One Piece: Mangaka of Legends

Zoro let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head as much as his bindings allowed. "You really don't take no for an answer, do you?"

Luffy grinned. "Nope."

I sighed dramatically, stretching my arms. "Well, since we're already committing war crimes against the Marines, might as well make it official."

Zoro quirked a brow. "You sure you're not a pirate already?"

"Nah," I smirked. "I'm just a firm believer in bad decisions."

Coby looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. "T-This isn't a joke! Pirates are criminals! If you do this, you can never go back!"

I placed a hand on Coby's shoulder, looking him dead in the eyes. "Coby, do I look like someone who had any good options to begin with?"

His lip trembled. "N-No…"

"Exactly. Now let's go before they realize we just kicked their boss into an unpaid leave of absence."

Zoro's smirk widened. "I like you. What's your name?"

I grinned. "Call me whatever you want. Just don't call me responsible."

Luffy laughed. "Alright, 'Whatever You Want,' let's go!"

I facepalmed. "I walked right into that one."

The town was eerily silent as we stepped out of the Marine base. People peeked from behind doors and windows, cautiously realizing that their dictator had been… well, forcibly relocated via aerial combat. A few marines were still standing around, awkwardly avoiding eye contact, as if collectively agreeing to forget this ever happened.

A single old man cleared his throat. "S-So, does this mean… he's gone?"

Luffy nodded. "Yep!"

There was a long pause. Then the townspeople burst into cheers, celebrating like someone had just declared free booze for life. I was half-expecting a parade float of Morgan's broken body to roll by any second now.

"Well, looks like we're heroes now," I mused. "Neat. First day as criminals, and we're already loved. I should put that on my resume."

Zoro gave me a sideways glance. "You talk a lot."

I grinned. "I also breathe a lot. It's a bad habit."

Before Zoro could figure out if he wanted to be amused or concerned, a familiar brat interrupted us.

"HEY! YOU!"

Ah, yes. Helmeppo. The human embodiment of nepotism.

He stormed toward us, face red with either rage or the realization that his protection detail was currently unconscious and scattered across the courtyard like bowling pins. "D-Do you have any idea what you've done?! My father—!"

Luffy cocked his head. "Who?"

Helmeppo sputtered. "CAPTAIN MORGAN, YOU IDIOT!"

I nudged Luffy. "Oh, right! You remember him? Big guy, huge chin, bad personality? We turned him into a human cannonball about five minutes ago."

Helmeppo paled. "Y-You… You think you can just do that and get away with it?! My father—!"

"—is going to be real disappointed when he wakes up and realizes his reign of terror got ended by three morons and a rubber band," I finished for him.

Helmeppo's eye twitched. "I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED!"

Zoro sighed. "You do realize there's no one left who listens to you, right?"

The townspeople collectively turned their backs on Helmeppo, whistling innocently.

Helmeppo's expression crumbled. "Y-You'll regret this!"

I waved. "Thanks for the foreshadowing. See you never!"

Luffy laughed as Helmeppo stomped away, probably to cry into his overpriced pillow.

"So," I said, stretching my arms. "Where's your swords? Kinda hard to be the world's greatest swordsman without them."

Zoro scowled. "That brat took them."

"...You're telling me that guy had your swords this whole time?"

"Yep."

I turned back toward the Marine base. "Hold on, I think I have time to commit one more felony today."

Retrieving Zoro's swords wasn't too hard. The Marine quarters were mostly empty—probably because the soldiers were still processing the existential crisis of suddenly being freed from tyranny. I found the swords in Helmeppo's room, along with a collection of terribly made self-portraits. I took the swords and left the artwork. Some crimes were too great to be forgiven.

When I handed Zoro his swords, he actually looked… grateful. "Thanks."

"No problem. But you owe me a drink."

"Deal."

Luffy grinned. "Now we're ready to set sail!"

Coby hesitated, eyes full of conflict. "I… I think I want to stay."

Luffy nodded, not looking disappointed at all. "That's fine. Do what you want."

Coby blinked. "R-Really?"

I patted his head. "Yeah, Coby. Go be a good little soldier. Fight the power. Unless the power pays better. Then, y'know, reconsider."

Coby looked torn between thanking me and scolding me. "T-That's not how justice works!"

I winked. "And yet, here we are."

We left Coby to his fate (and moral dilemma) as we boarded our tiny boat, the sea stretching infinitely before us.

Luffy stood at the front, hands on his hat, grinning into the wind. "Next stop, adventure!"

Zoro sighed. "I can already tell I'm going to regret this."

I smirked. "You absolutely will."

And with that, we set sail into the unknown, three idiots and a dream.

What could possibly go wrong?