Strength

Rubick leaned against the bow with his hands behind his head. He gazed up at the strangely familiar sky, his thoughts drifting far away.

Zoro looked puzzled. "Are you missing someone?"

"My parents. Aren't you?"

Zoro tightened his grip on his sword hilt and narrowed his eyes, struggling with the urge to cut Rubick down.

Rubick coughed and hurried on. "Anyway, let's talk about cutting iron. Honestly, I just came back from the Grand Line. The fighters there are beyond anything you can imagine."

Zoro laid the Wado Ichimonji across his legs and gently stroked its sheath. "But how can a sword cut through iron?"

Rubick had no intention of explaining the method. "Why don't you ask Hawk-Eye next time you meet him?"

"If I could find him, I'd have cut him down already."

Zoro was still a reckless hothead, so Rubick asked, "A Marine's strength roughly matches his rank. Do you think you could beat a Rear Admiral?"

Zoro fell into thought. In this godforsaken corner of the East Blue, the highest rank he'd encountered was colonel. He had never fought a Marine colonel, but he felt they couldn't be much stronger than him.

He had never even seen an officer of admiral rank. He couldn't imagine how strong one might be.

So Zoro asked, "Where would Hawk-Eye rank among the Marines?"

"I'm not too sure myself. Probably around an Admiral's level. At least, no Vice Admiral except that old man Garp could take him."

It was Zoro's first time hearing about fighters of that caliber. "What makes Garp different?"

"He refused a promotion to Admiral, but he's definitely stronger than one. He's on the Fleet Admiral's level. Back in the day, he chased the Pirate King all over the seas."

Zoro quickly accepted that his own strength was only around a colonel's. "So there are that many powerful people in the world. Maybe I should go see the Grand Line for myself."

Finally. Rubick hid a smile. "Why not team up with me? I'm looking for companions in the East Blue. With you, our crew would have two people."

Zoro scowled. "Why are you counting me? When did I agree?"

"Do you want to find Hawk-Eye?"

"Do you want to beat Hawk-Eye?"

Those two questions alone left Zoro feeling he had no reason to refuse.

He was about to agree, but Rubick spoke first. "Don't answer yet. Wait until I find our captain, then decide whether you want in."

"Captain? Hold on, you're going to be a pirate? Didn't you just say you wanted to be a bounty hunter?"

Zoro was puzzled, though not especially surprised. Plenty of people wanted to become pirates these days. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to make a living hunting them.

"You're thinking too small!"

Rubick pinched his thumb and forefinger together, showing Zoro the tiny gap between them.

"Not all pirates are bad, just like not all Marines are good. I'm only working as a hunter to earn some money because I have to. Eventually, I'll become a pirate."

Rubick pointed toward Giantwood Village. "We just came from Giantwood Village. There were plenty of pirates there, right? The Marines stood by and watched. It happens all the time. Loguetown's the same."

Then he pointed northeast. "Have you heard of Cocoyasi Village? Fish-Man pirates have taken over more than twenty villages around it. Have you seen the Marines wipe them out? No."

Zoro had heard of those Fish-Man pirates. Their leader, Arlong, had a twenty-million-berry bounty. More importantly, Zoro couldn't beat him.

Marines had attacked Arlong plenty of times. Some of them had a strong sense of justice, but every attempt had failed. Yet a Marine Branch colonel nicknamed Nezumi had recently arrived in Cocoyasi Village. Arlong hadn't attacked him, and he seemed to be doing quite well.

Zoro still disliked the idea of being a Pirate. "Your offer sounds good, but I won't become a Pirate."

Rubick knew that recruiting people like this was something only Luffy could pull off.

"Forget it. Let's drop the subject. Zoro, could you teach me how to use a sword?"

"I'm no teacher. I taught myself, and I suggest you do the same. You don't look particularly strong, so start by toughening up your body."

Zoro closed his eyes. "I'm going to rest. You can row the rest of the way. Rowing counts as training too."

Rubick pursed his lips. If Zoro wanted to sleep, he could just sleep. Why make up such a convincing excuse?

Rubick rowed hard. It was well past midnight by the time he and Zoro reached Hammer Town.

They had barely landed when a Marine patrol spotted them. There were six Marines: five enlisted men and a corporal.

"Who are you? Is that a corpse?"

The Marines raised their muskets. One wrong answer from Rubick and they would fire. After all, a boat landing this late at night with a corpse aboard hardly looked innocent.

Rubick turned the pirate's face toward them. "You can check. He's the captain of the Wild Boar Pirates. We killed him in Giantwood Village today and brought him straight here to collect the bounty."

The Marine in charge pointed at Zoro, who was asleep with the Wado Ichimonji clutched to his chest. "And who's that?"

"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. He should have some reputation. The green hair and white sword ought to make him recognizable."

One Marine pulled a stack of wanted posters from inside his coat and checked them one by one. "That's right. The corpse is Pithsgar, captain of the Wild Boar Pirates. And that's Zoro."

The corporal said, "There's a dock to the east. Head east from there and you'll see our Marine Base. Remember, don't cause trouble on the island."

After the Marines left, Rubick woke Zoro.

"Ahh..."

Zoro yawned and asked groggily, "What is it? Are we there?"

"That's right. Get ready to go ashore. Let's collect the bounty first."

Zoro hoisted Pithsgar onto his shoulder and leaped ashore. "Thanks for the ride. Once I get the money, I'll give you ten thousand berries for the fare."

"What? You mean you're leaving?"

"Yeah. What else? I like working alone. I don't need teammates."

Rubick asked, "Do you know how to get to the Marine Base?"

Zoro froze. After a long pause, he said, "When are you coming ashore? If you don't hurry, the corpse will start to stink."

"We have to get to the dock first!"

Rubick pointed toward the stern. "If I leave the boat here until tomorrow, those two bags of food will be gone. I'm out of money. That food's all I've got to live on."

Zoro hesitated. "Even if you don't eat any of it, that food will spoil by the day after tomorrow at the latest. Why keep it?"