5 Set Sail!

(At the roof of the marine base)

Morgan, the captain of the Marine branch located in Shells town was looking at his broken statue in shock after Luffy broke it.

"GET HIM! I'LL KILL HIM MYSELF!" Morgan.

"He's the one that punched me daddy!" Helmeppo.

Luffy then takes Helmeppo and raids the base.

"Don't let him get away!" Morgan.

"Yes sir!"

"AH! Captain Morgan! There's an intruder on the execution grounds, and it seems that he freed The Pirate Hunter from the post!"

"The pests keep appearing! Let's go to execute them at once!" Morgan.

(Execution Grounds)

"How are you holding?" Kaizo.

"Don't bother, I won't die from this." Zoro.

"Can you fight without swords?"

"I'll manage."

Kaizo throws his sword to Zoro and he catches it.

"I told you; I'll manage." Zoro.

"Yeah, right, I believe you." Kaizo made a mocking face.

Zoro wanted to talk back but, a handful of soldiers under Morgan's command arrived at the execution grounds alongside Morgan. So, he just threw the sword back.

"Both of you have committed some interesting crimes." Morgan.

"Not more than what's on your plate spring-jaw." Kaizo.

"You bastard! Are both of you plotting alongside the Strawhat to cause a revolution?!" Morgan.

"Jack shit, if you are scared of your consequences, don't try to make stuff up to cover your misdeeds." Zoro.

"Quiet! I have the authority over these marines, and their strength is my strength. So, I'll show you the painful path of defying me!" Morgan.

The Marines raise their weapons and take aim towards Kaizo and Zoro, they shoot but Luffy launches himself from a window and blocks the bullets.

"Oi!" Zoro.

"Straw Hat!" Morgan.

"Heh." Kaizo.

Luffy's body stretches and the bullets get bounced back.

"It won't work!"

"HAHAHAHA! See that?! I told you that I'm strong!" Luffy.

The Marines and Zoro were surprised by the outcome and Zoro couldn't help but ask.

"W-who the hell are you?!" Zoro.

"Me? I'm Luffy, the man that will become the King of the Pirates!"

"What?! Become the King of the Pirates?!"

"You…Do you have any idea of what you're saying?!" Zoro.

"The Pirate King is the Pirate King. What else could it mean?" Luffy.

"A crazy dream for a crazy captain, perfect for an adventure." Kaizo.

"Shishishi. Here, your swords. Which one is it? since I didn't know I brought all three of them." Luffy.

"All three of them are mine. I use the Three-sword style." Zoro.

"You'll take them, right? But, before fighting alongside us, you have to make a decision. Die right here and now at the hands of the Marines or, come along with me, what will it be?" Luffy.

"You must be the devil's son! It doesn't matter anyway, instead of dying here, I'd rather become a pirate!" Zoro.

"Great! You'll become my Nakama!" Luffy.

"Oi! Captain, give him his swords so that we can battle properly." Kaizo.

*BANG*

A Marine shoot at Zoro while everyone is distracted.

'Shit! I can't dodge!' Zoro.

'I can't block it!' Luffy.

At that moment, both Luffy and Zoro were having diverse thoughts about the bullet. Neither of them had any way to either block or dodge it. Kaizo was always on guard despite his relaxed demeanor and caught the bullet with his hand.

The Marines, Coby (Who was watching everything from the wall), Luffy and Zoro were astonished by Kaizo's action.

"What? Never seen Haki before?" Kaizo.

"Haki?" Zoro/Luffy.

"We'll talk later about it. right now, let's fight." Kaizo.

A barrage of Marines charge against the group and attack them with their swords but Zoro intercept them.

"Move and I'll slash you." Zoro.

"So scary!"

"I wanna go home!" Extras.

"Look, I've promised that I will become a pirate. Since I've gone against the marines, I will become a wanted man. However, I'll warn you. I'll always follow my own ambitions!" Zoro.

"Ambitions?" Luffy.

"I'll become the World's Greatest Swordsman! If I ever found myself forced to give up said ambitions…your head will be cut by my sword!" Zoro.

"The World's Greatest Swordsman? Sounds amazing! As Nakama from the Pirate King I shouldn't expect any less." Luffy.

"Quite the extraordinary dream my green-haired friend." Kaizo.

"Yeah, I don't care if they call me a demon. My name will resound across the whole world!" Zoro.

"You idiots! Execute them right now!" Morgan.

The fight began.

Zoro and Luffy began to punch and kick the Marines one after another. Zoro slashed not too deep so that they won't die and Luffy didn't hit them so hard that they would die. Kaizo, on the other hand, decided to fight Morgan alone.

"Aren't you the guy that prides himself about being the face of justice or some shit? Come fight me you weakling." Kaizo.

"Shut up!" Morgan swings his axe-hand to attack Kaizo but he catches it barehanded.

Kaizo smirks while grabbing the axe.

"Is that all?" Kaizo asked disappointed.

"You bastard! You must've eaten a devil fruit as well, right?!" Morgan.

"Yes, I did. However, the fact that you can't defeat me is because you're weak not because I ate a devil fruit." Kaizo.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Kaizo breaks the axe-hand of Morgan and then punches him in the gut, making him pass out.

"Seems that you have a powerful crewmate, captain." Zoro.

"Right." Luffy.

Zoro then passes out due to tiredness and hunger. So, Luffy and Coby take him to the restaurant to eat while Kaizo enters the Marine base to steal something.

At the Marien base.

An orange-haired woman is entering the office of Morgan after seizing two officers. The woman is none other than the future navigator of the Strawhat Pirates; Nami.

"Not here, neither here, were could it be?" Nami.

"If you're looking for the map of the Grand Line then forget about it." Kaizo spoke carrying a bag full of something heavy.

"Now sir, this is just a mis…" Nami.

"Don't bother, I don't have the intentions of stopping you. Buggy the Clown stole the map a few days ago, I'm just saving you the extra effort." Kaizo.

Nami's expression becomes serious and looks at Kaizo.

"How can I trust you?" Nami.

"By all means, be my guest. I jus told you, Cat Burglar." Kaizo left the office with his bag and went to eat with Luffy and Zoro.

Nami remained in the office and opened the safe and found the "map" that Buggy left there.

'So, he was saying the truth, eh?' Nami.

Kaizo went back to the restaurant and started to eat alongside Zoro and Luffy.

"Ah! I'm stuffed! I hadn't eaten anything in the last 3 weeks!" Zoro.

"Is that everything you can eat?" Luffy.

"I thought you were hungrier than that." Kaizo.

"I don't understand how both of you can eat more than me!" Zoro.

"That's because it's delicious, right, Kaizo, Coby?" Luffy.

"*MUCNH* Yeah *MUCNH* *MUNCH*" Kaizo.

"Yes, ah, I'm sorry, I've eaten quite allot as well." Coby apologized to the owner.

"It's alright, you guys saved our town." Owner (Ririka).

"I can't believe that big bro Kaizo is going to leave." Rika.

"Well, I want to become a pirate and the opportunity finally arrived so…gotta hit when the iron's hot as they say." Kaizo.

"Still, you are quite strong, catching bullets with your bare hands without suffering injuries." Zoro.

"Yeah, how'd you do that?" Coby.

"I just used a little bit of Haki, that's all." Kazio.

"What's Haki?" Luffy.

"I'll tell you guys once we set sail."

'Don't wanna reveal much information near a secondary main.' Kaizo.

"By the way…How many crewmates do we have?" Zoro.

*MUCNH*

"I recall hearing you say that you were recruiting Nakamas for your crew. If you are aiming to become the Pirate King, I assume you must have quite the crew already." Zoro.

"Nope, just the three of us." Luffy.

"Then…" Zoro.

"Yes, the three of us are the only members." Kaizo.

"Can we really be pirates just the three of us?" Zoro.

"What's the problem? The three of us are strong." Luffy.

"A ship! Where's our pirate ship?" Zoro.

"There." Luffy points towards the little fish boat on the docks.

Zoro has a worried expression and wonders if joining was a good idea.

"That?" Zoro.

"It's quite small now but then it will be really big!" Luffy.

"HAHAHAHA! How?" Zoro.

"That plan may be still on the drawing board." Kaizo.

"I also want a jolly roger." Luffy.

"Unfortunately, Luffy-san was born with the inability to plan ahead of time." Coby.

"Will this guy really be my captain?" Zoro.

"Yes, so get used to it. we still have a long adventure ahead of us." Kaizo.

"Besides, we'll be adding more Nakamas throughout our journey." Luffy.

"Ne, ne, big brothers, where are you planning to go first?" Rika.

"Well, it's obvious. We'll go to the Grand Line!" Luffy.

"*PFFFF*, just the three of you? No matter how, it is impossible!" Coby.

"Is it really dangerous the Grand Line?" Rika.

"Yes, it…" Coby was interrupted by Kaizo.

"Allow me to explain Coby."

"The Grand Line is an ocean route which wraps around the entire world, south of the North and East Blues and north of the South and West Blues. It is separated from the Blues on both the north and south ends by the Calm Belt."

"The Grand Line is split into two sections by the Red Line: the first section is known as Paradise and the second is known as the New World."

"Reputed as the 'pirate's graveyard', the sea and the islands possess a vast number of unpredictable phenomena that are not seen anywhere else in the world, many of which make sailing extremely difficult."

"Additionally, the Grand Line is home to the world's most powerful people and groups, including the Three Great Powers. Only one group, the Roger Pirates, has managed to fully sail across the Grand Line, and this achievement is what caused their captain Gol D. Roger to be labeled as the 'Pirate King'."

"In other words; it's a very fun place for strong people!" Kaizo.

"Have you ever traveled to the Grand Line, Kaizo?" Coby.

"Never, I have however gathered key information about the place." Kaizo.

"Whatever, since the One Piece is there, I have to go and find it." Luffy.

"Well, there's no choice then." Zoro.

"Luffy-san, Kaizo-san, Zoro-san, take this seriously! You could lose your lives!" Coby.

"So what?" Kaizo.

Coby, Rika, Ririka and some of the townsfolks are surprised by the answer.

"You think a dream as big as to become the Pirate King is something one can achieve by asking for it? Or maybe becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman can simply happen by wishing it?"

"Wrong! Dreams like those can only be achieved by putting your life on the line. It might sound stupid to die for a dream like that but here's the thing. One should never do something that will block them from their dreams."

"A life without a goal is as empty as those plates. There's nothing left to enjoy, nothing that pushes you to become better for the sake of anything else."

"It's best to die reaching out for your dreams, rather than never taking the first step." Kaizo.

Everyone was silent but Zoro and Luffy were smiling since they felt the same way.

"How about you, Coby?"

"You want to become a Marine, right? You better prepare yourself to overcome your fear of death. Otherwise, you won't achieve your dream." Kaizo spoke as he got up and did some stretches to digest the food.

Suddenly, the marines that were under Morgan appeared and warned the group. Since they proclaimed themselves to be pirates, they should be arrested. However, the marines decided to leave them be as long as they leave the island immediately.

Luffy did his Oscar winning performance and managed to clear Coby's pirate record. Coby then applies himself to become a marine and is accepted.

Kaizo, Zoro and Luffy were at the docks preparing to sail.

"It was a good idea to make him mad. I just hope that they don't realize what you did." Zoro.

"I was quite surprised an honest guy like yourself could lie so well." Kaizo.

"Hehe, I'm sure that Coby will be able to handle the rest by himself." Luffy.

"Well, it was quite the nice experience. Starting from today everyone will hate you…that's how a pirate's life is!" Zoro.

"Hahahaha! You're right!" Luffy.

"Luffy-san! Thank you, for everything!" Coby salutes Luffy.

"I've never heard of a Marine thanking a Pirate." Zoro.

"Hahahaha, we'll see each other again someday, Coby!" Luffy yelled while sailing away with Zoro and Kaizo.

'Starting from today, I'm part of the Straw Hat Pirates crew.' Kaizo thought while smirking.