Zoro, Nami and Chopper left Sabaondy two days ago. Miraculously, Rayleigh had given them a vivre card for Shanks -otherwise, Zoro thinks the roaming emperor would've been impossible to find. He is -unsurprisingly- in the New World and only Franky's new Shark Submerger IV, which exceeds the previous depth limit of the Shark Submerge III, has allowed them to cross without waiting for a ship to be coated.
Ace had wanted to come with them, and his temper has flared in retaliation, but in the end, he was too injured, too tired and too much of a wanted figure in that moment for such a stealthy mission. Besides, he needed to start coordinating the allies that the former marines did not know themselves. Brook staying to do the same.
Ussop had wanted to come with the Shanks Team too, his dad being part of the crew and all, but as the group with the farthest to travel and the higher possibility of encountering combat, they needed the crew's doctor and Zoro's firepower on hand. The Shark Submerge IV, for all it could dive to 10000 meters, could only fit 3 people safely.
Zoro eyes the mysterious straw hat form the corner of his eye, worn over Nami's thick head of tangerine hair. It looks as worn out as his current wearer did. Nami doesn't dare sleep yet. Something ridiculous like Zoro might lose them, they were following a vivre card, how? But then she's also mention the currents here were this or that and Zoro decides to just lets her be.
She is worried, they all are really.
The submarine has been traveling farther and far longer than they'd intended. This would be their third day at sea. If they don't find the emperor today, they'd have to go back empty-handed or risk not making it to the rendezvous on time. Suddenly, Nami makes a choked sound of something aching to victory. Zoro looks over and sees the little vivre card pressing tightly against the top of the glass that holds it. It's message is clear. Up.
Compared to the ocean's depths, the outside is glowing, almost too brilliant for their unaccostumed eyes. When Zoro finally blinks away the tears the Red Force is the first thing he sees. Red Haired Shank's ship, like any Emperor's, is gigantic. Nami looks put out when they emerge to find themselves in the middle of nowhere. They'd been hoping to find the Emperor's crew on an island, where their intrusion could've been easily dismissed. There will be no dismissing two foreign presences aboard a ship sailing the middle of the New World.
"Chopper, keep the sub up in case we need to jump off the ship." She swallows, taking out her clima tact and taking out a cloud with a little colorful cap. Zoro still cannot believe Nami had stolen a piece of soul from Big Mom, shaking his head as he focuses his senses. The ship is filled with active people, probably getting ready for lunch. They are making good time, if this doesn't take too long they might be able to meet up with the Whitebeard Pirates and coat this ship along with theirs before crossing the Red Line.
If, Zoro reminded himself, the Red Force's captain decides to help them.
Zoro realizes while talking to the other, that while several knew about Luffy's deal to the marines with varying degrees of detail, only Zoro really knows about Luffy's connection to Red Haired Shanks. Unlike Nami or Robin, Zoro doesn't find out by accident, Luffy told him during one of the early days when Zoro had been the only crew member Luffy trusted. Even before Coby, when his captain was still surrounded by small-fry marines. They haven't travelled with marines outside of Luffy's crew since Brook had joined -unless they were delivering prisoners to Impel Down.
You have a good dream, Zoro, I'll make sure you get there.
Zoro has long known that Luffy finds his crew's dreams incredibly precious, fueled on by the resignation that he will never accomplish his own. Well, he would if his crew had anything to say about it.
As Nami's glutton of a cloud grew, Zoro jumps on top of it. A part of him feels odd without his officer's jacket, despite how he has never considered himself particularly attached to it. He'd better get used to it.
"Good luck, guys." Chopper says, Zoro grunts and Nami waves. Up they go. The mood in the ship is lighthearted and familiar, plenty of members lazing around while others carry this or that around the deck. No sign of red hair, though. They land with a heavy thud in the middle of the ship, no reason for the pirates to think that him and Nami are sneaking. Zoro sees his companion raise a hand to keep the straw hat on her head as the wind blows at them. For a moment, nothing happens; Zoro keeps his hand on WadÅ just in case. Outrage soon follows.
"Who are you?"
"Where did you come from?"
"Where they just riding a cloud?"
"Are you looking for a fight?"
The voices clash and merge all over each other, joining the cacophony of weapons being drawn.
"Shut up! What is happening?" The noise doesn't necessarily die, but it certainly becomes lower in volume. The man that breaks the circle of pirates that had quickly formed around the two former marines is absolutely massive. He has a striped shirt and his eyes are narrowed behind tiny red goggles, on one hand he carries a piece of meet that immediately reminds Zoro of Luffy, in the other he has a gun. His eyes dissect the former marines on his ship before settling on Nami, or if Zoro guesses correctly, Nami's head. "Call the captain." Immediately one of the pirates runs off and murmuring starts rampant around them.
For a moment, Zoro and Nami do not dare move.
A presence is coming closer and the sea of people part to show through a living legend, the man who infected Zoro's own captain with Grand Line wanderlust, Emperor of the Sea, Red-Haired Shanks. Nami slowly puts away her climate tact and signals Zoro to do the same. The beast in Zoro, the part of his soul with unquenchable blood thirst and ambition, the one that dominates over a cursed blade stutters at the thought of letting his guard down when surrounded... but he's not here to fight today. Slowly and willfully, he unbends his knees and lets his sword go all the way back into the scabbard with a small sigh of metal. Both of them show their open palms.
"We didn't come for trouble." Nami says. "You're Red Haired Shanks." She states. A bit unnecessarily, Zoro muses.
"I also know who you are, Wheater Witch Nami, Pirate Hunter Zoro." The Emperor's scarred gaze matches theres and it's been a long time since Zoro felt so small. Zoro's eyes narrowed and his hands twitch but he does not move. How...? Luffy's brother had no idea who they were, how does a fuckin Emperor...? Shanks eyes are still deadly serious, eyeing them up and down, eyes narrowing even further when they take in the straw hat. "You sail under Anchor, of course I keep up with his news, which is why I'm very intrigued as to why two marines are on my ship."
Shanks absolutely adores Luffy.
"Former marines. We came to talk." Zoro interjects, taking the brunt of the pirate captain's focus. "About Luffy."
"I find it very curious that he would give you that hat." Another pirate interrupts, long shotgun resting on his shoulders and a cigarette dangling from his lips. Zoro grows annoyed.
"He couldn't really bring it into Impel Down with him." So, Zoro needs to work on his tact, because suddenly it's really hard to breath.
"...come again?" It's Nami who answers the red-haired man.
"They're going to execute him in three days." Nami tells him, the Emperor's expression thunders and Zoro realizes that in comparison, the pirate had looked downright friendly when they'd boarded the ship. "It's a very long story but, we came to ask for your help." She takes a step forward, taking the hat off her head and walking boldly up to the captain. No one stops her, she reaches out a dainty hand and offers Red-Hair the straw hat. A lesser man might've missed it, but Zoro's trained under Hawk-Eyes Mihawk, he identifies immediately the very real sadness in Red-Hair's eyes. The pirate shakes his head minutely.
"You keep that safe for him." He smiles, and with it the tension that had been brewing since Zoro placed a foot on this ship vanishes as if it had never even existed. He smirks, Luffy's role model was quiet a powerful man. "Tell me the details on the way, where are we going? Where's your ship?"
"We don't have a ship, we have a submarine. And the execution will be at Marineford's old HQ, across the Red Line." Nami tells him, pulling out a mini den-den mushi. Zoro catches a couple of knowing chuckles at the statements. A whispered 'Anchor never gets any less weird, does he?' If they only knew. "Chopper."
"Nami!" The little reindeer exclaims. "Are you okay?" Nami smiles at him, and up at the towering figure of Red Hair.
"I am. I'm giving directions to the Red Force to start sailing to the first rendezvous point, set the automatic pilot and keep me posted on how it goes. I'll be down in a while."
"They're going to help us save Luffy?!" The reindeer cheers. Shanks smiles at the den-den mushi and Nami followes, answering with a satisfied "Uhm!"
"Nami, you're the navigator, right?" Shanks cuts in as the call ends, Nami nods. He signals to the ponytail man with the shotgun. "This is Benn, he'll take you to the helm so that you can tell us where to go." Nami nods, looking at Zoro who nods as well. Shanks turns to him. "Think you can fill me in on the mess Anchor got himself into?" Zoro really doesn't want to be the one to fill on Luffy's status, but he doesn't think he has a choice.
"Do you have any booze?" The pirate bursts out laughing.
"Sure thing, come on."
