One Piece: Born to Betray

Makoto lounged across the deck, swirling his drink as the sunset painted the ocean in bloody hues—fitting, considering the carnage they'd left behind. The Straw Hats approached, their mismatched footsteps echoing: Luffy's boundless energy, Zoro's heavy skepticism, and Taiga's murderous aura.

"So," Makoto drawled, not bothering to sit up. "Did he accept, Captain?"

Luffy plopped down beside him, snatching the crystal glass and downing its contents in one gulp. "Shishishi! Of course!"

Zoro crossed his arms, eyeing Makoto like a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "Makoto, right? Let me introduce myself again. I'm Roronoa Zoro, the future strongest swordsman in the world." He jerked his chin toward Makoto. "What about you… Captain?"

Makoto's smirk deepened. "Captain? Oh no, no. I'm just the vice captain."

A beat of silence.

Then—

Zoro's eye twitched. "Huh?? Don't tell me the idiot with the straw hat is the actual captain?!"

"Yes," Taiga, Luffy, and Makoto answered in unison.

Zoro's face went blank. "What????????????"

Makoto laughed, stretching his arms behind his head. "My dream is to be the vice-captain of the future Pirate King's crew. Simple as that."

Zoro's brows drew together. "How the hell do you know he'll be King of the Pirates?"

Makoto lazily pointed at Luffy. "Because he said he would. Right, Luffy?"

Luffy grinned, the brim of his straw hat casting a shadow over his eyes as he declared:

"Yeah! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I will be the King of the Pirates!"

The words echoed in the silence that followed.

Zoro stared at them both, a twitch in his brow.This crew is insane.Is this really how their minds work?

"You just believe him… because he said it?" he asked, exasperated.

"Yeah," Makoto answered plainly.

Zoro's eye twitched. "So if I said I'll be King of the Pirates right now, would you follow me as my vice captain?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Makoto shrugged. "Because Luffy said it first. Right, Luffy?"

"Yup!" Luffy replied with a proud nod.

"..."

Zoro stared at them both dumbfounded.

Then slowly, a grin crept across his face."Tch. Fine." He rolled his shoulders, but his grip on Wado Ichimonji tightened."But the moment I see you going down a path that blocks my dream…"His lone visible eye sharpened with quiet intensity."I'm gone."

A beat of silence.

Then—

"Shishishi!" Luffy's laughter split the tension like a cannonball through paper. "Yeah, yeah! Just don't die before you beat that hawk-eyed guy!"

Makoto smirked, swirling his drink. "Oh, don't worry, moss-head. If anything?" His crimson eyes glinted. "We'll drag you to the top kicking and screaming."

Taiga groaned. "Great. Now I'm stuck with three suicidal morons."

Zoro's grin turned sharp. "You're free to jump ship anytime, pipsqueak."

"I would," she snapped, "but someone needs to stop you all from drowning in your own stupidity!"

Luffy, completely missing the tension, threw his arms around Zoro and Makoto's necks. "This is gonna be awesome! Next stop—!"

"Sake," Zoro grunted.

"Adventure!" Luffy corrected.

"A long bath," Taiga muttered.

Makoto watched them—Luffy's boundless energy, Zoro's stubborn pride, Taiga's exasperated fury—and for the first time since they'd met, his smirk softened into something dangerously close to genuine.

He raised his glass, the amber liquid catching fire in the sunset.

"To dreams that won't bend…" His gaze flicked to Zoro. "... and crews that won't break."

…

The morning sun painted the ocean in molten gold as their ship cut through calm waters. Makoto lounged against the railing, his crimson eyes half-lidded as he watched the horizon. Electricity crackled faintly between his fingers—tiny arcs of restless energy dancing across his knuckles.

Luffy's sandals slapped against the deck as he bounded over, straw hat bouncing with every step. "Where are we going now, Makoto?"

A slow smirk curled Makoto's lips. "Orange Town." He tilted his head, the sunlight catching the sharp angles of his face. "Heard there's a map to the Grand Line there."

Zoro, seated nearby with Wado Ichimonji resting across his lap, gave a dismissive grunt. 

"Maps are useless without someone to read them."

"Exactly." Makoto's voice dropped to a conspiratorial murmur. 

"Which is why we need a navigator as soon as possible."

Taiga appeared beside him, holding a tall glass of milkshake and a small bowl of grapes. Without a word, she set them down on the armrest of Makoto's chair.

Luffy's eyes immediately locked onto the food, saliva practically dripping from his mouth. 

"Nahhh, Taiga! Give me some too!"

Taiga clicked her tongue, crossing her arms. "Nuh-uh. I'm only a maid for Makoto."

Luffy's jaw dropped. "WHAAAAAT?! That's not fair!"

Makoto smirked, plucking a grape and popping it into his mouth. "Perks of being vice-captain."

Zoro rolled his eye. "This crew's a damn circus."

Taiga huffed. "And you're the clown—with that ridiculous green hair."

Luffy, undeterred, stretched his arm toward Makoto's grapes—only for Taiga to smack his hand away with a wooden spoon she'd seemingly pulled from nowhere.

"Hands off, Captain."

Luffy pouted, rubbing his knuckles. "You're mean."

Makoto took a leisurely sip of his milkshake, watching the chaos unfold with amusement. "Orange Town can't come soon enough."