Chapter 7

With Morgan beaten, the soldiers he tyrannized would rather celebrate than mourn him, and an exhausted Zoro finally drops. Recovering at Rika's home, Zoro eats his first meal in nine days and asks Luffy where he is bound. Luffy names the Grand Line and One Piece as his goal. The conversation turns to Koby, whose former ties to the pirate Alvida make a Marine career awkward.

The soldiers march in to confirm the two are pirates. Once Luffy and Zoro admit it, they are thanked for their help but told to leave town, with a promise that headquarters will hear nothing of the affair. Koby, left standing apart, must prove he is no friend of theirs, so Luffy taunts him into throwing a punch and beats him back until the Marines intervene. The trick works, and the pirates are sent on their way.

The base reveals its quiet hatred of Morgan's brutal command, then pushes Luffy and Zoro out of town while agreeing to bury the incident. Koby and the Straw Hats part for the first time since their meeting. By provoking Koby into a brawl, Luffy publicly marks them as foes, clearing the way for the boy to enlist. The officer in charge, aware of Koby's past among pirates, accepts him into the Marines.

This is the closing chapter of the Romance Dawn Arc. As the two sail off in a small boat, Koby snaps to attention and salutes, and the rest of the soldiers follow suit. The commanding Marine declares the salute a breach of conduct worth a week without food, then tells Koby what a fine friend he has in Luffy.

The color cover shows Luffy painting a Jolly Roger onto a bear while Zoro naps nearby; an Oda note in Color Walk 1 explains he was actually attempting a portrait of Zoro, undone by his poor artistry. The shadowed forms of Buggy and Shanks appear in the character roster. In its first Weekly Shonen Jump printing the final page ran in full color.