[U.T] Ch 11: The Ultimate Tough Guy!

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"Hehe, quite the personality you've got there. All we need to do is untie you, right?"

Luffy grinned, baring his teeth, completely unfazed by Zoro's beast-like gaze.

After all, he had spent his childhood being thrown into jungles full of wild animals by his unreliable grandfather, Garp. Luffy knew this kind of look all too well— The gaze of a predator.

And yet, Zoro's eyes felt even sharper than those of the beasts Luffy had faced.

Even though he hadn't witnessed Zoro's strength firsthand, Luffy could instinctively tell—this guy was no pushover.

Tap!

A ladder suddenly appeared, and a small girl climbed up. She put a finger to her lips and cutely whispered, "Shh!" before hopping off the wall and dashing toward Zoro.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Zoro's fierce eyes softened slightly as he looked at the little girl. Though his voice was still rough, it carried a hint of patience.

"Big brother, you must be hungry, right? I brought you some rice balls!"

The little girl beamed, clutching the carefully wrapped rice balls to her chest.

"It's my first time making them, but I put my heart into it!"

"Brat, are you trying to get yourself killed? Get lost."

Zoro didn't even glance at the rice balls. Even after going twenty days without food or water, he remained indifferent.

His voice was cold—not out of malice, but to protect her.

"Hey! Even if you don't want to drag her into this, you don't have to be so harsh about it."

A calm voice interrupted.

"Who the hell are you? I told you already—you guys are in the way."

Zoro's expression turned colder as he looked at the young man who had just jumped down from the wall—Luen.

"This is a child's sincerity. And a child's sincerity is more precious than gold."

Luen gently patted the little girl's head, offering her comfort as her face fell at Zoro's rejection.

He wouldn't let this girl's pure heart be trampled on by a piece of trash like Helmeppo.

"Hehe, well said, Luen!"

Luffy laughed as he, too, jumped down from the wall.

He had been observing Zoro, trying to figure out what kind of person he was. After all, when choosing a crewmate, strength alone wasn't enough—

But since Luen had already decided to step in, Luffy wouldn't just stand by and watch.

His crew's choices were his choices.

"You're Zoro, right?"

Luffy grinned at the swordsman.

"Yeah. Who the hell are you two?"

Zoro's expression relaxed slightly after hearing Luen's words, but his tone remained unfriendly.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"

Luffy pointed to himself, still grinning.

"Luen, Luffy's crewmate."

Luen smirked slightly.

"Pirate King? Are you an idiot?"

Zoro's mouth twitched as he gave Luffy a skeptical look.

"Oh Luen, how do you know Zoro didn't want to get the girl involved?"

Luffy asked, curious.

"It's obvious. Just look at how the townspeople treat the Marines here. That Marine captain must be a real piece of work.

And 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro is a well-known bounty hunter in the East Blue. There's no way someone like him would end up tied up here for no reason."

Luen chuckled. He couldn't exactly say he knew the story because he had seen it before, but given the situation, it wasn't hard to deduce.

He turned to the little girl.

"But you should be the one to tell us the details. Since you went out of your way to bring him food, this must involve you somehow, right?"

He smiled gently.

"Big brothers, my name is Rika."

The little girl politely introduced herself before explaining everything.

Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo, often roamed the town with his so-called pet—a vicious dog.

One day, at Rika's family's restaurant, the dog started stealing food from customers and causing chaos.

Rika bravely stood up to stop it, drawing Helmeppo's attention.

But before he could retaliate, Zoro stepped in and knocked both Helmeppo and his dog flying.

Furious, Helmeppo used his father's authority to threaten everyone in the restaurant, claiming that he would have them all executed.

To protect them, Zoro made a deal—if he let himself be tied up for a month without food or water and survived, Helmeppo would spare the townspeople.

Now, twenty days had passed.

"Whoa! You're amazing! I'd probably die in three days without food!"

Luffy was now dead set on recruiting Zoro.

"I'm nothing like you. I will survive."

Zoro smirked confidently.

"Damn, this guy's a real tough bastard. It'd be a waste if he died here."

Luen nodded in admiration.

Zoro's resilience was unmatched.

Even later in the original story, when he took on all of Luffy's pain from Bartholomew Kuma's attack, he had stood covered in blood, unwavering, uttering the legendary words—"Nothing happened."

Zoro was the ultimate tough guy of the crew.

"Die here? What the hell are you talking about? There are still ten days left. I'll see this through."

Zoro scoffed, thinking Luen was doubting his endurance.

"I'm not saying you can't survive. I'm saying—do you really think that spoiled brat who abuses his father's power gives a damn about keeping his promise?"

Luen's voice was calm but cutting.

"Hahaha! He's got that right!"

A loud, obnoxious laugh suddenly echoed through the square.

A young man dressed like a privileged brat strolled toward them, flanked by two Marines.

"Helmeppo."

Zoro's expression turned ice-cold.

"I was going to wait until your execution day to tell you, but since someone figured it out already, I might as well do it now—let's just kill you today!"

Helmeppo sneered.

"You bastard…"

Zoro's jaw tightened in fury.

"Hahaha! The famous 'Pirate Hunter' dying at my hands? I'll be famous across the seas!"

Helmeppo cackled arrogantly.

Whoosh! Boom!

Before Helmeppo could finish his sentence, a fist stretched through the air and smashed straight into his smug face, sending him flying.

"Filthy scum."

Luffy retracted his rubberized arm, his eyes cold.

"W-What the hell are you?!"

Zoro stared in shock, unable to believe what he had just witnessed.

"I'm Luffy. A rubber man who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit."

Luen smirked.

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