Chapter 2: Infiltrating the Marine Base
"So, this Zoro guy, do you know anything about him Zack?" Luffy looked at Zack and asked as they walked on the street of Shells Town.
"Well, he is strong, hunts pirate so that he can earn enough to wander around the East Blue, and wears a green headband when he gets serious." Zack made the expression as if he was thinking.
"By the way, I heard some rumors about this town. I am going to check it out while you two go and ask him to join us." Zack said goodbye to Luffy and left in a hurry.
"I wonder what he wants to do?" Luffy mumbled as they continued their journey in the tree.
"Maybe, he only joined your crew so that he will get a chance to stay on that boat to this place." Coby responded.
"He won't leave." Luffy shook his head and they continued moving toward Marine Base.
At this time, Zack was also heading toward Marine Base but he went from the backdoor. He had some other business with marines.
'Although this marine base is on the East Blue, the people from headquarters do come here. And, Ax Hand Morgan was also a powerful marine, not much powerful but still good enough.'
'My objective here is to find a training method. Although I do remember the training process that Coby and others went through, I still want to check if there is something more here.'
'If I find something better, it would be amazing but if I don't, then it's still okay. I can still do normal training.'
Zack sneaked inside the marine base from the backdoor. Just when he was passing through a door, he saw a girl with orange hair running around.
'That's Nami. Should I go talk?'
Zack thought for a moment and shook his head. Currently, Nami doesn't trust anyone. Only Luffy can get into her head right now.
Zack also sneaked further without letting any marines see him. As he went through different rooms, he saw Zoro's swords. This room belonged to Helmeppo.
He gave those swords a deep look and searched the room.
'Found it!' He cheered with a smile when he finally found a gun. For protection, a gun is still better than having anything. That being said, while holding it, his hand shook a little.
Before coming to this world, he had never held a gun. And, this was a real gun. He took a deep breath and went out. He searched several rooms and eventually reached Morgan's room.
But, he didn't go in. Instead, he waited in another room. He looked outside the window and found that Luffy wasn't there anymore. That means Luffy has already returned and he will soon arrive.
Most of the marines were still on the top of the building. They were working on the statue of Morgan. When he was in this room, his eyes fell on a strange paper.
'That doesn't look like a normal paper. Why is it thrown in the bin?' Zack approached the bin and took out the paper. He unfolded the paper and his eyes widened.
Pat!
'Damn! It's just empty paper. I really need to keep my expectations low.'
Zack threw the paper back into the bin and walked away with an angry expression. He was hoping that it would record some sort of training method but he was wrong.
He sighed and finally heard the door opening in the room next to him. He didn't move but rather waited till he couldn't hear the footstep. Finally, he opened the door and suddenly, a stick hit his head.
"Ow!"
Zack shouted in pain but immediately closed his mouth as he ran away from the stick. He turned around and saw Nami standing next to the door while holding the stick.
"Why did you hit me?" Zack felt a bump on his head and angrily shouted.
"You are not a marine?" Nami suspiciously looked at him and asked.
"Of course not! What the hell is your problem? Damn, it hurts!" Zack touched the bump as it felt really painful.
"Who are you? Don't tell me you came to raid marine base?" Nami asked but suddenly she shook her head and muttered "You can't even bear the pain. How can you have the guts to come here to raid them? Anyway, if marine finds out that you aren't one of them, they will kill you. So leave!"
Saying so, she turned around and ran away.
Zack didn't even get to ask anything. He heard footsteps coming toward him. He hurriedly rushed inside one room.
"Ahhhh! Don't shoot!"
After a minute, he heard the scream of Helmeppo which widened his eyes. He immediately rushed out of the room and saw Luffy holding Helmeppo hostage.
"Ahh, Zack!"
Luffy's eyes widened when he saw Zack. Before the soldiers could turn around, Zack dashed toward them and punched the back of their heads with all of his strength. The soldiers had just turned their heads when the fist landed on their faces.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Zack screamed in pain as he rushed toward Luffy.
"Don't tell me you got hurt by punching someone! Hahaha, you are funny." Luffy's reaction made Zack punch him but knowing that it would only hurt him, he restrained his feelings.
"If you are searching for Roronoa's swords, I saw them in his room."
Saying so, Zack took Luffy to Helmeppos' room.
"There are three swords here. Which should I take?" Luffy asked. He dropped Helmeppo since he had lost his consciousness.
"All of them belong to him." Zack said while moving toward the windows. His eyes widened as he shouted "Luffy, marines are going to shoot Coby and Zoro. You need to fly out from here."
"What?" Luffy rushed toward the window while holding three swords. When he saw the marines raising their weapons at Zoro and Coby, he simply jumped out of the building with his Gomu-Gomu- Rocket.
Zack sighed and walked out of the room. He left the helmeppo since he doesn't plan to get involved with this. He saw a few marines here and there but eventually got out of the marine base.
When he came out, he saw Helmeppo running out of the building while holding the gun. He laughed and shook his head. He didn't need to be there. He looked up into the sky and thought.
'Maybe I don't need to follow this route. I am a straw hat now. I can change many things. The only thing I don't know is if those changes are going to affect the future or not.'
Zack heavily sighed and looked at his skinny body.
'Anyway, I need to start training. After getting Going Merry, I should start training with Zoro. Anyway, I know a little bit about Observation Haki. I can learn it while being on the ship and also teach them.'
'I also need to find a devil fruit. Hmm…. Maybe if I am lucky enough, I will find a devil fruit. Anyway, I know what devil fruits look like. So, it shouldn't be much of a problem.'
"Stop right there! Who are you and what are you doing here?" Suddenly, a marine soldier raised his gun at Zack and shouted from the back.
"Gomu-Gomu- Bullet"
Bang!
When Zack heard those words, he raised both of his hands and turned around.
"Your Captain has lost against my captain. Do you still want to fight?"
Hearing Zack's words, the soldier didn't believe but when he heard the marines cheering loudly, he dropped his weapon and jumped up in the air.
"Hurray!"
"Sigh! Marines getting help from pirates. No wonder Oda had to make this story so light-hearted. There are too many dark themes that I don't even like to explore." Zack muttered as he walked away.
"Hey Zack, we got a new crew member." Luffy raised both of his hands and shouted as Zack walked toward him.
Zoro also turned around and saw him. When he saw Zack coming from Marine Base, he narrowed his eyes.
"What was he doing in their base?"
"Oh, Zack was there even before I went to find your swords. But, he is very weak and didn't come to fight earlier." Luffy laughed as he explained it to Zoro.
"Captain, I am only weak because I haven't trained. You are not allowed to make fun of my strength." Zack pouted and looked at Zoro while extending his arm.
"Nice to meet you! My name is Zack. I am a resourceful guy."
"Oh! Nice to meet ….."
Thud!
Zoro also extended his hand but before even they could shake their hands, he fell to the ground.
Grumble!
His stomach grumbled. Zack crouched down and tried to lift Zoro on his shoulder.
"I can walk." Zoro pushed him away as he barely stood up.
"Well, that's your choice. Anyway, Luffy, let's go and eat something. He is hungry, I am hungry and you are always hungry." Zack said as they finally went to Rika's restaurant.
At Rika's restaurant
"How the hell can you eat so much?" Zoro looked at Luffy and asked.
"Well, his stomach is made out of rubber. He can even fit ration of the entire town if he wants to." Zack replied as he picked a piece of meat with his fork and put it in his mouth.
"And, why the hell are you trying to eat so much?" Zoro turned his head at Zack and asked.
"Well, after we find a better boat, I plan to train. So, I am building up more energy to burn." Zack answered.
"So, where is your boat?" Zoro asked.
Zack pointed at the window. Zoro looked outside the window and turned around. He looked at them putting his hand on the forehead and asked "How are we going to travel in that small boat?"
"Don't worry, we will soon have a bigger ship." Luffy replied before even Zack could open his mouth.
"Hah! Anyway, it's just three of us then?" Zoro asked.
Zack and Luffy nodded their heads.
"Alright! I should leave now. Join me in the boat." Zack stood up and walked out of the restaurant. He saw a few marines walking toward the restaurant and went sideways.
'I wonder if there is a good forger around.' Zack thought as he walked around aimlessly. The people on the street kept talking about him since he was one of them who freed the town from Captain Morgan.
Though he literally did nothing but avoided the entire situation.
'Oh! There it is.' Zack finally spotted the shop only a few houses after the restaurant and immediately rushed in front of the shop.
"Hello, sir! Do you have heavy iron?"
"Ahh! You are one of them. Welcome, welcome!" The shopkeeper immediately welcomed him.
"What kind of heavy iron do you need?"
"I wonder if you have something heavy that I can wrap around my leg and arms while walking." Zack asked.
The shopkeeper looked at him with surprise and nodded his head.
"Marines normally use heavy iron bands for training. I do have some in stock. How much weight do you need?"
Zack thought for a moment and said "For now, give me four pairs. Two for arms and hands weighing 20 kilos and another two weighing 40 kilos. I might also need 10 kilos one's. So, how much does this cost?"
"Please don't talk about cost. You people freed our town from the oppression of that Captain. Please wait here!" The shopkeeper shook his head as he refused to take the money just like the restaurant.
He had some money in his pocket. It seemed like he wasn't poor. But then again, he was on a cruise ship of One Piece.
Zack kept looking at the restaurant as he finally saw Luffy and Zoro coming out.
"Oi, guys, come here!"
Zack raised his hands and shouted from the shop. Zoro and Luffy heard his voice and walked toward him. It wasn't that far. The marines also saw them and curiously followed them.
"Help me take these irons to the ship!" Zack pointed at 20 kilos and 40 kilos arm and leg training iron sets. He picked up 10 kilos sets.
"Are you planning on training with these?" Zoro held the 40 kilos sets in his hand and easily lifted them. He looked at Zack and said, "They are very lightweight."
Thud!
Suddenly, everyone except Luffy fell to the ground hearing that. Zack stood up and shouted "These are not lightweight. You are just too strong. Now, help me with these. I will tell you everything on the ship."
Zack barely held 10 kilos and only then Zoro noticed just how weak he was and understood everything.
After they reached the boat, the marines and Coby came to salute them as they finally left Shell's town.
The night passed easily and the next morning, Luffy started grumbling about hunger.
"You can wait till we reach Orange Town. But, I heard that the town is captured by Buggy Pirates." Zack said as he started wearing 10 kilos sets.
"Hmm… how far is that town?" Luffy looked at Zack and asked.
"It's not that far." Zack replied and his eyes turned to Zoro.
"Hey, didn't you say they are lightweight? Why are you wearing them?"
Zoro took them off and said "They are indeed lightweight. Why didn't you get something heavier?"
"Are you an idiot?" Zack asked.
"You…"
"Do you think this boat can handle 100 or 500 kilos weight? And, these are for me. Once we get a bigger boat, you can get some for yourself? And, I think you should also get these kinds since you would be practically training at every step of your daily work." Zack explained as he finally wore the entire set.
It weighs a total of twenty kilos. 10 kilos on the arms, and 10 kilos on the legs.
Thud!
As soon as he wore them, his leg trembled as he fell on his butt.
"Ow! That hurts. Damn it, I still can't get used to pain." Zack screamed but he quickly noticed Luffy's arms stretching to the mast.
"Oi Luffy, what are you doing? Hey…"
"Gumo-Gumo no- Rocket!"
Whoosh!
Luffy flew toward the sky in order to capture the bird but gets stuck on its mouth. Zoo's expression twitched as he looked at Zack and asked "Is he an idiot?"
"100%" Zack nodded his head.
"Idiot, why the hell did you do that?" Zoro shouted as he started rowing the boat faster.
"Zoro, if you wear those and then paddle at a fast speed, it would be good training," Zack suggested as he slowly got up. He was gritting his teeth just standing with 20 kilos of weight on his body.
"Why don't you help me paddle….. oh, that would work. Thanks!" Zoro immediately wore those heaviest sets and started paddling at an extreme speed.
Thud!
It went so fast that Zack lost his control and fell into his butt once again but this time, he didn't scream. He gritted his teeth and slowly stood up.
"Stop the boat! Stop!" Suddenly, he heard three clowns shouting from the sea and thought for a moment.
'Although we are in a boat and Orange Town is just in front of us, we could still get lost with Zoro Paddling the boat.' Zack thought for a moment and asked Zoro to stop.
But a few seconds later, he also asked Zoro to beat them up. After getting punched a few times, those clowns started rowing the boat. Zoro took off those weights and put them on the boat while Zack continued to stand with those weights.
After fifteen minutes, he finally turned around and asked "Zoro, can you give me your sword?"
"Huh! Why do you need a sword?" Zoro looked extremely unwilling when Zack asked for his sword.
"Come on, just give me one for training." Zack rolled his eyes and asked. Finally, Zoro gave him one of his swords. He didn't give him wado ichimonji.
Zack held the sword with both of his hands and raised his hands.
Whoosh!
He slashed with the sword with a powerful force, creating a soft wave of wind.
"Don't slash the sword like that! Straightened your back, put your right foot forward, and try to slash down the sword as straight as you can." Zack looked at his slash and commented.
Zack looked at him with an exhausted expression and asked "Can't you see me trying as hard as possible just to swing the sword with these weights? How am I supposed to maintain my posture when I can't even swing it properly?"
"That's the problem you need to fix. No matter how much you can lift or no matter how strong you are, if you train with a sword, you can't miss your posture."
"Either do it with a correct posture and don't." At this moment, Zoro's expression was deadly serious.
Zack sighed heavily and nodded his head "Alright! I will follow your advice."
Zack straightened his back but due to the weight in his arms, he couldn't keep that posture. Whenever he holds his sword, his posture changed to a curved one.
"What the hell are you idiots staring at? We have already missed our captain because of you. Hurry up and row!" Zack shouted when he saw the clowns looking at him and giggling.
"Hey, did I tell you to stop?" Suddenly, Zoro looked at them with deadly eyes and spoke. His voice horrified them and forced them to speed up. He looked at Zack and said.
"Although what they said is true, you can still live if you keep training."
"I never thought you had such a soft spot." Zack giggled and Zoro angrily looked at him. Zack immediately shook his head and responded.
"Don't worry, I took the risk of adventure fully knowing that I might die but I will try my best not to die that easily."
Hearing his reply, Zoro slowly formed a smile on his face.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone