Rolling My Way to Pirate King (One Piece Chaos Gacha) (Patreon)

Chapter 3: Arrival at Shells Town

Out at Sea—East Blue—Sometime Later

“So you really ate the Devil Fruit, Luffy-san!?” Koby asked, awe clear in his voice as we sailed away from Alvida’s former base, after helping ourselves to some of their provisions.

“A Devil Fruit, there are a lot of them each with their own abilities, but yeah, I did,” I nodded with a grin, leaning back against the side of the boat while munching on an apple.

To prove it, I grabbed my cheek and stretched it out to inhuman lengths before letting it snap back into place.

“More specifically, I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, which makes me a rubber man,” I added casually, keeping its true nature to myself for now, at least until I managed to awaken it.

“Amazing~! Does Tiche-san have a Devil Fruit too?” Koby asked, turning toward her with a slight blush.

Tiche sat quietly beside me, having already made sure we were on course.

“Nope,” I answered for her. “But don’t let her beautiful looks fool you, Tiche’s plenty strong on her own.”

I shot her a sideways grin, catching the faint blush forming on her cheeks at the compliment.

“You are too kind, Luffy-sama,” Tiche said softly, lowering her head slightly.

Koby blinked at our interaction, especially at how she addressed me, before scratching the back of his head.

“That’s amazing, but… if you don’t mind me asking,” he began hesitantly, “why does Tiche-san speak to you so formally? Were you some kind of noble before deciding to become a pirate, Luffy-san?”

I snorted.

Me? A noble? Not a chance.

‘My grandpa’s the Hero of the Marines, and my dad’s the World’s Worst Criminal,’ I thought. ‘If anything, I’d get kicked out of nobility on principle just for dear old dad’s actions of forming an army against the so-called rulers of the world.’

“Heh, nope,” I said, shaking my head. “Tiche’s just… really reserved. Serving someone is part of her culture.”

I was honestly glad I could lie now, otherwise, I might’ve accidentally spilled everything about the Gacha to Kobi and while I trusted him, he was still planning to join the Marines who would be against me.

Koby looked to Tiche for confirmation. She gave a calm nod, her expression serene, and he seemed satisfied enough to drop it.

“Anyway… thank you again for saving me, Luffy-san,” Koby said, bowing his head. “I’ll never forget it. Because of you, I escaped Alvida—and I finally found the courage to follow my dream of joining the Marines.”

“Shishishi, don’t worry about it,” I waved him off with a grin. “We’re friends, right?”

That was all it took.

Koby’s eyes filled with tears before he quickly wiped them away with his sleeve.

“Y-Yes! Of course we are!”

“You might’ve escaped Alvida,” I added casually, “but you should probably work on not being such a crybaby.”

“…Yes,” Koby muttered, shoulders slumping slightly. “I’ll work on that.”

Right then, my stomach growled loudly.

I blinked, looking down at it.

Koby, on the other hand, jumped slightly and started glancing around in alarm.

“W-What was that!? That sounded like some kind of sea monster!” Koby exclaimed nervously, scanning the ocean.

“Nah, that’s just my stomach,” I said with a grin, sitting up. “Looks like it’s lunchtime. Good thing we grabbed a bunch of food from Alvida’s base.”

Koby visibly relaxed.

Tiche, however, had already moved. She stepped into the small cabin and returned moments later carrying dried meat, fruit, and bread.

“Here you go, Master,” she said, handing me the largest portion of meat. She gave Koby some bread, cheese, and fruit before sitting down with her own share.

“Thanks, Tiche~” I said happily, immediately digging in.

“S-Sorry for the trouble, Tiche-san,” Koby said awkwardly, accepting the food before starting to eat.

As we ate, I finally focused on the notifications I had ignored earlier.

‘Looks like tickets are coming in more often now… Guess I was right, the Gacha probably kicked in properly once canon officially started.’

[Feat Achieved! Met and Befriended Koby]

+1 Silver Random Ticket

[Feat Achieved! Met and Defeated Alvida]

+1 Silver Random Ticket

Alright… let’s roll.

[Rolling…]

[Fire Fist]

|Uncommon Ability|

Allows you to coat your fists in flames, these flames mimic the properties of your fists and enhance the power behind your strikes while also burning the target. You can also release the fire while punching to create a burning fist projectile.

[Digestive Expulsion Independence]

|Trash Trait|

You never piss or shit. Don't ask where all the waste in your body goes.

I blinked, absently shoving more food into my mouth as I processed the results.

‘…Okay, those are actually pretty good. Even the “trash” one.’

‘Fire Fist fits a little too well…’ I thought, briefly thinking of Ace. ‘And not needing to use the bathroom anymore, especially with us being out at sea for days or weeks at a time? Honestly… that’s a huge win in my book.’

Before long, conversation picked back up, eventually shifting toward our next destination: Shells Town.

Not only was it the nearest Marine base, where we’d be dropping off Koby, but it was also where Zoro and Nami currently were.

Zoro was being held there after making a deal with Helmeppo, that the blonde bastard wouldn’t keep, while Nami was trying to steal a map of the Grand Line rumored to be kept at the base.

“Y-You really want to recruit Roronoa Zoro, Luffy-san!?” Koby asked, clearly nervous. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about him, that he’s a bloodthirsty monster who eats pirates for breakfast!”

“Meh. I don’t really believe in rumors, and neither should you,” I said with a casual shrug. “With the current flow of information in this world, you can’t really trust anything unless you see it for yourself.”

“Anyway, what I’m saying is I’ll judge for myself whether Zoro’s a good person or not,” I said calmly, letting out a small burp as I leaned back in satisfaction at being full. “If he’s a bad guy, I won’t recruit him. Simple as that. But if he turns out to be a good guy, like I think he is and my gut is telling me, then I’ll invite him to join my crew.”

“Tiche-san, can you please talk some sense into Luffy-san?” Koby pleaded, turning toward her. “I haven’t known him long, but with how carefree he is, I’m sure someone will try to take advantage of him someday.”

Tiche, who had been quietly enjoying the breeze and sunlight, opened her eyes and looked at Koby.

He immediately flushed under her gaze and I didn’t blame him one bit. Tiche was beautiful and the kid had been stuck with a bunch of stinky pirates and a whale of a woman for a few years so seeing and interacting with Tiche probably had him all flustered.

“I stand fully with my Master and Captain, Koby-san,” she said calmly. “As you mentioned, you’ve only known him for a short time. I, however, trust his judgment completely. Whatever he decides, I will follow without question.”

Koby sighed, already looking defeated—

—but Tiche wasn’t finished.

“Besides,” she added, her tone darkening slightly, “if anyone dares to take advantage of Master’s kindness… I would gladly dispose of them.”

For a brief moment, her expression shifted—cold, lethal— showing hints of her true self before returning to normal.

Koby went pale, sweat forming on his forehead as he instinctively scooted closer to me.

“L-Luffy-san… T-Tiche-san is terrifying…” he whispered.

“Shishishi, I know~ Isn’t she great?” I grinned.

“…I should’ve expected that,” Koby muttered weakly.

“Shishishi, you’re pretty funny, Koby,” I laughed. “Anyway, wanna help me catch some fish? I’m in the mood for fish tonight.”

I stood up and headed into the cabin, returning a moment later with two fishing rods.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Koby said, following me as he took one. We cast our lines into the ocean.

“Hey, Tiche—or Koby, either one—how much longer until we reach our destination?” I asked, watching the sun dip toward the horizon.

The two exchanged a glance before Tiche gave Koby a small nod to go ahead.

“Ahem… we should arrive in a about one and a half or two days if we keep this pace and the wind is good,” Koby said with a thoughtful look.

“I see. Thanks,” I nodded, turning my attention back to the water.

‘That’s one thing anime, manga, and books never really show…’ I thought.

All the waiting.

It didn’t help that this world was way bigger than Earth, by about two times at minimum.

From what I remember, Goa and Shells Town should be relatively close, but it still took us a day and a half to reach Alvida’s base, apparently, I had slept for a full day after leaving Goa without realizing it and Tiche not wanting disturb me, didn’t wake me up.

And the Red Line? That’s on the complete opposite side where we are right now. Practically halfway across the world.

I let out a quiet sigh.

I seriously need to find something to pass the time and keep myself entertained or I’m going to lose my mind.

No wonder every pirate likes to sing.

They have literally nothing else to do most of the time.

=====

Two Days Later

“Finally!” I yelled happily, raising my hands in the air at the sight of land up ahead.

There had been a light storm yesterday, which delayed our arrival by about half a day, but we finally made it.

It also pushed the need to find some sort of hobby, or at least a way to entertain myself, to the top of my list. I had always been a rather active person, both in this life and my previous one, and spending days stuck on this tiny boat where we could barely move was seriously stressing me the hell out.

I was, at least, extremely thankful that I no longer needed to use the restroom. Poor Koby had to make do with buckets, which sounded disgusting, and he had been giving me strange looks after not seeing me use the restroom for the past two days.

Tiche, on the other hand, could probably go a couple of days without needing to go due to her past training, so Koby was the only one truly suffering. And there was no way he’d ever question a beautiful girl about something like that anyway.

“Hehe, I guess being stuck inside that small boat would drive even someone like Luffy-san a bit crazy,” Koby said nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“You bet it does. I can’t wait until we get a proper ship,” I said with a nod, almost tempted to just say screw it and buy one, but I held off. I wanted the Going Merry to be our first ship.

“I also can’t wait to explore the island. This will be the first town we’ve seen since we set sail days ago,” I added with an excited grin.

“M-Maybe you should hold off on exploring, Luffy-san. There’s a Marine base there, after all,” Koby suggested.

“Meh, I’m not even really a pirate yet. I’ve got only one crew member, no proper ship, and no Jolly Roger. We should be fine,” I said with a shrug.

Koby blinked, then nodded.

“Huh… that actually makes sense.”

Half an hour later, we docked properly and made our way into town.

“Alright, first order of business, food. Hopefully we can get some information about Zoro while we’re at it too,” I said cheerfully, leading the way with a skip in my step.

“Now that we’re here… I can’t help but feel nervous about joining the Marines. Do you mind if I stick around with you a bit longer, Luffy-san? Tiche-san?” Koby asked as he hurried to catch up.

“Do whatever you want, Koby. You’re free now,” I said casually with a shrug while Tiche just nodded silently.

Koby didn’t respond right away. I noticed him quickly wiping his eyes before nodding with a small smile.

“Right.”

Before long, we were seated inside a restaurant called Food Foo, our table stacked high with food and plates.

I wasted no time shoving as much as I could into my mouth, drawing astonished looks from everyone around us—except Tiche, and to a lesser extent, Koby.

“I still can’t believe how much you can eat, Luffy-san,” Koby commented lightly as he ate at a normal pace. “I guess having a rubber body means you don’t have to worry about overeating.”

“Nah, I’ve always eaten like this, even before I got my Devil Fruit,” I said after swallowing, making him widen his eyes in surprise.

“My grandpa could eat even more than me without any problem, so I probably got it from him,” I added, finishing my plate and immediately grabbing another.

“…I don’t even know if I should be impressed anymore,” Koby muttered, blinking.

“What I really want to know is where Zoro is.”

The moment I said his name, the bar went eerily quiet. Several people quickly paid for their meals and rushed out.

“…Seems like something’s up,” I muttered, not slowing down as I grabbed another plate.

“It’s a natural reaction after hearing his name. Luckily, I heard the captain here, Captain Morgan, is really strong so the people have nothing to worry about,” Koby said with a nod.

But just like before, when Zoro’s name was mentioned, the remaining people in the restaurant hurried out after dropping money on their tables, this time looking even more afraid.

Koby blinked in confusion.

“That’s strange. Why would people panic at the mention of Captain Morgan? He’s a Marine—one of the good guys,” he said.

“Haah… the world isn’t black and white, Koby,” I sighed, finishing my last plate and wiping my face clean.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean things aren’t always what they seem. In this world, there are good and bad Marines, just like there are good and bad pirates,” I said calmly.

Koby’s eyes widened in shock.

“T-That can’t be true,” he denied, shaking his head. “You must be the only exception.”

I rolled my eyes slightly but continued.

“The Marines are a massive organization that spans the entire world. Are you really telling me every single one of them is good without exception?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Koby opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He slowly closed it again, frowning.

“Marines and pirates are just people at the end of the day,” I went on. “They all have the capacity for great good… or great evil. That doesn’t change just because they join the Marines or raise a Jolly Roger.”

“I’ve met both good and bad pirates myself. The pirate who gave me this hat was one of the good ones, he gave up his arm for an annoying seven-year-old without hesitation,” I said, taking off my straw hat for a moment with a small smile.

“It’s because of him that I decided to become a pirate… and find the One Piece.”

I placed the hat back on my head and looked at Koby, who now seemed deep in thought, almost depressed.

Smirking, I slapped his shoulder, snapping him out of it.

“If you want to change things, Koby, then you just need to become strong enough to do it, right?”

His head snapped up, eyes wide and shining with tears.

“T-That’s right! I-I’ll become an Admiral and change things with my own two hands if I have to!” he declared, determination burning in his voice.

“Shishishi, that’s the spirit. Now come on, let’s go find Zoro and get you into the Marines,” I said, standing up.

Tiche silently pulled out a wad of bills and placed them on the table.

Throughout the entire conversation, while most of my attention had been on Koby, I had also been keeping an eye on someone else.

The only person who hadn’t left.

A beautiful girl around my age, with short orange hair and a figure that would put most supermodels back on Earth to shame.

‘Hello, my future navigator,’ I thought, a small smile forming on my lips.