Sword

Chapter 11

When she lived in Shells Town, Shoko used to avoid the Marine base as much as possible. Captain Morgan had been continuing his reign of terror since he arrived nearly six years ago, and rarely anyone but the Marines under his command ever approached the man for fear of misspeaking at risk of imprisonment.

While she was working at her family's restaurant, she saw the captain and his son much more frequently than she would have liked since it was one of their favorite spots in town to eat. Every time they came, just like the first time, they insisted on being top-priority customers.

As a result, Shoko's mother retired from service work at the restaurant because of the stress she would experience while serving Captain Morgan. Riri would ask Shoko to take baby Rika upstairs for fear that the child's crying would anger him and lead to their arrest.

Now, as a bounty hunter, the Marine Base on Shells Town was always her top choice to visit so she could see her family at home. Little Rika was two years old now, and Riri stayed so busy at the restaurant that childcare duties had fallen to Shoko's mother whenever Ripper was on Marine duty.

Shoko was always proud to come home to her family with stories of the pirates she caught, the different places all across the East Blue, and the Marines she interacted with at other bases. Ripper was especially interested in hearing about other Marine bases, of course. He loved hearing about captains who sought justice rather than personal glory, and Shoko knew he was dreaming of the day when Captain Morgan's tyranny over Shells Town would come to an end.

He wasn't alone. Whenever Shoko would go to the Marine base in Shells Town to collect her bounty rewards, she would make it a point to check with the other Marines how the state of things were around the base. A year after she became a bounty hunter, she heard that many of the soldiers were spending all of their time assembling the beginnings of a giant statue of Captain Morgan, rather than guarding the island or protecting its people.

"If you still have any desire to become a Marine, I hope you do everything in your power not to be stationed here," one Commander advised Shoko one day. He was the Commander who normally handled bounties and rewards.

Shoko only grimaced. She wanted to help the people in her hometown, but she knew she wouldn't be any use if she went against Morgan's orders. She would only end up in jail, and there was no chance of helping anyone or fighting any evil from there.

"I know," she said, "but I'm not exactly the most popular person on other islands in the East Blue." Ever since the Puck Jenning incident, rumors had been spreading across the East Blue that Zoro was a demon in the form of a man. While Shoko wasn't nearly as feared as he was since she never killed anyone so publicly, she was widely associated with him, and she was aware of silly whispers that Zoro was using his "demon powers" to possess and control her.

"You know the Marines don't care so much about reputation," the Commander pointed out. Shoko knew what he was implying. If the Marines cared about reputation among civilians, Captain Morgan would not have achieved his current rank as Captain.

Shoko could only sigh. She didn't necessarily want to be the most popular Marine among the people she wanted to protect, but it didn't sit well with her to cause them to fear her.

She constantly had to remind herself that as long as she knew she was doing everything she could to protect them from evil—whether that was in the form of pirates or corruption—she was doing the right thing. But there was always the question in the back of her head asking her if Captain Morgan maybe thought he was doing the right thing. If that was the case, ignoring his reputation with civilians was pointing him far in the wrong direction.