Chapter 36: Chapter 036
"Let's test it out, then. If this sword doesn't accept me as its master, we'll know here and now," he said, before throwing the blade up in the air and holding his arm out.
"Idiot! Its sharpness is the real thing! You'll lose an arm!" the clerk shouted. Tashigi gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.
As the sword came down, Zoro's reflexes screamed at him to coat his arm in Armament Haki, but he ignored them and closed his eyes. The sword fell down and the blade hit his arm dead center before it fell to the ground and imbedded itself hilt deep into the floor. Zoro's audience stared in shock as he rolled his arm around in its socket. There wasn't a scratch on him. "Good sword," he said, still grinning.
The clerk fell to the ground as the tension left his body. He quickly got up and told Zoro to wait for him as he stumbled into the back of the shop. He came back with another familiar sword with a black hilt and sheath. "This is the best sword I have. It's one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords, Yubashiri. Please take it free of charge, along with Kitetsu III."
Zoro nodded at the man gratefully. "Thank you," he said with sincerity. The man just waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it. It's not every day I see a true swordsman walk in here. They say the sword chooses the swordsman. Consider this a gift."
As Zoro walked out of the shop, he couldn't help but laugh joyfully at the feeling of the three swords on his waist as well as the emptiness of his pockets. He could hardly believe he'd just pulled that off.
Luffy ran through the streets, still looking for the execution platform. He had run into Smokey and asked him for directions, but he had gotten lost again somehow. As he kept running, he was surprised to sense the familiar presence of someone who should by all rights be on his way to a prison right now. Not that he cared either way. He wondered how the guy had escaped from the Marines though. "What are you looking for?" the man asked without looking at him.
"The execution platform," Luffy replied.
"It's that way," the man said, pointing.
Luffy ran off in the direction the was pointing before yelling, "Thanks, Big Nose!" The man looked after him in shock, finally realizing who he was, and his jaw dropped.
Fuck.
When Luffy finally arrived at the execution platform and climbed to the top, he whistled. He had seen it before, but he would never get over the symbolic value of this view. Bystanders looked up at him in annoyance and wonder before a woman walked up to the execution platform. "I've been looking for you, Straw Hat. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Luffy stared down at her. "If by it's been a while you mean we've never met before, then sure," he said in confusion.
"Now, that's cold," the woman said. "Don't tell me you've forgotten my beautiful face," she said. Luffy was tempted to respond that he couldn't forget something that he'd never seen before, but settled for scanning her with his Observation Haki instead. He ignored the killing intent of the presences coming up behind him as his eyes widened. Alvida? Then it clicked. That's right. She ate a Devil Fruit that made her slim…I mean…got rid of her freckles…yeah, that was it. What else does it do again?
Buggy and Cabaji jumping out behind him brought him out of his thoughts, and he sidestepped Cabaji as the acrobat attempted to trap him. Cabaji tripped over himself in surprise, and Luffy promptly kicked him in the ass, sending him flying off of the execution platform. He turned to Buggy. "A plank of wood? I feel insulted. I think you should apologize."
Buggy looked at him in outrage and started screaming bloody murder at him, but Luffy wasn't paying attention. His focus was caught by another aura that had flickered to life. It was quite simply the greatest aura he had felt since coming back to the past, and taking into account their confrontation with Mihawk, that was saying something. It would have actually made him nervous if he didn't have an idea who it was.
"…think I'm apologizing to a stupid rubber bastard like you, you've got another thing coming!" Buggy finished. Luffy turned back to him.
"Uh…sorry, did you say something?"
Buggy got ready to lunge at him, but Luffy held his hand out. "Hey, Buggy. I have an idea. Why don't I stand here and do nothing while you execute me?"
Buggy looked extremely confused now. "What."
"No, really," Luffy said. "I'll stand right here. Take that sword and cut my head off or something."
"Are you mocking me?" Buggy seethed.
"Dead serious."
"I'll kill you whether you stand there or not, you straw hat bastard!" Buggy screamed indignantly before picking up the sword.
"Over this way!" Zoro yelled as he led Nami, Usopp, and Sanji toward the execution platform.
"Slow down, Zoro!" Usopp complained. "We just met up and now you have us running all over the place? What's the problem?"
"I told you, there's a huge storm coming!" Nami yelled. "We have to get back to the ship!"
"Just keep your mouths shut and follow me!" Zoro yelled. That aura I just felt…it was huge. This could be bad. We have to find Luffy.
They arrived at the execution platform and saw Luffy standing on top of it along with Buggy, just like last time. "What is that idiot doing?" Sanji asked. They watched in worry as Buggy reared back to swing his sword at Luffy's neck. Zoro's eyes narrowed as he realized Luffy wasn't about to dodge, block, or even use Haki to guard. What was he playing at? He was about to make a jump for the platform when the huge aura from before roared to life along with a crack of lightning that erupted from the dark clouds that had manifested in the previously clear sky. The heavens rained their cold fury down on the execution platform, and there was a large flash of light followed by a loud explosion.
Luffy picked his hat up from ground and walked past Buggy's unconscious, charred form. He looked at the stunned faces in front of him, before shouting out.
"I am the man who will become the Pirate King!"
His voice echoed out through the silent plaza. He walked by Buggy's crew and resisted the urge to laugh at the faces that Alvida and Cabaji were wearing. "Well, I guess that's that," he said. The crowd made way for him as he walked through to find his crewmates, who were all staring at him in wonder, except for Zoro, who just looked annoyed. "Everyone get what they needed?" he asked. At a round of weak nods, he grinned. "Then let's go."
As they ran towards the coast, Sanji turned to Zoro. "Hey, do you believe in God?"
"Nope," Zoro replied.
A lone man walked slowly through the stormy streets of Loguetown, his black cloak flowing in the wind.
Inherited will. The destiny of the era and the dreams of its people. These forces are unceasing and relentless. So long as humanity continues to pursue the true meaning of freedom, those dreams will never yield.
Another flash of lightning illuminated the man's madly grinning face. "Pirate King? Good. I expect nothing less."
The Straw Hats were still on their way back to the ship when they found their path obstructed by Tashigi, whose hair was shadowing her eyes. "So, you're Roronoa Zoro, and a pirate no less." She looked up in rage and Zoro got that old familiar feeling as thoughts of Kuina came into his mind. He hated it.
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