Forced Recruitment

The sunlight was a little glaring.

Little Rika held two misshapen rice balls in both hands and carefully offered them to Zoro.

A little black frosting still clung to the rice balls. They looked neither appetizing nor delicate, but they carried all of her heartfelt sincerity.

"Big brother, you must be hungry, right?" Rika looked up at him with clear eyes. "I made these sweet rice balls especially for you. Hurry and eat."

Zoro's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he remained tied to the cross.

He had been starving for a full twenty days. The scent of those rice balls was practically torture.

But after glancing around, his eyes instantly turned fierce.

"You're an eyesore. Get lost!" Zoro gritted his teeth and snarled viciously. "I'm not hungry! If you don't leave, I'll knock you flying!"

"But..." Rika jumped in fright, tears welling in her eyes.

Just then, the gate opened.

A blond man in a flashy purple suit, sporting a strange "butt chin" hairstyle, swaggered over surrounded by two Marines.

Helmeppo wore a mocking expression.

"You can't bully little kids, hahaha."

"Well, this place is pretty lively. You dared trespass into a Marine base? Do you know the consequences?"

As he spoke, he reached for the rice balls in Rika's hands. "Trash food like this should be fed to ants!"

Slap.

With a soft sound, Helmeppo's wrist was seized tightly in midair, as though clamped in an iron vise. It could not move an inch.

"You can't bully little kids."

A smiling but utterly cold voice rang out beside his ear.

Victor had somehow appeared between them. One hand remained in his pocket while the other gripped Helmeppo's thin wrist, his fingers tightening slightly.

Helmeppo felt as though his wrist was about to shatter, and his face instantly turned liver-red.

"Y-You, who are you?!"

"Let go! Let go already! I'm Helmeppo! My father is Colonel Morgan!"

"Oh? So you're a useless brat who lives off his father."

The smile at Victor's lips deepened, but the force in his hand suddenly increased.

Crack.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

A miserable scream echoed across the entire drill yard.

Helmeppo collapsed to his knees in agony, tears and snot streaming down his face. "It's broken! It's going to break! My hand is going to break!!"

The two Marine soldiers behind him were horrified. They raised their rifles at Victor, but their gun barrels trembled violently.

"Y-You, what are you doing?! That's Colonel Morgan's son! Are you trying to rebel?!"

Koby had already been scared out of his wits. He skillfully hid behind Victor, clutching the corner of his clothes and trembling.

"Mr. Victor! Hurry and explain things to them! We're really going to become wanted criminals now!"

"Explain what?"

Luffy, meanwhile, acted as if nothing had happened. He squatted before Zoro and asked curiously.

"Hey, Moss Head. Since this little girl brought you food, that means you're a good guy, right?"

Veins bulged on Zoro's forehead, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Who are you calling Moss Head?! What are you people trying to do? They're Marines! If you don't want to die, get lost!"

"No! Big brother is a good person!"

Rika suddenly shouted, her voice choked with tears as she yelled out the truth.

"Helmeppo's wolf tried to bite me, and big brother killed it to save me!

"He willingly let himself be tied here so the Marines wouldn't arrest us!"

Upon hearing this, the two Marines holding rifles changed expression, and their guns lowered slightly.

They were locals too. How could they not hate the atrocities committed by Morgan and his son?

But in Shells Town, Colonel Morgan was the absolute and only "law."

"Damn it! What are you useless idiots waiting for?!"

Helmeppo knelt on the ground, clutching his wrist as he roared hysterically.

"Kill them! I'm the colonel's son! I order you to fire! I'll kill all of these..."

Bang!

Before Helmeppo could finish, a fist rapidly expanded before his eyes.

Victor did not waste a single word. A simple, unadorned straight punch slammed heavily into Helmeppo's disgusting face.

Although he had not used chakra in that punch, it was packed with force.

Helmeppo spun twice through the air, two bloody front teeth flying out, before crashing to the ground like a dead dog.

"Too noisy."

Victor shook out his hand, then wiped it on Helmeppo's suit with a look of disgust.

The entire area fell deathly silent.

Victor raised his head, his red eyes sweeping toward the two stunned Marine soldiers behind him.

"Go report to your Colonel Morgan."

"Tell him our captain, Luffy, wants to challenge him. If he doesn't come... I'll kill this pig."

He casually nudged Helmeppo on the ground with the tip of his foot.

Helmeppo broke out in cold sweat, no longer caring about the excruciating pain. He cried out loudly.

"What are you standing around for?! Go already!"

"W-What?! Challenge the colonel?!"

The two Marines were drenched in cold sweat from that terrifying gaze.

After exchanging a look, they threw out a "Just you wait!" before scrambling toward the base building.

"Hahahaha! This is so fun! Is this how the vice-captain gets things done?"

"But why am I the one challenging him? Hahaha!"

Seeing this, Luffy was not afraid in the slightest. Instead, he slapped his thigh and laughed excitedly.

He turned to Zoro. "That's it! Zoro! I'll untie you right now! Be my partner!"

"You lunatics..."

Watching the scene before him, Zoro felt like he had used up a lifetime's worth of shock today.

"Are you inviting me to become a bastard with you? I refuse! I have my own ambitions!"

"What's wrong with that?" Luffy picked his nose. "Anyway, you're already a notorious bad guy now."

"Think whatever you want!" Zoro gritted his teeth, his gaze unwavering.

"No matter what, I'll survive. I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman! I absolutely won't die here. I still have to fulfill my own..."

Zoro had reached the impassioned part of his speech and was about to make a moving declaration.

Suddenly, a hand reached over.

"Mm?!"

Before Zoro could react, Victor directly took the two frosted rice balls from Rika's hands.

With a shove of his right hand, he forcibly stuffed one rice ball into Zoro's mouth, cutting off his declaration.

With a shove of his left hand, he stuffed the other rice ball into Luffy's mouth just as Luffy was about to speak, plugging it shut.

"Mmph mmph mmph!!" Zoro's eyes widened, and he nearly choked to death.

"Too much nonsense."

Victor brushed the grains of rice from his hands and calmly looked at Luffy, whose cheeks were puffed out as he chewed the rice ball. Then he said seriously:

"Luffy, Zoro just told me with his eyes."

"He said, 'As long as you help me get back the swords that were confiscated, I'm willing to join you.'"

Luffy's eyes instantly widened as he happily mumbled through the food, "Really?!!"

"Mmph mmph mmph!!" I didn't!!

Zoro desperately shook his head, trying to refute him, but his mouth was stuffed full of rice ball, leaving him able to make only muffled protests.

"See? He's so excited he can't even speak."

Victor pointed at Zoro and lied with a perfectly straight face.

"Hahahaha! It's a deal!"

Luffy immediately believed him. He swallowed the rice ball and shouted excitedly.

He scooped up the unconscious Helmeppo from the ground as though carrying a sack.

"Alright! I'll go get the swords! Wait for me, Zoro!"

With that, Luffy charged toward the base building while carrying his hostage like a raging bull, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"Hey—!! Wait for me, Mr. Luffy!"

Only Victor, Koby, Rika, and Zoro, who had finally swallowed the rice ball and was coughing violently, remained.

"Cough, cough, cough... you bastard!"

Zoro coughed until his face turned red, glaring furiously at Victor.

"When did I ever say something like that?! You brat are too underhanded!!"

"How did it taste?" Victor completely ignored his anger and asked with a smile instead.

Zoro froze for a moment, subconsciously savoring the sweetness in his mouth before turning away with a snort.

"...Not bad. It was the best I've ever had."

Upon hearing that, Rika's eyes curved into crescents.

"Great! Rika is a rice ball genius!"

Victor smiled, then turned to Koby, who was still staring blankly behind him.

"Koby."

"Y-Yes! Mr. Victor!" Koby immediately stood at attention, filled with awe for Victor's "brutal" methods.

"Take Rika and leave this place. Find somewhere safe to hide. What comes next isn't suitable for children."

"O-Okay! I understand!" Koby did not dare delay and quickly took Rika's hand.

"Little sister, come with me. This place is about to turn into a battlefield!"

After all the bystanders had left, only Victor and Zoro remained in the drill yard.

Victor unhurriedly walked behind the cross and pulled out a pitch-black Kunai.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Zoro asked warily. "Didn't that Straw Hat idiot go get my swords?"

"He's getting the swords, and I'm letting you down. Is there a conflict?"

Victor swung the Kunai in his hand, chakra coating its blade.

Slash!

The incredibly tough hemp rope was as fragile as paper before the Kunai, snapping and falling away in an instant.

Zoro's body loosened, and he dropped back onto the ground.

He flexed his stiff wrists and neck, producing a series of cracking sounds.

Then he looked at the mysterious red-eyed youth before him with a complicated expression.

"You're not afraid I'll go back on my word? Or kill you?" Zoro asked in a low voice.

Victor put away the Kunai, a smile appearing on his lips.

Looking at the future greatest swordsman, he extended his right hand.

"If you were the kind of person who went back on his word, then you wouldn't be worthy of carrying the dream of being 'the greatest in the world.'"

"Welcome to the Straw Hat Pirates, vice-captain... no, combatant Zoro."