Chapter 4: Ultimate Resolve & A Sliver of Hope
Robin finished climbing down the mast and met up with Zoro who sat along the edge of the ship waiting for her. As the two were about to disembark, Franky popped out of the doorway that led to the workshop area for him and Usopp. "Oi, you two," said the blue-haired shipwright as he strolled out the door with a bottle of cola in one hand and a greasy wrench in the other. He wiped the cold bottle across his brow, smudging some remnants of oil that managed to land there. "Curly Cook said that dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes," he said as he took a swig of cola. "Thank you, Franky. Let Cook-san know that we'll return around then," said the raven-haired woman as she turned back towards Zoro. The duo of Robin and Zoro disembarked from the ship and began to walk down the street towards the ruins. As they made their way down the street, Robin remembered her question she asked in the crow's nest and didn't receive a response.
"Kenshi-san, you still haven't answered my question from earlier," Robin started as she looked over to the man that was 9 years younger than her. Zoro's eyebrow twitched as was his usual response when she heard that name she had for him. She would use the nicknames for several of the crewmates, but she was starting to become more relaxed with the names for certain members. Everyone but Zoro. She's even called Sanji by his actual name a couple of times. Zoro wondered why this bothered him so much, but he passed it aside for now as he began to ponder her question. "Fate? Well, I do believe that it exists, but it doesn't define who I am or what I will do. Once I've chosen my path, I will travel it," said the swordsman as he stated his answer in his usual blunt manner. He could see a look of intrigue wash over Robin's face as the key word of fate resounded in his head, reminding him of the terrible vision from earlier. He decided to take his mind off of that as he returned the question to her.
"What are your thoughts about fate, Archaeologist-san? I think it is only fair to know your thoughts as well," said the green-haired man with a smirk on his face. After all, Robin's naming technique can work both ways. Robin was a bit perturbed by the swordsman's wordplay, but she knew he did it out of spite for her use of it against him for so long. "My thoughts about fate have changed since I joined this crew," she started as Zoro's ears perked in intrigue. "I believed that my fate was to be alone and die for being different. Thanks to you and the rest of the crew, I have learned that my fate is not written in stone," she said, with the last words playing in her mind as she recalled the images in the ruins. That image made her face go from the smile that had arrived from the thoughts of her new fate to that of a somber nature, seeing as her fate seems to contradict her statement. Zoro couldn't explain why he had to, but he felt the urge to reach out and hold her hand. As his hand approached hers, a voice rang out from the darkness of the alleyways near them. "It seems like your fate now belongs to us."
Zoro and Robin turned their heads towards the source of the voice to see a man walk out from the shadows along with a gang of twelve on both sides of the street. Zoro cursed himself for not noticing the threat that has revealed itself as he sized up the number of people and weapons they had, ranging from clubs to swords. "Well, well, well. Two of the Straw Hats just walking in our town on a date it seems." This statement made Zoro and Robin look at each other and think that the guy was crazy. "These two alone total to two hundred million berries, gang," the leader continued to say as his group began to fidget and prepare to strike at the word from the boss. Zoro tensed up as he could feel their intentions. "I can't draw my swords. If what happened earlier happens again, I might not be able to control myself. I have to fend them off without my swords," thought the swordsman as he restrained himself from his usual mannerism for battle. "Let's get 'em!" With the order to strike let loose, the encircling gang leapt forward to seize their two prey.
Zoro managed to fend off several of them, grabbing a couple of them and throwing them into their allies as he grabbed a dropped pipe and began to assault them with it. Robin put up a fight in her usual manner, summoning her arms and bending her opponents into positions of damaging postures that prevented their attempts. Unfortunately, the downside to summoning the limbs requires her sight, and you can't see everywhere when a fight is happening. One of the gang members manages to sneak behind Robin and crack her over the head with his fist, knocking her out. Zoro turns to see Robin fall to the ground; the look in his eyes change to shocked as he watches her collide with the ground. During his dazed moment, several members of the gang piled on top of him. "ROBIN!" This was the only thing to escape his lips as he stretched his head out, trying to break free from the pile of flesh that held him in place. The guy that hit her picked her up by the neck, as she remained incapacitated from the strike. "Hey boss, she's still breathing. We don't need them alive, right?" The boss looked at his goon with a smile on his face. "We don't need them alive, but don't damage her too much. We can still use the body for later before we collect our reward," said the boss as he licked his lips while ordering more men to take Zoro down. "NOOOOoooooooo!" The only word to form now as he struggled some more as clubs and pipes collided with his body. He watched as the man pulled a knife from his boot strap to cut her neck. Zoro knew he only had one option to stop this, and he had no choice but to unsheathe a sword. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong one in his haste, as Sandai Kitetsu became free from its holster.
A pulse surged through Zoro's entire being as the grip on his sword tightened like a vice. The scales that lied beneath his shirt once again multiplied unbeknownst to him, growing from four to sixteen and from sixteen to sixty-four. His eyes changed to an evil hue of red as he watched the knife blade grow closer to Robin's neck. With a swift movement, he stood up, launching his assailants into various directions, letting out a mighty yell of rage and power. He ran over towards Robin's captor and disarmed him at his elbows, causing Robin to drop to the ground. This swift motion left the man stunned as he stumbled backwards, realizing that he no longer had arms. The street gang watched as their comrade let out blood-curdling screams from his injuries. Zoro turned his head, facing the gang with a sadistic look on his face. "You are all going to suffer and beg for death," said the sinister-looking swordsman as his voice changed with his current appearance.
As the members of the gang looked in horror, several of them tried to run away. Zoro drew his sword up and used one of his moves, 36 Pound Cannon, at the opponents fleeing the area. The strength from the move caused stones from the road to fly and strike them and the slash within the wind left deep cuts all over their bodies. As the screams from the first victim continued to ring out, Robin regained consciousness and looked to see the damage left by Zoro. She turned to see the disembodied hands that once belonged to her captor. She turned back towards Zoro to see that he was not the same as before. "Kenshi-san," she managed to get out as she started to stand up. It had no affect on him. She stood up completely, yelling out, "Kenshi-san!" Not a change in his demeanor as he walked over to the fear-stricken leader of the gang. "Now, you will die at the hands of your own prey," he said as he let out a sinister laughter as he raised his sword to strike him down. Robin couldn't let him do this; it would destroy him when he regained control of himself to see what he had done. She couldn't let that happen. As the blade made its way down towards the gang leader, Robin mustered up as much energy as she could and let out a mighty "ZOROOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!" The blade stopped less than an inch from the man's skull as Zoro's eyes returned to their natural color and hair fell from the gang leader's head.
As Zoro steadily regained more control of his body, the gang leader grabbed his armless comrade and ran off, fearing the swordsman would finish what he started. Zoro looked down at his blade and saw the crimson fluid drip from the sharp blade. He looked up to see the damage done to the people and street as he nearly dropped his sword out of horror. He remembered about his traveling companion, so he turned to see that Robin had fallen down to her knees out of relief. The swordsman quickly sheathed his blade and ran over to the archaeologist. Zoro bent down beside her saying, "Are you okay?" Robin manages to stand up, almost stumbling at first, but she still stands. "I'm alright Kenshi-san, but the question is: are you alright?" Zoro looked down at his hands and shirt, both covered by small droplets of blood. Robin looks on and grimaces as she sees the look of confusion and terror streak across Zoro's face. "What the hell is going on with me Robin?" The swordsman was shaking out of pure fear. He had lost all control of his body, and he had caused much destruction without the ability to stop it. He looked up at the raven-haired woman with a look in his eyes, pleading for help.
Robin was taken aback at this sight. She had never seen much emotions in Zoro, but fear was the furthest among those ever seen by her. This new side of Zoro nearly brought Robin to tears as she walked over to Zoro and held him close. "The ruins will hold the answers that you seek Kenshi-san. Let's hurry before this happens again," she said as she grabbed his hand and began to lead to the way. Robin realized that she used her naming process again. She had a feeling of guilt come over her body for using that name for the green-haired man. As they reached the outskirts of the town, the words from Mamiya rang through Robin's mind. "Please promise me that you will take care of your nakama, should he be marked. The fate of the world is at stake." Robin saw the destructiveness that this evil could do and it was still two days away from the transformation. She knew she had to kill Zoro, so the world would be saved. However, she had a lingering feeling in her heart that she couldn't explain that told her not to kill the swordsman.
The duo arrived to the ruins moments later as Robin guided Zoro through the underbrush into the chamber that Robin had discovered earlier. As Zoro entered the room, he looked around and saw the depiction of the Robin look-alike on the wall. The moonlight shone through the collapsed roof of the chamber, allowing Zoro to see a majority of the pictures. Even though Zoro couldn't read the writings that accompanied the artwork, he could get the gist of what the pictures meant. The text that stood out the most was a series of symbols that repeated a bit as it hovered over a picture of a man with green hair. "I take it this says my last name, right? The repetition of these symbols in this sort of sequence along with the picture would seem to spell out Roronoa," said the swordsman as melancholy lingered on every word of his phrase.
Robin was astounded by his astute deduction. She knew that he was a brilliant fighter and a decent reversi player as well, but she had no idea he could make this sort of complicated reasoning. "I am truly impressed Kenshi-san, but you are correct; it is your family name that resides over the picture," she said as she watched the young man look at the wall. With a grit of his teeth, Zoro picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it through the opening in the roof. "DAMMIT," yelled the swordsman as he looked back at the ground. "Are you saying that I had no say in my life? That I am going to become this dragon over here," he said as he turned and pointed at the picture of the Tri-Fanged Dragon. He spun to overlook of the island through a hole in a wall. With his back turned towards her, Robin decided that this was the opportune moment to take him out. She took a step forward and slid her arm behind her back, gracing the handle of her knife with her fingers. Zoro's ears may have failed him in the streets, but they were not going to fail him twice. "So, you brought me out here to kill me?" Robin froze a bit in her tracks, but she unsheathed the blade and held it off to her side. "That was the idea, but it is to save the world from this fate," she said as her voice returned to that same tone when she was employed with Baroque Works.
"So, you think I cannot beat this? That I am some weakling?" The swordsman clenched his hands into fists as he visibly shook with anger as he continued to go on. "I didn't just go out to sea looking for adventure like Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper did, or to make a map like Nami did, or to find some stupid fish spot like Sanji did. I came out here to be the strongest swordsman there is." He looked over his shoulder into her eyes. He could see the commitment in her eyes behind the actions that she wanted to take to prevent the travesty that lies ahead, even if it meant the death of a nakama. Zoro took this as his time to show that he can prevent this from happening. He unholstered his swords from his belt and set them aside. He took off his shirt and threw it to the ground, looking down to see that the number of scales had multiplied since he last inspected them. He turned to face Robin and stretched out his arms, posing as he did during his fight with Dracule Mihawk at the Baratie. Robin gasped a bit as she saw the skin of a dragon along his waist. "After everything I have done, for you, for Luffy, and the rest of our crew, you think that THIS is going to stop me? If you think I'm not strong enough to beat this, go ahead and kill me, but you should know this by now. This will not defeat me. I choose my own fate, and I WILL be the greatest swordsman ever," he said with an incredible resolve the seemed to shake the doubt from Robin's heart.
Robin was flustered and her heart skipped a beat as her hand slightly loosened from the handle on the knife upon the sight and determination of Zoro. "Everything he's done for me? What does he mean by this? I'll make note of this to ask later, but I need to see how far he will go for this," she thought as she pushed aside her curiosity for his words and her feelings to confirm her curiosity for his intentions. She looked over at the three swords of his and came up with a plan to test this resolve. She proceeded to grow a pair of arms, one on Zoro's back and one near his swords. She tossed the knife to the one on his back and had the other toss Zoro his prized white sword, the Wado Ichimonji. "Alright then, Kensh... I mean, Zoro," Robin said as she began to walk near him. "I will test your strength and resolve. This seems to progress as you unsheathe your swords," she said as her fingers traced the grooves of the scales on his waist as they seemed to interweave with his muscles. "Unsheathe your white sword and show me you are strong enough to fight it. If you aren't and become possessed again, I will slice your throat and kill you with your own swords," she said with a voice of monotonous affirmation.
Zoro became hesitant at the maliciousness of Robin's words and his previous actions, but he knew he had to overcome this and prove his own words to himself as well. In one swift motion, he grabbed his childhood keepsake by the handle and sheath, and he pulled them apart as the moonlight gleamed off of the blade. Robin observed that nothing physically was occurring with Zoro as he reaffirmed his beliefs in himself. "Satisfied? I...we will defeat this," he said as he made his cocky smile. Robin smiled back as she looked into the swordsman's eyes and looked down at his waist, following the curvature of the sword. The reflection off of the sword was displaying a picture that she didn't recall from before. "Zoro, can you make a torch for me quickly? There is something new," she said as she made her way towards the wall. Zoro tore a sleeve off of his shirt. It had a smudge of rum from when he wiped his mouth of the rum from earlier. He grabbed a stick and two rocks, wrapping the sleeve around the stick and crashing the two rocks together for a spark.
Managing to create to makeshift torch, the swordsma brought it over to Robin who had been carefully scraping the moss and lichen off of the pictures. The swordsman cocked his head to the side in confusion as he asked, "What the hell is this suppose to be?" The images were showing the dragon being surrounded on eight sides in the design of a flower, appearing to have trapped it. Standing at the end of each of these "petals" were plants according to the translations by Robin. They were as follows: The Maiden of Flower, The Black & White Rose of Soul, The Blue Delphinium of Skill, The Red Cosmos of Strength, The Yellow Daisy of Courage, The Cyan Anemone of Heart, The Pink Tulip of Knowledge, and The Orange Sunflower of Compassion. "I can't seem to discern an idea about it either. Let me write it down quickly and then we'll head to the ship. Tomorrow, we will return here and read into this some more," said the archaeologist as she pulled out some paper and a pencil to make a rubbing of the last few words and pictures before they made their way back to the ship.