Zoro's Pov :
Today is the twentieth day, which means only ten days left. I will definitely survive this and become the best swordsman in the world.
While I was counting how many days were left before I regained my freedom again, I suddenly felt a burst of wind, and soon a shadow appeared out of nowhere, covering my entire build completely.
I lifted my head to take a look at the shadow identity and found a tall man with a good-looking face standing in front of me. He was wearing everything black, from the boots to the long black coat on his shoulders, but what caught my attention was the sword that he had on his waist.
As a swordsman, I felt a tremendous power and sense of danger from that sword. It was akin to a savage monster waiting to be unleashed.
I took another look at this stranger's face and saw it then. I saw those black eyes that were looking down on me suddenly flicker with red color for a second before returning back to normal afterward, which made my heart skip a beat - What Th f*** was that? Who is this man?! - Suddenly, I heard him asking in a deep voice.
"Yo! Are You that pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro?"
I was stunned, then I answered," Yeah! Who are you? And what do you want for me? You don't seem to be a Navy soldier! So why are you here?"
"Nothing, I just happened to hear that you are captured here, so I came to check if you are really that strong as they say" The man paused and took another look at me from head to toe before adding, " But seeing you in this state, hmm, I guess you shouldn't always believe the rumors. You are weak, Roronoa Zoro."
I was furious, and before I could respond, the man continued and added.
"Well, at least for now, But I guess you have great potential, and I can help you unleash and refine that potential in you." The man paused and stated, " I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew, so do you want to join me and become a part of the family?! "
" I refuse." I replied immediately and scoffed at his request " Me as Pirate?! Humph! Don't look down on me,"
"Ho! I see, so You hate pirates, huh ?!" The man grinned " But what's wrong with pirates? At least we are free men."
" I heard about why you are crucified here, and let me tell you something, only weaklings and fools accept something like that." The man snickered and added, " If I were in your place, I would never leave my fate in someone else's hand, I would have smashed that brat's head, and if his father came, I would do the same things to him as well." The man looked down on me with pities and said, " That's what's means to be free and strong!"
I was furious because this bastard kept calling me weak as if he was stronger than me, which angered me, so I retaliated.
"You keep calling me weak as if you are sure that you are stronger than me." I smirked and taunted him, " Untie me and let's fight. You can't know for sure who is strong without a fight, or perhaps you are afraid!"
The man looked at me with a mocking gaze and stated
"This is the reason why I said you are weak." The man shook his head and said, " You are just a frog in the well. You can't even judge my strength."
" When you reach a certain level of strength, you can judge your opponent's strength without even lifting a finger." He then looked directly into my eyes and said, " The fact that you can't do that yet implies that you are still weak, very weak, actually!"
We stayed looking into each other's eyes for a while because his words really hit my nerves, and my heart started beating fast. I felt like he could see through me with those black eyes that were like darkness itself.
" Let me ask you again, join my pirate crew and become a part of my family," The man extended his hand and asked again.
This time, I hesitated for a second before answering, " I refuse!"
" Alright, I have already made an exception and asked you twice. Since you don't want to, then it can't be helped." The man shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh! By the way, that brat was never going to uphold his words. He was planning to execute you later along with that family, " The man added with a mocking tone.
"That Bastard! If I see Him again, I will definitely cut him" I was shocked and furious as I replied
I remembered Kuina and roared in my head - I can't afford to die here! I have to keep my word to her! - just as I was about to ask the man to free me, I heard footsteps coming from afar.
I looked toward the sound's source and found dozens of Navy soldiers, with Captain Morgan at the lead, coming our way.
The man named Austin seemed to notice them as well, but instead of panicking, he just smiled and looked back at me.
He soon made a juster by his hand, and the ropes which were binding me were cut as a result. I was stunned because I didn't even know how he did it, but what shocked me the most was what he did afterward. The man extended his head and took out my three swords from nowhere, literally taking them from the void.
I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression and asked," Who the hell are you? "
The man laughed and replied in a strong voice that could be heard even by the upcoming soldiers.
"My name is Ray D Austin, the future Pirate King! "
As if struck by lightning, I stood rooted in my place and looked at him with a stupefied expression, and not only me, even the approaching soldiers did so.
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" Since I have saved you, then do me a favor and lend me one of your swords!" The man, or rather Austin, demanded a weird request.
"You have your own sword! So why would you take mine?" I asked back, bewildered by his sudden request.
Instead of answering, He chose one of my swords which was the weakest one. This, however, made me even more confused because I didn't know what his purpose was.
"I'm not a bully who goes all out when fighting weaklings. They don't deserve to see 'Diablo' " Austin said, pointing at his black sword on the sheath. He then pointed at the sword he borrowed from me and added, " This sword is more than enough to finish them."
His reason surprised me again, and I just kept looking at him because everything this man had done so far was incomprehensible to me, but alas, that was just the beginning because what he did during the next battle really expanded my horizons and changed my view about the definition of strength again.
The soldiers soon arrived and attacked under Morgan's orders, firing their bullets at Austin. But all their effort were futile because all the shots passed through him like he was the air itself, I was getting shocked time and time by this unknown man, and not only me but everyone else too was in the same situation as mine, not understanding what just happened.
But that was just the start because right after that, a horrifying pressure descent in the area, suffocating everyone present.
Despite not being the target of this killing intent, this pressure has even made me terrified, so I can only pity those soldiers who were the direct target of it.
"Oy! weakling, you are in my way. My only target is that scum Morgan, but if you intervene in this fight, I wouldn't mind ending you too, so admit defeat and get the hell out of here." The man named Austin said in a deep voice.
Right after that, all the terrified soldiers were shot by something in their right shoulder and fell to the ground. The man then started walking slowly toward Morgan with my sword in his hand while his long black coat fluttered behind because of the wind.
Seeing his back walking forward in confident and steady steps, I knew I would never forget this moment in my life!
End of Zoro's Pov.
After finishing the talk with Zoro, Austin heard some footsteps from afar and knew it was time to show off his power and act cool in front of Zoro, so he cut the ropes tying Zoro with his Skill 'Wind Blades' and took out the latter's swords from his Inventory.
Austin smirked when he noticed Zoro's shock, but he wasn't satisfied yet because he wanted to leave a strong impression on the latter, so he started thinking of a way to do so.
Austin then thought of something - Wait! Why not do the same thing Mihawk did back to Zoro in the anime to these approaching soldiers, fighting them with a short sword – Austin thought for a second - Hmm, but I don't have a short sword – He then got an idea – Right! I can take one of Zoro's swords - Austin smirked slightly.
Austin chose the weakest one of Zoro's swords, and just as planned, Zoro did ask why to which Austin replied the same way Mihawk did back then.
HAHAHAHA! Look at his face! - Austin laughed in his mind when he saw Zoro's stunned expression - That really went well!
Morgan then ordered his soldiers to attack Austin. The latter had the opportunity to dodge them using 'Soru', but he left the bullets to pass through him on purpose to show off his Devil fruit power, and it worked like magic because everyone was astonished afterward - I guess it's time to finish here - Austin smirked and released his 'Predator mode' Skill.
"Oy! weakling, you are in my way. My only target is that scum Morgan, but if you intervene in this fight, I wouldn't mind ending you too, so admit defeat and get the hell out of here." Austin said in a deep voice to the soldiers.
Austin didn't give the Navy soldiers a chance to recover from the pressure, and right after warning them, he used his 'Wind bullets' Skill to shoot them all in their right shoulders.
Austin didn't want to kill the soldiers here because, firstly, just defeating them would grant him the required experience points, and secondly, because he didn't want to draw a lot of attention from the Navy now, not unless he became strong enough to bear the consequences and the Navy pursuit.
Austin then started walking slowly toward that fool Morgan while holding Zoro's sword in his hand.
Morgan was a notably tall, muscular man with tanned skin, blonde hair, and a steel jaw etched. His right hand has been replaced with a huge steel Ax, the handle of which is not only bolted through the bones of his forearm but sticks out where his elbow should be.
"Yo! so you are that Axe-Hand Morgan, huh ?! " Austin narrowed his eyes and added, "I heard you are a brutal tyrant obsessed with your personal status and glory above all, ruling chiefly through terror and threatening to execute for the slightest defiance not only your soldiers but also the other town folks."
"That's why I want to ask you a question," Austin paused, putting on a severe expression, and asked in a deep voice." What gave you the right to that?! "
"Ranks means everything in this world! My rank is the highest on this base... which makes me superior to everyone else here... That means everything I do is right! " Morgan answered proudly without the slightest hesitation. The man was clearly, still trapped in the delusion of his supposed 'greatness.'
"Tsk, then there's nothing to talk about. You are just a scum and a fool who doesn't know his place," Austin said while still moving forward.
Morgan attacked with his Axe hand, but Austin caught that hand easily and stated, "Since your time of ruling this base will end today, then I shall cut off your 'Axe Hand' as well and end your nickname with it!"
Austin then completely cut off Morgan's left arm from the shoulder and broke the other one before knocking him down.
Austin looked down at the now unconscious Morgan on the ground for a moment before shaking his head and using 'Soru' to appear before Zoro, scaring the sh*t out of him because the latter was just looking at him from a distance a second ago.
"Thanks for the sword!" Austin tossed the sword back to Zoro and added, " Let's go. There's nothing left to do here."
Zoro caught the sword and took a deep look at Austin before nodding slightly and following him behind.
The duo left the base under the fearful gazes of the soldiers, who didn't even try to stop them.
Right after they left the base, they heard the shouting of celebrations from the Navy soldiers, who were, apparently, rejoicing their Captain's defeat.
I bet they will quickly imprison him to not give him a chance to escape - Austin shook his head, thinking - But with those injuries I gave him, I don't think he will be able to make a came back anytime soon.
Just as Austin and Zoro left the area close to the Navy base, they found Brain standing with a big backpack on his back, clearly full of the things he got from the base!
" My lord, I got everything useful here," Brain said, pointing at the pack on his back.
" Good work!" Austin nodded at him before looking at Zoro and said, " Well, we have something else to do. So I will take my leave first."
" Alright, Thank you for your help! I will be at the town's restaurant." Zoro smiled and added, " If you are still gonna stay here this night, I would like to offer you a drink along with your friend here as a token of gratitude."
" Alright, I accept your offer. See you later then!" Austin agreed and left quickly afterward with Brain.
5 minutes later, Austin and Brain arrived at another part of the empty Port. After checking out the surroundings, ensuring no one was watching them, Austin took out his small black Ship from his Inventory and got on it with Brain.
After entering one of the Ship's two rooms, Austin looked back at Brain and grinned widely as he said with excitement. " Alright, show me what you found at the base!"
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( Author: Hello, Everyone. I'm Asbarta!
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Even though at the start I didn't intend to name it because it's just a temporary ship and not the official one, I still found it troublesome to call it ' Small Black Ship' every time, so I'm open to your thoughts about a fitting name for the Ship, and as always, write your suggestions in the comments below, and I will choose the comment with the most likes.
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