The Marines have changed their ways quite a bit under the leadership of Fleet Admiral Akainu.
Of course, it's mainly because the World Government itself suffered setbacks, which gave Akainu more power.
Although the branch offices in the Four Seas are far from the central government, and the Marine Headquarters doesn't spend too much energy paying attention to them, the East Blue is different. It's common for high-ranking officials to visit.
This has led to the East Blue Marines being relatively responsible. Gato's group was able to develop partly because Bellemere was among them.
Within Gato's group, only the three Upper Moons knew that Gato was nothing. They didn't need to follow Gato's orders because, compared to "that adult," Gato was replaceable at any moment.
Bellemere was turned into a demon by "that adult," a demon that retained her emotions and memories. However, she couldn't defy the Demon King's orders. Even if his commands went against her own sense of justice, Bellemere had no chance to resist.
Bellemere, using her former Marine identity, provided a lot of cover for Gato's group, which allowed them to develop in the East Blue. Of course, Gato's group was mainly looking for something called the "Blue Spider Lily."
Gato secretly gathered pirates, openly bribed the Marines, and used both legal and illegal means to search for the Blue Spider Lily. All of this was also at the Demon King's command.
Most other places in the East Blue had been thoroughly searched, with only the Sea of Chaos and its surrounding waters left. But just then, the Marines seemed to have finally noticed something was wrong. They had been investigating Gato's group for a while.
If the islands around the Sea of Chaos were to establish contact with the outside world, the Marines would surely come looking. That's why they came here to cause trouble.
At first, they just sent a group of thugs, but they were easily repelled by Zoro. The same happened the next few times, and not long ago, even a Lower Moon demon who was holed up here was eliminated.
Having no other choice, Gato had to bring out two of his Upper Moons.
Among the Twelve Demon Moons, the bottom three Upper Moons and all six Lower Moons have connections to Gato. Gato is the Demon King's public representative. He is not a demon himself, as they also need individuals who can operate during the day.
But Gato's status is only on par with the Lower Moons. He has no right to mobilize the Upper Moons. The reason these two came here is because they received orders from "that adult."
Upon arriving, they found that the very skilled swordsman from the intel was already fighting someone.
And…
These two were fighting so intensely, yet it seemed neither was using their full strength.
Bellemere is Upper Moon Five, meaning there are only five demons stronger than her. If…
No, I can't think about it anymore!
Bellemere forced her mind to stop, because she knew "that adult" could even listen to their thoughts. If she continued thinking, Nami and the others might also be in danger.
So she turned her gaze back to the battlefield in the darkness. Those two should be finishing soon…
Yes, that's right.
Luffy and Zoro's strength were originally very close at this point in time. At least, before the Alabasta arc two years ago, calling them equals wouldn't be wrong.
Now, in this timeline, Luffy has the blessing of the Holy Mark, but Zoro also has years of guidance from Himura Kenshin. Plus, neither of them was using their full power, so the fight was evenly matched at first.
However, after fighting for a while, Zoro voluntarily stopped.
It wasn't because he admitted defeat, but because he sensed two people watching them from the darkness.
"You really are strong," Zoro stopped fighting, so Luffy naturally didn't press the issue. He sincerely praised him, "Come be my crewmate! The future Pirate King's crew needs such a capable swordsman!"
"…" Zoro looked at Luffy, a little confused. He was actually about to suggest they all team up, but Luffy's words made his brain feel like it was short-circuiting.
"You want me to be your crewmate?" Zoro asked, a bit disbelieving after Luffy's statement.
"Yeah! Isn't that what I said from the start?"
"You did not say that, you idiot!"
"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head with a cute, dazed expression. "Anyway, my name is Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King! What's your name?"
"...You don't even know my name, and you dare to invite me?" Zoro's mouth twitched. He felt like he had run into an idiot.
But he still gave his name, "Roronoa Zoro, I'm a bounty hunter. Most of my jobs are to kill you pirates!" He put on a ferocious expression at the end.
However, Luffy, being thick-skinned, said, "Okay, then I'll hire you to be my crewmate with my future Pirate King treasure!"
"Are you an idiot? That's not how you hire someone." Black lines appeared on Zoro's forehead. However, this confirmed that this guy had nothing to do with Gato. Gato wouldn't invite such an idiot to join his group.
So he waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, alright, I have important business to take care of. Future Pirate King, it's best you leave this place if you don't want to die."
"No, you have to leave with me. We're crewmates!" The thick-skinned person was also extremely stubborn. Luffy was determined to do what he set his mind to. He had already considered Zoro his comrade, so he had to take Zoro with him when he left.
Zoro was stunned. This was truly the first time he had met someone like this. But he didn't continue talking to Luffy. Instead, he gripped his two swords again with a serious expression.
"Hmph, you cowards are finally here," Zoro said to the two behind Luffy.
Under the moonlight, two figures appeared at the edge of their vision. A man and a woman slowly approached with an extremely eerie aura.
Luffy then turned his head and saw the two. He said with realization, "Ah! So you two were the ones peeking at us!"
Zoro looked at Luffy, a little surprised. He hadn't expected that he had also noticed them.
Zoro could sense someone watching them because he had come into contact with Observation Haki. In the sword-fighting realm Himura Kenshin taught him, there was also the concept of "penetrating the world." Although he hadn't reached that level yet, he had at least gotten a taste of it.
But he didn't expect this seemingly very clueless guy to have also noticed someone…
"I was originally planning to make a move after you two were both heavily injured, but it doesn't matter anymore. You've both probably used up a lot of stamina, right?"
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