Who's the One Who's Lost?!
[T/N: Three chapters of One Piece: I'm Destined to Be the Son-in-Law King! are here! 🎉 Get ready for more adventure on the high seas! Your comments make my day, and those Power Stones are like a delicious meal to a starving translator (that's me!)! 🙏 Happy reading! If you enjoy this, be sure to peek at Naruto Paradise: An Evil Uchiha's Rise and Young Master, Please Become Hokage!
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Guided by the Cat's Claw indication, pirates from all directions converged on the island's heart. The moment they met, greed sparking in their eyes, they erupted into a bloody free-for-all.
"The Buggy Pirates are battling the Goa Kingdom's fleet!" a scout yelled, his voice tight.
"The Bone Pirates have been defeated!"
"Bounty Hunters..." another muttered, spitting on the ground.
Not far from the Central Peak, on a hidden rise overlooking the chaos, Roya and his subordinates lay concealed, sweat plastering their hair to their foreheads as they monitored the pirates' movements.
"Isca, you attack from point A," Roya instructed, his voice low and steady.
"Fullbody, you attack from point B..."
Using a snapped branch, Roya scratched a simple diagram in the dirt, assigning the next moves with purposeful strokes, each arrow a promise of righteous fury pointed towards the supposed "treasure" location.
Once the pirates finished slaughtering each other and greedily grabbed "Kuro's Treasure," it would be their turn to step in and deliver a harsh awakening to the elated fools.
"Rustle, rustle..."
Suddenly, a distinct rustling sound sliced through the air, emanating from the dense bushes nearby, immediately snapping Roya and the others to attention.
A wild beast? Roya wondered, tensing.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, a young man with unruly green short hair, three swords strapped haphazardly to his waist, stumbled out of the bushes. He looked disoriented, like a ship lost at sea.
Seeing Roya and his group crouched in a tight circle, faces smeared with camouflage, the green-haired youth was visibly stunned, a flicker of confusion warring with a spark of combat readiness in his eyes.
"Wild gorillas?" he blurted out, squinting.
"You're the wild gorilla!" Fullbody snapped, his face reddening.
Everyone was clearly annoyed. Their eyebrow irked and twitched in annoyance.
"Oh, it's people!" The realization dawned on the youth slowly.
The green-haired youth clumsily drew his three swords, the steel glinting in the dappled sunlight, and pointed them at Roya and his group, a cocky grin spreading across his face. "I get it, you guys are the Wild Gorilla Pirates, right?"
"..."
Silence descended, thick and heavy as the humid air.
How did this guy even find this place? Roya wondered, his brow furrowed.
Fullbody whispered urgently, "Ensign Roya, that guy is Roronoa Zoro, a Bounty Hunter who's been pretty active lately!"
"Yeah, I know." Roya replied, a hint of exasperation coloring his tone.
Roya's gaze was dark, assessing.
Green algae head, three swords, plus a suspiciously vacant expression - with so many obvious features, it would be strange not to recognize him.
About half a year ago, Zoro had started operating in the nearby waters, and because he had defeated several bounty targets with rewards in the millions, he was considered to have gained some fame, a reputation earned in blood and steel.
A Bounty Hunter was not an enemy, though.
Roya silently began to remove his camouflage, the green leaves falling away to reveal his pristine Marine uniform. Seeing his action, Isca and the others followed suit, discarding their leafy disguises.
The upcoming Clean-up Operation didn't require too much camouflage. As Marines, they still needed to capture pirates with a positive image at critical moments.
"We are Marines!" Roya announced, his voice carrying authority.
"Huh?" Zoro's brow furrowed.
Zoro was filled with question marks. After confirming that Roya and the others' attire was indeed that of the Marines, he regretfully sheathed his swords, the metal sliding back into their scabbards with a soft snick.
"What a letdown, you're just Marines," he grumbled, disappointment etched on his face.
"Goodbye." He added, turning to leave.
"I'll come find you again after I catch some pirates."
He turned around, waved a careless goodbye, and wandered off into the jungle without the slightest hesitation.
Watching Zoro disappear back into the undergrowth, Isca hesitated, biting her lip. Even if Bounty Hunters weren't enemies of the Marines, there was a chance that they would expose them, possibly leading to some serious consequences.
"Ensign Roya, shouldn't we stop him?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
"No need." Roya responded, dismissing her concern.
Roya slowly withdrew his gaze, fixing it back on the map in the dirt.
Zoro shouldn't be a concern. Before joining the Straw Hat Pirates, that kid was extremely disgusted with pirates. It was a point of pride, almost.
Besides, he was a law-abiding citizen at the moment, or as close to one as he could manage.
The most urgent matter was still to eliminate the Buggy Pirates. Even if he wanted to contact Zoro, it would have to wait until later.
"Continue the meeting!" Roya ordered, his voice firm.
----
Ten minutes later.
"Rustle, rustle..."
Under the death stares of Roya and the others, the bushes rustled once more, and then Zoro swaggered out, his face a mixture of confusion and mild irritation.
Zoro frowned and soon understood what was going on. He thought, Heh, another similar Marine Camp.
"..."
Quiet.
Is this guy an idiot? Fullbody thought incredulously.
The four of Roya stared at Zoro, their eyes filled with the sympathy of caring for the mentally challenged.
Roya considered it for a moment, and reminded him rather tactfully, "Young man, is it possible that you're lost?"
"Impossible!" Zoro denied it outright, his face flushing red.
Ridiculous, how could he possibly get lost! He was a swordsman, not a navigator!
This time, he'd go in the opposite direction; that should work, right!
Under everyone's increasingly incredulous gaze, Zoro walked past the four of Roya, and then plunged into the jungle without looking back, his bravado masking a growing sense of panic.
----
Ten minutes later.
The young man returned to the Camp once again.
Looking at the familiar scene before him, the familiar Marine quartet, without a word, Zoro's head was practically smoking with frustration.
He really was lost!
After a long silence, Zoro walked past Roya, lowering his head like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, pretending that nothing had happened.
"Hey."
Roya suddenly called out to Zoro, raising his hand and pointing to the Central Peak a few kilometers away, its jagged peak piercing the sky. The meaning was self-evident.
Zoro looked up and his spirits lifted, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes.
With such a conspicuous landmark, it was impossible to get lost this time. Right?
----
Ten minutes later.
The familiar Camp...
"Sorry, excuse me." Zoro mumbled sheepishly.
"Aaaah, what exactly is going on with this forest?!" he roared in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air.
Inside the Camp.
Roya timed it perfectly, appropriately ending the pre-battle meeting.
"He's coming." Roya said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"..."
Isca and the other two stood up at the same time, giving a salute of attention, their expressions carefully neutral.
"Rustle, rustle..."
Just ten minutes apart, the green-haired youth burst out of the bushes. When he saw the familiar scene before him, his mind went blank, his face crumpling with defeat.
Damn it.
Why couldn't he get out!
The young man clenched his fists unwillingly.
This world was like a maze, full of tricks, designed to mock him.
Half a year ago, because he wanted to go fishing, he sat in a Small boat and went fishing at sea, but he couldn't find his way home and ended up stranded in a foreign land, alone and disoriented.
After that, he heard that that man was on the Grand Line, and he had hatched a plan to go find him, but as long as he sailed out to sea, he would inexplicably return to the starting point, trapped in a watery loop of despair.
He finally made two friends, but they always got lost, and it took a long time to reunite each time, each reunion a small miracle.
Damn it, why was every place like a maze? Was there no place that was a little simpler!
"Don't give up!" a Marine yelled from the group.
A voice of encouragement came from his ear.
"If you give up now, it'll all be over!"
"Hang in there, young brother!"
"You can definitely get out of this forest!"
Zoro looked up blankly, seeing several Marines clenching their fists and cheering him on, their eyes full of sympathy, their faces genuine.
Damn it, don't pity me!
The green-haired youth stormed off, his face burning with humiliation.
Soon, the green-haired youth returned again.
"Thump!"
The green-haired youth collapsed on the ground, questioning the very fabric of reality.
"Sigh!"
Roya shook his head speechlessly, took a cup of water and Bread and handed it to Zoro. "You're a Bounty Hunter, you came here to catch Pirates, right?"
"That's right." Zoro admitted, taking the bread and water.
Zoro accepted Roya's kindness, gulping down the water.
Mainly, he had been running back and forth around the Camp more than ten times, and was both hungry and thirsty, his energy reserves completely depleted.
"We are Marines, and our purpose this time is also to capture Pirates." Roya suggested, extending an olive branch, "You can follow us and we'll take you out of this forest and find the Pirates."
"Really?" Zoro asked, suspicion coloring his face.
Zoro's eyes widened, a flicker of hope igniting within him.
He felt that with his own strength, he might not be able to get out of this maze-like forest in his lifetime. If he could get help from the Marines, he could save a lot of effort.
Besides, he didn't hate the Marines, at least not these ones.
"Of course."
Roya nodded with a smile.
Although Zoro was still young, he had made a name for himself, and his combat power could not be underestimated. Moreover, he also wanted to see the legendary Three-Sword Style in action, up close and personal.