I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece or the Nasuverse.
Where Are They Now – Zoro
/A Gloomy Island Somewhere In The New World/
The Vice Captain of the Straw Hats found himself in a rather strange position. He'd been sent flying off to this strange, gloomy looking island that reminded him of Thriller Bark, a thick fog obscuring any chance of reaching the shore.
He'd tried for two days to get to a shoreline by walking straight, yet he somehow always ended up back at the massive gothic castle at the centre of the island. He knew he couldn't keep going on like this, his body had suffered battle damage from Bartholomew Kuma and he needed to rest and recover.
And so, he had entered the castle, only to encounter a more annoying fate.
Inside the castle, he'd initially thought he was alone, until a ghost emerged through one of the walls, gaping at him in shock. He initially wanted to fight it, but realized it was likely not going to suffer any damage from him as a ghost and thus, he didn't.
But then, the ghost spoke to him.
"It's you!?"
"Huh?"
"Don't act like you don't remember me," the ghost snapped only for Zoro to cock his head to the side. "You're a real jerk!"
"How the hell am I supposed to recognize a white sheet," Zoro snapped back as the ghost looked at itself before shimmering into a young woman wearing a gothic Lolita styled outfit, long pink hair and wide round eyes.
"Recognize me now!?"
"Nope."
The ghost girl grit her teeth angrily as she seemed to struggle not to attack him on sight.
"You're a real jerk Roronoa Zoro," the ghost girl hissed. "Its me, Perona, from Thriller Bark!?"
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?"
This made Perona angrier as two identical sounding laughs echoed on either side of him as both Elizabeth Bathory Caster and Saber walked into the room.
"How funny, he can't remember anything Master!"
"He's such a small brained chimp!"
"Oi, shut up," Zoro snapped back as the two Servants laughed at him. "What the hell are you three doing here anyway!?"
"What're YOU doing here," Perona snapped back only for Liz Caster to respond to his question.
"When the Warlord Of The Sea, Bartholomew Kuma arrived, he sent all three of us here to this gloomy island for some reason."
"Yeah, we all woke up out in that dark forest and ended up here," Liz Saber chimed in with a nod. "Every time we try to get to the coast, we end up back here at this castle, so we decided to just live here."
"So you guys couldn't get through the fog either eh?"
"What about you," Perona huffed as she floated over to him. "Why are you here? Oh! Is Natsu here with you!?"
"No," Zoro replied with a shake of his head. "I got sent here the same way you did after Kuma touched me and sent me flying here."
"When did he do that? How long have you been here?"
"I'm not sure exactly how long I've been out, but he did it on Sabaody."
"Oh wow, so you guys had that weirdo follow you," Liz Saber asked as she sat down on the floor. "The way he talks gives me the creeps, he's like a robot!"
"He's a cyborg Saber," Liz Caster said as she bonked her Saber self on the head with her staff. "Of course he seems like a robot!"
"Have you three tried to get through the fog at all after you came in here," Zoro asked only for all three girls to shake their heads. "Damn. Well, guess now that I've got a base of operations, I can start trying to reach the shoreline."
"Honestly, you might not want to go out there now," Perona said as Zoro turned his attention toward her. "At night, there's strange noises that come from inside that fog…"
"We both went out to check but we couldn't find anything, only seeing shadows," Liz Saber added as Zoro hummed to himself.
"Sounds like night time is the key to getting out of here then," Zoro muttered as he turned around and walked to the front doors.
"Oi, where are you going," Perona shouted as she floated through the wall and was waiting outside the front doors when Zoro opened them. "Didn't you just hear our warnings!?"
"I did. But, its obvious that those noises you guys said you heard are out there. If I wanna get off this island, I've gotta find the source."
"And what are you gonna do if its trouble!?"
"Slice it," Zoro replied with a shrug as he started walking down the steps, Perona openly gaping at his stupidity.
"ARE YOU INSANE!? You don't even know what it is out there!?"
"Doesn't matter, I can't just hang around here all day," Zoro replied as he started walking into the fog with Perona and the two Liz Servants following him. "You don't have to follow me if you're scared."
"I AM NOT SCARED," Perona snapped as she went to slap him only for her hand to pass through him. "You're lucky this is my ghost form or I'd smack you silly!"
"Oi Master, maybe you should calm down," Liz Caster said thoughtfully as she realized that Perona was likely drawing attention toward them.
"Yeah, what if those shadows come back?"
Perona seemed to realize this as she clamped a hand over her mouth right as a strange warbling sound, followed by the sound of clanging metal and low grunts could be heard all around them.
"Oh shit," Zoro muttered as he drew two of his swords. "Way to go ghost girl…"
"It's Perona-!"
Right as she shouted, a loud roar was heard as a flail emerged from the fog and tried to strike Zoro who struck the chain with his right sword. The morning star wrapped around his blade and he was promptly yanked into the fog, much to the shock and horror of the three girls.
"Zoro," both Liz Servants cried out only for the Vice Captain to suddenly skid back into view, blocking the attack of a massive blade.
"What the hell is that," Perona screeched as the fog began to dissipate around their local area to reveal a large baboon looking creature wielding a dai-katana.
"D-Damn," Zoro hissed as the baboon stood over him, applying more force to its strike as Zoro struggled to block it. "Why the hell is this thing so damn strong-!?"
Zoro was knocked back, caught by Liz Saber as he quickly recovered.
"Are you okay Zoro!?"
"That damn baboon, its not normal," Zoro huffed as he drew his third sword and placed it in his mouth. "But I'm not gonna lose to it!"
Rushing toward the baboon, he ducked under a horizontal swing, skidding as he cocked both swords back, his biceps doubling in size.
"One Gorilla … Two Gorilla …"
Sliding right up to the baboon, it entered a defensive stance and prepared to block his attack.
"Three Sword Style: Twin Gorilla Slash!"
His swing struck the defending baboon's blade, slicing right through it as he fired off an aerial slash attack that ripped open two gashes in its body. The baboon roared as it stumbled backward before collapsing as Zoro dropped to one knee following the conclusion of the attack, waiting to see if the baboon would get back up."
"Wow, that was actually a pretty impressive attack," Liz Saber said as Zoro rose back to his feet. "Thank goodness that's over with…"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Zoro muttered as the fog fully began to disperse to reveal they were actually completely surrounded by baboon's of equal size to the one Zoro just beat. All of them were armed with bladed weapons, clearly ready to fight.
"What the hell!?"
"Where did they all come from!?"
"Have they been in the fog this entire time!?"
Zoro ignored the three girls as he pondered the situation. He knew he was outmatched by so many of these baboons. If one could force him to utilize Three Sword Style attacks, over fifty would be far too much to handle.
"This could be bad," Zoro muttered as he studied the baboons. "You three might wanna try and make a break for it, though I can't guarantee you they won't follow you into the castle."
"And what are you gonna do," Perona snapped back, a hint of concern in her voice as she saw Zoro stance up, preparing to fight. "Are you serious!? You want to fight all of them!?"
"I haven't got a choice, I've gotta get past these things and reach the shores," Zoro muttered as a faint tinge of red enveloped his eyes. "Even if it kills me…"
"But you're clearly already injured from whatever Kuma did to you! You'll die you foolish, stubborn man!"
It was likely true that he would, given his current condition. His internals needed time to heal from what Kuma did and yet here he was about to fight over fifty powerful baboon warriors.
But then, as he steeled himself for the hard battle to come, he noticed something rather strange about the baboons. They had all frozen, their eyes wide and all looking in the same direction.
Curious, he turned back around to see what they were looking at and likewise froze as an all too familiar silhouette appeared through the thinning fog.
"I arrive back home and investigate a disturbance and what do I find … A ghost, two Servants … and you, Roronoa Zoro."
"Its you," Zoro gasped as Perona and her Servants also froze in place upon seeing who it was. "Dracule Mihawk…"
The World's Greatest Swordsman strolled into the middle of the confrontation, looking from the downed baboon, to Perona and her Servants, to the assembled baboons … and finally, Zoro.
When his gaze landed upon Zoro however, his eyes widened slightly at the reddish hue shading his irises. He held Zoro's gaze for a moment until Zoro looked away.
"I see, so that's how it is," Mihawk muttered as he said one word to the baboons. "Leave."
The baboons did not need to be told twice as they fled, dragging their downed comrade with them.
"I take it you four are the ones that have been living in my home," Mihawk asked only for Zoro to shake his head.
"They were, I only found it today," the moss head replied with Mihawk nodding slowly before turning to the girls. "I assume Kuma sent you all here from Thriller Bark?"
"Y-yes," Perona muttered weakly in response.
"I see. And you were sent here after the incident on Sabaody, right Roronoa Zoro?"
"Yeah," Zoro replied slowly as the other man eyed Zoro's blades for a moment. "You live here?"
"I do. Got a problem with it, Roronoa?"
"…"
"…"
"No."
"Good," Mihawk sniffed as he motioned for all four of them to follow him back to the castle, with all four doing so without question.
Once they arrived back inside, they were led to the dining room where Mihawk sat at the head of the table and prompted them all to sit. He then looked at Perona and her Servants before speaking.
"Explain your story to me on how you arrived here."
And so, Perona recounted her tale of the events of Thriller Bark until now. The man nodded, pondered why Perona was sent here for a moment before looking toward Zoro.
"I know a fair bit about how you ended up here, but I want to hear it from your own mouth Roronoa," the swordsman replied as he motioned for Zoro to speak.
What followed was a twenty minute recap of everything in Sabaody until now from his perspective, leaving the older man to ponder the story for a moment before nodding.
"You should know, I've seen Straw Hat Luffy, Natsu Dragneel, Mordred Pendragon and Seilah Dragneel," Mihawk responded with Zoro's eyes widening in shock.
"Really!?"
"They were at Marineford, trying to save Portgas D Ace from execution … They failed."
Zoro was shocked into silence, unable to speak for a full minute as Mihawk's words settled in.
They had fought in some kind of war after the events of Sabaody, and Luffy's Brother Ace was now dead. He knew that Luffy had to be hurting inside right now, knew that he needed to return to his Captain.
"I need a boat so I can get back to him."
"Oh? And why should I just give you a boat, Roronoa?"
"To get rid of me, obviously," Zoro replied easily. "As if you'd want me around."
Mihawk pondered Zoro's response as he looked out of the window for a moment, a slew of thoughts running through his mind as he recalled the faint glaze of red over Zoro's eyes when he'd first seen him.
"I suppose you could leave … but I wouldn't advise it."
"Why," Zoro asked, not angry, but just confused.
"You could go back to Luffy and Natsu, and remain your current weak self," Mihawk began as Zoro grit his teeth. "Or, you could stay here for awhile. You could rest and recover before being trained how to control the fledgeling power inside of you?"
Zoro's eyes widened at what Mihawk had just said. He honestly didn't even believe his ears, he couldn't trust himself even after he'd pinched his arm to check if he was unconscious. Mihawk simply sat there and let Zoro go through many countless facial expressions.
"You … want to train me? And, what is this fledgling power?"
"I do want to train you," Mihawk muttered as he rose to his feet. "And as for this fledgling power, I think you'll find this familiar," Mihawk responded as his eyes began to glow Crimson Red.
"Th-Those eyes!?"
"You would recognize them, wouldn't you Roronoa? These are the eyes of a Devil, a power you'll need if you want to join Straw Hat Luffy and the others in the New World."
"What…?"
"I will teach you Roronoa how to wield Haki, how to use Devil's Aura. I will train you to be a far greater swordsman, one that will be able to support Monkey D Luffy and Natsu Dragneel once they hit the New World."
Zoro was shocked at what Mihawk was offering him. Training at the hands of the World's Greatest Swordsman, it was an unreal proposition!
"But why would you want to do that," Zoro asked as Mihawk looked right at him for a split second before looking back out the window. "Why would you be willing to train me, knowing I want to defeat you?"
"Because the world is bigger than you or I, Roronoa, and there are much more important battles to fight than our own over a petty title," the older swordsman replied neutrally. "I can't say much, but believe me when I say that I have my reasons, Roronoa."
Zoro pondered what Mihawk had said. It reminded him of how Natsu and Seilah often spoke, like they couldn't tell you because someone else had told them not to. He then realized that such reasoning was likely why he wasn't telling him the full story, and nodded.
"Fine. I'll remain here and train under you," Zoro nodded with Mihawk nodding slightly back in response. "When do we begin?"
"Not until after you've recovered," Mihawk replied bluntly as Zoro looked down at his body, agreeing as he felt pain in his organs. "I must say though, you did well to defeat a Humandrill in your current condition."
"A what?"
"The baboon-like creatures are a sentient species native to this land called the Humandrills. They are capable of learning how to use weapons of war as if they were Human themselves," Mihawk explained.
"Why are they so strong and why do they know how to use weapon," Zoro asked as Mihawk looked back out the window.
"Long ago, there was a war here between two halves of the island. One half wanted one thing, the other side didn't like it and they fought each other to the point of total destruction. The Humandrills watched that war and learned how to fight based off it, learning how to be more violent."
"And now they can wield all sorts of weapons," Zoro hummed with Mihawk nodding in response. "I assume they're good for training?"
"Oh yes, they are excellent since they can copy any fighting style so long as they can observe it. Eventually, one will copy yours…"
"Really," Zoro hummed as he pondered such a thing. "Well, I suppose that would be solid training as well."
Mihawk nodded approvingly as he watched a giant shadow moving in the distance.
"See that shadow there," Mihawk said as both Zoro and Perona and her Servants gaped at the massive creature. "That one has tried to copy my fighting style."
"Wow…"
"Wow indeed," Mihawk chuckled softly as he looked over to Zoro. "Now, I want to make this perfectly clear. I am a harsh taskmaster; I will not make this easy for you at all Roronoa. You will do exactly as I tell you to and be punished harshly if you do not comply. Is that understood?"
"Yes," Zoro replied with a bow of his head.
"Good. You have potential and I will draw it out. But, my main goal is to teach you Haki use and how to access Devil's Aura. Withy those at your side, you'll reach a whole other level you could have only dreamed of Roronoa. For example, having Armament Haki or Aura will allow you to strike a Logia Devil Fruit User…"
Zoro's eyes widened as a brief flash of Admiral Kizaru popped into his head, followed by Aokiji and then Smoker.
"The power to strike Logia Fruti Users …"
"That also applies to being able to damage most other Devil Fruit Users as well," Mihawk continued. "However, you will also be able to fight against Servants and other Aura Users as well once you are done with my training."
Now Zoro was fully hooked. He knew the importance of being able to face down Servants and Aura users. They had been relegated solely to Natsu, Seilah and Mordred for the duration of their journey so far, but if he could help …"
"I'm definitely committed to doing this," Zoro replied firmly. "I'll rest up, but make sure to let me know how you want me to begin my training."
Mihawk noticed Zoro's resolve and couldn't help but inwardly grin at his attitude. He could tell immediately why Zoro wanted to do this. It wasn't just for himself, but for his friends in the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Very well Roronoa. Go with the ghost girl and she will show you to a spare room and help tend to your external wounds-."
"Hold on, when did I sign up to play nurse!?"
Mihawk just stared at Perona, unblinkingly for around five minutes, forcing her into submission with just a mere look alone.
"Okay … I'll do it," Perona huffed. "But I'm not happy about this," the ghost girl huffed.
Mihawk nodded as Perona led Zoro out of the room, her two Servants following after her as he was left alone to stare out of the window, deep in thought.
"I wonder if this will all be worth it in the end … Red Hair…"
Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head as he got up and began making his way down to the wine cellar. After all, he'd just returned from Marineford and had earned himself a nice drink.
He only hoped Zoro was a quick learner, otherwise it was going to be a slog to train him.
But those were thoughts for another day, tonight he would get drunk and celebrate getting to fight some strong individuals at Marineford, thoughts of the future pushed to the back of his mind as he celebrated the present.
Hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one!
