Reading Guide

"Hello" Talking

'Hello' Thinking

(Twenty Minutes Later) Time

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Naruto.

Zoro slowly opened his eyes and looked up into the sky. The wind moved the leaves on the trees above him ever so slightly, sending shadows dancing over the forest floor.

'I'm. . . alive,' he thought to himself. 'And. . . I failed.'

He continued to stare up at the sky until the sun had begun to set, not thinking a single thing. Finally, as if coming out of a trance, he blinked slowly.

'It's my fault, my fault, my fault,' he repeated to him self. 'My. . . but it's too late for that. Too late. . . too late. I can't go back. I must move forward. But what is forward?'

Zoro continued to lie in the last rays of the setting sun, and once the sun's last hold on the horizon had slipped, he stirred. Sitting up, he felt something fall off his chest and drift downward to the leave covered floor of the forest. Reaching down, he picked it up. It was a note.

Zoro, your captain gave me a second chance and so to repay him I have given you one as well. I have sent you to a distant land, one from which return is all but impossible. There you can live as you want to, as he would have wanted you to. I have even restored 17 years of your life by pushing the years out of you in the same way that I pushed the pain out of his body on Thriller Bark. I have also removed any wounds and scars that you once had so that you may leave your past behind. I wish you the best of luck in your second try. -Kuma

The letter fell from Zoro's hands. Looking down at himself he found that he did indeed look to be seventeen years younger and at the same time he realized that he could see through his left eye. Even the gargantuan scar from his fight with Mihawk was gone, only unbroken flesh remained. Finally fully taking in his surroundings he noticed that his swords were nowhere to be found. The Shusui, Kitetsu, the Wado, all gone.

'The Wado Ichimonji, another failure.' Slowly rising to his feet Zoro lifted his head to look into the sky. 'Why? Why am I alone?'

(Two Months Later)

Since that day Zoro had survived. He had not lived nor loved, but he had survived. He made money by hunting down bounties. He had no alliances, no allegiances and no one to call a friend. He wasn't concerned with such things. In fact, if it wasn't for they fact that they had given their lives for him, he would have committed Seppuku long ago. But they had, and so he lived on.

He vividly remembered it, his first fight in this new world.

Zoro stood at the top of a tall hill looking down of the large camp with it's blazing fires. The flames danced like dragons, each sending shadows waltzing around it. The camp belonged to a group of thieves lead by a missing nin. Supposedly ninja were strong, and supposedly he ninja he was about to face was considered an A rank. He couldn't care less.

It hadn't taken him long, and looking back it made sense. He had quickly discovered that although he had gotten younger his power had not diminished even slightly. Kuma said he had pushed the years out of him so it made sense that he had retained the power.

Jumping down from the bluff Zoro landed amid the sea of dancing lights. The thieves didn't notice, yet. Charging forward Zoro dispatched four of them. Not pausing he shot towards the next group. The whirlwind commenced. The thrill of battle which had once made his blood boil barely noticeable to him now. He defeated his opponents with precise strikes, not an ounce of effort wasted. Minutes began to pile up and yet he didn't care, Over a half hour later he stood outside the tent at the center of the camp. The path of carnage he had created circled around the camp. There were no survivors.

The wind howled and Zoro sensed a presence behind him. "Don't bother. I know you're there."

"Oh, mmm? Not bad. . . for a kid. I guess Suna had another weapon."

"Suna, weapon?"

"Don't you know? You're as crazy as the redhead."

"Redhead?"

"Yeah. I fled from Suna because of it. Their jinchuuriki, a boy named Gaara. He was, and probably still is, ostracized, alone. I wonder how many times they've tried to kill him? They would kill him if they could and they despise him because of something he can't control. He is a weapon, like you. You were trained by Suna from birth, right? I can offer you a place to stay, a place to live. . . what do you say?"

"A place, to belong. . ."

"Yes."

"I don't deserve one." As fast as lightning Zoro whirled around and delivered a devastating punch to the side of the missing nin's head. There was a sickening crunch and blood flew everywhere. The body of the former ninja flew across the camp before impacting heavily against the hill that Zoro had jumped from.

Zoro closed his eyes. 'No, I don't deserve a place to belong, no matter how much he would have said I do.' Opening his eyes he looked down at his bloody hand. Then it happened. The blood on his hand became Luffy's blood, the bodies around him became the bodies of those he knew. Nami, Robin, Chopper, Franky, the whole crew lay dead around him. But it wasn't just them.

There was Vivi, Dorry and Broggy, Kunia, Johnny and so may others. They were dead, but he wasn't. Zoro fell to his knees. Although he had been able to get up after the death of his nakama the wound was far from healed. In much the same way as the wound that he had received from Mihawk he had been ignoring it and it had caught up with him.

Zoro's mind blanked and he lost consciousness.

Blinking, Zoro sat up. The grassy camp that had been a battlefield the night before now served as a graveyard. The memories of the night coming back to him, Zoro realized several things. 'I have hemophobia, no, rather the sight of blood triggers my memories of. . . of. . . it.' Zoro shuddered. 'But wait, that ninja mentioned Suna. That's the ninja Village that had the bounty out on this guy. He mentioned a redhead that was like me. What could have happened to him?'

Standing up once again he viewed the wasteland that surrounded him. Looking at the dried blood the sensation from the night before began to rise up inside him. He shut his eyes as quickly as he could. 'I see. Sight is now more of a weakness than an asset. Perhaps I should cut my eyes out. . .' he pondered, but then he remembered the events on Little Garden where he had tried to cut his legs off. 'No. In that case. . .'

Zoro untied his armband and tied it around his forehead. Once that was done he pulled the front down over his eyes. That complete he focused on his Observation Haki. Using it's power he was able to get a vague outline of the world around himself. 'It'll have to do.' Walking over to the fallen missing ninja he slung him over his shoulder and was off.

The sight of a five year old dragging a semi-famous missing-nin through the streets of Suna was quite the sight. Even more so when the top half of the five year olds head and eyes were covered by a green cloth. After turning the bounty in at the Kazekage building he wandered around Suna. That was what he had been doing ever since.

He had wandered and wandered. He had met the redhead that the missing-nin had mentioned. People avoided both of them. Gaara was a monster and the dark child, as they called him, was cursed. Gaara was in the same situation as he was and Zoro had to admit that he felt bad for the kid.

That day went by quickly and as night came Zoro once again went to observe Gaara. It wasn't uncommon, really. At night Gaara would often stare up at the moon and Zoro would watch him with his Haki. At those times Gaara was peaceful, it was a wonderful contrast to Gaara's usual turbulent emotions.

That night was different, though. He knew it would be. He had sensed the civillians and ninja leaving the Village at dusk. That night Gaara's uncle tried to kill him and Gaara lost control. The Shukaku was released in the middle of the city. Zoro could sense the Kazekage, Gaara's father, and he knew that he would deal with Gaara. Deal with him, not help him.

'I'll help him. I failed, but that doesn't mean that I cannot move forward. I shall protect him. Luffy would have wanted me to.'

With that thought in mind Zoro stood and took off his armband. Opening his eyes for the first time in nearly two months he charged.

'He's a failure,' the Kazekage thought. 'No, he's a danger to this Village. I must kill him.' He was about to use his gold dust when he felt something. A presence. It was like the sea, vast and cold, but unlike the sea it had a strangely empty quality about it. Looking for the source he spotted the child that the villagers had taken to calling the dark child charging the Shukaku.

The Kazekage had wondered about him. Whenever a five year od shows up with one of your villages more notable missing nin it's quite the experience. Looking closer the Kazekage noted that the child was missing his ever present green cloth. The face that he saw was determined, and despite his youth, honestly looked threatening.

'What is he doing? He's headed right for the Shukaku. . . No, he can't intend to. . .'

Then Zoro punched the Shukaku's right leg right out from underneath it.

Zoro sat on the sleeping and minimally injured Gaara. "I know you're there," he intoned. "You ninja aren't nearly as stealthy as you seem to think you are."

The Kazekage seemed to agree as he emerged from the shadows. "Who are you?"

"Who? I was a swordsman, a sailor, a warrior. Now. . . I am a protector. So that what happened to me does not occur again. So that Gaara, who you would have killed, survives. So that. . . so that," at this point Zoro nearly broke down, but he pushed onward. "So that he would be proud of me."

(A/N: Thanks to all of you who voted on the poll. This story will continue, albeit as a non-scheduled one, thanks to your votes. Zoro is going to be staying in Suna with Gaara but he will be meeting Naruto and CO later. I wanted to keep this from turning into Konoha no Tsurugi and putting him in Suna will solve that problem. Although it is an awesome story it has already been done and doesn't need to be done again. Please review and tell me your thoughts on the chapter!)