The Marine base was tense. Luffy crouched in the shadows of the chief’s office, eyes sharp despite his usual carefree nature. His straw hat was here somewhere, and Boa Hancock was getting information for him.
“Where exactly is the infamous straw hat?” Boa purred, leaning toward the Marine boss.
The man hesitated, about to answer—
The door slammed open.
“That was a child, you bastard!”
A woman stormed in, eyes blazing. Luffy stiffened, peeking through a crack in the desk. A Marine, but… different. Fierce. Unshaken.
Boa turned, clearly annoyed. “Who dares—”
“A kid stole an apple, so you sent him to that camp?” Your voice cut like a blade. “What kind of justice is that?!”
The Marine boss scowled. “He broke the law.”
“He was hungry!”
Luffy, still hidden, tilted his head. Marines weren’t supposed to talk like that.
Boa huffed. “Must we waste time with this nonsense?”
“It’s not nonsense!” You turned on her. “If you really wanted to help people, you wouldn’t be working with him.”
Boa’s eye twitched. “You—”
The Marine boss smirked. “You want justice? Prove it.”
You narrowed your eyes. “What?”
“A pirate broke into this base today. Go hunt him down.”
Luffy blinked. Wait… was he talking about him?
Your fists clenched. “A pirate?”
“That’s right,” the boss said smoothly. “If you really care about doing the right thing, then go catch him.”
Luffy felt something shift in his gut. You were fiery, stubborn. He liked that. But if you found him… what would you do?