naive enough to think his dream was easy to achieve.
Besides, he didn't sense even the slightest aura of a swordsman from Red.
"Big talk isn't a good habit," Zoro said seriously, scrutinizing Red and Luffy.
Red simply smiled back.
"Forgot my title already?"
"Even though I'm new, I'm still a Trainer!!!"
"Trainer? What's that!?" Zoro asked curiously.
Red's eyes lit up this was a great chance to prove himself as a Trainer.
But just as he was about to explain, Luffy suddenly interrupted,
"Red, someone's coming!"
"Hm?"
Red froze, then quickly looked in the direction Luffy was staring.
There, escorted by two armed Marines, was a man with slicked-back blond hair and a distinct butt-chin, walking arrogantly toward them.
It was none other than Helmeppo, son of Captain Morgan, the one who had tied Zoro up here!
Dressed like a rich punk, Helmeppo strutted forward, adjusting his flashy collar.
"Well, well, what's all the ruckus downstairs?" he sneered.
"Turns out even the mighty bounty hunter breaks promises and has his buddies untie him early?"
"Looks like you're ready to rot in jail!"
Then, Helmeppo turned his sharp, nasal voice toward Red and Luffy,
"And you two! Don't you know jailbreak is a capital offense at the 153rd Branch?!"
"Capital offense?!" Red snorted, eyes flashing with anger.
Because of the interruption, he decided to explain 'Trainer' to Zoro later.
Red slowly turned his gaze to Helmeppo.
"First my name's not 'hey, you.'"
"Second… you're the guy who stole Zoro's swords, right?"
He turned to Luffy and said,
"Captain. Handle the Marines. Then make this fool fetch Zoro's blades."
"No problem!"
Luffy grinned.
"Soru!"
As soon as the word left his mouth, a small cloud of dust kicked up at his feet, and Luffy's figure vanished from sight!
"What?!"
Zoro's eyes went wide in shock.
He immediately heard pained screams beside him.
He whipped his head around and saw…
The two Marines who had been behind Helmeppo had now collapsed on the ground.
Standing next to them was none other than Luffy, who had disappeared moments ago!
"How is that possible?! Is that magic?!" Zoro shouted in disbelief.
"It's not magic~"
Seeing Zoro's astonished face, Red gave a meaningful smile, seizing the moment to reinforce,
"That's a move I, as a Trainer, taught Luffy!"
"Trainer?" Zoro murmured the word again.
Though he still didn't understand what it meant, Luffy's astonishing speed made him look at Red with newfound respect and curiosity, even forgetting to object to joining the crew!
"Wh-what's going on?!"
Hearing the screams behind him, Helmeppo suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
When he turned around and saw Luffy's grinning face up close, his whole body froze like he'd fallen into an ice cave.
At this moment, Red walked over, picked up a long musket from one of the unconscious Marines, and aimed the black barrel at Helmeppo's chest, smiling.
"Now, can we have a proper conversation?"
D-Devil!!!
Cold sweat poured down Helmeppo's forehead as a sense of doom crept over him.
For some reason, his gut told him,
"If I say the wrong thing, this guy will definitely pull the trigger!"
Helmeppo trembled all over and stammered,
"Wh-what do you want?!"
Then he noticed the playful glint in Red's eyes.
"Relax."
"You're Helmeppo, right? Captain Morgan's son?"
"We just want you to fetch our crewmate's swords and take us to visit your father."
"W-what?! Visit my father?!"
Helmeppo cried out in panic. But feeling the gun press harder against his chest, he immediately forced a fawning smile.
"Ha ha ha~ no problem, no problem."
"The swords are in my room, and my father is on the roof of the Marine base."
"As long as you let me go, I'll do whatever you want!"
Of course, while saying that, Helmeppo was already thinking,
"Once I get to Father, you're all dead!"
Red saw the hidden malice in Helmeppo's eyes but said nothing; he just jabbed him again, signaling him to lead the way.
Luffy and Zoro exchanged a glance and followed.
…...
Under Helmeppo's lead, they smoothly entered the Marine branch building.
Strangely, there wasn't a single Marine inside, so Red's group passed through unchallenged.
In just ten minutes, they reached Helmeppo's room and found Zoro's three swords:
One of the 21 Great Grade Swords - Wado Ichimonji - and two regular swords.
As Zoro tucked the three swords into his waistband, Luffy looked on curiously.
"Huh, why do you need three swords?"
"Hmph!" Zoro's eyes gleamed with pride.
"Because I'm a three-sword style swordsman!"
After retrieving his swords, his aura and demeanor completely changed, it was as if he'd forgotten how stunned he'd been by Luffy's speed earlier.
But soon, Zoro's expression turned serious again.
He gave Luffy and Red a complicated look, then said,
"Alright, since you helped me get my swords back, and I'm now at odds with the Marines with nowhere to go…"
"I guess I'll reluctantly… become your crewmate!!!"
"But let me make one thing clear!"
"My goal is to become the world's greatest swordsman!"
"If anyone dares stand in the way of my ambition, I won't hesitate to cut them down."
In that moment, a wild, ferocious gleam flashed in Zoro's eyes, making it clear he wasn't joking.
However, as soon as he finished his dramatic declaration, he turned around only to see Luffy's goofy face, finger up his nose.
"Ah? What are you talking about?"
Luffy said, puzzled,"Didn't you become our crewmate the moment I untied you?!"
Zoro whirled to Red. "Are you sure he should be captain!? You seem saner!"
"Luffy has his moments." Red chuckled.
"Yep!" Luffy flicked a booger onto Helmeppo. "Super reliable!"