Chapter 2: The Pirate hunts for the Pirate Hunter
"So, how about that boat?"
Five Words….
Five words and an unconscious she-beast of a captain was all it took for an entire crew to scramble together a small boat with rations, a dozen frantic apologies and a promise to leave them alone to send Morgan and his begrudging new acquaintance on their way….out to sea and far away from them.
"Well, we managed to get a new boat and some food so silver lining….we've got something to last before the next island." Morgan said optimistically as he began adjusting the sail to catch the winds; his whole plan of getting a crew together took a sidestep but at the very least he wasn't under the threat of Alvida crushing him now.
"I called Alvida ugly…..I called her ugly to her face! I can't go back there now and now I'm stuck with another pirate in the cycle." Coby would start to lose it as he realised that once Alvida wakes up; she'd have him on her bad side for sure. "I can't stay on this sea anymore and I don't know where she's gonna go next or what sh-" Coby was bonafide going crazy before a weak slap on his cheek brought him out of his panic and back to attention.
"Look kid, you stood up to a pirate that tormented you for who knows how long…and a captain to boot! That alone takes some brass balls…but you gotta look at it this way. Now you can do whatever YOU want to do, get to solid land….start a new journey or whatever it is that you've got your sights on…but the longer that you keep weighing on what Alvida's gonna think like you are now….then you're still stuck under her thumb like the weak willed little coward that she thinks you are." Morgan remarked bluntly as he returned to keeping an eye out on the water.
"….Yeah…you're right….I mean, you're real harsh about it and you're mean but you're right….I've spent all that time with Alvida that I never actually considered what I wanted to do with myself…..I guess the only real way that I can start over without her looming over me is if I become a Marine myself." Coby mused as he watched the waves gently bounce against the boat, not noticing Morgan's grimace at hearing that.
"Well, forgive me if I'm a little blunt about this to you….but you're out on the sea and you're looking to try and start a new life. 9 times out of 10 you're gonna be dealing with people who are bigger and stronger then you are…it's not simple to accept and people are gonna push you down, once you have the willpower to get back up again; then you can actively move on and push forward." Morgan would admit; "I learned that when the old fart that drilled me with the basics while trying to push me."
"Speaking of basics…what exactly was that you did earlier? I've seen guys who got squished flat by Alvida when she used her mace….how were you able to move around her and knock her out like that?" Coby would ask, remembering Morgan's moves around her and the way he twisted her to knock her out with her own weapon.
"Oh that? Well…tell me kid, how much do you know about Haki?" Morgan would ask to a now confused looking Coby who's blank stare betrayed him; "Alright, from the top….Haki is the manifestation of a being's spiritual energy and it has three different ways that it can be used….The first is known as Armament and it's what I used to strengthen my martial arts against Alvida…or at least minimalise whatever damage I could from her mace." Morgan explained with Coby nodding along; trying to keep up with the info dump. "The second is called Observation; it allows someone to use heightened senses. I don't know how to use the other forms but I have been able to use one that sense people's presence but I know that others can measure people's aura, fighting strength and even see emotions…"
"Wait so you can just say no to her hits or predict her swings just like that?" Coby asked; "But if you could then why not do it all the time? Surely that'd be a lot easier then trying to push it like that."
Morgan sighed; "Because even though it's something I've been able to get a hang of…it's still a work in progress and it's by no means perfect…Armament takes energy and Observation takes a lot of focus to use, even now I struggle to keep it going for long periods which is why I limit it to short bursts. I'm still trying to train it so I can use it for longer….or at least get accustomed to doing it on reflex." he would explain.
"Besides….I could only learn it from one….potentially two people, one rarely sticks around long enough to help…the geezer I learned it from taught me the basics and I just worked with it from there…" Morgan lamented while Coby then realised something.
"Wait, you said there were three….you've only mentioned two." Coby pointed out; "What about this third form?"
"Hold that thought…I think I see land ahead." Morgan would grin as he saw a landmass coming into view and started to redirect the boat towards the slowly expanding island before making dock.
"Well…any island's better then nothing I guess." Morgan would say as he stretched himself out and then headed into the town which seemed to look more dismal then anything else; the villagers looked like they were trying to keep their head down and any eye contact they caught with the patrolling Marines was met with an immediate turn in the other direction.
"Shells Town…Real cheery place…" Morgan quipped as he grabbed an apple from a stand and flipped a coin to the vendor; "Anything happen here to bring all these Marines around?" he would ask the elderly woman who flinched a little from his sudden question to her.
"Well….This place has always been fairly calm…but the Marines had come in recently and set up that base in the centre….plus they've also got that Pirate Hunter locked up in prison here so they're more alert if there wasn't a-" the old lady explained but was interrupted by a loud crash as a few Marines were smashing apart a fishmongers' stand followed by a blonde with a bowl cut shrieking about a tax on their sales.
"I already warned you last week that you needed to cart this crappy stand somewhere else if you can't pay the rent on it!" the leisure suit wearing blonde ranted up at the much larger monger who looked like he was ready to squash him into paste. "Of course unless you want me to tell my dad on you and you can share a cell with that Pirate Hunter…Roronoa Zoro I think his name is…." The blonde sneered with a slimy grin on his face and brandished what looked like a piece of paper with the Marine's stamp of approval on it, the monger could see the two guards around the blonde pointing their guns straight at him and decided to back down, reaching under his stand and handing over a bag of money with a heavy sigh.
"Glad to see the Marines putting in 100% to keep the people safe." Morgan watched with a grimace while Coby watching the whole thing with shock.
"That's Helmeppo….he's the son of the Marine Captain who oversees the town…He says the Marines protect us but he's ruthless and shakes down anyone who doesn't meet his demands." The old lady mentioned as she watched Helmeppo saunter off with an obnoxious laugh and a bowlegged pep in his step.
"Well kid, these the Marines you've idolised so much? Because they seem more like pirates then anything." Morgan would point out; gesturing to the nearby bar so they could come up with a plan and also to let Coby get his bearings. "Now I've got something new to focus on, that Pirate Hunter could be someone I could use on my crew." he would remark with a grin as he started thinking about it.
"W-Wait a minute, Morgan…you can't be serious, he's a PIRATE Hunter…not a pirate, you really think that he'll be willing to be allies with you?" Coby tried to reason with Morgan as he knew how focused he got with an objective.
"Eh, at best I can get a new member of my crew…at worst I could get a head start before he tries hunting me, I like to keep optimistic." Morgan remarked with a half hearted shrug as he headed towards the Marine base.
"WAIT! waitwaitwaitwait!" Coby would plead as he got in front of Morgan; "Really think about this Morgan….Zoro is imprisoned in a fortified Marine stronghold, they've already got their eyes on him and they have more then enough reason to start imprisoning people if they try messing with a high profile prisoner like that!"
"Oh relax for once, Coby…You can't progress forward in life if you don't take any risks. Besides this way you can get your foot in the door with the Marines if you ask them nicely." Morgan remarked jovially.
"Morgan, this is serious….if we're gonna be doing this then we-" Coby began to talk but then froze as he saw Morgan turn around to face him.
"We? what's all this "We" business, I don't remember asking you to help me with this." Morgan said and raised his eyebrow at the now confused Coby.
"But I thought we were friends, you helped me get away from Alvida and you got me to this town." Coby tried to rationalise this.
"Kid, you clocked me in the face with a wooden board at the very first chance." Morgan said with narrowed eyes and made Coby squirm with guilt; "You then clung to my leg screaming and begging when I was trying to fight Alvida on her ship." He would further elaborate as Coby timidly nodded along, "And on top of that, you did nothing but whine and complain the whole ride here."
"But…But I still don't get it, I thought you were gonna help me become a Marine." Coby flinched as Morgan sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.
"Look Kid, as far as I'm concerned…I returned the favour after you got me that food and the boat, I got you to the next island I could find and coincidentally it's a Marine base so from here on out, you're on your own to chase your dream but word of advice? try and do something about that lack of confidence." Morgan admitted with finality before marching onward with Coby being left in shock at Morgan's bluntness.
"I don't get it….Why is he such a jerk about all this….sure I got scared but who wouldn't around pirates? I might get scared but at least I'm smart enough to know that what I'm about to do is dangerous…and I'm gonna go prove it…even if he doesn't believe I can…and even if it ends up getting us arrested!" Coby would think to himself and tried to rush after Morgan who was already trying to climb the wall.
"Morgan! Morgan, get down from there! you're gonna get us in trouble if we get caught." Coby yelled up to Morgan in a hushed whisper as he tried to pull on Morgan's leg in an attempt to get him down.
"I thought I told you that we're done here, kid….besides there's no one out there in the grounds." Morgan mentioned as he peered over the wall into the main grounds of the base.
Inside was a vast expanse of dirt and some rocks but in the dead centre of this expanse; was a green haired man wearing a white shirt with a bandana around his arm, dark green pants and wearing a sash around his waist along with dark boots.
"That's him….Roronoa Zoro…." Coby said under his breath as he managed to clamber up onto the top of the wall, "I'm nowhere near him and he's already scaring me badly."
"Kid, nearly everything scares you….but yeah, that definitely looks like a Pirate Hunter, alright." Morgan agreed as he could feel Zoro's gaze squared on him and Coby. He didn't need his Observation Haki to tell that Zoro was something else; just by reading his aura, he could note that Zoro was incredibly strong in both body and in spirit.
However he heard Coby's muffled yelp as a little girl had climbed the wall and abseiled to the other side with a basket in hand, Morgan and Coby watched as she carefully navigated her way towards the bound up bandit before reaching into the basket and pulling out what looked to be a handmade rice ball.
"What do you think you're doing in here? you know you're gonna get in trouble if you get caught, right?" the rough looking Hunter remarked as he gazed down at the girl who just simply smiled up at him, inching the rice ball closer.
"I think I'll be taking that." a third voice would say and Helmeppo plucked the rice ball out of the girl's hand; "How nice of you to deliver a present to me at the base, besides…Mr. Zoro remembers the rules; no food or anything until his times up here." Helmeppo would guffaw before taking a mouthful out of the rice ball with a smug look that then quickly changed as his face turned blue and it looked like he was about to choke before spitting out the mouthful of rice ball on the ground and coughing. "Gah! that was just awful! who puts salt in a rice ball?!" he would loudly yell and then smacked the other rice ball out of the girl's hand to the floor.
Before the girl could protest; Helmeppo began stomping down on the rice balls in his expensive looking shoes, "These aren't fit for eating…not even to feed to my wolf!" he snapped as he ground the rice into the dirt.
"Bastard….once I get out of here, I'm gon-" Zoro would growl before Helmeppo held a hand up to his face.
"You're not gonna do anything until you uphold your promise…one whole month, remember? otherwise I can speak to my father and pay this young girl's family a visit….wouldn't that be fun?" He would cryptically threaten with the girl nearby.
Zoro felt his eyebrow twitch before he then grunted in defeat, making Helmeppo smirk widely and then gestured to the guard next to him; "Leave this sad sack where he is but throw the girl over the wall."
The guard in question was taken aback; "But she's just a little girl, we can escort her through the ga-hurk!" he tried to de-escalate but then felt his collar get roughly grabbed by Helmeppo.
"If I tell you to throw that girl over the wall then you DO IT!" Helmeppo would screech at the guard as his grip got tighter; "If you don't then I'll talk to my dad about your blatant act of insubordination and you know how he treats disobedient Marines!" he would growl before letting the guard go; "Over the wall…now!"
Any normal person would object to such a bully and acting so heartlessly to a child, however with the threat of a Marine Captain at his back and a man as vicious as Helmeppo's father kept him and multiple Marines in line. With a heavy breath and a moments hesitation; the guard would grab the girl and lift her up struggling. With a brief apology and a heave, the girl was thrown over the wall like a bag of garbage.
Morgan was shocked and disgusted at the display as he bent his legs down and sprang himself off to catch the girl in mid air and then rolled himself into a ball to stop either of them from hurting on the ground. "You okay there?" he would ask the very shaken up girl who meekly nodded as she got up; "Go on home….if they've thrown you out, you'll be in trouble if you get caught again." Morgan would warn.
The girl would dust herself off; "Thanks mister! and tell Mr Zoro that I'll make some new ones once he's free." She would wave at the pair of them before rushing off home.
"That…That was amazing…." Coby would say in awe at both Morgan jumping in like he did to save the girl and the manner that the Marines treated Zoro and the girl.
"Call it what you want….but I think I know what to do now." he would say before climbing up the wall again however this time he vaulted over afterwards, leaving Coby to freak out and keep a paranoid watch.
Remaining unperturbed and more motivated to scout Zoro; Morgan headed over towards Zoro and smiled; "Yo, it looks like you could use a helping hand." he would mention as Zoro lazily perked his head up at this new annoyance.
"Whatever you're looking for buddy, I'm not in the mood to take bounties right now." Zoro would sarcastically remark; he might be starving and trod on by Helmeppo but he wasn't going to let this new irritant bother him.
"Oh I'm not here to ask for a bounty, I'm actually here to offer you a place on my crew." Morgan said and got right to the point as he saw Zoro's eyes widen in surprise.
"Crew? what, you're a bounty hunter too? because I don't do teams and if you're a pirate then you're asking the wrong person." Zoro retorted glibly and rolled his eyes.
"Well, I am a pirate but I think you could do a lot of good on my crew, so if I help free you then you can help me out." Morgan said to sweeten the deal.
"Sorry pal, but even if I could get out of here…I don't want to. I made a promise with that mushroom headed jerkass that if I can last out here for a month then he'll let me go…I've lasted this long and my time ends tonight." Zoro would explain as he strained his neck.
"Alright, but if you change your mind then I'll be in town." Morgan would shrug and turned to make his exit when Zoro's sudden yell caught him.
"Hey wait! Bring that….Bring that rice ball over here." Zoro would request of Morgan as he then looked to the rice ball trodden into the ground.
"That's been ground into the dirt…you sure you wanna eat that?" Morgan asked skeptically as he then picked up some pieces of the rice ball.
"Don't just stand there talking about it, just bring it here!" Zoro would urgently snap at Morgan who held the rice ball pieces out to him and then began to hungrily eat it; dirt clods and all.
"You….You weren't kidding about being out here for a month." Morgan quipped as Zoro panted heavily when he finished the rice ball.
"Get out of here….and if you see that girl…tell her that rice ball was great." Zoro would relent with Morgan smiling widely in return before climbing back over the wall to join Coby.
——Several Minutes later——
"I…I just don't get it, I thought Marines conducted themselves with honour and justice….not be violent and threatening them at gunpoint." Coby said with an uncertain tone in his voice; seeing Helmeppo and the soldiers do what they did.
"There's nothing in the world that's THAT black and white, kid….Marines aren't an exception at all." Morgan would say grimly as he took a drink, the two of them had gone over to the tavern nearby to get some food and a drink while deciding the next step; "You can have Bad Marines who push people around just as much as you can have Good Pirates that help people."
"Why do you hate the Marines so much?" Coby asked him as he finally plucked up the courage to ask the cynical boy who seemed to have more then just a chip on his shoulder about it. "You've done nothing but badmouth Marines since we've met and even the nice stuff you said wasn't said without a grimace."
Morgan sighed as he then looked up at Coby with a bizarre look on his face; the pinkette had normally seen Morgan with a serious look on his face or a generally mellow demeanour, but this time Morgan had a more wistful look on his face that almost looked…sad.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone