Luffy slowly got to his feet, his skinny body beaten and bloody. He was shaking so much that he couldn't stand it, that he couldn't control himself.

"Luffy!" He heard Usopp screaming. "Pull yourself together! This isn't like you!"

"Luffy!" He turned his head, seeing Nami out of the corner of his eye. He was so relieved; she was all right. He turned back towards his enemy, strength beginning to return to his shaking limbs.

"Oi, Luffy!" Zoro called out over the rubble of the ruined battlefield. "If you die, I'll quit my dream!"

—-

Roronoa Zoro walked along the shady dirt path, his hands shoved into his pockets. A few birds chirped in the trees, and a breeze blew gently, tugging on the folds of his open shirt. A little girl ran up behind him and grabbed his hand with both of hers.

"Hey, Mr. Zoro! My mom says that everyone has a story to tell, so tell me one!" Zoro pulled his hand out of her grip.

"Get off me, kid. I don't have a story to tell you."

"Tell me a story!" She followed him all the way to a small shack in the woods, bothering him and asking for a story.

When he shut the door on her, she entered the shack saying, "I'm coming in!"

Zoro sat at the low table. "Fine, I'll tell you a story. Just get off my case." "How'd you get all those scars?"

"I used to be a pirate."

"You were a pirate?!"

"My captain's name was Monkey D. Luffy. We were in a fight with some Marine asshole… And I said to him, 'Captain! If you die, I'll quit my dream!' And those assholes, my nakama, they stepped forward and said they'd quit their dreams, too, if he died. He raised his fist in the air, bawling his eyes out, this guy…"

"What did he do?"

"He said, 'I won't die! I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!'"

"What's your dream, Mr. Pirate?"

"I wanted to become the world's greatest swordsman."