"Whatever you do, do not forget. We're here to keep an eye on things, and if necessary intervene to protect the villagers. Under no circumstances whatsoever can you let yourselves be distracted by any of your usual antics. Got that?"

Nami whispered these words, but they echoed mercilessly and with brutal volume in the swordman's head, leaving the aftertaste of a lingering threat. Anyone who knew the red-haired witch understood this, without her having to say it out loud. Luffy and Zoro, and even Sanji, had already had their fair share of encounters with the navigator's fists, which in an angry state could be more unyielding than many an opponent.

Zoro closed his eyes and leaned against Wado, which he had tucked into the ground next to him along with its sheath. A slight sigh escaped his parted lips as he tried to relieve the pressure in his head. Why was he here again? Why wasn't he on the Merry, sitting somewhere cozy on the railing, sleeping? Why on earth had he let himself be persuaded to join this stupid stake-out?

He sighed again, determined to conquer the pain in his head. That stupid concussion probably hadn't healed completely yet. Not that that hindered him in any way.

Next to him, he heard a rustling sound, probably coming from the bushes behind which they were crouching, and some giggling.

"Oi, guys. Zoro fell asleep. He is snoring already!" this voice belonged to Luffy, who, judging by the laughter, seemed to be having a great time.

"That's not what snoring sounds like, you idiot!"

"Yes, Luffy, I think he's just meditating."

Zoro scoffed, but otherwise chose to ignore his nakama's nattering.

Then a hand touched his shoulder, gently and slowly, almost hesitantly.

"Oi, Marimo, are you okay?" the most annoying person in the entire world asked right next to his ear, and Zoro cursed softly as the headache he had been struggling to subdue returned.

"I'm fine. Now shut up." He shook the hand off his shoulder and, to his surprise, there was no response from the blond chef.

That's right. The shitty cook was the reason he was here. The curlybrow had asked him at breakfast if he felt well enough to fight again and of course he had to prove to him that his stupid worries were unfounded. Because they were. As if something like a few broken ribs and a concussion could stop him from fighting. He'd been on the battlefield with far worse injuries. Besides, it all had happened a few days ago. That was usually enough time for him to have recovered suffiently.

His eyes met Sanji's, who looked at him with a strange, penetrating gaze that he couldn't interpret. Shit, what did the ero-cook want from him now? For a few days, since the incident actually, Sanji had been looking at him like this. Secretly at first, as if he thought Zoro wouldn't notice, but now more and more offensively, as if he had something pressing on his mind. Whatever it was, Zoro was sure he didn't want to know. Demonstratively, he closed his eyes and decided to simply ignore the blonde-haired cook. That always worked like a charm.

"Luffy's been weird these past few days. Don't you think?" Sanji's voice was just a whisper, but the words hit Zoro clearly and sharply. His eyes shot open and now it was he who studied the blond warily.

Did Sanji know?

Was this him subtly hinting at that?

Did he know that it was Luffy who had attacked him?

If he did, he didn't show it. No matter how hard he tried, Zoro couldn't make out anything in the blond's face, which might have been the case if half of it wasn't obscured by that stupid hair. For a moment that felt like an eternity to Zoro, the two rivals were locked in a silent struggle, each obviously trying to read the other.

"Pfft...don't know what you're talking about." Zoro finally broke the silence and his gaze away from the enerving blue eyes, shifting slightly as if he could thereby avert the questioning stare. It was half true. Luffy was always a little weird, after all. The cook could be talking about anything, really.

"Don't know or you don't want to say?" Apparently the cook wasn't going let it go that easily. Zoro frowned in annoyance.

"Whatever."

"That's not ... whatever... That is not even an answer! Did you not hear what I said? I asked you a fucking question!"

"Yeah you can stop doing that now. Your voice is giving me a headache." That was the whole truth this time. Of course, the cook was the reason why he had a headache again. What else could it be?

"What, you..." Sanji's face turned bright red. His nose flared angrily as he struggled for words. This was quite amusing to watch, Zoro thought. "Sorry I thought it was possible to have a simple conversation with you without your brain exploding! I must have overestimated you! Guess that was already too much thinking for you, Neanderthal!"

"Who are you calling a Neanderthal, you shitty cook?" Zoro gritted his teeth as his fingers twitched impatiently for his swords. "I'm not the one yelling around like a madman!"

Before the heated discussion could catch fire any further, it was ended with targeted blows to the backs of the heads of the two brawlers. Zoro groaned softly as the buzzing in his skull almost took over his mind. He needed a moment to secretly wrestle with the pain. Fuck! That's what he had wanted to avoid. How humiliating! This kind of blow could only come from a certain fearless person. Who else would dare to do something like that? Also, she had just warned them, hadn't she? Just a few minutes ago. Although unspoken, he had understood the warning. Shit, he must have forgotten already and thus had provided her with an easy target. That stupid red-haired witch.

The person in question stood behind them, arms on her hips, glaring at them with a look so furious it sent a shiver down Zoro's spine.

"Damn you two! Stop acting like jerks for once! The point of a stake-out is not to attract attention! If you can't keep your mouths shut, we may as well forget the whole thing and return to the Merry!"

Next to Zoro, Sanji held the back of his head with a defeated expression on his face, where a large bump was already growing. "Nami-san. Forgive me for disappointing you. I will do better."

Zoro scoffed and turned his gaze through the branches of the bush to the marketplace. It was empty except for a few figures sitting on the steps in front of the largest house in the market square who according to Nami were on their side. Zoro clicked his tongue. What exactly was he supposed to stake out again?

"Hihi, Zoro and Sanji got into trouble." Luffy giggled next to them, which earned him a blow to the side from Usopp's elbow.

"Shh, Luffy, we have to be quiet."

"Yes, Luffy, the same goes for you." Nami said sternly, "Shut up and behave. This is serious."

Their conversation had taken on a volume that went far beyond a whisper. The echo still mercilessly rang in Zoro's ears. Apparently, it had also been heard across the town square, because the bearded guy, who was one of the guys sat in front of the big house, had turned his head to the bush behind which they were crouching. Zoro could recognize the look he gave them as disapproving even from a distance. Somehow this made him want to take this more seriously.

"Oi, what's the plan for this again?" Zoro asked, making sure that his voice rose a little above a whisper, This immediately earned him an annoyed sideways glance from the blond cook.

"Well," Nami sighed lightly, "As I said. The mayor of this town... that's the guy in front of the brown house there, the one with the beard... has asked us to help them get rid of the gang terrorising the village. Well,... we kind of offered and he agreed but that's not really important now. What's important is that a group of this gang will arrive soon to collect the money they are trying to extort from the villagers... full Arlong-style..."

Nami sighed and a blank look slid on her face, signalling that she had been catapulted to a completely different place in her mind. Zoro noticed how his facial expressions expressed solidarity with her. The same was true of her other nakama, who suddenly had serious expressions on their faces; even Luffy had stopped joking around. All of them remembered only too well what had happened in Cocoyasi Village.

"Nothing will happen to the villagers. We will put the blackmailer guys in their place. Don't worry." Luffy said with that weird tone he always had in serious situations and which was so strangely reassuring, as if everything was really going to be all right. Zoro eyed his captain closely. So was Luffy back to his old self yet?

"That's right, Nami-san. You can rely on us! We'll protect the village!" Sanji said with this annoying chivalry.

Zoro nodded and so did Usopp, although the latter was already sweating with fear.

"Thank you, guys!" Nami smiled slightly and then cleared her throat quietly. "So, the plan... Like I just said, we're here to keep an eye on the meeting and intervene if the shakedowners get violent. If not, we are to follow them back to their camp. That's where their leader... I think they called him Blackear... is supposed to be and sooner or later we'll have to ...well, take him out... That's the plan. Also, that's why we have to be damn quiet and NOT make a sound!'

Nami looked urgently at Zoro, Sanji and Luffy with the last sentence and Zoro did his best not to let it provoke him.

"Got it!" shouted Luffy, raising his hands in the air as if in joyful anticipation.

"Sssh" came from all around him.

"Oh, sorry guys. That was a bit loud I guess." said Luffy and laughed heartily.

"Ssh, Luffy, quiet now. Please." said Nami and the panic in her voice caught Zoro's attention, "They're coming."

Silence spread behind the bush. From far away and getting louder and louder, something could actually be heard. It sounded like music.

"The fanfare," Usopp whispered, "just like last time. They're really there."

The music was now joined by rhythmic stomping. Instinctively, Zoro gripped Wado's handle. The adrenaline that shot through his veins at the sound of these noises made his headache fade instantly.

Soon, a group of people appeared in his field of vision, moving in formed order towards the market square, straight towards the large brown house. They were armed to the teeth, some with firearms, some with swords. Judging by their clothing, they looked more like shipwrecked men than powerful bandits, Zoro thought amused. All in all, they made a relatively weak impression on him. The swordsman smirked. Even in his injured state, he could easily defeat all of them on his own.

With a loud drumbeat, the troop stopped a few metres from the brown house. A man stepped out of their ranks and came to a halt a few paces from the steps of the house. He was wearing a long brown coat and sunglasses with one lens missing. His fiery red hair was gelled up and a large visible scar ran from his cheek across his mouth. So who was this idiot? Zoro wrinkled his forehead in annoyance. He didn't know what it was, but he could already tell that this person was extremely annoying.

"This is Ildur, one of this Blackear's gang." Nami whispered, as if she had read his thoughts, "He was here last time too."

"Mmm", Zoro thought. What a stupid name.

"Ulfric!" The Ildur guy shouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Time is up. Give me the Berri!"

"I see we're skipping the pleasantries again!" the bearded guy slowly stood up from the step he had been sitting on. "Forgive me if I don't tell you that I've missed you, Ildur. That would be a lie."

"Tsk, don't waste my time." Ildur seemed unimpressed. He didn't bat an eyelid. "I hope for your sake and the village's that you deliver to me now what you owe Master Blackear. He won't be this merciful a second time."

"Yeah, about that..." the bearded guy, who was probably that Ulfric guy, crossed his arms in front of his chest, while the few people behind him also stood up and drew closer to him. "We're not doing this anymore. All this. You came here for nothing."

It was all still for a few seconds. Then the Ildur guy started laughing out loud.

"He, he he...this is a joke...he he he..." He turned to his followers and a few of them started laughing too, though much more restrained "It's a joke, for sure. It's a joke,... or you're insane..."

Ildur took a step towards Ulfric and stared at him, but the latter didn't budge a muscle.

"Are you insane, Ulfric? Tell me you didn't come up with the foolish idea of starting a revolt... You would not survive."

Ulfric mustered his red-haired counterpart for a while. Zoro didn't understand why the bearded guy didn't just take a swing at this Idlur guy or at least threaten him. However, he himself wasn't one for diplomatic negotiations either. He always found them rather boring. Zoro yawned and immediately received a painful jab in his injured side from the cook, who was crouching next to him.

"Keep it together, mosshead" he hissed.

With difficulty, Zoro suppressed a groan. Shitty curlybrow!

"It doesn't have to be like this." The deep, strangely soothing voice of Ulfric sounded across the marketplace. "It doesn't have to be a revolt. We can end all this here and now, part on equal terms and in peace. Nobody has to get hurt."

"You're kidding, right? Ulfric, you can't be serious!"

"I'm dead serious." There was a slight tremor in Ulfric's voice, but the men behind him placed their hands on their belts with knives and axes hanging from them, emphasising the sincerity of Ulfric's statement.

"No, Ulfric, I don't think you understand what you're doing." Ildur said. Zoro frowned. Was it just him, or did this Ildur guy sound almost desperate? "Your little defiance will be the downfall of your entire village. This is a point of no return. Master Blackear won't be able to forgive this betrayal and his retribution will be cruel. Is that what you want?"

"What I want..." Ulfric took a breath, as if to gather the courage to continue, "...is freedom. Freedom for everyone in the village. Freedom from you, and Blackear and his tyranny. We would give everything for that."

Ildur put his hands in the pockets of his huge cloak. It was hard to tell from this distance behind the bush whether his face was flushed with anger or if the red colour came from his hair. But he sounded different, more serious, more threatening when he spoke again.

"Everything, huh? Don't complain if we take you at your word then, Ulfric. We shall take everything from you. Every last bit of this pitiful village. When we're done here, all that will be left will be ashes and rubble from the beloved shithole you call home."

Ildur stepped closer to Ulfric. Zoro could barely make out the spiteful grin that crossed his face.

"I already know where to start, too. This little brat with the long braids, I'll make sure she knows you're to blame for her death..."

The echo of a hefty slap reverberated across the market square. Zoro nodded half-pleased when he saw that Ulfric had raised his hand and slapped that annoying Ildur guy across the face. About time!

"Don't you dare touch her!" spat Ulfric. The men behind him looked at each other nervously. This was probably the first time anyone had ever stood up to this slimy redhead, Zoro concluded.

Meanwhile, said slimy redhead was holding his maltreated cheek. The surprise at this attack was written all over his face. After a few seconds, however, he seemed to have regained his composure, as he put his hand down and repositioned his glasses. He shook his head, his large golden earrings jingling back and forth as he moved. Then, too fast for the naked eye, too quickly to react, Ildur had somehow darted right in front of Ulfric, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up so that the bearded man's feet were dangling above the ground.

"You dare hit me? ME?" Ildur shouted. "You'll pay for that, I guarantee you that! I wanted to save you until the end so that you could watch them all die before your eyes. But maybe I won't do that. Maybe I'll just start with you right away..."

Shit! Behind the bush, Zoro shifted uneasily on the spot. Wasn't now the time to intervene?

"No, Luffy, not yet." Nami whispered. A quick glance to his left told the swordsman that Nami was holding Luffy by the shirt, trying to stop their captain from storming the meeting. Zoro grinned. So the old Luffy was back after all!

It was then that a pain-filled scream rang out from the marketplace and Zoro felt a rush of adrenaline instantly flooding his body. Ignoring the protests of his nakama and his aching body, he jumped up, his legs moving as if automatically. At the same moment as Luffy, he leapt out of the bushes and charged into the marketplace.

On to the next battle.