Zoro's P.O.V.
Only Luffy would manage to get himself carried away by some stupid bird. Dammit.
A loud explosion shook the ground. A nearby village stood ablaze, smoke and crumbled stones where buildings and people's homes once stood. My heart went out towards those poor people.
I fought back my desire to race towards the crumbling houses and refocused that energy on figuring out where the blast had come from. I'd do those poor people more good by finding the source of the explosion and preventing them from recurring than by racing blindly into the line of fire.
A ship. Looks like that's the armada those 3 cast away pirates spoke of. Buggy's crew. I made my way over to the ship, cautiously climbing on board. I peek through the crowd, assessing the situation.
Ah. 2 birds with one stone. There sat my new Captain, tied up in an iron cage, a cannon aimed directly at him. How the fuck does he manage to get himself into these situations? I leaned in closer.
A heavy built man with a giant red nose stood in the center, a red headed chick by his side. The clown man, who I could only assume was the crew's captain gestured angrily towards Luffy. The woman held a box of matches. It seemed like they were pressuring her into lighting the cannon's fuse.
She seemed hesitant. I prepared my swords, trying to come up with a strategy. A man from the crowd approached the red head, yanking the match out of her shaking hands, he began to light the fuse.
Before I could react she whipped out a bow and whacked the matches out of his hands. But the fuse was still lit. The captain gestured angrily, and a pack of pirates dove out of the crowd, swords in hand. Talk about overkill. Looks like I'll be winging this one. I began sprinting towards the scene.
The girl swung her bow recklessly in self-defense, deflecting as many of their blows as she possibly could. She dove past the men surrounding her, grasping at the sizzling fuse with her bare hands, her back now exposed.
" Watch out!" Luffy screams from his cage as all 4 men took the opening, charging towards the unarmed girl.
Just in time. I threw myself in between them. Blocking the pirates' attack, both swords still sheathed in each extended hand.
"Hey, now. It's not very nice for all of you guys to gang up on the poor girl." I grunted, shoving them back.
"Zoro!" My new captain's voice greeted me from his cage.
I glanced back towards the redhead. "You hurt?"
She just stared back at me, eyes wide. I asked again. "I said, are you hurt?"
"N-no, I'm fine I think." She finally responded.
"Whoo! What a relief! I'm glad you found us! Now hurry up and get me out of here!"
I scoffed. "How do you manage to get yourself into these situations, first a bird flies off with you, then I find you trapped in a cage?"
"It's an interesting story, actually."
I began to make my way towards my caged captain.
"So you're Zoro. You here for my head?" The clown captain asked.
"No, not interested. I gave up pirate hunting. I'm here for my friend." I responded.
"Well I am, killing you would boast my reputation." I heard the grin in his words. I glanced back towards him. This guy has got a lot of nerve.
"If you try, you'll die."
"Oh, is that so?" He asked, spinning out his blades.
I sighed, "I tried to warn you." I turned around, facing the demented clown.
His entire crew began cheering and chanting their captain's name. Buggy glared at me, wide ass grin plastered on his face. He won't be grinning when I'm done with him. He passes his tongue across his blade in an ill attempt to look cool, I suppose.
I unsheathed my weapons, placing Kuina's sword in my mouth. I crouched into a battle stance. Buggy began sprinting directly for me and I easily sliced right through his mid-section without even a blink. He toppled to the ground behind me. I sheated my blades, glancing back at him.
"That wasn't much of a fight."
"Wow, he's weak! Way to go, Zoro!" cheered Luffy.
The crew's laughter echoed throughout the deck. My eyes scanned the crowd wearily.
"Hey…why are they laughing?" asked Luffy, voicing my exact thoughts.
"Their captain's dead and yet their still laughing? What's going on?" the redhead stated, sounding as confused as we were.
"What's so damn funny?" I asked. My question answered almost simultaneously, as a stabbing sharp pain pierced my lower stomach. I grit my teeth, sinking down to my knees. My mind still unable to comprehend what was going on.
"Zoro!" Luffy's voice called out.
"Buggy's still alive!" the redhead gasped.
"What the-"I twisted back, my body protesting the movement.
A floating hand?! Buggy's hand gripped the blood soaked blade that had pierced through my side. It floated back, reattaching itself to his forearm.
Well that's just great.
"Chop Chop Fruit." He laughed, "The name of the devil fruit I consumed! Now I can never be defeated by the saw!" his laughter continued.
"His limbs reattach?!" the redhead's voice announced, stating the fucking obvious.
I gripped at my wound, pressing down on it in an attempt to stop the blood.
"I let my guard down…stupid mistake." I gasped.
Buggy stood over my body, his laughter only growing.
"STABBING HIM IN THE BACK WAS A COWARDLY MOVE, YOU BIG NOSED FREAK!" Luffy's voice cut through the crowd achieving a nearly deafening silence.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! WHO'S GOT A BIG NOSE?!" Buggy shrieked, his blade already flying full speed towards Luffy's cage.
"Luffy!" I called out, my heart doubling in speed.
"Buggy, I'm gonna kick your ass as soon as I get out of this cage." Luffy's muffled voice announced. I peered over in time to see Buggy's blade in-between my captain's teeth. He bit through it, the blade shattering in two on the cage's floor.
Buggy burst back into laughter. "You?! Kick my ass?! You have a lot of nerve. No, I'm afraid the 3 of you will be dying here today, so if you're gonna do any ass kicking, you better do it soon!" His crew joined in on the laughter.
Luffy laughed back in response, "I refuse to die today! Zoro! Get up!"
I stared back at him in confusion. What was he planning. He grinned back at me. Realization sank in.
"I gotcha." I smirked in response.
Buggy raced towards me, his second blade swinging. I deflect his series of attacks, finally slicing through his midsection once more. I throw myself through the opening my swords created so that I'm now behind him.
"Your 3-sword style has no effect on me!" I hear him announce, but I'm still sprinting, headed straight for the cannon. "Hey, listen when I'm talking to you!"
I finally reached the cannon, perching myself beneath the giant gun. I gathered my strength, my back and arms straining from the effort, I felt my wound tearing. I pushed through the pain and was finally able to flip the cannon over so now it was aimed towards Buggy and his crew. I sank back down to my knees, huffing. My arms clutching around my bleeding side. That fucker.
"Hurry, light it!" the redhead stared at me, confusion in her eyes. Dammit, bitch. Did I stutter?
"Light it now!" I grunt.
"Oh, right!" She lit the fuse and we braced for impact. Buggy and his crew's pleas were drowned out by the sizzling and rumbling of the cannon. The explosion echoed through the distance. They were blasted off the side of the ship, a gaping hole and scattered floorboards replaced where they once stood. The ship shook. We gotta get off.
I forced myself up and made my way over to Luffy's cage, hoisting it over my back, my stupid body shaking.
"How bad are you hurt, Zoro?" Luffy's concerned voice reached my ringing ears.
"Don't worry about it, I gotta concentrate if I'm gonna get us out of this." I grunt loudly. My vision was blurring. I squeezed my eyes shut, the weight of the iron cage pelting my back.
The redhead stood by us, staring in awe.
"Hey, Luffy…who's the girl?"
"Oh, she's our new navigator." Luffy responded.
"I-I'm not so sure about that…who are you guys?" she asked. My knees cracked under the pressure, shaking I steadied myself, huffing before continuing.
"M-move, you're in the way…" I began, one step at a time, slowly gaining speed, fighting to steady my breath. My legs threatened to buckle under the pressure and the bleeding from my wound hadn't stopped. I felt it spread with every step and force I made.
"Nami, go get the girl." Luffy demanded.
I paused, "Wh-what girl?"
"Right!" Nami raced below deck. The ship was unsteady and going down.
"Another girl?" I grunted, continuing my pace.
"Yeah, I think she's their prisoner. She tried to speak out for me and they took her away…"
My gut swirled and pulsed. Nausea joined my many discomforts as I continued to lug my captain off the slowly sinking ship.
This chapter's a bit longer. Hope you guys enjoyed it, don't forget to let me know what you guys think!