It's Nami's guttural wail that slices through the chaos, a raw, primal scream, halting Zoro mid-strike as he cuts down one of the soldiers. His eyes instantly dart to Robin, who now lies crumpled on the ground, an image that defies all logic and reason; everything he has ever known her to be. Luffy is nowhere to be seen, the rest of the crew having hopped onto the marines' ship to finish the job on their side of the battle.
"Get inside!" Zoro commands Nami when she makes no sign of moving, the grating tone of his voice immediately snapping her back to reality. She runs to Robin's side, grabs her by the arms, and pulls her towards their clinic.
Zoro's eyes narrow with a vicious intensity as he spins back to the fray, his blade flashing with relentless precision. Every soldier that crosses his path falls beneath his fury, their lives extinguished with each swift, calculated blow. Amidst the chaos, he catches glimpses of Nami and Robin struggling towards the clinic. Nami's face is set in a mask of grim determination, her hands shaking as she drags Robin along. Finally, the last of the soldiers fall, leaving Zoro standing alone amidst the wreckage. The battlefield is eerily quiet, the cacophony of combat replaced by a heavy silence that seems to press down on him. His chest heaves with ragged breaths as he makes his way toward the clinic, his eyes scanning the chaos for any sign of further threats. Finally, he hears Luffy hop onto the Sunny's deck, Usopp and Chopper under each side of his arms. He and Chopper are laughing. Sanji and Franky soon follow suit.
"Fuck, Luffy, I told you not to squeeze too hard if you plan to haul us around like this all the time," Usopp complains, rubbing his side after being set down.
"Aw man, that was a rush," Luffy exclaims. "Let's go again!"
The second he makes eye contact with Zoro, the light in his eyes dims. His face falls into a grim expression and he looks around, as though counting heads. "Where's Nami? Robi-"
Zoro doesn't wait for Luffy to complete his sentence. He's already moving toward the clinic, his long strides eating up the distance quickly. The silence of the battlefield feels heavy, almost suffocating, as he pushes through the wreckage. When he reaches the clinic, he bursts through the door. Nami is hunched over Robin, her hands moving with a tense urgency. Robin's face is pale, her breathing shallow and ragged. Zoro's chest clenches at the sight. Luffy and the rest of the crew burst in behind him, their expressions shifting from confusion to horror as they take in the scene.
"What happened?" Luffy's voice is tight, his usual bravado gone. Zoro steps aside, letting Chopper in to see Robin clearly. He replaces Nami by her side and examines her closely, his paw lifting her shirt to reveal the bullet lodged in the right side of her chest.
"Seastone bullet," Chopper grits out.
Nami whispers, "I-I was trying to help her, but she—"
"I know," Chopper interrupts, his voice strained but resolute. Zoro retreats to lean against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. The room is filled with a palpable silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of fabric and the soft, strained breaths of everyone present. Luffy paces restlessly, and it takes everything from Zoro not to lose his cool.
Minutes stretch painfully as Chopper works, each moment feeling like an eternity. The room is eerily quiet, the only sounds being the occasional mutter from Chopper and the low, almost imperceptible noises of Robin's labored breathing. Nami's face is a mask of raw emotion, her earlier composure shattered as she watches helplessly. Finally, Chopper looks up, his face grim.
"She's losing too much blood," he says quietly, his resolve quickly shaking. "The seastone bullet caused serious damage, I'm doing everything I can. I can put her on life support for a while, but..."
Luffy's shoulders slump, his earlier restlessness giving way to a profound, almost paralyzing sadness.
"There's got to be something you haven't thought of," he insists, his voice breaking.
Nami's eyes drown with tears as she steps back from Robin's side, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She wraps her blood-stained arms around her body and sits against the back wall. Usopp stands at the door, paralyzed.
"I'm so sorry," she whispers, her voice barely audible. She breaks out into sobs. Sanji's cigarette slips from between his lips, falling unnoticed to the floor as he steps forward, his face pale and set in a grimace.
"No," he murmurs, shaking his head slowly. Franky's fists are clenched at his sides, his shoulders rigid with suppressed grief. Chopper's eyes are red-rimmed, tears escaping despite his best efforts to maintain his composure. He turns back to Robin, his small paws trembling as he continues his work, trying desperately to find some flicker of hope amidst the encroaching darkness. Luffy, who has been pacing with increasing agitation, finally collapses to his knees beside Robin. His hands grip the edge of the table where Robin lies, his face contorted in a silent cry of despair. His shoulders shake slightly, though no sound escapes his tightly clenched teeth.
Zoro's own emotions are a roiling tempest, but he remains eerily calm on the surface. He watches as the crew grapples with the reality of their situation, each member affected in their own way. His heart feels like it's been hollowed out, leaving him with a deep, unfamiliar emptiness.
The following two days on the Sunny are nearly unendurable.
The ship is quiet, its usual vibrancy dulled by the weight of their collective grief. Robin lies motionless on life support in the clinic, her body showing signs of severe deterioration despite Chopper's relentless attempts to stabilize her.
Zoro finds himself locked in the crow's nest, the only salvation against the numbness in his bones offered by the searing pain of weight training hours on end. The physical exertion is both a refuge and a torment. As his muscles strain and sweat pours down his face, he battles against the gnawing feeling of helplessness that claws at his insides. The endless cycle of lifting, pushing, and sweating is his way of staying grounded, of keeping the darkness at bay. But no matter how exhausted he becomes, the cold, harsh reality of Robin's condition remains. He has yet to go back into the clinic to see her since everything unfolded. All he can do is picture the soldier's fact; the culprit's twisted grin after having fired the shot and he feels his anger begin to fester with a new ferocity. Killing him once doesn't seem like enough of a punishment.
Down below, the rest of the crew drifts through their days in a haze of worry and grief. Nami is often found by Robin's bedside, her face buried in her hands as she whispers apologies and prayers. She's a shell of the determined navigator they know, her strength eroded by the sight of her friend's suffering. Luffy, despite his usual boundless energy, is eerily subdued. He alternates between sitting by Robin's side and wandering the ship, his eyes empty, lost in thought. His attempts to lighten the mood fall flat, his usual optimism smothered by the gravity of their situation. Sanji spends his time in the galley, preparing meals with a focus that borders on obsession.
A knock on the hatch door pulls Zoro back into the truth they're living in. He grunts in place of a 'come in'.
Nami appears from behind the hatch, her hand carrying a tray of food. "You haven't eaten."
Zoro closes his eyes, the tension in his body evident. "Not hungry."
"I don't give a shit if you're hungry," she says, slamming the hatch door shut and planting the tray on the floor beside him. She sits down next to him, her posture rigid with a mix of frustration and concern. "Eat."
"Fuck off," he snaps back, his voice harsh. The anger is as much a shield as it is a real emotion.
Nami's eyes narrow. Without a word, she reaches behind her back and pulls out her Clima-Tact, the weapon's sleek form reflecting the dim light of the crow's nest. She holds it with a firm grip, the subtle menace of her stance clear.
"Don't make me use this," she says quietly, her voice steely but laced with a hint of desperation. "I'm not in the mood for games, Zoro. You're going to eat, or I'll make sure you do."
Zoro studies her carefully, the air between them heavy with the knowledge that she could never surpass him, that this was nothing short of an empty threat. The anguish in her eyes is loud; this is the only thing she feels she has an inkling of control over right now. He exhales deeply, the anger in his posture deflating as he meets her gaze. He settles against the wide window, grabs a piece of bread and mechanically bites into it. Nami's shoulders relax and she sits back down.
It doesn't take long for her to break the silence between them. "I just…"
Zoro doesn't avert his gaze from the ceiling.
"I just need to talk to someone who won't burst into tears, I need…I need to talk to someone stable enough to listen," she explains. Zoro scoffs quietly, her use of the word stable to indirectly describe him almost comical in its profound inaccuracy. Nami picks up on it but keeps going.
"We've grieved for long enough," she says. "We need to be logical about this. I usually rely on Luffy's resilience when things…"
Her voice trails off. She shakes her head. "When things are difficult. But he can't be resilient for us all the time. We need to take on the burden, and we need to figure out what's next, before Robin completely deteriorates."
The determination in her voice is briefly broken with a quiver of her lips. Zoro can almost taste the guilt brewing behind her eyes, can practically see it clawing its way out. Pushing the tray away from him, he gets up, grabs a towel and vigorously rubs it against his sweat-drenched hair before throwing it to the side. He moves over his weights from the far side corner of the crow's nest and reveals an expansive pile of books. After rummaging through, he picks a couple out and sits back down.
Nami cocks an eyebrow. "Didn't realize you could read."
"Fuck you and open to the chapters I marked," he bites.
Nami's eyes narrow at the harshness of his tone but she takes the books and begins to scan through the marked pages. The silence is tense, filled only by the rustling of pages and the creaking of the ship. After a few minutes, Nami's face pales as she uncovers a section on dark magic.
"This…" Nami begins, her voice trembling slightly. "This is… this is dangerous."
Zoro's eyes lock onto the text, his face hardening. "It's what we've got."
Nami reads on, her expression darkening further.
"You know as well as I do that this kind of magic is unstable and…" she trails off, her throat tightening. Zoro doesn't need her to finish. The implications are clear.
"It's not just a ritual; it's a gamble. But it might be the only chance we've got."
Nami looks at him with wide eyes, a mixture of hope and dread swirling in her gaze. "You can't be serious. This kind of magic—it could destroy you."
"I'm not asking for your approval. I'm asking if you're willing to help."
Nami swallows hard, her eyes scanning the text for more details. "The ritual… it needs a massive sacrifice, something that binds the caster to the magic. But it also warns of consequences. It might not work as intended."
As Zoro nods, Nami's voice breaks.
"No. What if we end up losing two of our crew members? Absolutely the fuck not."
Zoro stands up and grabs the book, his gaze resolute. "I've already made my decision."
