His eye snapped open and Bushido was instantly pushing his body into a forward roll, following it up with a leap to his feet. He scanned his surroundings for enemies before his brain caught up with his body. His muscles relaxed and he sighed, running a hand through his green hair as he did so. Right, he had lost to Mihawk. Again.

Bushido looked around the empty void in silence. He was going to be here for a bit, he'd wager. A wound that bad would probably take at least a week before his body was ready for him to return. Bushido girminanced, while the week would probably only feel like a couple of hours here it would still be awkward sharing space with his younger self. Speaking of...where was he?

A cold feeling spread through his body with a shudder as an unwelcome thought entered his mind. What if Zoro had left? "Don't be ridiculous," he thought outloud, "he'd need Wado Ichimonji to leave…" Bushido trailed off as his eye looked at his sheath.

It was empty.

"Damn."


Luffy let out a sigh of relief as he saw a village in the distance and one that hadn't been ransacked and pillaged either. Luffy had been wandering around for the better part of an hour without any sight of civilisation. He had begun to think that he would never find a town.

Luffy squinted as he drew closer to the village, it seemed that a crowd had gathered in the street. He tensed as he noticed the numerous weapons being hoisted in the air, that couldn't be good. One man (and was that a pinwheel on his head?) seemed to be giving a speech to the gathered crowd. Luffy's ears picked up the tail end of it "-And I, we, won't stand for it! To Arlong Park!" The man roared.

The crowd issued their war cries and charged down the street in the opposite direction of Luffy, kicking up a small dust storm as they moved. The dust made the back of his throat itch and his eyes water. Blinking, he waved the dust away. His eyes narrowed.

Nami.

His navigator had fallen to her knees, knelt in the spot the angry mob had occupied just moments before. Her entire frame seemed to tremble and Luffy, with a grimace, noticed she was clutching a dagger in one hand. Nami's free hand shot up to her left shoulder and grasped at the marred skin. She had a tattoo, a blue shark design that swirled around her upper left arm.

It was Arlong's, Luffy was sure of that. He didn't know how he knew but he did. Arlong had marked her with his filth forever, a sign of how he owned the orange-haired woman And that was an uncomfortable realisation Luffy had come to when they had arrived and seen the town destroyed by Arlong over a bit of money. Nami would never help that sort of person willingly.

He watched as Nami raised the dagger and, without an ounce of hesitation, brought it down full force on her shoulder. Luffy felt his fear disappear, Nami hadn't been broken by Arlong. She still desperately wanted freedom something the rubber boy was happy to give.

The bloodied dagger came down again, an inch from flesh. Luffy's arm whipped out and caught the navigator's wrist, holding the arm in place. Nami turned her head slowly to meet his, tears were running down her face. "Leave," she ordered, her voice trembling, "leave this island right now."

"No."

Nami's free hand punched against the ground and there was frustration laced in her voice when she spoke. "I never asked you to help me."

"No," Luffy said, absentmindedly taking off Shank's hat and studying it, "you didn't."

Her hand trembled and clutched at the dirt. She threw a fistful behind her, fine particles flying into Luffy's face. "Then why?"

"Because you're Nami."

Nami stiffened as if a lightning bolt had hit her. "Luffy…"

"Yeah?"

The words were choked and full of emotions and promises. "Save me."

The hat of promise landed on her head and the orange-haired woman's shaking fingers rose to hold the brim. Luffy turned to face the direction the mob had run off in. His eyes lit up when his suspicions were confirmed.

His crew stood in front of him, ready for action.

Zoro was leaning against one of the white house's, bandanna tied around his forehead. He was shirtless and so Luffy could see the wads of stained bandages covering the gaping wound that MIhawk has given him. Three swords hung at his side, two unfamiliar. Curiously, the red outline of a shoe print was visible on his scowling face and his nose seemed oddly crooked.

Usopp had sat himself down on a bench on the other side of the road from Zoro. Sweat was clearly visible on the teen's tremoring body and he was nervously fiddling with his slingshot. Still, he shot Luffy a lopsided grin when he noticed the rubber boy.

Luffy's newest crewmate stood in the middle of the road, directly in front of Luffy. He cut an impressive figure, all sharp angles as the wind blowed and tugged at his rumpled suit. The cook was smoking a cigarette. Sanji finished the drag and tossed the cancer stick to the ground, grinding it under his sole.

Luffy couldn't describe how he had known that his crew would be waiting for him when he turned around. He just had. It hadn't been Observation Haki to his knowledge. No, it had been something deeper. Something primal. A certainty in his gut that his friends were behind him, every step of the way.

And in that moment, Monkey D. Luffy knew that he wanted to share his adventures with these people for the rest of his life. Not just to One Piece and their dreams, but beyond even that. Together right until the very end.

And with Nami's cries ringing through their ears, Luffy spoke. "We're heading for Arlong Park."

Usopp managed a grin. "I suppose we have no choice."

"Damn right we are," Sanji practically snarled, "no one gets away with hurting a lady around me. No one."

Zoro remained silence but he moved forward from the wall, supporting his own weight again.

And they began to march down the road. With no coordination, their footsteps fell into sync naturally. Nothing was said, nothing had to be. The knew what they had to and how to do it.

Luffy cracked his knuckles. Arlong would pay.

He would make sure of it.


Zoro felt...unsettled.

He wasn't sure what that had been but it hadn't been natural. There had been some sort of strange understanding between them. Even though he wanted nothing to do with this group, the boy's words had struck a chord deep within him that had resonated throughout every fiber of his body.

There was complete and utter silence as the four of them walked down the road. The boy in overalls was clutching his slingshot, knuckles white. The boy, his captain, was stone-faced: no hint of emotion in his eyes.

Luffy wasn't what he had been expecting, to say the least.

He had been expecting a giant of a man, someone who could bend his older self to their will. Instead, he had gotten a runt. He felt cheated somehow.

The blond, and Zoro had to fight back a rising blush as he remembered the situation earlier, has his hands stuck in his jacket pockets.

Zoro shuddered as he thought back to the incident. That was the last time he was ever going to assume anything.

"Luffy," he said gravely, looking at the well dressed man, "I'm leaving the crew."

The blond man's long fingers, like that of a pianist, reached into his pocket and pulled out a single cigarette. His other hand retrieved his lighter, a tacky gold thing, and lit the cigarette. Luffy took a long drag of the cigarette and Zoro was unnerved at how well his captain was taking it. "Luffy?" He asked, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

The finished cigarette fell down onto the dusty country pathway and Luffy sighed, an exaggerated melodramatic sound. The well-dressed man snapped his right leg out at a nearly horizontal angle and then raised it above his head, Zoro craned his neck just to see the foot that seemed to block out the edge of the sun with the height it rose to.

Then, with a crunch, said foot slammed down at nearly sonic speed into Zoro's face. Blood bursting from his mangled nose as his body was sent flying back onto the road. He had to bite back a scream as black spots danced across his vision and paroxysms of pain swept through his wounded body. "Screw you," he managed to groan out between gasps of breath.

Luffy looked down at him, distaste visible on his face. "Stop being an idiot, I've no times for jokes. We need to save Nami-swan."

Joke? Who the hell was joking? Almost as if he heard the swordsman's unspoken question, the teen in overalls spoke. "Sanji," he said, shooting Zoro a concerned glance, "that seemed a bit...harsh."

Sanji? Then that wasn't Luffy? Then….his good eye flicked towards the curly-haired teen with the slingshot. Surely not? As if on cue, the blond man, Sanji, responded. "Usopp, did you not see his fight with that guy with the huge sword? I'm sure he's strong enough to take one of my kicks."

He had fought a guy with a huge sword? Is that how he had been wounded? "Exactly," Usopp shot back, "did you not see that fight? I'm surprised he's still alive and we really don't need you kicking him!"

Brushing his questions aside, Zoro unsteadily rose to his feet. He'd be damned if he remained a bystander in this conversation any longer. "Where is Luffy?"

Sanji barely glanced at him, instead focusing on the woman who hadn't taken part in the conversation yet. "Thanks for the help my dear, we'll be on our way." And with that, Sanji strode off down the road without a backwards glance.

Usopp sighed and pinched his nose. "We better follow him, Zoro." And the teen set off behind Sanji. And so, with a growl, Zoro had ended up with no choice but to follow.

The green-haired man shook himself out of his memories as a building became visible on the horizon: the infamous Arlong Park. His hand went down and brushed against the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, the cold feeling of the hilt freeing his mind of the embarrassment from before. Leaving behind nothing but the thrill of the hunt. Still, a soft voice beckoned him as he held his cherished blade. And when he closed his eyes, it was almost like there was a second set of vision within. A blurry and grainy one but one all the same. And he had a feeling this new vision would have overlapped his own had he been less concentrated on the impending battle.

It was disorienting but ignorable. He'd deal with it later.

Zoro's eye narrowed as the mob came into view, they were standing outside the gates. Not storming the quayside stronghold, why? His eye bulged in its socket as two men came into focus standing in front of the gate. What were Johnny and Yosaku doing here? He gritted his teeth when he saw the sorry, bloody state they were in. Had Arlong done this?

The crowd parted before Luffy as he strode ahead of them, their faces full of anxiety and a tinge of hope. "Yo," he greeted Johnny and Yosaku, "didn't expect to see you two up so soon."

"Heh," Johnny muttered, "we came to and headed here for revenge."

"But we were defeated." Yosaku continued off Johnny's sentence without a pause. "When we saw a crowd appearing on the horizon, we know we had to stop them."

Luffy nodded and raised his fist. With two titanic blows, the stone wall had been reduced to mortar and dust. "Which one of you is Arlong?"

"I am," a cold voice called out from out of Zoro's view and the swordsman moved forward, ready to enter through the hole as soon as Luffy moved. "And you are?"

"Luffy, a pirate." The boy replied, stepping forward.

"And what does a pirate want with me?"

Zoro blinked at an unfortunate time and missed it. Luffy had sped forward and socked Arlong in the jaw, sending the fishman rocketing into the far wall.

Zoro walked forward through the hole, Usopp and Sanji at his side. And that was when he got his first good luck at Arlong.

The Fishman was light blue in colour, his most distinctive feature being his saw-shaped nose jutting out from his face. He had long black hair that went past his shoulders. He wore light, fashionable clothing that even Zoro, with his limited fashion knowledge, recognised as expensive. "Men," Arlong grunted, cupping a hand to his bloodied and bruised cheek, "get them!"

The remaining fishman roared and, Zoro noted with pride, there were less than there had been earlier. He had put a large dent in their forces with his rampage earlier. He noticed Sanji leaping ahead to kick away some more of the enemy pirates, Usopp seemed to be rooted to the spot beside Zoro.

Zoro drew his good sword and was slicing through the foreign entity before he had even registered what had been fired at him, black ink splattered down either side of him. His free hand grabbed his bandanna and tied it around his head, he felt like this was going to be a tough battle. His eye darted to and fro, searching for his attacker. Zoro quickly identified him.

It was an octopus Fishman with pinkish skin and an odd star-shaped hairstyle. Zoro's excitement grew when he saw six sword sheaths at the Fishman's side. This was going to be a proper battle. The other members of Arlong's crew seemed to part as the six sword user approached Zoro. "Hachi," one whispered, "he's the one who killed all the others."

The Fishman, Hachi, grunted, "I know," and drew his swords: his six arms flexing as he did so. "I'll make him pay."

Zoro placed Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and drew his other two temporary swords. Zoro could feel the blood rushing through his veins in anticipation. "You can try," he said, "but you'll make your life forfeit as a result."

Hachi responded by shooting more ink at him and moved in to attack as Zoro was cutting through it. Zoro's three swords barely blocked Hachi's six, his muscles screaming in protest as the stalemate dragged on. Hachi finally jumped back and Zoro took the chance. "Onigiri!"

Hachi slammed all six blades into a defensive position and Zoro cursed as the screech of metal on metal assaulted his ears as his attack was stopped. Hachi spat another glob of ink into his face and Zoro stumbled back, cursing. His two temporary swords clattering to the ground in his haste to clear his vision, furiously rubbing at his face.

He saw the blurry and hazy outline of Hachi raise his swords high above his head. Zoro felt a cold weight settle into the bottom of his stomach even as he spat Kuina's blade into his right hand to try and block the killing blow. But he knew it was futile, he would never recover in time.

He was going to die before becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman. He was going to break his promise to himself. To Kuina.

Time seemed to slow to a snail's pace as Zoro exhaled. Suddenly, though he was blinded, he could see. No, not see: sense. He could sense the entire battlefield. Luffy was trapped in the floor, Sanji was fighting underwater and Usopp was retreating with a Fishman hot on his tail. And he could sense Hachi.

Hachi and his six swords.

He could see exactly how and where each would fall before it happened and Zoro grinned. Hachi would be wide open just before Zoro was beheaded, and that was exactly what Hachi intended to do. He was certain of that.

And later in Impel Down, the captured members of the Arlong Pirates would discuss the strangeness they saw that day. They would whisper of the way Roronoa Zoro seemed to gleam black as he defied death. Encased head to toe in obsidian,clothes and all. But had lasted but for a moment and until the day they died they would never agree if it had been a trick of the light or something more…

Zoro felt oddly serene as he felt metal brush past either side of his head, brushing the edge of his hair. Like a viper, his right arm struck out like lightning. Pain exploded through his being as he felt metal shred through his shoulders and into the edges of his neck, he could his blood bursting from his body. At the same moment, Wado Ichimonji slide easily through the Fishman known as Hachi and impaled him in the heart, the edge poking out the six sword user's back.

Zoro fell back and crashed onto the stony ground, blood pooling out under him. He felt laughter bubbling from his throat and erupting from his mouth.

He had won.

The darkness finally claimed him, a blood-stained grin on his face.