Chapter 11 – [11] : An Absolute Man of Steel!

“Shishishi! He’s got personality! If we just untie the ropes, we can let him go, right?” Luffy grinned, completely unfazed by Zoro’s intense, beast-like stare.

Having been frequently tossed into packs of wild beasts for training by his unreliable grandpa Garp since childhood, Luffy was all too familiar with that kind of gaze.

Those are the eyes of a wild animal.

In fact, Zoro’s glare was even sharper than those of the beasts he remembered.

Although Luffy hadn’t witnessed Zoro’s strength yet, just based on that intense gaze, his instincts told him Zoro was strong.

Thump!

Just then, a ladder appeared against the wall. A little girl climbed up and held a finger to her lips, signaling cutely at Rowen and Luffy.

“Shhh.”

The little girl gestured for caution, then hopped down from the wall and ran towards Zoro.

“Hm? What is it?” Zoro asked, his fierce eyes softening considerably as he looked at the approaching girl. His tone, though no longer icy, was still tinged with impatience.

“Big brother, you must be hungry, right? I brought rice balls,” the little girl said, offering a bright smile. She held a carefully wrapped bundle of rice balls close to her chest.

“It’s my first time making them, but I put my heart into it!”

“Kid, you wanna die? Get lost,” Zoro replied instantly, his expression unchanging even at the sight of food, despite having had nothing to eat or drink for twenty days.

His harsh words were meant to protect her, to avoid implicating her.

“Even if you don’t want to involve the girl, you don’t need to push her away like that.”

A calm voice interjected.

“Who the hell are you? I told you already, you’re annoying,” Zoro snapped, his face hardening as he watched Rowen jump down from the wall.

“This is a child’s heartfelt gesture. A child’s sincerity is more precious than gold,” Rowen said, gently patting the little girl’s head reassuringly as she looked crestfallen that Zoro wouldn’t eat her rice balls.

Rowen definitely didn’t want this sweet girl’s kindness trampled by that scumbag Helmeppo.

“Shishishi! Well said, Rowen!” Luffy declared, hopping down from the wall to join Rowen.

Although he had wanted to observe Zoro a bit longer—after all, Luffy’s standards for crewmates went beyond just strength—since his nakama had decided to step in, Luffy wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

Luffy would always fully support his comrades’ decisions.

“You’re Zoro, right?” Luffy asked, grinning at the tied-up swordsman.

“Yeah. And who are you guys?” Zoro asked, his icy demeanor thawing slightly after hearing Rowen’s words, though his tone remained unfriendly.

“I’m Monkey D. Luffy! The man who’s gonna be King of the Pirates!” Luffy declared proudly, pointing at himself with a grin.

“Rowen. Luffy’s comrade,” Rowen added, a slight smile playing on his lips.

“King of the Pirates? Are you an idiot?” Zoro deadpanned, his eyebrow twitching as he looked at Luffy.

“But Rowen, what did you mean? Why did you say Zoro didn’t want to involve the little girl?” Luffy asked curiously.

“Simple. Judging by how the townspeople react to the Marines here, the local Marine Captain can’t be any good. And the name ‘Pirate Hunter

‘ Zoro is pretty famous throughout the East Blue right now. As a renowned bounty hunter, he wouldn’t be tied up here unless there was a specific reason,” Rowen explained smoothly.

While he couldn’t reveal he knew the plot because he was a transmigrator, knowing the plot made it easy to deduce a logical explanation based on the current situation.

Rowen then turned to the little girl.

“But why don’t you tell us the details? Since you risked coming here to bring him food, this must involve you somehow, right?” Rowen asked gently.

“Big brother, my name is Rika,” the girl introduced herself politely, then proceeded to explain what had happened.

The son of the local Marine Captain Morgan, Helmeppo, frequently paraded around town with his so-called pet—a vicious dog.

At the restaurant Rika and her mother ran to make a living, the dog started harassing customers and causing chaos. Rika bravely tried to stop it, which drew Helmeppo’s ire.

Zoro intervened, easily dealing with Helmeppo and his dog. But Helmeppo threatened to use his father’s authority to have everyone present executed.

Therefore, Zoro made a deal with Helmeppo: he would allow himself to be tied up here for a month without food or water. If he survived, Rika and the others would be spared.

Today marked the twentieth day.

“Wow, you’re amazing! If I went more than three days without eating, I’d definitely starve to death!” Luffy exclaimed. After hearing the story, he had already decided he wanted Zoro to join his crew.

“My willpower is completely different from yours. I will survive,” Zoro declared with a determined grin.

“Definitely a man of steel. It’d be a waste for him to die here,” Rowen said appreciatively.

When it came to sheer willpower, Zoro was absolutely top-class. Later in the story, Zoro would endure the full measure of pain extracted from Luffy by Kuma’s Paw-Paw Fruit—suffering horrific injuries and massive blood loss—

And when questioned by Sanji, he would deliver the iconic line, “Nothing… happened.”

“Die here? What are you talking about? I only have ten days left to fulfill the agreement. I will survive,” Zoro retorted coldly, assuming Rowen doubted his ability to last the final ten days.

“I’m not questioning whether you can survive. I’m questioning whether you really think trash like him—who abuses his father’s power to oppress civilians—will actually honor his promise to you,” Rowen stated calmly.

“Hahaha! He’s right!” Just then, an obnoxious laugh echoed through the courtyard.

A young man, clearly dressed like a spoiled brat relying on daddy’s influence, swaggered towards them, flanked by two Marine soldiers.

“Helmeppo,” Zoro muttered, realization dawning in his eyes, which turned exceptionally cold.

“I was originally planning to tell you tomorrow, right before your execution. But since someone already figured it out, executing you today works just fine too,” Helmeppo sneered, laughing mockingly at Zoro.

“You bastard,” Zoro growled, his eye twitching.

“Hahaha! The famous ‘Pirate Hunter’ dying by my hand! My name, Helmeppo, will surely spread far and wide across the seas now! Hahaha!” Helmeppo gloated arrogantly.

WHOOSH! SMACK!

While Helmeppo was lost in his arrogant laughter, an elongated fist shot out and slammed squarely into his obnoxious face, sending him flying.

“What a scumbag,” Luffy commented coldly, retracting his rubber arm after punching Helmeppo.

“W-what the hell are you?!” Zoro stared, dumbfounded, at the completely inhuman feat he had just witnessed.

“Luffy ate the Gomu-Gomu Fruit. He’s a rubber man,” Rowen explained with a calm smile.

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