Sanji can't stand being at the penthouse anymore, so he rents a room at one of the hotels in Sabaody. He talks to Nami about putting his place and his cars on sale, and Robin helps him look for an apartment in Raftel.
Franky tells him they can start construction on the first of July, but that's still a week away, and Sanji wants to leave now.
He feels a bit bad because Kid and Bonney's wedding is next month and he promised to be there, but the couple assure him that they're fine, they understand. So when he receives the news about a room opening up in an apartment complex in Hilltop, he immediately rents it. Zeff also promises to take over the catering for the couple's wedding, so at least Sanji's conscience isn't too guilty.
The rent is a little overpriced on the new apartment, but the landlord only accepts people who work at Hilltop, so Sanji is sure to find a lot of connections there.
There is a waiting list, but Sanji manages to get the apartment by paying the deposit and a year's rent in advance. He gets an email with a couple of pictures of the place, and it looks pretty simple: two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, and living room. It's on the fifth floor out of thirteen, but at least it's in a corner, so he will only have a neighbor on his right.
He hires some of Franky's workers to move the few belongings he's going to keep (i.e. his wardrobe and cooking ware), but he decides to stay one more day, because he wants to see Chopper before he leaves.
"Sanji!" the little kid exclaims excitedly, jumping to hug him. "Hi!"
Chopper doesn't live with him anymore. The day after Zoro left, about a week ago, Usopp came by and helped the little boy pack up and move in with him. Usopp lives the closest to the University other than Sanji, so it makes sense that Zoro would pick the long-nose. He's also the most responsible one after Nami, but the red-head doesn't have enough time to take care of Chopper.
"Hey, Chopper," Sanji greets and smiles honestly for the first time since Zoro left. "How are you?""How are you?""I'm great! I'm almost done with all of my CLEP Exams!"
"I'm great! Dr. Kureha said I definitely can enroll in some of the more advanced courses if I do well on my finals!"
"That's amazing," Sanji praises. Chopper told him that he wanted to graduate early and head on to medical school by the time he turns ten. Once he's done that, he will slow down and take the time to learn as much as he can before he hits the professional ground. That means graduating from NWU in two years, but if anybody can do it, then Chopper can.
Sanji wants Chopper to come with him, but since the boy signed up for multiple classes during the summer, that won't be possible.
"When are you leaving?" Chopper asks, a bit sadly.
"Tomorrow," Sanji sighs. "Franky's guys already moved all of my stuff up there. I leave early in the morning."
"Are you going to visit me?" Chopper asks, his lower lip trembling. "Or are you not coming back now that Dad left?"
Sanji ignores the mention about Zoro. He has been very careful not to think about the other man. "Don't worry, Chopper. Of course, I'll come visit you," Sanji promises. "And if you want, you can come and stay with me during your breaks. You're always welcome in my home, Chopper."
"Really!? That's great! Because I'm sure gonna miss you, Sanji. Can I call you every day?"
"You better," Sanji says with mock sternness. "Raftel is three hours ahead, but remember you can call me at any time if you need something."
Chopper smiles and sighs. "I know. Don't worry too much, Sanji. I'll be fine."
"Hmm. Just tell Usopp I'm holding him completely responsible if anything happens to you. By the way, have you eaten yet?"
"No. Can you make me a chocolate cake?"
Sanji does make him a chocolate cake though he uses cacao and yogurt to make it healthier and spends most of the day with him before he leaves.
Sanji leaves the next morning before it is lights out, getting on the first Sea Train to Raftel. The city is actually a small island though it is still part of New World. It stands at the farthest northern corner of the continent, connected to the mainland by a long concrete bridge.
Sanji wonders why it's called The End of the World when, technically since it's in the north, it stands at the beginning. Maybe whoever named it was looking at the map upside down.
New World is the largest country in Grand Line, but only its southern side borders with any other countries, so most of the major cities are located in the south. Like Sabaody and Joha. But for times when you want to head up north and explore the large country, it's always best to travel by Sea Train. You don't have to stop as much since the Sea Train only has three checkpoints compared to the dozens that line the route cars have to take, and so only takes a fraction of the time it takes to travel by car. Because of it, Sanji arrives in the dark, early morning two days later. He immediately falls asleep and wakes up four hours later, around 8 a.m.
The few belongings he kept are stacked in the middle of the living room, and Sanji goes through them to make sure everything arrived safely before putting everything up in their correct spot.
His new kitchen is nothing fancy, but there's a gas stove, so it's good enough. There are a full-sized bed and a dresser on his bedroom, and the bathroom has only a shower, no bathtub. The second bedroom has already been equipped with all of the furniture Sanji had in his old closet, so he has no problems while putting his clothes up.
It's nothing compared to his penthouse in Joha, more like what a normal person working a nine to five job would rent, but the place is empty and that's all Sanji needs.
He doesn't have a sofa anymore, but he can always go buy one later. And maybe a desk? He's going to need that, especially when he begins to plan a menu. And maybe buy some potted plants to add a little life to the white-washed walls. Some essential oils to get rid of the smell of fresh paint, a splash of color here and there…this can be a nice place.
The smell of paint is bothering him, so he opens all of his windows (he only has three: one in each bedroom facing the museum in front of the apartment complex, and the other in the living room, which faces a taller, red-stone building. His stomach growls to remind him that he hasn't eaten anything but a small sandwich since yesterday on the train, but his fridge is empty, so he heads out to buy some groceries.
When he comes back with just the essentials, he sees a tall, dark-haired man dressed in a simple white t-shirt and jeans knocking on his door.
"Can I help you?" Sanji asks loudly, and the guy turns to face him, surprised. He's a bit older than Sanji, maybe in his early thirties, and there are huge bags under his eyes. But he's holding what looks like a baked spaghetti casserole.
"Oh, hey," the man greets nervously, and he eyes the paper bags in Sanji's arms. "Sorry, I was just—I'm Gin, your next door neighbor. Just came to say hi and offer you a welcome gift. That's what you're supposed to do, right? My experience in these types of things extends to sitcoms."
Oh, well that's nice of him. Sanji's experience with neighbors extends to the odd families that lived in Zoro's apartment—since he never met his—and none of them were this nice.
"I'm Sanji. It's nice to meet you, Gin. And thank you for the casserole. Would you like to have breakfast with me?"
It's polite to invite him in, right? And besides, Sanji needs to start making new acquaintances. Gin smiles and nods, and follows Sanji inside his apartment. Sanji sets his groceries on the kitchen island, which doubles as his dinner table, and takes out a couple of plates for him and Gin.
"Sorry about the mess. I just got here, and didn't get much chance to clean up," Sanji apologizes as he puts away his perishables.
"No problem, man," Gins shrugs. "I saw you come in this morning. Looks better than my place to be honest."
Sanji smiles and takes out a couple of glasses. He just bought some orange juice, which doesn't exactly go with spaghetti, but it's all he has on hand. The baked spaghetti casserole looks surprisingly tasty, and once he serves himself and Gin and takes the first bite, he's even more surprised when it tastes fucking amazing.
"Wow, Gin, this is really good," he praises, taking another bite. "You cooked this?"
"Nah. I work at Jordan's over in Upper Mil. My boss gave it to me yesterday since it was a wrong order, and I just reheated it."
Jordan's. He's going to have to check it out, especially if their food tastes this good even when reheated.
"So what about you? Do you already have a job?" Gin questions.
"Actually, I'm opening a restaurant," Sanji says, smiling when Gin looks at him in surprise. "We start construction next week."
"Your own restaurant? What are you doing at Ridgeway, then?" Gin asks, and Sanji frowns.
"Ridgeway?"
"That's the name of the apartments," Gin explains. "We're all workers, but all the rich folks live either in Upper Mil or Little World. If you're reallyrich, then you get to live in the Valley."
Sanji shrugs easily. "I'm gonna be working in Hilltop, makes sense to live in it too, right?"
"If you say so," Gin says, shrugging.
They continue to have the easy conversation. Gin has been living in Raftel for about five years now, he's an East Blue native, but spent most of his life in West Blue. He's been working odd jobs all over Raftel, and his newest is at Jordan's, which he has been in for four months.
He's a cool guy, a bit closed-off and serious, but essentially nice. Sanji gets the feeling that Gin hasn't lived an easy life and is a little guarded because of it, but he gets a good vibe from the man. He offers to show Sanji around during his time off, and because Sanji needs to be doing something, needs to keep his mind busy, he agrees.
All in all, it's not a bad start to his new life.
Since Sanji hired Galley-La for the construction of his restaurant, Robin and Franky move up to Raftel as soon as construction starts. Their life is in Water 7, but the company will pay for their hotel room for as long as In Fine is under construction. Sanji also hires Nami, offering to give her a 30% raise if she leaves her job as a banker and takes over the financing of his restaurant. And Vivi happens to own a loft in Raftel, so that plays out.
"So what's the plan from here?" Nami asks, staring at Sanji from over the rim of the coffee he bought her.
Construction has been under way for a week now, and Sanji has settled pretty comfortably in his new life. Robin arrived with Franky on the first of the month, but Nami and Vivi barely got here last night, and Sanji wanted to wait until she was here to have this meeting.
"Well, the next step is creating the menu," Sanji explains. "I want to incorporate food from all over the world, but give it a unique twist. I'm going to be going around the city, trying out the food, and creating new recipes from the most popular dishes around."
"Mmh. I was thinking on contacting a couple of distributors around the world to create a partnership, but I guess I need to wait until the menu is ready to know what type of ingredients you'll need," Nami frowns.
"I want locally grown products," Sanji says. "But the wine is another deal. The Baratie had a limited collection, since Zeff only bought from the surrounding areas, but I want everything. Especially West Blue—their alcohol is divine."
"We're going to have to work on advertisement, too," Robin reminds him. "My goal is to have the first month booked even before you open. That means working on your image, Sanji."
"What's wrong with the way I look?" Sanji asks, feeling a little insulted.
"I don't mean physically," Robin explains, smiling softly. "But Zeff didn't give you much exposure. You're one of the best cooks I know, but your name is hardly known around the circuit."
"And when do you want to start working on the inside design?" Vivi asks, speaking for the first time. "Nami mentioned you wanted to create a worldly atmosphere, and I've been doing a little research on how to help you."
"Well, I'm not planning on buying anything for the inside design until we're past the halfway mark, but it's never too early to start planning," Sanji says. "My plan is to wait a month after construction is done to open so I can smooth out the final touches, which is also when I'm going to hire my staff."
"You should start a bit earlier than that," Nami suggest. "After all, your staff will be the soul of your restaurant. You need to make sure they're capable."
"Of course, Nami-swan! You're so smart!"
"Franky has estimated five months of construction," Robin says, studying her planner. "He's usually very good about keeping on schedule…if we add the month of preparation…I think the restaurant can very well be opening on New Year's Day."
"That'll be amazing!" Nami exclaims. "Do you know how well that will work on marketing?"
"Hmm, yes. Sanji, how quickly do you think you can have your menu ready?" Robin asks curiously.
"Give or take three months," Sanji shrugs. "It's going to take me the first month to find the dishes I want, and around two months to fix them up. Why?"
"I was thinking we could have a test day," Robin explains.
"Robin, that's amazing!" Vivi exclaims.
"Test day?" Nami asks, confused.
"It's basically like a study group to see if the dishes will be a hit," Vivi explains. "Sanji can prepare a few of the dishes he will offer in his menu, then offer them for free during a promotional dinner."
"That's excellent," Sanji beams. "Robin, you're a genius!"
"Thank you," Robin says, smiling. "It looks like we have a steady outline of what we all should be doing. Vivi, you will work on the interior design. You and Sanji should agree on it by September; that will give you around three months to buy everything you will need. Nami, you will speak to the world's top distributors of alcohol around the world and negotiate contracts with In Fine, and once Sanji has the basic outline of his menu, you will also negotiate with the multiple providers here in Raftel. I will work on getting Sanji some more exposure and will create a marketing plan that will be put into motion as soon as we hit the three month mark. Sanji, you will work on your menu. Remember, everyone, the end goal is to give Sanji the best Grand Opening ever, as well as reservations going through the first month."
"Robin-chwan, you're the absolute best! I'm so glad to have you three beautiful ladies in my life!" Sanji exclaims elaborately.
Vivi giggles, Nami rolls her eyes, and Robin smirks. None of them mention Zoro, and for that, Sanji loves them all the more.
If anybody had told Zoro two weeks ago that he would be in a boat with Mihawk sitting in petulance silence, he would have laughed. Or maybe just walked away.
But that's how it's been for the last two week. Zoro doesn't know why the man has to live so fucking far away from everybody—they've been sailing for two weeks and they barely saw the outline of the island around two hours ago.
The island is called Kuraigana. It's completed isolated, a waste of space if Zoro ever saw one. The sky around it is cloudy and misty, cold and clammy. He doesn't know what Mihawk sees in the place, but Zoro needs to get used to it if he's going to be staying there for the next…well, he doesn't know how long he's going to stay, exactly.
When they set foot on land, it's already starting to get dark. Well, it was dark to begin with, but this is nightfall dark. The dark that's supposed to happen, not the gloomy, depressing shit Mihawk seems to like.
Zoro follows behind the taller man, determined not to let the moving trees distract him from his path. He can't afford to get lost out here or Mihawk might just leave him and wait until he finds his own way out. Zoro doesn't want to admit it, but he could get lost in this forest for months.
They don't stop until they arrive at the ruins of a large castle. The place is large and dark, made of stone and built to last. Once they get inside, Zoro isn't surprised to be assaulted by the smell of dampness and oldness. It's not too overpowering, it is clear Mihawk keeps the place as clean as he can, but it still makes Zoro want to sneeze.
"There are many empty rooms in the castle," Mihawk speaks—the first time he's done so since almost eight days ago, when he ordered Zoro to keep the boat going west before he fell asleep. The man gave no explanation for his silence, though Zoro thinks it has something to do with the fact that he woke up, checked his compass, and immediately turned the boat to the right—opposite to where Zoro was leading it.
"You may pick whichever you want."
"Thank you," Zoro says stiffly. He takes a step forward, then falls to his knees as a horrible, empty hole opens inside of him and eats away at his every emotion. "I don't deserve to be born," he gasps, feeling completely useless. What kind of man is he? Left behind his son, his friends, the man he loves. "I'm sorry I was ever born."
"Perona. How many times have I told you not to set the ghost on guests?"
"Uh, none? We don't get guests."
Slowly, the hollow feeling fades away, letting Zoro struggle to his feet. He glares at the pink-haired girl floating above them, near the curling stairs. She's dressed in a red mini-skirt with black and white striped tights. She's young, still in her teen years, though her make-up suggests she wants to appear older.
"Roronoa, meet my daughter," Mihawk says, voice as detached as always. "Perona, Roronoa will be staying with us for a while."
"Your daughter?" Zoro gasps incredulous at the same time Perona exclaims "What!?"
"You have a daughter?" Zoro asks again, staring at the older man. Well, Mihawk is definitely old enough to have a daughter, but Zoro never imagined he would be interested in those type of relationships. He seems to cold, to aloof, to ever be intimate with someone else. He suddenly wonders if Perona's mother is around. He kind of wants to meet her.
"Is he really going to stay with us? Hmm, I guess he's kind of cute," Perona says, studying Zoro.
"Show Roronoa to an empty room, Perona," Mihawk orders, ignoring both of them. "It's getting dark and we should all go to bed." His tone of voice is familiar…it's the same voice
Zoro uses when he's upset with Chopper. It's clear Perona was supposed to be in bed already.
Zoro hides a snort. Dracule Mihawk, concerned parent. It really doesn't fit the image of the man who's been hailed the strongest swordsman—though Zoro shouldn't laugh, since he's going to be in the same situation soon enough.
"Fine," Perona sighs heavily, as if forced to do some unspeakable thing. "Follow me." She floats and disappears through a wall, her body going through the thick stone easily.
"She ate a Devil's Fruit?" Zoro asks curiously.
"She's a ghost human," Mihawk explains. "Be careful of her ghosts. They are…depressing." With that, the other man turns his back on Zoro and walks away.
Zoro stares after him just for a moment, studying his gait, then climbs the stairs and follows in the general direction Perona left. Though, did she turn right or left in the hall? Or did she keep going straight? How is Zoro supposed to know when she can phase through walls!
"Hey, you! Where are you going?"
Zoro turns around and frowns at the pink-haired head poking out of the wall. Perona is looking back at him with an annoyed expression on her face, her hair falling to the side since she's sideways.
"I'm following you!" Zoro snaps back. "Where are you leading me?"
"To your room, duh," Perona says as the rest of her body appears. "You're gonna be in the same hallway as me. Papa likes to stay in the North Wing, so don't bother him."
Zoro only makes a dismissive sound and follows the girl. The castle is pretty large, entirely made out of stone, and decorated darkly. She leads him until they stop at two large double doors, and when Zoro opens them to look inside, he sees a large but empty room. There's an old-fashioned canopy bed, the wood painted a dark reddish brown and the bedding made out of entirely dark colors. There's an ornate wardrobe against the wall (useless, since Zoro only brought the clothes on his back and one more change), and a standing mirror in the corner. There's thin layer of dust everywhere but the bed, and one large window that only shows the dark forest surrounding the castle, and farther off, the shadow of curling mountains.
"I'll come in the morning to show you to the kitchen," Perona says, floating inside. "Papa likes to eat breakfast very early, and if you miss it, he won't cook more. So make sure you wake up early."
"I'll be on time," Zoro promises, placing his small bag on the bed. He's going to have strip the bed if he wants to sleep on it, since it's so fucking dusty. Hopefully, there's a river nearby where he can wash them. He thinks it's too much to hope for a washing machine.
"Why are you here?" Perona asks suddenly, and Zoro turns around to see her still floating near the door, studying him with a curious expression. She's a teenager, maybe sixteen—definitely nowhere near her twenties, though her makeup is heavy. He wonders how much she knows about the life her father is living, about how much danger he encounters on a daily basis.
It suddenly makes a lot more sense why Mihawk chose this island as his home, if he has to protect his daughter.
"I'm here to train under your father so that one day I may kill him and take his title," Zoro answers honestly, still studying her.
To his surprise, she smiles widely. "Another one? But you must be pretty strong if he actually brought you here. You're kind of cute, so don't die too soon, alright?"
Zoro snorts and turns away from her to start stripping the bed. "Don't worry. I won't."
Zoro soon grows restless. He's been living with Mihawk for two weeks now, and the man has yet to teach him anything of importance. All he does is tell Zoro to train alone and watch him, always turning down his challenges for a sparring session.
Zoro does learn a few things, though none he wishes to learn.
For example, Perona hates to be giving orders. She's childish, even more so than Chopper, and her ghosts are a menace. More than once, she has set them against Zoro when he makes her upset or refuses to play dress up with her (he's grown man, he's not going to wear a stupid bear suit!). Strangely, the ghosts don't affect Mihawk at all, despite Perona threatening to use them on him every time he gives her an order. Zoro doesn't know how he does it, but he hopes to learn that trick soon.
Despite the lack of training (other than the physical training Zoro does every day to become stronger and faster), hi/s day is pretty busy. He decides to explore the castle, though there isn't much to see. There's about a dozen halls, but they all look the same. Some even have the same paintings. It takes him a couple of hours to finds his room after all, and he definitely doesn't have to follow one of Perona's ghosts to finds his way.
He also has yet to find where Mihawk keeps his weapons. The older man allowed him to borrow one of his swords, since Zoro uses three and Yubashiri is broken. However, he never told Zoro where he kept them, and Perona still refuses to show him the way.
Seriously, Chopper is a lot better behaved than her, and he's half her age.
Finally, during the second week of July, Mihawk calls him to the front doors. The man doesn't say anything, but Zoro is already used to the silence. The other man doesn't speak unless he has to, and Zoro has found that he actually enjoys the silence. Besides, just because he doesn't talk doesn't mean that Mihawk isn't saying anything, and Zoro has found
a new challenge trying to decipher his body language.
"Nine years ago, there was a kingdom in this island. We now reside in its ruins," Mihawk begins staring out into the mist. "It was a bloodthirsty battle that laid waste to the entire island. And from it, these beast have risen."
Zoro doesn't need to ask which beasts Mihawk is referring to. He can see shadows moving in the mist, slowly becoming solid forms.
"The Humandrills are incredibly intelligent animals," Mihawk continues. "They have the ability to imitate any trait they witness. They were here during the great war, so they have learn nothing but war. You must defeat them all. If you die, your body will be buried in the forest. Do not speak to me until you have defeated them all."
Mihawk doesn't wait to hear his answer. Zoro doesn't really care, either way. He came here to grow stronger, and if he has to defeat these beasts to do that, then so be it. He takes out Wado and Kitetsu, grinning when he sees the first Humandrill. It's large, taller than Zoro, wielding two swords.
At the very least, Zoro can find a new sword from this.
If he thought this would be an easy win, he is soon proven dead wrong.
From the very first attack, it is made clear that this animals are powerful opponents. Zoro can hardly see the first baboon-like creature move before his natural instincts force him to bring up his swords and block the first attack. But he doesn't even get a second to breathe before the baboon is parrying with another attack, moving to a headstand and holding his swords on his legs. The next movement reminds him of Sanji, though the man would never be able to wield swords like this animal does.
The other baboons approach him, and Zoro sees that they're not all holding swords. He sees some with guns, other with bows and arrows. There's one holding a spike, another with a huge mallet in his hands.
He isn't given much time to study them, still trying to fight off the first baboon, the one with the swords. Zoro goes for one of his better attacks, holding his two swords in front of him like the horns of a bull, and strikes forward.
The baboon screams, but doesn't go down. Zoro turns around to deliver another wound, but the sound of metal hitting metal rings out and Kitetsu is suddenly snatched out of his hand.
That fucking monkey shot the sword out of his hand. Zoro glares at the baboon holding the long pistol as he shakes back the feeling into his hand. Damn, if he hadn't let go of the hilt, his fingers would've snapped clean in half. Kitetsu is buried in the rock a couple of feet away from him, trembling slightly.
Another inhuman cry rings loudly, and Zoro is only able to bring Wado up just in time to block the slash meant to take his head off. The baboon doesn't stop there, immediately switching to a strike that hits home. Zoro yells outs as he feels pain bloom in his leg, where the baboon stabbed him.
It's not deep, but it's gonna bother the hell out of him.
"Fucking shit," Zoro snarls, "I'm not gonna lose—."
His words are cut short as the baboon attacks again, another wound appearing in the underside of his arm. It stings, but Zoro still has the strength to block the next few strikes. Unfortunately, he's forced into the defensive, only able to keep himself from being shredded to pieces.
He kicks back as one particular slash hits too close to be of comfort, but something strikes him from behind. It feels like when Luffy slams against him, except this is a thousand times worst. He coughs, feeling his mouth get wet with something other than spit, but before he can get back to his feet, the first baboon strikes him again.
Zoro only feels the sharp sting of pain in his arm before Wado is ripped away from him to sink easily into the hard rock, as far away from him as Kitetsu. Zoro falls to his knees in front of the armed baboon, breathing heavily. His mouth feels thick and coppery, and when he spits out, he sees blood.
The screams are getting louder, and Zoro can sense something dangerous walking towards him.
If he's about to die, he won't do it facing the ground. He struggles to his feet, looking up into the large baboon that knocked him down. He can see the large mallet in the Humandrill's hand, an ominous threat.
God fucking damn it! Zoro isn't going to die here. Not after everything he's sacrificed. Not after leaving Chopper. Not after leaving Sanji.
He can't move, the first hit of the mallet strong enough to make his legs shake, but he stares up at the baboon defiantly. If he falls now, he will stand up again. If he's defeated here, he will fight again.
He's not going to give in so easily. Not again.
The mallet hits, but Zoro doesn't wince as his body is sent flying back into the cross-shaped tree. He coughs up blood, and the wound Daz reopened twinges painfully. He's sure it reopened again, and he might have broken a couple of ribs. He can't see out of his right eye, blood covering his field of vision. Everything is starting to get fuzzy now.
"…you idiot! You're gonna die!"
Zoro only sees a flash of pink before he loses consciousness.
When he wakes up, he's in his room. He's covered in head to toes in bandages, so much so that it's almost impossible to move. He manages to rip off a couple of layers, enough to sit up on the bed. His body aches everywhere, but he's alive. Wado and Kitetsu are resting against the wall, and the sky outside is that less-depressing dark that means it's daylight somewhere nearby.
"You're not supposed to be up yet!"
Zoro glances at Perona as she floats inside. She's wearing a layered black dress than only reaches to her knees, though she has covered her legs with black tights again. The dress has an upper layered in stripes, and a large fluffy bow. Zoro doesn't know enough about clothes to name it all, but he knows it looks complicated.
How long does it take for her to get dressed, anyway?
"You're going to reopen your wounds!" Perona chides again. She's not as cute as Chopper when she does it, though she's equally as annoying. "What were you doing, fighting the Humandrills? You're lucky you didn't face their leader! He's been copying Papa for years—I swear, you're not supposed to die this early!"
"There's a leader?" Zoro asks, latching on to that bit of information. So there's one of those monkey freaks that fights exactly like Mihawk? He grins, suddenly eager. If this is how Mihawk will test him, then he will not lose.
He ignores Perona's insisting nagging and gets to his feet. He grabs his swords, breathing out a satisfying breath when his skin touches their hilts.
He will not rest until he's defeated all of the Humandrills. Including their leader.