Chapter Text
The wind raced, as if desperately trying to catch up with something elusive. The once-bloody battlefield now lay covered in lifeless corpses, the stench of burnt flesh hanging heavily in the air. An eerie silence blanketed the scene, broken only by the shallow breaths of a lone figure lying on his back, gazing up at the vast expanse of the sky. His eyes, empty and devoid of light, bore tear trails and smears of blood across his face.
The infectious smile that had adorned his features had vanished, leaving behind a face that appeared emotionless yet contained a myriad of indescribable feelings. It was as if words failed to convey the depth of his emotions. Then, a faint, almost imperceptible smile emerged.
"Guys, we did it. We reached Laugh Tale," his voice rasped, its parched tones punctuated by coughs that expelled more crimson droplets. No response echoed through the desolation. His comrades, his dear family, lay lifeless, scattered amidst the pool of blood. They had been defeated. It was not their way; they were not accustomed to such easy defeats. But the enemy had proven themselves to be overwhelming in strength.
Some of his crew had fallen with alarming ease, their demise almost laughable. Others had fought valiantly, putting up a commendable struggle. The upper echelons of their crew had held their ground to some extent, but the crushing weight of witnessing their comrades' fall and the insurmountable power differential had led to their demise.
Only one remained now. The loss of his comrades, his family, had fractured something deep within him, something so profound that his own body seemed beyond his control. Numbness shrouded his being, his consciousness regained only after it was all over.
That immense power had obliterated a substantial portion of the latter half of the Grand Line. It felt as if the dormant energies surrounding them had coursed through his very being, akin to that of an ancient deity. Yet, he remained oblivious and indifferent to this realization. The overwhelming power had proved too much for his mortal vessel to bear. He knew, deep down, that he was dying. A faint whisper echoed in his mind, acknowledging that he had achieved his lifelong dream. But it felt empty without the presence of his beloved family. His fervent wish had always been to die without regrets, a creed he had lived by throughout his entire existence. Even in the face of impending death, he yearned to laugh like the ones who had carried the same title before him.
Alas, he could not muster even a hint of laughter, not when his precious family had fallen short of their dreams. Regret and sorrow washed over him, and he longed to weep, yet his eye sockets remained devoid of tears. Sensing his life slipping away, his thoughts echoed with a singular desire.
"If only I could have saved them. If only they could have achieved their dreams. If only I had another chance."
Perhaps due to his sheer willpower or the mysterious workings of the energy enveloping him, the surrounding space shimmered with blinding white light, enough to overwhelm any onlooker. And in an instant, he was gone.
Monkey D. Luffy, the second Pirate King, the one known as Joy Boy, had traversed across the currents, embarking on an odyssey towards an unfathomable destination.
Luffy woke up, or rather confused as to why he was sleeping in the first place. He looked around, which was dark, He could hear various Beeping sounds. He turned to his left to see many devices hanging off his arm, face. He tore them off and got off the bed he was sleeping in. When his feet landed on the ground, he was assaulted with agonizing pain across his body, he fell to the ground and screamed as he couldn’t control his pain. His body started to morph, and his head was burning in pain.
His head was filled with broken images, of which he couldn’t understand quite well. He knew it meant something, but he was filled with too much pain to care about them now. His screams attracted audience, as the door suddenly opened, and light blinded him as he was in a dark room. His legs and hands started to grow a bit until he reached 6’3, which felt strangely familiar. There was a certain power that coursed through his body, but it felt constrained and left him feeling weak.
He started remembering two different streams of memories, one reminding him of Ace’s death, War of the best, Whitebeard, Akainu, Sengoku. Another one reminding strange yet familiar names, Trafalgar Law, Doflamingo, Kaido, Big Mom, I……The pain again grew high. His vision started blacking out, but he remembered one thing that was consistent on both the streams “To get Stronger”.
He came around to consciousness once again after a while. He looked around to familiar faces standing.
“Traffy, how are you here?” Luffy exclaimed. Trafalgar Law was shocked to say the least, and his face twitched at the nickname that was given to him.
“I had assumed you wouldn’t know who I was. And MY NAME IS Trafalgar Law, Not Traffy!” Law yelled. He was shocked to see Luffy at least a foot higher than before, almost rivalling his own height. Luffy though didn’t react much to what Law said. His paid wasn’t completely gone, yet it was much more manageable.
“Where am I?” Luffy questioned.
“You are in Amazon Lily right now, Boa Hancock brought us here because you were in a critical condition and we had to safe from marines after… er... well that happened” Law said, trying not to bring up the Paramount war.
“What happened? Why would I be in Amazon Lily?” Luffy was confused, and nothing made sense.
“Well… After your brother died, there was no place that we could safely provide you treatment compared to being under the protection of one of the warlords.” Law explained.
Luffy’s face morphed into serious frown. He could remember everything vividly, Impel down, The war, Ace’s death. It all felt so recent and so distant at the same time. He certainly felt grief and sadness on losing Ace. But it also felt like he had come in terms with his death.
While Luffy was pondering upon the issue, another figure entered the room. Jinbe was covered in bandages and his wounds were healing well all thanks to the expertise of Doctor Trafalgar Law.
Upon hearing the door opening and closing, Luffy looked up and he had a huge grin on his face.
“Jinbe!” The rubber man jumped and hugged Jinbe in the blink of an eye.
Jinbe laughed and hugged back, relieved to see Luffy in normal state rather than throwing tantrums.
“Luffy-kun, how do you feel? Do you still feel pain?” Jinbe enquired. “I feel fine, a bit weird if I say so myself. My head hurts a lot still. But I think I could manage. My memories are a bit jumbled, and I feel like I’m missing a lot of things.”
Jinbe frowned. Now that he thought about it, it was weird that there was pretty much no reaction other than the frown was given when Law mentioned about Ace’s death. He was unsure whether to be happy that Luffy couldn’t remember much about the traumatic experience or to be sad that Luffy couldn’t grieve properly about the death of his brother.
While Jimbe was contemplating about this predicament, rustling sounds were heard and a large boom followed up. A cry echoed through the air. Everyone in the room visibly tensed. Luffy’s senses screamed of a powerful presence nearby, yet it felt so familiar. Everyone rushed outside to see a sea king floating on the sea. It was dead, blood flowing from its head.
A figure climbed up the rock shore nearby. He wore no shirt, as he was carrying it in his hand along with his overcoat. He wore red trousers with a green hilt carrying a katana. He was old, his hair and beard white.
His glasses reflected the sun. A vertical scar running through his eye giving him a rough look. When he turned towards the ship, collection of gasps was heard. Grin broke into Luffy’s face.
“D-Dark king Rayleigh???!”
Rayleigh was swimming towards Amazon Lily, as his boat was destroyed by the storm. As he neared Amazon Lily, He felt a Familiar presence, He was happy that the reason why he swam all the way was alive. But something was wrong. His presence was enormous, similar to his own. The power rolled off of him was massive even miles away from where he was.
As he closed in, the presence grew and grew. Rayleigh didn’t really know what to make of it. He supposed he could make his confusions clear once he met him properly.
Luffy jumped up and reached the shore, ignoring the protests of the doctors on the crew. He was really happy to meet Rayleigh. He immediately went and hugged the old man. Others were shocked not only by the antics of Luffy, but also the fact that Rayleigh was laughing merrily and hugged back.
Rayleigh’s mind was working miles a minute, as it was processing the enormous amount of power that Luffy’s body contained. He couldn’t sense this the first time they met in Sabody. He was thinking of various reasons as to why such changes occurred.
“Old man! What are you doing here??” Luffy asked. Rayleigh snapped out of his musings and looked properly at Luffy. He could see he was grown a bit taller.
“I came to see you Luffy-kun. And I have a lot to discuss with you” He replied. Jinbe finally came out of his shock.
“It’s an honor to meet such a great legend” Jinbe said, clearly a bit nervous. Rayleigh acknowledged him with a nod and said, “The Knight of the sea, Jinbe. I have heard a lot about you.”
Meanwhile, Luffy felt something missing. He looked around and finally spotted what he was searching. Trafalgar law held his straw hat. Within a blink of eye, he moved near Law. Law was startled to core. He had never seen someone move so fast. These didn’t go unnoticed by someone.
“Hey Traffy, could you give back my hat?” Luffy asked. Law realized he was still holding on to it and gave it to him. Luffy received it with a wide grin on his face but didn’t put it on.
Luffy looked at law and bowed his head. Law quickly realized where this was heading.
“Stop! What were you going to do?” Law yelled. Luffy looked up confused. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”
“Don’t. I am sure we will meet again somewhere in the future. I guess you could tell your thanks then.” Law felt guilty a little for manipulating him like this, but he shrugged it off. He wasn’t a saint; he was a pirate. He had to use his chances.
Luffy said nothing but just nodded with a grin. Law nodded back and ordered his crew to prepare for leaving. Some whined about leaving the island of “Beautiful women” when they haven’t even had a chance to go inside. But compiled under the glare of their captain.
The place was busy, constant rustling could be heard. Orders thrown out and people were working as fast as they could to complete the work. The castle was happy that Luffy was awake. The person who was probably the happiest was pacing back and forth. Waiting impatiently for the cooks to be done.
She is considered as the most beautiful women in the world, Empress of Amazon Lily and Pirate empress, Boa Hancock. As the cook gave his signal about the food being ready to serve, she immediately rushed to the carriage which she uses to travel.
She had prepared a banquet worth of food just for a single man, the man who she fell in love with. Man of her dreams and the thought of him brought blushing on her face in full force. She heard from her messenger that he was finally out of his deathbed and was awake. She couldn’t wait to meet him with his goofy grin on his face.
As she reached the shore where the ship was anchored, she spotted Luffy along with Jinbe and another person who look familiar. But she completely ignored them as she made a straight march towards Luffy, comical hearts present over her eyes in adoration.
“Luffy!! I am so glad you are awake” she said gushing over his health. Luffy beamed at her which made her swoon and dance comically.
“Hancock! I am so glad to see you. Thank you for helping me infiltrate into impel down and for providing me with the key back during the war. If not for you, I might have not gotten the chance to meet Ace one last time” The final sentence was said with a sad smile on his face. Hancock blushed at the thanking, “It’s no problem Luffy, I would do anything for you.” And it was true.
Luffy was immediately attracted by the smell permeating from all the food that has brought there. A huge roar was heard, and everyone turned towards Luffy. It was his stomach. He unabashedly laughed and immediately went to eat.
Everyone smiled at that scene. It was good to see him behaving normally after Ace’s death. Rayleigh though, was confused. He had expected some commotion. He wasn’t sure if the thing he had wanted to accomplish by coming here would happen.
Once Luffy finished gulping down enormous amounts of food, he looked towards Rayleigh. Rayleigh motioned him to sit in front of him. He then stayed silent for some moments before he started to talk.
“So Luffy-kun, what do you plan on doing now?” Rayleigh broke the silence that was spreading around them.
“I want to meet my crew and set sail again” Luffy replied. Rayleigh look disappointed by that answer, but he had expected it. But what Luffy said next was not on that list. “But I don’t feel this is the correct time to meet them. As a captain, I am supposed to protect them. But, as much I want to be there, I cannot be with them all the time. I don’t feel they are ready for this journey yet.”
Rayleigh’s eye widened and small grin etched his face. This was going better than he expected. “That is a very mature way of thinking, Luffy-kun. But what about you? What are you going to do about this?”
“I think I am going to train. I am going to improve my Haki and Devil fruit powers.” Luffy replied, Unaware of the shock that Rayleigh felt. ‘How is he supposed to know about Haki? I suppose he could know about that by listening to others when he was in Amazon Lily during the few days of his stay, but still that doesn’t explain why he said improve his Haki rather than start his training’. Rayleigh’s mind was working as fast as it could.
‘I think I have to keep that aside for the time being and continue on with my plan’. He thought. “Luffy-kun, if you aren’t opposed, may I propose a plan? Of course, it is up to you to decide whether if you want to do this or not”
“Sure, old man. What is the plan?” Luffy replied. Luffy knew old man had way better planning and decision making compared to him.
“You were supposed to meet again with your crew after 3 days, right?” After receiving a nod from Luffy, He continued. “Instead of meeting again after 3 days, why don’t you postpone it to 2 years?”
Luffy barely thought about it before nodding. “I think that makes sense. They can train in the two years.” He bobbed his head. Rayleigh mused that he has had way too many surprises on this occasion that he didn’t expect. He thought it was better to go with the flow rather than trying to question everything. Perhaps he underestimated Luffy’s knowledge.
“Yes. We could go to Marine ford again and do a ritual to pray for the dead so to speak. It would also prove that you are not really dead and provide a message to your crew.” Rayleigh finished his explaining.
Luffy beamed. This was a good plan. This could provide a message to his crew that he wasn’t dead and that they had to train for the New World and that he wanted to pay his respects to the Whitebeard and Ace.
“I think this is a great plan. Let’s do it!” Luffy exclaimed. He was excited to go already. Rayleigh laughed at his protegee’s excitement.
The marines in the Marineford were busy fixing the broken…island. There were marines running all over the island, shouting out commands as well helping those who were injured. Reporters were around the island taking pictures, interviewing higher officials about the outcome of the war.
“I am sure the marine would probably shift their headquarters to somewhere else” A reporter spoke. “But now might not be the right time”
“Yes, you are right. After the war, many pirates started to migrate more into new world and the pirates are more active than ever. “Another replied.
“Ah! Speaking of that. Here is another squad which has come back after their mission” he said spotting a marine ship entering the headquarters. But unlike other ships, the ship turned and started to go around the island rather than going to straight to docks.
“What are they doing?” A marine yelled confused. The confusion turned chaos when they heard a cannon going off. People started panicking and started running around in the hope to avoid the explosion, but the explosion never came.
“A blank? But why would they do that? They are acting weird” the reporter questioned. Marines started gathering around as they heard the blank shot.
“Has the warship tried to contact us?!” A marine captain yelled.
“No sir” His subordinate replied.
“This is Impossible!” one yelled, who had binoculars in his hand. “Wh... why is he?”
“What is it?” the captain asked.
“It’s Straw Hat Luffy!” The marine yelled. Commotion started around with reporters gathering around for the interesting piece of news that they might get.
“Send that marine warship to bottom of the ocean” The captain ordered.
“Yes sir” His subordinates yelled and moved to work. Cannons fired from all the directions towards the ship.
“Fishmen Jujutsu: Sea current lifter!” A massive wall of water rose in front of the warship, stopping any incoming cannon balls and preventing the ship from getting damaged.
“Is that Sea Knight, Jinbe!?”
“There is another man on board sir!” the marine yelled. The cannons fired again and the said man was on board with small pebbles on his hand. He threw the pebbles with precision on the path of the cannon balls. It intercepted the cannon balls on its tracks and made them blast in the air.
“D-Don’t tell me, that is the… Living legend, former first-mate of Roger pirates, Dark king, Silvers Rayleigh???” the marine yelled. Others started shivering in fear. Just the aura of the Dark king was enough to make them almost piss on the spot.
The ship showed no signs of stopping. “Why aren’t they stopping??” A reporter questioned.
“They are circling around the entire island. Its like a funeral at the sea” A marine answered.
“You miserable pirates! How dare you mock us” The marine yelled and ordered the marines to fire at the warship again. Cannons fired from all the directions again. This time it hit the warship and fire started around the ship. But there were no signs of pirates. Just when the marines were about to breath the sigh of relief, two figures landed on the island in front of the marines. Marines were shocked and tightened their hold at their weapons.
“Its Jinbe and Dark King Rayleigh!” A marine yelled. “They are on the island and are still alive.”
As the marines were gathering, another figure landed in front of them with a huge bang. The floor on the bottom cracked heavily with smoke flying on all the directions. As the smoke cleared, they could see Monkey D. Luffy, standing in all his glory.
He looked completely fine, almost as if he suffered no injuries from the battle that happened a few days ago. He stood at even more impressive height and Marines felt chill running through their spines as they looked at his eyes. They looked as if they were blazing from the fire present from the Sun.
The marines stood in silence for few minutes before they gathered their wits and went to attack the three pirates. But they were no match for the three. Marines soon started to fall at a very fast rate. There weren’t enough backup present in the island.
Luffy started to run towards the Ox-bell present in front of the main building. The reporters followed him from a far distance, curious to see what he would do. Luffy grabbed the rope tied to the clapper of the bell and started to ring it-16 times to be exact. It marked the end of the old era and start of a new era.
He then got down and went to a crack that was present in the island due to the war. He removed a packet of roses and dropped it down in the hole. He then placed his hat on his chest and closed his eyes in silent prayer. Reporters started taking pictures of him as this was a huge news.
Torino Kingdom,
Chopper was tired and bruised. But he was happy now that the humans and the birds were willing to cooperate and live peacefully. Now the first thing he had to do was get back to Luffy, to Sabody.
He slowly woke up and stood. He walked towards the entrance and opened the door. He immediately spotted a newspaper. He rushed towards it in the hope of finding something about his captain. As he expected there was some news about Luffy on that newspaper.
“Ohhh! Is that so Luffy? I understood.” He said, tears falling from his eyes. “Also how did he get taller so quickly?” Chopper questioned as he moved towards the Centre of the village.
As Chopper reached the town Centre, he spotted the village leader talking to an old lady. He went there and waited for their conversation to get over. Finally, the man turned towards Chopper, with a smile on his face.
“Chopper-san, what can I do for you?” He asked.
“Uhm… I know its selfish of me to ask you this… but can I stay on this island for two more years and perhaps study the different medicinal plants present here?” Chopper asked, bowing his head. He hoped they let him stay here, there were many things present here that could help him with the training.
Instead of rejection, which he thought he would get, the man beamed at Chopper. “Of course. We would be very glad to have you here for as long as you need.”
Now it was Chopper’s turn to smile. It was a chance that he wouldn’t miss. He would get stronger and provide support for his captain by studying all kinds of medicine present in this island. This was his promise.
Boin Archipelago,
Usopp was overweight. His eating did not stop until he heard the news of Ace’s death. He tried again and again to escape this monster of an island, only to fail miserably. But that didn’t make him give up, not when his captain needs him to be with him.
After his god-knows-how many tries, he sat under a tree, taking some rest as he was completely out of energy. He then heard a squawk. He looked up to see News-coo bringing newspapers. He took one from its talons and paid it whatever food he had, as he was out of belis.
He opened the newspaper to see his captain’s face on the first page. He immediately understood the message. This was fine. He would use this chance to get much stronger. He also spotted Heracles sitting on a tree branch observing him.
“Heracles-sensei! Please teach me whatever you know” Usopp yelled. He had to start his training from somewhere. knowing about different things present in the island was a good start.
Karakuri Island,
Franky was messing with some devices present in the lab of the great scientist Vegapunk in the hopes to find something that could help him get out of this island. As he was looking at the blueprints of various devices, the news printer on the lab started printing again. He glanced at it and spotted the news about his captain.
He immediately snatched it and started reading. The message was very clear. He was excited. What better place to get better other than the lab of Vegapunk himself? Perhaps he could build a laser?
Tequila Wolf,
The revolutionary was cleaning up the aftermath of the fight that happened in the island. Robin was sitting in a carriage, warming up herself while thinking about the events of war. It was heartbreaking that she couldn’t be there for the man who protected her and saved her from killing herself and the marines.
She boarded the ship which the revolutionaries invited her and sat in the deck. She didn’t go inside the ship, not that the revolutionary were not trustworthy, but it would take more than a ride for her to trust someone.
A revolutionary came out with a paper in her hand. “Robin-san, I think you should see this” He handed the paper over to her. The moment she spotted image, she deciphered the message. A small smile formed her lips. she was weak, running away from marines and taking cover in pirates. That wouldn’t do anymore. Not when she had to prove herself worthy to her captain. Not when she had a dream that she had to fulfil. She would become stronger… No, she would become much more.
Sky Island, Weatheria,
Nami was not out of the shock. Guilt over washing her, constantly reminding her that she wasn’t present when her captain, her best friend needed her. Currently she was in the home of Haredas. As she was preparing to leave, the sound of paper being delivered reached her ears. She went out to get the newspaper. As she looked at the newspaper, she understood what the message was.
She went back inside the house to bargain... ahem request Haredas for a home to stay in the weatheria for two years.
“Haredas-san, as you requested me to stay here for some time, after some serious consideration, I think I can stay here for some time before leaving” Nami said, batting her eyelashes cutely.
Haredas was confused (He didn’t remember telling Nami to stay there for some time). After a few moments, he realized this was her way of requesting permission to stay there for a while. He shook his head in amusement and aske the reason for the sudden change in mind.
“Luffy is an idiot. He doesn’t know how to navigate in the sea. He doesn’t know anything about sea. He will get lost and die if I cannot navigate him to the end of the sea. He needs me” ‘I also need him’ left unsaid, but Haredas understood.
“That is why I need to learn about Grand line and New World as much as I can. I also get better at fighting so I could support him and help him achieve his dream.” Tears were flowing freely from her eyes as she stared at the endless sky. She would do it, no matter hard it will be.
Nakamura island,
Brook was currently sitting at the cage. Silent tears escaping his eyes, not that he had eyes. (Skull joke). He wanted to get out of here and get back to Sabody, but he couldn’t, considering all his possessions were taken and he was being projected as a moving skeleton in a carnival. At least the guys who imprisoned him were making money.
The requested Newspaper name his way and he opened it to see any news regarding his captain. He understood the underlying message present in the paper.
“Ah! Luffy-san. I understood. I will become better and improve my music more” It was a promise. A promise that will provide the path in completing another promise.
Kamabakka Kingdom,
He was beaten up and bruised. The constant fight to escape this island was something he couldn’t give up. He was blaming himself for not being strong enough to stop Kuma from sending him to this hell. He would have to soon defeat these queers and escape.
He spotted a news coo carrying a newspaper. He noted the message present on the newspaper. He understood why the captain took such decision. He also wanted to get stronger in order to protect everyone, especially the girls. But also, he silently cursed as he was stuck in this hell.
But that wasn’t enough to deter him from the path he wanted to take. He will get stronger. He will get much, much stronger to protect his crew and achieve his dream. He will also make his cooking better so he could cook the ladies much more delicious food.
“Iva, could you provide the recipes for me learn?” Sanji asked. Ivankov smirked. “Why of course. But we cannot give it anyone who requests it. Either you become a queer, or you must defeat 99 queers present across this island to get the recipes. “
“What!! That’s absurd” Sanji yelled.
“Oh, not only that, if you accept the challenge, my people will try to put a gown on you all the time. So, you must not only escape from them, but also get the recipes by fighting them” Ivankov said. This was borderline evil, but he didn’t care.
“You bastard!!” Sanji shouted. He supposed it wasn’t easy to get this. “Fine! I will do this. I will get all the 99 recipes.” He said with determination shining his eyes. He will get stronger.
“Sanji-kyun!!” Queers yelled. Sanji shivered. It’s going to be a long journey.
Kuraigana Island,
Perhaps it was a stroke of bad luck… perhaps not. Zoro was lost again. He went looking for sea to get out of this island. But the island kept moving.
“Is it the same palace? Or is it not?” Zoro thought, looking at the castle (which he had been hours before)
“Nah, it’s definitely not” Zoro grinned with absolute surety. He heard a crash behind him. He looked to find Perona lying face down on the mud. Who sleeps out here?
“Why are sleeping here?” Zoro asked. Perona’s face twitched.
“It was because of you idiot!” she yelled, venting out her frustration of searching for this moss head for hours just to find him near the island. “Is your sense of direction that bad??!”
Zoro blushed in embarrassment,” it’s none of your issue. Why did you even come here?”
“I wanted to show this” She held up a newspaper with Luffy’s picture on front. Zoro immediately snatched it and started looking at it. He saw the Tattoo on his hands meant something, but he couldn’t figure it out. He had to think on it.
*2 Hours later*
He still couldn’t figure out what the message meant. Doesn’t mean he is going to give up.
*3 Hours later*
Nope
*4 Hours later*
Not yet. He knew he was close. He heard sounds of someone fainting near him. He couldn’t care.
*5 Hours later*
He finally deciphered it. He understood what the message meant.
He was weak. Being the Vice-captain meant he had to take care of the crew at the absence of the captain, but he couldn’t even defeat a single Warlord. How was he supposed to defeat bigger threats that was obvious to come in the latter half of the grand line?
If he was to achieve his dream, more importantly if he wanted to make his captain achieve his dream, he had to get stronger. Much stronger that he could stand by Luffy and defeat any enemy that comes their way.
‘A while later’
He was in the castle, bowing before his goal, World’s strongest Swordsman “Dracule Mihawk”.
“What are you doing?” Mihawk asked, disgusted by a man who he deemed worthy of his succession bowing before him.
“Train me!”
“What? Are you asking your enemy for instruction? I think I overestimated you” Mihawk replied, disappointment evident in his voice.
“I want to get stronger!”
“Get out of here. I have no use for a boring man who couldn’t even beat the baboons present in the island”.
Blood dripped from Zoro’s chest. “If you are asking about the baboons, I beat them” Mihawk eyes widened at the information. ‘He beat them?’. “The only enemy present here is you. But I am not fool to think I could beat you here. That is why I need to get stronger.”
“I don’t understand. You see me as enemy, yet you seek my guidance. Why?”
“I want to beat you” Zoro replied. Mihawk started laughing. “You want me to train someone who wants to kill me. This is just foolish. But I think you found something that is more important than your ambition.”
“Oi Ghost girl, treat him. We will start the training once you’re recovered.” Mihawk said ignoring the protest of the Ghost girl. Zoro’s face brightened and a smile broke on his face.
“‘3D’ is crossed out and ‘2Y’ is visible. Oh yeah! There is a tattoo on his arm” Perona said.
“Yes, we made a certain promise to meet each other after 3 days, but that didn’t happen.” Zoro said
“’3D’ crossed out meaning 3 days, then 2Y means…”
“2 years.”
“Oh, 2 Years”
“The meeting will be 2 years instead of 3 days. Even if we rush now, we are not ready for new world. We need to get stronger. And meet again, No matter what!” Zoro said. It would be hard path. But they would do it. They are the crew of next pirate king after all.”