Zoro could feel his strength leaving his body while his mind was processing what Tashigi said.
"Being a vigilante would have made sense if she was seeking revenge, but she founded the Strawhat group, rising to an Emperor level. Did it not occur to you why she managed to do that? In a few years! None of the Emperors managed to get to their levels as quickly as she did! She had her father's members supporting her in the dark. They are bringing back Roger's influence and Luffia is at the helm of this scheme! Letting them roam Grandline will cost lives. Many families will suffer..."
It echoed in his mind several times and no matter how many times he tried to process it, he still found it hard to believe that Luffia was the daughter of the person he hated the most.
Her smiles flashed into his mind, brimming with life, innocent, and bright. She was the lifeline that never failed to pull him back from any depths he was in. He could vividly remember her warmth embracing him and relishes in moments when everything around them would not matter.
But he was reminded of her promise she would no longer lie to him. He believed her yet his faith in him was shattered by the reality.
And as he pondered into it, pictures of her smiles were replaced by memories embedded into his mind. Memories he tried to bury but were coming back to remind him why he was no longer Shimotsuki Zoro.
A six-year-old kid might be whining at the straits of their family but not him. His keen mind was observing the adults surrounding him, a frown appearing on his face while looking at his father.
"Wano is in shambles right now. We must make haste and evacuate the children," His mother was distressed. For the past few weeks, there had been trouble everywhere. While Zoro may not know the full details, he knew his family was involved in what people called the underground. Adults around him, while being careful around children, were careless enough to let Zoro hear the words about the Mafia.
"The Mafia King is around the corner," his father was in a deep frown, hesitation evident on his face. "This is inevitable. War is upon us"
"They are threatening our family! They will rain upon our lands, kill innocents!" One of the elders in the Shimotsuki family stated.
Zoro would normally not be present in such discussions about the dire straits of their family's situation, but his mother won't let him leave her side while pleading to evacuate their home.
"We are sworn to Oden! We cannot turn our backs on our honor." Shimotsuki Ushimaru firmly shouted, hoping to rouse the morale of everyone in the room.
"We would not want to do the same, but the Mafia King..." One of the Shimotsuki subordinates trailed his words, gathering his guts to finish the sentence. "Regardless, we should heed the pleas from your wife, boss. We would stand with you till the end, but the young master..." Everyone looked at Zoro as if he was the only thing that kept these adults from running to war.
Ushimaru looked at his son with an unusual frown. Zoro was used to seeing him with a carefree grin, adorned with words of wisdom that were sometimes too difficult for Zoro's mind to process, but it etched into him, the image of his tall and strong father. It was odd to see him worried as if he was drinking in the sight of his son whom he may no longer see anymore.
"Father..." Zoro's voice trembled as Ushimaru crouched to see his son's eyes.
"Zoro. Listen to me. You must leave, son. This is no longer a safe place."
"But I don't want to leave you!"
"Neither do I, son. But this is a must. We are facing dangers that we cannot dodge. We cannot wait out this war. We must fight it." "
Is... Is it because of the Mafia King?" He bravely asked. His father did not answer but Zoro could see the brief hesitation in his eyes replaced by firmness and resolution.
"You will leave now. There is no time to waste."
"But - "
"But you will come back here. I promise. I will have you back in our home." He held onto that promise, thinking his father was the most honorable man he knew. It won't take long before he is back to his home. As Zoro was ushered outside of Wano, he kept seeing the chaos in the city. Gunshots were everywhere and screams and police sirens echoed. The adults kept on muttering curses.
'This is the Mafia King's fault.'
'He destroyed the city.'
'He is a terrorist.'
He kept hearing the rumors even when he was on the island far from Grandline and the only companions he had were an old man and a caretaker.
Months turned to years and when they broke the news to him, he felt as if his world shattered into a million pieces. His family was dead. The bombing incident caused by the Mafia King in Wano took everyone's lives including his family. The damage to the city was so severe that the World Government had to deter from providing more help, deeming the situation useless.
The eight-year-old Zoro could not understand why things happened. All he knew was that his entire clan died because of the Mafia King.
"You can no longer use the surname Shimotsuki. From today onwards, you are Roronoa Zoro." His caretaker told him. Apparently, he was a distant relative of the Shimotsuki clan. By hiding Zoro's surname, they alleviate the risk of being found by the Shimotsuki enemies.
'You took away not only my family but my name,' he thought to himself. His hatred ran so deep that he vowed to hunt the Mafia King only to find out that he was dead.
While that was a piece of good news to him, it only made Zoro feel empty. What was he supposed to do now that the mastermind was dead? As time passes by, when he starts being involved in the underground, all the information he acquired points to the Mafia King's involvement in the bombing incident of Wano. It was apparently a hostage situation where the Mafia King held Wano as hostage against the World Government to demand a cease-fire when he was cornered.
'How selfish,' Zoro thought, spatting curses in his mind. With the Mafia King gone, his anger was directed at his members. Even though he wanted to hunt them down, how was he supposed to hunt the people that even the World Government failed to hunt?
Despite his desires, he calmly took his time, step by step, by hunting the Mafia Groups, or the terrorists as he called them. By hunting them down, he was inevitably preventing a massacre from happening to other people. The same way his family died.
While others might wonder why he was not on the path of carnage to exact revenge, Zoro begged to differ. He wanted revenge but against the right people who wronged him. And blindly coursing the depths of the underworld in search of the ghosts of the past might be a path he could take, his parents wouldn't want him to live for the sake of revenge.
The dream of reviving the Shimotsuki bloodline in Wano might now seem unattainable, with the entire region falling under the control of one of the Emperors. The bombing incident facilitated Kaido's occupation of the area.
He could envision the scolding he'd face from his parents for solely pursuing revenge. Consequently, he chose the path of a bounty hunter, eventually earning the title of the Mafia Hunter. While he often remained on the fringes, he remained vigilant, ready to seize any chance that came his way.
"Luffia..." Through gritted teeth, he muttered his anger, then after a brief pause, resolved to confront her. Regardless of the evidence he had heard or seen, he felt compelled to hear her side directly.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
It was odd to feel alive. Ann reminisced the last moments before she thought she died and briefly wondered if being alive was a form of mercy or torture.
She was happy to see her sisters again, and this life given back to her was another chance to continue their road to revenge, but at the same time, she felt exhaustion creeping back at the back of her mind. Death might have been painful for her sisters, who loved her, but she knew their lives would go on. It might hurt them, but Ann knew they would survive. But for her, it was a form of mercy in a way that the heavy burdens she was carrying would dissolve. At least in death, she would no longer feel the human emotions of guilt.
And at least in death, she would no longer miss Marco.
She bitterly smiled to herself. Perhaps this is her karma. When she thought she could escape reality, hustled back to face the thorns she created.
"Perospero had the guts to showcase your death." Sab spat.
It had been a few days since she woke up, and the grogginess from the medicine was still in effect, but she felt better than ever.
"Showcase?" She asked, voice still hoarse.
"He broadcasted the whole thing. Live. It was his arrogance that prompted him to do so, but it was his stupidity that allowed us to track you down." Sab answered, still worried at her sister's condition.
Ann grimaced, disgusted at Perospero's behavior.
"W-Wait..." She groaned, trying everything she could to complete the sentence without breaking her voice. "Was the live streaming sent to everyone in Grandline?"
"No. It was sent to the streets. It was through an anonymous site they used. But everyone in the streets must have seen it." Luffia answered.
"Oh." She muttered. If everyone saw the video regardless of which group they came from, the Whitebeards must have seen it too.
"Usopp said everyone in the streets thought you were dead. Nami and the others were working on making sure it stays that way."
"I see." Ann remained silent, lost in her thoughts.
If they were to look at the advantages of being presumed dead by the world, this would give Ann a chance to still roam in the streets under a different guise without being suspected as Firefist. But at the same time, she briefly wondered if her supposed death affected a certain blond man.
'It is impossible for him to feel any semblance of sadness in my death. He might be rejoicing. A thorn in his path had been eliminated. Or perhaps he might feel disappointed that he didn't kill me himself' She sarcastically thought, a tinge of sadness creeping in her heart.
Maybe she should be grateful. Being dead in Marco's books meant she would no longer be a burden in his mind. Perhaps her death would free him from his wrath. At least he could move on now without her hindrance. Because that's what Ann's existence to him was. A hindrance, a spot of dirt in his name.
Feeling her distress, the sisters swiftly shifted the conversation to topics that could distract her from whatever was troubling her. Luffia, in particular, dominated the discussion, flitting between numerous subjects until Sab's patience wore thin with the chatter.
It was Luffia's noise that greeted Kidd when he entered the room.
"It's getting late now. I'll be leaving." Sab promptly looked at her watch to confirm that it was almost midnight.
"I'll see him out." She said and left the room with Kidd in tow. Ann could faintly see the redness and sparkle in Sab's eyes as she ushered Kidd outside the room.
"It seems the alliance was going well," Ann commented, a faint smile on her lips as she looked at the mastermind of the alliance.
"Yeah! They're getting along well. It's great to see Sab smiling again. Shishishi!"
"Indeed," Luffia looked at her meaningfully as if she left something unsaid. It didn't take a genius to know what Luffia might be thinking about. Ann had to throw the notions at the back of her mind, dismissing whatever Luffia might want to say. "How was the Emperors' alliance going on with Big Mom and Kaido?"
"They were running rampant in other territories. Their alliance made it hard for us to penetrate Wano even with the Dressrosa under our group. It would take a lot of time to infiltrate their network. At least that's what Nami said." She shrugged.
"Any news from Shanks?"
"He was holding his fort against the schemes of Blackbeard and the Emperors' alliance."
"And Uncle Rayleigh and Uncle Dragon?"
"Uncle Ray's still hiding. He can't easily show his face here, can he? And 'Pa's been hot on World Government's tails. The rebellion rising from different cities incited by the Revolutionary Army won't be enough to draw out the Elders. They will deploy their admirals to deal with it and have their connections to the Mafia Groups under their command thwart any resistance from the civilians."
That worsens Ann's headaches. If having the Revolutionary Army's intervention and the Emperors battling against one another won't draw the Elders out of their hiding, then what would? Ann was afraid that they might end up cutting the last string they were holding and that was the revelation of their identities to the world.
"Don't worry. One step at a time, right? We can't have all the big fish caught in our net, right? Shishishi!" Ann sometimes wondered when Luffia grew maturely. She kept surprising them especially when the twins were cornered to an end with no return. She was their light, always keeping things positive even when things were dim.
"By the way, I haven't seen Zoro," Ann said.
"He might be busy. He said he needs to do something." Ann felt like voicing her concern but chose silence instead. If Luffia trusted Zoro, she could try to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Alright! Time to sleep. Just take a rest, okay?"
"You too."
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Luffia might have looked okay when she left Ann's room but as soon as she was alone, her facade faded. The smile dropped, replaced with a frown while thinking about Zoro who never responded to her calls. This was not like Zoro at all. Even if he missed her calls, he would usually return them when he could.
An inkling of doubt crept to her heart and a few times she wanted to reach out to Johnny and Yosaku for help in finding out where Zoro could be.
Just when she was about to leave her worries behind in favor of sleeping, she received a message from Zoro telling her where he was. The spark in her eyes returned as she enthusiastically replied to him that she would be there in less than 15 minutes.
Leaving her house, she chanced upon Sab who just got back inside from seeing Kidd out.
"Where are you going?"
"To see Zoro!" She smiled and left her sister without further explanation.
The drive was quite fast given she was pushing past her limits due to her excitement. The place was meaningful to both Zoro and Luffia. It was their favorite place to walk, especially after a heavy meal in the stalls of the night market nearby. The sea breeze made the place perfect at night.
It didn't take long for her to spot Zoro standing beside the lamppost, eyes on the ocean before him.
"Zoro!" She enthusiastically called but he didn't look at her nor welcome her with open arms like usual. Even when she stood next to him and called his name, he didn't move. Not even an acknowledgment. Her heart started beating loudly, nervous and worried about him. "Zoro? What's wrong?"
There was no response. She remained silent for several minutes, anticipating him to be the one to alleviate the tension between them
"You..." He started, voice heavy. "How was your sister?"
"Uhm, she's fine! Still recovering." For some reason, Luffia felt suffocated. He might be standing next to her but she could vaguely feel the distance between them as if he created a wall to guard against her.
"I see. Good for you to have sisters. I did not have any."
"Oh - "
"I was an only child. Perhaps, if my parents were alive, I might have siblings by now." Luffia flinched at the mention of Zoro's parents. He rarely talked about them and even if he did, Luffia would always choose not to bring it up for fear of opening the can of secrets she bottled up inside.
She was about to change the topic when he suddenly spoke.
"I missed them. Did you know how they died?"
She shuddered when his voice turned colder than it already was.
"No..." Luffia had the means to investigate it, but she had always been a coward, afraid to find out the horrors of the death of her beloved's parents.
"No? Did I not tell you about it?" Luffia looked at her feet, squirming in discomfort but Zoro continued. "They died because they were killed. Did you know who killed them?"
At this point, she knew where this conversation was going.
"Z-Zoro - " Her hand slowly reached out to him and to her surprise, he flinched and stepped back as if her touch repulsed him.
Only then did she notice the unusual coldness in his eyes as if he was looking at his enemy.
"The Mafia King killed them. Your father killed them."
It was as if a sudden chill enveloped her, jolting her senses. Her thoughts spun in disarray as she grappled with the notion of how to articulate the circumstances. Was there even merit in divulging the truth? How could she justify her deliberate concealment from him?
Zoro's frustration intensified as he observed her reaction, feeling a deep ache within. Despite desperately wishing that Tashigi's words were mistaken, and hoping that Luffia would refute them, her expression left no room for doubt. The clarity of her expression only amplified his anguish.
"Why?" His voice trembled, tears slowly forming in his eyes.
"Z-Zoro... I - "
"I only asked you one thing, Luffia! One thing! Never lie to me!"
"I - "
"You never did. That's true. But you hid it from me! All along, you knew. You knew what your family did to my family! You knew your father killed my parents!"
Luffia's worst fear materialized as Zoro confronted her with the truth. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to speak, her throat tightening with an insurmountable lump, leaving her unable to utter a single word.
"I should have known the moment I knew you were Strawhat. How foolish of me! I blindly disregarded everything suspicious about you because I trusted you! Because I love you! This is the worst betrayal!"
"I'm sorry - "
"Sorry? Sorry, won't cut it, Luffia! Or is that even your real name?" Zoro sarcastically asked and for a brief moment, memories of the boy he met on the island flashed in his mind. The boy who was supposedly Roger's child. "You were that child on that island, right? And you knew that child was me, right?"
Zoro did not need to have the answer from her mouth when her expression could answer his question.
"Do you know why this is so painful to me? Because it was you, Luffia. You fooled me. My parents would be rolling on their graves watching their son being a fool, supporting the child of their murderer follow the same path as her father."
"My father is not - "
"Is not a murderer? Is that what you wanted to say? I dare you, and say it to me once again. Tell me that your father was not a murderer." Luffia's words were once again caught in her throat. A part of her wanted to defend her father - the father she knew and loved - but on the other side, she knew that her father might be the best in the world, but he was not innocent. Roger's hands were stained with the blood of people whether they were innocent or not.
"You can't, right? Because you knew! You knew the Mafia King killed several people including my parents!"
"M-My father may not be a saint but what I know is that he would kill his enemies." It was too late to take back her words now.
"Which included my parents." Luffia looked down while biting her lips, afraid to meet Zoro's eyes. "And you are following your father's path. To think I was helping you and your group. That's how you got me at the grasp of your hands. That's how foolish I am."
"I did not ask you to help me!"
"You didn't. That's true. That was my choice, and I regret every second of it. I wouldn't have hated you for being the child of the Mafia King, but what I hated was the fact that I have to live every second of my life knowing I helped you follow the steps of my parents' murderers!"
"I wasn't following anyone's footsteps!" She argued.
"Really? You could have fooled me. Is that why you were amassing groups of followers? You're on your way of becoming a great Emperor, and soon, taking the throne of your father. How many lives have you had on your hands to achieve this feat? Tell me, how is that not following his footsteps?"
"I - " am not a murderer, is what she wanted to say, but looking back at her past actions, she knew she killed people to get to where she was now. The world they live in requires the will to kill to survive. And if she voiced out the inner arguments, it felt like she was condemning her father for his actions. It would feel as if she was forsaking her own blood.
She yearned to express numerous sentiments to assert her stance. She hadn't formed a group merely to emulate her father's actions; it was a decision born out of her own volition. Along her path of seeking revenge, events unfolded beyond her intentions.
"I'm sorry." That was the only thing she could say at this point. She did not even know what she was sorry for.
"If you are sorry, leave the streets. Don't follow your father's footsteps." Luffia looked at Zoro. His eyes were filled with desperation as if he was pleading her to choose him. He may not say it out loud, but he was asking Luffia to forsake everything she worked for including the thorny path she and her sisters chose.
Doubts about their chosen path occasionally plagued her thoughts, leading her to ponder what might have been had they made different decisions. The idea of forsaking revenge had crossed her mind multiple times, yet she discovered herself incapable of relinquishing it.
She thought she could have both, but it seems she cannot. For what Zoro was offering was a chance to choose him over revenge. A chance to be with him. But at what cost? Surprisingly, she found herself unable to do so even if it meant sacrificing her relationship with Zoro.
"I... I can't." Her efforts to articulate were met with trembling and hesitation. Despite her strong desire to reach out and let go of everything, she recognized that opting for that path would lead to relentless regret and self-blame. Aware of the sacrifices her sisters had made, Luffia couldn't bring herself to abandon them.
Zoro's last thread of hope was shattered by her decision. He had yearned for Luffia to break away from her father's shadow, believing that with time, he could come to terms with her true self. But here she stands with a firm decision of traversing the same path his parents' murderers did.
Had Luffia not been the Mafia King's daughter, Zoro would have no issue with her being a Mafia Leader. Hell, he was even helping her from the sidelines. But now that he knew the truth, he could not stomach the thought that the woman he loved was doing the same thing her father did. It was like looking at his parents' murderer all the same. He could have chosen to act innocent as if he didn't know the truth, but he knew in his heart he couldn't. It would feel like a betrayal to his parents and his entire clan.
Silence engulfed them. Tears fell from their eyes and the quiet sobs echoed in each others' ears.
"Zoro, I-I don't want you to hate me."
"But I already do. You are indeed your father's daughter." She froze upon hearing those words as if a knife was cutting her heart to pieces. "I don't want to see you again."
As she watched his back turn against her, Luffia was left crying, muttering his name under her breath like a silent prayer that would never be heard. With each step he took, she knew she had lost the man he loved the most.