Chapter 2: The First Battle and the One Who Will Become the Captain's Sword
Somewhere near Shells Town Island
"So... We need a navigator, a cook, a doctor..." Luffy counted on his fingers. "And a swordsman. A cool swordsman!"
"How about a ship bigger than your... saucer boat?" Katsuro said grimly, dredging water out of his boots.
A couple of days had passed since their meeting. Katsuro had already gotten used to the captain's reckless behavior, but every morning with him was like waking up with a new headache. And why did he agree?..
"Oh, right!" Luffy laughed. "Okay, first things first, a swordsman! They say there's a cool swordsman in this town. His name is Zoro."
Katsuro stopped.
He knew the name.
Zoro Roronoa. The one who will become the Pirate King's right hand.
He felt a strange feeling prick his chest - not jealousy, no. Instinct.
As if his place... was being contested.
"Let's go check," he said and went first.
Shells Town
The soldiers were running like cockroaches. A fat naval officer in sunglasses was yelling at his subordinates, and a girl with short hair was stealthily stealing the officer's wallet like a street magician.
"Was that... Nami?" Katsuro whispered, watching the scene.
But that wasn't why they came.
There was a cross behind the fence of the military base, to which a guy in a green bandana was chained. His swords were lying nearby, and he himself was sitting like a stone.
"Is that him?" Luffy climbed the wall.
Katsuro squinted. Memory worked like a signal. An image of a man with three swords, standing at the front of the dying, came into his mind.
Yes, it was him. Zoro.
"He looks crazy," Katsuro muttered. "I like him already."
"I'll invite him to join the crew!" Luffy declared and jumped over the fence.
"Hey, stop, you fucking..." Katsuro jumped after him in a panic.
It all happened quickly.
Zoro was silent. Luffy was chattering. And then he appeared - Helmeppo, Captain Morgan's son. And with him - a dozen armed soldiers.
"You insulted my father, you poor trash!" he yelled. "Arrest them all! Kill them if they resist!"
Katsuro stepped forward. His heart was beating like a drum. He felt the "memory" stirring inside him.
"Luffy. Back off. My turn.
"Oh? You fight?" the captain said, surprised.
"No. I'm learning."
He stepped forward. The soldiers came at him. He didn't know how to fight with a sword. But…
He remembered.
The first opponent was an overhead swing. Katsuro went left, drove his fist into his stomach. The second was a spear. He grabbed the shaft and hit him in the jaw with his knee.
The third was a sword. He grabbed the steel blade with his bare hands, slid under it and hit him in the solar plexus.
"Three down in eight seconds," he whispered.
He was breathing heavily. His body was hot. But his head was clear.
"World Memory" was working. He felt like a drunken martial artist who had no training — but had skill.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Helmeppo shouted, hiding behind a guard.
— Me? — Katsuro wiped his fist. — The new vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.
— ... Hey, are you already handing out titles? — Zoro shouted from the cross. — You didn't even ask me to join.
Luffy smiled:
— Join! We'll be a cool team!
Zoro was silent. And then... he laughed.
— Okay. Just get me out of here, damn you.
And that day, three people gathered on the eastern sea — the captain, the swordsman, and the one who remembers the steps of all the fighters who lived and died in all the worlds...