Chapter Thirty-Two: Zoro the Pirate Hunter

Nami had certainly noticed the few Marines standing behind Helmeppo, but at this moment, her trust in the Marines was far lower than the trust she had in Roran, a man she had only known for a few days. At the very least, after spending these recent days together, Nami knew that Roran was a man of justice. As for the Marines before her, they only kept lowering her already poor opinion of the Navy. So rather than pleading for the Marines to intervene, she’d rather let Roran handle it himself. After all, it was just a beast; if it died, so be it.

“It seems I won’t need to do anything after all,” Roran said calmly, noticing something, squeezing Nami’s small hand to reassure her. “What do you mean?” Nami was startled, but quickly understood as she saw a green-haired man suddenly appear before them and, with a single stroke, cut down the menacing wolf.

A moment ago, the ferocious wolf had seemed unstoppable, but now it lay lifeless in a pool of blood. “It’s over…” The old blacksmith, rather than feeling relief at having survived, turned deathly pale. “Ah, my precious pet!” Helmeppo shrieked in fury, glaring at the green-haired man who had appeared out of nowhere. But as he registered the man’s face, Helmeppo felt a sense of familiarity.

“You—you’re not that pirate hunter, Zoro, are you?” he demanded, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead after staring at the green-haired man for a long time. In Helmeppo’s eyes, pirates were already a ruthless breed—so what of those who made their living by hunting pirates for bounty? How much more savage must they be? Especially this man, one of the most renowned pirate hunters in the East Blue.

For a moment, Helmeppo shrank back in fear. But soon enough, remembering his father’s position, his confidence returned. Helmeppo glared at Zoro and shouted, “You there, if you’re a pirate hunter, why are you siding against the Marines?”

“Marines? I’ve never seen any Marines who’d set a beast like this on people,” Zoro replied indifferently, pointing at the corpse of the wolf. “Hey, old man, I’ve got two hundred thousand Berries. Do you have any swords that suit me?”

He turned to the old blacksmith hiding behind Roran and asked calmly. Lately, he’d been troubled: among the three swords he’d always taken to sea, only Wado Ichimonji remained; the other two ordinary blades had broken. On top of that, he’d been drinking a lot recently, leaving his funds a bit short—he wasn’t even sure if he had enough to buy two swords. So he decided to try his luck at the blacksmith’s; he couldn’t afford any from a weapons shop. Who’d have thought he’d run into this trouble as soon as he arrived?

“Bastard…” Helmeppo swung his sword at Zoro. How dare a mere pirate hunter ignore him! For Helmeppo to dare attack a man who fought pirates at sea, despite being nothing more than an arrogant, incompetent playboy himself—Roran had to admire his nerve, or perhaps his utter lack of sense.

“You’re so noisy. I just want to buy a sword—why must you make such a fuss?” As Roran expected, Helmeppo’s attack was effortlessly deflected by Zoro, who even kicked him onto the carcass of the wolf. “Blood!” Helmeppo shrieked again, seeing himself covered in blood, convinced he’d been gravely wounded.

Having lived a pampered, domineering life, Helmeppo had never suffered such treatment. Lying on the ground, he looked back at the Marines and screamed hysterically, “You, all of you! Quick, take me to the hospital! The rest of you, keep an eye on them! I’ll call my father! I’ll have them all killed! Every last one!”

Panicked by the blood, yet not completely losing his senses, Helmeppo still knew to go to the hospital if injured and to invoke his father’s name when he couldn’t win. He knew full well that in Shells Town, his father Morgan was absolute—no one dared disobey his orders or oppose him. As long as they remained here, none who had offended him would escape.

“Master Helmeppo, you… you’re just lying on your pet’s corpse. You aren’t wounded,” one of the Marines explained reluctantly after seeing Helmeppo’s state. They didn’t care for him, but he was Captain Morgan’s son—they had no choice but to obey. What would happen if they didn’t? They couldn’t forget that their families lived on this island too.

“I’m not hurt?” Helmeppo jumped up instantly, checking himself over; when he confirmed he was indeed unscathed, he breathed a sigh of relief. “You fools! Arrest these people at once and send them to the execution yard!” he shouted at the Marines, “If you don’t do it now, I’ll have my father kill you all!”

“Yes, sir,” the Marines replied.

The Marines glanced at each other, saw the helplessness in each other’s eyes, and could only obey, weapons drawn, charging at Zoro. Roran and the others still hadn’t made a move; in their eyes, these were all just ordinary people and not their concern. Capturing the pirate hunter before them was enough. After all, as Marines, they had little fondness for pirate hunters who lived off bounty rewards.

“Do these men really not know what the Marines are supposed to be?” Nami was furious, watching them turn a blind eye to Helmeppo’s abuses and instead attack the man who had just saved them. Though she’d never expected much from the Navy, this was the first time she’d witnessed their wrongdoing with her own eyes.

These Marines, unable to distinguish right from wrong, acting as accomplices to a tyrant—how were they any different from the fishman pirates in Arlong’s Park? No, there was a difference. At least pirates like Arlong, who could occupy several villages as bases for years, were rare. But Marine bases existed in every sizeable town, and men like these were everywhere.

“Miss, perhaps you shouldn’t judge them so harshly. They have no choice,” the old blacksmith said, shaking his head and lowering his voice to explain. “All these Marines are natives of the island; their families live here as well. Besides, Captain Morgan wasn’t always like this. When he first took office a few years ago, he was a Marine filled with justice. No one knows what changed him these last years.”

“I...” Nami fell silent. So, because their families were here, they had no choice but to obey the orders of a tyrant? It reminded her of herself—joining Arlong’s pirates to protect the people of Cocoyashi Village.

“Hey, Zoro, if you dare fight back, the lives of those people will be forfeit!” Helmeppo suddenly called out, leering at Roran and the others with a sinister grin.

Helmeppo had heard of Zoro’s strength; he knew his ordinary Marines were no match for him. To prevent Zoro from defeating the Marines and escaping, he directly threatened Roran and the others. Judging by Zoro’s earlier act of saving someone, Helmeppo realized that Zoro was far less evil than he’d imagined—perhaps even a foolishly good man.