Carrying Mizusu on his back, Tsunoda began to growl.

"Damn it, how come she still hasn't woken up?"

"What happened to make her in this state?" Toshimi asked, following him. "When I joined you, she was already passed out! hit on the head? ''

" Let's say what happened was partly your fault. "The boy told her, laying Mizusu on a bench in the farmyard. " Because of your disappearance, Mizusu wanted to sacrifice her life to find you. ''

'' What ? My fault ? ''

"If you hadn't moved away, during the zombie attack, Mizusu would never have wanted to go and get you and I shouldn't have hit her to knock her out and thus force her to come with us."

"Knock him out?" Toshimi wondered. "Are you nuts? What would you have done if she had had internal bleeding?"

"That idiot had wanted to go get you when the mansion was overrun with zombies." Tsunoda growled. "What else could I do? Let her go to be devoured and transformed into a monster?"

"Anything except knock her out! Hit her in the skull to knock her out, that's punishable by killing her! You got nothing in your skull or what?"

"I already told you it was partly your fault so stop fussing around like that and…"

Suddenly grimacing, Mizusu moaned and silenced the two high school students. Opening her eyes a little, she put her hand on her aching head.

" My head. "

"Mizusu!" Toshimi rejoices. " Are you OK ? "

"Not really, I… my head."

Grimacing in pain, she finally sat down on the bench, before looking around.

'' Where are we ? The manor … ? And the zombies? I … ''

She was suddenly silent, seeing the silhouette of her friend.

"Toshimi? You… are you okay?"

"Of course!" She assured her, smiling at her. "I wasn't going to leave you all alone, though. "

"But… But…" Mizusu stammered, delving into her memory. "You were no longer there and I…"

Her eyes suddenly betrayed her anger and she began to stare at Tsunoda.

"You! How dare you?"

"Dare, what?" The boy asked, pretending not to understand.

Getting up then, while putting a hand on her head, the young girl cried out.

" Don't be innocent! You hit me when I wanted to go get Toshimi! Why did you do it ? ''

"Wait, let me think. " Tsunoda said, pretending to think. '' I know ! It was to save you, idiot! Reassure me, what would you have done, all alone, in the middle of the zombies? It's already a miracle that Toshimi is still alive! Do not think yourself immortal, like the pirates who accompany us. ''

Suddenly taking his collar, Mizusu wanted to know.

'' What's your problem ? Mister wants to play the rebels! Mister wants to be a loner! When are you finally going to take people's emotions into account? Tell me what's wrong with you. ''

'' What's wrong with me? I'll tell you: it's you! I never wanted to be with a group, but you always did everything to make me sociable, against my will! And that, since college! I don't care about being with people! Look at the result of being with you! I'm trying to save you, and I get yelled at. ''

You just thought selfishly. Mizusu retorted.

" Selfishly? Because you don't think you've ever done anything to upset any of your friends? Are you going to pretend that you are different from me and that you are a model friend with impeccable behavior? ''

Toshimi's eyes suddenly widened when she saw Mizusu freeze. It was clear that she was thinking back to when she had wanted to leave her, at the hands of the zombies.

" You want to pass yourself off as a saint and lecture others. " Tsunoda continued. " But if you were to take care of your own business first, that would be okay with a lot of people, me first. ''

Seeing her say nothing more, he insisted.

'' I am waiting for you ! Say it ! Tell him I'm wrong and you see me as garbage! Say it, damn it, you're a flawless saint! Say it … ''

He fell silent then, receiving a punch. Pulling back at that moment, he was surprised, just like Mizusu, to see Toshimi's angry face, as well as his raised fist.

" But that … ? "

"Mizusu has a lot of flaws." Toshimi assured. "Before the epidemic hit the planet, she was the type of person to be lazy, having little knowledge of politeness and being a little self-centered! I would even say that her life, to her, was far more important than mine. "

"To… shimi?" Mizusu wondered.

"Nonetheless, that had happened before," Toshimi assured him. "Now she's making an effort to change! Yes, she's doing it to help others and move us forward! She's still weak, okay, but she's doing her best! What if she wanted to. put his life on the line, to save me, then what I'm saying is true. "

Then pointing a finger at Tsunoda, she asserted.

"Despite what she may say, I want to thank you, for preventing her from going looking for me! I agree with you that she would be dead! Nonetheless… Nonetheless, it does not. Don't give you the right to criticize her like that, when she thought she could do well. "

Stopping then, she stared at Tsunoda before softening her face and smiling.

"I don't want a fight anymore! Even if you pretend you don't, I know you appreciate Mizusu! You wouldn't have saved him, if you didn't! So please never do it again. that! Okay? "

Looking back, Tsunoda groaned, before starting to growl.

"Don't ever hit me again!"

These were his last words, before leaving to join the others. Seeing him leave, Toshimi asserted.

"I think he's angry! But it will pass! As usual with this stubborn."

"Toshimi!" Her friend suddenly called her.

" Yes ? "

Beginning to shake, Mizusu began to stutter.

"I… I… You know… in high school… before… before… Chopper was here… I… I…"

She fell silent suddenly, feeling Toshimi hug her.

"Thank you for trying to put your life on the line to save me! No matter what happened in high school, I'm glad we're still alive and can continue to be friends."

Mizusu's eyes widened then, as she began to sob for good.

"No, I… I… I am… a monster! I don't… I…"

"Don't worry," Toshimi assured her, continuing to hug her. "I don't blame you for being like this! But just promise me one thing…"

Pushing her away gently, she stuck out her pinky finger at Mizusu before asking her.

"I want you to promise me that you won't put your life before the lives of your friends! Is that okay?"

Only able to nod, while Mizusu understood that she was aware of everything, she took her little finger while mumbling.

"O ... Ok ... Okay!"

Smirking at her, Toshimi took her hand before telling her.

"Come on, let's go see Chopper about your head injury! And then I'll tell you what happened! We have new companions."

"Huh… I wouldn't want to be a killjoy…" Nick started. " But … "

Suddenly pointing at Lufy swallowing up whatever came to hand, he asserted.

"He is in the process of emptying all my reserves."

"Don't worry, we have quite a few groceries ourselves on the minibus," Sanji assured him. "Just give me a padlock to lock the fridge and I promise you won't starve."

"Hopefully this will last for more than a day," the old farmer sighed, seeing the rest of the gang eating.

The house being too small, everyone had found their own little corner to settle down and eat alone or in a group. Even Bellamy and Law had sat among them.

"Don't worry, only Luffy has a huge appetite," Sanji assured him.

"Hey, cook! I want some more," Hisashi told him.

"Me too!" Usopp cried.

"The same." Yamada asked.

"Grouilles bring the rest, second-class cook." Zoro exclaimed.

"You were saying?" Nick wanted to know.

"Guys…" Sanji sighed. "You have to put in a little effort! You have to start saving the…"

"Sanji, can I have some more?" Naomi asked, with puppy eyes.

"Me too, please." Yuuki asked him, winking at him.

"Sanji-kun, could you bring me another plate like you know so well?" Nami asked.

"Yes, right now." The cook assured, with hearts instead of eyes. "I am running to the stove, my angels."

"Well done," Nick growled, as several boys booed the cook for the inequality he was exhibiting.

Smirking a little, Kawamoto asserted.

"This cook is as easy to handle as a child."

Turning then to Taniuchi, she saw her looking at Law who, in his corner, ate alone, with his suitcase at his feet.

" A problem ? "

"No, I…" the young girl began. "Let's say what he said interests me."

"Aren't you serious? Remember what he told us."

Flashback

"Wait, Law," Nami stopped, grabbing one of the syringes from her suitcase. "Are you… are you really serious?

"Absolutely." The surgeon asserted. "Doflamingo has succeeded in developing a solution that allows the juice of a devil fruit to be preserved and kept inside these syringes."

"Too loud." Kohta exclaimed, with stars in his eyes. "So each of those syringes has a power in it! That's insane."

"And how." Usopp said. "I've never seen devil fruit but what we have here is worth at least a whole crate."

"Maybe, but it's much more dangerous," Law retorted.

"What do you mean?" Robin wanted to know.

"The liquid in these syringes keeps the juice of one devil fruit! But, that is to say, we can fill more than ten syringes with the juice of the same fruit and give it to different people! This then allows all these people to benefit from the same powers. "

"Seriously?" Miura wanted to know. "What did he want to do with this Dofla-thing? Build an army?"

"No, he wanted to help other people, build armies! Including a yonko."

"Let's admit, but how is that more dangerous than eating a piece of fruit straight away? Saya wanted to know! The only problem after eating one is that its user is unable to swim afterwards, right?"

"I can confess I didn't even know about that." Bellamy informed them. "Doflamingo made sure to withhold this information from the rest of the world to avoid drawing too much attention to him."

"And with that, for sure your whole crew could have had quite a few powers." Franky nodded, looking at Law.

"Maybe, but that's not much use to us here," Brook said. "Almost half of us have already eaten devil fruit and I think the rest already have enough strength without needing to eat one."

"No." Zoro retorted. "To be honest, I think we now have a lot more people who could be able to support us."

"Indeed!" Law agreed, looking at the whole small group of high school kids.

Seeing that they were becoming the center of attention, Rei asserted.

"I think I understand where you're going with this, but I'd rather hear you say it anyway."

"I'm not forcing you." Law began. "If it was normal fruit, maybe I would force you a little harder, nonetheless, I know it may be dangerous for you to absorb it! However, see this as a way to increase your strength. of your group. "

"Have a power? "Taniuchi understood." A power like Robin-san's? "

Suddenly closing his suitcase, Law made the object disappear before asserting.

"Okay, first of all, I would like to discuss everything that has happened since we appeared here! For anyone interested in any of the syringes, just come see me."

End of flashback

"Are you ready to put your life on the line for a power?" Kawamoto asked her.

"I will do anything to get one." Taniuchi assured her. "And I know which one I want! You, wouldn't you be interested in having one?"

Sighing, Kawamoto finally stared at the blue sky above her.

" Fly ! "

" Eh ? "

"When I was little, I wanted to know how to fly," Kawamoto told her.

Starting to smile, she affirmed.

"It's strange, but I feel, since these pirates have been with us, that my dream is likely to come true."

With a weary sigh, Nick walked over to his barn to feed his cows.

"I'm already starting to regret telling them 'yes' to stay here! In two days, there will be nothing left to eat here."

"We… We're sorry for that." Two voices apologized.

Looking up, the old farmer suddenly saw two people feeding his cows.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked them, recognizing Naomi and Morita.

"We want to help you," Morita told him. "We want to be able to thank you for letting us stay here."

"And then, we want to take our mind off things a bit." Naomi admitted.

"Change your mind?" Nick repeated.

"I want to think of anything except zombies that are found all over the planet." The young girl asserted. "I don't want to see them anymore! I want to try to get back to a normal life."

Watching her as she handed a haystack to an animal, Nick finally scratched the back of his head before mumbling.

"I hate when someone talks to me like that! It's hard, then, for me to tell them to leave my farm."

Suddenly grabbing a bucket, he ends up handing it to the two high school students. "

"If you want to help me, you might as well learn the basics right away! For now, thanks to Law's help, all my hectares are protected and secure! This allows me to have enough food for my cows and my horses! I also have a poultry farm that I feed using my wheat! I have no idea how long this will last but, until the end, and hoping that this carnage end before, I refuse to give up my farm. "

Grabbing the bucket, Morita wanted to know.

"What am I doing with this?"

"You're going to milk the cows," Nick assured him, walking over to one of it. "Of course, I have a milking machine, nevertheless, I prefer to save the electricity produced by my back-up generator! Now I have to go back to the old ways."

Then starting to giggle, Naomi asserted.

"Morita milking a cow? I never thought I would see this one day."

"Think again," the boy retorted. "You have in front of you the great farmer Morita! You will see why they say I have magic fingers."

"Have you ever milked a cow?" Nick asked.

"No, but it doesn't have to be complicated," the boy assured, sitting down next to an animal.

Putting the bucket under his udders, he began to grab two of the latter before pulling them out. Considering the bellow of the animal, he must have done it too loudly. In any case, the animal began to walk away from him, while the boy ordered it.

"No, no, wait! Come back here!"

Suddenly losing his balance, the boy fell to the side. Turning to him, the animal began to blow through it nasal passages, before licking him hard in his hair.

"Yikes! That's disgusting," the boy cried, noting that slime had run into his hair, as the animal walked away. "Hey, wait, you!"

Getting ready to follow it, he finally stopped, hearing someone burst out laughing. Holding her sides, Naomi was trying her best to calm the giggles she was experiencing.

"HAHAHA! You're too strong Morita! Indeed… HAHAHA… you really have magic fingers!"

Astonished, the boy tried to remember the last time he had seen the girl laugh. In the end, since the carnage had taken place, Naomi had only shown faces of sadness or fear. There hadn't been a single time she had actually smiled.

" This place. Morita thought. " Could he give her back her zest for life? "

Eventually getting to his feet, he asserted.

"It was just a warm-up! Now you'll see my real abilities! I'm going to milk all these cows in record time."

"There are 72 in all," Nick told him, resting his man on his shoulder. "I wish you good luck my boy! I'll take care of my chickens."

"Wait!" The boy scared. "How many cows?"

Laughing again, Naomi slumped against a wall so as not to fall. Seeing her do it, while he was half hidden in front of the opening to the stable, Takuzo looked at her without knowing how to react. Of course, he was glad to see Naomi finally show some joy. Nonetheless, he felt frustrated that it was Morita who performed this miracle, using his antics. Preferring not to intervene, he ends up leaving, with a weight on his heart.

Looking at the grain fields that stretched around the farm, Zoro asserted.

"So this is where we are going to live, until we decide to go."

"I thought you wanted to find the source of this evil," Saeko remarked, who was looking at him, but still behind him.

"Now that Law is with us, our whole plan will surely change." The swordsman explained to him. "In tactical and strategic terms, Law is the best person there is! I think he already has a plan, which he will share with us shortly."

Turning to Saeko, he then asserted.

"In the meantime, I plan to train to make sure that I don't have to watch you anymore, during a fight."

"Very well." Saeko nodded, his hand on the hilt of his saber. " I am … "

A sharp stream of air passed past her hair, before meeting a huge oak tree. Having drawn his sword at lightning speed, Zoro put it away as half of the tree crashed to the ground.

"This is what I hope you can do, when we leave this place." Zoro told her.

Used to seeing this, Saeko didn't even turn his head, in order to see the condition of the tree behind her. Instead, she shook her hair a bit to loosen the few strands that had been cut.

"First of all, we'll work your mind." Zoro informed her. "It is the latter that prevents you from using your power to the maximum! You must eliminate all traces of fear it contains! Moreover, by strengthening the latter, you, too, will be able to use the haki! sure you can handle it. "

" Very well ! "

Getting ready to continue, Zoro suddenly heard a voice affirming.

" He is too strong. "

Suddenly turning towards the cut tree, the two companions saw Aaron, Alice and Mary looking at what was left of the tree, after Zoro's saber strike.

"What are you kids doing here?" The latter wanted to know.

Running up to him, Aaron explained to him.

"I want to do the same as you, sir samurai."

"Me too, Mr. Zoro." Alice said.

"I want to be able to cut trees, Mr. Mosshead." Mary finished.

"Hey easy! I don't want to be the teacher of a bunch of brats," Zoro retorted, as the three children began to surround him.

Noting that he was speaking in deaf ear, he ended up pulling out his sword before using it to create a huge line in the ground, allowing him to be separated from the three children.

"The art of the sword is not something to be taken lightly." He retorted. "Many want to learn it but few know how to master it, in the end! I doubt children like you can understand this…"

He was silent then, seeing the stars in the eyes of the three children.

"I want to do this." They asserted, pointing at the huge line in the ground.

Suddenly slapping his forehead, while Saeko chuckled, Zoro ended up teaching them.

"Bellamy told me that Law had collected several weapons on his numerous visits to town! Go see him and ask him if he doesn't have any wooden swords to lend you! Anyway, if I teach you it. saber, listen to me! Is that understood? "

"Yes, sir," the three children assured, before setting out to find the surgeon.

Seeing them leave, Saeko noticed. "

"You have a real knack for attracting children around you."

"Oh shut up! I didn't ask you anything." Zoro remarked, with a blush of shame on his face.